Follow your heart?

Oh heart… How amazing it is that you can be gentle and full of mercy one moment, yet become rigid and unyielding the next.

Ya Qalb... how swiftly you shift, from love to resentment, without warning. How is it that the one we once held dear can suddenly become the one we struggle to even look at and despise the most?

We turn to Allah, asking for forgiveness, yet forget that it is through forgiving others that we unlock His boundless mercy. Are we the servant or Allah? Sometimes it is as though we treat Allah as if He is our servant — astaghfirullah. Allah commands us to forgive others, yet we ask Him to forgive us without forgiving others.

Allah says in the Quran: "And let them pardon and overlook. Do you not love that Allah should forgive you?" (Surah An-Nur, 24:22)

Al-Qalb (the heart) is derived from the word ‘taqallub’, which means to constantly change, to flip from one state to another. Sometimes, we love something so deeply, we go all out to acquire it, only for that love and interest to fade with time. Sometimes, we feel full of faith in the morning, but by evening, we find ourselves faltering, tested by life’s challenges. We forget that it is precisely through these trials that Allah measures the worth of our faith.

Allah reminds us in the Quran: “Do people think that they will be left to say, 'We believe,' and they will not be tested?” (Surah Al-Ankabut, 29:2)

And it is the state of the heart that Satan seeks to exploit. Allah warns us in Surah An-Nas: “Allazi yuwaswisu fi sudurinnas”— It is Satan who whispers into the hearts of mankind. A whisper that penetrates the heart, leading it astray. What protection do you have for your heart against this unseen enemy?

If your heart has not been trained, my dear friend, do not follow it.

The heart must be shielded with the remembrance of Allah (through zikr and gatherings), strengthened by faith (through knowledge, prayer, and righteous deeds), and purified through sincere intention.

Ya Qalb, turn to Allah in every moment — whether you feel lost in love, struggle with resentment, or falter in your faith. Ask for His guidance, for only He can steady the heart.

The Prophet ﷺ taught us to always seek Allah’s help:
“Yā Muqallibal-qulūb, sabbit qalbī `alā dīnik”.
“O Turner of the hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion.” (At-Tirmizi)

Do not follow a heart that has not been trained by His light, for it will only lead you astray. Follow Allah's commands, seek His guidance, His mercy, His protection, and strive to cleanse your heart from anger, resentment, envy, jealousy, pride, and selfish desires through His remembrance.

I asked many brothers and sisters if they believed they deserve paradise. Almost all of them said no. So I asked them to imagine this: standing at the edge of the Hellfire (O Allah, protect us!) and being asked, "Why should we forgive you and not throw you in there?" And we reply, "Because I forgave so and so, and so and so, and so and so..." as we continue to mention name after name. Imagine what the All-Merciful will say to us in that moment.

Now, imagine if we stayed numb, unwilling to forgive. Then, when asked how many people we forgave in this life, we would have to answer, "None."

Look at hurt as an opportunity from Allah for us to forgive others. Forgive others, so Allah may forgive us. May Allah guide us all always and in all ways.

Aydarus Ahmad Alhabshi
15 May 2025