Reminder
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ” إِنَّ الْعَبْدَ إِذَا أَخْطَأَ خَطِيئَةً نُكِتَتْ فِي قَلْبِهِ نُكْتَةٌ سَوْدَاءُ فَإِذَا هُوَ نَزَعَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ وَتَابَ سُقِلَ قَلْبُهُ وَإِنْ عَادَ زِيدَ فِيهَا حَتَّى تَعْلُوَ قَلْبَهُ وَهُوَ الرَّانُ الَّذِي ذَكَرَ اللَّهُ:
“ (كلاَّ بَلْ رَانَ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ مَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ)
Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Verily, when the slave (of Allah) commits a sin, a black spot appears on his heart. When he refrains from it, seeks forgiveness and repents, his heart is polished clean. But if he returns, it increases until it covers his entire heart. And that is the ‘Ran’ which Allah mentioned: ‘Nay, but on their hearts is the Ran which they used to earn’” [Tirmidhi]
If these black spots are not removed, then the heart is shielded from light of Allah ﷻ (i.e. knowledge, good character, etc.)
Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ) mentions the implications of this in that the more you reduce your sins via discipline, the more Barakah you will see in your life overall. Imam al-Shafi’i (رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ) once looked at the ankle of a woman and subsequently started having trouble remembering things. He complained to his teacher about this, and was advised to stay away from sins.
Hadith 3 – What comes next?
عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ: سَمِعْت رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه و سلم يَقُولُ: ” بُنِيَ الْإِسْلَامُ عَلَى خَمْسٍ: شَهَادَةِ أَنْ لَا إلَهَ إلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ، وَإِقَامِ الصَّلَاةِ، وَإِيتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ، وَحَجِّ الْبَيْتِ، وَصَوْمِ رَمَضَانَ”. [رَوَاهُ الْبُخَارِيُّ]، [وَمُسْلِمٌ]
On the authority of Abdullah, the son of Umar ibn al-Khattab (رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, “Islam has been built on five [pillars]: testifying that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishing the salah (prayer), paying the zakat (obligatory charity), making the hajj (pilgrimage) to the House, and fasting in Ramadhan.” [Bukhari & Muslim]
Note: Zakat is paid once every lunar year (355 days).
This hadith teaches that a Muslim’s foundations have to be strong. The establishing of the five pillars is not as simple as many think. Salah is not just praying five times a day, but it’s also maintaining the proper focus and reverence on the meaning of the words and your actions; keeping your heart present, and your limbs still. It is emphasised so much so that Ibn Taymiyyah (رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ) stated that it is an obligatory part of the prayer.
Some may ask, “Why are the pillars mentioned again in addition to Hadith 2?” – the answer is because they are that important.
Anything added on to these five are decorations to the foundational pillars (e.g. Sadaqah or voluntary charity). This is encapsulated in the statement of the scholars who say, “Take your beauty in the Masjid”, i.e. pray properly with proper Wudu, clothing, etc.
In addition, the concept of disciplining your soul also comes into consideration when trying to maintain and decorate these pillars. The discipline of the soul involves fighting against the two external enemies: the Shaytaan (Devil) and the Dunya (Worldly Life), and the two internal enemies: the Nafs (ego) and the Hawa (desires). Thus, there are four ways of discipling the soul: reducing speech, reducing food, reducing sleep, and reducing unnecessary dealings with people (i.e. going out all the time, etc.). Each of these (or a combination of them) can help fight against one/many of the four enemies.
And Allah ﷻ knows best.