Bismillah ir Rahman ir Raheem the phrase of the Holy Quran recited by the Muslims before every action dictates one of the most prominent and the best quality of Allah i.e. “The most forgiving”. He forgives every sin committed by man provided one seeks his forgiveness through the ways taught by Him in the Quran and through the Hadith. To learn Quran online please visit Online Quran Lessons. The forgiving nature of the Almighty is also depicted from the fact that he forgives man for his corrupt thoughts without us even asking for His forgiveness. Yes! Allah does not count it as a sin if only our thoughts are vile and corrupt and we do not commit a harmful deed. This raises a very basic question which most of you might also be wondering by now: Then why does one require purity of mind?
Well the answer to this question can be provided by referring to a Hadith of the Holy Prophet (s.a.w.w.):
The Prophet (s.a.w.w.) once came to the Sahabah (r.a.) and told them, “Have the Hayaa’ (modest in one’s relationship to Allah) from Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) in the proper manner that you’re supposed to have Hayaa’.”
The Sahabah (r.a.) said to The Prophet (s.a.w.w.), “Oh Messenger of Allah, we are shy in front of Allah, and Alhamdulillah that He gave us that quality to be shy in front of Him.”
The Prophet (s.a.w.w.) tells them, “That’s not what I mean and that is not what is meant having the true Hayaa’ from Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). The right way is…” and then Rasulullah mentions four things.
The first of these is “To be mindful of what is in your head” (the others are to have Hayaa’ in the stomach and the rest of the body, to remember death, and what comes after it).
After this hadith, no further evidence is needed to establish the fact that one can not possess the proper Hayaa without maintaining a pure mind that is filled with thoughts that please the Almighty.
Man was sent to this world to worship Allah, that is the purpose of all creation and every Muslim admits to this but are we fulfilling our purpose as we are supposed to? Are our worships, our deeds and our lives in conformance with the principles set by Allah for us? The answer to these questions that most people would have in mind would be ‘Sure! We offer the five-time prayers, we read the Quran and perform the deeds directed by Allah. This is enough to be a Muslim’. You are right! This is sufficient to declare yourself as a Muslim but the question is ‘Is this enough to be declared a Mo’min?’ What is the purpose of this Namaz if, under its influence, one cannot even purify his thoughts? A Muslim admits that when offering prayers, he is establishing a communication with the Almighty but are we willing to talk to The Supreme Creator with an impure and corrupt mind? The answer would probably be ‘No’.
Many Prophets and saints came to this world. Islam itself acknowledges the existence of one lac twenty-four thousand prophets, sent for the correction of mankind. All these Prophets came in different eras and were sent among very different nations, with the exception of the last Prophet Mohammad (s.a.w.w.) who was sent for the entire mankind, but what they had in common was their purity of mind. Since the beginning of creation, every man that ever gained the closeness of the Almighty was one with a firm faith, good deeds and pure mind. Thus it is confirmed that one cannot achieve closeness to Allah without striving for the purity of mind.
It is also worth mentioning here that purity of mind not only involves keeping mind clear of sinful thoughts but also accommodates eliminating all doubts regarding the deen that infiltrate the human mind. This implies that our concepts related to Islam, the religion of Allah, are clear. To do this we need to heal our faiths and lead our lives as instructed by Allah because the stronger the faith we have in Allah, the more firm will be our concepts of the religion.
Achieving the purity of mind is not easy. It requires self-control and commitment but once accomplished it can easily be maintained. Here we shall discuss some factors that contribute towards establishing a pure mind:
1. TAKING GUIDANCE FROM THE QURAN:
The Holy Quran is the only book that is a complete code of life for not only the believers but also the non-believers. Therefore it is necessary that we do not take this Supreme Book lightly. Just reading it can be sufficient to gain the rewards promised by Allah but in order to seek guidance we need to understand the message conveyed by the Almighty in this divine book. To understand the Quran it is recommended to read the translation of the holy verses and consult an aalim to extract the instructions provided by Allah in this book.
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2. TAKING GUIDANCE FROM THE HADITH AND SUNNAH:
The life of Prophet Mohammad (s.a.w.w.) is basically a practical implementation of the teachings of the Holy Quran therefore it is the best example for us to follow. As discussed before, every person who got the rank of a Prophet or a saint was rewarded so because of the purity of their minds. Their clear concepts about Islam and Allah and their pure thoughts were the main reason that Allah chose them to be His representatives among the people and to set for them an example.
3. REPENT UPON YOUR SINS:
The greatest obstacle in maintaining the purity of mind is the sins that one has committed and is not ashamed of. Sins that are not repented are a source of encouragement of negative thoughts therefore it is extremely important that one seeks forgiveness of sins.
4. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR THOUGHTS:
Many a times, man comes under the influence of the devil who contaminates the person’s thoughts with wicked ideas without the person being fully aware of it. Therefore it is recommended to pay attention to your thoughts and as soon as you find any idea that is against Allah’s consent and may be a source of resentment, we must immediately clear our mind of that thought.
5. PERFORM OBLIGATORY PRAYERS:
Prayers help maintain purity of mind. A person who offers his daily prayers and believes that during every prayer man communicates with the Almighty is ashamed of letting any immoral thoughts contaminate his mind because he has to present himself to the Almighty. A person who truly loves Allah will try his best to keep his thoughts pure and actions praise-worthy so that he is not ashamed to go in front of his Lord.
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May Allah give us all the strength to maintain purity of mind and actions.
(Ameen)