Negative Thoughts Purification of the Heart

 

Purification of the Heart

Signs, Symptoms and Cures of

the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart

Translation and Commentary of

Imam Mawlud's Maṭharat al-Qulub

by Hamza Yusuf

Negative Thoughts

POEM VERSES 121—24

Some assumptions are not permissible, such as holding a bad

opinion about someone who manifests righteous behavior.

 

This means that your heart is convinced and you have judged

him based on your heart’s suspicions without proof that

warrants such an assumption.

 

There is nothing wrong with having doubts about someone or

having a bad opinion of him if it is based on sound reasoning

and is not arbitrary.

 

Thus our bad opinion of some profligate whose actions

indicate his [corruption] is not prohibited.

 

Discussion

Imam Mawlud speaks next of something that is very easy to have but is harmful to brotherhood and injurious to one’s own spiritual growth. It is having a bad opinion about others, baseless assumptions and suspicion (zann). This is allowing conjecture into one’s heart without having facts, which is especially harmful when one harbors a bad opinion about people who are outwardly righteous in appearance, which was something that the early Muslims considered important.

 

Scholars have advised that one should even beware of forming conclusions based on the bad appearances of people, for it could be that God veils their goodness from others. The Arabs traditionally were keen on having the ability to see a person’s inner goodness. Once an Arab man came to the Prophet pbuh to see who he was. When the man left, some men asked him about his opinion of the Prophet pbuh, and he said, “His face isn’t the face of the liar.” This firasa is, again, having the intuitive ability to see in people sings of goodness or evil. The Prophet pbuh had this ability to the utmost degree and said that believers possess it also, but to lesser extents. Sidi Ahmad al-Zarruq said that every believer has the power of firasa to variant degrees based on the strength of his or her faith.

 

 But having a bad opinion of someone without cause is considered a malady of the heart: O you who believe, avoid suspicion, for some suspicion is sinful (QURAN, 49:12). Often associated with this disease is backbiting (ghiba), that is, speaking ill of another person behind his or her back. It is possible to backbite in an unspoken form, as when a person has unfounded negative thoughts against another person. Suspicion in the heart that affects one’s thoughts and opinion of another person is considered backbiting of the heart (ghibat’l-qalb). This also is not permissible. The Prophet pbuh said, “Beware of a bad opinion because it is the most false of speech.” If someone says to you that a given person is bad, ask for proof. Without proof it is tantamount to a lie. The Sacred Law of Islam (Sharia) is based on proof and not conjecture.

 

Imam Mawlud says next that having doubts about someone’s character is not forbidden if it is based on reason and observable evidence. This is different from suspicion that tends to be judgmental and, oftentimes, specious. God says, O you who believe, if an ungodly person brings you some news, then seek out its veracity (QURAN, 49:6). If someone known to openly indulge in major sins comes with some news, one should not accept it without circumspection. Sidi Ahmad al-Zarruq gave good advice centuries ago that remains relevant: “Do not trust anyone with matters related to your religion, your family, or your wealth until you have tested him at least a thousand times.” According to this advice, one should test someone’s sincerity and trustworthiness before entrusting him with anything significant. If there is much corruption in a given generation, it is best to be wary of people until their goodness becomes manifest. This is the advice of scholars. There are many people who have no qualms in deceiving and cheating people. They will adorn their faces with smiles and communicate that they are wonderful people, but they will cheat a person when the opportunity arises.

 

 Scholars also say that one should be circumspect with the dispensation of Zakat (Charity). In times in which goodness prevails over corruption, the default is to accept the word of people who claim they qualify for Zakat and ask for it. But when corruption and fraud are prevalent, then those responsible are obliged to be rigorous in their investigation. Unfortunately, some people will often present themselves as mired in poverty, though they are well-off. Charity is considered a trust from God, and its dispensation must be done with care.

 

Having doubts about people is different from decidedly judging them negatively. Concluding a bad opinion in the presence of ample evidence is common sense. But when people repent, they should not have their past held against them. There is a hadith that says, “There are two things that no believer has been given anything better: a good opinion of God and a good opinion of the servants of God.” According to Sacred Law, people are innocent until proven guilty. This relates to having a good opinion of God. A hadith qudsi says, “I am in the good opinion of My servant. If he things well of Me, he finds good, and if he thinks ill of Me, he finds evil.” Also, there is the hadith, “If [someone] finds good, let him thank God, and whoever finds other than that, let him blame only his own soul.” The Prophet pbuh also said that the affair of believers is all good. Even if something unpleasant occurs, there is good in it. 

 

Source: Purification of Heart
to be continued ....