✨Taming the Heart

All praise is due to Allāh the Pardoning Forgiver. He shifts the hearts and knows what is within the chests.

The heart is a repository for good and evil and it controls the limbs by the command of Allāh Almighty. So one’s soundness is through its soundness. And one’s corruption is through its corruption. The Prophet ﷺ said:
Beware! In the body there is a piece of flesh which, if it is sound, the whole body will be sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body will be corrupt. It is the heart. [Bukhari 52, Muslim 1599a]

And one’s salvation depends on it. The Prophet ﷺ said:
Indeed Allāh does not look at your appearances or wealth but looks at your hearts and deeds. [Muslim 2564b]

And the deeds of the heart, whether good or evil, begin with an inner thought which progresses to a concern then determination and then to action. And due to the hardship in ridding the inner thoughts from the heart they are overlooked and pardoned as indicated by the Hadith narrated by Abu Hurairah, May Allāh be pleased with him, who said that the Prophet ﷺ said:
Indeed Allāh has forgiven my Ummah (community) for what enters their minds, so long as they do not act upon it or speak of it. [Bukhari 5269 Muslim 127b]

And forgiveness of the bad inner thoughts of the heart does not necessitate forgiveness of what they lead to if one fantasizes and takes pleasure in them. For they open the door of misdeeds and are their first entryway. Therefore, if one repels the whispers of misdeeds and thinking about them, this increases their Iman (faith) and conviction. And if one summons and fantasizes about these whispers, their Iman (faith) and consciousness of Allāh weaken and lead them to sins. And the words of the righteous predecessors and great scholars affirm this meaning just as experience indicates that. Memshaad Ad Daynawaree said that resolve is the beginning of things. So whoever genuinely rectifies his resolve whatever after it of deeds and circumstances will be sound. Ibn Qayim said, as for the inner whispers, it’s matter is more difficult. For it is the beginning of good or evil. And from it the aims, resolve and determination are born. So whoever contains his inner whispers will control himself and subdue his whims. And whoever is overwhelmed by their inner whispers, their whims and desires will overwhelm them even more. And whoever underestimates their inner whispers, they will involuntarily drive them to ruin. And the inner whispers keep recurring to the heart until they become false delusions. Allāh Almighty said:
An Noor (24) 39: Like a mirage in a lowland which a thirsty one thinks is water until, when he comes to it, he finds it is nothing but finds Allāh before him, and He will pay him in full his due; and Allāh is swift in account.

And just as one needs to be watchful of their limbs and restraining them from the forbidden, one should also monitor the inner whispers of their heart, the impulses of their soul and their inner thoughts. For it is the start of every misdeed. Abu Abbas bin Masrooq said that whoever is watchful of Allāh Almighty regarding the inner thoughts of their heart, Allāh safeguards the movement of their limbs. And Abu Hafs An Naysaabooree said one should gauge their actions and circumstances with Quran and Sunnah and should probe their inner thoughts if there are any deviations.

And the satan gradually moves a person from a sinful inner thought to an idea and keeps after them until they sin. And Allāh Almighty prohibited the believers from following the footsteps of satan because doing so leads to immorality and wrongdoing:
An Noor (24) 21: Oh you who have believed, do not follow the footsteps of Satan. And whoever follows the footsteps of Satan – indeed, he enjoins immorality and wrongdoing.

Ibn Qayim said, repel the (sinful) inner thought, for if you do not, it becomes an idea. And repel the (sinful) idea for if you do not, it becomes a lust, so combat it. For if you do not, it becomes a sinful resolve and determination. Then if you do not repel it, it becomes a (sinful) action. Then if you do not take measures against it, it becomes a habit. Then it becomes difficult for you to leave it.

And whoever strives to combat evil inner thoughts, this increases their Iman (faith) and conviction. This is a reward from Allāh Almighty for magnifying Him with inner thoughts for which one will not be held accountable.

Shaikh Ibn Taymiyyah said, whatever inner whispers of disbelief and hypocrisy that fall into the believer’s heart that are pushed aside and shunned, increase the believer in (Iman) and conviction. Just as hating, repelling and leaving every sinful whisper increases them in righteousness, goodness and consciousness of Allāh.

