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Strengthening the Heart in Stages
Winter 2001


We all know that heart disease is the number one killer in America. Murshid offers spiritual guidance in this article that explores strengthening the heart in stages.

     Even in matters of the heart, we find that all things grow and prosper in stages. Look to the turning of the seasons, the life cycle of plants, the changing of the ocean tides, the periods of physical and emotional maturity within a single human life, let alone the distinct periods of human civilization. Surah as-Shuraa 26:32 of the Holy Qur`an recites:
Those who reject faith say, why is not the Qur`an revealed to him all at once. Thus it is revealed that We may strengthen thy heart thereby, and We have rehearsed to thee in slow, well arranged, stages gradually.
     Although this khutbah (discourse) will explore the "strengthening of the heart," the above verse provides us with a particularly provocative introduction. The verse begins with the "rejection of faith," which we all know is a dimension that exists within us as obstinacy - the ego's position of stubborn resistance. Of course, the desire of the ego is to have what it wants, when it wants and exactly how it wants. And if that isn't enough, one's ego wishes to have what it wants all at once.
     It seems that for most anything we hanker for, even in the way most people approach spiritual life and their longing for Truth, we would simply like to bypass all of the stages and have what we desire immediately. Frightfully, in spite of every thing, when something comes along that demonstrates the capacity to fulfill our professed desires, we often judge it, criticize it and attempt to diminish the worth of the offering, because it would take too much time or the desired object can't be delivered immediately on our terms.
     In fact, there is nothing that exists in form or in promise that comes all at once. Creation itself has come in stages. The Holy Qur`an, the Divine Recitation that reflects creation's very own movement, was revealed in stages. Our personal growth comes in stages; the fulfillment of our growth comes in stages. Our lives, from the moment we are born to our inevitable death, are completed over time in stages, and so comes the enlightened awakening of the Ineffable Truth. If one wants to realize God, then one's Work progresses in stages. However, it is not merely the "stages" that the ayat is referring to. It says, revealed (in stages) .. . that We may strengthen thy heart.
In spite of the things we so passionately want and certainly would hope to have immediately, e.g., God realization, unconditional love, etc., we might not have the instant capacity to contain them. There are few things, if any, that we have the capacity to hold completely, all at once. For most, we have realized that with all of what life brings with the magnitude of the vision entrusted to us and with the immensity of our spiritual longing, if we were to attempt to hold the realization of everything all at once, we would simply not be able to bear the pressure. Our hearts would explode.
Most people have a hard enough time bearing the simple and mundane challenges of daily life. The fundamental practice of staying in devotional Remembrance, day in and day out, tests our resolve. The realization of spiritual perfection, as taught in the Holy Qur`an, is a process similar to the process of digestion. One cannot eat a whole banquet feast in one bite.
     What is the training required for a person to be able to understand and know the graduating stages of spiritual life? The ayat gives us a key . . . the strengthening of the heart. Often among Sufis in conversation, the Saints and Friends of Allah are described as, "Those that Know." These Knowers provide us a reference for That which is to be known. Those that Know teach us that true knowledge is in the heart.
Spiritual practice is the repeated effort of softening the heart away from the mind's ego condition and preoccupations. Actually a strengthened heart is a soft heart. A hard heart is a weakened heart. A heart that is armored and filled with protective mechanisms is a weak heart. A heart that is relaxed and is soft and palpable is a strong heart.
     The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) stated in a hadith:
Do not speak much without mentioning Allah, for much talk without the mention of Allah produces hardness of the heart. And the one that is farthest from Allah is one who has a hard heart.
     Personally we know that by feeling anxiety, our hearts become constricted and congested. We then feel separated from all those things that we love. When there is relaxation in the breast and looseness in the heart, we feel close and intimate. For those along the spiritual path, love is expressed by a feeling of closeness. Love comes with the Remembrance of Allah. The Community's Vision is the plan that we put our Remembrance into action.
