The Heart: The True Bearer of Worship
While reflecting upon verse 83 of Surah Ghafir (40), I recalled the words of a great mujahid figure of Afghanistan (martyred in 1989 CE), originally from Palestine, a PhD graduate of Al-Azhar University with the highest distinction Mumtaz Syaraf Ula—the martyr Sheikh Dr. Abdullah Yusuf Azzam. ‘Looking at a woman who is not one’s mahram is one of the poisoned arrows of Satan . Whoever abandons it out of fear of Allah, Allah will replace it with faith whose sweetness he will find in his heart.’ (Weak hadith, narrated by Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak, IV/14). He wrote: “It is not your body that performs worship, but your heart. It is the heart that bears the weight of devotion, and it is the heart that keeps you steadfast on the path of jihad. The body plays only a small role in worship." Patience resides in the heart, perseverance and firmness are in the heart. Courage belongs to the heart, and zeal (ghirah) is only found within the heart. The stronger the faith within it, the greater t...