Unveiling the Spiritual Dimensions

Session 3: The Inner Reality of the Human Being (Part 2)

Estimated read time: 1:20

Summary

In this session, Al-Maqasid explores profound aspects of the human soul by delving into the spiritual path and the inner reality of human beings. The talk emphasizes the significant roles of the heart, intellect, desires, and anger. It elaborates on how these elements form the central essence of human spirituality and how they must be balanced for our spiritual progression. The speaker underscores the importance of understanding these facets, describing them as armies given by Allah to protect and guide us on our spiritual journey, while also warning of their potential misuse leading to moral and spiritual downfall. The session highlights the necessity of remembrance and adherence to divine guidance as tools for overcoming the whispers of the devil and other spiritual pitfalls.

Highlights

Understanding the role of the heart and intellect in spiritual well-being. 🧠💓
Desire can either uplift or destroy depending on its management. ⚖️
Anger should be channeled constructively, not destructively. 🌋
Listening with the heart allows for deeper integration of spiritual teachings. 🌀
Balancing visible and invisible forces can lead to spiritual prosperity. 🌿

Key Takeaways

Balance desire with intellect to maintain spiritual health 🌟
Anger can be a protective force if guided correctly 💪
The heart must be nourished spiritually for true benefit 💖
The unseen forces, like desire and anger, serve a divine purpose if used right ✨
Remembrance of Allah extinguishes the devil's whispers 🕊️

Overview

Al-Maqasid delves into the depths of human spirituality by dissecting the intertwined roles of the heart, intellect, desires, and anger. These elements are portrayed as divine armies assigned to each individual, capable of leading us towards spiritual enlightenment when balanced properly. Through this balance, the heart, acting as a king, orchestrates harmony within and aligns one's actions with divine will.

The seminar also explores the detrimental effects of improper use of desires and anger. Without the guidance of intellect and the spiritual fortification of the heart, these forces can lead one astray. Using anecdotes and narratives, the speaker illustrates how unchecked desires or uncontrolled anger are akin to beasts devouring one's spiritual essence.

Ending on a remedial note, the talk brings forward the paramount importance of remembrance and conscious living. By anchoring one's life in the remembrance of Allah, individuals can safeguard their hearts against the devil's whispers and the distractions of the material world. This spiritual mindfulness not only polishes the heart but also serves as a beacon for righteous living.

Chapters

00:00 - 05:00: Introduction and Setting the Stage This chapter introduces the main themes and context relevant to the story. It aims to prepare the reader by setting the stage for the events that will unfold in subsequent chapters. Important background information and key themes are presented, providing a foundation for understanding the narrative.
05:00 - 15:00: The Centrality of the Heart The chapter titled 'The Centrality of the Heart' begins with background music, suggesting a thematic or emotional context to the content that follows. However, the transcript provided is incomplete and consists primarily of repeated words or sounds ('muhamed muhamed muh'). Without further information or context, it's challenging to determine specific details or insights about the chapter's content. Nonetheless, it is implied that the heart, likely in a metaphorical or literal sense, plays a significant role or theme in this section.
15:00 - 25:00: The Journey of the Heart This chapter, titled 'The Journey of the Heart,' explores the deep emotions and growth experienced by the protagonist, Muham, as he navigates through complex relationships and personal challenges. It unfolds in a series of introspective moments and transformative interactions that highlight the resilience and vulnerability required to journey toward self-discovery and fulfillment. The narrative emphasizes the theme of emotional endurance and the power of connection, setting the stage for future developments in Muham’s journey.
25:00 - 35:00: The Armies of the Heart This chapter, titled 'The Armies of the Heart,' presents an intriguing exploration into the emotional and psychological battles individuals face. The narrative likely delves into the idea that the heart, a metaphor for human emotional experience, leads its own form of warfare, influenced by personal struggles, desires, and relationships. While the provided transcript is minimal, one might infer the chapter includes poignant reflections on love, conflict, and the resilience of the human spirit. The repeated 'muham muham' could symbolize a sound or a chant resonant in key moments, illustrating introspection or a character's internal dialogue.
35:00 - 45:00: Balancing Desires and Anger The chapter titled 'Balancing Desires and Anger' seems to begin with an introduction or indication through the mention of the name 'Muhamad' and a possible musical interlude, as per the transcript available. However, the transcript is insufficient to provide further details on the chapter's discussions or key points regarding balancing desires and anger.
45:00 - 55:00: The Role of Intellect and Spiritual Guidance Chapter discusses the balance and interplay between intellect and spiritual guidance in personal development and decision-making. It highlights how intellect can aid in understanding the world and making informed choices, while spiritual guidance provides a moral compass and deeper insight into one's purpose. The chapter explores the benefits of integrating both elements for a holistic approach to life, suggesting that neglecting one can lead to an unbalanced and less fulfilling existence.
55:00 - 65:00: The Nature of Sin and Protection Against the Devil The chapter delves into the concept of sin and the protective measures one can take against the influences of the devil. It explores religious and philosophical perspectives on sin, outlining its impact on human life. Moreover, it addresses strategies to safeguard oneself against temptations and negative influences attributed to the devil, emphasizing the importance of faith, morality, and ethical behavior in overcoming these challenges. The text highlights the duality of human nature, the struggle between good and evil, and the role of spiritual guidance in navigating these complexities.
65:00 - 71:00: Conclusion and Q&A This chapter wraps up the book with a focus on concluding thoughts and a question-and-answer session. It provides a final opportunity to address any remaining questions from readers and summarizes the key insights discussed throughout the book.

Session 3: The Inner Reality of the Human Being (Part 2) Transcription

00:00 - 00:30 muham muhamad
00:30 - 01:00 [Music] muhamed muhamed muh
01:00 - 01:30 muham
01:30 - 02:00 muham muham
02:00 - 02:30 muhamad muhamad [Music]
02:30 - 03:00 muhamad muhamad
03:00 - 03:30 for
03:30 - 04:00 muham muham
04:00 - 04:30 [Music] muham Allah
04:30 - 05:00 alallah how's everyone doing mallah it's like a the the weekend retreat is like a mini marathon so you have to pace yourself a little bit get little catnaps in here
05:00 - 05:30 and there coffee helps uh but inshallah it will be uh maybe physically exhausting but spiritually uplifting inshallah tala we ask Allah subhana wa tala to accept from all of us and to give us the energy and the him the determination to continue on uh and to learn and absorb and benefit inshallah to the best of our abilities all through Allah subhanahu wa tala's generosity and Grace
05:30 - 06:00 alul
06:00 - 06:30 Muhammad s. wasallam so alhamdulillah for those who uh are just joining us today uh sometimes it takes people a while to get here coming from Far distances and uh not everyone is able to make it Friday night but in yesterday's two opening sessions we talked about the central of the heart we talked about the
06:30 - 07:00 importance of the heart in the Quran and in the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallah alai was and really at the very uh understanding of All Peoples throughout time that there are remnants of the understanding of the centrality of the heart and we talked about how Allah subhanahu wa tala says in thean
07:00 - 07:30 that on the day of Resurrection a person's wealth and a person's children will be of no benefit to them and all that will truly benefit is one who comes to Allah with a pure heart and how the downfall of the devil was due to the fact that his heart was not purified and Imam Al gazali says in his introduction that understanding the nature of the heart and understanding its
07:30 - 08:00 traits is the foundation of the religion and the foundation of the spiritual path it is the root of religion and the foundation of the spiritual path and then in the second session talked about the definitions of these various terms and that there are different ways that you could break down the inner reality of the human being we know that we have we are composite
08:00 - 08:30 we have the ability to think we have spiritual faculties we have the very essence of our being sometimes we can't put it into technical terminology but we understand and realize those things the very essence of who we are at the level of the heart is this subtle spiritual reality and that's what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gazes upon when he looks at us and that's how he addresses us with Revelation he's speaking to our hearts
08:30 - 09:00 this is why IM he says when you listen to the Quran it's an amazing it's an amazing expression he says when you hear the Quran listen to it with your heart before your ears now if you're just someone at the level of kind of the material you're like how do you do that but Allah subh is speaking to your heart that listen to it at the level of the essence of your being let let the Quran
09:00 - 09:30 permeate the essence of who you are before you start to even uh conceptualize its lessons and teachings Etc now they're not divorced from one another but what im is saying is letting it permeate your soul is first and foremost and that you know for example people will hear the Adan even non-muslims and they'll just it will unlock something within the depths of their being a spiritual reality they go
09:30 - 10:00 whoa what is that oh that's thean that's the call to prayer and it's like people will start crying I remember there's a I think it was a BBC documentary the video is on YouTube where this lady is I think in Saudi Arabia and it's not about Islam or the Adan or anything like that and she's just on someone's rooftop and then they call the Adan I think it was for Sal and she just starts crying and she's like a British journalist they're like why you crying she's like I don't know
10:00 - 10:30 why I'm crying I'm just it touched me that's really what we're talking about and uh these terms are important but we don't want to trip up over the theoretical breakdown of these definitions and where does the heart end and the Soul begin and where is you know what's the nefs and the haah those things are important but what we really want to take away with us is how we get close closer to Allah subhanahu wa tala
10:30 - 11:00 how we understand the promptings of the naps and thean and we'll talk more about that later today and tomorrow inshallah tala how we nourish the heart and the Soul through drawing closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and how we use these faculties that Allah subhana has given us in a way that aligns with Revelation and brings us closer to Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala how we properly use the intellect how we
11:00 - 11:30 prefer that which is uh beneficial for the heart and soul how we are able to discipline and tame the nefs that's what we really want to walk away from this weekend understanding and identifying so inshallah in this session we're going to look at the armies of the heart and IM Al gazali is going to describe what he means by armies essentially what this means is that Allah subhanahu wa tala
11:30 - 12:00 has given us various tools that are meant to be used properly so that you actually arrive at nearness to him and that everything that Allah subhana has given us of these various faculties and tools is meant to be something that when properly used and properly utilized it actually benefits us spiritually that they are meant to
12:00 - 12:30 support the life of the heart that they are meant to enrich the spiritual life but if they are not utilized properly they can be the very cause of someone's destruction so we have to understand them and put everything in its right place okay so then IM Al gazali he says clarifying and explaining the armies of the heart
12:30 - 13:00 Allah says in the Quran that only your Lord knows his armies that only Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala knows his forces and his armies and uh this is an indication that there are different types of forces and armies that Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala provides us with to support uh the Believers and to bring them closer to him
13:00 - 13:30 so Allah subhanahu waala has armies within the hearts and the souls and in other various worlds he has battalions and armies now at one level you could even understand the angels as his soldiers and that the groups of angels as various battalions but here Imam Al gazali is saying even within you Allah subhanahu wa tala has placed these
