In the Holy Quran, the ability to speak and communicate is regarded as one of the greatest blessings that God has given to mankind. Through this ability, people express their views, beliefs, ideas, and thoughts. People can employ this God-given power of speech anyway they wish; they can do it thoughtfully, knowledgably, and with faithful care, or under the cloud of heedlessness, guided by selfish desires and Satanic temptations. Unfortunately, most people today pick the later one, becoming unmindful of what they say and do. For example, there is hardly a single meeting somewhere that goes by without some sort of gossip, backbiting, complaining, or slandering. This sinful and profitless behavior has become so widespread that most people accept it as normal and socially tolerable (of course, so long as they themselves are not mocked or criticized). Moreover, and on the contrary, people who posses this disease maintain that this sort of behavior is harmless, somehow adding to the color of life: they believe it "good entertainment." However, God warns in the Holy Quran about the incorrectness of this kind of behavior, labeling it as abhorrent as "a person eating the flesh of his dead brother." Therefore, anytime a person forgets or lowers his/her guard and falters into heedlessness, Satan right away senses the situation and drives the person to speak meaninglessly as much as possible, with no aim other than to cause harm and injury to others. Satan's wish being to fill the person's record with shameful acts, resulting in great despair and torment in the hereafter.
For this reason, and as a remedy to this great disease of heedlessness, in this month's Soul Booster, Mawlana Faizani focuses our attention on the only way to find salvation from this abhorrent behavior: he calls us back to the remembrance (Zikr / Zikir) of Allah using our tongues and hearts. By praising God's most beautiful names at all times and in all situations, He empowers us to find and adopt the type of speech and style of behavior most pleasing to God and hence perfectly suited to the situation in which we find ourselves.
The Solution: Putting one's tongue to proper use
Feeling excessive temptations in the heart is an indication of Satan's domination over a person's inner and is a major cause of the breakdown in a person's reasoning and thinking abilities. The resulting instability of such a breakdown paves the way for the person to react more offensively and vengefully. While overcome by such instability, a person engages in vile behaviors, without first taking into account the consequences and outcomes of their words and actions. Because according to Islamic philosophy, the heart is the initial source for decision-making, logically it follows that in the long-term the necessary and wisest route is to busy oneself in purifying, fortifying, and making sound this critical spiritual element (i.e., the heart). By healing the heart, a person thereby permanently eliminates the chances of this organ's misuse by Satan, who since the beginning has been plummeting humanity into the pits of harmful, inhumane, and frequently destructive behaviors.
Though one way to stay away from gossip, meaningless talk, backbiting, and slandering is to remain silent and speak only during matters of importance, the more effective way is to engage our God-given tongue, a powerful and beneficial appendage, in the remembrance (Dhikr) of Allah. The human tongue is a great blessing from Allah and if used properly can be a means to attaining great spiritual benefits and heights in paradise. To misuse the tongue for meaningless talk and to destroy virtues is a great loss indeed. Through countless Hadith and in the verses of the Qur'an, humanity is shown the way on how to defend and safeguard themselves against egoistic desires and Satanic temptations. For example, the Qur'an informs us with the following:
"Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of God: for without doubt, in the remembrance of God do hearts find satisfaction."
This verse clearly reveals that if a person were to engage his/her tongue in the remembrance (Dhikr) of Allah by mentioning His glorious names, the resulting light and blessings that emanates therefrom will bring peace and satisfaction to his/her heart, safeguarding the person against doing any type of prohibited action, and removing from within the excessive Satanic temptations and abundance of unwarranted egoistic desires and longings. Furthermore, the remembrance (Dhikr) of Allah enhances the person's spiritual perception and enables him/her to perceive Almighty Allah as Present, Observant, All-Knowing, All-Hearing, Exalted and Absolute in His infinite names and in His attributes. One perceives Him everywhere: in the hidden and in the open, in public and in private. If through the remembrance of Allah a person obtains this certainty about Almighty Allah's Greatness and Presence in both his mind and heart to the extent mentioned above, then that person will undoubtedly find the strength to abstain from all egoistic behaviors and other evil temptations. That person achieves a life of greater purpose, greater understanding, greater virtue, and greater joy; that person becomes conducive to the benefit of one and all!
— by Mawlana Faizani
from the book, Daleelul Zakireen or Reasonings for those Remembering
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