Purification of the hearth :
The physical heart, which houses the spiritual heart, beats about 100,000 times a day, pumping two gallons of blood per minute and over 100 gallons per hour. If one were to attempt to carry 100 gallons of water (whose density is lighter than blood) from one place to another, it would be an exhausting task. Yet the human heart does this every hour of every day for an entire lifetime without respite. The vascular system transporting life-giving blood is over 60,000 miles long – more than two times the circumference of the earth. So when we conceive of our blood being pumped throughout our bodies, know that this means that it travels through 60,000 miles of a closed vascular system that connects all the parts of the body – all the vital organs and living tissues – to this incredible heart.
We now know that the heart starts beating before the brain is fully fashioned, that is, without the benefit of a fully formed central nervous system. The dominant theory states that the central nervous system is what controls the entire human being, with the brain at its center. Yet we also know that the nervous system does not initiate the beat of the heart, but that it is actually self-initiated, or, as we would say, initiated by God. We also know that the heart, should all of its connections to the brain be severed (as they are during a heart transplant), continues to beat.
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
The command to purify our hearts from sin was an essential Islamic teaching ever since the early stages of the revelation in Mecca. This is known as “purification of the soul” (tazkiyyat an-nafs).
Allah said:
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّاهَا وَقَدْ خَابَ مَن دَسَّاهَا
He has succeeded who purifies the soul, and he has failed who corrupts the soul.
Surah Ash-Shams 91:9-10
And Allah said:
يَوْمَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ
A day when there will be no benefit in wealth or children, but only in he who comes to Allah with a pure heart.
Surah Ash-Shu’ara 26:88-89
We learn from these verses that our success in the Hereafter depends upon the purification of our hearts in this life. We must purify our hearts from spiritual sins such as greed, malice, envy, arrogance, and the love for materialistic life void of the love of the next everlasting life . As we beautify our outward appearance we must adorn the heart with spiritual virtues such as generosity, compassion, benevolence, humility,
Signs, Symptoms and Cures of the Spiritual Diseases of the Heart
On the Day of Judgment no one is safe save the one who returns to God with a pure heart. (QURAN)
Surely in the breasts of humanity is a lump of flesh, if sound then the whole body is sound, and if corrupt then the whole body is corrupt. Is it not the heart? (Prophet Muhammad )
Blessed are the pure at heart.
"Whoever has not thanked people, has not thanked God," said the Prophet Muhammad .
Almost universally, religious traditions have stressed the importance of the condition of the heart. In the Muslim scripture, the Day of Judgment is described as a day in which neither wealth nor children shall be of any benefit [to anyone], except one who comes to Allah with a sound heart (QURAN, 26:88-89). The sound heart is understood to be free of character defects and spiritual blemishes. This “heart” is actually the spiritual heart and not the physical organ per se, although in Islamic tradition the spiritual heart is centered in the physical. One of the extraordinary aspects of the modern era is that we are discovering aspects about the heart unknown in previous times, although there were remarkable insights in ancient traditions. For instance, according to traditional Chinese medicine, the heart houses what is known as shen, which is spirit. The Chinese characters for thinking, thought, love, the intention to listen, and virtue all contain the ideogram for the heart.
Shahr bin Hawshab said:
“I said to Umm Salamah: ‘O Mother of the Believers! What was the supplication that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said most frequently when he was with you?” She said: ‘The supplication he said most frequently was: “O Changer of the hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion (Yā Muqallibal-qulūb, thabbit qalbī `alā dīnik).’” She said: ‘So I said: “O Messenger of Allah, why do you supplicate so frequently: ‘O Changer of the hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion.’ He said: ‘O Umm Salamah! Verily, there is no human being except that his heart is between Two Fingers of the Fingers of Allah, so whomsoever He wills He makes steadfast, and whomever He wills He causes to deviate.’”
In nearly every culture in the world, people use metaphors that directly or indirectly allude to the heart. We call certain types of people “hard-hearted,” usually because they show no mercy and kindness. Likewise, people are said to have “cold hearts” and others yet who are “warm-hearted.” We speak of people as wearing their “hearts on their sleeves” because they do not (or cannot) conceal their emotions from others. When someone’s words or actions penetrate our souls and affect us profoundly, we say that this person “touched my heart” or “touched the core of my being.” The Arabic equivalent for the English word core (which originally in Latin meant heart) is known as lubb, which also refers to the heart, as well as the intellect and the essence of something.