13:30 - 14:00 forces that are meant to protect and enrich and cultivate the heart so then he says there are forces that you see and that there are forces that are unseen and these forces are like The Bondsmen or the Servants of a king and that the king is supported by these people who fulfill his commands so if a king is ruling a king om and the heart
14:00 - 14:30 is the ruler of the spiritual Kingdom these forces that IM gazali is going to talk about they are meant to obey the commands of that King when he is giving the right commands and that does what it actually uh brings prosperity to the kingdom when all of the ministers and all of the armies and all of the various service components of that kingdom are all functioning properly that brings
14:30 - 15:00 prosperity to his kingdom but when there's disarray and disorder and things are not aligned that's going to bring harm to the kingdom so then he says as for those forces or armies that you can uh see or rather this is the inner reality of the human being we're still talking about uh these inner realities as for these uh forces that you can see with your eye in other words
15:00 - 15:30 that they're physical it's the hand and the the foot and the eye and the ear and the tongue and the various other physical aspects of the body because they all serve the heart and that they are all subjugated to the heart and the heart is the one who gives its commands right so for example if you eternally within yourself you say I want to raise my
15:30 - 16:00 hand the command is coming from your heart the command is coming from the essence of your Consciousness telling your hand to move right it's something that happens very naturally for those of us who Allah subhana tala has given us that capability okay I want to raise my hand I want to lower my hand I want to drink this cup I want to put something over there I want to put on my clothing I want to eat this particular type of
16:00 - 16:30 food I'm going to eat with my right hand Etc the heart is the king that commands all of these various functions okay so Allah has created all of these various forces to obey the heart and they cannot disobey the heart you don't have this back and forth conversation sometimes you might have a conversation at the level at the level of your heart should I do this should I not do it it's the right thing it's the wrong thing but
16:30 - 17:00 you're it's not you don't tell your hand hey move and get this thing and your hand wants to do something else no I disagree I don't want to do that your hand doesn't have this discourse with your heart it obeys the command Okay so Allah has created it that way you tell your eyes to open they open tell them to close they close that all comes from the heart and so on and so forth you can apply that to every other aspect of your physical body so then IM Al gazali he
17:00 - 17:30 says something beautiful here that uh this is amazing so now IM Al gazali he's giving us the proper conceptualization now don't forget this book and the book that follows it is sort of setting remember said the architecture of the
17:30 - 18:00 that this is part of im's amazing architecture and spiritual engineering that he's establishing these foundations so that we can understand everything that comes back that comes after it very easily and smoothly but what he's telling us this whole spiritual journey that you are setting out on these armies are meant to serve serve you so he says the heart is in
18:00 - 18:30 need of these armies just like a person is in need of a rioting beast and of Provisions when going on a journey now you're trying to get from point A to point B you need your luggage you need your toiletries you need an airplane or a car or whatever it may be the journey is from point A to point B but then there are things that you need along the
18:30 - 19:00 way in order to successfully make that Journey so IM gazali he says that all of these things are meant to be support for you on the journey and this journey is the reason for which you were created this is the purpose of life is to journey to Allah subh is the spiritual path that's the journey to
19:00 - 19:30 Allah and you stop at these various rest stops or way stations until you get to the meeting with him because the hearts were created for him the hearts are created for Allah subhah waala I only created h a gin and humans
19:30 - 20:00 so that they may worship me okay and the the the the Steed or the vessel in which you ride from point A to point B your means of transportation is the body and the provision on the journey just like we need food and drink to get from point A to point B is knowledge you know for example we use GPS all the time now I can't get
20:00 - 20:30 anywhere without this you know my my brain is like handicapped now right but we have a GPS if you didn't know where you're going how to get there what the directions are you could have the nicest means of transportation you're not getting anywhere and people focus so much just on their physical appearance the provision and the means by which you're going to successfully get to where you
20:30 - 21:00 need to go to is knowledge and it's the knowledge of the prophets and The Messengers the most important type of knowledge that was ever given to humanity and the means that allow you to acquire the provision and to increase in that provision is righteous deeds and actions okay so this is how IM Al gazali
21:00 - 21:30 is telling us Allah subhanahu wa tala has subjugated these forces and these faculties for you to make this journey successfully right whenever you know they talk about the hero's journey and these kind of Epic narratives that people love so much why because they're reflecting something deeper that we all recognize and feel that this person goes through this long journey and they change and transform along the way and
21:30 - 22:00 they go through toil and sacrifice and difficulty and they overcome their own lower desires and selfish nature and they become better for it at the end this hero's journey and all of these stories like what do I need this is what you need this is where you need to go this is how you need to get there here are your companions along the way and the hero's journey begins it's not too dissimilar from the spiritual path right what it which is
22:00 - 22:30 why so many people incline towards those types of stories but then Imam Al gazali says there are uh other armies and forces that are unseen so we talked about the body the senses the physical aspect the way that you survive and interact with the world is through these uh senses and faculties that Allah has given us at the physical level there's also inner facul IES that are unseen and
