Purification of the Heart (Hamza Yusuf)

Description

Purification of the Heart, as its title states, is a course on the vessel of human spirituality, character, and morality -- the heart. The suffering and problems that we confront in our lives on a personal and even global level actually come down to the condition of the heart. Muslim scholars throughout history have written extensively on this topic, as prompted by the well-known statements of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and verses of the Quran. In essence, Purification of the Heart is a course on the "Greater Jihad" -- as it has been called by illustrious learned men and women of Islamic civilization -- our struggle to become better human beings, luminaries of faith and morality. This present text is based on the poem known as Matharat al-Qulub (literally, Purification of the Hearts), which offers a means by which purification can be achieved. It was written by a great scholar, Shaykh Muhammad Mawlud al-Yaqubi al-Musawi al-Muratani. As his name indicates, he was from Mauritania in West Africa. He was a brilliant scholar who mastered all of the Islamic sciences, including the inward sciences of the soul. The spiritual diseases of the heart addressed in this volume include: miserliness, wantonness, hatred, iniquity, envy, ostentation, vanity, fraud, and more. Imam Mawlud directs his attention to each of these diseases, discusses their causes, and offers cures. His teachings imply that purification is a life-long process, not something that is applied once and then forgotten. Purity of heart never survives a passive relationship. Rather, it requires constant consideration. This book hopes to introduce to readers how that is done. The Prophet spoke about the heart in a manner that leads one to believe that its corruption means disaster for the soul and our happiness. "Purification" is not a state per se, as you will soon hear, but is a process and always so. It is called the "Greater Jihad" because the struggle never ends, so long as we live in this world. Our fait