A chapter on the diseases of the hearts and their cure

A short treatise by ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him)

from his volume on Ilm-us-Sulook in the current collection of his juristic verdicts

[Caution: there may be some mistakes in the translation due to ambiguity of certain
words and ineptitude of the translator – the concern here was really to convey the
general idea and line of argument. Kindly, do not circulate unless you have reviewed it
against the original text yourself and are satisfied or include this disclaimer at this
point. You may report any mistakes to mailshazib@gmail.com ]

All praise is for Allah the Lord of the Worlds and may Allah pray for our Prophet,
Muhammad, and his companions and may he bestow upon them peace.

We have, of course, already mentioned elsewhere: of a surety, the rectification of the

condition of man is through justice. Just as his corruption is through oppression (dhulm).
Indeed, Allah – Glorified be He – justly fashioned him1 and bestowed him due proportion
when He created him. And the sound health of his body and its being safe from what is
harmful arises out of balance [in his body], while its sickness arises due to deviation or
over-inclination to one side.

Much in the same way, the preservation and uprightness of the heart strongly bound to it
possessing balance, economy, soundness, health and amendment.

Indeed, Allah has made mention of the [concept of] diseases of the heart and its cure in
several places in His Book and it is also found in the Prophetic practice of His Messenger
(pbuh). This is demonstrated by His following statements:

• “…In their hearts is a disease and so Allah increases them in disease…” (2:10)

• “…So you will see the ones who have a disease in their hearts hastening towards
[alliances] with them [the Jews and Christians]…” (5:52)

• “…and He will cure [through your fighting the Mushrikeen] the breasts of the
believing people; and He will drive away the fury in their hearts…” (9:14-15)

• “…of a surety has come to you an instruction2 and a cure for what is in the
breasts…” (10:57)

• “…and We reveal from the Qur’an what is a cure and a mercy for the
believers…” (17:82)

• “Say: it is, for the ones who have believed, a guidance and a cure…” (41:44)
1
‫عدله‬
2
‫موعظة‬: more specifically – an instruction that appeals to reason by reminding of [the dire] consequences of
an action and urging to replace with what is good instead and its beautiful end – my own aggregation of
ideas received from a couple of sources, including Lisaan-ul-Arab.
 • “…so then, do not be soft in speech such that the one who has a disease in his
heart may [begin to] desire…” (33:32)

• “If the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is disease and those who spread
rumors in al-Madinah do not cease, We will surely incite you against them;…”
(33:60)

• And [remember] when the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is disease said, "
Allah and His Messenger did not promise us except delusion,…" (33:12)

And the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) stated, “Should they not have asked when they did
not know? For, the cure for ineptitude (or “inability” or “ignorance”)3 is questioning.”4

And in the Sahih [collection] of al-Bukhari, [the statement] of ibn Mas’ud, “And, no
doubt, everyone among you will never cease to remain in a good state so long as you fear
Allah; and when doubt arises in himself about a thing, he asks a man about it and so that
cures him. But soon will come a time when you will not find such a man; by the One
other than whom there is no other deity…”.5

What Allah has mentioned from the diseases of the heart and its cures is of the same rank
as what He mentions of its death, life, hearing, seeing, perceiving, and being deaf, dumb
and blind.

However, the objective is to become well-acquainted with the diseases of the heart, so we
say that the disease is of two types: corruption of the senses and the corruption of its
natural ability to act (and what relates to it in terms of ability to intend).

Perishing before any of these two results in pain and torment. Then the case is such that,
indeed, with the soundness of the senses and ability to act, whether natural or intended,
delight and blessing is acquired. So similarly, by their corruption arises pain and
torment. Thus, it is a blessing from the blessings that Allah bestows upon His slaves; as
it has in it delight and pleasure. And He says, “Then, on that day, You shall be asked
about the delight (you indulged in, in this world)!” [102:8], that is to say, [you will be
asked] about its appreciation.

Therefore, the cause of delight is the sensation of softness, and the cause of pain is the
sensation of the negative. The delight and pain are not the same as sensation or
perception. They are only its result, its fruit, its objective and its ultimate goal. So the
disease comprises pain and there is no escaping that…so then it has to be this disease has
arisen as a result of something that causes pain, and it only subsides by the existence of a
more stronger opposing force.