22:30 - 23:00 he mentions two in specific and we're going to talk about them in more detail uh in a little bit the first is desire okay the first is this desire I'm hungry I want this I want that I want to be successful I want money I want a house these desires okay we often talk about those desires like they're bad things now IM Al gazali is going to give us principles by which we understand
23:00 - 23:30 when they're good and when they're bad but even if we say generally speaking we have to check our lower desires that Force within us that uh desire within us that Allah has placed there it has a purpose on this journey we have to understand its purpose and we have to use it accordingly the second is anger okay the second is anger we also
23:30 - 24:00 often talk about anger in a negative sense don't get angry don't get angry don't get angry it is one of the destructive vices it is one of the diseases of the heart but it also serves a an important function when utilized properly so then IM alaz he says that Emma that the the desire and anger he's going to break them down into how they
24:00 - 24:30 are supposed to be used and why they are of the armies of the heart okay so then the first is that which makes you seek out some benefit that aligns with your desire okay so for example and this has to be balanced if we didn't have the desire to eat we would die if it wasn't within us to be like Oh I'm hungry if we didn't feel it at all it's like oh I'm dehydrated and I'm about to die and I
24:30 - 25:00 can't even feel it it would stop us from being able to exist and Thrive even just at the level of of living at the animate animal level and this is why it relates and that's the same type of level of Consciousness that all living creatures have the survival Instinct I need food I need shelter I need water okay uh and then for the continuation of the
25:00 - 25:30 human race marriage and family and so forth and procreation those are all related to this army or this force of Desire has to be used properly okay and this is where you start to see the intellect plays an important role because how do you know to balance that desire remember when was saying the intellect helps you see the results of things the long-term consequences of
25:30 - 26:00 particular choices and actions so oh you know what that's imbalanced that's too much desire that's not the desire that is praiseworthy at the level of survival and the things that I need in order to make this journey it's beyond what I need it actually slows me down if I have too much luggage and I've acquired too many things when I'm traveling it's going to Hinder my travels so I use my
26:00 - 26:30 intellect to gauge whether that's the right thing to do or not so that's the first force that imali mentions okay and then there's another Force the use of anger which is meant to help us with what it is meant to help us W off harm okay which also relates to survival which also relates to safety and so
26:30 - 27:00 forth now Imam Al gazali will talk about this even more so inshallah in the next book in Book 22 of the but essentially you could look at all of the praiseworthy virtues as a balance between two extremes an extreme where a person applies it too heavily and the extreme of of laxity not applying get very much at all let's think of anger anger
27:00 - 27:30 relates to courage okay if you see uh someone a woman getting her purse stolen and this man is pulling on her and trying to steal her purse you get angry is that anger good or bad it's good you're seeing something wrong like hey man get off of her guys runs away runs off okay you you help someone right you see Injustice taking
27:30 - 28:00 place and it stirs within you that anger that is what anger is meant to be used for it properly but even then the response has to be tempered by the intellect okay you you beat the guy up and then you end up getting into an even worse situation that's not the best use of that anger right preventing the harm and then figuring out what the best thing to do in that particular situation by applying the intellect and not allowing
28:00 - 28:30 that anger to Blind you that's what the prophet was meant when he said don't be overcome by anger Allah says in the Quran and those who are able to restrain their anger even when I'm angry I'm able to allow my intellect to continue to function properly and to guide that anger to the the proper if it's too much I pull back
28:30 - 29:00 if it's in an appropriate way then I continue to act so these are the first type of army that IM Al gazali mentions okay so desires and anger and okay and they bring about this impulse and IM Al gazali says that this impulse is called the the will okay I'm hungry I need to eat now I have the will
29:00 - 29:30 to seek out food I'm angry I want to stop some sort of harm now I'm going to desire and have the will to act upon that impulse and will talk about that more when he talks about the various steps in the decisionmaking process and it's very useful that will help us know how to Cate categorize any thoughts that come to us are they angelic are they satanic are they naani are they from the
29:30 - 30:00 the mind is it from how do we apply it we'll go uh into more detail regarding that inshallah tal so that's the first type of army the second type of army is that which moves the members to the attainment of these desired ends and this is called Power orra you could also translate as capability that I'm capable now I desire that food I'm hungry that Shah is within
30:00 - 30:30 me that desire to eat food now I'm going to seek out the means by which I acquire and consume that food that's called These are armies which are diffused throughout the rest of the members especially the muscles and tendons right if you if you've ever had may Allah give us all well-being you know you hurt even just like one muscle a tendon your Achilles or your ACL or something the
30:30 - 31:00 simplest movement becomes impossible or painful at the very least look at how Allah subhana tala he gives us these capabilities that we take for granted all the time until you feel that one thing oh Subhan Allah that one little movement that I've done my entire life and I never even thanked Allah for it just one little oh I realize that's a gift from Allah subh and even that cap ability he can take from me the third
31:00 - 31:30 type is that which perceives and gathers information as spies now the reason he's saying Spies Like spies you're not supposed to spy on people IM Al gazali is referring it back to what the heart is the king and all of these forces all of these armies are serving the king so in order for the kingdom to survive you need desire to be able to AC acquire food and you need anger to be able to
