He looks at your hearts and your actions

It has been reported by Hazrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:

Innallaha taála la yanzuru ila ajsamikum wa la ila suwarikum walakin yanzuru ila qulubikum wa a’malikum

(Certainly Allah does not look at your physique nor at your faces; Rather He looks at your hearts and your actions.)

It is a very important Hadith and through it we can see what really matters in our life. Sadly our preferences are totally opposite to this Hadith. We put so much focus on appearances. Wonderful talented people spend miserable lives because of some physical aspect which they find unattractive. Like small height or dark complexion or acne or some other “unfortunate” thing. Our stress is only on “looking” good and not on “being” good although we all know that when we live with a person or have any dealing with him then it’s not the looks but his character is what matters. Similarly you can look around and see how people are obsessed with clothes and cosmetics and hairstyles and jewellery….why? Because we have willingly surrendered to this illusion of appearances.

Now reading this Hadith once again my faith has been renewed that Islam really is a religion of liberation…… How simply the Messenger of Allah has liberated us from this burden of appearances in just a few words!!  No need to worry about perfect looks but to focus our attention on the purification of our intentions and our actions.

It doesn’t mean that we should neglect our appearance altogether. Do take care of your health, eat sensibly, sleep adequately and work tirelessly….Keep yourself clean and smelling nice and fresh…wear a pleasant smile on your face and keep your eyes shining with optimism and hope…and this is it. No more worrying of physical beauty or facial charms… that is a decision of Allah. He will not hold you answerable for these things. But what we do have to worry about and consequently work on are two things: Our hearts and our actions because Allah is constantly keeping note of these two things. We can say that actions are in our control so we can improve in that but what can we do to improve our hearts? The fact is that our hearts and our actions are inter-dependent. Each has an effect on the other. Therefore if we think positive then our actions will also be in a positive direction and if we do good deeds, it will have a purifying effect on the heart.

So let’s give it our best and you will see that once you get onto this cycle of straightening out your hearts with good deeds and vice versa you will no longer be worried about impressing anyone with artificial things, rather all your effort will be to impress Allah with your genuine feelings and actions.

May Allah guide us to the very best…Ameen

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