And the garden will be brought nigh to the righteous, no more a distant thing. A voice will say: this was what was promised for you, for everyone who turned to Allah in sincere repentance, who kept the law, who feared Allah most gracious unseen and brought to a heart turned in devotion. Enter you therein in peace and security. This is the day of eternal life. There will be for them therein all that they wish and more, besides in our Presence. But how many generations before them did we destroy for their sins, and we are stronger in power then they. When they wandered through the land, was there any place of escape for them? Verily in this is a message for any that has a heart in understanding, who gives ear and earnestly witnesses the truth. Surat al-Qaf (50)
     The "garden," being a symbol of heaven or paradise, represents Divine Unity. Unity means communion with God/Allah - the absolute closeness experienced by spiritual consummation. The garden is promised to those who righteously grasp that the reality of spiritual fulfillment is no more a distant thing. The promise of the garden is not a fantasy, nor a superstition. It is an attainable, yet subtle experience. When the righteous one knows the taste of love, they are advanced in their spiritual station (level of realization).
     The garden of Spiritual Unity is not a distant thing, for it literally exists as close as one's own True Self. Allah assures us in Qur`an, I am nearer to you than your own jugular. This source of Unity exists as a wellspring of love inside one's own being, a wellspring from which one can drink to satisfaction. In becoming so satisfied, the realization of the garden's promise is fulfilled. There will be for them therein all that they wish and more.
     It's amazing that as a person tastes even the smallest possible amount of love, that in tasting it seems as if the love delivers more than you ever wanted. True love is indescribable and indefinable in its fulfillment. The love harvested in the spiritual garden as reflected in worldly life makes material things seem obsolete.
     When one's heart is full of love, the aches and pains of ordinary life don't hurt as much anymore. All things seem much easier. Life's tests are easier to complete. Aggravations are fewer. Brought to a heart turned in devotion, enter therein in peace and security. There will be for them all that they wish and more. But when one's heart is hardened and unstable, all matters, even small thorns on the path, become huge obstacles.
     When the heart is unstable, the mind is unstable. With the hardening of the heart and the constriction that it brings, our peace is destroyed. This could be compared in metaphor to all the "ancient peoples" that the Qur`an reminds us were destroyed and then wandered through the land searching for relief. They wouldn't follow the laws of nature and God's simple commands. There is no escape from the ego's suffering in its separateness. It seems that people, both personally and collectively, are destroyed over and over again, wandering through desolate, lonely and isolated lands.
     How many times does this cycle have to repeat itself, and how many times has it happened already? Is there any place of escape for one who is cut off by a hardened heart? Why is this matter of a strengthened heart so critically related to our realization of Allah? Because, it can be stated directly that Allah is the heart.
     One of the most beautiful hadiths (teaching lessons), of the Prophet Muhammad (saws) came when Allah asked him through inspiration:
`Where do I reside?' The answer came, 'I do not live in the heavens, for they are not vast enough to contain me, but I live in the heart of my servant.' (Hadith Qudsi)
     The Rasulullah, (saws) according to a Bukhari Sahih has said,
They say 'al-Karim, the Generous.' In fact al-Karim is the heart of the believer.

     Al-Karim is one of the Divine Names of God. God is the heart of the believer.
The evidence that God exists as the heart is the experience of love that is in the heart. When one's heart has become open and soft, strengthened, one can feel that love indeed exists. This generosity of love we call al-Karim.
     In another hadith, Allah's Messenger (may peace and blessings be upon him) taught:
`Have you come to ask about righteousness and sin?' When the disciple replied that he had, the Messenger joined his fingers and striking his breast with them said, 'Ask yourself for a decision, ask your heart for a decision,' saying it three times, 'Ask yourself for a decision, ask your heart for a decision.'
     Righteousness is the state in which the soul and heart are tranquil. Sin, on the other hand, is that which rouses suspicion in the soul and is perplexing in the breast, even if people give you a decision in its favor. We have all been in circumstances and among company who will rationally and intellectually offer us certain opinions and judgments against what we know is correct. Our inner nature tells us that it is wrong. If we fall to peer pressure, old conditioning or the imbedded fears within ourselves, our hearts inevitably feel violated.
     The heart's message is a guidance that will make one peaceful. One can be spiritually peaceful even in the face of the most difficult and obstinate of situations. If the heart is enjoined with you on your journey, you will remain tranquil throughout your efforts, conflicts and even the waging of war.