31:30 - 32:00 ward off harm in addition to the desire to do that you need the capability to do that I could be as angry as I want if I'm watching something on on online of someone being harmed I can get as angry as I want I can't do anything about it it already happened you know old lady gets her purse stolen ah man that makes me so angry I can't stop it right so the capability is another level of Allah subhana giving us the armies that serve
32:00 - 32:30 the heart the third type is that which perceives and gathers information who is the intelligence you know of the king says oh yeah I got an intelligence report uh King this is what's going on on the borders you know the economy is going this way we got some enemies trying to come and take some of our lands we have all of these things gives him all of the reports of the things that he needs to know these include the power of sight
32:30 - 33:00 hearing smell taste Etc which are divided among certain appointed members these are the senses that we have you know you you want to eat some food okay you go oh that doesn't I feel like that's going to make me sick it's not going to be good you throw it away you look at the color of it it's like why is this bread gray it's not supposed to be gray right so you you get this information and look how Subhan Allah Allah made that an instinctual
33:00 - 33:30 thing we should be grateful for that Allah subhana could have made it so we have no taste or smell we just have to consume things and then we find out after the fact if it was good or not but Allah subh gave us these capabilities okay this looks a little off this smell oh this this is fresh it's ripe right this is good for the body and so forth okay this is called knowledge and
33:30 - 34:00 perception okay so it's important just to know that these faculties are meant to serve the heart and allow us to be able to protect the heart and uh Thrive spiritually the problem is that a lot of people are taken over by their desires and taken over by other spiritual diseases and this is what im Al gazali
34:00 - 34:30 then tells us is that we have to control these desires and be very careful of them you see in your workbook on page 17 you have these kind of four qualities that Imam Al gazali mentions so he says anger it comes from this predatory nature within the human being it's like the lion or the wolf within us right that is just just very aggressive
34:30 - 35:00 type animal that power of anger has that tendency like the lion or like this predatory animal so we have to be aware of that you see desire it has this very shahwani level that's much like beasts and animals right and IM gazali Compares it to the pig what the pig just consume and consume and consume and its desires
35:00 - 35:30 uh make it you know very unpleasant to say the least it can just continue to eat and eat and it'll eat anything I remember someone telling me that he worked on a farm he said when you're when you're giving the pigs food you have to protect yourselves because they'll eat you like that's why we can't eat those things it's disgusting anyway but Imam gazali talks about you know that these uh these forces or these Tendencies rather these
35:30 - 36:00 potentialities exist within us and we have to be aware of those extremes and we have to be aware of where desires and anger tend to take us so that we're able to temper them and utilize them properly we said at the beginning what that if you utilize them properly you are making progress along your journey to Allah subhana tala but if they're not utilized properly they can be the means of your
36:00 - 36:30 destruction so then IM Al gazali says the first thing that you need to be aware of is the remember how we talked about how the heart is a that it is a subtle spiritual reality that is attributed to Allah subhana T in other words when Allah says uh
36:30 - 37:00 when he created Our Father Adam and Allah subhana says and when I breathe into him a spirit of my own in other words of my own creation then bow down to him in honor and prostrate before him what does that mean it means that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has honored the human soul that Allah subhanahu wa
37:00 - 37:30 ta'ala has placed a unique distinction within the human being that other created beings don't have and this is called This is called an attribution of Honor when we say that the mid is or the M are that the mosques are the houses of Allah that's not a literal meaning it means that they are houses of worship that are consecrated and Sanctified and dedicated to Allah subhah
37:30 - 38:00 wa ta'ala so this place becomes holy because of its attribution to Allah subhah wa tala when we say the days of Allah means that they are sacred days so when Allah says and I breathe into him a spirit of my own creation this is an indication that Allah is attributing the unique Ness and the distinct honor of this soul
38:00 - 38:30 to himself out of Honor does that make sense everybody with me Tam that same potentiality for higher realities and for wanting nearness to Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala can also be dangerous what did the Jews say they said we are the sons we are the children of
38:30 - 39:00 God and his loved ones the children of God so that potentiality of that was mis utilized was misused and it led to this type of delusion of grandeur what did the Pharaoh say I'm your highest Lord that's coming from the misuse of
39:00 - 39:30 this right and Allah subhana says that it is of my Lord's Affair so a person when they do not understand the proper placement of all of these things they can be deluded into thinking that this spiritual component which is attributed by Honor to the Divine is divine and we see that
39:30 - 40:00 with human beings they'll become diluted of their own selves right so that's dangerous we have to be careful of that and then the person thinks that they're higher and better than others and that they are special and that they are the ones who are deserving of leadership and others should humble themselves before them and so forth and that leads to this sort of arrogance that is one of the destructive vices the primary destructive vices so
40:00 - 40:30 we have to be careful of that and aware of that the other potentiality is that it can be a sage and a guide that there is this guidance and this desire for nearness to Allah subh that the r the spirit loves loves things that are Sublime loves things that are lofty in meaning
40:30 - 41:00 and in essence this is why remember said yesterday that even at the very ends of one uh on the spiritual path when they become purified from a lot of lowly things that one of the tests that the are tested with is the love of knowledge which is a high thing it's a it's an honorable thing but then their love for it from an egotistical sense could lead
41:00 - 41:30 them to arrogance and this is why IM is writing a book like the be very careful even that when not understood and put in its proper place can be the cause of one's downfall so then IM Al gazali he says that there are these four Natures or that these four potentialities within the human being and that is this lordly element which here we've put in that uh diagram as the sage but
