Satan's gateways to the heart:

Satan's gateways to the heart:

Diseases of the Heart
The heart is like a fort and Satan the advancing enemy, who is intent on infiltrating and occupying it. Hence, only by guarding the gates, entrances and vulnerable positions, will it be impenetrable. Yet, a person who is unacquainted with the structure of the fortress, particularly its access points, cannot adequately defend it. By the same token, the obligation of guarding the heart from the whispers of Satan cannot be fulfilled and he cannot be warded off, unless a person knows the gates to the heart that Satan may take.

These gateways are, generally, personal characteristics, of which there are many, but, here, we will only refer to the ones that are so wide so as to accommodate all the numerous soldiers of Satan. These include:

- Anger and desire: Anger is the ghoul of the psyche; when it weakens the guards of one's mind, Satan's soldiers immediately seize the opportunity to attack. Furthermore, when a person becomes enraged, Satan toys with him in the same way children play with a ball.
- Envy and greed: No matter how careful man is, his covetousness makes him deaf and dumb. The light of insight reveals the gates of Satan; when envy and greediness mask this light, man becomes at risk. Hence, Satan seizes that opportunity and adorns for an acquisitive person whatever leads to his or her desires, even if it is heinous and evil. The Prophet, , spoke of avarice: "If two starving wolves were left in a flock of sheep, they would not be as harmful [to them] as a person’s hunger for money and status is to his [or her] faith." [At-Tirmithi, Hasan Saheeh]
- Satiating oneself: This is one of Satan's gateways to the heart; although lawful, eating in excess strengthens one's desires, which, in turn, are his weapons.
- Impetuosity: Haste and recklessness are among the widest gates of Satan to one's heart, as the Prophet, , said: "Hastiness is from Satan and deliberateness is from Allah the Almighty." [At-Tirmithi]
- Miserliness and fear of poverty: They prevent a person from giving in charity, instead justifying hoarding, which only leads to a painful punishment.
- Bigotry toward a specific school of thought or an inclination toward a desire, bearing grudges against opponents or treating them with contempt: This destroys the immoral and pious alike. Defaming people and calling attention to their faults is one of the predatory characteristics inherent in human nature.
- Thinking ill of Muslims: Allah the Almighty Says (what means): {O you who have believed! Avoid much suspicion, indeed some suspicions are sins.} [Quran 49: 12]. Indeed, only hypocrites seek out flaws in others, whereas believers seek excuses for them.

A person may now ask: “How can one ward Satan off? Is it enough to be in constant remembrance of Allah the Almighty or to utter [phrases like] ‘Laa hawla wala quwwata illaa billaah (There is no power or strength except in Allah)’?” The answer is that you must know that the course of treatment to save one's heart from the whispers of Satan is to block the gateways [he takes] and to purify the heart from the aforementioned bad characteristics.

This needs to be further elaborated. The remembrance of Allah the Almighty should indeed suffice in stopping Satan from passing by or whispering in one’s heart. However, that cannot happen unless the heart itself is already of a pious nature and purified from evil characteristics. If not, words of His remembrance will be no more than mere thoughts without any impact on the heart or substance to deflect Satan. Allah the Almighty Says (what means):{Indeed, those who are pious - when an impulse touches them from Satan, they remember [Him] and at once they have insight.} [Quran 7: 201]. Therefore, since this is only confined to the pious, once a person manages to uproot evil traits from within, Satan may pass by or whisper, but will never be able to reside in the heart.

You see, Satan is like an approaching starved dog; if a person has neither bread nor meat, it will move away just by your voice which commands it to “go away”. However, if you have meat in your hands and the dog is hungry, it will attack the flesh and your mere words will not be enough to keep the animal at bay.

Similarly, if the heart is free from anything Satan can feed on, Thikr (remembrance of Allah The Almighty) will be enough to fend it off. On the other hand, if a person’s desires dominate his or her heart, the influence of Thikr is restricted to the outer edges of the heart and instead, its core becomes a residence for Satan. The Prophet, , said: "The heart is touched twice: [one of it is] a touch by the angel [which constitutes] a command of goodness and an acceptance of the truth. So, if a man experiences this, he should know that it is from Allah the Almighty and he should consequently thank Him. On the other hand, [there is] a touch from the enemy [Satan, and that constitutes an] insinuation of evil, disbelief in truth and being barred from good. So, if a person experiences this, he should seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan.” Then, the Prophet, , recited the Saying of Allah the Almighty (which means): {Satan threatens you with poverty and orders you to immorality.}.[Quran 2:268].”[An-Nasaa’i and At-Tirmithi]

Expounding on this, Al-Hasan said: "They [i.e., the two touches] are actually two concerns that occur to the heart: one from Allah the Almighty and the other from the enemy [Satan]. May Allah have mercy upon a slave who examines his concerns and lets that affect him which is from Allah The Almighty, and strives against whatever he deems from the enemy.”

By nature, the heart equally accepts both the inspiration of an angel and the incitement of Satan, such that there is a balance. However, the latter aspect dominates when a person acts ravenously and indulges in desires, whereas the former overrules it if a person turns away from wants and whims, and resists them.

When man becomes subservient to his desires and his actions become driven by rage, the influence of Satan will prevail via whims, which are his haven, and the heart will become Satan’s nest and pasture. On the other hand, if a person strives against his or her desires, barring them from impacting him or her and adopts some angelic traits, his or her heart will become the dwelling and station of angels. Thus, the soldiers of angels and of Satan are in an epic struggle, until the heart opens to one of them, allowing them to reside within and dominate; the other party, then, will only be able to pass with stealth.

Unfortunately, most hearts are conquered by the soldiers of Satan, sustained by obedience to desires and whims, and, therefore, the organs are riddled with base notions that give preference to this temporary life, with clear disregard of the Hereafter. The heart cannot be recaptured except when it is purified from the nutrition of Satan and is supported with the remembrance of Allah the Almighty, which is the haven of angels.

Responses of the heart to temptation

Huthayfah ibn Al-Yamaan, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that the Prophet, , said:"Temptations are presented to hearts in the same way as a reed mat is woven, stick by stick. Any heart which is saturated by them will receive a black mark, whereas any heart that rejects them will have a white mark put on it. The result is that there will be two types of hearts: a black and dusty heart, which is like an uneven vessel that neither recognizes good nor rejects evil, except what is impregnated into it of desires; and a white heart that will never be harmed by any temptation, as long as there are heavens and the earth." [Muslim]

When the lure of desire and doubts are presented to the heart, it transforms into either of two types:

- The first is a heart that absorbs temptation in the same way a sponge soaks up water. This one will get a black stain every time it gives in to a temptation, until it becomes wholly dark and uneven. When this happens, the heart will be susceptible to two dangerous diseases: firstly, it will be unable to differentiate between good and evil, to the extent that it will not recognize either of them. Thereafter, the illness will pervade the organ until a person believes that good is evil and evil is good, the Prophetic Sunnah is a religious innovation and vice versa, and that truth is falsehood and the opposite holds true as well. Secondly, the heart will begin to be subservient to its whims, making them a criterion for judging the teachings of the Prophet, , sallam.

- The second is the white heart that is illuminated by the light of faith. When temptations are presented to it, it will immediately deny and reject them, thereby increasing in brightness and radiance.

As for the temptations themselves, they are categorized into two: desires and doubts. While the first leads to the corruption of both intentions and one’s will, the second taints a person’s knowledge and belief.

Accordingly, diseases of the heart are also of base desires and doubts; the former can be interpreted by the verse in which Allah the Almighty Says (what means): {Do not be soft in speech [to men], lest he in whose heart is disease should covet.} [Quran 33: 32] Unlike a healthy person, a patient is more sensitive to the slightest changes in heat, cold or movement; likewise, when the heart suffers from an illness, even a small amount of whims or doubts harms it and it is unable to ward them off. On the other hand, a sound heart powerfully fends off these temptations, even in the face of more attacks.

As for the other kind, Allah the Almighty referred to the disease of doubt, when He Said (what means): {In their hearts is disease, so Allah has increased their disease.} [Quran 2: 10] Commenting on this verse, Qataadah and Mujaahid stated that “disease” here refers to misgivings.

Although illnesses of the heart come in these two forms, the Glorious Quran is a remedy for both. It includes decisive proofs that distinguish between truth and falsehood; with them, the disease of doubt, which corrupts a person’s knowledge and intellect, is removed, and a person can perceive things in their real form. Thus, the Quran is the true cure for malicious allegations and doubts. Yet, its effectiveness is contingent on understanding the Quran and comprehending its essence. And, if Allah the Almighty grants that to a person, his or her heart will as clearly distinguish between truth and falsehood, as it does between night and day.

Additionally, the Quran heals the other of the two diseases: desire; for, it includes wisdom, admonition and encouragement. It also contains verses warning people against indulging in the worldly life and instead urging them to work for the Hereafter. Furthermore, it has parables and stories that illustrate various lessons and warnings. Contemplating all this, a sound heart will surely incline towards what benefits it in both worlds and turn away from what will be of harm. The heart will then love guidance and detest vice.

Thus, the Glorious Quran removes diseases that result in corrupt yearnings; it reforms the heart, and so, reforms its wants, thus restoring it to the natural, pure state that it was created in. Referring to this, Allah the Almighty Says (what means):
· {And We send down of the Quran that which is healing and mercy for the believers, but it does not increase the wrongdoers except in loss.} [Quran 17: 82]
· {O mankind, there has to come to you instruction from your Lord and healing for what is in the breasts and guidance and mercy for the believers.} [Quran 10: 57]

The heart feeds on faith and the Quran, taking from it what purifies and strengthens it. Both the heart and body require growth and development until they become perfect and sound. Hence, just as the body needs nutrients that build it and a healthy diet that protects it from harm, so does the heart. But, it can only obtain its nourishment from the Quran; and if it attempts to get something similar from another source, it would be provided with very little and not be able to reach its potential. Similarly, plants do not grow or become ripe without nutrients and proper environment; only when those are available, can we say they do.
Therefore, a person should study the signs of an ill and a sound heart, so he or she is able to discern which type he or she possesses. If the heart is sick, a slave of Allah The Almighty must do his or her best to treat it before he or she meets Him with a sick heart, which will deprive him or her from entering Paradise. If the heart is sound, then he or she must nonetheless continue to safeguard its soundness until he or she dies in this state. If, however, the heart is dead, he or she can take solace in the fact that Allah the Almighty gives life to the dead, as He Says (what means): {Know that Allah gives life to the earth after its lifelessness. We have made clear to you the signs; perhaps you will understand.} [Quran 57: 17]

http://www.islamweb.net/en/article/160725
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The Consequences of Committing Sins:

The great scholar Ibn Al-Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah wrote the following words in a famous tract called Al-Jawaab Al-Kaafi in response to a letter written to him by an individual who was seeking advice on how to rid himself of major sin. The great scholar Ibn Al-Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah wrote the following words in a famous tract called Al-Jawaab Al-Kaafi in response to a letter written to him by an individual who was seeking advice on how to rid himself of major sin.
We take a look at the dire consequences of committing sins in general:
One: The Prevention of Knowledge. Knowledge is a light which Allah throws into the heart, and disobedience extinguishes this light. Imaam Shaafi’ee said: I complained to Wakee’ about the weakness of my memory So he ordered me to abandon disobedience And informed me that knowledge is light And that the light of Allah is not given to the disobedient.
Two: The Prevention of Sustenance, Just as Taqwaa brings about sustenance, the abandonment of Taqwaa causes poverty. There is nothing which can bring about sustenance like the abandonment of disobedience.
Three: The Prevention of Obedience (to Allah). If there was no other punishment for sin other than that it prevents one from obedience to Allah then this would be sufficient. Four: Disobedience weakens the heart and the body. Its weakening the heart is something which is clear. Disobedience does not stop weakening it until the life of the heart ceases completely.
Five: Disobedience reduces the life span and destroys any blessings. Just as righteousness increases the life span, sinning reduces it.
Six: Disobedience sows its own seeds and gives birth to itself until separating from it and coming out of it becomes difficult for the servant.
Seven: Sins weaken the hearts will and resolve so that the desire for disobedience becomes strong and the desire to repent becomes weak bit by bit until the desire to repent is removed from the heart completely.
Eight: Every type of disobedience is a legacy of a nation from among the nations which Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, destroyed. Sodomy is a legacy of the People of Lot. Taking more than one’s due right and giving what is less is a legacy of the People of Shu’ayb. Seeking greatness in the land and causing corruption is a legacy of the People of Pharoah. Pride/arrogance and tyranny is a legacy of the People of Hud. So the disobedient one is wearing the gown of some of these nations who were the enemies of Allah.
Nine: Disobedience is a cause of the servant being held in contempt by his Lord. Al-Hasan Al-Basree (radiallahu ‘anhu) said: They became contemptible in (His sight) so they disobeyed Him. If they were honorable (in His sight) He would have protected them. Allah the Exalted said: {And whomsoever Allah disgraces, none can honour him.} [Al-Hajj 22:18] {وَمَن يُهِنِ ٱللَّـهُ فَمَا لَهُۥ مِن مُّكْرِمٍ} الحج: 18 Transliteration: waman yuhini Allahu famalahu min mukrimin
Ten: The ill-effects of the sinner fall upon those besides him and also the animals as a result of which they are touched by harm.
Eleven: The servant continues to commit sins until they become very easy for him and seem insignificant in his heart, and this is a sign of destruction. Every time a sin becomes insignificant in the sight of the servant it becomes great in the sight of Allah. Ibn Mas’ood (radiallahu ‘anhu) said: “Indeed, the believer sees his sins as if he was standing at the foot of a mountain fearing that it will fall upon him and the sinner sees his sins like a fly which passes by his nose so he tries to remove it by waving his hand around.” [Al-Bukhari] «قال ابن مسعود:إن المؤمن يرى ذنوبه كأنه قاعد تحت جبل يخاف أن يقع عليه ، وإن الفاجر يرى ذنوبه كذباب مر على أنفه ، فقال به هكذا» رواه البخاري
Twelve: Disobedience inherits humiliation and lowliness. Honor, all of it, lies in the obedience of Allaah. Abdullaah ibn al-Mubaarak said: I have seen sins kill the hearts and humiliation is inherited by their continuity. The abandonment of sins gives life to the hearts and the prevention of your soul is better for it.
Thirteen: Disobedience corrupts the intellect. The intellect has light and disobedience extinguishes this light. When the light of the intellect is extinguished it becomes weak and deficient.
Fourteen: When disobedience increases, the servant’s heart becomes sealed so that he becomes of those who are heedless. The Exalted said: {Nay! But on their hearts is the Ran (covering of sins and evil deeds) which they used to earn.} [Al-Mutaffifeen 83:14] {كَلَّاۖ بَلْۜ رَانَ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِم مَّا كَانُوا۟ يَكْسِبُونَ} المطففين: 14 Transliteration: Kalla bal rana AAala quloobihim makanoo yaksiboona
Fifteen: Sins cause the various types of corruption to occur in the land. Corruption of the waters, the air, the plants, the fruits and the dwelling places. The Exalted said: {Evil (sins and disobedience of Allah, etc.) has appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of men have earned (by oppression and evil deeds, etc.), that Allah may make them taste a part of that which they have done, in order that they may return (by repenting to Allah, and begging His Pardon).} [Ar-Rum 30:41] {ظَهَرَ ٱلْفَسَادُ فِى ٱلْبَرِّ وَٱلْبَحْرِ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِى ٱلنَّاسِ لِيُذِيقَهُم بَعْضَ ٱلَّذِى عَمِلُوا۟ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ} الروم: 41 Transliteration: Thahara alfasadu fee albarri waalbahri bima kasabat aydee alnnasi liyutheeqahum baAAda allathee AAamiloo laAAallahum yarjiAAoona
Sixteen: The disappearance of modesty, which is the essence of the life of the heart and is the basis of every good. Its disappearance is the disappearance of all that is good. It is authentic from the Messenger (sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) that he said: “Modesty is goodness, all of it.” [Muslim] «الحياء كله خير» رواه مسلم A Poet said: And by Allah, there is no good in life or in the world when modesty goes.
Seventeen: Sins weaken and reduce the magnification of Allaah, the Mighty in the heart of the servant.
Eighteen: Sins are the cause of Allah forgetting His servant, abandoning him and leaving him to fend for himself with his soul and his shaytaan and in this is the destruction from which no deliverance can be hoped for.
Nineteen: Sins remove the servant from the realm of Ihsaan (doing good) and he is prevented from (obtaining) the reward of those who do good. When Ihsaan fills the heart it prevents it from disobedience.
Twenty: Disobedience causes the favors of Allah to cease and justify His retribution. No blessing ceases to reach a servant except due to a sin and no retribution is made deserving upon him except due to a sin. Ali (radiallahu ‘anhu) said: “No trial has descended except due to a sin and it (the trial) is not repelled except by repentance.” Allaah the Exalted said: {And whatever of misfortune befalls you, it is because of what your hands have earned. And He pardons much.} [Ash-Shura 42:30] {وَمَآ أَصَـٰبَكُم مِّن مُّصِيبَةٍ فَبِمَا كَسَبَتْ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَيَعْفُوا۟ عَن كَثِيرٍ} الشورى: 30 Transliteration: Wama asabakum min museebatin fabima kasabat aydeekum wayaAAfoo AAan katheerin And the Exalted also said: {That is so because Allah will never change a grace which He has bestowed on a people until they change what is in their ownselves.} [Anfaal 8:53] {ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّ ٱللَّـهَ لَمْ يَكُ مُغَيِّرًا نِّعْمَةً أَنْعَمَهَا عَلَىٰ قَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا۟ مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ} الأنفال: 53 Transliteration: Thalika bianna Allaha lam yaku mughayyiran niAAmatan anAAamahaAAala qawmin hatta yughayyiroo mabianfusihim May Allah have mercy upon us and help us to abandon the sins that are the causes of our problems. Ameen. [The bulk of this article was derived from Ibn Al-Qayyim’s Al-Jawaab Al-Kaafi English Translation by Abu ‘Iyaad and The Ill-Effects Of Sins by Muhammad Saalih ibn Al-‘Uthaimeen]

