Ancient Elements of Spirituality within the Heart of Tasawwuf (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781494302993)

In Tasawwuf, which is a branch of Islamic knowledge which focuses on the spiritual development of the Muslim, the heart has been singled out as being the leader of the body and the closest place that a person can meet Allah. A prerequisite for approaching the Proximity of Allah is to turn your heart away from the common pursuits of the world towards Allah. It has been stated that if you draw your heart closer to Allah, then Allah will draw the hearts of the believers closer to you. We must remember the situation that happened to Moses: Moses said to his people: "O my people Why do ye vex and insult me, though ye know that I am the apostle of Allah (sent) to you?" Then when they went wrong, Allah let their hearts go wrong. Allah does not guide those who are rebellious transgressors. Allah knows what is in the hearts of His creatures and tests their hearts. Those hearts that are turned towards Allah and repent, will have their hearts purged of any imbalance and be purified through Allah's Mercy and Grace. Through repentance and purification, the heart which is like the king of the body, directs the purification of the members of the body as a king directs the servants of their kingdom. But if the heart is defiled with dark spots from bad deeds and defects of character without repentance, it becomes corrupt, rusted and like a hard and heavy stone. The concept of purification of the heart, the attainment of virtues and illumination of the heart are the main themes of the messengers and warners of Allah. Tasawwuf allows us to turn our hearts away from the carnal world and materialism by providing us with the necessary resources to turn our hearts in remembrance towards Allah, obtain noble character and allow our hearts to find rest. A purified and illuminated heart returns back to Allah ready to receive Allah's satisfaction. The main theme within the message of the messengers, warners and friends of Allah is summed up by the Seal of the Messengers when he stated: "I have not been sent as a Messenger, except to perfect character." The perfection of character is done through purging the blameworthy traits (akhlaq madhmuma). A pure heart is obtained through the purification of the heart (tazkiyah an-nafs). And, the attainment of virtues is done through adab (pious propriety) and the spiritual sciences (malakah al-nafs and ilm al-akhlaq). Tasawwuf is the application of speculative wisdom (al-hikmat al-nadariyyah) and practical wisdom (al-hikmat al-'amaliyyah) by a master teacher (marabout) that engages the student (talibe) in what is necessary to allow them to walk the straight path to Allah through an inner journey and outer experience directly related to the purpose of being in harmony with creation.

Author: Shiloh Lamp Fall
ISBN-10: 1494302993
ISBN-13: 9781494302993
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Language: English
Published: 04/07/2014
Pages: 126
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.68lbs
Size: 11.02h x 8.50w x 0.27d