Explanation of the Book of the Hearts-01b

The reciter: Mu'adh ibn Asad narrated to us, saying: Abdullah informed us, saying: Ma'mar informed us from al-Zuhri, saying: Mahmud ibn al-Rabi' informed me, and Mahmud claimed that he understood the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: And he understood a spit that was spitted from a bucket that was in their house. He said: I heard 'Utbah ibn Malik al-Ansari, then one of the Banu Salim, say: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) visited me in the morning and said: .

The Shaykh : Allah is the Greatest. As for the hadith of Mahmud ibn al-Rabi', he understood a spit that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) spitted in his face from a bucket in his house, and he was five years old, as in Sahih al-Bukhari, which passed by us previously. From this, the scholars derived that discernment (tamyiz) can occur for one under seven years old, because Mahmud understood the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he understood this spit, and that it was from a bucket, and that it was in their house; all of this is discernment. For this reason, the correct view is that discernment is the ability to understand an address and respond to it, but the norm is that it occurs after seven years. Then he mentioned the hadith of 'Utbah ibn Malik al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him), in which he said: "The Messenger of Allah visited me in the morning", meaning he came to me in the morning. He had asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to come to his house to pray in a place that 'Utbah had prepared for him as a prayer place, because 'Utbah had lost his sight and was no longer able to come to the mosque. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) visited him in the morning, and the first thing he said upon entering was: , before any hospitality food was brought to him. We have derived from this that a person should, when he intends to do a deed, begin with it before anything else, because it is the intended goal, and then what follows is voluntary. Then he mentioned this great hadith of glad tidings, and we ask Allah to make it a reality for us and for you. It says: Allah is the Greatest. Merely saying it is not enough; rather, sincerity is necessary, seeking thereby the Face of Allah. As for mere utterance, it occurs even from the hypocrite. , so the hypocrites mention Allah . It is good, eloquent, and clear speech; when a person hears it, he says, "What Allah willed." This is the believer who has reached the peak of faith. "If you were to hear them, you would listen to their speech" due to the intensity, clarity, and eloquence of what they say, until they come to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and say: "We bear witness that you are indeed the Messenger of Allah." They bear witness and affirm the testimony with the oath, "Indeed, you are the Messenger of Allah." How sweet this word is! But it continued: . Testimony upon testimony; which is stronger? The testimony of Allah. "We bear witness, by Allah, that the hypocrites are liars." Even if they swore a thousand times that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, they are still hypocrites. We ask Allah for safety. So if one says, "There is no god but Allah," seeking thereby the Face of Allah, Allah will protect him from the Fire; the Fire will no longer consume him forever. Even if it were assumed that he entered the Fire because of his sins, the Fire would not affect him in any way, if it were assumed, although the apparent meaning of the hadith is that he will not enter it. But this condition is necessary: seeking thereby the Face of Allah, seeking thereby the Face of Allah. How severe this condition is! This is a great and very, very severe condition. Some of the Salaf said: "I have not striven against my soul for anything as I have striven against it for sincerity", and he spoke the truth, may Allah have mercy on him. Physical deeds are easy; all of us can perform wudu', pray, fast, perform Hajj, and give charity. These are easy. But the deeds of the heart are the difficult ones. We ask Allah to help us with them. They are the difficult ones, the ones that hardly anyone can bear. For this reason, this man from the Salaf says: "I have not striven against my soul for anything as I have striven against it for sincerity". And this is the meaning of His saying: .