In the state of laziness, again!?
“Isn’t a cat’s life great? But we are not cats”
Picture by ~Gryczka of deviantart.com
As usual, laziness strikes again.
Lazy to open my eyes for Subuh. Lazy to go to class. Lazy to take a bath and to brush my teeth. Lazy to eat. Lazy to talk to people. And ultimately, I think I’m already too lazy to continue on living.
But when it comes to things that make me feel good like downloading movies and cartoons, reading Manga and playing games, I am never lazy!
I just started a cartoon marathon watching Marvel’s newly “Ultimate Spiderman”, “The Avengers: World’s Mightiest Heroes” and DC’s “Green Lantern the Animated Series” and
And keeping up to date with the recent developments of Naruto Shippuden and Bleach for both Manga and Anime have always been my weekly habit.
And yeah. I’m lazy to carry out my responsibilities as a student and all but diligent in quenching my thirst for pleasure.
Wait, come to think of it, with all the laziness going on, am I in deep trouble?
This state of laziness is the sign of having a sick heart.
From a diseased heart to a deceased heart
According to Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1993), a compilation of works by three scholars, the issue of a sick heart is discussed in detail (p. 17):
This is a heart with life in it, as well as illness. The former sustains it at one moment, the latter at another, and it follows whichever one of the two manages to dominate it. It has love for Allah, faith in Him, sincerity towards Him, and reliance upon Him, and these are what give it life. It also has a craving for lust and pleasure and prefers them, and strives to experience them. It is full of self-admiration, which can lead to its own destruction. It listens to two callers: one calling to Allah and His prophet SAW and the akhirah; and the other calling it to the fleeting pleasures of this world. It responds to whichever one of the two happens to have most influence over it at the time.
A sick heart is a heart that is on the verge of dying. Like a badly sick person, it battles between life and death. It still has love for Allah but it also craves for pleasure. The heart will follow which entity is more appealing, either the love for Allah or the love for pleasure. A sick heart is brittle; it can shatter into pieces any time soon.
The owner of a sick heart may not be aware of his heart being sick. Some of the sicknesses are like watching too much movies, neglecting the Quran and laziness in finishing responsibilities.
Watching movies is completely normal to take our mind off things but spending too much time on movies is a sign of a sick heart.
Neglecting the Quran is a serious crime to the spiritual stamina. Reciting the Quran a page a day may make the laziness go away.
Laziness in finishing responsibilities due to being occupied with unproductive and unhealthy activities may result in low quality outputs. The responsibilities may be completed but with embarrassing results.
If the sick is not given remedy, it’ll die. A dead heart clings unto desires and lusts instead of Allah’s love. A person who owns a dead heart knows that he is going deep into ignorance but let himself be that way.
He knows that Allah is watching him but he doesn’t care. He is completely aware that Allah’s wrath is severe but he keeps on ignoring Allah’s punishments. He is drunk in pleasure and follows the cunning whispers to ignorance.
The Remembrance of Allah
A dead heart is like a shattered mirror. The tiny pieces of the shattered mirror are everywhere. It is impossible to glue them once again. If you manage to glue the entire piece, it still isn’t the same as a brand new mirror. This goes the same as your heart. The heart, once it is dead, to revive it is utmost difficult. Even if the heart heals and become lively again, it will not be the same heart as before.
A dead heart is a hard heart. A hard heart feels no remorse when doing wrong.
Okay let’s not talk about the virtues of a dead heart; let’s talk about how to revive the heart. One of the ways to revive the heart is through remembrance of Allah and recitation of the Quran.
“Remembrance of Allah is to the heart what water is to fish. What happens to a fish when it is taken out of water?” says Ibn Taimiyya (Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, 1993).
The heart and the soul are sustained by the remembrance of Allah. Allah says in the Quran:
“So remember Me, I will remember you” Al-Baqarah: 152
Allah asks us to remember Him and only then He will us. But, if we forget to remember Him, do you think He will forget remembering us? Allah created us, he knows our psychology. He knows that we have the tendency to forget Him. But fret not, He will never forget us.
The remembrance of Allah revives the dead heart. Al-Hassan was once told “O Abu Sa’id, I complain to you about the hardness of my heart.” Al-Hassan said “Soften it with the remembrance of Allah.”
Do not have doubts. Haven’t you heard the verse of the Quran saying:
“And the remembrance of Allah is the greatest” Al-Ankabut: 45
The remembrance of Allah is like a limitless, full-coverage high speed wireless internet connection. By remembering Allah, we are always connected to Him enabling us to be aware that He is watching from above. It makes us feel at rest and secure at all times.
Allah says in the Quran:
“Who have believed and whose hearts have rest in the remembrance of Allah. Verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest!” Ar-Ra’d: 28
Saying “Astaghfirullah” only is not sufficient to earn Allah’s forgiveness. It requires devotion in repentance.
Allah knows the His creations. He says in Al-Baqarah: 222:
“Indeed, Allah loves those who are constantly repentant and loves those who purify themselves.”
In the above verse, Allah used the word ”التوبين” (constantly repentant), not the word “التائبين” (repentant).
Allah loves those who repent to Him constantly meaning that whenever a servant does wrong, he repents. Allah does not favor a one-off kind of repentance.
Conclusion: Wish to be lazy all the time?
Answering the question “Am I in trouble?” The answer is “I am in deep trouble.”
It is my job to face it and handle it once and for all.
Who says that life is going to be easy?
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”
Let us start repenting now.
Your heart has hardened denser than a rock?
Even a rock can be carved by rain drops.
Your sins are too expensive for Allah to bear?
Verily, hope is always there.
Afraid that Allah will never accept your repentance?
Believe that Allah is full of acceptance.
The shining sun will only fade away on the day of Judgment,
repent now to avoid His punishment.
We are all hardcore sinners,
let us repent and we will be the winners.
References
Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya and Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, (1993). Purification of the Soul. Al-Firdous Ltd, London. Retrieved from http://www.kalamullah.com/Books/Purif...
