Cleansing of the Heart Taking Care of Your Heart |
Written by Nuraz |
Salaam (WRWB). Many people think that the human body is run by the mind. Others believe it is the legs and the hands. But in contrast to everything there is one body part that stands out amongst the rest. The Prophet (PBUH) had said,
“Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh which, if it is sound, the whole body is sound; and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt. Truly, it is the heart.” (Sahih Bukhari 52)
This goes to show that the heart for the believers is the main component of a believer. What happens when your heart stops beating? You die. To put it in a more metaphorical (islamic) way, the moment you stop doing Ibadah (acts of worship) to please Allah (SWT), you end up staining and breaking your heart. Before you understand how to cleanse your heart, you first need to know what type of heart you have.
In Islam there are 5 hearts, though depending on other sources it can vary. But there are 4 main hearts plus an extra type of heart that some people do not agree on. I want you to think of these hearts as descending in terms of spirituality. Each type of heart represents a worse type of person.
The first type of heart is the “Sound Heart”, the heart for the believers. Their hearts will beat in a sound way, health way, like a healthy heart. This type of heart is only mentioned twice in the Quran. It is attributed to Ibrahim (AS) because of his dedication to striving for the cause of Allah (SWT), and also the attempted sacrifice of his son. This signifies that he has passed the test of Allah (SWT).
People with these types of hearts will experience success on the Day of Judgement and will be the successful ones. Allah (SWT) mentions in the Quran,
يَوۡمَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَالٞ وَلَا بَنُونَ
Meaning - The Day when there will not benefit [anyone] wealth or children. (26:88)
إِلَّا مَنۡ أَتَى ٱللَّهَ بِقَلۡبٖ سَلِيمٖ
Meaning - But only one who comes to Allah with a sound heart.” (26:89)
This goes to show the purification of these people for who has their hearts sound. It is like a light heart that sparks positivity and the words of Islam around them. Or in other words you can think about them as shiny hearts, that have no disease and are in full healthy condition. They are steadfast and patient within the trials that Allah (SWT) has given them with their silky and smoothness of their hearts. They will always consider Allah (SWT) first, making them the saved ones on the Day of Judgement.
This is the heart we as Muslims should aspire to be.
The second type of heart is the “Sick Heart.” Before I go more into it, you first have to realize this statement that the Prophet (PBUH) had proclaimed,
“Verily, when the servant commits a sin, a black mark appears upon his heart. If he abandons the sin, seeks forgiveness, and repents, then his heart will be polished. If he returns to the sin, the blackness will be increased until it overcomes his heart. It is the covering that Allah has mentioned: No, rather a covering is over their hearts from what they have earned. (Tirmidhi 3334, Hasan)
This means that every sin you make is a drop of darkness that is emitted to your heart. Think of this context in a situation. Say I’m a naughty person drinking day and night at the club. At first you feel hesitant, “Is it right?”, you ask yourself. But at the end you still drink, one drop to the heart. Then the second day you go for another round at the club, you still feel some guilt though it’s not as much as the first day. Nonetheless you still drink for the day. Second drop. And the cycle repeats, drops of your heart constantly being poured and your heart is dark.
What does this have to do with having a sick heart? Allah (SWT) suggests,
وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ ءَامَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَبِٱلۡيَوۡمِ ٱلۡأٓخِرِ وَمَا هُم بِمُؤۡمِنِينَ
Meaning - And of the people are some who say, “We believe in Allah and the Last Day,” but they are not believers. (2:8)
يُخَٰدِعُونَ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَمَا يَخۡدَعُونَ إِلَّآ أَنفُسَهُمۡ وَمَا يَشۡعُرُونَ
Meaning - They [think to] deceive Allah and those who believe, but they deceive not except themselves and perceive [it] not. (2:9)
فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٞ فَزَادَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مَرَضٗاۖ وَلَهُمۡ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمُۢ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَكۡذِبُونَ
Meaning - In their hearts is disease, so Allah has increased their disease; and for them is a painful punishment because they [habitually] used to lie. (2:10)
These verses just give you a demo of who these types of people are. Not only are they not amongst the believers as Allah (SWT) mentions here. These people sin frequently by lying, backbiting, gossiping, possessing pride and arrogance, jealousy, and so many other sins they do.
Doing these provides black dots to our hearts, which makes it darkened. But these people have it relatively more simpler than the other hearts that I’m talking about. As if you seek forgiveness is it like the rubbing of a wipe onto a dirty substance. Repentance (Tawbah) is also a way to cleanse your heart.
