1. The Qur’an and the remembrance of Allah

القرآن، القرآن، القرآن وذكر الله
The Qur’an. The Qur’an. The Qur’an – and the remembrance of Allah.
Nothing in existence will have a greater impact on your heart – if you
give it attention and recite it with some understanding – than the
Qur’an.
Nothing will reform your heart more than the Book of Allah.

Allah says:
اللَّهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابًا مُّتَشَابِهًا مَّثَانِيَ
تَقْشَعِرُّ مِنْهُ جُلُودُ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ ثُمَّ
تَلِينُ جُلُودُهُمْ وَقُلُوبُهُمْ إِلَىٰ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ
“Allah has sent down the best statement: a Book whose parts resemble
one another and are oft – repeated. The skins of those who fear their
Lord tremble from it when they hear it recited. Then their skins and
their hearts soften to the remembrance of Allah.”

A scholar says:
ما رأيتُ وأنا ذو النفس المملوءة بالذنوب والعيوب أعظم إلانةً للقلب،
واستدرارًا للدمع، وإحضارًا للخشية، وأبعث على التوبة من تلاوة القرآن
وسماع القرآن.
“I have not seen – while I am a person whose soul is filled with sins
and faults – anything greater in softening the heart, drawing forth
tears, bringing about awe, and stirring one to repentance than the
recitation of the Qur’an and listening to the Qur’an.”

2. Be wary of becoming overly attached to the dunya

This is easier said than done. The offerings of the dunya have not
only increased in quantity, availability, and exposure, but today they
are personalized more than ever before to fit your nafs. They are
ergonomically designed to match whatever your desires crave. Nothing
is standard anymore.

It is impossible that our hearts will not be affected.
Allah says: مَا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِرَجُلٍ مِّن قَلْبَيْنِ فِي جَوْفِهِ
“Allah has not placed two hearts inside a man.”
You and I possess one heart. If it is filled with dunya – khalaas –
there is no space left for Allah.

In the past, getting a coffee was simple. You walked into a shop,
asked for a cup of coffee, and that was it. No extra decisions. No
endless options. There were not dozens of competing brands, and the
taste was more or less the same everywhere. But now – God help you –
asking for coffee has turned into a full interrogation. Do you want an
Americano, espresso, cappuccino, frappuccino, latte, or mocha? Single
shot or double shot? With milk or without milk? Full – fat, semi –
skimmed, or skimmed? Foam on top, or none?
There are endless categories in almost everything. The choices keep
multiplying – and with them, their effect on the mind and heart.

How is it possible that all this access, personalization, and instant
gratification does not produce a monster who is always impatient –
always anxious, always stressed – because he wants things right now,
exactly how he wants them?

That is what we have become.
We have become bedazzled by the dunya.
Like a deer staring into the headlights of a car – the car is about to
hit it, yet it cannot move.
This is how many of us behave with the offerings of the dunya –
waiting on a collision course with death to take us by surprise.

It does affect us.
You can see it in people’s conversations, their lifestyles, and their
priorities.

Umar (رضي الله عنه) said:
اخشوشنوا فإن النعم لا تدوم
“Live roughly (avoid too much comfort), for blessings do not last forever.”

Fadalah ibn ʿUbayd said:
أمرنا النبي ﷺ بالتحفي أحيانًا “The Prophet ﷺ commanded us at times to
walk barefoot.”
You are a poor traveler to Allah. Take off your shoes. Do not become
too attached to your platforms, your Jordans, and your Air Forces.

Remember where you are going.

3. Beware of excess in general
Excessiveness (مبالغة) affects everything.

Take overeating as an example.
It is mentioned as one of the signs of the Day of Judgment – that
people will become overweight. The first thing affected when you
overeat is the heart.

It was said to Abu Abdillah:
يجد الرجل من قلبه رقة وهو يشبع؟ قال: ما أرى.
“Can a man find softness in his heart while he is full from eating?”
He replied: “I do not think so.”

Luqman said to his son:
يا بني! إذا امتلأت المعدة نامت الفكرة، وخرست الحكمة، وقعدت الأعضاء عن العبادة.
“O my son, when the stomach is filled, the mind falls asleep, wisdom
becomes silent, and the limbs become inactive from worship.”

The Prophet ﷺ said:
“The son of Adam does not fill any vessel worse than his stomach. It
is sufficient for the son of Adam to eat a few mouthfuls to keep him
going. If he must do more than that, then one third for food, one
third for drink, and one third for air.”
(Narrated by al – Tirmidhi, 2380; graded sahih.)

The effects of excess go straight to the heart.
Excess in sleeping. Excess in socializing. Excess in working. Excess
in browsing the internet. Excess in shopping. Excess in laughter.

