“It is all in the heart”
Like the heart of a bird
What should the heart of a sincere believer be like? Once the scholar and righteous man Yahya ibn Muadh was asked: “When is a person sincere?”, to which he replied: “When he has the nature of a child.”
Adults can learn a lot from children. A young child knows how to be happy in the moment, quickly forgets insults, openly shows curiosity and is not afraid of failures. A child does not experience prejudices towards others and himself remains sincere and spontaneous. The Messenger of God ﷺ said, “People whose hearts are like the hearts of birds will enter Paradise.” Birds are free in their high soaring and are not chained to the worldly. They are the most fearful of living creatures - they experience sincere fear of the Almighty - and at the same time completely rely on Him. As the hadith says, they “... fly away in the morning with an empty stomach, and return in the evening with a full one.” (Narrated by Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi).
Birds are distinguished by their soft-heartedness and at the same time amazing courage - they fly over continents and oceans, overcoming considerable difficulties on their way.
These small creatures are not able to contain anger, malice and self-interest in their hearts. They see beauty in everything and respond with kindness and love. Anyone who possesses these qualities undoubtedly deserves Paradise.
How to correct the heart?
A person who strives to improve his spiritual state should remember that the heart bears the imprint of everything that the senses perceive.
If everyone is more or less aware of things that are forbidden for hands, eyes and ears, then the prohibitions of the tongue are often associated only with foul language: many forget that blasphemy and slander are sins. Most do not even think about the impact that unnecessary conversations and discussions of things that do not concern a person have on the inner world.
Committing sins and unwanted actions, bad habits and even negative thoughts can envelop the heart in darkness. While good deeds, thinking about the Almighty, repentance before Him and showing gratitude, cultivating noble qualities in oneself help to purify the heart.
In the book of Imam al-Ghazali, “The Study of the Innermost Secrets of the Heart,” the words of Ali ibn Abu Talib are quoted, “He who subordinates his body parts to himself for the worship of his Lord will achieve what he desires, and he who subordinates his body parts to pleasure will fail.”
A small piece of flesh
A hadith of the Prophet ﷺ hadith says, “Indeed, there is a piece of flesh in the human body which, if it is good, makes the whole body good, and if it is bad, it makes the whole body bad. This piece is the heart.” (Narrated by Al-Bukhari, Muslim).
There is a physiological meaning in these words: the health of the heart determines the health of other organs. But the spiritual meaning is more important: the state of the spiritual heart affects the inner world and moral qualities of a person.
A person is not able to provide the heart with a strong shield on his own: the risk of straying from the straight path without a trusted guide is too great. Spiritual mentors, healers of such spiritual diseases as pride, envy, anger, greed, a tendency to show off, and much more, act as such a guide, capable of identifying heart ailments and prescribing an effective course of treatment.