41:30 - 42:00 it also that's the positive potentiality the dangerous and negative one is this person who is an impostor who you know in today's terms we would say like a narcissist someone who's so extremely impressed with themselves that they start to think I'm special oh I'm and and a lot of sudo spirituality and a lot of the self-help stuff is like that think it and you'll bring it into existence and work hard him is good having a high
42:00 - 42:30 resolve and seeking it from e
42:30 - 43:00 okay alhamdulillah so then IM Al gazali
43:00 - 43:30 says so we have these four potentialities and forces within us okay this is all relating to the inner reality of the human being so we mentioned the demon or the Demonic forces and
43:30 - 44:00 we'll talk about that that one is relatively clear but we'll talk more about it which is this predatory nature and the beastly nature and all of those are combined within the heart okay and then he says it's as if within the human being there is a pig a dog or we could say
44:00 - 44:30 like a wolf like this very aggressive type dog uh and a devil and a sage or a wise person these four potentialities are found within the heart the pig represents desires because the pig is not blameworthy
44:30 - 45:00 because of its physical features but it's actually blameworthy because of its greediness and its avarice and its insatiability just like the NS the okay and the dog or the predatory animal is that faculty of anger
45:00 - 45:30 because it's not because of the way that a dog or a predatory animal looks that is problematic but it's its nature of aggression and violence that is problematic and that's like when anger takes control uh so the pig calls you to engage in
45:30 - 46:00 insaciable Neverending desires that take a person into indecency and wrong action and anger this predatory animal it takes you to wrong others and to harm them and we see that prevalent in today's world just turn on the news people are controlled by their desires
46:00 - 46:30 and you know they'll even wrong others in the name of Human Rights and progress oh we're we have progress we're going to make a peace treaty no no we're the good guys peace treaty and then we'll bomb the West Bank what what morality do you have what values do you have other than you know this uh hegemonic control of all of these means by which you spin things the
46:30 - 47:00 truth doesn't need a spin a spin doctor the truth speaks for itself but you have to keep spinning the lies to hide the truth from people and then people couldn't care less because they just want to fulfill their desires I remember uh seeing a clip of an actor anyway we're not going to get sidetracked too much by this but he was talking about this film that he was in that was kind of like an iconic film in
47:00 - 47:30 I think the '90s or something like that and it was called The Matrix everything is like fake and we're plugged into this fake world and so forth and all of the robots are taking our energy and they're just making us live this fake life just to use us so like it was like a pretty iconic uh message and people were really affected by that and he said oh the actor who was in it he was like yeah was talking to my niece who's now this young girl and I was telling her yeah I was in
47:30 - 48:00 this movie this is what it's about and she goes who cares and I was like what do you mean she goes who cares if it's all fake you don't even care why just plug me in give me that dopamine hit let me get high and I'm good desires and it it rules the lives of many many many people some fall into it
48:00 - 48:30 willingly many fall into it unwillingly and one of the most amazing things and all of it is in freedom of expression Freedom you know Love Is Love love is spiritual love is spiritual it's not lust the two are not synonyms and Imam alari he mentions in his T of the Quran that Prophet L when he called his people who Allah
48:30 - 49:00 says in the Quran that they were doing acts of indecency that were unprecedented in human history and even though they were fighting to engage in their debauchery they never said we have the right to do that it's the law now it's like that's my human right to to fulfill whatever desire I have Allah IM says
49:00 - 49:30 prophet he called them to leaving their indecency then he told them about the Oneness of Allah why is it that every other Prophet called people to the Oneness of Allah then morality but he called them to morality then the Oneness of Allah subhanahu wa tala why is that Imam says because they had fallen to the level of Beastly nature of beim so he had to call them from beim
49:30 - 50:00 to ins he had to call them from this beastly animalistic nature to the nature of human dignity the basic F and then from from to then from Human Nature to the Oneness of Allah subhanahu waala the reason I'm mentioning that is that the desires are the forces of the Shan that he is using
50:00 - 50:30 in today's world to just numb people and blind them to Greater realities all fulfilling all of your lower desires that are Haram will never give you fulfillment of heart anything that's Haram will immediately bring misery and woe and a lack of fulfillment to the heart so then IM Al gazali talks about particularly the pig the beastial nature
50:30 - 51:00 and the uh predatory nature of the the anger and he says what does the Shan do he tries to use the faculties of anger and and of Desire against each other and instigate
51:00 - 51:30 them and incite them oh get this oh look at that oh that person is trying to get in your way squash them establish yourself show your Authority show your Independence and the Shan is in the middle just do this and what what he does is he ignites the fires of desire and anger within you and the two feed off of each other and then the person is easily m guided how are they going to listen to guidance how are they going to be moral
51:30 - 52:00 and upright if those are the forces that have taken over their heart and then IM Al gazali says there's a lot more that that could be said do we have to 11 or 11:15 1115 then Im so IM Al gazali is saying how these potentialities or forces work within the heart okay that you have have these particular potentialities and the shaan tries to ignite them and instigate
52:00 - 52:30 them and inshallah in a later session we'll talk about the entryways of the Shan and we have to be very careful and aware of those so that whenever we know that there is weakness in our armor there's a gap that we can fill that Gap and then the Shan has no ability to approach us inshallah tal and that is possible may Allah subh allow us to reach those levels it is possible
