Hearts in the Quran: Introduction

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

The heart is used many times in the Quran to refer to the different states of believers, disbelievers, and hypocrites. It is often used metaphorically to represent the condition of the entire body.  The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) explains the importance of the heart in the following hadith: 

​أَلَا وَإِنَّ فِي الْجَسَدِ مُضْغَةً إذَا صَلَحَتْ صَلَحَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ، وَإذَا فَسَدَتْ فَسَدَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ، أَلَا وَهِيَ الْقَلْبُ
“Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh, which, if it be whole, all the body is whole, and which, if it is diseased, all of [the body] is diseased. Truly, it is the heart” [Bukhari].​

The heart is our commander-in-chief, as Ibn AlQayyim puts it: all body parts - both internal and external are soldiers of the heart.” For this reason, diseases of the heart are a common topic in our communities and many lectures surround this issue. This series will, inshAllah, look at the different types of hearts that are found in the Quran and help us understand the different condition our hearts can be found in. The scholars mention 20 different kinds of hearts  in the Quran, some positive and describe the believers (we ask Allah (swt) to make us among them), some negative and describe the disbelievers, and some somewhere in between.

In this series we will dive into the different kinds of hearts and also discuss various ways to help us purify our heart and aim to have hearts that Allah (swt) praises in the Quran. There is a common saying that says “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it”, but when it comes to our heart the only way to know if it is broken or not is to truly self reflect - what do we struggle with? Does jealousy reside in our heart? Do we have some pride or arrogance? Are we comfortable backbiting? Do we have any difficulty in committing sin? Do we advertise our shortcomings and wear them around like a badge of honor.

Omar ibn Alkhattab (RA) teaches us to assess or judge ourselves before we our judged [by Allah (swt)]. We pray through this series we can all look inward and better understand our strengths and shortcomings. It is our responsibility to assess our own hearts and see where we stand - do we have hearts that Allah (swt) praises in the Quran or are our hearts in trouble? ​