Excessiveness in everything hardens the heart – except one thing:
Worship.
The more worship you do, the softer your heart becomes.

4. Keep the companionship of righteous people

There are certain faces that glow.
Your heart becomes illuminated simply by looking at them – even if
they do not speak.
They are the friends of Allah.

أولياء الله الذين إذا رُؤوا ذُكِر الله “The allies of Allah are those
who, when they are seen, Allah is remembered.”

Some faces remind you of Allah immediately.
Other faces remind you of shaytan, sins, laziness, desires, and haram.
Simply looking at righteous people is healthy for the heart.

5. Spend time with the dying and the dead

If you hear that someone is in the pangs of death, go and sit in that
room for a moment.
Then tell me whether you leave that room the same person.

Saʿid ibn Jubayr said: لو فارق ذكر الموت قلبي لخشيت أن يفسد علي قلبي.
“If the remembrance of death were to leave my heart, I would fear that
my heart would become corrupted.”

If you cannot visit someone who is dying, then go to the graveyard and
spend some time there.

6. Be alone with Allah in the depths of the night

There should be a time when you disconnect.
A time when you put your phone away and reflect on the big questions:
Why am I here? Where am I going?
You will be rewarded for it.

One of the things that preceded the beginning of Prophethood was the
love of seclusion. The Prophet ﷺ would go to Cave Hira, spending days
there alone – no social media, no internet – just reflecting on the
meanings of life. If you find moments like this for yourself, Allah
will grant you a station of closeness to Him.

And what is the best time for this?
Allah says: إِنَّ نَاشِئَةَ اللَّيْلِ هِيَ أَشَدُّ وَطْئًا وَأَقْوَمُ
قِيلا “Indeed, the worship of the night is more impactful and more
suitable for recitation.”

If the last part of the night could speak, it would tell you its secrets:
How many sins were forgiven during it.
How many people were granted Jannah during it.
How many financial burdens were lifted.
How many sins were covered.
How many barren couples were granted children.
How many anxieties were relieved.
Give yourself time to disconnect from the grind of life – even if that
grind is Islamic work.

You need moments where you sit only with your Lord. That will bring a
light, tranquility, comfort, strength, excitement, and contentment
that cannot be described except by those who have experienced it.

7. Do not use your heart for other than what it was created for
Your heart was created for great things

If you use it for something it was not designed for, it will begin to
ache and burn.
Imagine someone trying to drink by pouring water into their ear. Or
someone trying to eat using their eye.

What would happen?
Damage.

Because the ear was designed to hear sound, not hold water. And the
eye was designed to receive light, not food.

Likewise, your heart was not designed for: Private DMs. Secret
conversations. Drugs. Missing salah.

When you do not glorify Allah,
your heart will feel pain according to the size and duration of the
sin.

Ibn Abbas (رضي الله عنهما) said:
إن للحسنة لنورًا في القلب، وضياءً في الوجه، وسعةً في الرزق، وقوةً في
البدن، ومحبةً في قلوب الخلق. وإن للسيئة لسوادًا في الوجه، وظلمةً في
القلب، ووهنا في البدن، ونقصًا في الرزق، وبغضًا في قلوب الخلق.
“Indeed, a good deed brings light to the heart, brightness to the
face, expansion in provision, strength in the body, and love in the
hearts of people. And indeed, a sin brings darkness to the face, gloom
to the heart, weakness in the body, reduction in provision, and hatred
in the hearts of people.”

We must know that if we keep knocking on the door of Allah, eventually it will open.

Fudayl ibn ʿIyad said he once saw a woman beating her son, who ran out
of the house crying. She shut the door behind him. Later he saw the
boy again. After crying for a while, he fell asleep on the doorstep,
longing for his mother.

When the mother saw him there, her heart softened and she opened the
door for him. Fudayl wept until his beard became soaked with tears and said:
سبحان الله! لو صبر العبد على باب الله عز وجل لفتح الله له.
“SubhanAllah! If the servant were to remain patient at the door of
Allah, Allah would surely open it for him.”

Abu al – Darda (رضي الله عنه) said:
جدّوا بالدعاء، فإنه من يكثر قرع الباب يوشك أن يُفتح له.
“Strive earnestly in supplication, for whoever frequently knocks on
the door, it is close to being opened for him.”

Al – Bistami said:
ما زلت أسوق نفسي إلى الله وهي تبكي، حتى سقتها إليه وهي تضحك.
“I kept driving my soul toward Allah while it was weeping, until I
drove it to Him while it was laughing.”

Keep knocking.
You will reach the door eventually.
And when you do – the light will begin to seep in.

Adapted from the lecture series of Sheikh Ali Hammuda.