52:30 - 53:00 because the prophet sallallah alai wasallam said what thean flees from the shadow of Omar the Shan is scared and runs away from the shadow of Omar and whenever walks a path thean takes a different path you know when you threaten someone I you shouldn't threaten someone I'm thinking back to like you know days that kids would do this you know someone gets mad at another person be like hey man you ever see me on the street you walk on the other side of the road better not see
53:00 - 53:30 you walking near me right that's like thean with I'm not even I'm going to stay clear of him why because his heart was filled with n the Shan can't deal with the n and that he closed all of those entryways and everything was put into its proper place by the education and the cultivation of the Prophet Muhammad
53:30 - 54:00 sallallahu alaihi wasallam the prophet wasam he spiritually purified and cultiv cultivated a generation of people unlike the world has ever seen and all of the prophets and Messengers their families and their companions are the noblest of families and companions in all of human history and the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam he is the noblest of the prophets and his family is the noblest of all families and his companions are
54:00 - 54:30 the noblest of all the companions through the most noble the noblest of all prophets or Messengers we became the noblest of all prophetic communities so back to what we're talking about now this inner reality of the human being so these exist so then IM Al gazali says the Shan is trying to instigate and incite anger and desire and make them work in tandem
54:30 - 55:00 to harm you and the sage which is like the representation of the intellect okay now it's a little bit subtle right remember we said that it has to be utilized properly it has to guide you to what is right even that faculty or that potentiality can be misused used where someone says I'm your greatest EX most exalted
55:00 - 55:30 Lord and that we are the children of God and his most beloved and so forth right people start to become diluted no when you balance that and you utilize it properly when you're on your spiritual journey your anger is like your protection and your is your guide is this a good place to stay is this a good place to rest should we do this should we do that should should we continue on should who should accompany us what is the best and safest path to get to the
55:30 - 56:00 uh the place that we want to get to Etc that's like the sage the guide right and we talked about the hero's journey every hero's journey has a guide right whether it's Gandalf or Yoda or whoever it is right there's a guide who's like oh I'm going to tell you what to do that's the the sage and even in our spiritual Journeys we need guides we need people we don't know the way right we don't
56:00 - 56:30 know if we even have the fortitude to get to the end of the journey but those guides they help us along the way so then IM Al gazali says this is the potentiality or this is what represents the intellect that is command to ward off the schemes and the plots of
56:30 - 57:00 the devil you have people who are uh plotting against you and you have a trusted Minister who says no no this person you have to be careful of them they might offer you this don't commit to that be very careful no that person is not trustworthy this person is trustworthy what's going on behind the scenes is this not everything is as it appears and so forth tamam
57:00 - 57:30 and that what the sage the exposes the schemes through piercing inner sight and that piercing inner sight is something that has to be cultivated with Iman and it has to be cultivated with knowledge a person just is not going to know right from wrong without knowledge and they're not going to have inner sight without Im so both of those need
57:30 - 58:00 to be uh within a person in order to have this piercing inner sight and it's clear light right so without this intellect without the sage it's like you're you know moving around in the dark you don't know which way to go and then that Sage gives you that light and you're able to see things as they are oh okay I was about to run into that table oh there's a big hole right there I don't need to fall into Etc and then you're able to see where you need to go and the sage breaks or disciplines
58:00 - 58:30 the greediness and the insatiability of the pig by what by using the dog against the pig by using that faculty of anger and how so let's say for example someone is overcome with a desire to do something Haram right and then let's say just as an example they're going to steal something right oh man there's you know
58:30 - 59:00 an iPad just sitting there I need an iPad people today because they're so egotistical and they've been blinded by their desires the universe just gave me an iPad just it's just right there no you have to follow the sacred law that belongs to someone okay the angels are not bringing you iPads there's a way that Allah subhana gives you things and it's according to his sacred law so then you say oh I want
59:00 - 59:30 I really need that nobody's around nobody will see me no one will ever know then you get angry at yourself that is a Despicable thought I should be ashamed of myself that belongs to someone and what what good is ever going to come from me using something that's stolen you the sage now who's thinking of consequences and thinking of longterm the sage says no I'm going to get angry at the pig for I'm going to
59:30 - 60:00 tell the the anger of the predatory animal to turn against the pig in order to do what the king really needs you to do don't do that get away give that back ah so then that's how the sage uses those things the way that is opposite to the plots of the Shan because through anger you can break this
60:00 - 60:30 barrier of uh desire but then also the aggressive nature of the predatory animal is then also subdued by desire right so for example you might be in a difficult situation and you get
60:30 - 61:00 angry and then you say and this happens even within families whether it's a sibling or a spouse or whatever it may be if I let my anger take over I'm going to destroy or severely harm this relationship which will then harm me and I won't have the peace and stability and support that I need in my life I'm going to subdue my anger because there is a greater good in preserving that relationship and mending that relationship and not responding
61:00 - 61:30 arrogantly and angrily that will then bring me more harm so then that's how the intellect uses these forces to balance them and to bring them back to what is actually beneficial for the heart and for this journey okay and Imam Al gazali goes into a great amount of detail there uh but it's important for us to understand these forces and then IM Al gazali ends