https://en.islamway.net/article/12267/the-consequences-of-committing-sins

Giving Life to a Dead Heart: Al-Muhyi
Alhamdulillah (all praise be to God), we have entered into Ramadan. While this is the most beautiful time of the year—a time in which the doors to Paradise are open, the gates of hell are closed, and the devils are chained—some of us may be coming into it carrying a heavy burden. Some of us might be broken. And still others might not really feel anymore. No one knows our internal state, the fact that all those months have done something to us, that our hearts are numb and we are not even really sure what it is like to feel that energy or that love anymore.
If you are that person, and if you feel that something in your heart has died, don’t give up just yet. This Name of Allah, subhanahu wa ta`ala (exalted is He), is for you. Allah tells us:
“And is one who was dead and We gave him life and made for him light by which to walk among the people like one who is in darkness, never to emerge therefrom?” (Qur’an, 6:122)
In the last article, we briefly mentioned Allah’s Name al-Muhyi—the Giver of Life. We see manifestations of His Name all around us. Life and death are two sides of the same coin; He who causes death, also brings life out of death. In Surat al-Baqara, Allah (swt) tells us the story of the Prophet ‘Uzayr, `alayhi as salaam (peace be upon him), when he came to Jerusalem and found it to be burnt to the ground, with no traces of life whatsoever. ‘Uzayr (as) exclaimed:
“’How will Allah bring this to life after its death?’ So Allah caused him to die for a hundred years; then He revived him […]” (Qur’an, 2:259).
Just as Allah (swt) brought back to life ‘Uzayr—and indeed the whole of Jerusalem—and just like He created a sturdy 400-year-old Redwood tree from a tiny seed—a seed that seems dead, a seed that had you stepped on it would have been crushed—know that He can bring alive your beautiful heart. The same heart that He created to know Him.
If we fail to use our hearts for what they were created for, that is when they become rusty. A person who never exercises finds it much harder to run a marathon, and cannot take it. Even more than that, a person who is bedridden for months probably won’t be able to walk straightaway when he is better, because his legs were out of use for so long. Similarly, when we fail to use our hearts by directing them to Allah (swt), slowly they die and we forget how to exercise them in what they were created for.
It does not really matter how we got here. We may think, “But I am different. I am so beyond help.” That is Shaytan (Satan) or your nafs (base self). Remember Malik bin Dinar, who most people know as a great scholar. But it was not always so. He was a person who went to the extremes in what was prohibited—whether it was through illicit relationships, alcohol or gambling. There wasn’t anything he did not try. But God blessed him and tested him in ways that brought him back. And his heart came alive, even though you would not have believed it if you had met him before.
Some of us may have had a very difficult year, or a very difficult couple of years, and these things take their toll. Others of us may have slowly slipped, such that everything has become more important than our relationship with Allah (swt). But whatever the journey, the result is the same. And for each and every one of us, Allah al-Muhyi, the Giver of Life, calls us to bring us back to life. So don’t think that there is no hope for you, and that there is no point in trying. The only way to truly bring us back is by mending our relationship with Him and making Him our center again.
Just remember your part. Make the intention. Intend to bring back your heart. And remember that you will get what you intend. This Ramadan, intend tawba—a return to Him. And know with full conviction that He will accept you, as He tells us:
“Allah wants to accept your repentance, but those who follow [their] passions want you to digress [into] a great deviation.” (Qur’an, 4:27)
When your heart comes alive—truly alive—you will be light and fulfilled, because your heart is full of what it is meant to be full of—love for Allah. And you will be a living manifestation of Allah’s Name al-Muhyi.
Because our hearts are rusty, it may take a while. But Allah is al-Muhyi, so the result is guaranteed insha’Allah (God willing). So what can we do to aid in the journey?
Qur’an
“O mankind, there has to come to you instruction from your Lord and healing for what is in the breasts and guidance and mercy for the believers.” (Qur’an, 10:57)
The Qur’an was sent as a healing for our hearts, and this is the month of the Qur’an. So reflect on the Qur’an this month in addition to reciting it. If you feel you do not have the tools to do so, then make it a goal to listen to tafseer every night (Nouman Ali Khan is great for this, and I believe he has a Ramadan Qur’an series). Also, make it a point and a goal to choose 5 lessons from the Qur’an that you will implement by the end of Ramadan. This way you are of the people who not only listen to and reflect on the Qur’an, but you are of those who implement it. You will be what the Prophet ﷺ (peace and blessings be upon him) describes as a “citron – its scent is fragrant and its taste is good,” (agreed upon) because of your recitation and implementation of the Qur’an.
Istighfaar—Seeking Forgiveness
Sometimes this numbness is as a result of the wrongs that we do that have become so numerous we do not even notice them anymore. But as the Prophet ﷺ taught us:
“When a slave commits a sin, a black spot appears on his heart. But if he gives it up, seeks forgiveness and repents, his heart will be cleansed. But if he repeats it, (the blackness) will increase until it overwhelms his heart.” [Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah]
The essence of istighfaar is reflection. Our hearts become numb when we do not reflect. So cleanse your heart by seeking forgiveness from Allah (swt).
Du`a’—Supplication
This is key. Truly, no one knows of that emptiness that we feel except for Him, and only He can fill it. Du`a’ that comes from the heart represents our need for Him, and only Him. So call out to Him in the night. Ask Allah (swt) to bring alive your heart. Ask Him to fill it with love for Him. Take the steps, even the baby steps, to come closer to Allah, through your prayers, through remembering Him and through good company. Remember that He is Generous, Shy and He responds. Pour out your heart to Him this Ramadan. Ask for what you need to give your heart life.
The Hearts Get Rusted
Muhammad Zakariyya Kaandhlawi

Source: Virtues of the Holy Qur'an

Abdullah ibn Umar (Radhiyallaho anhuma) narrated:
"Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) said, “The hearts get rusted as does iron with water.” When someone asked, "What could cleanse hearts again?” Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) said, "Frequent remembrance of death and recitation of Qur'an."
Excess of sins and negligence in the remembrance of Allah cause the hearts to rust, as water causes iron to rust.
The reading of Qur'an and the remembrance of death polish the rusted hearts. The heart is like a mirror. If it is not cleaned, it will not properly reflect the recognition of Allah. The more burnished and brighter it is, the better will it show from the enlightenment. Therefore, the more we indulge in sinful lust and devilish acts, the more are we deprived of the recognition of Almighty Allah. It is with a view to polishing the mirror of the heart that mashaa'ikh enjoin upon their disciples to devote themselves to self-discipline endeavours, spiritual occupation, incantation and remembrance of Allah.
It is mentioned in some ahadith that when a man commits a sin, a black dot stains his heart. If he repents in real earnest, this dot is removed, but if he commits another sin, another black dot appears. In this way, if he goes on committing sin after sin, his heart gets completely blackened. At this stage the heart becomes quite disinclined to do good,, and keeps on turning to evil.
May Allah save us from such a stage.
"Verily their evil deeds have covered their hearts with rust" refers to this blackening of the heart.
According to another hadith, Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) said, "I leave two 'wu'aaz' (plural of waa'iz-preacherj-one speaking and the other silent. That which speaks is the Holy Qur'an and that which is silent is the remembrance of death.”
Certainly the words of Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) are worthy of loving acceptance. But only those who take proper heed derive benefit from a sermon. On the other hand, if we consider deen itself as being a useless occupation and an obstacle in the way of material progress, we will neither feel the need of spiritual advice nor act upon it.
Hadhrat Hasan Basri (Rahmatullah alaih) says, "People of earlier times believed the Holy Qur'an to be the Commandment of Allah, they contemplated over it throughout the night and acted upon it during the day. Whereas today you exercise particular care to pronounce its words and vowels correctly, but do not take it as the Commandment of Allah, and do not contemplate over it."
Took from other source

The Types of Hearts (1/3)
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah
Because the heart is described as possessing life or death, it is classified into three types:
The Correct and Sound Heart
This is the truthful and sound (salmi) heart. It is the only type of heart that a person can bring to Allah on the Day of Judgement which will rescue him. Allah, Exalted is He says,
“...the Day when neither wealth nor sons will be of any use - except for he who comes to Allah with a sound and flawless heart.” [Surah ash-Shu'ara' (26): 88-89]
The meaning of salim (secure) is salim (the one who is secure), it has come in this form because it depicts an innate attribute or description of the described. As such it is grammatically like the words tall (tawil), short (qasir), or graceful and charming (Zarif).
The Correct and Sound Heart:
Therefore the one whose heart is described as salim is characterised so because this attribute of truthfulness and soundness has become its constant and established quality. In this respect it is like the terms, 'the one who knows' (alim) and ‘the one who has power’ (qadir).
It is also the opposite of diseased (marid), sick (saqim) and ailing (alil).
People have described the sound and truthful heart in different ways. However they all revolve around the following basic concept,
[The truthful and sound heart] is that which is secure from every carnal desire that opposes the order and prohibition of Allah. It is secure from every doubt and uncertainty that would obscure or go against His narrative. It is secure from displaying servitude to any other than Him; just as it is secure from seeking ruling from any other than His Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam). Therefore it becomes sound through loving Allah and seeking the ruling of His Messenger. It becomes sound through showing Him fear, hope, trust and reliance, penitence, and humility; it prefers what pleases Him in every circumstance and distances itself from everything that would displease Him in every possible way. This is the reality of servitude (ubudiyyah) which can only be directed to Allah Alone.
Therefore the truthful and sound heart is that heart which is secure from committing any form of shirk whatsoever and instead its servitude is directed only to, and purely for, Allah, Exalted is He. Its desire, love, trust and reliance, penitence, humility, fear and hope is only for Allah and its actions are purely for His sake. Hence if it loves, it loves for the sake of Allah; if it hates, it hates for the sake of Allah; if it gives, it gives for the sake of Allah; and if it withholds, it withholds for the sake of Allah.
But this alone does not suffice until the heart becomes secure from submitting to, and going to anybody else but, the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) for judgement. Therefore the heart ties a firm bond with him (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), resolving to follow him and obey him alone in sayings and actions. These sayings comprise the saying of the heart: the matters of belief; and the sayings of the tongue which convey what the heart contains. These actions comprise the actions of the heart: its desire, love, dislike and other connected matters; and the actions of the limbs.
Therefore the judge for all these matters - the major and minor of them - is that which the Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) came with. Hence the heart does not put itself before him in any matter related to belief, saying, or action. Allah, Exalted is He, says,
“O you who believe! Do not put yourself forward in front of Allah and His Messenger...”[Surah Al-Hujurat (49): 1]
Meaning: do not speak of a matter until he has spoken of it and do not act until he has commanded it.
Some of the Salaf said,
There is no action, even if it be small,
except that two records will be unfurled for it:
why? how?
Meaning: why did you do it? How did you do it?
The first question enquires about the cause, onset and motive of the action. Was it done for some temporal and worldly gain such as attaining the praise of people? Was it done for fear of people's censure? Or was the motivation of this action establishing the rights of servitude, seeking the increase of ones love of, and closeness, to Allah, Glorious and Exalted is He, and seeking the means of drawing close (wasilah) to Him?
The essence of this question is: was it upon you to perform this action for the sake of your Master or for the sake of personal gain and base desire?
The second question enquires about the following of the Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) in that action of worship: was the action you did from those actions which have been legislated upon the tongue of My Messenger? Or was it an action that I did not legislate and was not pleased with?
Therefore the first question concerns sincerity (ikhlas) and the second concerns following (mutaba’ah). Allah does not accept any action until both these pre-requisites are met.
The method of absolution from the first question is to purify ones sincerity such that it is for Allah Alone.
The method of absolution from the second question is to actualise the following of the Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and by securing the heart from any intent that would impair its sincerity and any base desire that would impair its following.
This is the reality of the sound and truthful heart from which ensues victory and bliss.

(Continued)

[1] Taken from Ighathatu-l-Lahfan fi Masayid ash-Shaytan [1/11-19] of Imam ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him.
http://en.alukah.net/Thoughts_Knowledge/0/4693/

 

The Types of Hearts (2/3)
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah

The Dead Heart
This is the heart that contains no life. It does not know its Lord and it does not worship Him by complying to His command and doing that which He loves and is pleased with. Instead it is a slave to its carnal desires, temptations, and pleasures; oblivious of, and indifferent to whether they lead to the displeasure of its Lord and His anger or not. Therefore it worships other than Allah: it directs its love, hope, pleasure, displeasure, glorification, and submission to other than Him. If it loves, it loves for the sake of its base desires; if it hates, it hates for the sake of its base desires; if it gives, it gives for the sake of its base desires; if it withholds, it withholds for the sake of its base desires. It gives preference to its base desires and these are more beloved to it than the pleasure of its Master.
Base desires are its leader, carnal desires are its commander, ignorance is its driving force, and negligence is the vessel upon which it embarks. It is completely engrossed in pursuing its worldly desires. It is driven wild by the intoxication of its base desires and love of temporal things. It hears the call to Allah and the Abode of die Hereafter from a distant place and does not respond to the sincere advisor. It follows every cunning devil and the world is the cause of its anger and its pleasure. Base desires have deafened it and blinded it to anything other than falsehood. In this world it is like that which is said concerning Layla,
An enemy to whosoever she displays enmity
and at peace with those she likes
Whosoever she draws close to,
he loves and draws close to.
Mixing with the person who has this heart is a sickness, interacting with him is poison, and sitting with him is ruin.
The Diseased Heart
This is the heart that contains life but also possesses a defect. It has two impulses calling it: one leading it to life and the other leading it to death; and it follows whichever of the two that predominates.
It contains love of Allah, Exalted is He, faith in Him, sincerity to Him, and trust and reliance upon him; those matters that are essential to its life.
It also contains the love of its carnal desires, giving preference to them, and eagerness to attain them. It contains jealousy, arrogance, self-amazement, and love of ranking through attaining leadership: those matters that necessarily lead to its destruction and ruin.
It is constantly being tried by two callers: one calling it to Allah, His Messenger, and the Abode of the Hereafter; and the other calling it to temporal, worldly matters. It responds to the one that is closest and most influential at the time.
Therefore the first type of heart is the living, humble, soft, attentive and heedful heart. The second type is the brittle, dry, and dead heart. The third type is the diseased heart, either it is closer to its salvation or it is closer to its devastation,
Allah, the Glorious, has mentioned these types of the hearts in His saying,
“Never did We send a Messenger or a Prophet before you without Shaytan insinuating something into his recitation while he was reciting. But Allah revokes whatever Shaytan insinuates and the Allah confirms His Signs, Allah is All-Knowing, All- Wise. That He may make what Shaytan insinuates a trial for those in whose heart is a disease and whose hearts are hardened. Indeed the wrongdoers are entrenched in hostility. And that those who have been given knowledge may know that it [the Qur’an] is the truth from your Lord, that they may believe therein and their hearts may submit to it with humility. Indeed Allah is the Guide of those who believe, to the Straight Path.” [Surah Al-Hajj (22): 52-54]
In these three verses, Allah, Glorious and Exalted is He, has mentioned two types of hearts put to trial and one type that is victorious. The two types of heart that are put to trial are the diseased and the harsh heart. The victorious heart is the heart of the believer that is humble before its Lord; it is at rest and satisfied with Him, submissive and obedient to Him.
It is desired of the heart and other limbs that they be healthy and sound, having no defect so that they can do that which agrees to their nature and fulfil the purpose for which they were created. The hearts' stepping outside the bounds of steadfastness in obedience (istiqamah) could either be due to its dryness and harshness, or the absence of doing that which is desired of it. In this respect it is like a mute tongue or an eye that cannot see, or only partially see, due to some form of illness or defect.
This is why the hearts have been classified into three types:
1. The healthy and sound heart which contains no impediment preventing it from accepting the truth, loving it, and giving it preference other than its coming to know of it. Therefore its comprehension of the truth is correct and it accepts it with complete submission.
2. The dead, harsh and dry heart that does not accept the truth nor submit to it.
3. The diseased hearty when its disease predominates, it joins the ranks of the dead and harsh heart; but if its soundness predominates, it joins the ranks of the truthful and sound heart.
Anything that is directed to the person by Shaytan such as his making him hear certain words, or suggests to the heart such as suspicion and doubt acts as a trial for the latter two types of hearts and serves to further strengthen the living, truthful and sound heart.
This is because the living heart rejects all of this, dislikes it, and is angered by it for it knows that the truth opposes it. Therefore it submits to the truth and is content with it. It knows the fallacy of that which Shaytan has tempted it with and therefore increases with respect to its certainty of the truth, its love of it, and its rejection of falsehood.
However the heart put to trial remains in doubt and dispute concerning what was directed to it by Shaytan. The healthy and sound heart, on the other hand, is not harmed by what Shaytan directs to it.

