The sound heart (qalb salim)

Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy presents the sound heart as the heart lit by faith, and describes kinds of heart by their states: an active heart, a heedless heart and a lazy heart ¹.

The speaker wants to explain the heart that faith has lit, and says such a heart is known by the light within it ².

The speaker mentions the heedless heart and the lazy heart when describing states of the heart ³. He says that a Muslim with a sound heart has an active heart, or a heart that is lazy in worship; the statement is his own division of the heart's states ¹.

The speaker says that the heart with the light of faith does not know hypocrisy, and that only hardened hearts know it; the wording at this point is unclear (needs_source) ⁴.

The speaker does not tie this to a named verse or sura in the recording, so no passage is linked here.

He divides hearts into sick, sound and dead, and holds that the sickness of the heart is spiritual and is treated with religious knowledge rather than medicine ⁵. He presents a person who acts to be seen and to be called righteous as an example of the sick heart ⁶.

He holds that the hearts of Ibrahim, Hajar and Ismail were sound, and that people's hearts shake at the first disappointment; he cites a verse about the fulfilment of the dream Qur'an 37:105 ⁷. He gives examples from ordinary life: a son fails a subject and the house erupts, or a ball team loses and its coach is blamed; he calls for looking for the causes of failure instead of anger ⁸. He holds that the sound heart succeeds in crises, describing children who object to going on an outing and parents who grow angry, and compares this with Ismail's obedience ⁹.

He puts a question to the audience: are their hearts sick, sound or dead? ¹⁰.

Answering whether Moses' mother's heart was sound from the start, he says the heart is called a heart because it turns, that she was strengthened by God's command, and that she was told to nurse, then to cast the child, then to be at peace; he affirms that God's promise of his return to her is true Qur'an 28:7 ¹¹. He explains that her heart became empty of everything but Moses, that God steadied her heart so that it filled with faith, and he gives the image of a child crying for a toy whom his mother embraces Qur'an 28:10 ¹². He says her heart became fully sound after having been good, likening this to climbing steps, and he prays for people who are at peace in their hearts ¹³.

He offers an analysis of Hajar's anxiety: women are emotional by nature, and Hajar was the mother of an infant in a desolate place, so her anxiety is natural; he then asks whether this anxiety is weakness or faith ¹⁴. He warns that some mothers speak ill of the father to the child after separation, and that the sound heart remembers its father well, illustrating this with Ismail's conduct towards his father ¹⁵.

He describes the sound heart as fearing God, hoping in Him, trusting Him, sincere in certainty, humble at the Qur'an and quick to the mosque, and the dead heart as marked by diseases such as rancour, envy, self-admiration and showing off ¹⁶.

He criticises the habit of spending the day in front of screens, songs and films, which he says makes prayer heavy and lets the lesson of knowledge pass quickly ¹⁷.

He calls on each person to examine his heart: if it is sick, he should treat it; if sound, he should guard it; if dead, he should revive it by reciting the Qur'an and attending sessions of knowledge ¹⁸.

The Sheikh cites a saying that God does not look at bodies or forms, but at hearts and deeds. ¹⁹ He says that people clean their homes to receive guests, and that they should also clean their hearts. ²⁰ He says that a sincere intention comes before the deed, and that even sleep may be counted as an act for God. ²¹ He cites a hadith qudsi in which the angels report a person's outward deeds, and God says He is the watcher of the inner heart. Sincerity is known only between the servant and God. ²²

The Sheikh lists among the sins of the heart envy, hatred, pride, showing off, feeling secure of God's plan, and despair of God's mercy. ²³ He says that a soul not covered by faith and its rules is exposed to any harm, and that when dismay is not treated it becomes despair. ²⁴ He recaps his thesis: once grief is planted in the heart it grows into worry, sorrow, distress and constriction, and its cure is love of God and right action. ²⁵ He says that the stage of the heart is reached when its diseases, such as envy, pride and grudges, are treated, and he cites a saying on the equality of people except by piety. ²⁶ He gives as a sign of a dead heart a person who, for weeks, finds no humility in his prayer. ²⁷

The Sheikh says that the heart must be filled with sincerity, humility and goodwill, that the Prophet ﷺ's heart is the model in this, and that grudges and envy empty the heart of kindness. ²⁸ He explains that changing a wrong by words is gentle advice, and that disliking the wrong in the heart is a level of faith when a person can do nothing more. He cites a saying on this. ²⁹ The Sheikh says that a person whose heart is at rest plans his children's education and future while keeping his heart connected to God. ³⁰ He says that great souls aim at the highest matters, and that worldly ambition alone is not the goal. ³¹ He advises building a barrier between oneself and grief, and listening to the stories of the righteous. He tells of a woman who did not let grief spread into her heart. ³² He cites a saying that the Prophet liked to go out to his companions with a clear heart. ³³ He says that a person should free his heart of resentment, because grief harms the body, and that a balanced person who loves people and is loved finds contentment (needs_source: this statement is not sourced in the recording). ³⁴

The Sheikh says that sincerity is the soul of every deed, and that work done without it is show, pride and self-admiration. ³⁵ He criticises employees and managers who work without sincerity, and holds that the condition of the nation would change if people were sincere. ³⁶ He reports a saying attributed to a wise man: would that people were created for knowledge, that they worked by what they knew and were sincere in it (needs_source: the saying is not sourced in the recording). ³⁷ He says that sincerity is to act for God without expecting thanks or return, and he advises keeping ties with kin even when a relative is harsh. ³⁸ He gives forms of sincerity as doing good to all, keeping ties with relatives, and respecting one's spouse. ³⁹ He tells of a man who gave his employee twenty years of help, and then saw that it left no trace. He says that the good was not done sincerely. ⁴⁰

The Sheikh holds that truth lies in intention as in speech, and that a visit to a sick man made to win a place with people is not sincere. ⁴¹ He says that sincerity towards God requires no flaw in belief, no doubt about provision, and no defect in deeds. ⁴² He says that the Muslim lives between ease and hardship, and that an open heart begins with certainty in what God has decreed. He cites a verse (sura not named) that hardship is accompanied by ease. ⁴³