"...Indeed there is in the body a piece of flesh which if it is sound then the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt then the whole body is corrupt. Indeed it is the heart."

All praise is due to Allah, peace and blessings be upon the Last Prophet.

Know O beloved reader that it is most important to spend one's time and energy in treating the heart, and hastening to correct and purify it from sickness and all sins. This is due to the heart occupying a great and lofty position in Islam, for it is the place to which the Lord looks and the storehouse for tawhid, faith, and sincerity.

Actions are distinguished, one from the other, with respect to their excellence in the Sight of Allah in accordance with the condition of the heart, not by their number or form, but rather due to the strength of the caller, his or her truthfulness, his or her sincerity and the extent to which he or she prefers Allah over himself or herself.

The heart forms the foundation, it is the owner of the limbs, and the limbs are its soldiers, so when the owner becomes purified its soldiers become purified, and when the owner becomes sullied  then  its  soldiers become  sullied.

Al-Hafidh ibn Hajr al-Asqalani, may Allah have mercy upon him and nourish us with his knowledge, said: 'The heart has been singled out for this because it is the leader of the body, and through the purification of the leader the subjects become purified, and with his corruption they become corrupted. So if you, O servant of Allah, wish to cure your heart then it is upon you to be truthful with regards to seeking refuge with Allah and putting your trust in Him, to pray a great deal of superogatory prayers, to perform the actions of obedience to Allah frequently, to pray the night prayer while the people are sleeping, and to treat your heart by ma king it continuously stick to the remembrances and by befriending only the righteous ... and to frequently recite the Qur'an. May Allah allow all of this to be preserved by him.'

So my  brother  Muslim, this is a treatise by Shaykhul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah concerning the topic, 'Diseases of the Hearts and their Cures.' found it amongst his, 'Fatawa' and saw it to be a beautiful work, containing many benefits. So it is upon you O Muslim to hurry to distribute this amongst your beloved friends and your brothers so that perchance Allah may correct their hearts and Allah's aid is sought.

Ibrahim bin 'Abdullah al-Hazimi

The Ailments Of The Hearts And Their Cures

The hearts are three types:

1. The correct heart that is secure from all desires that oppose the command of Allah and His prohibitions, and it is se­cure form all doubts that contradict what He informs. Just as it is secure from worshipping anything else besides Allah and from seeking judgment from any person other than His Messenger.
2. The dead heart, this being the opposite of the correct heart containing no life, neither knowing its Lord nor worship­ ping Him.
3. The heart that has some life but also has a defect. So it contains love of Allah, faith in Him, sincerity and trust towards Him from those things that are essential to it remaining alive. It also contains the love of vain desires and preference for them, despicable morals and manners from those things that cause it to die, and it is continuously wavering between these two conditions.

So the first type of heart is the living, humble, soft and gentle heart . The second is the dry, harsh and dead heart. The third is the heart which is diseased, it can either be made secure or have its destruction sealed.

All of the diseases of the heart are founded upon desires and doubts. The life of the heart and its illumination is the cause of all good to be found in it and its death and darkness is the cause of all evil to be found in it.

The heart can never be alive and correct except through cognizance of the truth, loving it and preferring it to everything else. There can never be any happiness, joy or correction for it, unless it makes its sole object of worship and desire Allah alone.

This can never be perfected except through purification of heart, repentance, and its relinquishing itself from all types of false love and despicable manners. This can never be attained except through striving hard against one's soul that incites to­ wards evil, and bringing it to account and combating the satans from among the jinn by holding fast to Allah; knowing their plots and objectives, and safeguarding oneself from them through remembrance of Allah, the Exalted, and seeking refuge with Him from them.

The heart becoming defective and weak revolves around two basic matters: the corruption of knowledge and the corruption of intent. These in turn lead to two destructive illnesses - anger and misguidance. Misguidance being the end result of the corruption of intent. So these two diseases are the lords of all the ailments that afflict the heart. Its cure lies in guidance based on knowledge. Guidance based on knowledge is to know the truth and to follow it. The whole of the Quran is a cure for these two diseases and others and it contains perfect guidance.

Verses of the Quran Concerning Healing

Allah, the Most High, said,

1. He will heal the breast of a believing folk. [Surah Tawbah (9) : 14]
2. And when I become sick, He heals me. [Surah Shu'ara (26) : 80]
3. ...There has come unto you an exhortation from your Lord, a healing for that which is in your breasts, a guidance and mercy for the believers. [Surah Yunus (10) : 57]
4. And We reveal of the Quran that which is a healing and a mercy for the believers ... [Surah Isra (17) : 82]
5. It is a guidance and a healing for those who believe. [Surah Fussilat (41) : 44]
6. There comes forth from their bellies a drink of diverse hues wherein is healing for mankind. [Surah Nahl (16) : 69]