The state of our hearts part 2

The state of our hearts part 2

Our Hearts

Continuing from the previous article, we will discuss the attributes of the hearts. As the hadeeth goes:

وَإِذَا فَسَدَتْ فَسَدَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ أَلَا وَهِيَ الْقَلْب
“And when it is corrupted (ie the heart) the whole body is corrupted."

How does our heart become corrupted? How does it enter a state where it feels no sweetness in worship?

It is linked to the attributes of the heart, of which there are two: the angelic qualities and the animalistic qualities.

When the animalistic qualities dominate the heart, this heart has now entered it’s worst condition. It follows nothing but it’s nafs. And this leads to living an animalistic life as our heart’s likes and dislikes become similar to that of an animal. Animals live by no rules, they only follow their desires. And, so, a human whose heart is dominated by the animalistic qualities now begins to live the life of an animal. This heart only accepts the whispers of the shaytaan – sinning and time wastage becomes second nature. This is the corruption of the heart, and due to this, our whole lives become corrupted. We are unable to attain the purpose of our existence – which is to worship Allah and become close to Him. But due to this fitnah (trial) which occurs in within us, we lose our way when we allow our hearts to be overpowered by the animalistic qualities.

When we are in a state of ghaflah(ignorance), we forget our true purpose and this leads to the heart losing its way. Time wastage is a prime example of how the heart can enter the state of ghaflah. At times, it can seem harmless to continuously scroll on social media, just wanting to pass time. But how is this mundane action helping us to attain the purpose of our wordly life? We forget about our true purpose because this dunya fulfills its purpose in deceiving us. We need to constantly remind ourselves of why we are in the dunya, enabling us to protect our hearts from becoming attached to it.

Contrarily, the good state of the heart is when the heart is overpowered by the angelic qualities. When this is the state of our heart, we attain the heart of a human. We feel emotions as a result of our actions. We become more inclined towards our true purpose – to attain the closeness of our Maker. And this state can only be attained through mihnah – effort. But a stage even above this, is when when the angelic qualities become second nature to our hearts. But to attain this stage, much training is needed for the heart. And when our heart enters this state, then the tongue automatically flows with the remembrance of Allah, but it doesn’t just stop at the throat, the heart is in a constant state of remembrance of Allah, also.

Saving our hearts from becoming attached to the dunya will help in allowing the angelic qualities to overpower. Reminding ourselves of our true purpose will help the heart to not lose its true path. And when the heart becomes attached to Allah alone, we have entered the state of serenity. The dunya no longer matters – we know it’s just momentary. And, so, we live in the dunya as we should – like travellers. This is not our final destination. Hence why its temporary troubles won’t affect us as much. It’s adornments won’t look as appealing.

Having said this, it’s not easy. There is a great struggle in taming the heart and entering a state where we are not attached to the dunya and our focus is on Allah alone. It’s easier said than done. But, as long as the sincere intention is there, and we make dua to Allah not to allow this dunya to become the greatest of our concerns, and to make the Day of which we meet Him to be the greatest of our concerns, then verily Allah says in the Qur’an:

اَلَاۤ اِنَّ نَصۡرَ اللّٰهِ قَرِيۡبٌ
“Verily the help of Allah is near.”

When we seek Him with sincerity, He will help us to find Him.

May Allah protect our hearts from losing its way in the adornments of the dunya and grant us all beautiful hearts which are overpowered by the angelic qualities. Aameen.

Aalima Department

If you found this useful, please consider making a donation to Noor Ul Islam. We rely on our community to fund our progress. Now is as important as ever for you to continue supporting your Masjid.

The Prophet (Pbuh) has taught us the best of deeds are those that done consistently, even if they are small.