(Continued)
The Types of Hearts (3/3)
Imam Ibn Taymiyyah

Source: Diseases of the Hearts and their Cure

Hudhayfah bin al-Yaman said that the Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said, "Trials and tribulation will be presented to the heart [one after another] in the same way that the mat is knitted together, reed by reed. Any heart that accepts them will have a black spot form on it. Any heart that rejects them will have a white spot put on it until the hearts end up being one of two types: a black heart, murky and like an overturned vessel, it does not know the good and does not reject the evil, all it knows is its base desires; and a white heart which will not be harmed by trials for as long as the heavens and the earth remain."[1]
Hence he likened the onset of trials upon the heart to knotting the reeds of a mat, one after the other.
He divided the hearts into two types based on how they react to these trials:
1. A heart that infuses trials when exposed to them in the same way that a sponge soaks in water. Therefore it has a black spot form on it, and it will keep on accepting these trials until it becomes totally black and inverted. This is the meaning of his saying, 'like an overturned vessel' i.e. inverted. Then when it becomes black and inverted, it is subjugated to the following two dangerous diseases that push it to destruction:
a. Its confusion of good and evil such that it does not know the good or reject the evil. It is also possible that its disease dupe a person into believing good to be evil, evil to be good, Sunnah to be bid'ah, bid'ah to be Sunnah, truth to be falsehood, and falsehood to be truth.
b. Its giving precedence to its base desires when seeking judgement rather than that which the Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) came with, its yielding to them, and following them.
2. A white heart that has been set ablaze with the light of faith and its niche has been illuminated. When a trial is presented to it, it rejects it and repels it and hence its light, blaze, and strength increase.
The trials that are presented to the hearts are the causes of its disease. They are the trials of carnal desires and doubts, the trials of aimless wandering and misguidance, the trials of sins and innovations, and the trials of oppression and ignorance. The first type[2] lead to the corruption of desire and intent and the second type[3] lead to the corruption of knowledge and belief.
The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) divided the hearts into four categories as is authentically reported from Hudhayfah bin al-Yaman, 'The hearts are of four types:The heart that has exclusively been illuminated by a blazing torch and that is the heart of the believer; the heart that is encased and that is the heart of the disbeliever; the heart that is inverted and that is the heart of the hypocrite - he knew only to reject, and he saw only to become blind; and the heart that has two impulses: an impulse calling it to faith and an impulse calling it to hypocrisy: it belongs to the impulse that is most prominent.'[4]
The meaning of his saying, 'a heart that has exclusively...' means a heart that has detached itself of everything besides Allah and His Messenger. Therefore it has separated and secured itself from everything save the truth.
The meaning of his saying, 'illuminated by a blazing torch' refers to the niche of faith. Therefore he indicated by his words, ‘that has exclusively...’ that is secure from false doubts and misguiding carnal desires. He indicated by his words, 'a blazing torch' that it was set ablaze and illuminated by the light of knowledge and faith.
The 'encased heart' refers to the heart of the disbeliever because it is wrapped by a veil and covering and hence the light of knowledge and faith cannot reach it. This is as Allah said, relating from the Jews that,
“They say: our hearts are wrapped...” [Surah Al-Baqarah (2): 88]
This veil is the covering that Allah has placed on their hearts by way of punishment for their rejecting the truth and being too arrogant to accept it. Therefore it is a covering upon the hearts, a seal for the ears, and blindness for the eyes. This is the obscuring screen upon the eyes talked about in His saying,
“And when you recite the Qur'an, We out between you and those who believe not in the Hereafter, an obscuring screen. We have put coverings over their hearts lest they should understand it and deafness in their ears.” [Surah Al-Isra' (17): 45-4-6J
When the people who have these types of hearts are admonished to purify their Tawhid and following ittiba), they turn on their heels and run!
The 'inverted heart' refers to the heart of the hypocrite as Allah, the Exalted says,
“Then what is the matter with you that you are divided into two parties regarding the hypocrites? Allah has cast them back [to disbelief] because of what they have earned.”[Surah An-Nisa’ (4): 88]
Meaning: he caused them to relapse and return to the falsehood that they used to be in due to their working false deeds.
This is the most evil of hearts and the vilest of them for it believes falsehood to be the truth and shows love and allegiance to those who follow it. It also believes the truth to be falsehood and displays enmity to those who follow it. The Aid of Allah is sought!
The 'heart that has two urges’ refers to the heart that is not entrenched in faith because it has not devoted itself solely to the truth that Allah sent His Messenger with. Instead it contains some faith and some of its opposite: it is closer to disbelief than faith sometimes; and at other times it is closer to faith than disbelief. The heart follows whatever is most influential at that time.

[1] Muslim.
[2] Carnal desires.
[3] Doubts.
[4] Reported by ibn Abi Shaybah, al-lman [p. 17] and others with a sahih isnad.

Link

The Types of Hearts
1 Because the heart is described as possessing life or death, it is classified into three types: The Correct and Sound Heart This is the truthful and sound (salim) heart. It is the only type o f heart that a person can bring to Allah on the Day o f Judgem ent which will rescue him. Allah, Exalted is He says, ...the Day when neither wealth nor sons will be of any use - except for he who comes to Allah with a sound and flawless heart. \ash-Shuara (26): 88-89] The meaning o f salim (secure) is salim (the one who is secure), it has come in this form because it depicts an innate attribute or description o f the described. As such it is grammatically like the words tall (tam i), short (qasir), or graceful and charming (Zarif). 1 Taken from Ighathaiu4-I Ahfanji Masayid ash-Shaytan [1/11-19] of Imam ibn alQayvim, mav Allah have mercv upon him. 136 The Correct and Sound H eart Therefore the one whose heart is described as salim is characterised so because this attribute o f truthfulness and soundness has become its constant and established quality. In this respect it is like the terms, ‘the one who know s’ (aitm ) and ‘the one who has power’ {qadir). It is also the opposite o f diseased (marid), sick (saqim) and ailing (alii). People have described the sound and truthful heart in different ways. However they all revolve around the following basic concept, [The truthful and sound heart] is that which is secure from every carnal desire that opposes the order and prohibition of Allah. It is secure from every doubt and uncertainty that would obscure or go against His narrative. It is secure from displaying servitude to any other than Him; just as it is secure from seeking ruling from any other than His Messenger (|j]g). Therefore it becomes sound through loving Allah and seeking the ruling of His Messenger. It becomes sound through showing Him fear, hope, trust and reliance, penitence, and humility; it prefers what pleases Him in every circumstance and distances itself from everything that would displease Him in every possible way. This is the reality of servitude ( uhudiyyah) which can only be directed to Allah Alone. Therefore the truthful and sound heart is that heart which is secure from committing any form o f shirk whatsoever and instead its servitude is directed only to, and purely for, Allah, Exalted is He. Its desire, love, trust and reliance, penitence, humility', fear and hope is only for Allah and its actions are purely 137 DI S EAS ES OF THE HEART AND THEIR CURES for His sake. Hence if it loves, it loves for the sake o f Allah; if it hates, it hates for the sake o f Allah; if it gives, it gives for the sake o f Allah; and if it withholds, it withholds for the sake of Allah. But this alone does not suffice until the heart becomes secure from submitting to, and going to anybody else but, the Messenger o f Allah (djjg) for judgement. Therefore the heart ties a firm bond with him ($g), resolving to follow him and obey him alone in sayings and actions. These sayings comprise the saying o f the heart: the matters o f belief; and the sayings o f the tongue which convey w hat the heart contains. These actions comprise the actions o f the heart: its desire, love, dislike and other connected matters; and the actions o f the limbs. Therefore the judge for all these matters - the major and minor o f them - is that which the Messenger (;|g) came with. Hence the heart does not put itself before him in any matter related to belief, saying, or action. Allah, Exalted is He, says, O you who believe! Do not put yourself forward in front of Allah and His Messenger... \Al-Hujurdt (49): 1] meaning: do not speak o f a m atter until he has spoken o f it and do not act until he has com m anded it. Some o f the Salaf said, There is no action, even if it be small, 138 The Correct and Sound H eart except that two records will be unfurled for it: why? how? meaning: why did you do it? H ow did you do it? The first question enquires about the cause, onset and motive o f the action. Was it done for some temporal and DISEASES OF THE HEART AND THEIR CURES This is the reality o f the sound and truthful heart from which ensues victory and bliss. The Dead Heart This is the heart that contains no life. It does not know its Lord and it does not worship Him by complying to His com ­ mand and doing that w hich He loves and is pleased with. Instead it is a slave to its carnal desires, temptations, and pleasures; oblivious of, and indifferent to whether they lead to the displeasure o f its Lord and His anger or not. Therefore it worships other than Allah: it directs its love, hope, pleasure, displeasure, glorification, and submission to other than Him. I f it loves, it loves for the sake o f its base desires; if it hates, it hates for the sake o f its base desires; if it gives, it gives for the sake o f its base desires; if it withholds, it withholds for the sake of its base desires. It gives preference to its base desires and these are more beloved to it than the pleasure o f its Master. Base desires are its leader, carnal desires are its commander, ignorance is its driving force, and negligence is the vessel upon which it embarks. It is completely engrossed in pursuing its worldly desires. It is driven wild by the intoxication o f its base desires and love o f temporal things. It hears the call to Allah and the Abode o f the Hereafter from a distant place and does not respond to the sincere advisor. It follows every cunning devil and the world is the cause o f its anger and its pleasure. Base desires have deafened it and blinded it to anything other than falsehood. In this world it is like that which is said concerning Layla, An enemy to whosoever she displays enmity and at peace with those she likes Whosoever she draws close to, 140 The D ead H eart he loves and draws close to. Mixing with the person w ho has this heart is a sickness, interacting with him is poison, and sitting with him is ruin. The Diseased Heart This is the heart that contains life but also possesses a defect. It has two impulses calling it: one leading it to life and the other leading it to death; and it follows whichever o f the two that predominates. It contains love o f Allah, Exalted is He, faith in Him, sincerity to Him, and trust and reliance upon him: those matters that are essential to its life. It also contains the love o f its carnal desires, giving preference to them, and eagerness to attain them. It contains jealousy, arrogance, self-amazement, and love o f ranking through attaining leadership: those matters that necessarily lead to its destruction and ruin. It is constantly being tried by two callers: one Calling it to Allah, His Messenger, and the Abode o f the Hereafter; and the other calling it to temporal, worldly matters. It responds to the one that is closest and m ost influential at the time. Therefore the first type o f heart is the living, humble, soft, attentive and heedful heart. T he second type is the brittle, dry, and dead heart. The third type is the diseased heart, either it is closer to its salvation or it is closer to its devastation. Allah, the Glorious, has mentioned these types o f the hearts 141 D I S E A S E S OF THE HEART AND THEI R CURES in His saying, Jii -u-*> Never did We send a Messenger or a Prophet before you without Shaytan insinuating something into his recitation while he was reciting. But Allah revokes whatever Shaytan insinuates and the Allah confirms His Signs, Allah is AllKnowing, All-Wise* That H e may make what Shaytan insinuates a trial for those in whose heart is a disease and whose hearts are hardened. Indeed the wrongdoers are entrenched in hostility. And that those who have been given knowledge may know that it [the Qur’an] is the truth from your Lord, that they may believe therein and their hearts may submit to it with humility. Indeed Allah is the Guide of those who believe, to the Straight Path. \Al-Hajj (22): 52-54] In these three verses, Allah, Glorious and Exalted is He, has mentioned two types o f hearts put to trial and one type that is victorious. The two types o f heart that are put to trial are the 142 The Diseased H eart diseased and the harsh heart. The victorious heart is the heart o f the heliever that is humble before its Lord; it is at rest and satisfied with Him, submissive and obedient to Him. It is desired o f the heart and other limbs that they be healthy and sound, having no defect so that they can do that which agrees to their nature and fulfil the purpose for which they were created. The hearts’ stepping Outside the bounds o f steadfastness in obedience (istiqamah) could either be due to its dryness and harshness, or the absence o f doing that which is desired o f it. In this respect it is like a mute tongue or an eye that cannot see, or only partially see, due to some form o f illness or defect. This is why the hearts have been classified into three types: 1. The healthy and sound heart which contains no impediment preventing it from accepting the truth, loving it, and giving it preference other than its coming to know o f it. Therefore its com prehension o f the truth is correct and it accepts it with complete submission. 2. The dead, harsh and dry heart that does not accept the truth nor submit to it. 3. The diseased heart* when its disease predominates, it joins the ranks o f the dead and harsh heart; but if its soundness predominates, it joins the ranks o f the truthful and sound heart. Anything that is directed to the person by Shaytan such as his making him hear certain words, or suggests to the heart such as suspicion and doubt acts as a trial for the latter two types o f hearts and serves to further strengthen the living, truthful and sound heart. This is because the living heart rejects all o f this, dislikes it, 143 D I S E A S E S O F T H E H E A R T A N D T H E I R C U R E S and is angered by it for it knows that the truth opposes it. Therefore it submits to the truth and is content with it. It knows the fallacy o f that which Shaytan has tempted it with and therefore increases with respect to its certainty o f the truth, its love o f it, and its rejection o f falsehood. However the heart put to trial remains in doubt and dispute concerning what was directed to it by Shaytan. The healthy and sound heart, on the other hand, is not harm ed by what Shaytan directs to it. Hudhyafah bin al-Yaman said that the Messenger o f Allah (^g) said, “Trials and tribulation will be presented to the heart [one after another] in the same way that the mat is knitted together, reed by reed. Any heart that accepts them will have a black spot form on it. Any heart that rejects them will have a white spot put on it until the hearts end up being one o f two types: a black heart, murky and like an overturned vessel, it does not know the good and does not reject the evil, all it knows is its base desires; and a white heart which will not be harm ed by trials for as long as the heavens and the earth remain.”2 Hence he likened the onset o f trials upon the heart to knotting the reeds o f a mat, one after the other. He divided the hearts into two types based on how they react to these trials: 1. A heart that infuses trials when exposed to them in the same way that a sponge soaks in water. Therefore it has a black spot form on it, and it will keep on accepting these trials until it becomes totally black and inverted. This is the mean2 Muslim. 144 The Diseased Heart ing o f his saying, ‘like an overturned vessel’ i.e. inverted. Then when it becomes black and inverted, it is subjugated to the following two dangerous diseases that push it to destruction: a. Its confusion o f good and evil such that it does not know the good or reject the evil. It is also possible that its disease dupe a person into believing good to be evil, evil to be good, Sunnah to be bid(ah, bid'ah to be Sunnah, truth to be falsehood, and falsehood to be truth. b. Its giving precedence to its base desires when seeking judgement rather than that which the Messenger (H) came with, its yielding to them, and following them. 2. A white heart that has been set ablaze with the light o f faith and its niche has been illuminated. W hen a trial is presented to it, it rejects it and repels it and hence its light, blaze, and strength increase. The trials that are presented to the hearts are the causes o f its disease. They are the trials o f carnal desires and doubts, the trials o f aimless wandering and misguidance, the trials o f sins and innovations, and the trials o f oppression and ignorance. The first type3 lead to the corruption o f desire and intent and the second type4 lead to the corruption o f knowledge and belief. The Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) divided the hearts into four categories as is authentically reported from Hudhayfah bin al-Yaman, ‘The hearts are o f four types: The heart that has exclusively been illuminated by a blazing torch and that is the heart o f the believer; the heart that is encased and that is ' carnal desires 4 doubts 145 D I S E A S E S OF THE HE A RT AND THEI R CURES the heart o f the disbeliever; the heart that is inverted and that is the heart o f the hypocrite - he knew only to reject, and he saw only to becom e blind; and the heart that has two impulses: an impulse calling it to faith and an impulse calling it to hypocrisy: it belongs to the impulse that is m ost prom inent.’5 The meaning of his saying, ‘a heart that has exclusively...’ means a heart that has detached itself o f everything besides Allah and His Messenger. Therefore it has separated and secured itself from everything save the truth. The m eaning o f his saying, ‘illuminated by a blazing torch’ refers to the niche o f faith. Therefore he indicated by his words, ‘th at has exclusively...’ that is secure from false doubts and misguiding carnal desires. He indicated by his words, ‘a blazing torch’ that it was set ablaze and illuminated by the light o f knowledge and faith. The ‘encased heart’ refers to the heart o f the disbeliever because it is wrapped by a veil and covering and hence the light of knowledge and faith cannot reach it. This is as Allah said, relating from the Jews that, b&ejs ijtf; They say: our hearts are wrapped... \Al-Baqarah (2): 88J This veil is the covering that Allah has placed on their hearts by way o f punishm ent for their rejecting the truth and being too arrogant to accept it. Therefore it is a covering upon the hearts, a seal for the ears, and blindness for the eyes. This is the obscuring screen upon the eyes talked about in His saying, 5 Reported by ibn Abi Shaybah, al-lmdn (p. 17] and others with a sahih isnad. 146 The Diseased H eart And when you recite the Qur’an, We out between you and those who believe not in the Hereafter, an obscuring screen. We have put coverings over their hearts lest they should understand it and deafness in their ears. When the people who have these types o f hearts are adm onished to purify their Tawhid and following (ittiba), they turn on their heels and run! The ‘inverted heart’ refers to the heart o f the hypocrite as Allah, the Exalted says, Then what is the matter with you that you are divided into two parties regarding the hypocrites? Allah has cast them back [to disbelief] because of what they have earned. m eaning: he caused them to relapse and retu rn to the falsehood that they used to be in due to their working false deeds. believes falsehood to be the truth and shows love and allegiance \Ahlsra' (17): 45-46] \An-Nisa (4): 88] This is the m ost evil o f hearts and the vilest o f them for it 147 D I S E A S E S OF THE HEART AND THEI R CURES to those who follow it. It also believes the truth to be falsehood and displays enmity to those who follow it. The Aid o f Allah is sought! The ‘heart that has two urges’ refers to the heart that is not entrenched in faith because it has not devoted itself solely to the truth that Allah sent His M essenger with. Instead it contains some faith and some o f its opposite: it is closer to disbelief than faith sometimes; and at other times it is closer to faith than disbelief. The heart follows whatever is most influential at that time.
http://www.askislampedia.com/documents/10157/200600/en_Diseases_Of_The_Hearts_And_Their_Cures.pdf