And it is not fitting for a believer to waste his time with a sin or thinking about it. For in acts of obedience is a wide pathway for joy in this world and the greatest triumph in the hereafter. And the righteous deeds are many and varied. And death could take a person instantly and life is short no matter how long it is, even if someone reaches 100 or 200 years old. For it is insignificant compared to the time scale of this worldly life. And the deeds in it are insignificant compared to the great reward in the hereafter. And Mohammad bin Abee Umair, May Allāh be pleased with him, said:
If a person prostrated on their face from the day that they were born until the day that they die, seeking the pleasure of Allāh Almighty, he would belittle it on the Day of Resurrection. [Sahih Al Jami 5249]

And from the greatest means for having steadfastness upon the religion and the commands of Allāh Almighty and vigor in acts of obedience is guarding the inner thoughts and being cautious from wandering off with these whispers, for it is the root of all evil. Because it is the seed of the satan in the heart. For if it takes hold, the satan waters it time after time until it becomes desires. Then he waters it until it becomes resolve and he keeps nurturing it until it bears bad deeds. And no doubt, repelling inner whispers is easier than repelling desires and resolves. For a person will find themselves helpless or almost helpless to repel firm sinful resolve. And they fell short in not repelling it when it was just a weak inner thought. Just like the one who was negligent when a spark of fire fell on dry wood and they were unable to put it out when it took hold.

Oh Muslims:The way to safeguard inner whispers of the heart is easy for the one with determination to remedy and rectify their heart and rid it of the disease of sins and unlawful desires.

And from the treatments is one’s knowledge that Allāh sees them, looks at their heart and knows the finest details of their inner thoughts.

Al Imran (3) 29: Say, Whether you conceal what is in your breasts or reveal it, Allāh knows it.

And in another verse:
At Taghabun (64) 4: And knows what you conceal and what you declare. And Allāh is Knowing of that within the breasts.

And this knowledge must lead one to being shy from Allāh to even think of a misdeed or to think about what has no benefit in this world or the hereafter, rather what harms them now and later. And one knows that Allāh Almighty looks at what is inside their hearts. And this requires one’s reverence for Allāh Almighty that He sees such bad inner thoughts in their heart and that He created them to know, love and obey Him. And one fears falling from Allāh’s Eye because of these sinful inner thoughts and base ideas.

And prioritizing Allāh necessitates ridding hearts from what Allāh hates of lowly inner thoughts of doubts or desires.

And what helps in ridding devilish inner thoughts is fear that these inner thoughts will anchor in the heart and get stuck to it. And push out what the heart contains of iman (faith) and conviction and take the place of the love of Allāh and the love of what Allāh loves. Then because of it, the person will fall into disbelief or hypocrisy without them sensing.

And one should know that each of these lowly inner thoughts and insinuations is like a seed that is placed in a bird trap. And each base thought is another seed in the trap to ensnare one without them feeling. And one should know that these base inner thoughts are not compatible with inner thoughts of iman (faith) and calls for loving and turning to Allāh. Rather, it is the opposite of them in every aspect. And if they are in the same heart, the lowly inner thoughts dominate and take the their place. So what does one expect from a heart that previously had iman (faith) and knowledge and love of Allāh but they were replaced by devilish inner thoughts? But if the heart had life, it would have felt the pain and affliction. And these lowly inner thoughts are a sea of fantasy without a coast. So if the heart delves into them, it will drown and will wander aimlessly in darkness. One will try ridding themselves, but will find no way of doing so. For a heart dominated by lowly inner thoughts is far from success, tormented and occupied with what does not benefit. Allāh Almighty said:
Al Hajj (22) 46: For indeed, it is not eyes that are blinded, but blinded are the hearts which are within the breasts.

We ask Allāh Almighty to purify our hearts from the whispers of satan and to protect us from following his footsteps. And to favor us with adhering to the truth until death. Indeed He is All Hearing Answering.

Ref: