“Surely in the breasts of humanity is a lump flesh, if sound then the whole body is sound, and if corrupt then the whole body is corrupt. It is not the heart ?” – Prophet Muhammad.
A few months ago, when the unprecedented situation due to COVID-19 had created havoc in our lives, I got my hands on Hamza Yusuf’s The Purification of Heart. The book impacted me profoundly.
Although there are times when I still cannot handle situations well, that book always comes to my rescue whenever my heart is in turmoil.
So I decided to pen down an article on heart, which is called “Qalb” in Arabic and “Dil” in Urdu.
Situated on the left side of the human body, its function is not just pumping blood but also feeling emotions — from profound happiness and joy to terrible agony.
The human heart is the most neglected of all organs. We were sent to school to fill our empty brains with wisdom and knowledge. When our skin becomes dull, we get worried and rush after beauty products. We spend an endless amount of money to cure the ailments that affect our liver and kidneys.
But what about the heart that keeps us alive. The heart that has to be sound and healthy in any circumstance. The heart that will be the deciding factor for your afterlife. The spiritual heart. The deserted and most abandoned organ.
Listen To Your Heart!
Many great people have confessed that it was listening to their hearts that had kept them going.
Rousseau says, “The Promptings of the heart are more to be trusted than the logic of the mind.”
Antoin De Sainte writes, “And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
So many of us, at different points in time, struggle to love ourselves. YKA member @DhritiGehani shares how to take a step closer to loving self. READ⬇️
Drop some pampering/self love practices you indulge in the comments below ? https://t.co/j4lN27yTI7
— Youth Ki Awaaz (@YouthKiAwaaz) January 14, 2022
Today, in a world of capitalism, the heart is the last thing to be relied upon. And it’s this neglect that has created chaos in the world. The wars, fights, famine, brutal takeovers, coups, climate crisis, terrorism, all are the result of prioritising the brain instead of the heart while making decisions.
The brain guides you towards self-interest, while the heart always guides you towards humanity.
Apart from these bigger problems, there is one issue that has created havoc in everyone’s life — bad mental health. It has its genesis in not listening to that tiny organ that is most empathetic of all human organs.
When it can see the brain suffering from overthinking, in a bid to help, the heart takes all the burden. At some point, the weight of grief is too heavy to carry and it stops beating. It dies.
But the most miserable death arrives when it dies, even when we are still alive. When it pumps the blood in your body but cannot pump emotions such as empathy, love, care and compassion, that is the real death and the most frightening one.
If we examine our lives keenly, we realise that the diseases of the heart impact our mental well-being. In the Quran, Allah says, “Verily, in the remembrance of God, do hearts find peace.”
Allah could have written “Mind” instead of “Heart”. Maybe through this ayah (verse), God is trying to tell us that the ultimate aim of your life is to have peace in your heart and the focus should be shifted to the heart.
In his book, Hamza Yusuf talks about the disease of the heart. His focus is on the spiritual heart rather than a physical heart. We should be worried about the ailments that make our hearts suffer severely. The focus is not on cardiovascular disease or the disease of industrialisation and globalisation, but the focus is on the unseen disease that only a spiritual and good heart can recognise.
He has listed several diseases in his book that malign our heart — Miserliness, Wantonness, Contents, Hatred, Iniquity, Love of the World, Envy, Blameworthy Modesty, Fantasizing, Fear of Poverty, Ostentation, Relying on Other Than God, Displeasure with the Divine Decree, Seeking Reputation, False Hopes, Negative Thoughts, Vanity, Fraud, Anger, Heedlessness Rancor, Boasting and Arrogance, Displeasure with Blame, Antipathy Towards Death, Obliviousness to Blessings.
The cures given by Hamza Yusuf are vast, but the easiest remedies lie in the acceptance.
No matter how good your heart is, it will still be bruised someday. No matter how much love it has to hold, it will still be wounded by hatred. No matter how much compassion it has to offer, it will still be misunderstood.
And the acceptance that this life is temporary. The reward will be given on the day of judgement. God does not do injustice to anyone. God doesn’t burden a soul beyond what it can carry. The things destined for you will never miss you. With every hardship, there is ease.
As far as my understanding of faith and conscience is concerned, a healthy, sound heart is the one that cries on seeing someone’s suffering, shows gratitude to rivals after the victory, celebrates other people’s achievements, feels rage against tyranny and injustice, endures wounds patiently, forgives, helps, continues believing in the goodness of people even after a vile deception, collects courage to love again after a terrible hurt, doesn’t try to distort the truth in fear of shame, feels guilt after committing something against its nature.
But what should we do with that wounded heart? What should we do with those broken pieces? Can it be fixed? Can it be cured? You have to remember these words of wisdom by Maulana Rumi: “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”
“On the Day of Judgment, no one is safe save the one who returns to God with a pure heart (Qur’an).”