Hardening of the Heart:
The Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa sallam informed us in a very famous tradition, commonly quoted with reference to halal and haram, about the importance of the heart. He said : "There is in the body a clump of flesh - if it becomes good, the whole body becomes good and if it becomes bad, the whole body becomes bad. And indeed it is the heart." [The hadith in full :- Bukhary, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 49: Narrated An-Nu'man bin Bashir: I heard Allah's Apostle saying, 'Both legal and illegal things are evident but in between them there are doubtful (suspicious) things and most of the people have no knowledge about them . So whoever saves himself from these suspicious things saves his religion and his honor. And whoever indulges in these suspicious things is like a shepherd who grazes (his animals) near the Hima (private pasture) of someone else and at any moment he is liable to get in it . (O people!) Beware! Every king has a Hima and the Hima of Allah on the earth is His illegal (forbidden) things. Beware! There is a piece of flesh in the body if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good but if it gets spoilt the whole body gets spoilt and that is the heart.] He said that after explaining that the halal is clear and that the haram is clear and that between them are obscure areas, not known to most people. However, what protects a person from the haram and ensures that he remains in the halal is knowledge ; but beyond knowledge, it is the state of the heart. If the heart is good, then it makes use of the knowledge and it avoids what is prohibited. If the heart is bad, then the knowledge is of no benefit to it and it will indulge in what is prohibited. The Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wa sallam, on the last pilgrimage, informed his Companions and the nations of Muslims to come, that there is no favour or no special place of the Arab over the non-Arab; nor is there any favour or special position of White over Black, but that favour in the sight of Allah, is with those who fear Him, those who have taqwa. After bearing witness to that, he said that "Taqwa is in the heart." In these statements and other similar statements, we find stress being placed on the heart - that the heart is the part of the body, which Allah has favoured over all other parts. It is the place of iman. Had there been in the body another part that were nearer to Allah, taqwa would have been placed there because iman is the most valuable thing that a human being can have. There is nothing more valuable. It is the determination ultimately of those who have belief in Allah - those who have accepted the message and who have chosen Paradise over Hell. It is the distinction of those who have belief and those who have disbelief. The value of iman is more than all of the things of this world. This is why the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa sallam said that for ALLAH to guide by your hands a single person to Islam is worth more than anything in this world. For you to help someone to find iman is worth more than any of the things in this world. The heart is the place by which the correctness of deeds is judged. The Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa sallam said : " Deeds are judged according to the intention." The place of the intention is not on the lips. It is in the heart . [The hadith in full:- Bukhary, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 51: Narrated 'Umar bin AlKhattab: Allah's Apostle said, "The reward of deeds depends upon the intention and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for Allah and His Apostle, then his emigration was for Allah and His Apostle. And whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for."] Our deeds - what we do externally - are judged ultimately by the states of our hearts. These are good deeds. Evil deeds are evil, but these good deeds are in reference to those that we perceive to be a part and parcel of righteousness. Allah will inspect the hearts to determine whether they are truly acts of righteousness. The Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa sallam had informed us that the first 3 people who would be cast into the Hell Fire are people who were involved in what everybody considers great acts of righteousness. They are the scholar who taught knowledge; the wealthy person who gave from his wealth in charity and the martyr who gave his life fighting in the path of God. The Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wa sallam, in an authentic narration, said that they would be among the first groups of people thrown into because the scholar, when he taught the knowledge that Allah gave him, did not do so for the sake of Allah. He taught so that people would praise him, saying what a great scholar he is and how knowledgeable he is. Allah will say to him: "You received your praise, what you sought in that world. But there will be nothing for you in the next." So he will be drawn off on his face and thrown into Hell. Similarly the rich individual - the philanthropist, who was generous with his wealth. He gave and people praised his generosity, but Allah will say, "You did it for the praise and you were praised. There was no sincerity there; it was not for the sake of Allah. You did it for as long as people appreciated it, but when people did not pay you mind, you were not generous anymore. Your generosity was conditional; it was not really for the sake of Allah." So that individual will be drawn off on his face and thrown into Hell. And the martyr - the one whom we all assumed had died fii-sabilillah. We would think that his place in Paradise is guaranteed. But Allah will say: "You fought so people would say, 'How brave this one is! How strong and courageous he was!'" People said it; they praised him, but he did not do it for the sake of Allah, so he will be drawn off on his face and thrown into Hell. This is all telling us that ultimately , even the highest of deeds can be of no avail if the hearts are sick ; if the hearts are corrupt . So the place of the heart should, in our minds, occupy great attention. We have to spend much of our time observing, being aware of the state of our heart. When the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa sallam described Abu Bakr As-Siddiq, explaining to the people his status over the rest of them, he said, " He does not surpass you by performing more prayers and fasts - there are among you those who pray and fast more - but by something which deeply has embedded itself in his heart… Iman in his heart ." That was where his superiority laid. So there is no other faculty in the human body and existence that a believer should more concerned about. We have to make sure that this faculty is functioning as Allah wishes it to function. We should be greatly concerned about it. The Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa sallam used to make dua often, beginning: " I seek refuge in you, O Allah, from knowledge that does not benefit and from a heart which does not fear". The Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa sallam had a very soft heart. He treated people gently. His wives said that they could not recall an incident where he hit them or scolded them harshly. He was known for his gentleness. And Allah confirmed that this quality is an essential quality. Allah said in the Quran, Surah Ali-Imran (3:159), " Due to Allah's mercy, you are gentle with them. Had you been severe and harsh h a man seeks knowledge, it will appear in his face, hands and tongue and in his humility to Allah ." The opposite is true - that nothing corrupts knowledge and da'wa more than the harshness of the heart . Where hearts have become hardened, the knowledge is of no benefit to the individual, nor can that individual benefit others with it. Softness of the heart is the characteristic of true Muslims. If it becomes absent, then a person's life is filled with distress and discomfort. This is the promise of Allah. Those who lack hearts that are soft will lead woeful lives. As Allah said in Surah Az-Zumar (39:22), " Woe to those whose hearts are hardened against the remembrance of Allah. " They are in obvious misguidance. Woe to those whose hearts hear the Quran and they do not become fearful and humbled as a result of it. Woe to those whose eyes are reminded of the Words of Allah, but they do not weep in fear of Him. Woe to those who are reminded of the Warnings of Allah and they do not humble themselves to His Words. It is a curse to have a hardened heart and it is a blessing to have a soft heart . Those with hardened hearts suffer in this life, even though they may have all of the trappings of this life. What seems to be an enjoyable life is empty - it is filled with loneliness. They cannot find peace of mind and of heart because their hearts are hardened to Allah … to belief in Allah, to submission to Allah. That is why Allah said, "Whoever turns away from my remembrance will have a wretched life ." [Quran, Surah Ta-Ha 20:124 : "… Whosoever turns away from My Message, verily for him is a life narrowed down, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Judgement."] It is only with the remembrance of Allah that hearts find rest. [Quran, Surah Al-Ra'd 13:28 : " Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah: for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction ."] What is most beneficial in this life is a soft heart. We should strive to achieve it because everything else would be meaningless and useless if we do not have softened hearts. How do we achieve this? It is not a secret. It is not something known only to a few, handed down in special sessions and gatherings. As the Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa sallam said, " I have left you on a clear white plain, whose day is like its night. Anyone who deviates from it is destroyed ." The way of the Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa sallam clarifies for us how to achieve a soft heart. The First Method — Du`aa or Supplication The first method is dua or supplication. Nothing softens the heart more than asking Allah to soften it and make it merciful . This is the promise of the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam when he said, "Call on Allah being certain that your prayer will be answered, but know at the same time that Allah will not answer the prayer of a heart which is negligent." Dua will soften the heart and Allah is the One who will soften the heart. Our dua to Him will be answered, but we have to believe it. If we just raise our hands and ask, "O Allah, soften my heart!" and not really ask from the heart, it is just something we said — and we could have said ANYTHING else! If we call on Allah SINCERELY, He will soften the heart. "Call on Me and I will answer you ." [Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah 2:186 : "When my servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close to them: I respond to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me; let them also, with a will, listen to My call and believe in Me: that they may walk in the right way"] If we consider the many examples that we have from the lives of the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam and his companions, they would show us that it is Allah who can change the hearts. Let us consider ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab. His attitude towards the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam and Islam was so harsh that he set out one day to kill the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa sallam. He was fed up with the efforts of Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam to spread Islam that he felt he had to take it in his hands to finish this. He strapped on his sword and set out. On his way, he met another companion who told him to check on his own sister before seeing the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa sallam. He was surprised and went to his sister’s house, virtually tearing down the door. He slapped her and her husband until blood came from her face. He then stopped and looked at what he had caused. On his way in, he had heard something from the Quran and it had touched him, but his anger did not allow it a chance to settle in his heart. But when he struck his sister and saw the blood, it stopped him for a minute. What he had heard before touched his heart. He asked what was being read before and some of the Quran was read for him. And he changed. That was enough to turn him upside down. This was ‘Umar! On another occasion, the other companions saw him laughing and then crying; one after the other. They asked what had caused that to happen to him. He said. "I remember that in the days of Jahiliyya, I used to have this idol made of dates. One day, I became so hungry that I ate a piece of it. And then, I cried when I remembered digging a hole and burying my daughter. Whilst I was putting her in, she reached up and brushed dirt from my beard." And he had buried her alive. That was the practice — those who felt it was a dishonour to have a daughter killed them. That was how hard his heart was — how hard his heart had become, to bury his daughter alive. But his heart changed. Changed so much that ‘Umar, when he used to lead the prayers, would be so choked up with tears that people from way back in the third row could hear him crying. This was Umar, a man who was so harsh, so powerful… a courageous individual… but with the acceptance of Islam, his heart was turned around. So we should do as the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam advised us — to go to Allah and call on him to give us softened hearts and we should seek refuge as the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam had from the heart without fear. And in the same dua, he also sought refuge from the eyes that do not become full with tears; eyes which never cry. The Second Way — Remember Death The second way is that we remember the Hereafter, to remember our death. The one thing that we are one hundred per cent certain of — even if we have some doubt as to whether there is really a God; even if we wrongly wonder if what we are practising is really the truth when there are so many other people doing so many other things — is that we are going to die. But our lives are such that we become so occupied with the things of this life that we forget that we are going to die. As Allah said, the gathering of wealth has deluded them to the realities of life and they only come awake when they end up in their graves. [At-Takathur 102: " The mutual rivalry for piling up (the good things of this world) diverts you (from the more serious things), until ye visit the graves. But nay, ye soon shall know the reality… "] This is a fearful statement, that we should live lives unconscious of our deaths and thereby be lost in trivialities, things that are really ultimately not going to benefit us in the next life. Consequently, Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam had said, "I used to forbid you from visiting the graves in the early part of Islam. But now I command you to visit them because they serve to remind you of the next life." [" I [once] had forbidden you from visiting graves, [and I now enjoin] you to do so, so that the visit may serve as a beneficial reminder."(related by Muslim and others) ] [ Al-Haakim’s version : "… for [such visits] soften the heart, bring tears to the eyes, and serve as a reminder of the Hereafter, [but be careful] not to speak forbidden expressions [i.e. while visiting] ."(Sahih al-Jaami' 4584) To go to the graveyard, reflecting on the state of those in the grave (not necessarily of your relatives alone). As the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam said, "The grave is either a garden from the gardens of Paradise or a hole from the holes of Hell Fire." There are people in the graves who are calling out for help but there is no one to help. When Munkar and Nakir come and ask them, "Who is your Lord?", "What is your religion?", "Who was the Prophet that was sent to you?", they will be unable to answer! [ Volume 2, Book 23, Number 422: Narrated Anas: The Prophet said, "When a human being is laid in his grave and his companions return and he even hears their foot steps, two angels come to him and make him sit and ask him: What did you use to say about this man, Muhammad ? He will say: I testify that he is Allah's slave and His Apostle. Then it will be said to him, 'Look at your place in the Hell-Fire. Allah has given you a place in Paradise instead of it.' " The Prophet added, "The dead person will see both his places. But a non-believer or a hypocrite will say to the angels, 'I do not know, but I used to say what the people used to say! It will be said to him, 'Neither did you know nor did you take the guidance (by reciting the Quran).' Then he will be hit with an iron hammer between his two ears, and he will cry and that cry will be heard by whatever approaches him except human beings and jinns."] This is not something we can memorise in preparation for the questions, because it is not a matter of not knowing, but that we will be incapable of answering as part of the degradation of that life. We know that the answer is the key for the next life, but we cannot use the key. We don’t have access to it because it never entered our hearts in this life. If it did not enter our hearts in this life that Allah is our Lord and that Muhammad is our Prophet and that Islam is our religion, then that knowledge will not benefit us in the next life. So we are encouraged to visit the graves and on that basis, this is not unique to men, for the benefits that come from visiting he graves is not unique to men. This is why some scholars argue that visiting the graves is not prohibited to women, but that it is the frequent visits that are prohibited, due to the sensitivity of their nature. Hence not regular visits, but to go from time to time as they need the reminder just as men need the reminder. Allah describes those, in the Quran, who when they reflect on the Hereafter, are affected. It affects them in the nights. " They slept little in the night and in the hours before dawn, they were found seeking Allah’s forgiveness ." They wake up in the night with the remembrance of the life to come — the trials of the grave and the Judgement to come. These lead them to get up from their beds at a time when sleep is so sweet . Brothers and sisters, let us reflect on that life to come. Let us reflect on the process after death; the process in dying itself — how the souls are taken from the bodies of believers, as the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam said, "like water dropping from the spout of a bucket; but for the disbelievers, "like silk being drawn over thorns", tearing away. That soul that fears Allah is taken in the next life up into the Heavens and the angels of the Heavens will praise it. It will return to that body and a Garden from Paradise will be opened up to it and it will lie in that state till Resurrection. But for those whose hearts have hardened towards the remembrance of Allah, the soul will be barred entrance into the Heavens. It will be thrown back into the body. Their evil deeds will come before them as a horrible creature and they will suffer torments. A window from Hell will be open and the heat will be over them until Resurrection. And what happens on the Resurrection, when we stand before Allah and answer for each and every deed that we have done, when nothing escapes Allah, when the things that we have in this life will be of no benefit to us. The only thing that will benefit us is to stand before Allah with a healthy heart. The third way by which we can soften our hearts is the Quran itself. Allah states in the Quran, Al-Hadid, 57:16, " Has not the time come for those who believe for their hearts to fear Allah when they hear the Quran (dhikrullah here is in reference to the Quran) and what truth there is in it, so that they not be like those who received the Scripture before, but in the passage of time, their hearts became hard. And most of them are corrupt." If we reflect on the Quran, it has the power to soften our hearts. Allah said, about the jinn who heard the Quran, "Indeed we heard an amazing Quran; it guides us to Allah and we believe in it and we will set not partners besides Allah." [See Quran, Surah alAhqaf 46:29-32] Allah goes on to describe the righteous, "And if they (this is amongst the Christians) hear what was revealed to the Messenger, you will see their eyes welling up with tears because of what they know of the truth of what has been brought." This was the case of the ruler of Ethiopia. When Muslims sought refuge there and they recited a portion of the Quran, they saw his eyes fill with tears. This is how we should be. When we hear the Quran, we should reflect on the meanings. The Quran should not become for us a replacement for pop songs that we used to hear before. People buy recordings of their favourite reciters for the beauty of their voice… The listening of the Quran has become more of a musical thing. We are entertained by that music, so much so that when the reciter is reading, we hear people in the background going, "Allah! Allah! Allah!" People making statements in the background as thought it were a pop show! This is not the Quran… Allah tells us, " Will they not reflect on the meanings ?" The Quran is a Book of Guidance and it is in the reflection on the meaning of the Quran that we benefit, for it is very important for us to re-assess how we are dealing with the Quran. We should be reading it regularly, not only leaving it until Ramadhan. We reflect on it… not reading it Ramadhan so we can finish the whole Book and say we finished the Quran in Ramadhan. It really does not matter if we don’t finish the Quran in Ramadhan. For most of the Prophet’s Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam life, he did not finish the whole Quran in Ramadhan. Most of the companions did not finish the reading of the Quran in Ramadhan. Today, for us, Ramadhan is not complete unless we read the whole Quran in Ramadhan. We hire reciters to recite the Quran at 99 miles an hour so much so that even Arabic-speaking people cannot figure out where in the Quran the reciter is! This has become the precedence — finishing the Quran in Ramadhan and if you can finish it twice, even better! But this is not what the Quran is for. The Quran is for reflection, so that when we hear it, as Allah says of the believers who hear the Quran recited, goose bumps come over their skins. It touches them and causes their heart to tremble . [Quran Az-Zumar 39:23 : Allah has revealed (from time to time) the most beautiful Message in the form of a Book, consistent