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Hardness of heart and its ailments

قسوة القلب وأمراضه

Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy says that no punishment is greater for a servant than hardness of heart and distance from God. He names excess food, sleep, talk and mixing with people as harms to the heart, and says that the heart is revived by remembrance and watered by reflection.

Depth

At a glance

Region
Global / Diaspora
Review

Ethics and character

Summary

Sheikh Omar Abdelkafy says that no punishment is greater for a servant than hardness of heart and distance from God. 1 He says that the heart is harmed by four things when they exceed their limit, and that it is revived by remembrance and watered by reflection. 2 3

Causes of hardness: food, sleep, talk and mixing

The Sheikh says that the heart is harmed by four things: excess food, excess sleep, excess talk and excess mixing with people. 4 2 He compares this to the body: just as food and drink do not help a sick body, a heart sick with desire is not helped by [a word unclear in the transcript] (needs_source: the closing phrase is garbled in the recording). 2

A saying on preferring God to desire

The Sheikh says that whoever wants his heart purified should prefer God to his desire, and he gives this as a saying whose speaker he does not name in the recording (needs_source: speaker of the saying not named). 5

Remembrance and reflection: reviving the heart

The Sheikh says that the heart is revived by remembrance, watered by reflection and cleansed of weeds, meaning harmful growth. 3

People and things also explored

Ada' al-dayn (paying a debt: its ruling, the manner of payment, insolvency and the debts of the dead)· Ada' al-shahada (performing testimony: the duty on request, the excused witness, and the wording)· Manners of the Qur'an bearer· Biting and the liability for injury it causes (add)· Adha (harm of a slight kind: removing harmful things and the duty not to harm)· Justice and grace (adl wal-fadl)· Pardon (afw) in purity, worship, contracts and penalties· Covenant (ahd) and the duty to keep it; oath by the covenant of God

Sources

  1. Assabile archive of Omar Abdelkafy's lectures (audio and video) , Sharh Ketab Al Fawaed, episode 5, at 00:08:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  2. Assabile archive of Omar Abdelkafy's lectures (audio and video) , Sharh Ketab Al Fawaed, episode 5, at 00:11:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  3. Assabile archive of Omar Abdelkafy's lectures (audio and video) , Sharh Ketab Al Fawaed, episode 5, at 00:14:30 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  4. Assabile archive of Omar Abdelkafy's lectures (audio and video) , Sharh Ketab Al Fawaed, episode 5, at 00:11:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
  5. Assabile archive of Omar Abdelkafy's lectures (audio and video) , Sharh Ketab Al Fawaed, episode 5, at 00:12:00 · Listen at the archive (opens the audio at this time)
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Hardness of heart and its ailments”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/qaswat-al-qalb-wa-amradih/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-25.

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Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

Ada' al-dayn (paying a debt: its ruling, the manner of payment, insolvency and the debts of the dead)

Paying a debt in the form owed is obligatory by consensus. A debt due now must be paid on demand when the debtor can pay; a deferred debt is not due before its term. Payment is made in like items, with value owed where there is no like; a better payment is allowed when unconditioned. Remission, gift, assignment, set-off and settlement take the place of payment. A solvent debtor who refuses is compelled, imprisoned and his apparent property sold; the majority hold that a bankrupt is put under interdiction and his property divided among creditors, against Abu Hanifa. The insolvent is given respite, and his debt may be paid from zakat if he borrowed for himself in a lawful matter. A dead person's debt attaches to his estate and takes precedence over bequests and inheritance.