An Instant Prize We Forget!

We often mention that those who fall into temptations and desires are dominated by their hearts. But this is only half the truth! The other half, which is no less important: those who resist them receive an instant prize: the white spot! When you are exposed to temptation, there are only two possible outcomes: either a white spot or a black spot. There is no third possibility that neither you nor anyone else will be affected! Here is the instant prize! When you resist desire and temptation, you do not only reward yourself with the reward of the Hereafter, nor only that whoever leaves something will be replaced by Allah with something better later, but there is an instant white spot, which qualifies you to become one of the owners of the white hearts that distinguish right from wrong in this confusing world, and feel the pleasure of attachment to Allah the Almighty, and He pours into them intimacy with Him, longing for Him, love for Him, love for His religion, His Book, and His Messenger (peace be upon him), and love for Muslims in Him, glory be to Him. When you see that Allah the Almighty exposes you to temptations and tests you with them, know that He wants you for a dignity in religion that requires a white heart. This does not mean, of course, that we hover around desires and plunge into them, but that we endure if we are confronted. On the other hand, remember that accepting temptation and enjoying it has an immediate punishment: a black mark that deprives you of the noble feelings mentioned, and replaces them with distraction and confusion in the temptations of desires and doubts. These meanings are explained in a hadith narrated by Imam Muslim that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: -(Temptations are presented to the hearts like the mat, strand by strand) meaning intertwined, many one after the other, like the intertwining of the mat. -(So whoever's heart drinks it, a black mark is placed in it) meaning the heart that inclines to it and accepts it receives a black spot. -(And whoever's heart rejects it, a white mark is placed in it) the one who resists it and endures it receives a white spot. -(Until they become two hearts: one white like Safa, so no temptation harms it as long as the heavens and the earth remain) the heart of the one who endures temptations becomes white little by little, as white as Mount Safa, so he becomes immune to the temptations that will be presented to him later, even if they are bigger than the first. (The other is black, dark like the inverted jug) black in color like the overturned jug, no matter how much water you pour on it, it will not enter it. And so this one is not benefited by the verses, hadiths, lessons, and sermons. -(He does not recognize good nor denounce evil except what he drinks from his desires) his motive in life and his measure in judging things becomes desire only. So, O Allah, make us among the people of the white hearts.