Hardness of heart comes from using religion for worldly ends
Al-Risala (English), April 1986, p. 8
By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan is named as the default author of the periodical; a piece that carries another writer’s byline is credited to that writer.
Hardness of heart comes from using religion for worldly ends
1986 4 April 8 Hardness of heart comes from using religion for worldly ends (52) “The punishment of a learned man is for his heart to die,” said Hasan al-Basri. He was asked what was meant by the death of the heart, and he answered that it came from seeking the world by means of actions which should be gauged towards eternity.
(Jami’ bayan al-’ilm wa fadhlihi)
Why be Arrogant
1986 4 April 8 Why be Arrogant (214) We learn from the sayings of the Prophet that what he warned Muslims against more than anything else was disagreement amongst themselves. Yet, we must face the fact that Muslims the world over fight more amongst themselves than any other nation.
Why should this be so? What is it in the Muslim psychology which produces rifts in personal and social relations? This can be explained in part by the sense of superiority which goes hand in hand with the notion that the Muslim is the sole repository of truth. This is a dangerous thing to feel if it is not counterbalanced by the creed that God is Almighty and that none besides Him has any power. When religious observances are neglected, or only lip-service is paid to them, in other words, when they have become a hollow sham, the fear of God dwindles to nothing in people’s hearts. It is then that moral decay sets in and the sense of superiority comes uppermost, because the Muslim no longer, in any real sense of the word, prostrates himself before God in humility. When the feeling “I am in the right” is not weighed in the balance with “I have no power”, the resulting sense of superiority will breed nothing but cruelty, injustice and unending discords.