with itself, yet repeating (its teaching in various aspects): the skins of those who fear their Lord tremble threat; then their skins and hearts do soften to the remembrance of Allah .] If when we listen to the Quran, we don’t find this reaction of tears coming to our eyes, then we should make ourselves cry. Force ourselves to cry because we need to respond to the Quran in this way. If we don’t, we are lost! This is the Word of Allah, the only preserved Word of all the revelations that were given from Adam till now. This is the word of God preserved. We should read the Quran believing this is Allah speaking to us , because that is what it is. It is Allah talking to us directly. Every time he tells us something about the Jews, we should not (merely) take it as a piece of information, that the Jews are this and that the Jews are that. No! Whenever Allah tells us something about the Jews, we should see in it as a warning to ourselves — that we don’t become like them. When Allah said, "… ghairil maghdoobi ‘alayhim wa la-ddaalleen…" in Surah Al-Fatiha, the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam explained that al-maghdoob ‘alayhim are the Jews and that ad-daalleen are the Christians. Those with whom Allah is angry are the Jews and those who have gone astray are the Christians. Allah is angry with the Jews because they KNOW the truth and they don’t act on it . "Call people to righteousness and you forget yourselves." They changed the Book. The Christians are without knowledge; they are lost. They think that God is a man! This is a warning to us. Every time we recite these verses, Allah is warning us not to be like them — we have the truth, we have the Scripture, but we are not acting according to them. If we do not seek knowledge, if we do not find out what it is Allah wants from us, then we are lost . Every time we read the "… ghairil maghdoobi ‘alayhim wa la-ddaalleen…", it should touch us. We should reflect on it and it should touch us. There are so many verses throughout the Quran which remind us of the Hereafter, that remind us of the signs of the Day of Judgement. It is enough for us to open any part of the Quran to read about them. In virtually every chapter of the Quran Allah addresses the next life . It is linked to our second point of visiting the graves and remembering the Hereafter . The Quran speaks about the life to come and to reflect on it. The fourth way for us to soften our hearts is by way of good deeds. Righteous deeds done sincerely for Allah will soften our hearts . In the initial stages, maybe we can’t see how it softens our hearts, but we have to stick with it and believe. As the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam told us, that the slave of Allah does not come closer to Him except by doing the deeds that He has made compulsory for him . The compulsory deeds — the 5 daily prayers, the fast, etc. While praying, sometimes we wonder, "Where is the benefit? Where is the change?" The point is that if we keep working at it, there will be benefit. We may not see it immediately. It is something that becomes cumulative, like a person growing. They can hardly wait till they are going to be big and they put a mark on the wall, wondering when they are going to get up there. They cannot perceive themselves growing because it is something accumulating within them. Similarly, righteous deeds… and the first of the righteous deeds are the one that God commands. It is a mistake to go to the things that He did not command us to do and to put all our focus on these areas and leave the primary things that He commanded us to do. If we have not established 5 times daily prayers on time, then it does not matter whatever else we do. It is useless. This is the foundation — if we cannot do what Allah has commanded us to do, has demanded of us, then how can we please Him in anything else? Then, for us, pleasing God is according to ourselves — what is pleasing to us will please God. This is not pleasing God. We have to remember that the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam told us, " The Hell Fire is veiled by the things that are pleasing to us and Paradise is veiled by the things that we do not like ." "Things that we do not like" are not necessarily those things that are evil, but those that our own nafs does not like because they require work and effort. We like the easy way. So we would like not to pray and if someone were to tell us that it is not necessary to pray, we would say "Alhamdulillah!" This is our nature — we would be happy with that. However, we should be sad because we can only pray in this life and in the next, we have no chance to pray anymore. This is where prayer will benefit us, because in the next life, we will want to pray. We will beg Allah. Allah describes those who come before him for judgement: when they see their deeds and they know that they have put themselves in Hell. What will they do? Will they argue with Allah and ask why He has put them in Hell? No, they will ask Allah for another chance to go back and do what Allah has told them to do and more. [see Surah Al-A’raf 7:53] But Allah will know that they are lying for they would do the same if sent back. For if Allah were to send us back, He will not send us back with the knowledge that we have then. He would send us back just as we were before. Prayer is for OUR benefit. When we pray, we are not benefiting Allah. If every human being on this earth prayed, it would not increase or benefit Allah in any way, just as if nobody prayed, it would not decrease or affect Allah in any way. Prayer is for OURSELVES . That is why the Prophet used to say, "Bilal, give us ease by giving the call to prayer." Prayer was considered a time of pleasure but for us it is a burden. The sooner we finish, the better so we can get on with our lives. That is a mistake… Our hearts have become hard. Allah describes the Jews: after all the signs that were given to them, with the passage of time, their hearts became hard. Our hearts have become hard. We have accepted Islam, we are awakened to Islam and we start to practise Islam, but time has passed and our hearts have become hardened. [Quran, Surah Al-Hadid 57:16 : "Has not the time arrived for the Believers that their hearts in all humility should engage in the remembrance of Allah and of the Truth which has been revealed to them, and that they should not become like those to whom was given The Book aforetime, but long ages passed over them and their hearts grew hard? For many among them are rebellious transgressors."] Prayer is not something that is pleasurable to us, but we have to keep striving and recognise that this is natural. Iman increases and decreases. The heart hardens and we fight against it and it softens… it is a continual struggle until we die . We just pray that we die with hearts that are soft and fearful. We have to keep struggling and it is in that struggle that ultimately we do taste iman; that we do taste what the salah was prescribed for; what the remembrance of Allah should mean in our lives. The Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam describes those who receive the shade of Allah’s throne on the day when there is no shade: the one who remembers Allah and cries. His heart is soft. [Bukhary, Volume 8, Book 76, Number 486: Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said Allah will give shade to seven (types of people) under His Shade (on the Day of Resurrection). (one of them will be) a person who remembers Allah and his eyes are then flooded with tears.] [Bukhary, Volume 1, Book 11, Number 629: Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "Allah will give shade, to seven, on the Day when there will be no shade but His. (These seven persons are) a just ruler, a youth who has been brought up in the worship of Allah (i.e. worships Allah sincerely from childhood), a man whose heart is attached to the mosques (i.e. to pray the compulsory prayers in the mosque in congregation), two persons who love each other only for Allah's sake and they meet and part in Allah's cause only, a man who refuses the call of a charming woman of noble birth for illicit intercourse with her and says: I am afraid of Allah, a man who gives charitable gifts so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given (i.e. nobody knows how much he has given in charity), and a person who remembers Allah in seclusion and his eyes are then flooded with tears ."] So we should not shy away from good deeds for they will help to soften our hearts. The Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam had said that greeting our brothers or sisters with a smiling face is sadaqa . Nothing should be too small for us: no good deed is so trivial that we scorn at it. We should strive to do every good deed. But we should begin with the things Allah has made compulsory . We should establish the salah as Allah prescribed it; we have to establish our zakah as it is supposed to be given; we have to fast as it is supposed to be done and the hajj and umrah if we are able. These fundamentals have to be established for the sake of Allah; they provide the foundation for the softening of the heart. As we continue to do these acts and voluntary versions of these acts, we come closer and closer to Allah, until Allah says He becomes the eyes with which we see, where we see only the things that Allah wants us to see. We avoid the things that Allah does not want us to see; we turn away from them; we don’t enjoy them. We only touch the things Allah wants us to touch; we only take what Allah wants us to take; we only go to places that Allah wants us to go… If we turn to Allah and we call on Him He will answer our prayer. This is the promise of the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa sallam. So my brothers and sisters, I ask you and myself to remember our hearts; to reflect on the state of our hearts. Whenever we have a moment, question: what state are we in? to work on our hearts until we have succeeded in softening them, by the mercy and the grace of Allah. We begin that process by turning to Allah. In our next prayer tonight, let us turn back to Allah and beg him sincerely to soften our hearts and when we do so, if we are sincere, our hearts will begin to soften. It is the promise of Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa sallam. We should read the Quran and do as much as we can of righteous deeds. We should reflect on the next life by visiting the graves and by reading the verses addressing them; by reading the statements of the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam about the next life. We should do these things and strive to soften our hearts. As I said before, if after doing them we cannot find softness in our hearts, then we need to make ourselves cry. We need to force ourselves to cry because until we can let go and let loose those feeling within ourselves, then the hearts cannot become soft. So I pray and I ask Allah to give us all soft hearts, hearts that are filled with mercy for the creating of Allah, our children, our parents, our brothers and sisters in Islam … even those towards people who are not Muslims. I ask Allah to put in our hearts softness towards them in the sense that it would guide us to carry the message to them as we should. I ask Allah to give us success to turn back to the Quran, to read it regularly, seeking understanding and guidance from it and I ask Allah to give us soft hearts. AsSalamu Alaykum Hardening of the Heart II Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips Transcript of a lecture, Darul Arqam, Singapore The Prophet Muhammad informed us in a very famous tradition, commonly quoted with reference to halal and haram, about the importance of the heart. He said: "There is in the body a clump of flesh - if it becomes good, the whole body becomes good and if it becomes bad, the whole body becomes bad. And indeed it is the heart." [The hadith in full :- Bukhary, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 49: Narrated An-Nu'man bin Bashir: I heard Allah's Apostle saying, 'Both legal and illegal things are evident but in between them there are doubtful (suspicious) things and most of the people have no knowledge about them. So whoever saves himself from these suspicious things saves his religion and his honor. And whoever indulges in these suspicious things is like a shepherd who grazes (his animals) near the Hima (private pasture) of someone else and at any moment he is liable to get in it. (O people!) Beware! Every king has a Hima and the Hima of Allah on the earth is His illegal (forbidden) things. Beware! There is a piece of flesh in the body if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good but if it gets spoilt the whole body gets spoilt and that is the heart.'] He said that after explaining that the halal is clear and that the haram is clear and that between them are obscure areas, not known to most people. However, what protects a person from the haram and ensures that he remains in the halal is knowledge; but beyond knowledge, it is the state of the heart. If the heart is good, then it makes use of the knowledge and it avoids what is prohibited. If the heart is bad, then the knowledge is of no benefit to it and it will indulge in what is prohibited. The Prophet , on the last pilgrimage, informed his Companions and the nations of Muslims to come, that there is no favour or no special place of the Arab over the nonArab; nor is there any favour or special position of White over Black, but that favour in the sight of Allah, is with those who fear Him, those who have taqwa. After bearing witness to that, he said that "Taqwa is in the heart." In these statements and other similar statements, we find stress being placed on the heart - that the heart is the part of the body, which Allah has favoured over all other parts. It is the place of iman. Had there been in the body another part that were nearer to Allah, taqwa would have been placed there because iman is the most valuable thing that a human being can have. There is nothing more valuable. It is the determination ultimately of those who have belief in Allah - those who have accepted the message and who have chosen Paradise over Hell. It is the distinction of those who have belief and those who have disbelief. The value of iman is more than all of the things of this world. This is why the Prophet Muhammad said that for ALLAH to guide by your hands a single person to Islam is worth more than anything in this world. For you to help someone to find iman is worth more than any of the things in this world. The heart is the place by which the correctness of deeds is judged. The Prophet Muhammad said: "Deeds are judged according to the intention." The place of the intention is not on the lips. It is in the heart. [The hadith in full:- Bukhary, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 51: Narrated 'Umar bin Al-Khattab: Allah's Apostle said, "The reward of deeds depends upon the intention and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for Allah and His Apostle, then his emigration was for Allah and His Apostle. And whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for."] Our deeds - what we do externally - are judged ultimately by the states of our hearts. These are good deeds. Evil deeds are evil, but these good deeds are in reference to those that we perceive to be a part and parcel of righteousness. Allah will inspect the hearts to determine whether they are truly acts of righteousness. The Prophet Muhammad had informed us that the first 3 people who would be cast into the Hell Fire are people who were involved in what everybody considers great acts of righteousness. They are the scholar who taught knowledge; the wealthy person who gave fro his wealth in charity and the martyr who gave his life fighting in the path of God. The Prophet Muhammad , in an authentic narration, said that they would be among the first groups of people thrown into because the scholar, when he taught the knowledge that Allah gave him, did not do so for the sake of Allah. He taught so that people would praise him, saying what a great scholar he is and how knowledgeable he is. Allah will say to him: "You received your praise, what you sought in that world. But there will be nothing for you in the next." So he will be drawn off on his face and thrown into Hell. Similarly the rich individual - the philanthropist, who was generous with his wealth. He gave and people praised his generosity, but Allah will say, "You did it for the praise and you were praised. There was no sincerity there; it was not for the sake of Allah. You did it for as long as people appreciated it, but when people did not pay you mind, you were not generous anymore. Your gene explaining to the people his status over the rest of them, he said, "He does not surpass you by performing more prayers and fasts - there are among you those who pray and fast more - but by something which deeply has embedded itself in his heart: Iman in his heart." That was where his superiority laid. So there is no other faculty in the human body and existence that a believer should more concerned about. We have to make sure that this faculty is functioning as Allah wishes it to function. We should be greatly concerned about it. The Prophet used to make dua often, beginning: "I seek refuge in you, O Allah, from knowledge that does not benefit and from a heart which does not fear". The Prophet Muhammad had a very soft heart. He treated people gently. His wives said that they could not recall an incident where he hit them or scolded them harshly. He was known for his gentleness. And Allah confirmed that this quality is an essential quality. Allah said in the Quran, Surah Ali-Imran (3:159), "Due to Allah's mercy, you are gentle with them. Had you been severe and harsh hearted, they would have fled from around you." This was the quality of the Prophets and this is the characteristic that all those who seek to guide others to Allah must have. As it was essential for the Prophets, it is essential for us. It is essential for those who seek knowledge; it is essential for all people. It is essential for parents, with regard to their children. Softness of the heart is something that we cannot spend too much time on. With regards to children, Al-Aqra Ibn Habis was visited by the Prophet Muhammad . The Prophet lifted one of his children and placed the child on his lap. He kissed the child out of the kindness and softness o his heart towards the child. Al-Aqra said, "I have 10 other children and I have not kissed a single one of them." This was a point of pride, manhood - that one is not soft, that one is tough. The Prophet said to him, "Can I help it if Allah has removed mercy from your heart?" He went on to say, "And whoever isnot merciful will not receive mercy." So it is essential that parents show mercy to their children. And if we look at a home where a father is kind and merciful with his children, we find a home that is full of happiness and joy. Mercy is something that we cannot live without. The reality for those seeking knowledge - as it is compulsory for us to seek knowledge of the Deen - is that if there is not, along with that knowledge, a soft heart, then we cannot taste the beauty of that knowledge. As Hassan Al-Basri had said, "If a man seeks knowledge, it will appear in his face, hands an tongue and in his humility to Allah." The opposite is true - that nothing corrupts knowledge and da'wa more than the harshness of the heart. Where hearts have become hardened, the knowledge is of no benefit to the individual, nor can that individual benefit others with it. Softness of the heart is the characteristic of true Muslims. If it becomes absent, then a person's life is filled with distress and discomfort. This is the promise of Allah. Those who lack hearts that are soft will lead woeful lives. As Allah said in Surah Az-Zumar (39:22), "Woe to those whose hearts are hardened against the remembrance of Allah." They are in obvious misguidance. Woe to those whose hearts hear the Quran and they do not become fearful and humbled as a result of it. Woe to those whose eyes are reminded of the Words of Allah, but they do not weep in fear of Him. Woe to those who are reminded of the Warnings of Allah and they do not humble themselves to His Words. It is a curse to have a hardened heart and it is a blessing to have a soft heart. Those with hardened hearts suffer in this life, even though they may have all of the trappings of this life. What seems to be an enjoyable life is empty - it is filled with loneliness. They cannot find peace of mind and of heart because their hearts are hardened to Allah to belief in Allah, to submission to Allah. That is why Allah said, "Whoever turns away from my remembrance will have a wretched life." [Quran, Surah Ta-Ha 20:124 : "Whosoever turns away from My Message, verily for him is a life narrowed down, and We shall raise him up blind on the Day of Judgement." [It is only with the remembrance of Allah that hearts find rest. [Quran, Surah Al-Ra'd 13:28 : "Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah: for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction."] What is most beneficial in this life is a soft heart. We should strive to achieve it because everything else would be meaningless and useless if we do not have softened hearts. How do we achieve this? It is not a secret. It is not something known only to a few, handed down in special sessions and gatherings. As the Prophet said, "I have left you on a clear white plain, whose day is like its night. Anyone who deviates from it is destroyed." The way of the Prophet clarifies for us how to achieve a soft heart. The First Method: Du`aa or Supplication The first method is dua or supplication. Nothing softens the heart more than asking Allah to soften it and make it merciful. This is the promise of the Prophet (SAAS) when he said, "Call on Allah being certain that your prayer will be answered, but know at the same time that Allah will not answer the prayer of a heart which is negligent." Dua will soften the heart and Allah is the One who will soften the heart. Our dua to Him will be answered, but we have to believe it. If we just raise our hands and ask, "O Allah, soften my heart!" and not really ask from the heart, it is just something we said · and we could have said ANYTHING else! If we call on Allah SINCERELY, He will soften the heart. "Call on Me and I will answer you." [Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah 2:186 : "When my servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close to them: I respond to the prayer of every suppliant when he calleth on Me; let them also, with a will, listen to My call and believe in Me: that they may walk in the right way"] If we consider the many examples that we