Purification of the Heart - Hatred

reading "Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms, and Curse of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart" by Sh. Hamza Yusuf. He's basically translating and commenting on a poem written by Imam al-Mawluds, "Matharat al-Qulub"

amazing book to read for anyone in search of spiritual fulfilment. though it's written from an islamic standpoint, a lot of the advice (ie, the treatments for each spiritual ailment) would be useful to anyone who's searching for peace in his/her heart. but i guess that's the beauty and purpose behind many religions -- finding peace (by striving to please God).

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Hatred or strong dislike of a person for no legitimate reason is the disease of bughd [ hatred]. The Prophet (saw) * once said to his Compansions, "Do you want to see a man of Paradise?" A man then passed by and the Prophet (saw) said, "That man is one of the people of Paradise." So a Companion of the Prophet (saw) decided to learn what it was about this man that earned him such commendation from the Messenger of God (saw). He spent time with this man and observed him closely. he noticed that he did not perform the Night Prayer vigil (Tahajjud) or anything extraordinary. He appeared to be an average man of Madinah. The companion finally told the man what the Prophet (saw) had said about him and asked him if he did anything special. And the man replied, "The only thing that i can think of, other than what everybody else does, is that i make sure that i never sleep with any rancor in my heart towards another." That was his secret.

"The cure for hatred is straightforward. One should pray for the person toward whom he feels hatred; make specific supplications mentioning this person by name, asking God to give this person good things in this life and the next. When one does this with sincerity, hearts mend." ~ p 30-31

"In a profound and beautiful hadith, the Prophet (saw) said, "None of you has achieved faith until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself." ~ p 31.

*(saw) is shorthand for the arabic term "salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam," which roughly translates to "May Allah bless him and grant him peace," or, alternately "peace be upon him (pbuh)." Muslims are required to to utter this phrase after mentioning Prophet Muhammad (saw)

:)
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