Spirituality

Spirituality: Nourishment for the heart and soul.

This is a public lecture I gave in April 2007.

I have inherited this topic and my view of spirituality is probably a little different from what my dear and learned friend Shaykh Luqman Ali might have given you if he had been able to be with you tonight. I want to begin by considering some of the attributes that we attach to the soul, heart and spirituality.

The soul is a gift from Allah (swt) and Allah does not give imperfect gifts. It is the means by which we perceive the presence of Allah, a small portion of eternity that responds in sympathy to the Ultimate Being. It might be compared to the eye. Light entering the eye is converted into nervous impulses that are processed in one part of the brain but understood in the consciousness. The soul is a perfect thing but it can become veiled by various impurities within our hearts for it is our heart that interprets the soul to our consciousness. Allah (swt) says,

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By no means! But on their hearts is the stain of the (ill) which they do!

He (swt) is specific that our major problem lies in the heart. The heart acting between the soul and consciousness is affected by errors in our thinking, the effect of our actions and our spiritual experience. The heart may become stained and distort our understanding or be purified.

It is the removal of such stains from the heart that is the object of spiritual practices and the Hadith of the Prophet (saw), “My religion is based upon cleanliness” may be understood to refer to both outer and inner purification.

It is only when the impurities are cleansed away from the heart that it can be fully nourished and expand with the intellect to a fuller comprehension of the beauty that reflects some of the beauty of Allah (swt). Only as the heart becomes purer can we become more aware of how the soul responds to Allah (swt) and of the joy He wishes for us. So, the first step in realizing our spiritual potential is to identify some of the veils that separate our heart and soul. This can be an emotionally painful experience because veils conceal themselves within those things which we have convinced ourselves are good. Why did I give money to a poor man? Why do I smile at a friend? Are my amālat for Allah (swt) or because they are habits that I conform to? Serious questions that cause us to be aware of our niyat at all times but not questions plucked from the air for Allah (swt) asks,

Have you considered him who calls the judgment a lie?

That is the one who treats the orphan with harshness,

And does not urge (others) to feed the poor.

So woe to the praying ones,

Who are unmindful of their prayers,

Who do (good) to be seen,

And withhold the necessaries of life (Q:107)

The apparent meaning is clear; that prayer is not enough and that prayer without the correct niyat is a cause for sadness. Yet we can apply this guidance to the way we treat ourselves. Some scholars of tafsīr have stated that this verse refers to Abu Jahil and the disbelievers of Mecca but others have pointed out that we do not always see or hear people denying Allah (swt) but we know that they do because of their actions and that this verse applies to hypocrites who try to conceal their disbelief. If we allow veils to stand between our soul and our heart are we not a little like them? Is there any greater orphan than a heart that does not know its soul? And, is there any greater poverty or injustice than denying ourselves even part of our inheritance in eternity?

Yet there is more in this verse that we should consider before moving on. There is no separation between the spiritual and the worldly. We cannot turn off our life, say a few prayers and then go back to the world. Of course, we all try to but it is far better for us if we clear the debris from our hearts, give them access to the nourishment that they need and become mindful of the spirituality that exists all around us.

The path towards this state is a balanced and moderate one. Establish prayer and do good deeds. By setting our mind to this simple task, a cycle, similar to the food cycle in plants, with prayer improving our actions and our actions improving our prayer: our minds and hearts working together guided by the fitrah written within our souls.

This cleansing and nourishing cycle allows the mind to begin functioning in a wholesome and positive way that enables us to remove many obstacles from living a more spiritually balanced life. But, the knowledge it allows us to access has dangers and responsibilities. When discussing knowledge Imām ‘Ali (as) said, “The best of knowledge is that which manifests in the limbs and that which lies upon the tongue is rubbish.” An observation which resonates to the warning of sura 107 “So woe to the praying ones.” The soul, heart, mind and body must act together or we are simply replacing one sort of veil with another, and perhaps a worse veil. However, if all has gone well then we can start feeding the heart with wholesome spiritual food.

The selection of what is beneficial for us begins with observation and choice. What to be involved with and what to reject. The philosopher St Thomas Aquinas echoed Islamic thought when he wrote, “The man who cannot resist sin should avoid it.” However, spiritual development is not simply about not sinning it is the process of choosing what is most beneficial. It is possible to maintain a relatively sinless situation by just obeying the rules, or the desire to gain the rewards of Allah (swt) may cause some self improvement or the love of Allah (swt) is sufficient reason. Ali (as) said,

“The believers are of three kinds: the one who worships because of the fear of Allah, and this is the worship of a slave; one who worships for the rewards of Allah, and this is the worship of a business man; one who worships for the love of Allah, and this is the worship of a free man, and the highest form of worship.”

The person whose intellect is aware of who Allah (swt) is must overcome a far greater fear to worship than someone worshipping in the security of blind obedience. Some people were mocking one of the Prophet’s (saw) family (as), “Why do you go yellow and shake when you pray?” He replied, “If you knew who you were praying to you would not ask.”

It is a fear so great that only a love as great can let the believer survive it. It is a love that grows when we see the spiritual splendour in the miraculous gift of Creation. Those sights that Allah (swt) wished for us when he created man; with a body, mind, heart and soul to care for.