have from the lives of the Prophet Sallallahu 'Alayhi wa sallam and his companions, they would show us that it is Allah who can change the hearts. Let us consider 'Umar ibn Al-Khattab. His attitude towards the Prophet Sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam and Islam was so harsh that he set out one day to kill the Prophet. He was fed up with the efforts of Prophet to spread Islam that he felt he had to take it in his hands to finish this. He strapped on his sword and set out. On his way, he met another companion who told him to check on his own sister before seeing the Prophet. He was surprised and went to his sister's house, virtually tearing down the door. He slapped her and her husband until blood came from her face. He then stopped and looked at what he had caused. On his way in, he had heard something from the Quran and it had touched him, but his anger did not allow it a chance to settle in his heart. But when he struck his sister and saw the blood, it stopped him for a minute. What he had heard before touched his heart. He asked what was being read before and some of the Quran was read for him. And he changed. That was enough to turn him upside down. This was 'Umar ! On another occasion, the other companions saw him laughing and then crying; one after the other. They asked what had caused that to happen to him. He said. "I remember that in the days of Jahiliyya, I used to have this idol made of dates. One day, I became so hungry that I ate a piece of it. And then, I cried when I remembered digging a hole and burying my daughter. Whilst I was putting her in, she reached up and brushed dirt from my beard." And he had buried her alive. That was the practice those who felt it was a dishonour to have a daughter killed them. That was how hard his heart was. How hard his heart had become, to bury his daughter alive. But his heart changed. Changed so much that 'Umar , when he used to lead the prayers, would be so choked up with tears that people from way back in the third row could hear him crying. This was Umar, a man who was so harsh, so powerful, a courageous individual, but with the acceptance of Islam, his heart was turned around. So we should do as the Prophet advised us to go to Allah and call on him to give us softened hearts and we should seek refuge as the Prophet had from the heart without fear. And in the same dua, he also sought refuge from the eyes that do not become full with tears; eyes which never cry. The Second Way — Remember Death The second way is that we remember the Hereafter, to remember our death. The one thing that we are one hundred per cent certain of — even if we have some doubt as to whether there is really a God; even if we wrongly wonder if what we are practising is really the truth when there are so many other people doing so many other things — is that we are going to die. But our lives are such that we become so occupied with the things of this life that we forget that we are going to die. As Allah said, the gathering of wealth has deluded them to the realities of life and they only come awake when they end up in their graves. [At-Takathur 102: "The mutual rivalry for piling up (the good things of this world) diverts you (from the more serious things), until ye visit the graves. But nay, ye soon shall know the reality…"] This is a fearful statement, that we should live lives unconscious of our deaths and thereby be lost in trivialities, things that are really ultimately not going to benefit us in the next life. Consequently, Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam had said, "I used to forbid you from visiting the graves in the early part of Islam. But now I command you to visit them because they serve to remind you of the next life." ["I [once] had forbidden you from visiting graves, [and I now enjoin] you to do so, so that the visit may serve as a beneficial reminder." (related by Muslim and others)] [Al-Haakim’s version : "… for [such visits] soften the heart, bring tears to the eyes, and serve as a reminder of the Hereafter, [but be careful] not to speak forbidden expressions [i.e. while visiting]." (Sahih al-Jaami' 4584)] To go to the graveyard, reflecting on the state of those in the grave (not necessarily of your relatives alone). As the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam said, "The grave is either a garden from the gardens of Paradise or a hole from the holes of Hell Fire." There are people in the graves who are calling out for help but there is no one to help. When Munkar and Nakir come and ask them, "Who is your Lord?", "What is your religion?", "Who was the Prophet that was sent to you?", they will be unable to answer!" [Volume 2, Book 23, Number 422: Narrated Anas: The Prophet said, "When a human being is laid in his grave and his companions return and he even hears their foot steps, two angels come to him and make him sit and ask him: What did you use to say about this man, Muhammad ? He will say: I testify that he is Allah's slave and His Apostle. Then it will be said to him, 'Look at your place in the Hell-Fire. Allah has given you a place in Paradise instead of it.' " The Prophet added, "The dead person will see both his places. But a non-believer or a hypocrite will say to the angels, 'I do not know, but I used to say what the people used to say! It will be said to him, 'Neither did you know nor did you take the guidance (by reciting the Quran).' Then he will be hit with an iron hammer between his two ears, and he will cry and that cry will be heard by whatever approaches him except human beings and jinns."] This is not something we can memorise in preparation for the questions, because it is not a matter of not knowing, but that we will be incapable of answering as part of the degradation of that life. We know that the answer is the key for the next life, but we cannot use the key. We don’t have access to it because it never entered our hearts in this life. If it did not enter our hearts in this life that Allah is our Lord and that Muhammad is our Prophet and that Islam is our religion, then that knowledge will not benefit us in the next life. So we are encouraged to visit the graves and on that basis, this is not unique to men, for the benefits that come from visiting he graves is not unique to men. This is why some scholars argue that visiting the graves is not prohibited to women, but that it is the frequent visits that are prohibited, due to the sensitivity of their nature. Hence not regular visits, but to go from time to time as they need the reminder just as men need the reminder. Allah describes those, in the Quran, who when they reflect on the Hereafter, are affected. It affects them in the nights. "They slept little in the night and in the hours before dawn, they were found seeking Allah’s forgiveness." They wake up in the night with the remembrance of the life to come — the trials of the grave and the Judgement to come. These lead them to get up from their beds at a time when sleep is so sweet. Brothers and sisters, let us reflect on that life to come. Let us reflect on the process after death; the process in dying itself — how the souls are taken from the bodies of believers, as the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam said, "...like water dropping from the spout of a bucket."; but for the disbelievers, "...like silk being drawn over thorns.", tearing away. That soul that fears Allah is taken in the next life up into the Heavens and the angels of the Heavens will praise it. It will return to that body and a Garden from Paradise will be opened up to it and it will lie in that state till Resurrection. But for those whose hearts have hardened towards the remembrance of Allah, the soul will be barred entrance into the Heavens. It will be thrown back into the body. Their evil deeds will come before them as a horrible creature and they will suffer torments. A widow from Hell will be open and the heat will be over them until Resurrection. And what happens on the Resurrection, when we stand before Allah and answer for each and every deed that we have done, when nothing escapes Allah, when the things that we have in this life will be of no benefit to us. The only thing that will benefit us is to stand before Allah with a healthy heart. Methods of Cure: (3) the Qur'an The third way by which we can soften our hearts is the Quran itself. Allah states in the Quran, Al-Hadid, 57:16, "Has not the time come for those who believe for their hearts to fear Allah when they hear the Quran (dhikrullah here is in reference to the Quran) and what truth there is in it, so that they not be like those who received the Scripture before, but in the passage of time, their hearts became hard. And most of them are corrupt." If we reflect on the Quran, it has the power to soften our hearts. Allah said, about the jinn who heard the Quran, "Indeed we heard an amazing Quran; it guides us to Allah and we believe in it and we will set not partners besides Allah." [See Quran, Surah al-Ahqaf 46:29-32] Allah goes on to describe the righteous, "And if they (this is amongst the Christians) hear what was revealed to the Messenger, you will see their eyes welling up with tears because of what they know of the truth of what has been brought." This was the case of the ruler of Ethiopia. When Muslims sought refuge there and they recited a portion of the Quran, they saw his eyes fill with tears. This is how we should be. When we hear the Quran, we should reflect on the meanings. The Quran should not become for us a replacement for pop songs that we used to hear before. People buy recordings of their favourite reciters for the beauty of their voice… The listening of the Quran has become more of a musical thing. We are entertained by that music, so much so that when the reciter is reading, we hear people in the background going, "Allah! Allah! Allah!" People making statements in the background as thought it were a pop show! This is not the Quran… Allah tells us, "Will they not reflect on the meanings?" The Quran is a Book of Guidance and it is in the reflection on the meaning of the Quran that we benefit, for it is very important for us to re-assess how we are dealing with the Quran. We should be reading it regularly, not only leaving it until Ramadhan. We reflect on it… not reading it Ramadhan so we can finish the whole Book and say we finished the Quran in Ramadhan. It really does not matter if we don’t finish the Quran in Ramadhan. For most of the Prophet’s Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam life, he did not finish the whole Quran in Ramadhan. Most of the companions did not finish the reading of the Quran in Ramadhan. Today, for us, Ramadhan is not complete unless we read the whole Quran in Ramadhan. We hire reciters to recite the Quran at 99 miles an hour so much so that even Arabic-speaking people cannot figure out where in the Quran the reciter is! This has become the precedence — finishing the Quran in Ramadhan and if you can finish it twice, even better! But this is not what the Quran is for. The Quran is for reflection, so that when we hear it, as Allah says of the believers who hear the Quran recited, goose bumps come over their skins. It touches them and causes their heart to tremble. [Quran Az-Zumar 39:23 : Allah has revealed (from time to time) the most beautiful Message in the form of a Book, consistent with itself, yet repeating (its teaching in various aspects): the skins of those who fear their Lord tremble threat; then their skins and hearts do soften to the remembrance of Allah.] If when we listen to the Quran, we don’t find this reaction of tears coming to our eyes, then we should make ourselves cry. Force ourselves to cry because we need to respond to the Quran in this way. If we don’t, we are lost! This is the Word of Allah, the only preserved Word of all the revelations that were given from Adam till now. This is the word of God preserved. We should read the Quran believing this is Allah speaking to us, because that is what it is. It is Allah talking to us directly. Every time he tells us something about the Jews, we should not (merely) take it as a piece of information, that the Jews are this and that the Jews are that. No! Whenever Allah tells us something about the Jews, we should see in it as a warning to ourselves — that we don’t become like them. When Allah said, "… ghairil maghdoobi ‘alayhim wa la-ddaalleen…" in Surah Al-Fatiha, the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam explained that al-maghdoob ‘alayhim are the Jews and that ad-daalleen are the Christians. Those with whom Allah is angry are the Jews and those who have gone astray are the Christians. Allah is angry with the Jews because they KNOW the truth and they don’t act on it. "Call people to righteousness and you forget yourselves." They changed the Book. The Christians are without knowledge; they are lost. They think that God is a man! This is a warning to us. Every time we recite these verses, Allah is warning us not to be like them — we have the truth, we have the Scripture, but we are not acting according to them. If we do not seek knowledge, if we do not find out what it is Allah wants from us, then we are lost. Every time we read the "… ghairil maghdoobi ‘alayhim wa la-ddaalleen…", it should touch us. We should reflect on it and it should touch us. There are so many verses throughout the Quran which remind us of the Hereafter, that remind us of the signs of the Day of Judgement. It is enough for us to open any part of the Quran to read about them. In virtually every chapter of the Quran Allah addresses the next life. It is linked to our second point of visiting the graves and remembering the Hereafter. The Quran speaks about the life to come and to reflect on it. Methods of Cure: (4) Good Deeds The fourth way for us to soften our hearts is by way of good deeds. Righteous deeds done sincerely for Allah will soften our hearts. In the initial stages, maybe we can’t see how it softens our hearts, but we have to stick with it and believe. As the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam told us, that the slave of Allah does not come closer to Him except by doing the deeds that He has made compulsory for him. The compulsory deeds — the 5 daily prayers, the fast, etc. While praying, sometimes we wonder, "Where is the benefit? Where is the change?" The point is that if we keep working at it, there will be benefit. We may not see it immediately. It is something that becomes cumulative, like a person growing. They can hardly wait till they are going to be big and they put a mark on the wall, wondering when they are going to get up there. They cannot perceive themselves growing because it is something accumulating within them. Similarly, righteous deeds… and the first of the righteous deeds are the one that God commands. It is a mistake to go to the things that He did not command us to do and to put all our focus on these areas and leave the primary things that He commanded us to do. If we have not established 5 times daily prayers on time, then it does not matter whatever else we do. It is useless. This is the foundation — if we cannot do what Allah has commanded us to do, has demanded of us, then how can we please Him in anything else? Then, for us, pleasing God is according to ourselves — what is pleasing to us will please God. This is not pleasing God. We have to remember that the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam told us, "The Hell Fire is veiled by the things that are pleasing to us and Paradise is veiled by the things that we do not like." "Things that we do not like" are not necessarily those things that are evil, but those that our own nafs does not like because they require work and effort. We like the easy way. So we would like not to pray and if someone were to tell us that it is not necessary to pray, we would say "Alhamdulillah!" This is our nature — we would be happy with that. However, we should be sad because we can only pray in this life and in the next, we have no chance to pray anymore. This is where prayer will benefit us, because in the next life, we will want to pray. We will beg Allah. Allah describes those who come before him for judgement: when they see their deeds and they know that they have put themselves in Hell. What will they do? Will they argue with Allah and ask why He has put them in Hell? No, they will ask Allah for another chance to go back and do what Allah has told them to do and more. [see Surah Al-A’raf 7:53] But Allah will know that they are lying for they would do the same if sent back. For if Allah were to send us back, He will not send us back with the knowledge that we have then. He would send us back just as we were before. Prayer is for OUR benefit. When we pray, we are not benefiting Allah. If every human being on this earth prayed, it would not increase or benefit Allah in any way, just as if nobody prayed, it would not decrease or affect Allah in any way. Prayer is for OURSELVES. That is why the Prophet used to say, "Bilal, give us ease by giving the call to prayer." Prayer was considered a time of pleasure but for us it is a burden. The sooner we finish, the better so we can get on with our lives. That is a mistake… Our hearts have become hard. Allah describes the Jews: after all the signs that were given to them, with the passage of time, their hearts became hard. Our hearts have become hard. We have accepted Islam, we are awakened to Islam and we start to practise Islam, but time has passed and our hearts have become hardened. [Quran, Surah Al-Hadid 57:16 : "Has not the time arrived for the Believers that their hearts in all humility should engage in the remembrance of Allah and of the Truth which has been revealed to them, and that they should not become like those to whom was given The Book aforetime, but long ages passed over them and their hearts grew hard? For many among them are rebellious transgressors."] Prayer is not something that is pleasurable to us, but we have to keep striving and recognise that this is natural. Iman increases and decreases. The heart hardens and we fight against it and it softens… it is a continual struggle until we die. We just pray that we die with hearts that are soft and fearful. We have to keep struggling and it is in that struggle that ultimately we do taste iman; that we do taste what the salah was prescribed for; what the remembrance of Allah should mean in our lives. The Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam describes those who receive the shade of Allah’s throne on the day when there is no shade: the one who remembers Allah and cries. His heart is soft. [Bukhary, Volume 8, Book 76, Number 486: Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said Allah will give shade to seven (types of people) under His Shade (on the Day of Resurrection). (one of them will be) a person who remembers Allah and his eyes are then flooded with tears.] [Bukhary, Volume 1, Book 11, Number 629: Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "Allah will give shade, to seven, on the Day when there will be no shade but His. (These seven persons are) a just ruler, a youth who has been brought up in the worship of Allah (i.e. worships Allah sincerely from childhood), a man whose heart is attached to the mosques (i.e. to pray the compulsory prayers in the mosque in congregation), two persons who love each other only for Allah's sake and they meet and part in Allah's cause only, a man who refuses the call of a charming woman of noble birth for illicit intercourse with her and says: I am afraid of Allah, a man who gives charitable gifts so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given (i.e. nobody knows how much he has given in charity), and a person who remembers Allah in seclusion and his eyes are then flooded with tears."] So we should not shy away from good deeds for they will help to soften our hearts. The Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam had said that greeting our brothers or sisters with a smiling face is sadaqa. Nothing should be too small for us: no good deed is so trivial that we scorn at it. We should strive to do every good deed. But we should begin with the things Allah has made compulsory. We should establish the salah as Allah prescribed it; we have to establish our zakah as it is supposed to be given; we have to fast as it is supposed to be done and the hajj and umrah if we are able. These fundamentals have to be established for the sake of Allah; they provide the foundation for the softening of the heart. As we continue to do these acts and voluntary versions of these acts, we come closer and closer to Allah, until Allah says He becomes the eyes with which we see, where we see only the things that Allah wants us to see. We avoid the things that Allah does not want us to see; we turn away from them; we don’t enjoy them. We only touch the things Allah wants us to touch; we only take what Allah wants us to take; we only go to places that Allah wants us to go… If we turn to Allah and we call on Him He will answer our prayer. This is the promise of the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa sallam. So my brothers and sisters, I ask you and myself to remember our hearts; to reflect on the state of our hearts. Whenever we have a moment, question: what state are we in? to work on our hearts until we have succeeded in softening them, by the mercy and the grace of Allah. We begin that process by turning to Allah. In our next prayer tonight, let us turn back to Allah and beg him sincerely to soften our hearts and when we do so, if we are sincere, our hearts will begin to soften. It is the promise of Rasulullah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa sallam. We should read the Quran and do as much as we can of righteous deeds. We should reflect on the next life by visiting the graves and by reading the verses addressing them; by reading the statements of the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi wa sallam about the next life. We should do these things and strive to soften our hearts. As I said before, if after doing them we cannot find softness in our hearts, then we need to make ourselves cry. We need to force ourselves to cry because until we can let go and let loose those feeling within ourselves, then the hearts cannot become soft. So I pray and I ask Allah to give us all soft hearts, hearts that are filled with mercy for the creating of Allah, our children, our parents, our brothers and sisters in Islam … even those towards people who are not Muslims. I ask Allah to put in our hearts softness towards them in the sense that it would guide us to carry the message to them as we should. I ask Allah to give us success to turn back to the Quran, to read it regularly, seeking understanding and guidance from it and I ask Allah to give us soft hearts.

