Tisha Zarina Do you like to watch home makeover programmes? If you’re anything like me, somehow you kind of get glued to the show once you start watching it right?
Have you ever wondered why that is so? And it may even motivate you to do something to your home, your kitchen or even to tidy up your room! Some may even start thinking about redecorating, renovating and even joining a decluttering program all because we all crave for this idea to make our home more picture perfect!
But why do you think this happens?
For some of us, something takes place internally when we witness a transformation within minutes before our very eyes. We have this anticipation and at the same time that it is a surety that a beautiful and positive outcome will come from the program as you eagerly wait for the final unraveling, where you have actually witnessed the process from ‘what was’ to ‘what is’. You feel almost triumphant and euphoric!
A New York-based psychotherapist has said that “Our brains can process information more clearly and efficiently in an organized space,”. “Human beings like to feel in control of themselves and of their surroundings. We prefer predictable environments that provide a sense of stability and calm.”
Most of us during this pandemic would have at least cleaned out one space if not more in our homes because we were all mostly stuck at home and it actually would have brought us some sense of satisfaction you might say. “Possessions represent the emotions or experiences attached to them,” she adds. “A cluttered or disorganized accumulation of possessions may make it difficult to ‘move on’ from the past or live in the present.”
So, interestingly, these studies have shown that our state of living or environment has a direct effect on what is going on in the heart, the emotions. The less clutter you have, it actually liberates a person. Let’s see what Cambridge dictionary defines decluttering: to remove things you do not need from a place, in order to make it more pleasant and more useful.
Let’s say for example your kitchen drawer, where you chuck in every single thing in it, be it stationary, secret chocolate stash, loose change, unused keys, earrings, toys, you get the picture. And in order to see transformation to that tiny space, and you want to declutter it, you need to get your things cleared out, reassess the belongings on what serves you and what doesn’t, and then we decorate the space with some beautiful line drawers and restore the drawer to its initial purpose. And life is all good again. Your mind suddenly feels relief, that accomplishment of something you had procrastinated for years but it took just 10 minutes to set everything right. And that drawer becomes your stepping stone to your next item on your decluttering list.
SubhanAllah, there is a parallel that you can draw from this analogy that relates directly to our heart, and our soul. How so you may ask? Imagine if you actually did this to your heart regularly? You see, the process of purification of the heart is a two-step process: first is Takhliyah - to empty out, and the second in Tahliyah which is to beautify and adorn it. Let’s take a bold move and visit our hearts right now and take a sneak peek of what is occupying it-our emotions.
Sometimes we actually hoard emotions in our hearts that does not serve us, has never served us, and never will. And these emotions actually make us carry unnecessary baggage and it quite frankly makes us feel quite ill. And these are the root causes for diseases of the heart namely, Shirk, disbelief, jealousy, envy, grudges, anger, hatred, miserliness, greed, hypocrisy, doubts, arrogance, sadness, evil thoughts and evil plans. To the extent that many of us have actually cut family ties because of this and haven’t spoken to them possibly in years!
In a hadith narrated by Anas bin Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) said:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Do not harbour grudge against one another, nor jealousy, nor enmity; and do not show your backs to one another; and become as fellow brothers and slaves of Allah. It is not lawful for a Muslim to avoid speaking with his brother beyond three days."
[Al- Bukhari and Muslim].
Can we honestly ask ourselves if any of the above serve us in our purpose of existence? Or are we actually doing a major disservice to our Rabb who has provided everything for us, subjugated the whole world and everything in it to make our lives liveable here in our temporary home?
Allah says in Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 29
“It is He who created for you all of that which is on the earth. Then He directed Himself to the heaven, [His being above all creation], and made them seven heavens, and He is Knowing of all things”
SubhanAllah, how Merciful is our Rabb? There is so much that Allah SWT has done for us! And yet our nature is that we tend to forget, we complain about everything and we fail to recognise that nothing could have actually happened in our lives without the will and permission of Allah. So what are we waiting for? Aren’t we tired of living in this mess in our heads, in our hearts and in our lives? Isn’t it time we declutter externally and especially, our internal being, the place we reside in the most, which is our hearts? The ultimate aim for a believer is to have contentment in the heart - Qalbun Saleem. And this can only be achieved when it is free for any of those diseases mentioned above. This is what determines real success in the hereafter too.
As Allah says in Surah as-Shu’ara verses 88-89, “The Day when there will not benefit [anyone] wealth or children, But only one who comes to Allah with a sound heart."
Prophet Muhammad SAW placed such high regard on purifying the hearts amongst the sahabah that in a narration, Ibn Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "None of my Companions should convey to me anything regarding another because I desire to meet everyone of you with a clean heart."
[Abu Dawud and At- Tirmidhi].
So let us remove that filth, the dirt and the harm that is causing the hearts to get ill and hard. Let us remove it with Istighfar, with sincere tawbah. Let us have good thoughts of our Rabb, so that we can remind ourselves who is the slave and who is the Master, in a Hadith Qudsi, the Prophet (ﷺ) said: Allah the Almighty said: I am as My servant thinks I am.
Let us beautify our hearts with the remembrance of Allah, with Imaan, with Taqwa, with sabr, with Quran, with Adhkar, with love, with hope, with positive thinking, with thinking good of others, and doing good deeds and the list in endless. So do not limit yourselves with all of these beautiful deeds and acts of worship. As the hadith says, Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty. [Muslim]
Let us unload and offload our burdens and remind ourselves that we are only here for a short time, so travel light and carry only your essentials, as the hadith of the Prophet SAW says “Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveler.” Bukhari, 6416
Remember less is more. It is always Quality over Quantity.
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:
Verily Allah does not look to your faces and your wealth but He looks to your heart and to your deeds.
Sahih Muslim: 2564c
May we all receive the glad tidings from the angels at the end of our lives as Allah says in Surah Al Fajr : verses 27-30 [To the righteous it will be said], "O reassured soul, Return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him], And enter among My [righteous] servants, And enter My Paradise."
Allahumma Aameen.
Your sister,
Tisha