     In contrast, you can be enjoying an environment that is replete with all the things that you thought you wanted, e.g., time, holiday, vacation and money. You could have nothing to do other than what you thought you wanted. However, if your heart has become hardened and is not aligned with you, you will suffer. The Prophet Muhammad (saws) taught us:
He has been successful whose heart Allah has made sincere towards faith, whose heart Allah has made free from unbelief, whose tongue is truthful, whose soul is calm, whose nature is straight, whose ear Allah has made attentive, and whose eye has been made observant. The ear is a funnel and the eye is a repository for what the heart learns. The person who is successful is one whose heart is made retentive.
     In knowing that the heart is our center, it is a constant practice to keep it free and working and to maintain its suppleness, softness and flexibility. At the same time, we must guard ourselves from all of those things that harm or blemish it. The beloved Prophet Muhammad (saws) said,
When a believer sins there is a black spot on the heart, and if the believer repents and asks pardon, then the heart becomes polished. If he sins more it increases, till it gains in essence over the heart. And that is the rust mentioned by Allah Most High. Nay, but what they were committing has spread like rust over their hearts.
     This hadith refers to what people think and do. The lesson is according to thought, word and action. If individuals turn away from the heart's calling (shariah and tariqat) and walk away from the Truth, if people no longer apply themselves to the activities that are permitted and supported (halal) as well as protect themselves from that which is harmful and prohibited (haram), a blemish or black spot is left on the heart. Our own Sufi Sayed Dayemullah has defined a Sufi as "One whose heart is blemishless."
     If you have any amount of self-reflection and apply yourself to any sort of contemplative discipline, you know when your heart feels stable, calm and clear. Conversely, you know when it is unstable and agitated. Also there is a difference between a peaceful heart and one that is "spaced out" or cloudy. Being spaced out is not the same thing as being in a state of peace. As a matter of fact, being spaced out is a type of masqueraded agitation.
     Polishing of the heart comes with the practice of humility and by seeking forgiveness. We must honestly reconcile our thoughts, words and actions. In addition, modesty in dress and behavior is part of the practice of our faith. According to the Prophet, "Faith is in paradise."
     Obscenity is part of the hardness of the heart, and the hardness of the heart is hell. Modesty isn't just in the way we dress or conduct our social activities, but it's the way in which we should approach all of the affairs of life - gently. The Native Americans of the Great Plains used to describe this condition as "walking in balance," ultimately never leaving a trace of oneself.
     Certainly, obscenity is that which brings over attention to one's self. The "obscene state" is one characterized by its lack of attunement to nature. The message resounds, "Hardness of the heart is hell." Towards the end of our lives we realize that without love, it doesn't matter what we've accumulated, accomplished or are known for. Fame is also a veil. However, if the heart has been softened and is in peace, the closing stages of life feel righteous to us, as if we have led a virtuous life. A sound (strengthened) heart brings us close to the Beloved. A blemished heart keeps us so far away.
     The heart is resilient and can be made pure. Attentiveness to it is so rewarding. Through the realization of love, no matter how small, the promise of the garden becomes complete. Allah comforts us in the Holy Qur`an, "My mercy exceeds my wrath." With Allah's promise of peace and security comes Divine Forgiveness (al-Ghaffur) and Compassion (ar-Rahim).
     The Prophet of Allah has taught us:
None has the right to be worshipped but Allah. He who has in his heart good faith equal to the weight of a barley grain will be taken out of hell, and none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and he who has in his heart good faith equal to the weight of a wheat grain will be taken out of hell, and none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and he who has in his heart good faith equal to the weight of an atom will be taken out of hell.
     This statement really carries us back to the sincerity of our intentions.
     Even a particle of faith within a heart, likened to the weight of an atom, is enough when purified by sincere intentions. Out of that smallest amount of True Love one is removed from hellishness. Let us take good care of this Path of the Heart, so that we may increase the measure of our heart from first an atom, then to a wheat grain, next to a barley grain and finally much more. Let us be jubilant and secure in knowing that as we take steps, even in the smallest part of our process, we have the promise of a life that signals the end of separation (escape from hell) and the realization of the Divine Unity (the garden of paradise). Inculcate the feeling of love in your heart and strengthen thereby in stages gradually.