Journey of a Different Kind

This year, millions of Muslims have been granted the honour of migrating to the Holy Land purely for the Sake of Allah and are now undertaking the journey of a lifetime. But how many of us hope and dream of making the ultimate journey – that of your heart? Whilst reading the "Sisters" magazine I was reminded of the importance of the forgotten journey– the jouney to attain an Islamic character.

The migration of the heart to Allah is a strong requirement, if not an obligation, upon every believing servant. Correcting the heart is a fundamental aspect of our migration to Allah, for it is a beautiful struggle performed on a daily basis.

The heart is a spiritual container – the inner port – with the ability to harbour all that is good as well as all that is evil. It can either positively affect or severely corrupt a servant’s actions. As the Prophet (SAW) taught us:

“There is a lump of flesh in the body – if it is set right and made good, the entire body becomes good and healthy; but if it becomes diseased, the entire body becomes diseased. Remember well – it is the heart” (Bukhari).

The goodness evident in a person’s actions is as a result of what emanates from the heart. Thus, a sound heart will in turn produce sound beliefs and actions, whereas a corrupt heart will only serve to be a means of destruction.

Being in control, paves the way for beautiful relationships to blossom. It is not from the character of a believer to violate the rights of others, neither is it to be concerned with the vices of others. We shouldn't go out of our way to look for, or to ‘discover’ faults in others, especially when our own character bears witness to internal faults and weaknesses. If we want to gain Allah's love we should constantly be concerned with purifying our souls and immersing ourselves in performing numerous good deeds, for fear of our own weaknesses and shortcomings.

“For those who act with excellence is the greatest good, and even more. Neither darkness nor humiliation shall afflict their faces. They are the people of the Garden, dwelling there forever" (Yunus:26).

As humans, we cannot harbour 'perfection', however, striving to perfect our character is what is really required. This means reflecting upon ourselves and working to nurture, refine, and polish the content of our character in order to emulate the beauty of this blessed faith.