These people will also have no satisfaction for the deeds of pleasing Allah (SWT). They won’t feel any ease of the recitation of the Quran, or doing zikr. That is because of how they are constantly sinning into their hearts. Imagine this heart to be stained out, not darkened completely, just stained. Depending on how much you sin, is the amount that darkness pours in your heart. Darkness can be put in many ways. Such as blindness to faith. These people will be punished, and not something we should be.
The third type of heart is the “Hardened Heart.” In Surah Ahzab Allah (SWT) talks about the deceased being betrayers of the Prophet (PBUH). Which can represent that these people give a side blind eye to the doors of Jannah and sincere faith. Tie in my previous example of being a naughty boy drinking. What this means for his heart when it’s hardened is that the naughty boy has been drinking for a long time to the point where he doesn’t care about the sin.
When you do something more and more, such as drinking, you forget the value of the sin and how bad it really is. You think it is a normality in your life, rather than something you should be guilty about. If you think these things into many actions you do, then this is a sign you may have a Hardened Heart.
Think about a rock. A rock is completely solid, rough, and completely irrelevant to our life. This heart indicates the furthest position of the belief from Allah (SWT). This heart emphasizes complete darkness. You are misguided, Allah (SWT) elaborates in the Quran,
ثُمَّ قَسَتۡ قُلُوبُكُم مِّنۢ بَعۡدِ ذَٰلِكَ فَهِيَ كَٱلۡحِجَارَةِ أَوۡ أَشَدُّ قَسۡوَةٗۚ وَإِنَّ مِنَ ٱلۡحِجَارَةِ لَمَا يَتَفَجَّرُ مِنۡهُ ٱلۡأَنۡهَٰرُۚ وَإِنَّ مِنۡهَا لَمَا يَشَّقَّقُ فَيَخۡرُجُ مِنۡهُ ٱلۡمَآءُۚ وَإِنَّ مِنۡهَا لَمَا يَهۡبِطُ مِنۡ خَشۡيَةِ ٱللَّهِۗ وَمَا ٱللَّهُ بِغَٰفِلٍ عَمَّا تَعۡمَلُونَ
Meaning - 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. (2:74)
These people could care less of how to please their Lord. As it suggests, Hardened. You can use another word, Darkened. Containing a Sick Heart has already dark spots and smudges to it, being somewhat blind to faith. But a Darkened Heart only means that you're really blinded and cannot see the light of faith and they will be punished. If you are in this heart. You need to seek severe repentance and 180 your whole situation.
As if it was already worse, there are more hearts to go over. Hearts which possess the most credulity out of any person in this world. The Fourth Heart is the “Sealed Heart.” This Heart expresses being sealed, locked out of something. Imagine a door having a lock to it, not being entered.
Now imagine that same locked door but for your heart. As the light and faith of Allah (SWT) is locked away, not being able to enter their hearts. Allah (SWT) provides,
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ سَوَآءٌ عَلَيۡهِمۡ ءَأَنذَرۡتَهُمۡ أَمۡ لَمۡ تُنذِرۡهُمۡ لَا يُؤۡمِنُونَ
Meaning - Indeed, those who disbelieve – it is all the same for them whether you warn them or do not warn them – they will not believe. (2:6)
خَتَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمۡ وَعَلَىٰ سَمۡعِهِمۡۖ وَعَلَىٰٓ أَبۡصَٰرِهِمۡ غِشَٰوَةٞۖ وَلَهُمۡ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٞ
Meaning - Allah has set a seal upon their hearts and upon their hearing, and over their vision is a veil. And for them it is a great punishment. (2:7)
Having a sealed heart is one of the great Punishments of Allah (SWT). You will never feel an affection for applying faith in your lives. You will resort to other priorities over Allah (SWT). It is like the complete opposite of having a Sound Heart, but instead darkened. There are more verses regarding the types of people who have these, as Allah (SWT) implies,
وَمِنۡهُم مَّن يَسۡتَمِعُ إِلَيۡكَ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا خَرَجُواْ مِنۡ عِندِكَ قَالُواْ لِلَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ ٱلۡعِلۡمَ مَاذَا قَالَ ءَانِفًاۚ أُوْلَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ طَبَعَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمۡ وَٱتَّبَعُوٓاْ أَهۡوَآءَهُمۡ
Meaning - And among them, [O Muhammad], are those who listen to you, until when they depart from you, they say to those who were given knowledge, “What has he said just now?” Those are the ones of whom Allah has sealed over their hearts and who have followed their [own] desires. (47:16)
These people will be in a state of confusion when faith is brought upon them, and they are cursed by Allah (SWT) to have this sealed heart, because of what they have done. This is also on top of having a hardened heart, expressing having this is worse.