Let Those who have Dead Hearts Rejoice - I
I can no longer feel it.
It is certainly inside me, but I have not felt it for so long now. In fact, I do not know when, where or even how it happened. What I know now is that I do not feel it. I have lost it. It was inside me. I truly felt it. Nevertheless, it has died.

I remember when it was alive and energetic. I felt then that I was alive. Whenever I came to do an act of obedience, my living heart was full of joy and happiness. However, now it is completely darkened by acts of disobedience and covered with drapes that never allow light to penetrate it.
Ibn Al-Qayyim said,

The sick heart is a heart with both life and illness. The former sustains it at one moment, the latter at another, and it follows whichever of the two that manages to dominate it. It has love for Allah, belief in Him, sincerity towards Him and reliance upon Him and these are what give it life. It also has a craving for desires, preferring them and striving to experience them. It is full of envy, arrogance, self-conceit, love of superiority and tendency to cause corruption on earth which can lead to its own destruction. It is motivated by two callers: one calling it to Allah, His Prophet and the Last Day; and the other calling it to this worldly life. It responds to whichever of the two that happens to be closer. That sick heart wavers between its safety and its ruin.

Nevertheless, I did not surrender. I did not feel comfortable with my heart wavering between light and darkness. I do not know whether my self loves darkness or is fond of light. Wavering between these two can make a person feel mad. Once he reaches the highest degree of obedience and closeness to Allah. As such he feels as if everything is all right and that he will remain straight. Nevertheless, darkness soon calls him and drags him to its circle. As such one can not flee from the custody of darkness. In fact, he falls into the traps of disobedience and moves down to the deepest degrees in challenging Allah The Almighty. Then he regains consciousness after having been dumbfounded by the horrible fall and gravity of being away from Allah The Almighty. Therefore, he quickly moves to Allah The Almighty asking Him to save him from darkness.

While one wavers between this and that, he gives free hand to himself leaving it to drag him to darkness. Meanwhile, his reason calls him to stand up, to wake up before it is too late! But he does nothing to save himself. Rather, he keeps on falling and falling and falling…

When he reaches the bottom, it is as if he does not feel his heart. He killed it by his own hand. He no longer feels the pain of disobedience or the sweetness of obedience. He lost the ability to feel anything around him. He even lost the taste of life itself.

My heart died

He shouted loudly with a cry that echoed around the place, “My heart died. It no longer feels anything. Can the dead come to life again? Can it come back? How can it, when it is lifeless? How can it, when I have killed it by my own hand?”

Ibn Al-Qayyim said,

The opposite of the healthy heart is the dead heart. It neither knows its Lord nor worships Him according to what He commands, loves and approves. It clings instead to its lusts and desires, even if these are likely to incur the displeasure of Allah and His wrath. It is enslaved to other than Allah The Almighty in terms of love, fear, hope, satisfaction, dissatisfaction, exaltation and humbleness.

He loves, hates, gives and withholds motivated by his personal desires. His personal desires are preferable and dearer to him than the satisfaction of Allah. He is led by passion, motivated by lust, driven by ignorance and carried by heedlessness. His heart is immersed in its concern with worldly objectives. His heart is drunk with its own fancies and love for this worldly life. It is called to Allah The Almighty and the Last Day from a distance but it does not respond to advice, and instead it follows any scheming, cunning devil. Life angers and pleases it, and passion makes it deaf and blind to anything except what is evil.
Let Those who have Dead Hearts Rejoice - II

Crying washes heart’s maladies

It is a fact which no one can debate that crying washes out the maladies of the heart. Crying out of fear from Allah softens the heart and cleans it from its filth. Yazeed Ibn Maysarah said: “Crying happens due to one of seven things, joy, sadness, terror, to show off, pain, gratitude and out of fear from Allah one tear from which extinguishes as huge as oceans size of fire”
In His book, Allah praised those who weep out of fear from Him Saying (what means): “Say, “Believe in it or do not believe. Indeed, those who were given knowledge before it (i.e. the righteous among the People of the Scriptures who recognize the truth contained in the Quran.) when it is recited to them, they fall upon their faces in prostration. And they say, “Exalted is our Lord! Indeed, the promise of our Lord has been fulfilled.” And they fall upon their faces weeping, and it [i.e. the Quran] increases them in humble submission.” [Quran: 17: 107-109].
Crying is a part of man’s natural disposition:
Man can not help stopping himself from crying because he was created with it as Allah Says (what means): “And that it is He who makes [one] laugh and weep” [Quran: 53: 43]. When commenting on this verse, Imaam Al-Qurtubi said: “Allah decreed the causes for crying and laughter” Imaam ‘Ataa’ said: “Allah decreed joy and sadness, because joy results in laughter and sadness leads to crying”.
The types of crying:
Many scholars addressed this issue mentioning that crying has many types, one such scholar who addressed this issue was Imaam Ibn Al-Qayyim who stated that crying has ten types that happen due to:
* Fear.
* Heart softness and mercy.
* Love and longing.
* Joy and happiness.
* Fear of pain which one can not bear.
* Sadness; this one differs from the one due to fear, is that the former (sadness) results from bad thing or missing out on something that one loves, both of which took place in the past. The later (fear) is from things expected in the future. Furthermore, the difference between crying due to joy and that due to sadness is that the tears of joy are tears with coolness to the heart while the tears due to sadness are hot and the heart is grieved. This is why it is said to the thing that brings joy; “Delight (or coolness) to the eye” and to the thing that brings sorrow; “heat to the eye” meaning Allah caused a burning in the heart as a result of which.
* Weakness and being feeble.
* Hypocrisy.
* Being hired to do. This is like the cases when people used to hire some ladies to cry in certain events. ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him said about such people: “They sell their tears and cry for the affliction of others”.
* Imitating others; this like when a person sees others cry and stars crying with them not knowing why they are crying.
The virtue of crying:
There are many great virtues for crying out of fear from Allah. Allah praised some of His prophets, may Allah exalt their mention, then explained the reason for the praise as in His saying (which means): “When the verses of the Most Merciful were recited to them, they fell in prostration and weeping.” [Quran: 19: 58].
Allah also says about the dwellers of Paradise (what means): “And they will approach one another, inquiring of each other. They will say, “Indeed, we were previously among our people fearful [of displeasing Allah]. So Allah conferred favor upon us and protected us from the punishment of the Scorching Fire. Indeed, we used to supplicate Him before. Indeed, it is He who is the Beneficent, the Merciful.”” [Quran: 52: 25-28].
Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah said: "One who weeps out of fear of Allah, will not enter the Hell till milk returns back in the udder; and the dust raised on account of fighting in the path of Allah and the smoke of Hell will never exist together". [At-Tirmithi].
Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah said: "Seven people Allah will give them His Shade on the Day when there would be no shade but the Shade of His Throne (i.e., on the Day of Resurrection): And they are: … and a man who remembers Allah in solitude and his eyes become tearful". [Al-Bukhari & Muslim].
Ibn `Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him, reported: “I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: "Two eyes will never be touched by the fire of Hell; an eye which weeps out of Fear of Allah and an eye which spends the night in guarding in the Cause of Allah.'' [At- Tirmithi].
Abu Umaamah Al-Baahili may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Messenger of Allah said: "Nothing is dearer to Allah than two drops and two marks: A drop of tears shed out of fear of Allah and a drop of blood shed in Allah's way. Regarding the two marks, they are: Marks left in the Cause of Allah and a mark left in observing one of the obligatory acts of worship of Allah, the Exalted". [At- Tirmithi].
Our Salaf (i.e. righteous predecessors), may Allah be pleased with them, realized the value of crying out of fear from Allah, and this is noticed from their statements and actions. Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, used to say:“It is dearer to me to shed one drop of tear than to give out in charity one thousand Dinaar (i.e. golden currency)”. Ka’b Al-Ahbaar used to say: “It is dearer to me to cry out of fear from Allah and my tears run on my cheek than to spend my weight in gold as charity”.
The weeping of the Messenger :
Ibn Mas`ood may Allah be pleased with him, reported: “The Prophet said to me: "Recite the Quran to me". I said: "O Messenger of Allah! Shall I recite the Quran to you, when it has been revealed to you?'' He replied: "I love to hear it recited by others". So I recited to him a portion from Chapter An-Nisaa'. When I reached the verse (which means): "How (will it be) then, when We bring from each nation a witness and We bring you (O Muhammad ) as a witness against these people?” [Quran: 4:41]. He said: "Enough for now". When I looked at him I saw his eyes were shedding tears”. [Al-Bukhari & Muslim].
When the Prophet saw his companions, may Allah be pleased with them digging a grave to burry one of the Muslims, he stood at the edge of the grave, cried and said: “O my brothers! Prepare for this day (i.e. death).”
‘Abdullaah Ibn Ash-Shikhkheer may Allah be pleased with him, reported: “I came to the Messenger of Allah when he was performing prayers. He was sobbing and his chest sounded like a boiling kettle”. [Abu Daawood & At-Tirmithi].
Once he stood up praying the optional night prayer and cried to the extent that he wet his garment.
Additionally, ‘Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, reported: “Once he was sitting and started crying until he wet his beard. He continued to cry until he wet the ground under his feet. When it was Fajr time, Bilaal came informing him that it was due. Upon seeing him crying this hard he exclaimed: `O Messenger of Allah! Why do you cry so much while Allah has forgiven whatever you might have done wrong in the past and what you might do wrong in the future?` to which he replied:`Should I not then be a grateful slave? A verse was revealed upon me tonight, woe to him who recites it and not reflect on its meaning` then he recited the saying of Allah (which means): “Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alteration of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding. Who remember Allah while standing or sitting or [lying] on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying], “ Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You [above such a thing]; then protect us from the punishment of the Fire. Our Lord, indeed whoever You admit to the Fire-You have disgraced him, and for the wrongdoers there are no helpers. Our Lord, indeed we have heard a caller [i.e. Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam] calling to faith,[saying], “Believe in your Lord,” and we have believed. Our Lord, so forgive us our sins and remove from us our misdeeds and cause us to die with the righteous … and fear Allah that you may be successful.” [Quran: 3: 190-200].”
The weeping of the companions, may Allah be pleased with them:
After we took a glance at his weeping let us take a look at the weeping of his companions, may Allah be pleased with them, who learnt from him.
Anas Ibn Maalik may Allah be pleased with him, reported: “The Prophet delivered a Khutbah (i.e. Friday speech) to us the like of which I had never heard from him before. He said: "If you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much". Thereupon those present covered their faces and began sobbing’. [Al-Bukhari & Muslim]. Another narration is: “The Messenger of Allah heard of something (wrong) regarding something that some of his Companions did, upon which he addressed them and said: "Paradise and Hell Fire were shown to me and I have never seen the like of this day in good and in evil. If you were to know what I know, you would laugh little and weep much". His Companions experienced such suffering on that day that had no equal. They covered their faces and began to weep”. [Al-Bukhari].
Whenever ‘Uthmaan, may Allah be pleased with him, used to stand by a grave he would cry until he would wet his beard, so he was told: “When paradise and Hell are mentioned you do not cry to the extent you are crying now, why is this?” he, may Allah be pleased with him, replied: “It is because I heard the Prophet saying: `The grave is the first stage of the Hereafter, whoever is rescued from it (i.e. its punishment) then whatever will come after that would be easier, and whoever is not rescued, then whatever comes after that would be severer`” he, may Allah be pleased with him, added: “The Prophet said: `I have not never observed anything worse than the grave`”
Abu Hurayrah may Allah be pleased with him, cried when he was sick once, and when he was asked about the reason for his crying he said: “I am not crying over this worldly life, but rather, I am crying because the journey ahead of me is long (i.e. after death), and my provisions are not sufficient (i.e. good deeds) and ahead of is Paradise and Hell, and I do not know to which of the two I will be taken”.
One day Mu’aath, may Allah be pleased with him, cried very hard, and when he was asked about the reason he said: “Allah has destined a group of people to Paradise and another to Hell, and I do not know amongst which of the two I will be”.
Food was brought to `Abdur-Rahmaan bin `Auf, may Allah be pleased with him, when he was observing fast and he said:“Mus`ab Ibn `Umayr, may Allah be pleased with him, was martyred and he was better than me, but only one sheet was available to shroud him. It was so small that when his head was covered; his feet remained uncovered and if his feet were covered, his head remained uncovered. Then the bounties of this world have been bestowed upon us generously. I am afraid that the reward of our good deeds have been awarded to us in this world.” On this he began to sob and left the food untouched. [Al-Bukhari].
Whenever Ibn Mas’ood, may Allah be pleased with him, would pass by a blacksmith, he would look at the fire and the melted metal and cry, because it would remind him with Hell.
Once Abu Moosaa, may Allah be pleased with him, delivered the Friday Khutbah in the city of Basrah (of Iraq) and mentioned Hell and started crying so hard to the point that his tears wet the pulpit. This seen made people collectively cry very hard that day.
Naafi’ said: “Whenever Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, would recite the saying of Allah (which means):“Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance of Allah and what has come down of the truth?” [Quran: 57: 16] he would cry extremely hard and could not control himself”
Masrooq said: “ 'Aa’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, recited the saying of Allah (which means): “So Allah conferred favor upon us and protected us from the punishment of the Scorching Fire” [Quran: 52: 27] she cried and said: `O Allah! Confer Your favor upon me and protect me from the punishment of the scorning Fire”
One day ‘Abdullaah Ibn Rawaahah, may Allah be pleased with him, was lying down placing his head in his wife’s lap and started to cry, which made his wife cry, then he asked her: “Why are you crying?” she said: “I saw you crying so I started to cry to your tears” then he said to her: “As for me, I cried because I remembered the saying of Allah (which means): “And there is none of you except he will come to it (i.e. Hell). This is upon your Lord an inevitability decreed.” [Quran: 19: 71]and I do not know whether I will be rescued or not”
Anas may Allah be pleased with him, reported: “The Messenger of Allah said to Ubayy bin Ka`b, may Allah be pleased with him: "Allah Almighty has ordered me to recite the Quran to you” Ubayy bin Ka`b, may Allah be pleased with him, asked: “Did He name me?” Messenger of Allah replied in the affirmative. Whereupon Ubayy, may Allah be pleased with him, began to weep.” [Al-Bukhari & Muslim].
‘Ataa’ As-Sulami was asked why he always looked sad, to which he replied: “How can I not be, when death is closer to me than my neck, the grave is my abode, the Resurrection will be my stance, over the bridge of Hell I must pass, and I do not know what will done to me”.
Abu Sulaymaan said once to his companions: “Train your eyes to cry and your hearts to ponder”.
The benefits of crying out of fear of Allah:
* It softens the heart.
* It is a quality of the righteous.
* It is a distinct character of those deserving Paradise.
* It is the way leading to the pleasure of Allah and attaining His love.
This was an attempt to highlight some of the virtues of crying, and narrate a part of the stories of those who were before, perhaps that we take heed and follow in their footsteps.

