Understanding The Prophet's Life
From Issue: 876 [Read full issue]
Spiritual Heart
Muslim scholars of the caliber of Imam al-Ghazali say that diseases of the heart are related to human nature, the scholars also say that this manifests itself as human inclination. Also, Muslims do not believe that this inclination is a result of Adam’s wrongdoing or that Adam brought upon himself (and his children) a permanent state of sin that can only be lifted by sacrificial blood. Adam and Eve erred, but they also turned in penitence to God, and God accepted their repentance and forgave them both. This is the nature of God’s forgiveness. There was no blemish passed on to their progeny. But this fact does not negate the existence of base instincts among humans.
This whole matter points to the heart as a spiritual organ. The unseen aspect of the heart contains a seed that has the potential of becoming like a cancer that can metastasize and overtake the heart. The bacterium responsible for tuberculosis, for example, lives latent in the lungs of millions of people. When its carriers age or succumb to another disease that weakens their immune system, tuberculosis may start to emerge. The analogy is that there is a dormant element in the human heart that, if nurtured and allowed to grow, can damage the soul and eventually destroy it. The Prophet stated, “If the son of Adam sins, a black spot appears in the heart. And if the person repents, it is erased. But if he does not, it continues to grow until the whole heart becomes pitch black.”
Incidentally, this notion of associating the color black with sin is not racist in its origins. The attribution has been long used even among black Africans who refer to a person who is wretched as “black-hearted.” A black person can have spiritual light in his face and a white person can have darkness and vice versa, depending on one’s spiritual and moral condition.
Imam al-Ghazali considers ailments of the heart to be part of the Adamic potential. He believes one is obliged to know this about human nature in order to be protected. Other scholars simply consider these ailments to be predominant in man; that is, most people have these qualities, but not necessarily everybody.
It is interesting that Imam Mawlud says it is impossible to rid oneself of these diseases completely. This implies that purification is a life-long process, not something that is applied once and then forgotten. Purity of heart never survives a passive relationship. One must always guard his or her heart.
Compiled From:
"Purification of the Heart" - Hamza Yusuf