Pure Hearts

~Asalam'alyakum~

If life's a roller coaster then i'm on the big momma of them all. It's kinda funny how life can be going so smoothly one second and take a turn in the next. Some superstitious people might call it nazar, karma or just plain bad luck; I think i'll call it Allah swt's master plan to keep us on our toes. Kinda like playing russian roulette, without the gambling of course. I'm not saying my life's sucking at this point or anything. Alhumdulillah, I've got a great family, i'm on summer vacation spending my days reading, swimming, getting in a game of tennis and just plain hanging out with my friends.

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All i'm saying is that life's just different. As we get older, so come the mountain of responsiblities and in the foothills of those mountains lives an inescapable, and evil emotion; Stress. I know that when i'm stressed, i'm not the most pleasant person in the world. I'm prone to being irritated and short with others, and I hate that I do that! InshAllah I pray that Allah swt give me patience and the ability to work past the feelings of stress in a productive way. {ameen}
So how do I get over these feelings of stress? Its a natural, human feeling and something that no one can escape from.

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It is not the eys that are blind, for it is the heart...

In their hearts there is a disease, and allah has increased that disease, that sickness of the heart. -- Qur'an

Yesterday, I was listening to a lecture by Shaykh Siraj Wahaj where he lamented on the lack of a pure heart in believers. To find true peace and faith, one must exhibit a pure heart. To overcome feelings of stress, then, one must also have a pure heart. Listening to lectures, reading qur'an and making du'a will not make a difference if the heart has a disease because these actions will only be touching the surface. One needs to have a pure heart, open to Allah swt's words. I know that whenever I make du'a with full trust in Allah swt, I find myself relieved of pressure, stress, worry, etc... On that note, I pray that all of us Muslim brothers an sisters remain pure in their hearts. (Ameen}

O my Allah, if I falter in speaking my request and wander astray in describing my needs and wants, show me the way that leads to that which promotes my interests and turn my heart to its course, because it is neither against (the principles of) Your guidance nor Your act of giving succour can be described as unlikely. O my Allah, support me with Your pardon, do not burden me with Your justice.{Ameen}

wasalaam :)

** to check out the lecture by Shaykh Siraj Wahaj go to
http://is.aswatalislam.net/DisplayFilesP.aspx?TitleID=2048&TitleName=Siraj_Wahaj
scroll down to his lecture entitled: "The Disease of The Heart" **