The Prophet of Islam spoke of the heart as a repository of knowledge and a vessel sensitive to the deeds of the body. He said, for example, that wrongdoing irritates the heart. So the heart actually perceives wrong action. In fact, when people do terrible things, the core of their humanity is injured.
Here is a summary of Sheich Yasser kutbah in Arabic
خطبة بعنوان( إصلاح القلوب). الإسلام دعا إلى إصلاح القلب، واعتبر هذا سبباً للنجاة، حتى قال إبراهيم عليه الصلاة والسلام: وَلا تُخْزِنِي يَوْمَ يُبْعَثُونَ * يَوْمَ لا يَنْفَعُ مَالٌ وَلا بَنُونَ * إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ [الشعراء:88-89] فلا ينجو أحد يوم القيامة إلا أصحاب القلوب السليمة، وما قال: ببدن سليم أو بمظهر سليم! بل قال: بقلب سليم.
إذاً المعاملة معاملة قلوب أولاً، ومعاملة أعمال ثانياً، ليست قلوباً فقط، بل قلوب وأعمال، الرسول عليه الصلاة والسلام يقول في الحديث المتفق عليه، حديث النعمان: {ألا وإن في الجسد مضغة إذا صلحت صلح الجسد كله، وإذا فسدت فسد الجسد كله، ألا وهي القلب}.
إذاً: كل الجسد يدور حول الملك -القلب- إذا صلح الملك صلحت الرعية، وإذا فسد الملك فسدت الرعية، فالأعضاء جنود، اليد، والرجل، والرأس، واللسان، إذا صلح الملك وهو القلب، صلحت هذه الجنود وهي الأعضاء، فصارت تسعى في طاعة القلب، فيملي عليها تعليمات صحيحة، يقول القلب الصالح للسان: تكلم بذكر الله، مر بالمعروف وانه عن المنكر، وادع إلى سبيل ربك، فيمتثل، ويقول لليد: أنفقي، فتمتثل، مري بالمعروف فتفعل، ويقول للرجل: امش إلى الطاعة فتفعل، ويقول للعين: انظري إلى ما يستحب النظر إليه فتفعل، ويقول للأذن: اسمعي ما يحب الله أن يسمع، فتفعل... وهكذا، تصبح الجنود كلها خدماً تسعى في طاعة هذا الآمر المتنفذ المتوج وهو القلب {ألا وإن في الجسد مضغة، إذا صلحت صلح الجسد كله، وإذا فسدت فسد الجسد كله}.
مقياس التقويم هو القلب
أسألكم بالله أيها الإخوة! وأسأل نفسي: هل نحن الآن نعنى بإصلاح القلوب -سواء قلوبنا أو قلوب الناس الذين نعمل معهم وندعوهم ونعاشرهم- هل نحن نعنى بإصلاح القلوب أكثر من عنايتنا بإصلاح الظواهر؟
أم أن عنايتنا منصبة غالباً بإصلاح المظهر بحيث قد نفلح كما أسلفت في إصلاح المظهر، ويبقى القلب يتخبط في أمراضه وآفاته ومصائبه؟!
هذه كارثة لا يعلمها إلا الله.
إذاً: الإسلام دعا إلى إصلاح القلب.
بل أمرٌ آخر، جعله الإسلام مقياس التقويم والحكم على الآخرين يتعلق بحقيقة ما في قلوبهم قبل أن يتعلق بمظهرهم، حتى إنه جاء في الصحيح عن سعد رضي الله عنه: {أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان جالساً ومعه مجموعة من أصحابه، فمر رجل، فقال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم لرجل عنده جالس -وقد جاء في بعض الروايات أنه أبو ذر -قال: ما رأيك بهذا؟
قال: يا رسول الله! هذا رجل من خيار الناس، هذا حري إن خطب أن ينكح، وإن شفع أن يشفع، وإن قال: أن يسمع لقوله -أي هذا رجل له مكانة- فسكت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، ثم مر رجل آخر، فقال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: ما رأيك في هذا؟
قال: يا رسول الله! هذا رجل من ضعفاء الناس، هذا حرّّي إن قال ألاَّ يسمع لقوله، وإن شفع ألاَّ يشفع، وإن خطب ألا ينكح، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: هذا -الثاني- خير من ملء الأرض من مثل هذا}.
يعني من الأول، فالمظهر ليس العبرة، والصحابي أجاب على حسب المظهر، لكن الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم أجاب على حسب المخبر.
The above Kutbah was delivered by Sheich Yasser .
English translation .
English translation .
References :
Quran, Hadith .