A vessel cannot hold two things that lie contrary to one another.

In order for a vessel to hold something, it must first be emptied of that which lies contrary to it. And just as this is true with regards to what is physical or tangible, it is also true of beliefs and objectives. Hence, if a heart is filled with false creeds and an affinity for falsehood, there no longer exists a place within it for the truth and affinity for the truth. Similarly, if ones tongue is preoccupied with talk that brings no benefit, its owner becomes incapable of uttering that which is of benefit until he stops indulging into frivolous talk and chatter. If one is busy with actions or deeds that constitute disobedience to Allah, it is not possible to engage oneself with submission to Allah until one first forsakes such disobedience. And just as all this is true, it is also true that if a heart is preoccupied with the love of something other than Allah and the fulfillment of Allahs orders, and if it is filled with anything other than the yearning for Allah and His companionship (through dhikr and other forms of worship), it is not possible to engage the heart with the love of Allah, the fulfillment of His orders and the yearning to meet Him, except by detaching itself from all that preoccupies it. Not a single word of dhikr can be uttered nor a single act of worship practiced except by ridding tongue and limb of anything that distracts from Allah. If preoccupation with worldly matters or with information that brings no benefit fills a heart, there no longer exists within it a place where it can become engaged with Allah and with an understanding of His names and attributes and of His rulings. The secret behind this reality is that the attentiveness of ones heart is like the attentiveness of ones ear. And so if ones heart gives its attention to anything other than Allahs words, it becomes inattentive towards, and effectively fails to understand, the words Allah speaks. Equally, if the heart inclines towards other than the love of Allah, it no longer holds any room for the love of Allah. And so if the heart speaks anything other than the dhikr of Allah, it is no longer able to speak or make dhikr of Allah, just like the tongue. For this reason, the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, is authentically reported to have said, It is better that you fill your insides with pus, even to the point that they rot, than to fill them with poetry. And so the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, informs us that ones insides can, in fact, be filled with poetry. Likewise, ones insides can be filled with doubts, suspicions, false perceptions, frivolous information, jokes, comedic anecdotes, tales, etc Once a heart becomes filled with such frivolities, it finds no space for the truths presented in the Quran or for knowledge that is crucial to its owners well-being and

benefit. Likewise, if one were to direct advice to a person with a heart filled with what lies contrary to that advice (and therefore devoid of any room for it), the heart tends to refuse it. Consequently, rather than linger and become established within the heart, such advice merely passes through it without leaving a trace on its way out again.