In spiritual terms, a person can revive their dying heart by displaying courage. Therefore, we must ask ourselves when have we ever shown courage in our lives. Do we have the courage to be successful or do what others aren’t willing to do to attain success? Do we have the courage to be a good Muslim than just a Muslim or be a great Muslim than just a good Muslim?
We all make mistakes as human beings and Muslims but we must have the courage to admit them, learn from them, and not repeat them going forward. All the messengers of Allah (SWT) were special as Allah (SWT) sent them to help us correct our mistakes and teach us how not to repeat them.
The most courageous person in human history was the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW). In the early days of Madinah after the Hijra, the Muslims were preparing each night for an attack from the Quraish and so one night, they heard rumblings coming from the direction of Uhud. All the Sahaba gathered their weapons, armor and got their horses ready to ride out. As they were riding out, the Sahaba see a lone man on a horse approaching them and it was our Nabi (SAW) returning to inform the Sahaba that it was nothing and so, no need to worry. The Prophet (SAW) went out without a shirt with only a sword hanging from his neck. Furthermore, Imam Bukhari reports that Hazrat Ali (AS) stated that when the battle was fierce and we were scared, we hid behind the Prophet (SAW).
Another courageous person in human history was Syedina Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS), he was a true warrior. Nowadays, Hollywood makes many films based on comic book superheroes but Hazrat Ali (AS) was a true superhero. During the battle of Khaybar, Hazrat Ali (AS) pulled a palace gate open with his bare hands. One time, during a fight, the enemy hit Hazrat Ali (AS) resulting in his eye popping out but he (AS) continued the jihad defending the Prophet (SAW) and Islam. Hazrat Ali (AS) returned to camp carrying his eye in his hand and so our Nabi (SAW) took the eye from Ali (AS) and placed it back into his face with his (SAW) saliva and the eye began to function normally.
Another example of Hazrat Ali’s (AS) courage and heroism is when he (AS) made Hijra from Makkah to Madinah on foot through the desert. On horseback, this journey from Makkah to Madinah took 14 days. During Ali’s (AS) journey to Madinah, one of the tribes allied with the Quraish spotted him and so they decide to capture Ali (AS) to sell him to the Quraish. The allied tribe of the Quraish sent 200 men to apprehend Syedina Ali (AS) but he (AS) saw them coming and so, Ali (AS) climbed up the mountain pleading with them to move out of his way as he (AS) didn’t want to harm them.
The 200 men replied ‘no’ to Ali’s (AS) plea and so he (AS) challenged them to come up the mountain to capture him. A hundred men went up but none of them returned. The remaining one hundred men said that if we don’t get Ali (AS), the poets will immortalize our shame so let’s get him. The remaining hundred men climbed up the mountain but Syedina Ali (AS) captured twenty of them.
We must ask ourselves what does it mean to live fearlessly? It means that we need to live a clean life and have the courage to say and act according to what Allah (SWT) wants not what our society dictates.
As Muslims, we believe that the heart for us is where we see from, feel from, hear from, and where we govern our matters. In a hadith, our Nabi (SAW) explains the importance of the heart, “Truly in the body, there is a morsel of flesh which, if it is sound, all the body is sound and which, if it is diseased, all of it is diseased. Truly it is the heart.” (Sahih Bukhari and Muslim)
There are three parts of the heart, that is physical, mental, and spiritual. The heart is supposed to control your mind to prevent us from doing dumb mistakes. Sometimes we find ourselves doing stupid things even though other people and our bodies warn us not to do them but we continue to do them. And when this happens, this shows that we lack the courage to pull ourselves back and hold ourselves to a higher standard.
The prominent Islamic scholar Ibn Taymiyyah said that many doctors and philosophers have said that the mind is in the brain, so we think and understand with our brains and not with our hearts. He further stated that the center is the heart. Another famous scholar Ibn Kathir said: “The arrogant philosophers say that the mind is in the brain.” [Tafsir ibn Kathir vol 4 p.508]
