﴾ The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail* Except him who brings to Allah a clean heart [clean from Shirk (polytheism) and Nifaq (hypocrisy)]. ﴿
[ Ash-Shu'ara', 88-98 ]
Before I explain what the clean heart means let me tell you this. The person who constructed the red 12 km bridge in Istanbul, which is the second longest bridge in the world after San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, was a Japanese engineer. During the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the engineer who was standing next to the Turkish President, committed suicide by throwing himself in the Bosphorus. When the authorities went to his room in Sheraton, they found a note written in it, "I tasted everything in life, but I found them tasteless, so I just wanted to taste death."
Let me tell you this: a young man whose income is limited, but he knows Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, and he works hard to guide people to Him, is happier than that engineer. Happiness is gained by performing a good deed, because it gets you closer to Allah the Almighty and makes you feel your value in Allah's Sight.
When you handle things other than your own affairs, such as your household, income, sons and daughters, position, picnics, travels and entertainments of life, your position will be higher in Allah's Sight. For instance, when you care about the public affairs manifested in the problems of Ummah, and you try to solve them, like helping the illiterate, the sick, the weak, and the suffered, you will be valuable in Allah's Sight. On the other hand, when you care about your private life only, then you are worthless in Allah's Sight.
Performing a good deed is the purpose of man's existence in life:
Dear noble brothers, the purpose of our existence is to perform a good deed. Furthermore, your value in Allah's Sight, your happiness, and your prosperity are based on your good deeds. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail* Except him who brings to Allah a clean heart [clean from Shirk (polytheism) and Nifaq (hypocrisy)]. ﴿
What is the clean heart? The most impressive definition of the clean heart is: "It is the heart that never yearns for a forbidden lust", such as Zina (adultery), or unlawful money. So, the clean heart never runs after fulfilling a prohibited lust which does not please Allah the Almighty.
In engineering, there is a 180-degree phase shift that can be divided into shifts, but if we assume that man's lusts are shifts, then his lust for a woman is a 180-degree phase shift and his lust for money is a 180-degree phase shift, and his lust for high position is a 180-degree phase shift. Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, allows you to fulfill 100-degree phase shift of every lust, which means that there is no deprivation in Islam. In other words, you are allowed to be rich lawfully, to eat and drink all the lawful things according to Shari'ah rulings, to have an affair with women in the framework of marriage and to collect money lawfully.
Every lust Allah the Almighty has installed in man has a lawful way through which man can fulfill it. I will liken lust to a petrol tank which has power, and it is placed in the vehicle in sealed warehouses. Because of this power you can drive your vehicle to Al-Aqabah. The question is: Where does the driving power come from? It comes from the petrol tank, and you know that petrol is an explosive liquid, but it turns into power with which you can drive for 450 kilometers.
When you drive for a long distance, the amount of petrol will be over even if the warehouse has three tanks, because the petrol will turn into a moving power. What I am discussing has to do with physics, but the main point is whatever you have can be turned into useful moving power if you know how to make use of it and preserve your moral and psychological balance.
Bill Gates, whose fortune is about 90 billion Dollars and who is the founder of Microsoft, donated third of his fortune to the poor people in Africa, in order to keep his moral and psychological balance. To sum up this issue, you will never be balanced but by performing good deeds, because only then, you will feel that you are valuable in life, and that you have a good reputation after your death.
Once, I asked my students, "Who can give me the name of a famous merchant who used to work in Damascus in 1883, and I will give him a full mark?" They started to think about the answer, but none could give me an answer, so I said, "I do not know the answer either, but is there anyone who does not know who Salah Ad-Din is or who our Master Umar is? In fact the great scholars, leaders and social reformers are well-known.
If you do not leave a good reputation after your death, you are in big trouble. How many people are there who left this world without being noticed or remembered? There are billions of people like those. How many women are there who lived, got married, had children and died without being noticed? However, Lady Maryam, Lady Fatimah, and Lady Khadijah, may Allah be pleased with them, were pioneers. Hence, your success is to live in this life and leave it having done a good deed that will immortalize your remembrance.
Due to Allah's Favor upon me, my father was well-known, but when he died, I was only 5 years old, so I do not remember him. I am not boasting about that, but whenever I met someone, he would ask Allah to send his blessings upon my father's soul and would praise him. This is the great fortune my father left for us after his death.
Man may leave children, a good reputation or lawful money after he leaves the worldly life. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail* Except him who brings to Allah a clean heart [clean from Shirk (polytheism) and Nifaq (hypocrisy)]. ﴿
The characteristics of the clean heart:
The clean heart never longs for a forbidden lust that displeases Allah the Almighty, it is the heart that never does anything that contradicts Allah's Revelation, it is the heart that never worships other than Allah, and it is the heart that never believes any piece of news that is not authenticated and supported with decisive proofs.
Thomas Robert Malthus said, "There will be a collective famine", but this is not true, and his statement does not have a solid ground. For example, the arable area in Syria is a quarter of its entire area, and the rest area is wasteland. The arable area is a quarter and only the quarter of such area is planted, i.e. one of sixteen is planted in Syria. However, sometimes the harvesting wheat season is six million tons, while the demand for it is one million tons, so there is five times extra production, and wheat is considered the largest national income. Well, when Allah the Almighty gives His servants, He makes them amazed!
Once, while I was in a wheat field, I took a spike, and I was surprised that it has 35 tiny branches. One grain of wheat could produce about 50 spikes and if each spike has about 35 tiny branches which contain wheat grains, then the total amount of the grains is 1.750. Some crop production is about six million tons, three million tons, or 600.000 tons. This is how Allah's Bestowal makes man speechless.
Man's position in Allah's Sight is based on his good deeds:
When you realize the purpose of our existence, you will believe that you have been created to be admitted to Jannah for eternity, but the price for Jannah is the good deed.
I would like to repeat what I said earlier in this lecture: Your position in Allah's Sight is based on good deeds. Therefore, before you go to bed, consider the things you do during your day, such as giving Sadaqah, teaching someone, giving a piece of advice to someone, helping a sick person and so on. Do not think of the habitual activities that all people do, such as eating and drinking.
There are impoverished people whose situation is very painful. I remember a poor man who needed a heart surgery, and the cost at that time was about 450.000 Liras. He did not have that amount, but a benevolent man donated money to him to go under the operation. I know this man, and I still remember the gloomy and melancholic atmosphere of his household before he had the operation. He had five children, and he was an employee with a limited income. He suffered from myocardial infarction, and praise be to Allah, his operation was successful, and after it, his household was full of happiness, and his children were on cloud nine.
Do you know what the good deed is? By Allah, the purpose of your existence in the worldly life is to perform a good deed. Most people do nothing but their daily life activities, like eating, waking up, going to work and going to bed. How monotonous this life is! Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ The Day whereon neither wealth… ﴿
[ Ash-Shu'ara', 88-98
]
The wealth is left to the heirs. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ …Nor sons will avail* Except him who brings to Allah a clean heart [clean from Shirk (polytheism) and Nifaq (hypocrisy)]. ﴿
Never say that some people may not be able to perform a good deed, because one can at least feed a cat, which is a valuable good deed. Also, man can sit with his son to ask him about his affairs while they are having their meals, for instance. He can ask him about his teacher or about Salat whether he performed it or not.
The prudent man considers his eternal destiny:
In your household, you should pay attention to the food your wife cooks, the way she gets dressed (whether she covers her beauty or she shows it), and so on, because you are responsible for all these matters in addition to a million issues.
Do you not have a goal to achieve in this life? Why has Allah the Almighty created you? How could you live your life without a goal? Whoever wants to have the designation of Dr. before his name should first complete the elementary, preparatory and secondary education, then he should go to university to get a bachelor's degree, general diploma, special diploma, M.A degree, and an international PhD degree. He should have at least 13 certificates, and he should study till he becomes 33 years old or so to deserve this designation "Dr.". Yet, when death comes to him, he leaves this life in seconds.
The father of my friend used to have a huge fortune and died on a rainy day. I attended his funeral, and on the day of burial, there were black sewage water filling the grave, and there was no way to remove it. Those who were supposed to bury him asked his son what to do, and He said, "Bury him. We cannot do anything." At that moment I thought to myself, "He used to live in a 450 million house, but now he will be buried in the grave which is full of sewage water!"
Think of the future, particularly, your death. Everyone talks about his present, telling people, for instance, that he is an engineer who got his scientific degree from America. Other people talk about their achievements in the past, but how about future? In future, you will leave this life for good. If someone used to work in a Gulf country, but the authorities decide to deport him from the country, stamping that in his passport upon leaving the country, he will be extremely worried. The same goes for those whose residence cards are cancelled. Well, all of us will leave this abode forever.
Man uses to get back home while he is standing on his feet for about 83 years, but one day, he will leave it while carried by other people when he dies. Getting out of your house standing (while you can walk and stand on our feet) is not a serious issue, but think of the lying departure from your house; when you are carried by other people. Where will people carry your coffin to? They will carry it to the grave. What is in the grave? These are the questions all of us should consider, because this is our inevitable destiny. Ponder over this serious issue since after death, we will be in endless abode; either living in eternal bliss or suffering from eternal misery. This explains why Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail* Except him who brings to Allah a clean heart [clean from Shirk (polytheism) and Nifaq (hypocrisy)]. ﴿