A beneficial reminder from Tadhkiratus-Saamiʿ wal-Mutakallim of Al-Imaam Badrud-Deen Ibn Jamaaʿah رحمه الله.

Part One: Purity of the Heart

The learner must purify his heart from every form of ghishsh (deceit), danas (filth), ghill (rancour), hasad (envy), corrupt ʿaqeedah, and bad khuluq (character). This is a vital precondition for being blessed in the pursuit of knowledge.

This is because knowledge has been described by some of the scholars as “the secret prayer, the worship of the heart, and the hidden act of drawing near to Allaah.” Therefore, it requires purification from both outward and inward blemishes.

A heart that is purified and prepared to receive knowledge will receive the blessings that accompany that knowledge, causing it to grow and bear fruit. It is like good land that is prepared for cultivation: when the land is good, the vegetation grows well.

The Messenger of Allaah ﷺ said:

إِنَّ فِي الْجَسَدِ مُضْغَةً، إِذَا صَلَحَتْ صَلَحَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ، وَإِذَا فَسَدَتْ فَسَدَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ، أَلَا وَهِيَ الْقَلْبُ.

“Indeed, there is a piece of flesh in the body which, if it is sound, the whole body is sound; and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. Indeed, it is the heart.”

[Ṣaḥeeḥ al-Bukhaaree, no. 52; Ṣaḥeeḥ Muslim, no. 1599]

Sahl ibn ʿAbdullaah at-Tustaree رحمه الله said:

حَرَامٌ عَلَى قَلْبٍ أَنْ يَدْخُلَهُ النُّورُ، وَفِيهِ شَيْءٌ مِمَّا يَكْرَهُ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

“It is impossible for light to enter a heart while there is in it something that Allaah, Mighty and Majestic, dislikes.”

To be continued, inshaa Allaah.