1. How does your heart respond when the Qur’an is recited?
Does it soften… or feel untouched?
Allah says:
إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ
قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا
وَعَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ
“The believers are only those whose hearts tremble when Allah is mentioned, and when His verses are recited to them, it increases them
in faith, and they put their trust in their Lord.”
Once, Umar ibn al – Khattab (رضي الله عنه) heard a man reciting verses
from Surah At – Tur during the night prayer.
When the man reached the verse:
إِنَّ عَذَابَ رَبِّكَ لَوَاقِعٌ • مَالَهُ مِن دَافِعٍ
“Indeed, the punishment of your Lord will surely occur. There is none to repel it.” (52:7–8)
Umar said: “أقسم برب الكعبة إن هذا لحق.”
“I swear by the Lord of the Kaʿbah that this is the truth.”
He then returned to his home and fell ill for an entire month. People would visit him, not knowing the reason for his illness.
That was the effect of the majesty of Allah’s words upon his heart.
2. When was the last time you shed a tear for the sake of Allah?
When was the last time you cried in remembrance of your Lord?
Weeping for the sake of Allah has a special place in Islam.
Allah says in Surah Al – Isra:
وَيَخِرُّونَ لِلْأَذْقَانِ يَبْكُونَ وَيَزِيدُهُمْ خُشُوعًا
“And they fall upon their faces weeping, and it increases them in humility.”
Allah also says:
وَإِذَا سَمِعُوا مَا أُنزِلَ إِلَى الرَّسُولِ تَرَىٰ أَعْيُنَهُمْ تَفِيضُ مِنَ الدَّمْعِ مِمَّا عَرَفُوا مِنَ الْحَقِّ
“And when they hear what has been revealed to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears because of the truth they
recognize.”
Then there is the young man who remembers Allah in private and begins to cry. Allah promises him a place under His shade on the Day when
there will be no shade except His shade.
Ibn Umar (رضي الله عنهما) said:
“For me to shed a single tear in the path of Allah is more beloved to me than giving one thousand dinars of gold in charity.”
3. How do you behave when advice is given to you? How do you react when someone points out a mistake?
A mistake in your dress. In your tone of voice. In your salah. In your hijab.
Test the softness of your heart on this basis.
How do you truly behave when the truth is presented to you?
Al -Manaawi said:
القلب القاسي لا يقبل الحق وإن كثرت دلائله
“A hardened heart does not accept the truth, even if its evidences are many.”
4. How do you feel when death is mentioned?
Imam Al -Ghazali complained that even in his time he saw people laughing and joking in graveyards during funeral processions.
Instead of reflecting on death, they would discuss the inheritance of the man who had just died.
Al – Baraa’ ibn ‘Azib (رضي الله عنه) said:
كنا مع رسول الله ﷺ في جنازة، فجلس على شفير القبر فبكى حتى بلّ الثرى، ثم قال: يا إخواني، لمثل هذا فأعدّوا
“We were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ at a funeral. He sat at the edge of the grave and wept until the soil became wet. Then he said: ‘O
my brothers, for something like this, prepare yourselves.’”
This is what truly requires preparation.
You can use these questions to test your heart. And if you find that you still have work to do, the next step is to trace the cause.
Ask yourself: Where did this hardness come from?
If you sincerely ask Allah, He will show you.
Look within yourself. Blame yourself first.
Allah says:
بَلْ طَبَعَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهَا بِكُفْرِهِمْ
“Rather, Allah sealed them because of their disbelief.”
And He says:
فَلَمَّا زَاغُوا أَزَاغَ اللَّهُ قُلُوبَهُمْ
“So when they deviated, Allah caused their hearts to deviate.”
And also:
فَبِمَا نَقْضِهِم مِّيثَاقَهُمْ لَعَنَّاهُمْ وَجَعَلْنَا قُلُوبَهُمْ قَاسِيَةً
“Because they broke their covenant, We cursed them and made their hearts hard.”
They broke the covenant first.
Meaning: we are the ones who introduce the sins.
So track the sins.
Ask yourself:
Could it be my salah? Am I delaying it?
Could it be my finances? My business? Haram income?
Could it be the fallout I had with a relative? A sibling I no longer speak to?
Could it be that I raised my voice at my mother?
Remember:
إِن يَعْلَمِ اللَّهُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ خَيْرًا يُؤْتِكُمْ خَيْرًا
“If Allah knows any good in your hearts, He will give you something better.”
When you identify the cause -whether it is a sin you abandon or an obligation you finally begin to fulfill -you remove the obstacle.
And once the obstacle is gone, the heart becomes ready again to drink
from the words of Allah.
Adapted from the lecture series of Sheikh Ali Hammuda.
