Reviving the Heart Series
The Living the Deen team on the Voice of the Cape has prepared an exciting new series titled Reviving the Heart. It is adapted from a series of very short but effective video talks by Sh. Navaid Aziz called My Spiritual Fix and can be accessed by visiting his website www.myspiritualfix.com. You can also visit his facebook page to follow the series “A duah every believer should know”.
The need to identify the diseases of the heart is an important process in Reviving our Islamic Spirit. This series aims to identify some of the diseases of the heart and remedies which we can implement to cure ourselves from these diseases.
So sickening it makes you turn green!
Youv’e been trying to get married for the last 3 years, and with every proposal nothing works out. Do you remember that friend of yours? The one that is not as good looking, the one that is not as educated, the one that is not as well off. They got married without even trying. How does that make you feel.
That emotion you are feeling right now is the mother of all diseases, it is called jealousy! It is something you need to eliminate from your heart all together or trust me you are never going to enjoy life. If you look at jealousy you will see that it is a reoccurring theme throughout the Qur-aan. Allah (swt) mentions it in almost every major story. Yusuf (as) had brothers who were jealous of him because they had this delusion that their father loved him more.
Firstly it created a pseudo reality in that the brothers of Yusuf had this delusion, that although they were bigger and stronger they felt that their father favoured Yusuf (as) more. Therefore they thought to themselves that if they were to eliminate Yusuf (as) their father would love them more.
They did not end up killing Yusuf but they put him in a ditch. They attempted to ruin Yusuf (as) life from their perspective But also look at what they did to their father the biggest disobedience you could commit is bring pain to your parents. Imagine making your father cry so much so, that they become blind out of sorrow and sadness. This is of the major sins in Islam.
So two things come out of jealousy
- It creates a Pseudo reality making you think that if you do this and that then you will attain this and that. But that is not the reality of things
- Jealousy always leads to further sins and these sins are usually greater than the sin of jealousy. That is why we call the sin of jealousy the mother of all diseases.
Things to do to control jealousy
- Whenever you feel jealous of someone make dua for them on the spot.
- Say “O Allah please bless them in what you have given them and grant me that what is better than it”.
- Realise that your happiness as an individual does not lie in material gains and losses but rather it lies with Allah (swt)
- You may have things but it will not make you happy.
- Things maybe taken away and it will not increase you in status
- But your relationship with Allah is what will define your happiness and your sadness
- Just like you recognised that blessing in that other individual recognise the blessings Allah has bestowed upon you.
- So instead of becoming jealous become a person who is more thankful and grateful
- And when Allah recognises that gratitude, he will only increase you in blessings
We pray that Allah (swt) rectifies and purifies our heart of jealousy and that he blesses ourselves. may Allah correct our intentions and accept our actions Ameen!
