What The Heart Is Actually Saying

In the name of Allah The Most Gracious, Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah and Allah only.

The matters pertaining to qalb or the heart could be as complicated as how it may made us feel. But still, could be lighter in understanding once we started learning about our own heart. I used to feel this aching and some sort of crushed in the chest once in a while when things aren't going the way I planned or something that I cannot cope up with. So I ended up trying to be gracefully unperturbed despite all these life matters that I'm surrounded with keep pounding my chest. Oh yeah, I sounded as if I'm the wife of a minister or some sort, trying to figure out every little issues of the world on my head. You see, as the French says À raconter ses maux, souvent on les soulage ( To tell our ailments, is to relieve them). So bear with me ya? =)

This aching heart led me to learn more about my very own heart. It is hurt and the cause of it known. But there is something way beyond knowing its condition and the cause of it that intrigued me to finding out more.

According to Merriam-Webster, heart is a hollow muscular organ of vertebrate animals (which includes us human, yes) that by its rhythmic contraction acts as a force pump maintaining the circulation of the blood.

Now according to Muslim religious teachers and philosophers, mainly Imam al-Ghazali, the term heart is often referred to its fundamental position of intellectual and emotional life which then relate to mankind's purpose in life. Its spiritual in nature, the art of the knowing and perceiving essence of man. How could this be you asked? Well, I had a hard time understanding it the first time as well (still do actually!) but is enlightened bit by bit through time insha Allah. Learning process never does stop doesn't it? =)

We humans are born pure in character and soul, free from sins. And it is by nature that we tend to seek for perfection and beauty. More often than not, as we grow up we search for these qualities in our worldly affair, be it from someone or something material. Along this process we forget that nothing in this world is perfect and nothing is permanent. Nothing possesses perfect beauty but Our Creator. Nothing is perfect but Allah The Almighty. So when we seek completion in something other than Allah (swt), the farther away we are from Him. The farther away we are from Him, leads to a bigger hole in our heart, our soul. Feeling empty of Allah (swt) is something that we all should whole-heartedly avoid if I may say. 

Acts of disobedient tarnishes the heart thus making it yearns for a cure. Yet, we feed it more and more of material ventures until it hardens. For all we know, the true cure of heart sickness is to turn ourself and our soul to its rightly owner, the One who Heals. 

All the sins be it small or big are for surely contribute to a hardened heart, and we can try our best to avoid it as much as we can. But what about the unbeknownst causes? 

Ibn' Umar narrated that the Messsenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Do not talk too much without the remembrance of Allah. Indeed excessive talking without remembrance of Allah hardens the heart. And indeed the furthest of people from Allah is the harsh-hearted" [At-Tirmidhi]

Even talking tooooo much can harden one's heart :( I don't talk that much but when I do, oh boy what are the words I've blurted out. Astaghfirullah. 

Al Habib Ali Zaenal Abidin once taught us to recite this one particular dua in the Quran, which is from Surat 'Ali 'Imran (3:8). 
  

[Who say], "Our Lord, let not our hearts deviate after You have guided us and grant us from Yourself mercy. Indeed, You are the Bestower.

Dua is indeed a weapon that we should use as a means to change our condition to be better besides of course, to quickly spring into action and started on baby steps to purify the heart . So make loads of dua (the above is one of the many that can be recited) and ask Allah (swt) to make us stronger in faith and have better understanding of our creation. 

To talk / write about the heart can go as long as we can but since my knowledge is limited, and I don't really have the intelligence of Imam Al-Ghazali (ambitious Mimi is ambitious), I think I'll stop here. There's a lot more to share actually, and I hope I will have the time to sit down again and write about the heart. 

Mission 101: To reach Qalbu Salim. Its hard, but its worth the akhirah trying =)