8.9. THE ACTIONS OF THE HEART
Allah says:
“And that was your assumption which you assumed about your Lord. It has brought you to ruin, and you have be- come among the losers.” (al-Fussilat (41): 23)
And:
“But you thought that the Messenger and the believers would never return to their families, ever, and that was made pleasing in your hearts. And you assumed an assumption of evil and became a ruined people.”(al-Fath (48): 12)
And:
“Or do they envy people for what Allah has given them of His bounty?” (al-Nisa’ (4): 54)
And:
“And from the evil of an envier when he envies.” (al-Falaq (113): 5)
And:
“and find not any want in their breasts of what they [i.e., the emigrants) were given but give (them) preference over themselves’’ (al- Hashr (2): 9)
And:
“O you who have believed, do not take as intimates those other than yourselves [i.e., believers], for they will not spare you [any] ruin. They wish you would have hardship. Hatred has already appeared from their mouths, and what their breasts conceal is greater. We have certainly made clear to you the signs, if you will use reason. Here you are loving them but are not loving you.’’ (Al-’Imran (3) 118: 119)
And:
“If He should ask you for them and press you, you would withhold, and He would expose your hatred (i.e., unwillingness).” (Muhammad (2): 37)
And:
“But does he not know that when the contents of the graves are Scattered. And that within the breasts is obtained.’’ (al-Adiyat(100): 9-10)
And:
“lest he in whose heart is disease should yearn.” (al-Ahzab (33): 32)
And:
“And (remember) when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is disease” (al-Ahzab (33): 12)
And:
‘’Those are the ones for whom Allah does not intend to purify their hearts.’’ (al- Ma’idah (5): 41)
And:
“O mankind, there has come to you instruction from your Lord and healing for what is in the breasts and guidance and mercy for the believers.’’ (Yunus (2): 57)
There are many texts like this in the book of Allah and the Sunnah of his Messenger, and the believers are in agreement about it; a person is either praised or rebuked for the actions of the heart that Allah has willed for him. The Prophet says in an agreed upon sahih hadith: ‘Do not hate each other and do not be jealous of each other,’’ He also says: ‘None of you has believed until he loves for his brother the good that he loves for himself.’’
And he says: ‘The likeness of the believers in their mutual love, mercy, and affection is that of the body: when one limb of it complains, the rest of the body reacts with fever and sleeplessness.’’ And he says: ‘He will not enter Paradise who has even a small ants weight of arrogance in his heart.’’
And he also says: ‘He will not enter the fire who has even a small ants weight of faith.’’ And ‘Do not call grapevine karm (the Arabic word for grapes, deprived from karam, which means nobility and generosity), for it is only the heart of a believer that is karm.’’ There are many texts like this.
In fact, the statements and actions of the heart like belief and rejection and love and hate are the true foundation. Some of them lead to praise and rebuke and reward and punishment with no bodily action while others only lead to them through the limbs when one is able to act. If the bodily action is left undone due to inability, it is as if the person had done the action completely anyway. The statements and actions of the heart are thus of three types:
By Shaykhu’l-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah
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