Keeping The Heart Alive by Yasmin Mogahed

Why is it important to keep the heart alive? The prophet SAW mentioned in a hadith that
in the body there is a lump of flesh and if these lump of flesh is set right right then the
entire body is set right and if it is corrupted then the entire body is corrupted and verily it
is the heart. This shows how important the condition of the heart is to our bodies.
A heart that is healthy is one without defects. Defect in these context means the diseases
that takes away the heart. The worst disease of the heart is any form of shirkassociating
something else to Allah!. There are also other forms of shirk e.g to love something or
someone much more than you love Allah and among these things are the halal that Allah
"as mentioned in the #uran including your children$spouses etc.
A heart that is salim or healthy is the heart that loves Allah and "is messenger. The
human heart was created purposely to love and serve Allah$and when filled with other
things we break our hearts$it should only be filled with what was meant to be filled with.
%ur goal of every action should always be Allah$the rest of the things should &ust be a
means through to "im. 'or example$if you have a car and you are to travel somewhere
then your goal should be your destination and the car is &ust a means. (f you make the car
a goal then done you already have it)
(f you wish to have a heart that is healthy then always keep on remembering death. There
is a clear difference between those people who live their lives knowing that one day they
will leave everything and return to their creator. Those who don*t remember this they
attach themselves too much to the things of this dunya and forget about the hereafter.
Recipe of success in this life and the Hereafter
Know your goal.
'or one to be successful in this life and the hereafter$you have to know your ultimate
goal. (s it &ust to study and get a certificate? (s it to become the richest tycoon? As
muslims we all know our goal is Allah. (f you are studying then your aim should be your
+reator lest you fall into disappointment because you may finish your studies but get no
&ob$if your aim was only to get well payed then you will fall into frustrations.
Know your purpose.
This takes us to the verses of Allah in the #uran which reminds us that Allah created us
for &ust one purpose which is to worship "im. When you understand that all your life
should rotate around ibada then you wil be successful. Allah is so merciful$ here ibada is
not only the five prayers to do everyday but almost everything you do is ibada. ,ven
fulfilling your sexual desires with your halal partner in a halal way is a form of ibada.
Know this life.
-. .now that this life is temporary. /ou have to understand this dunya that is has a
beginning and has an end. /ou were born at a certain time and at a certain time you
will leave this dunya. The prophet SAW advised us to live on this earth like
travelers$not to conceentrate on where we are passing but where we are going.
0. .now that this life is imperfect. To expect this life to be perfect is bringing
depression to yourself because it is not and it never going to be. The only perfect
place is the hereafter. (t is either perfectly bad&ahannam! or perfectly good&annah!.
1. This life is a test. (n surah al 2ulk Allah says that "e is the one who created life and
death in order to test you which of you are best in deeds. So if you were wondering
why you were created you have the answer now$it is a test.
3. .now how to succeed in this ocean of dunya$in this life. Take the dunya as an ocean
and your heart as a boat on that ocean. When you allow water into the boat it will
sink and if you don*t allow any water in you will &ust pass through to get to your
destination.
Plan for tomorrow.
Allah says in the #uran that those who believe to have fear in "im and let every soul
know what it has set forth for Tomorrow. Tomorrow here is not the day after today but the
hereafter. What have you prepared for the life after death? (n the end of this verse Allah
reminds again to have taqwafear in Allah!.
Remember Allah.
(t is the nature of human beings that their eemanfaith! rises and falls in due time. To
overcome there we need to remember Allah consistently$so that the heart is fed spiritually
on a regular basis. The heart will suffocate and die without the remembrance of Allah and
this is the reason why we pray 4 times a day$to keep our hearts alive.
Guard yourself from shaytaan(devil).
Shaytaan is the greatest enemy to human beings therefore we need to guard ourselves
from him. This can be done through dhikrremembrance of Allah! e.g salah$reading
#uran and supplication to Allah. Allah says when you go away from the remembrance of
Allah$"e appoints shaytaan to be with you and becomes your closest companion.
Protet yourself from your own self.
This may sound weird but unless we come to reali5e that our own nafs is an enemy
against us then we can understand the need to protect ourselves. This can be done through
the remembrance of Allah and also through tawbahrepentance! or turning back to Allah.
This process of repentance needs to be constant. Also fasting can be a way of fighting
against our inner self$fighting against our own desires.
Guard your heart.
/our heart is a very special organ because it is through the heart that you can connect to
your creator. 6uard it through "is remembrance and avoid looking at haram$listening to
haram$talking nor eating haram then your heart will be guarded.
!aintain a good personal relationship with Allah
%ther than gaining knowledge from listening to islamic lectures$going for darsa etc one
has to sit alone and talk to "is creator$cry to "im for forgiveness and communicate to
"im in order to build that relationship with "im.
Conclusion
We have now learnt many ways of how to keep our heart alive and how to be successful
in this life and the hereafter. All that remains is for us to put into practice and may Allah
make it easy for all mankind.