As-Salamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu Welcome back to the Faith Revival.
So last time we were talking about this fear from hypocrisy, this vigilance as being part of iman, that a person is vigilant with their faith.
Why is that? Because the very vessel that holds iman is inherently inconsistent. The heart is always inconsistent.
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam tells us that that's why it's called al-qalb. It's called the qalb which means it's always turning because it's always in the state of tatakallab. It's always turning in different directions.
The heart is always in movement. It cannot be still all the time. And so a person has to try to settle it.
And he said sallallahu alayhi wasallam that the heart of the son of Adam is more inconsistent than boiling water. So you can imagine the movement of the heart.
The more iman a person has in the heart, the more they're able to settle it. But the heart is always moving. And if you stop settling it, if you stop filling it with iman to keep it still, then it's inevitable that it's going to turn.
And you will not be able to control the degree to which it turns and how far it will go or where it turns to. So settling the heart is extremely important. Now subhanAllah there are many lessons we take from this.
Scholars mention that if you read about the companions, they took time to internalize the faith. They understood the inconsistency of the heart. So they took time to stabilize the faith.
So bin Mas'ud radiAllahu anhu for example says we used to read 10 verses of the Quran, understand them, memorize them, apply them, and then we move on to the next 10.
Think about them, the khawarij, the extremists that the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam mentioned that recite plenty of Quran, but it does not go beyond their throats. You know, there's a saying that extremists are blinded by the light.
They're not guided by the light. What happens if water keeps on boiling? It will evaporate. So there will be no iman whatsoever.
So a person should slowly, slowly, slowly stabilize the heart rather than try to take in too much because the iman does not come in that fashion. Iman grows gradually.
You don't suddenly jump in and take it all in. It grows gradually and a person has to make their heart consistent. So there are two supplications from the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam that we'll learn today inshaAllah that are very similar.
And a person might think that they mean the exact same thing, but there's a subtle lesson that we can take in the difference.
The first one is the most frequent supplication of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam that he would always say, يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِي عَلَى دِينِكِ
O Turner of hearts, make my heart firm on your path. If the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam made that dua more frequently than any other dua, then what then for us?
Does the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam fear hypocrisy? Does he fear that his heart will be turned in any other direction? SubhanAllah, what about us then? If that was the most frequent dua of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam,
it should also be our most frequent supplication and we should increase it well beyond what the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam used to say. Our hearts are not like his heart.
Now there is another dua that is very similar and I want to talk a little bit about the difference because they are both authentically narrated. Another dua that the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam used to make was يَا مُصَرِّفَ الْقُلُوبِ صَرِّفْ قَلْبِي عَلَى طَاعَتِكِ
Also, O Turner of hearts, but the word is مصرِّف as opposed to مقلِّب. مقلِّب is to turn, مصرِّف is to direct. صِراف is to direct.
O Director of hearts, direct my heart to your good deeds. So يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِي عَلَى دِينِكِ يَا مُصَرِّفَ الْقُلُوبِ صَرِّفْ قَلْبِي عَلَى طَاعَتِكِ
يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ The first one, which is the most frequent dua, is really to maintain your heart upon the path of Allah, longing for Allah and away from sins. So away from turning to that which is displeasing to Him.
The second supplication is that Allah directs your heart to good deeds. So one is that Allah keeps your heart away from turning towards that which is displeasing to Him. The other is that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala turns your heart towards that which is pleasing to Him.
So two duas, the more important one, يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِي عَلَى دِينِكِ And then the second one, يَا مُصَرِّفَ الْقُلُوبِ صَرِّفْ قَلْبِي عَلَى طَاعَتِكِ May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala keep our hearts firm and consistent
and upon that which is pleasing to Him. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala fill our hearts with longing for Him so that we meet Him in that state. Allahumma ameen. See you next time inshaAllah.
Asalaamu alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu.