3
ّ ‫الِع‬
‫ي‬
4
Recorded by Abu Dawood (Kitaab-ut-Tahaarah, Ch. 125) and ibn Majah and Musnad of Imam Ahmed.
5
Recroded by al-Bukhari, Eng Translation: Vol. 4, Book 52, Number 209.
And the delight of the heart and its pain is something greater than the delight of the body
and its pain; and I mean by its pain and its delight the psychological states – although the
heart is also subject to a pain that is from the type similar to that for the rest of the body,
by virtue of a disease of the body. So that is something altogether different.

So that is why the disease of the heart and its cure is something greater than the disease of
the body and its cure. Sometimes it arises as a result of general doubts, as He says, “the
one who has in his heart a disease may then desire…” (33:32) and as his been written
about by al-Khra’iti in the book entitled, “The book on defects of the hearts caused by
whimsical desires”. Thus, the hearts of the hypocrites have in them a disease arising
from this angle. By this angle [we mean], from the perspective of corruption of beliefs
and corruption of intentions.

The oppressed also has a disease in his heart. That is the pain that results from the
oppression of another upon him. So when his due rights are fulfilled, his heart is cured.
Such as in His saying, “…and He will cure the breasts of a believing people; and He will
drive out the fury from their hearts…” (9:14-15). For indeed, the fury of the heart is to
have the hurt and pain be removed from him. So when the hurt and pain is removed from
him, and his due right is fulfilled, the fury is cured.

So just as man, when he becomes such that he does not hear with his ears, nor sees with
his eyes, nor talks with his tongue, then that becomes a painful disease for him. Some
beneficial things are lost to him and he acquires some of the harmful things. So similarly,
when he cannot hear, see or know by his heart the truth and the falsehood, and he is
unable to distinguish between good and bad, and guidance and misguidance – then that
becomes from the greatest of diseases of the heart and its pains. Just as if one lusts for
that which will harm him, such as excess of food…and like the eating of the fig and its
likes that makes one sick. So he pains until his pain does not cease by that eating, the one
that then exists more than it was before. So he acquires pain by eating, acquires pain if
he doesn’t eat.

Similar is the case of one who is afflicted by the love of something whose love does not
benefit him and its likes. It is the same whether it is an image or it is leadership or it is
wealth or its like. So if he does not acquire his love and his desire, then he is in pain and
a sickly patient. And if he does acquire his love then that is the severest disease, pain and
sickness. Therefore, it is as if when the one with the disease hates that which he is
dependent upon from food and drink then that does result in pain. And it becomes the
case that when that dependence persists it causes a pain that is greater than that – until it
kills him; until what caused his hatred for what brings benefit to him and what he is
dependent upon ceases. So he is in pain in this state, and the state after that causes him a
greater and more severe pain, unless Allah protects him from that.

So the hatred of the jealous one with regards to the favour of Allah upon the one who is
jealous of, is like the grudge borne by the diseased one with respect to the healthy ones’
ability to eat and drink – to the point that he cannot bear to see them eating. So his anger
that this should also be the case for him is like the anger of the diseased one for all that
will correct him from food and drink. Thus, love and hate that disturbs the balance and
soundness of the inner-self, is just like the desires and rage that disturbs the balance and
soundness of the body. And the blindness of the heart and its being unable to speak is
with respect to being able to perceive realities and truth and to able to distinguish
between what benefits it and harms it. This is like the blindness in the body and its being
unable to speak; it is unable to perceive matters in accordance with their proper merit; it
is unable to converse with them and thus distinguish between what benefits it and what
harms it.

So it is as if when the one who is the object of harm is able to perceive, he finds that the
comfort, safety from harm and pleasure is a great matter. Thus, the sight of the heart and
its visualising the realities – between this and the sight of the eyes there is a such a
disparity that only Allah can encompass it. But our concern here is only to draw a
parallel between the two types of diseases. Thus, the medical science of the religion is
modelled upon the conception of the medical science that pertains to the body.

Of course, Salman (al-Farasi) wrote to Abu Dardaa` (may Allah be pleased with both of
them): Indeed, it has reached me that you have sat with a doctor – so it is upon you that
you kill [him]. For Allah has revealed His Book as a cure for what is in the breasts. As
Allah says:

We send down (stage by stage) In the Qur'an that which is a healing and a Mercy to
those who believe: to the unjust it causes nothing but loss after loss. [17:82]

That is because healing is only acquired by the one who actually places his trust upon the
medicine, and these are the believers – they place the medication of the Qur’an upon the
disease of the hearts.