Hardness of Heart

The hard heart is that which contains a mixture of harshness and toughness; a heart that is void of submission and the sense of turning to Allah The Exalted in repentance at all times. This is the severest punishment ever. This is why the disbelievers are punished with having a hard and harsh heart.
Maalik ibn Deenaar, may Allah Have mercy upon him, said in this regard, "Allah The Almighty Punishes the wrongdoers in their hearts and bodies as well. They are punished with a hard and miserable life and laziness and indolence in carrying out acts of worship.
However, there is no punishment that is severer than having a hard heart." [Hilyat Al-Awliyaa’]
Furthermore, Imaam Al-Mar‘ashi, may Allah Have mercy upon him, stressed the same meaning saying, "No one was afflicted by a severer calamity than having a hard heart." [Hilyat Al-Awliyaa’]
Dear readers, let us ponder over what Allah The Exalted Says (which means): {Then your hearts became hardened after that, being like stones or even harder. For indeed, there are stones from which rivers burst forth, and there are some of them that split open and water comes out, and there are some of them that fall down for fear of Allah. And Allah Is not unaware of what you do.} [Quran 2:74]
This verse refers to the story of the children of Israel and the miracle of reviving the murdered man and to all the examples, warnings and adversities that had befallen the Children of Israel. Those Divine Miracles would cause huge mountains to shake and solid rocks to dissolve! Actually, it was worthier of their hearts to be softened by such amazing miracles, yet they did not. Allah The Exalted Clarified that their hearts had become more of rocks and even worse in hardness due to the fact that they rejected Iman after knowing and understanding the requirements of attaining Iman and its conditions. Hence, these hearts were like rocks and even worse in hardness. Indeed, rocks are a good example that people use to indicate hardness. Yet, Allah The Exalted Excluded some rocks from that absolute hardness, but Did not Exclude the hearts of the children of Israel. Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {For indeed, there are stones from which rivers burst forth, and there are some of them that split open and water comes out, and there are some of them that fall down for fear of Allah.} [Quran 2:74]
Let us reflect on this description of the one who has a hard heart. Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {… and his sin has encompassed him…} [Quran 2:81]
This means that his sins and wrongdoings have encompassed him totally from all sides until he was surrounded with his own sins and wrongdoings from all directions. These sins and wrongdoings worked as a separator that detached him from all that is around him. Undeniably, this is clearly evident when a sinner does not repent of his sin, he is tempted to commit it more and more. This incites him to preoccupy himself exclusively and be wholly taken up with committing such sins and even graver sins and wrongdoings.
Hence, sins subdue and overwhelm such a person totally and take hold of his heart entirely. Accordingly, he becomes inherently inclined to committing sins, liking and loving them, believing that this is the ultimate and optimal way to relish happiness and pleasure, disliking all who would come on his way in attaining that fake happiness and joy, and disbelieving anyone who would advise him to avoid such sins. Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {Then the end of those who did evil was the worst [consequence] because they denied the Signs of Allah and used to ridicule them.} [Quran 30:10]
Regrettably, this man's sins become like a thick tent that screen everything around him. He no longer senses or thinks of the fact that Allah The Exalted Sees him all the time. He loses sight of the enduring pleasures in Paradise, the promised and anticipated punishment in Hellfire, the evil schemes of the devil that are all set to mislead Mankind, and the pity of the kind angels. Such a sinner fails to notice all these facts while being wholly lost in his sins and wrongdoings. The Prophet said: "When an adulterer commits illegal sexual intercourse, then he is not a believer at the time he is doing it, and when a drinker of an alcoholic liquor drinks it, he is not a believer at the time of drinking it, and when a thief steals, he is not a believer at the time of stealing, and when a robber robs, and the people look at him, he is not a believer at the time of doing robbery." [Al-Bukhari]
By Dr. Khaalid Abu Shaadi

The evil deed:

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The evil deed between the urgent pleasure and postponed punishment
All Praise is due to Allah, We praise Him and we seek help from Him. We ask guidance from Him and we ask forgiveness from Him. We seek refuge in Him from our own evils and our own bad deeds. I bear witness that there is no God except Allah; and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant, and His messenger.
Indeed; for the sins and evil deeds there are negative evil effects hurt the heart and body, in the worldly life and hereafter too, great hurt none knows its severity but Allah. Therefore; the prudent Muslim should escape the sins and evil deeds and get away from them.
Among the effects of the sins and evil deeds:
1- Being prevented from knowledge. Actually; knowledge is a light gets thrown in the heart by Allah, while the sin turns off this light. Ash-Shafe’i said to a man: “I see that Allah has thrown a light upon your heart; so, you should not turn it off by the darkness of the sin.”
2- Being prevented from provision. It is mentioned in Musnad Ahmad that the servant gets prevented from the provision because of committing a sin. Hence; deserting the evil deeds brings provision as well as fearing Allah.
3- Desolateness in the heart. Indeed; there would be desolateness in the heart of the disobedient; it would be between himself and his Lord. Actually, this is something could be felt by the disobedient person who has some life in his heart, because the dead heart feels nothing.
4- Having obstacles in his way. Whenever he intends to do something, he found it difficult or impossible.
5- Having real darkness in his heart. He would feel such darkness as he feels the darkness of the night. Verily, the obedience is light while disobedience is darkness.
6- Being prevented from the obedience. If there is no punishment for the sin, it should be sufficient for the sinner, as punishment, that he is prevented from obeying Allah. In fact, the disobedient person gets prevented from many acts of obedience, the reward of each one of them is better than the worldly life and whatever in it.
7- The sin is a reason for the disgrace of the servant in the sight of his Lord. Al-Hassan Al-Basri said: “They became disgraceful in His sight, so they disobeyed Him. Actually; if they were honorable in His sight, He would have prevented them from committing the sins. Verily; when the servant becomes disgraceful in the sight of his Lord, he would never be honorable in the sight of anyone.” Allah Almighty says: {And whomsoever Allâh disgraces, none can honour him} [Surat Al-Hajj 22:18] {وَمَنْ يُهِنِ اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ مُكْرِمٍ} الحجّ: 18 Transliteration: Wa Man Yuhini Al-Lahu Famā Lahu Min Mukrimin
8- The acts of disobedience spoil the mind. Indeed; there is a light for the mind, and the acts of disobedience turn off this light. And when the light of the mind gets turned off, the mind becomes imperfect. One of the righteous forefathers said: “None disobeys Allah, but He turns his mind off.” Actually; this is well-known, because if the mind of the disobedient person was alert, it would surely had prevented him from committing the sin.
9- When the sins increase, the heart of its doer gets covered by them. One of the righteous forefathers commented on the saying of Allah Almighty {Nay! But on their hearts is the Rân (covering of sins and evil deeds) which they used to earn} [Surat Al-Mutaffifin 83:14] by saying: “The Rân is the sin after the sin.” {كَلا بَلْ رَانَ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ مَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ} المطففين: 14 Transliteration: Kallā BalRāna `Ala Qulūbihim Mā Kānū Yaksibūna
10- Shortening the life and removing the blessing. Actually, the disobedience shortens the life as well as the obedience lengthens it. Therefore; when the servant is far from Allah and gets involved in the sins, he loses the days of his life. How can you prevent yourself, if it wanted to disobey Allah? A man came to Ibrahim ibn Adham (may Allah be pleased with him) then said: “O Abu Ishaq, I wrong myself (i.e. by committing the sins); so, kindly introduce me to whatever may prevent that and save me.” “If you accepted five things and became able to hold fast to them, no sin could harm you,” Ibrahim said. “Tell me about them, Abu Ishaq,” the man said. “As for the first; if you wanted to disobey Allah Almighty, you should not eat from His provision,” Ibrahim said. “Then, from where could I eat, while everything in the earth is His provision?” the man asked. “O man; is it proper for you to eat His provision, and then disobey Him!” Ibrahim exclaimed. “No,” the man replied, “tell me the second thing.” “If you wanted to disobey Him, you should not live in one of His lands,” Ibrahim said. “This is more difficult, where could I live?” the man said. “O man; is it proper for you to eat His provision and live in His lands, and then disobey Him?” Ibrahim exclaimed. “No,” the man replied, “tell me the third thing.” “If you wanted to disobey Him, eat from His provision and live in His lands, you should look for a place he could not see you in it, and then disobey Him in this place,” Ibrahim said. “O Ibrahim, what is this? He surely knows the secrets!” the man replied. “O man; is it proper for you to eat His provision, live in His lands and disobey Him; although He sees you and knows what you reveal and what you conceal?” Ibrahim exclaimed. “No,” the man replied, “tell me the fourth thing.” “When Angel of death comes to take out your soul, say to him; ‘delay me in order that I repent a sincere repentance and do good deeds for the sake of Allah’,” Ibrahim said. “This would not be accepted,” the man said. “O man; as long as you know that you cannot delay the time of death, to repent, and know that death could never be postponed once its time comes; how could you seek safety?” Ibrahim exclaimed. “Tell me the fifth thing,” the man said. “If the guards of Hell-Fire came to you on the Day of Judgment to take you to Hell-Fire, do not go with them,” Ibrahim said. “They would never leave me or accept excuse,” the man said. “So, how do you seek safety?” Ibrahim asked. “O Ibrahim, it is enough, it is enough. I ask forgiveness from Allah and repent to Him,” the man said. Then; he repented a sincere repentance, held fast to the acts of obedience and deserted the sins; till he left the worldly life. The sayings of the righteous forefathers concerning the evil deeds: Ibn Abbas said: “The evil deed leaves blackness in the face, darkness in the heart, feebleness, deficiency in provision, and hate in the hearts of the creatures.” Al-Fudail ibn ‘Eiad said: “As small the sin is in your sight as great it is in the sight of Allah; on the other hand, as great the sin is in your sight as small it is in the sight of Allah.” Imam Ahmad said: “I heard Bilal ibn Sa’id say, ‘you should not look at how small the sin is; rather you should look at the greatness of Whom you disobeyed.’” Yahia ibn Mu’âdh Ar-Razzi Said: “I am astonished for seeing a man says in his invocation; ‘O Allah, do not make my enemies rejoice at the misfortune of me,’ and then he makes every enemy rejoices at his misfortune.” When he was asked: “How is that?” He said: “He disobeys Allah Who in turn makes every enemy rejoices at his misfortune on the Day of Judgment.” One of the righteous forefathers said: “Allah has created the angels with minds and no desire; although He created the beasts with desires and no mind, and created the man from them both. Therefore; whoever has his mind overwhelmed his desires, he is better than the angels. On the other hand; whoever has his desires overwhelmed his mind, he is worse than the beasts.”

How to get out the evil deeds:
The man would never be safe unless he is free from five things;
1- Polytheism contradicts monotheism,
2- New creation in the religion contradicts the Sunnah,
3- Desire contradicts what is enjoined,
4- Inattentiveness contradicts the remembrance, and
5- Whim contradicts devotion.
Indeed, sincerity prevails these all. As for the remedy, invocation is the best remedy; it is the antidote of the affliction and the weapon of the believer. Indeed, there are three states to the invocation with the affliction;
First: It may be stronger than the affliction; hence, it removes it.
Second: It may be weaker than the affliction; hence, the affliction surpasses it and affects the servant; however, it lightens it.
Third: They may be equal; each of them combats the other. The Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “He who does not ask Allah, Allah gets angry with.” [Reported by At-Tirmidhi 3373 and declared good by Al-Albani] «من لم يسأل الله يغضب عليه» رواه التِّرمذي 3373 وحسَّنه الألباني
Before disobeying Allah, you should remember the following:
- Allah sees you and knows whatever you reveal and whatever you conceal.
- The angels count all your sayings and all your deeds; then, they record them in your deeds’ book; they never miss even the weight of an atom.
- The day on which the sun will be just one mile away from the heads and people are sunken in their sweat.
- The day on which people will be resurrected barefooted and necked.
- The angel of death takes your soul.
- The grave and its torment, narrowness, darkness, worms, and vermin; it is either a garden from the gardens of Paradise or a ditch from the ditches of Hell-Fire.
- Your stand between the Hands of Allah Almighty on the Day of Judgment, with no curtain or translator between you and Him.
- When the organs of the disobedient people testify against them {And they will say to their skins, “Why do you testify against us?” They will say: “Allâh has caused us to speak as He causes all things to speak: and He created you the first time, and to Him you are made to return.”} [Surat Fussilat 41:21] {وَقَالُوا لِجُلُودِهِمْ لِمَ شَهِدْتُمْ عَلَيْنَا قَالُوا أَنْطَقَنَا اللَّهُ الَّذِي أَنْطَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ خَلَقَكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ} فصلت: 21 Transliteration: Wa Qālū Lijulūdihim Lima Shahidtum `Alaynā Qālū 'Anţaqanā Al-Lahu Al-Ladhī 'Anţaqa Kulla Shay'in Wa Huwa Khalaqakum 'Awwala Marratin Wa 'Ilayhi Turja`ūna
- The pleasure of the evil deed is temporary, regardless of how great it may seem. This is in addition to the pain, remorse, regret, and deficiency of provision in the worldly life.
-The evil deed is darkness upon darkness and the heart becomes ill and weak; furthermore, it may completely die. Among the major punishments because of the evil deed is causing the rupture of relation between the servant and his Lord. Indeed; when the rupture occurs, the reasons of good avoids the servant and the reasons of evil come closer to him.
There are characteristics for the repentant:
The repentant person has a broken heart and plentiful tears; he has live conscience, heart fears Allah, truthful speech, great emotions, and a sane mind. Furthermore; he is free from pride;
he always turns between the fear and hope; there is lovesickness in his affection; there is sorrow in his face; and there are secrets in his tears.
The repentant person always turns between going ahead and going away; he is an experienced person who tasted the torment when he got away from Allah and has tasted the bliss when he came close to Allah. The repentant person learns a lesson from every event; he finds sweetness for the obedience; finds pleasure in worship; finds taste in faith; and finds delight for being close to Allah.
The repentant person writes stories by the tears of the sorrow and compiles sermons out of the weep.
The repentant person is someone emaciated because of fasting; furthermore, he tires his legs from standing while praying at night.
He had sworn to desert sleep; hence, he devoted the body and soul to Allah and repented a sincere repentance. The repentant person is someone who is covered by humiliation and weakened by sorrow; he dispraises himself because of his desires. Therefore; he is praised by Allah, because he repented to Him.
Ibn Al-Qayy im said: “Verily; the sins harm the bodies, and their effect on the heart is like the effect of the poison on the bodies; at various levels. Indeed; what is worse than the evil deeds?! What got the first parents (i.e. Adam and Eve) out of Paradise? What moved them from the world of pleasure, luxury, enjoyment and happiness to the world of pains, sorrows and disasters?! What got Iblis (i.e. Satan) out of the Heavens, expelled him, cursed him, and disfigured his outward and inward (making them the ugliest outward and inward)? What did turn him from being close to Allah to being away from Him? What did turn his beauty into ugliness? What led him to Hell-Fire instead of Paradise? What did turn him from faith to infidelity?” Al-Hassan Al-Basri said: “Verily, the human self is inclined to evil; so, if it disobeyed you in the acts of obedience, you should disobey it in the acts of disobedience! Indeed; there is nothing deserves to be restrained more than your own self. Also, there is nothing deserves to be held back more than your tongue, and there is nothing deserves to be rejected more than your whims. Indeed; you need to restrain yourself more than the need of the unruly riding animal to rein.” Do you disobey Allah and then seek His mercy? There was a master who has a slave working in his farm. One day, the master ordered the slave to plant wheat in part of the farm, and then he went and left the slave. This slave was a sane wise man; therefore, he planted it barley instead of the wheat. When the owner came to the land just before the time of harvest and found that his slave planted barley instead of wheat, he said: “I ordered you to plant wheat; so, why did you plant barely?” “I hoped that the barely may produce wheat?” the slave replied. “O fool, do you hope barely to produce wheat?” the master astonished. “O master, would not you disobey Allah and then hope having His mercy? Would not you disobey Allah and then hope getting in His Paradise?” the slave explained. Whereupon, the master got terrified and frightened and remembered that he will surly meet Allah; so, he said: “I repented to Allah and returned to Him. You (i.e. the slave) are free for the sake of Allah.” Actually, you reap what you cultivate, and Allah never wrongs anybody. Remember the hotness of Hell-Fire: Abu ‘Uthman At-Taimi said: “A man from the children of Israel passed by a nun who was one of the most beautiful women. The man was infatuated by her; so, he got up to her worship place and tried to entice her. However; she repulsed him and said: “Do not be deceived by what you see; in fact, there is nothing behind it!” But the man insisted till he overcame her and tried to rape her! Besides the nun, there was burning brazier; so, she put her hand in it, till it was burnt. After the man was finished with her, he asked her: “Why did you do that?” “When you overcame me, I feared that I may share you the prohibited pleasure, and then be partner to you in the sin and punishment; therefore, I did what you saw,” the nun explained. Whereupon the man said: “I swear by Allah that I will never disobey Him!” and then he repented. Allah is Glorified! O brothers, before the sin, you should remember the severity of Hell-Fire and ask yourselves whether your bodies could tolerate Hell-Fire! If yes, you can commit the sins. Actually, none could tolerate the fire of the world; hence, what about the fire of Hereafter, which surpasses the fire of the world with seventy-fold. Verily, you should fear Allah. Watching Allah: Whenever your self intends to commit a sin, you should remind it with Allah. However; if it did not hold back, you should remind it with the men. And if it is not deterred, you should remind it with the scandal when people know. However; if it did not return back, then you should know that you have become an animal. The state of those who fear Allah: Tâwûs used to spread his mattress and lie on it, moving restlessly like a grain in a frying pan, and then gets up to fold the mattress and pray till morning; saying: “Remembering Hell-Fire prevented me from sleep.”

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Allah has sealed the heart of kuffar

Question:

If Allah has sealed the hearts of the Kuffar i.e. non-Muslims, then why are they to be blamed for not accepting Islam?
Answer:
1. Allah has sealed the hearts of those who are continuously bent on rejecting the truth
Allah (swt) mentions in Surah Al Baqarah chapter 2 verses 6 and 7
"As to those who reject Faith, it is the same to them Whether thou warn them or do not warn them; they will not believe.
Allah hath set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing, and on their eyes is a veil; great is the penalty they (incur).[Al-Qur'an 2:6-7]
These verses do not refer to common Kuffar who reject faith. The Arabic words used are al-lazina kafaroo, those who are bent on rejecting the truth. It will not make any difference to such people whether you warn them or not, they will not believe. Allah has set a seal on their hearts and on their hearing and on their eyes is a veil. It is not because Allah has set a seal on their hearts that these kuffar do not understand and believe, but it is the vice-versa. It is because these kuffar are bent on rejecting the truth and whether you warn them or not they will not believe, that Allah has set a seal on their hearts. Therefore Allah is not to blame, but these kuffaar who are bent on rejecting the faith are responsible.
2. Example of teacher predicting a student will fail
Suppose an experienced teacher, before the final examinations, predicts that a particular student will fail in the exams, since the student is very mischievous, not attentive in class and does not do his homework. If after the student appears for the examination, he fails, who is to be blamed for the student failing: the teacher or the student? Just because the teacher predicted, it does not mean that the teacher is to be blamed but the student himself is responsible for his failure.
Similarly Allah (swt) knows in advance that there are some people who are bent on rejecting the faith and Allah has put a seal on their hearts. Thus these non-Muslims themselves are responsible for rejecting the faith and not Allah (swt)
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