Lastly, the worst of the worst, is having the “Dead Heart.” As the name suggests, these people are living but they are as if they are dead inside. This is given to the people who are the worst in the world. This is a sign that Shaytaan has completely taken over the person having black dots all over their body. Completely black and darkened (full of sin). They will be given the worst punishments by Allah (SWT). May Allah (SWT) make us avoid having this type of heart.
Overall the type of hearts indicate who you are as a believer of Islam. Having the best type of heart, the Sound Heart, indicates the proper person you are, possessing everything that has to do with the path of success as well as faith of Allah (SWT). To then have a Dead Heart being completely null and faceless to the path of Allah (SWT).
The next section for this article I want to talk about now is about the “Cleansing” of the Heart, the main title of this article. Abu Hurairah (RA) reported in a narration,
A man came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and he complained about the hardness of his heart. The Prophet said, “If you want to soften your heart, feed the poor and pat the head of the orphan.”
One of the ways you can heal your heart is through charity and the taking care of orphans.
But the main medicine for curing your heart is having Taqwa, Zikr, Salah. Taqwa is having the remembrance of Allah (SWT) all the time. Having consciousness regarding the oneness of Allah (SWT). Zikr is having that Taqwa but just every day. Zikr in other words means “The daily remembrance of Allah (SWT).”
Allah says: 'I am just as My slave thinks I am, (i.e. I am able to do for him what he thinks I can do for him) and I am with him if He remembers Me. If he remembers Me in himself, I too, remember him in Myself; and if he remembers Me in a group of people, I remember him in a group that is better than they; and if he comes one span nearer to Me, I go one cubit nearer to him; and if he comes one cubit nearer to Me, I go a distance of two outstretched arms nearer to him; and if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running. (Sahih Bukhari 7405)
Cubit - unit of measurement at the time
This gives you the analogy of the remembrance of Allah (SWT). It also gives us a glimpse of the Rahmah of Allah (SWT), as if we approach him by two steps, Allah (SWT) will come to us running. Doing simply zikr is one more step into achieving this state of success.
The daily dose of zikr is like the medicine for having a sickened heart. Doing simple zikr, such as Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar, La Illaha Ial-lah. Doing zikr after prayer, in a format of Subhanllah 33 times, Alhamdulillah 33 times, and Allahu Akbar 34 times is another way of remembering Allah (SWT). (33x33x34)
Praying Salaah, the closest position we are towards Allah (SWT) is a major pillar of Islam, we cannot miss it, and we should try our best into making our prayers a daily routine full of sincere devotion towards Allah (SWT). If you do all these things, then Inshallah you will not have any doubts of not having a sick heart and you will be put in the straight path.
The last thing I will tell you is possessing arrogance in your heart. If you think you are better than everybody else, think again. The Prophet (PBUH) claims,
No human being will enter Paradise if there is as much as the weight of a seed of arrogance in his heart. (Musnan Ahmed 7015, Sahih)
This goes to show how significant avoiding arrogance is to having a purified heart. To add on to this point, the first sin in mankind is arrogance with Qabil and Habil. And Shaytaan himself was arrogant, putting himself over the human race, and look what Allah (SWT) has put Shaytaan in.
Overall the purification of a heart is like the cleaning of your clothes. The more you put more focus on cleansing your heart, the better results your heart will experience. Having a sound heart is one of the qualities of the true believers that will be put on the straight path. As it’s not the outward appearance that matters to Allah (SWT), but it’s more so what is in the inside. Allah (SWT) is aware of what we do in both. Here is one last ayat to remind you about the significance of the heart, as Allah (SWT) denotes,
وَكَمۡ أَهۡلَكۡنَا قَبۡلَهُم مِّن قَرۡنٍ هُمۡ أَشَدُّ مِنۡهُم بَطۡشٗا فَنَقَّبُواْ فِي ٱلۡبِلَٰدِ هَلۡ مِن مَّحِيصٍ
Meaning - And how many a generation before them did We destroy who were greater than them in [striking] power and had explored throughout the lands. Is there any place of escape? (50:36)
إِنَّ فِي ذَٰلِكَ لَذِكۡرَىٰ لِمَن كَانَ لَهُۥ قَلۡبٌ أَوۡ أَلۡقَى ٱلسَّمۡعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٞ
Meaning - Indeed in that is a reminder for whoever has a heart or who listens while he is present [in mind]. (50:37)
So let us aim to have a Sound Heart as Muslims. May Allah (SWT) forgive our past sins. Salaam (WRWB).