Thus, the disease of the body arises because of the natural lust and anger being becoming
out of balance. Either it is the lusting for what is not obtainable, or the lack of desire for
what is beneficial, or it is anger with what is beneficial or the lack of anger for what is
harmful. And it arises because of the weakness in the ability to perceive and to act. The
same is the case with the disease of the heart: it is either due to love or hate that causes it
to go out of balance. And these are the whimsical desires about which Allah has stated,
“…and who is more astray than one who follow His own lusts, devoid of guidance from
Allah…” [28:50] and “Nay, the wrong-doers (merely) follow their own lusts, being
devoid of knowledge…” [30:29].

It is as if the body becomes out of balance because one does what the body itself desires,
without referral to the doctor. And it arises due to the weakness of the perceptiveness of
the heart and its will-power, until it is incapable of knowing and desiring what will
benefit it and rectify it. This is just as the ignorant sufferers of disease indeed consume
what they lust for and do not comply with nor are patient upon the hated medicine. That
is because this quick relief results in a type of comfort and delight. But that consequently
results in pains that are greater in measure than that – and it may even bring about his
destruction.
And in this manner, the children of Adam are the ignorant ones who oppress their own
selves: one of them wishes to immediately acquire that to which he finds delight in and
he leaves what his inner-self despises – even though there is no ultimate benefit for him
in doing that. So he meets with pain and other dire consequences, whether that is in this
world or in the hereafter – from the severest of punishment and the greatest of
destructions.

As for taqwa, it is to make an effort to safeguard against that which harms by performing
that which benefits – for safeguarding against any harm necessitates the use of what
benefits. And as for the usage of what benefits, then of course, it can also be associated
with the usage of what is harmful; so in this specific case, the user of such a benefit is not
counted as one who is amongst the muttaqeen.

And as for avoiding the use of what benefits or harms, then this is not possible. For when
the slave is incapable of consuming his diet, then he is in fact on such a diet which
contains elements that are harmful – until he is destroyed. And that is why, the ultimate
end belongs to taqwa and the people of taqwa. For they are the ones who safeguard from
all that harms – thus their ultimate end is submission and generous endowment [from
their Lord]. That is even when some pain is encountered in the in initial phases of
consuming the medicine and carrying out one’s safeguard, such as in the case of those
righteous actions which are not liked (by the slave). As in the Exalted One’s statement,
“Fighting has been prescribed upon you but you do not like it; and it may be that you
hate a thing but it is good for you, and it may be you love a thing and it is harmful for
you…” [2:216].

And it may also be the same case with respect to the wrong actions that are desired, as the
Exalted One states, “And for such as had entertained the fear of standing before their
Lord and had restrained (their) soul from lower desires, their abode will be the Garden.”
[79:40-41]; and, “…you wished that the one unarmed should be yours…” [8:7]. As for
the one who does not safeguard himself, then that is will indeed ultimately be a source of
harm for him. And the one who consumes what benefits him with ease by mixing up [his
approach to this affair] – then he acquires more correction than one who safeguards
himself in a most absolute way, but does not consume from the things for the inner-self.
For indeed, such absolute safeguards without any intake of a diet results in sickness. So
the case of the one who avoids sins but does not do good actions is similar.

So indeed we have come upon a great principle: that the category of good deeds is more
beneficial than the category of bad deeds. Just as the category of diet is more beneficial
than the category of [simple] precautions. We clarify that this [the good deed] is
something desired for what it in itself is; while that [the bad deed] is not in itself what is
desired – but it is what is obtained by retracting from it [that is desired]. So it is like the
obligation to safeguard against the causes of the disease prior to being infected by it, as
the deterioration is only after being infected by it. So similar is the case of the diseases of
the heart – what is required by in this case is protection of the health at the very start and
also to continually prevent relapse, where one has already experienced the disease. And
health is preserved by its like while disease ceases due to its opposite. Thus, the health of
the heart is preserved by using the likes of what already is in it, or by what strengthens
one’s knowledge and faith; whether that is remembrance, reflection or legitimate acts of
devotion. And it declines by its opposite, so doubts deteriorate by virtue of clear
evidences, and the love for falsehood declines out of hate for it and also love for the truth.

