Hatred
POEM VERSES 32-33
Another disease is hatred for other than the sake of [God] the
Exalted. Its cure is to pray for the one despised.
This is with the understanding that you have not done wrong if
you are repulsed by the hatred you harbor and do not act in
accordance with it [to harm the person].
POEM VERSES 32-33
Another disease is hatred for other than the sake of [God] the
Exalted. Its cure is to pray for the one despised.
This is with the understanding that you have not done wrong if
you are repulsed by the hatred you harbor and do not act in
accordance with it [to harm the person].
Definition and Treatment
The next disease is hatred (bughd). In itself, hatred is not necessarily negative. It is commendable to hate corruption, evil, disbelief, murder, lewdness, and anything else that God has exposed as despicable. The Prophet ﷺ never disliked things because of their essences, but because of what they manifested.
Hatred or strong dislike of a person for no legitimate reason is the disease of bughd. The Prophet ﷺ once said to his Companions, "Do you want to see a man of Paradise?" A man then passed by and the Prophet ﷺ said, "That man is one of the people of Paradise." So a Companion of the Prophet ﷺ decided to learn what it was about this man that earned him such a commendation from the Messenger of God ﷺ. He spent time with this man and observed him closely. He noticed that he did not perform the Night Prayer vigil (Tahajjud) or anything extraordinary. He appeared to be an average man of Madinah. The Companion finally told the man what the Prophet ﷺ had said about him and asked if he did anything special. And the man replied, "The only thing that I can think of, other than what everybody else does, is that I make sure that I never sleep with any rancor in my heart towards another." That was his secret.
The cure for hatred is straightforward. One should pray for the person toward whom he feels hatred; make specific supplication mentioning this person by name, asking God to give this person good things in this life and the next. When one does this with sincerity, hearts mend. If one truly wants to purify his or her heart and root out disease, there must be total sincerity and conviction that these cures are effective.
Arguably, the disease of hatred is one of the most devastating forces in the world. But the force that is infinitely more powerful is love. Love is an attribute of God; hate is not. A name of God mentioned in the Quran is al-Wadud, the Loving one. Hate is the absence of love, and only through love can hatred be removed from the heart. In a profound and beautiful hadith, the Prophet ﷺ said, "None of you has achieved faith until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself." The 13th-century scholar Imam al-Nawawi comments on this hadith saying:
When the Prophet ﷺ says "brother" we should interpret this as universal brotherhood, which includes Muslims and non-Muslims. For one should desire for his brother non-Muslim that he enter into the state of submission with his Lord [Islam]. And for his brother Muslim, he should love for him the continuation of guidance and that he remain in submission. Because of this, it is considered highly recommended and divinely rewarding to pray for a non-Muslim's guidance. The word "love" here refers to a desire for good and benefit to come to others. This love is celestial or spiritual love and not earthly love or human love. For human nature causes people to desire harm to befall their enemies and to discriminate against those who are unlike them [in creed, color, or character]. But men must oppose their nature and pray for their brothers and desire for others what they desire for themselves. Moreover, whenever a man does not desire good for his brother, it is from envy. And envy is a rejection of God's apportionment in the world. Thus, one is opposing how God meted out sustenance in concord with His wisdom. Therefore, one must oppose his own ego's desires and seek treatment for this disease with the healing force of acceptance of the divine decree and prayer on behalf of one's enemies in a way that suppresses the ego [nafs].
Source: Purification of the Heart By Hamza Yusuf
