Harmony of Hearts and the Security of Society

Occasion: A transcription of a lecture delivered on August 8, 2017Source: A transcription of a video lecture by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

Our Lord says in the ḥadīth qudsī: «الْمُتَحَابُّونَ فِي جَلَالِي لَهُمْ مَنَابِرُ مِنْ نُورٍ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ» ("Those who love one another for My majesty will have pulpits of light on the Day of Resurrection"). Where, my brothers? In Paradise: «يَغْبِطُهُمُ النَّبِيُّونَ وَالشُّهَدَاءُ» ("the prophets and the martyrs will envy them").^[1]

Pulpits of Light

Imagine the prophets and the martyrs looking at these people in their lofty station. You ask yourself: what did they do, these people, to reach this level? The relationship between them is for God, for God alone, nothing more. For whose sake is the relationship between them? For God alone.

What Do We Gain From This?

Someone may say: what do we gain from this? I have other people who pray, fast, give zakāh and do good deeds. We say: we have a primary aim, and the first goal is the security of society. What did I say? The security of society.

When society is secure and I am calm, and my temperament is calm, I enter my home and find myself dealing with my wife calmly and kindly, and I raise my children with a settled mind. What do you think, is it like this, or when I am agitated? Turn the picture around and look: I entered my home angry, upset, on edge, with a calamity or a problem with someone in the street or at work. So how do I deal with the people at home? How do I raise my children? And when I meet so-and-so, with what face do I meet him? And how do I deal with people?

So imagine society as a whole like water boiling in a pot, agitated, churning and tossing. Imagine how the drops of water jump about when it boils. Imagine a human being jumping about like that in life, unable to settle, with no calm, no tranquility, no quiet, no rest. There will be no life. You may eat the finest food right before your eyes and not see it, not taste it, not enjoy it, even though the finest food is in front of you. Why? Because you are agitated inside. But when the soul is settled, the situation is quite different.

A Scene From the Field

Let us go back to our brothers out there in the field when they gather olives or the like. You find one of them who has finished his work and is very tired. At what hour did he finish? At the end of the day? Or by ten in the morning, having accomplished everything and returned home? He leaves after the dawn prayer, prays his Fajr, puts his trust in Allah, glory be to Him, the Most High, and by ten o'clock sharp he is on his way back, having accomplished everything. How wonderful! Then see how he eats and how he drinks. You hear the lovely sound of the water as he drinks it and gulps it down, clear and refreshing, with his smile on his radiant face. Then what? He jokes with young and old, talks with this one, teases that one, and jests with another. The world is clear for him, and his last worry is in the heavens. What has happened? He is at peace, he has no problem with anyone, and the world is calm. That is life, with everything in it.

A Supplication

I ask Allah, the Most High, the Almighty, to unite us always in what pleases Him, to keep our hearts in harmony, to calm our souls, āmīn, to keep Satan away from us and to come between us and… [the sentence breaks off in the transcript], and to grant us reason, wisdom and good management of our affairs and our lives. I ask Allah the Most High to fill our hearts with certainty in what pleases Him, and to make us happy through good obedience to Him, glory be to Him, exalted in His majesty. May Allah keep your evening safe, bless you, and reward you with good. Peace be upon you, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: Narrated by al-Tirmidhī from the ḥadīth of Muʿādh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) in similar wording: «الْمُتَحَابُّونَ فِي جَلَالِي لَهُمْ مَنَابِرُ مِنْ نُورٍ يَغْبِطُهُمُ النَّبِيُّونَ وَالشُّهَدَاءُ». The speaker's words in the transcript came in close wording, and what he said has been kept.