In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficient, the Most Merciful.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said,
“…There lies within the body a piece of flesh. If it is sound, the whole body is sound; and if it is corrupted, the whole body is corrupted. Verily this piece is the heart.” (Bukhari and Muslim)
I write this piece reflecting on these beautiful words, for indeed, a person isn’t complete without a sound heart. Verily, the salvation of a Muslim depends on the purification of his heart. Even though the heart is just a piece of flesh amidst a whole body system, the condition of this piece of flesh determines how the whole system works.
As Muslims, it’s very important we strive to attain Qalbun Saleem for a day will come when nothing else would be of benefit except the pound heart, as Allah said in surah Ash-Shu’ara, verse 88-89,
“A day when there will be no benefit in wealth or children, but only in he who comes to Allah with a pure heart.”
And to futher strengthen our purpose of existence, Allah the Exalted said in surah Adh-Dhariyah verse 56,
“And I have not created Jinn and Mankind except that they worship me.”
Do you see how it is linked?
The main purpose of our existence is to worship Allah, and every act of worship begins with intention in the heart. For every Salah (five daily prayers and nawaafils) you perform, every sawm (fasting) you observe, every sadaqah (charity) you give, you are rewarded based on what is in your heart, such that the attainment of Qalbun saleem depends on the purity of your intentions when you perform these acts of worship.
To further strengthen the virtue of a purified heart while observing any acts of worship, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said,
“Actions are but by intentions and each man will have but that he intended”Saheeh al-Bukhari, no 1.
Now that we know the virtues of purified hearts, we may be asked, “so, what can cause impurities to the heart?”
The answer to this can be traced to the beautiful words of the rasul, peace be upon him, when he said,
“Verily, when the believer commits a sin, a black spot appears upon his heart. If he repents and abandons the sin and seeks forgiveness, his heart will be polished, but if he increases in sin, the blackness increases.” Source: Sunan Ibn Majah 4244, Grade: Sahih.
From this, I would say that the similitude of the heart is that of an onion, wrapped in multitude of layers. If a layer is left to rotten without immediately peeling it off, it affects the other layers. When we commit a sin, a layer of black spot appears on the heart, immediate repentance cleanses the heart and removes the layer of black spot but lack of repentance and ppersistence in sins multiplies the black spot until the heart becomes consumed.
Dear Muslim brothers and sisters, treat your heart like an onions with a bad layer. Purify the heart but peeling off the bad layer through repentance and abstainance from sin. Oh you who believe, seek purification through sincere struggle for a cleansed heart. Bow to your Lord and seek His aid when you become weak.
Be reminded that, “Sins destroys the heart the same way poison destroys the body.” Ibn Al- Qayyim.
Be reminded that “Verily Allah does not look at your appearance or wealth, but rather He looks at your hearts and actions.” Source: Sahih Muslim 2564, Grade: Sahih
Take a deep breath and ask yourself, what do I have to show Allah: a sound heart (Qalbun Saleem) or a corrupt heart (Qalbun Fasid)?
May Allah have mercy on our souls and purify our hearts against the day of regret.
Author: Salimat Bakare
Editor: Umm Naml
