such words. This is a distorted logic, an excuse people
make in order to suppress the voice of their conscience. It
is an invalid excuse emanated from worldly desires.
The way people suppress their consciences prevents most of them from genuinely turning to Allah and which keeps them from abiding by the moral values commanded by Him.
What does this “purity of heart” actually mean? According to
Qur’anic moral values, ‘not doing any harm to anyone’ is
not justification for ignoring responsibilities revealed to us
by Allah?
A sound heart
While mentioning about people’s heart, Allah says: “But only
he (will prosper) who brings to Allah a sound
heart.” (Qur’an, 26:89)
The Islamic concept of a “sound heart” is not just the
pureness of heart that some people understand it to be, for
the Qur’an defines a sound heart as submitting fully to
Allah.
People with sound hearts, in the Qur’anic sense, have faith
in Allah, observe the limits and prohibitions that He has
established, and submit to Him fully. There is no other form
of a sound heart, for the Qur’an defines a person with a
sound heart as someone who constantly brings Allah to
mind and feels at peace with His remembrance. The
following verse makes this quite clear: “Those who believe
and whose hearts find peace in the remembrance of Allah.
Only in the remembrance of Allah can the heart find
peace.” (Qur’an, 13:28)
A very important characteristic of believers is sensitivity of
the heart that enables them to derive pleasure from the
Qur’an’s morality and to feel a great pleasure and peace in
obeying Allah. Allah describes this sensitivity as ‘Allah’s
guidance’: “Allah has sent down the Supreme Discourse, a
Book consistent in its frequent repetitions. The skins of
those who fear their Lord tremble at it, and then their skins
and hearts yield softly to the remembrance of Allah. That is
Allah’s guidance, by which He guides whoever He wills...
(Qur’an, 39:23)
Consequently, a sound heart in the Islamic context means a
heart that is purified from all forms of impurity that draws
one away from Allah. Such people stay away from worldly
greed, selfishness, fears, and insecurity. As a result, they do
not become attached to any person or thing other than Allah
or feel a type of love for them that is independent of Allah.
It is of course important and excellent for someone to be
known in the community for “being good and having a pure
heart.” However, basing oneself on the importance in
society of “having a pure heart” and then saying, “I do no
harm to anyone, and even help them on occasion, when
necessary,” does not mean that one is fully living by the
moral values of the Qur’an. In addition, thinking in that way
is nothing more than self-deception. An act or an attitude
that is accepted as a good deed by a society remote from
the Qur’anic morality, although it is not based upon the
Qur’an’s values, may not be worthy in Allah’s sight. The
main criterion that renders a deed good and worthy in His
sight is the degree of its conformity with Allah’s good
pleasure. The following verses are quite explanatory: “Do
you make the giving of water to the pilgrims and looking
after the Masjid Al-Haram the same as having iman in Allah
and the Last Day and doing jihad in the Way of Allah? They
are not equal in the sight of Allah. Allah does not guide
wrongdoing people.” (Qur’an, 9:19)
It is not devoutness to turn your faces to the East or to the
West. Rather, those with true devoutness are those who
believe in Allah and the Last Day, the Angels, the Book and
the Prophets, and who, despite their love for it, give away
their wealth to their relatives and to orphans and the very
poor, and to travellers and beggars and to set slaves free,
and who establish prayer and pay alms; those who honor
their contracts when they make them, and are steadfast in
poverty and illness and in battle. Those are the people who
are true. They are the people who guard against evil.
(Qur’an, 2:177)
Fear of Allah
People may be known as “good” by giving food to animals
they see in the street or getting along well with their
neighbors. And this is of course good behavior. But the way
to avoid eternal suffering in Hell and the way to attain the
approval and mercy of Allah lies not in being known as “a
good person,” but in being a true believer in the manner
described by Allah in the Qur’an.
Living by Qur’anic moral values bestow freedom from
worldly values and all forms of dependence felt towards
other people. A believer with such moral values seeks the
approval of Allah, not that of other people. He fears Allah
alone and knows that all things are under His control. Fear
leads him to scrupulously adhere to the bounds set by Allah
and silences all excuses proffered by worldly desires. The
awed respect felt for Allah and the sincere efforts made to
attain His approval are the basis of Qur’anic moral values.
Almighty Allah has revealed this as follows: Who is better:
Someone who founds his building on fear of Allah and His
good pleasure, or someone who founds his building on the
brink of a crumbling precipice so that it collapses with him
into the Fire of Hell? Allah does not love wrongdoers.
(Qur’an, 9:109)
Credit:Harun Yahya
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