Written by Sh aykh ‘Abdur-Razzāq ibn ‘Abdul-Muḥsin al-Badr َرَدَصلاََحاَرَشِ َنَلِ ََباَبَسَأََةَرشَ َع ِ ِ Ten Ways to Gain Peace of Heart Written by Shaykh ‘Abdur-Razzaq ibn ‘Abdul-Muhsin al-Badr . 2 | T en Wa ys to Ga in P eac e of H ea rt Translated by Khalil Klopfenstein Copyright © Tulayhah All Rights Reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the express permission in writing from the translator except for those who wish to charitably print and freely distribute this publication “as is” strictly without any change, solely seeking Allah’s Pleasure. For Comments or Corrections contact: [email protected] For more articles related to Tafsir visit: Tulayhah.wordpress.com For enquiries on how to acquire more copies of this book contact: [email protected] WhatsApp +1-314-828-8060 T en Way s to Ga in Pea ce of Hea r t | 3 4 | T en Wa ys to Ga in P eac e of H ea rt Table of Contents Introduction ........................................................................................... 5 The First Factor: Singling Out Allāh and Making One’s Devotion Exclusively for Him ......................................................... 12 The Second Factor: The Light Which Allāh Casts into the Hearts of His Worshippers............................................................... 15 The Third Factor: Gaining Beneficial Knowledge ................. 19 The Fourth Factor: Continually Turning Back to Allāh and Approaching Him in a Good Way .................................................. 21 The Fifth Factor: Constantly Remembering Allāh ................ 24 The Sixth Factor: Doing Good to Allāh’s Slaves ...................... 28 The Seventh Factor: Courage .......................................................... 32 The Eighth Factor: Distancing Oneself from Diseases and Sicknesses of the Heart ...................................................................... 34 The Ninth Factor: Not Indulging in Excess ............................... 37 The Tenth Factor: Diligently Following Our Esteemed Prophet  ........................................................................................ 39 T en Way s to Ga in Pea ce of Hea r t | 5 Introduction All praise is due to Allāh, Lord of all creation. And may peace and blessings be upon the most noble of the Prophets, the Seal of the Messengers, our Prophet, Muḥammad, the trustworthy one. And likewise upon his family and upon all of his companions, and upon whoever follows their guidance until the Day of Recompense. To proceed: Peace of heart is a noble goal and dearly sought-after, as well as a tremendous blessing from the Lord of all creation. The phrase “peace of heart” – literally “openness of the chest” – refers to one’s chest being at ease and at peace, free of anything which troubles or tarnishes it, instead remaining cheerful throughout a life of good and plenty. When Allāh  blesses one of His worshippers with this blessing by opening up his chest and making things easy for him, then the beneficial aspects of both his spiritual and worldly life can become a reality and his aims and goals can be attained. That is because acts of worship will become easy for him, and acts of obedience will become simple. He 6 | T en Wa ys to Ga in P eac e of H ea rt finds himself able to attend to what will benefit him, and he becomes able to raise his children well. On the other hand, when one’s chest becomes constricted, then many of the good things in his life will become unattainable. He will find himself lacking both the power to do good deeds as well as the motivation to undertake various types of righteous actions. Instead, he will continue moving from one worry to another and from one sadness to the next. So having peace of heart is the most significant factor in helping a worshiper to achieve his goals and attain what will benefit him. That is why when Allāh commanded His Prophet Mūsā  to go to the tyrant Fir’awn in order to call him to the truth and to warn him of the grave consequences of his tyranny, Mūsā  turned to Allāh in supplication and asked, ر َ ي ر َ َ ر َ ر َ ر َ َ َ ﴾ ي رمأََلَ ََسَ يوََيَ ردصََلَ ََحَ شۡٱََبَ رََلَ اق﴿ “Lord, open my chest and make this task of mine easy for me” [ṬāHā: 25-26]. Similarly, Allāh  mentioned His blessing on His servant, Messenger and chosen one Muḥammad  by saying, َ َ ر َ َ َ ر َ ر َ ر َ َ ﴾ َكردصََكَ لََحَ شۡنََمَلأ﴿ T en Way s to Ga in Pea ce of Hea r t | 7 “Didn’t We open your chest for you?” [Ash-Sharḥ: 1]. That is a divinely-granted blessing, a gift from the caring Lord Allāh  to him, “for opening one’s chest is one of the greatest causes of being guided, while tightness of one’s chest is one of the causes of being astray. Just as opening one’s chest is one of the greatest blessings, likewise constricting one’s chest is one of the most severe punishments.”1 It is only possible to achieve this most sought-after goal through giving importance to this religion and through putting it into practice. The more that a worshipper is committed to putting this religion into practice and following whatever it entails, the greater share of that peace of heart he will have as a result. Building on that, it is possible to boil down all of the factors which lead to peace of heart to two key points which build on one another: First: That peace of heart can only be attained by Allāh’s grace and His care for the slave. Second: That this blessing and gift from Allāh only comes as a result of obeying Allāh  and following His divine guidance. 1 See: Shifā’ al-‘Alīl of Ibn al-Qayyim, p. 107. 8 | T en Wa ys to Ga in P eac e of H ea rt These two points encompass this entire topic and serve as its very foundation. For the hearts are in Allāh’s Hand ; He turns them however He wishes. They are subject to His management and under His power. Whatever Allāh wills to be is, and whatever He does not will to be is not. This is as Allāh  says, ََلَر عَ ريََ ََۥَهَُ َلض ُيََنَ َأََدَر رُيََنَ مَ وَ ََ مَ َٰلَ سر لۡ ر لََۥَُهَرَ در صَ َحَر شَۡ ر َيََۥَهَُ َيد هر يَ ََنَ َأََللَُّ َ ٱَ دَ رُيََنَ مَ فَ ﴿ ي َ َ ُ َ َ َ َ َ َ َ ٗ َ َ ً َ ُ َ ر َ ﴾ َ ءَامسلٱَََفَ ََدَ عصيََاَمنأكََاَجرحََاَق يضَۥَهَردص “Whoever Allāh wishes to guide, He opens his chest to Islām. And whomever He wishes to misguide, He makes his chest tight and constricted as though he were climbing up the sky” [Al-An’ām: 125]. And He  says, ﴾ َۦ هَ ب رَ ََنَ م ََ رَوُنََعََََٰ َ ََوََ هُ فَ ََمَ َٰلَ سر لۡ ر لََۥَُهَرَ در صَ َللَُّ َ ٱََحََ شَۡ َ ََنَ مَ فَ َأ﴿ “Is he whose chest has been opened to Islām so that he is upon a light from his Lord [like one whose chest has not been opened?]” [Az-Zumar: 22]. So this peace of heart – this open chest – can only be attained by Allāh alone enabling it to happen. Therefore, one ought to seek it from Him  and through the path that He has legislated and divinely revealed. So the believer should exert himself in supplicating to Allāh  and sincerely turning to Him for protection that his chest would be opened and his affairs made easy and that Allāh would decree for T en Way s to Ga in Pea ce of Hea r t | 9 him to be one of His joyful worshippers in both this life and the next. After that, the believer should follow up supplicating and turning to Allāh  for protection by taking the means that lead to actualizing this tremendous aim and great objective. The great scholar Ibn al-Qayyim  once mentioned, ََا نَج َس َو َ،اَ باَذ َع َو َاَم يَع َ نََر َد َص لاَيَ فََب َل َق َل اََل اَح َك ََر َ بَق َل اَيَ فََد َ بَع َل اََل اَح ََن َأ َ.اَق لَ َطَ ناَو “The state of a slave in the grave is like the state of one’s heart in his chest – in bliss or torment, imprisoned or free.”1 If one’s chest is tight and constricted towards this religion and its guidance, then his grave will be constricting for him. But if his chest is open to this religion and his heart is receptive to it, then his grave will be expansive for him and it will be a source of pleasure and joy. There are clear signs and plain indications that one’s chest has been opened which will be apparent in the believer, whose results he will appreciate in both this life and the next. These signs can be summarized into three points: 1 Zād al-Ma’ād, 2/25.