Chapter 12. What Exactly Is Hawaa

The meaning of hawaa is the loving and the loathing which is in the self. It is not in and of itself blameworthy, since it is not under the control of the person, rather what is blameworthy is the following if these likes, desires and dislikes.

 

Allah said to Dawood:

 

[O Dawood, we have made you a successor on the Earth, so rule between the people with the truth, and do not follow hawaa lest it lead you astray from the path of Allah.] Quran 38/26

 

And Allah said in another aya:

 

[And who is more astray than the one who follows his hawaa without guidance from Allah?] Quran 28/50

 

The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) tells us in the hadith:

 

"Three things which save: fear of Allah in public and private, moderation in poverty and in wealth, and speaking the truth when angry and when contented. And three things which lead to destruction: obedience to greed, following of hawaa, and a person's being pleased with himself."

 

The love and the hate of which we are speaking brings about certain "tastes" and feelings and desires in the presence of the loved or hated thing. Whoever follows these desires and feelings without an order from Allah and His Prophet, is the one described as the follower of his hawaa. In fact, this may even reach the level of shirk wherein he takes as his god his own hawaa! (See Quran 43/25)

• The Love And Hate Of The Heart
• The Following Of Hawaa In The Previous R...

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