Therefore, Yahya bin Ammar states, “The sciences are five: so there is the science of the
life of this world, and there is the science of the Oneness of Allah, and there is the science
of the food of the religion, and there is the science of remembrance through
[understanding] the meanings of the Qur’an and the Hadith, and there is the science of the
medicine of the religion (and that is the knowledge of pronouncing juristic verdicts as
when the slave comes down with a matter, he needs someone who can cure him for it -
this is like the saying of ibn Mas’ud (RA) [quoted earlier]). And the knowledge that is
the disease of the religion, then that is the new discussions [innovations] in the religion,
and the knowledge that is the destruction of the religion, then that is the knowledge of
magic and its like. So the protection of health by its likes and the deterioration of the
disease through its opposites, is both in the case of the disease of the body, natural, and
the disease of the heart is psychological, religious and legislated. The Prophet, pbuh,
stated, “Every child is born upon the original innate inclination (fitrah); then it is his
parents who make him a Jew or a Chirstian or a Magian. This is like the cattle give birth
to a whole and complete calf – do you consider that it is born with slits in its ears?”.
Then Abu Hurairah says, “Read if you wish, ‘The original inclination set by Allah, upon
which he has caused all the people to be originated upon.’ [30:30]”. This has been
recorded in both the Sahih collections.

And the Exalted One has stated [that is, the full context of the above stated ayat is as
follows]: “To Him belongs every being that is in the heavens and on earth: all are
devoutly obedient to Him. It is He who begins (the process of) creation; then repeats it;
and for Him it is most easy. To Him belongs the loftiest similitude (we can think of) in the
heavens and the earth: for He is Exalted in Might, full of wisdom…Nay, the wrong-doers
(merely) follow their own lusts, being devoid of knowledge. But who will guide those
whom Allah leaves astray? To them there will be no helpers. So set you your face
steadily and truly to the faith: the original pattern of Allah, upon which He has
originated mankind; no change (let there be) in the work (produced) by Allah. That is
the upright (and well-established) religion, but most among mankind understand not”
[30:26-30].

Thus, He informs us that He has originated His slaves with their faces set steadily and
truly, and that is the worship of Allah alone without associating any sub-deities with Him.
So this is from the original, natural, upright, balanced movement of the heart.
Abandoning it is a great oppression – for its people then follow their lower desires
without knowledge. It must be the case with regards to this original pattern and creation,
and here we mean the sound health of the creation, that it has an energy and a diet that is
extended by the likes of what it already possesses. This is the likes of what it was
originated upon, in terms of knowledge and action. Therefore, the perfection of the
religion occurs by combining a completely sound original pattern with the revealed
regulations. This [revelation] is the banquet of Allah, as the Prophet (pbuh) states in the
Hadith from ibn Mas’ud (RA), “Indeed, every inviter to a banquet loves that his banquet
be taken up, and the banquet of Allah is the Qur’an”6 and similar things such as the water
which Allah causes to fall from the heavens, and other similar items on this issue are
found in the Book and the Prophetic practice.

The ones that introduce changes to the original pattern are ones who alter the heart from
its upright and steady position and thus are the ones who infect it with disease, are the
ones causing its sickness. While Allah has revealed His book as a healing for what is in
the breasts.

Whatever afflicts the believer in this world from the variety of afflictions out there, then
that is similar to the pain that afflicts the body but the body is then healed by it and the
corruptive elements are eliminated by it. This is like what the Prophet (pbuh) has said,
“The believer is not afflicted by any abiding pain, nor fatigue, nor worry, nor grief, nor
distress, nor injury, not even the prick of a thorn, except that Allah expiates by virtue of
that his sins.” This is in confirmation of His statement, “… whoever does a wrong will
be recompensed for it…” [4:123].

One who is not purified in this world of these sicknesses and is refused correction, then
he will be required to be purified of it in the Hereafter and so Allah would punish him.
This is like the case who has a mixture (of both health and disease) gathered within him.
He did not use the medicines due to the relaxations afforded to him. So he combined
these two things until that caused his destruction. Hence, we find the saying, “When it is
said to the one who is sick, ‘May Allah have mercy on you,’ Allah says, ‘How can I have
mercy upon him with regards to something that is in itself my mercy upon him.’”

