1. The 4 Poisons of the Heart Chapter 5

2. Acts of Disobedience You should know that all acts of disobedience are poisons that affect the heart. Disobedience causes the heart to become sick, thereby ruining and destroying it. The 4 poisons mentioned in this chapter are: 1.Unnecessary talking 2.Unrestrained glances 3.Too much food 4.Keeping bad company

3. Unnecessary Talking It is reported in the musnad on the authority of Anas, that the Prophet (sAws) said, “The faith of a servant is not put right until his heart is put right, and his heart is not put right until his tongue is put right.” Mu’ath narrated that the Prophet said, “Shall I not tell you how to control all of that?” I said, “yes, O messenger of Allah.” So he held his tongue between his fingers, and then said, “Restrain this.” I said, ‘O Prophet are we held accountable for what we say?” He said, “May your mother lose you! Is there anything more than the harvest of the tongues that throws people on their faces (or on their noses) into the fire?” (Tirmithi) Here is talking about saying forbidden things. Doing forbidden things.

4. Unnecessary Talking Continued… Abu Hurairah said, “What mostly causes people to be sent to the Fire are the two things: The mouth and the Private parts.” (Tirmithi) Abu Hurairah also said, “The servant speaks words, the consequences of which he does not realize, and for which he is sent down into the depth of the fire, which is further than the distance between the east and the west.” (Bukhari) Uqbah ibn Amir said, “O Messenger of Allah what is the best way to find success? He said, “Make your house sufficient for sheltering your privacy, and weep for your wrong actions.” (Tirmithi)

5. Unnecessary Talking Continued… The Prophet said, “Let whoever believes in Allah and the last day, Speak good or keep silent.” Umar once found Abu Bakr pulling his tongue. Umar yelled at him, “Stop! May Allah forgive you.” Abu Bakr replied, “This tongue has brought me to dangerous places.” Al Hassan said, “Whoever does not hold on to his tongue cannot understand his deen.” Abu Ubaidah said, “One of the signs of Allah abandoning His servant is His making him preoccupied with what does not concern him.”

6. Unstrained Glances This is the person who stares at the thing that it is attracted to. What he sees is imprinted in his heart. This distracts the heart and causes it to forget the most important matters, Allah, His Messenger, and Your Faith. It is said that between the eyes and the heart there is an immediate connection; if the eyes are corrupted, then the heart follows. قُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا فُرُوجَهُمْ ۚ ذَ ‌ ٰلِكَ أَزْكَىٰ لَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا يَصْنَعُونَ Allah states in the Quran “Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that is more purifying for them. Surely Allah is aware of what they do.” (24:30)

7. Too Much Food Al Miqdam said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah say: “The son of Adam fills no vessel more displeasing to Allah than his stomach. A few morsels should be enough to preserve his strength. If he must fill it, then he should allow a third for his food, a third for his drink, and a third leave empty for easy breathing.” Consumption of small amounts of food guarantees tenderness of heart, strength of intellect, humility, and weakens the desires. Over eating makes worship difficult. Aishah said, “From the time of their arrival in Medina up until his death, the family of Muhammad never ate their fill of bread made from wheat three nights in a row.” (Al Bukhari)

8. Keeping Bad Company Unnecessary companionship is a chronic disease The Prophet said, “Be careful of who your friends are for verily a man is upon the religion of his friend.” Bad company will aid you in destroying your relationship with Allah. You should immediately free yourself from being around people who have no connection with Allah. Seek out people who will bring you closer to Allah.

9. What gives the Heart Life and Sustenance Acts of obedience are just as important as food and drink. They both give life to the body, mind, and spirit. A Righteous man said, “How odd, that some people mourn for the one whose body has died, but never mourn for the one whose heart has died and yet the death of the heart is far more serious.” So give your heart life by connecting it with: 1.The Allah 2.The Quran 3.The Messenger 4.The Scholars 5.The Righteous

10. Remembrance of Allah & Recitation of the Quran Chapter 6

11. Remembrance of Allah Ibn Taymiyyah wrote, “Remembrance of Allah is to the heart what water is to fish. What happens to a fish when it is removed from the water.” فَاذْكُرُونِي أَذْكُرْكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوا لِي وَلَا تَكْفُرُونِ Allah states, “Remember me and I shall remember you.” (2:152) The remembrance of Allah runs shaytaan away, suppressing him, breaking him, and making you victorious over him.

12. Remembrance of Allah Continued… Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet said, “Whoever recites the words, لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ‏.‏ (la ilaha illa Allah wahdahu laa shareeka lahu, lahu mulk, wa lahul hamd, wa huwa ala kulli sha’in qadeer) ‘There is no God but Allah, the One having no partner with Him. Sovereignty belongs to Him and All praise is due to Him, and He is powerful over everything” one hundred times every day, there is a reward equal to the freeing of 10 slaves for him, a 100 good deeds are recorded for him, a 100 wrong actions are erased from his record. It is a safeguard for him from shaytaan on that day until the evening, and no one brings anything more excellent that this, except the one who has done more than this.” (Bukhari)

13. Remembrance of Allah Continued… A man once told Al Hasan, “O Abu Sa’id, I complain to you about the hardness of my heart.” He said, “Soften it with the remembrance of Allah.” Remembering Allah allows your heart to become soft. A man once asked Salman, “Which deeds are the best?” He said, “Haven’t you read in the Quran: وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ “And the remembrance of Allah is greatest.” (29:45)

14. Remembrance of Allah Continued… Abu Musa once related that the Prophet said, “The difference between the one who remembers his lord and the one who does not is like the difference between the living and the dead.” (Bukhari) Abdullah ibn Busr narrated that the Prophet said, “Make sure your tongue is moist with the remembrance of Allah, the Exalted.” All the illnesses of the heart result from desires and doubt, and the Quran is a cure for both. Ibn Mas’ud said, “Whoever loves the Quran, loves Allah and His Messenger.” Uthman ibn Affan stated, “If your hearts were really pure, they would never have enough of reciting Allah’s words.”