The heart.

Let us begin by understanding the heart. Now not the biological way you all must be thinking. Yes.

The heart is an organ in the body that pumps blood to the rest of the body. And it is what keeps us alive. Yes.

But also, the heart is a vessel.

A cup. In Arabic another word for heart is Kooba which translates to cup.

In Islamic philosophy, the qalb or the heart of a person is the centre of the personality.

The Holy Qur’an mentions the word ‘Qalb’ 132 times. 132 times. And not in a psychical or biological way that we are so used to thinking of the heart as.

But in a spiritual way. Allah (SWT) tells us in the Qur’an, that the heart plays a significant role in human existence by serving as the source of good and evil, of right and wrong, of hate and of love.

In Islam, God is more concerned about what is in the heart of a man than his actual actions. For the actions of a man reflect in what is truly in his heart. I’ve written about “Pure intentions” in a previous post that speaks volumes about how important one’s true intentions behind his actions are to Allah.

And Allah knows. Allah knows. Everything. That which is in our hearts which we speak of openly and that which we conceal.

As I mentioned before. The heart is a vessel. Within it we are told to house the Love of Allah.

The place in which we are supposed to house the love of Allah is called the Lub. Now, if there is anything other than Allah in this special place in our heart that was meant solely for Allah, we will never find true contentment in our lives. Be it family, children,spouses, wealth or even our own parents.

We need to understand that Allah is Akbar. Which means greater. Greater than anything or anyone. Which is why our love for Allah should be greater than anything or anyone.

And why not? Is Allah not The Most Merciful Lord? Has He not provided us with all that we need and more? Sometimes we get so caught up in our wants, we forget that Allah has given us everything we actually need through the beautiful Deen of Islam.

So now we need to ask ourselves. Do we truly truly nourish our hearts? Do we keep them clean. Prepared to hold the Love of Allah.

In order to cultivate the love of Allah in our hearts, we have been provided with a very special and simple tool. The secret to attaining Allah’s love is Dhikr.

Dhikr is to the heart and soul, that which food is to the body.

Nourishment. Strength. Satisfaction. Peace.

Dhikr means to remember or to mention. How beautiful is Dhikr, that when we, as humans, remember Allah in a gathering of other humans, (or as we are doing so through this post); Allah remembers us in a gathering of the Angels.

How amazing is our Lord who says:

Dhikr is remembrance of Allah. And the 3 most beautiful Adhkaar are:

Subhanallah: for hope.

Alhamdulillah: to praise and as thanks

Allahu Akbar: to humble

Every time Allah’s servant says Subhanallah, they are asking Allah to save them from drowning.

Every time Allah’s servant says Alhamdulillah they are showing and attitude of gratitude towards their Lord.

And every time Allah’s servant says Allahu Akbar, they are tramping down on their pride.

Did you know that glorifying Allah is a form of Sadaqah? During the lifetime of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), an incident happened where the rich companions were donating money and other things as Sadaqah in the masjid. There was a companion there who didn’t have any money or property to give and this made him feel left out and he complained to the Prophet (ﷺ) about his inability to give.

“O Messenger of Allah, the rich have taken away all the reward. They observe Salat as we do; and give Sadaqah out of their surplus wealth.” Upon this He (the Prophet (ﷺ)) said, “Has Allah not prescribed for you a following which you can also give Sadaqah?

In every declaration of the glorification of Allah (Subhan Allah) there is a Sadaqah, and in every Takbir (Allahu Akbar) is a Sadaqah, and in every celebration of praise (Alhamdu lillah) is a Sadaqah, and in every declaration that He is One (La ilaha illallah) is a Sadaqah, and in enjoining of good is a Sadaqah, and in forbidding evil is a Sadaqah, and in man’s sexual intercourse with his wife there is a Sadaqah.”

So, you may not have enough money to be able to give out sadaqah in the form of cash, but know that your Dhikr of Allah is regarded as Sadaqah.

Remember this: Allah is not in need of our Dhikr. No. We are in need of Allah’s remembrance of us. Our Dhikr in this duniya is our currency for the Aakhirah. It is our way to cultivate our Jannah, to build a beautiful paradise. To embed the love of Allah so deep in our hearts that nothing and no one can shake that true love.

Oh Allah, the Most-Loving, Ya Wadüd, I ask for Your love and for the love of those who love You and for every action which will bring me closer to Your love. Fill my heart with Your love and let me love You unconditionally. Ameen

I leave you with a poem written by Rabia Al Basri to show you her true love for Allah.

– Bibi Aysh