And the Prophet (pbuh) states, “Disease is a shedding: it causes the sins to be shed from
the person who committed them, just like the dried up tree sheds its leaves.”7

And just like the diseases of the body make a person a martyr if he dies due to that, such
as the one inflicted by plague, or abdominal disease, [etc.]8 such is the case with the
diseases of the inner-self. Provided that when this comes upon the slave from his Lord,
he is patient with it to the point that he even dies as a martyr. For example, the cowardly
one who fears Allah and is patient in the face of fighting until he is killed. For indeed,
miserliness and cowardice are from the diseases of the inner-self: if he is subservient to it
then he surely meets with pain; but if he transgresses against it then that pain is like the
diseases of the body [i.e. to patiently persevere and try to conquer these feelings is
rewardable].

6
Recorded by ad-Darimi as the words of Abdullah bin Mas’ud (RA) himself (and not going beyond that to
the Messenger of Allah, pbuh). The three hadith of Darimi I could find only have the last part of the
statement, “the banquet of Allah is the Qur’an”. Haythami records the hadith in Majma’ uz-Zawaid (7:167)
and says that at-Tabarani reports it with a number of chains and the people in the chain are authentic
people.” Allah knows best.
7
It is meant to have some origination in the Musnad of Ahmed but I could not trace this hadith to that
source (Musnad Ahmed 1/195-196).
8
See Sahih Bukhari, for example, Volume 7, Book 71, Number 629:
And the case of romantic love is the same, as it has indeed been narrated, “Whosoever
falls into romantic love, then restrains it, hides it, is patient and then dies – he dies the
death of a martyr.”9

Indeed, it is the case that the disease of the self calls to what will harm the self; as it calls
the diseased one to consume what will harm it. So if he subdues to his lower desires, his
torment is magnified in the Hereafter as well as in this world. But if he disobeys the
lower desires, through self-restraint and covering up, then this becomes pain and sickness
inside of himself. So when he dies because of that disease, is becomes a martyr. This
was calling him to the fire but he prevented that. Similarly, the inner-self of the cowardly
one is preventing him from Paradise, but he proceeds to over-rule that.

Therefore, when these diseases are accompanied with faith and taqwa, it becomes just as
the Prophet (pbuh) described, “Allah does not decide a matter for the believer except it is
good for him: if he meets with prosperity and he is thankful then that becomes good for
him; and if he is afflicted with harm and he is patient then that becomes good for him.”10

And all praise is only for Allah, Lord of the worlds. And may Allah send prayers upon
our chief, Muhammad, and his family and his companions, all of them together. And
may he grant them absolute peace.

9
In his more extended work on a similar subject, “Diseases of the heart and its cure”, ibn Taymiyah
introduces this hadith as follows: and it is a well-known narration reported from Yahya al-Qattaat from
Mujahid from ibn Abbas with a Marfu’ chain [traceable back to the Prophet?]. And there is some
discussion about it – and it cannot be used as evidence [in itself]. But it is well-known from evidences in
the Islamic legal framework that it is really the case that when a person repents from what is forbidden and
dies, in terms thinking, words and action, and he hides that such that he does not discuss it in that he does
not engage in any prohibited conversation about it, whether that be complaining to the people (who are
created beings), or expressing lewd thoughts, or expressing the desire for the one he is infatuated with –
and he is patient upon the obedience of Allah and away from sins, while all that time he forbears in his
heart the hurt from this romantic love, then this is like the one who is patient upon the pain arising from an
affliction. This then becomes one who takes precaution with respect to Allah and is patient: It is surely
the case that one who takes precautions and is patient, then indeed, Allah does not waste the reward of
the doers of good. [12:90].
In any case, we must mention that it is recorded by al-Khateeb in his Taareekh, and by ibn Hibban in al-
Majrooheen. Al-Albaani records it in his Silsilatu al-Da’eefah (1:587:409).
10
Ibn Taymiyah, may Allah have mercy on him, seems only to want to indicate the general idea of the
narrations. This is actually the combination of two hadith. The first part is from the Musnad of Ahmed,
with the exact wordings, from Anas bin Malik (RA), “How amazing is the believer: Allah does not decide a
matter for him except that in it is good for him.” The second part is from the more famous hadith of Sahih
Muslim, on the authority of Abu Yahya Suhaib bin Sinaan (RA), “How wonderful is the affair of a
believer; there is good for him in everything and this is not for anyone except a believer. If prosperity
attends him, he expresses gratitude to Allah and that is good for him; and if adversity befalls him, he
endures it patiently and that is good for him.”