61:30 - 62:00 with and this is what we'll end with inshal and if we have a few questions we can attempt to answer them inshallah tal but IM Al gazali ends this section with talking about how sins affect the heart the shaan will whisper to you and he will ignite the uh Power of anger to give in to the power of desire to use those
62:00 - 62:30 faculties of movement and power and acquisition to fulfill these desires which in many cases could be Haram if it is Haram it harms the heart and the prophet sallallah alaihi wasallam said a uh a spot forms on the heart whenever you sin obviously it's the a spiritual heart if a person turns back to Allah and asks
62:30 - 63:00 Allah for forgiveness this is why the prophet wasam said and follow up a bad deed with a good deed that will erase it one of the most beautiful things it's a mercy from Allah and it shows us how Allah is extending to us we're talking about these armies and these forces Allah is subjugating these means for us so that we can be successful a lot of people think Allah is out to get them
63:00 - 63:30 that's that's a bad opinion of Allah and it's a miseducation of Islam for anyone who thinks that way Allah is facilitating things for you that the angel who writes your good deeds is in charge of the Angel who writes your bad deeds and when you do a bad deed the angel who's in charge of writing your good deeds says to the other angel wait a little bit maybe they'll repent and you don't even have to write it down if
63:30 - 64:00 that person follows it up with a good deed it's not even recorded against you look at Allah subhanahu wa tala's Mercy but the prophet says but if the person continues to sin then that spot on the heart continues to grow and grow and grow until what the entire heart is covered in darkness and that means it's a spiritually dead heart how many people feel guilty the first time they do something wrong after
64:00 - 64:30 the 10th time the 20th time I remember someone was watching one of these famous shows on television that was uh vile vile was so famous and people are posting about so and so killed so and so in this episode oh all of the latest stuff and I remember saying to someone like that's a really dirty show oh man you get over it no I don't want to get over it that's the problem that's the sign that the heart has
64:30 - 65:00 died but then IM Al gazali says one of the most powerful ways to protect yourself from the Shan and to return back to Allah subhah wa tala when we make a mistake because the prophet said we all make mistakes the best of those who make mistakes are those who repent and if we didn't sin Allah would remove us annihilate us and replace us with people
65:00 - 65:30 who did Sin and asked him for forgiveness so we turn back to Allah but one of the strongest ways to protect ourselves from the whisperings of the shaitan is through the Rememberance of Allah and will talk about the promptings these thoughts that come to us how we can identify what is inspiration from an angel how do we identify what are the whisperings of the and how do we identify what is coming from the nefs how we identify those
65:30 - 66:00 things we'll talk about that but as soon as we turn back to Allah and we remember him that drowns out and extinguishes the whisperings of the shatan and one of the ways that you know it's from the nefs is that when you remember Allah it doesn't go away that's from The NPS but if you remember Allah and that thought dissipates it's and Allah subhah wa
66:00 - 66:30 says indeed when Satan Whispers to those mindful of Allah they remember their lord then they start to see things clearly so through the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala were able to polish the heart and to remove whatever stain that sin brought about and to protect ourselves from the was of thean
66:30 - 67:00 inshallah we'll continue to go deeper into the nature of the human being understanding how we give preference to the spiritual nature over the beastial nature over the Shah and the desire how we balance those things out and how even at a practical level we're able able to understand our inner thoughts and guide them accordingly and how all of this
67:00 - 67:30 ultimately insh is a means by which we can further fortify ourselves from the Shan from the enemy that is outside of us and learn how to protect ourselves and overcome the enemy that is within us the nefs and how we are able to uh productively and successfully make progress on the spiritual path we ask Allah subhah for
67:30 - 68:00 his can maybe take one or two questions and then we also have the interactive session tonight there's anything that's unclear sometimes there's a lot of uh information that can be a bit overwhelming uh please make note of that and inshallah we'll have a very uh robust uh interactive session tonight there's a question
68:00 - 68:30 here you spoke quite a bit about the sage about the anger and about the desire but when it comes to the shaan which is also one of the four the demon can you speak a little bit about more and is that our Eternal demon is that the demon which facilitates comes through the NS how does how does that fit into this four that we're trying to build with this compository for the
68:30 - 69:00 heart that we spoke of yesterday Beau beautiful thank you for that question so once again these things are a little bit subtle and even Imam Al gazali's explanations are not absolute this is not the breakdown that was given to us explicitly in the Quran or explicitly by the Prophet this is that naturalization and the synthesis that was talking about the architecture of the so this is IM gazali's way of helping us understand
69:00 - 69:30 the inner reality of the heart and the inner reality of the human being he'll say in other uh situations and as Allah says in the Quran that thean has access to the for that and he knows the tendency of the neps and even anger and desire they stem from the neps they stem from the so the Shan knows how to use these forces to harm the human being right and
69:30 - 70:00 the intellect especially when it's illuminated by the light of sees through that and is able to guide everything properly and to use the forces against each other in a way that is beneficial so the Shan is is uh the enemy that is outside of us but he is able to act access our and Whisper things and give us you
70:00 - 70:30 know uh suggest these thoughts and then the way that we deal with them is this is just one breakdown of how to understand that inner reality and that inner discourse in will talk about it more when he talks about the decision making process inshallah alhamdulillah we I think we're we're out of time but inshallah we'll we'll continue and we have the the the interactive session
70:30 - 71:00 tonight if you do have questions as