Deeds Of The Heart

There are three fundamental aspects of Islam: Aqeedah (belief), Fiqh (Law), and Tazkiyyah (Internal Purification). The deeds of the heart fall under the third category.

Before we begin, here are a few important definitions:

Qalb: Heart – refers to the metaphysical spiritual heart, the center of emotion and beliefs.

Adab: Manners – refers to physical good behavior.

Akhlaq: Character – refers to internal good qualities that reside in the heart.

Tazkiyyah: Purification – also known as Tasawwuf. Refers to the science of polishing the heart.

What are deeds of the heart?

Most Muslims are aware of physical good deeds. We need to pray, fast, give charity, perform the pilgrimage and learn our religion. These are physical good deeds.

We are also aware of physical sins. These include stealing, lying, backbiting, fornication, drinking alcohol and eating pork.

However, there are also internal sins and internal good deeds. These are called the deeds of the heart. These are often more important that the external. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “The heaviest good deeds on the scale on the Last Day are good character” (Sunan At-Tirmidhi) This shows the crucial importance of internal good deeds.

The most important deeds of the heart are listed below.

Sins of the heart

1. Riyaa – the sin of seeking fame and recognition from people for one’s good deeds. This is also called minor Shirk. It is very dangerous and can turn an external good deed into a sin.
2. Hasad – the sin of being jealous of a gift that Allah has given someone else. Allah distributes the Rizq (sustenance) of His Creation. Our job is to use what Allah has given us to please Him. Wanting what others have is a form of ingratitude to Allah.
3. Kibr – the sin of arrogance. It is prohibited for a Muslim to think he is better than others. In fact, this is one of the major sins. Muslims must continuously make efforts to humble themselves.
4. Greed – Muslims must be focused on pleasing their Creator and building their Afterlife. Our worldly pursuits should be fueled by good intentions, not greed. Greed is never satisfied and can consume one’s life.
5. Assuming the worst of others – A Muslim must give others the benefit of the doubt. Assuming the worst of others leads to physical sins like spying, invading privacy, accusations, backbiting and slander.
6. Forgetting Allah – The remembrance of Allah keeps the spiritual heart alive. Forgetting Allah can lead to a dead heart and forsaking the religion.

Good Deeds Of The Heart

1. Ikhlaas – sincere intentions. The opposite of Riyaa. To do good deeds for Allah alone. There are many levels of Ikhlaas. The minimum being to do good deeds to avoid Hellfire, the Highest being to do good deeds out of Love for Allah
2. Contentent – The cure for greed and jealousy. To accept one’s destiny and live a happy life with whatever Allah has already blessed you with. A content Muslim still works hard, but does not worry about what is beyond his control.
3. Tawakul – trusting Allah is an internal good deed. The heart must trust its Creator and trust that Allah knows what is best for it. We wrote a separate article on how to do this.
4. Forgiveness – saying you forgive someone is a good deed. But the greater good deed is to truly forgive them with your heart. This purifies the heart and removes malice from it.
5. Humility – The opposite of arrogance. A Muslim heart must be humble. Knowing it is only a sinful servant of Allah, it should never feel like it is someone special or better than others. It should stay grounded and focused on obeying Allah.
6. Remembering Allah. Allah says, “It is only through the remembrance of Allah that hearts find inner peace,” (Surah Ra’d 13:28) This is the key to inner peace. The heart must remember Allah. Zikr can be physical (Salah), verbal (Tasbeeh) or internal (thinking about Allah). All three are equally important for truly remembering Allah and attaining inner peace.

This completes our short list of some of the deeds of the heart. May Allah assist us in polishing our hearts and removing the evil from it.

Divorcing Islam From Spirituality

Divorcing Islam from spirituality is a strange new idea. There exist many modern Muslim groups that focus exclusively on other topics. Aqeedah, Fiqh, Politics or social activism  are the only focus without any spirituality.

The result is that members of these groups tend to enter and leave the group very quickly. They join the group looking for a solution to a problem they encountered. (wrong Aqeedah, political instability, social injustice) Yet they do not remain more than a few years because these groups are devoid of heart.

The lack of spirituality leads to many problems including the following:

1. Loss of Imaan

Perhaps the most important consequence. Loss of Iman is a common case in many of these groups. This is because Iman is constantly fluctuating and without spirituality, it is constantly decreasing.

Discussing Fiqh and Aqeedah issues without any spiritual element can even contribute to loss of Imaan. This is because our faith is largely dependent on how close we feel to Allah. So when Allah is reduced to a theory of beliefs, and his Shariah is reduced to rituals and laws only, there is a disconnection from Allah.

Aqeedah and Fiqh are crucial aspects of Islam, but so is Tazkiyyah (purification of the soul). The former without the latter cannot survive turbulent situations. Tazkiyyah is just as crucial as learning Aqeedah and Fiqh.

2. Doubts about the faith

The proofs of Islam are twofold: rational and spiritual. Both are required to maintain high levels of Imaan. We require rational proofs to understand why there is only One Creator. To prove the Quran is a miracle. And to proof the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him).

Beyond that, we require a deep spiritual connection with Allah to trust Allah. as well as to accept His Laws, embrace our destiny, and fight our desires. All this while trying to submit to Allah. Without a spiritual connection, it is very difficult to grasp concepts like eternal Hellfire, Destiny and the existence of the soul.

Think about it. Without a connection to Allah, we are unlikely to experience miracles and accepted duas. Without miracles and accepted duas, life seems random and the Divine seems missing. This in turn leads to doubts and uncertainty.

3. A arrogant harsh form of religion

Spirituality is about softening the heart. Learning humility, embracing people, letting go of jealousy and hatred are all part of Islam. These are all elements of Islam’s spiritual teachings.

When these are separated from Islam, what remains is a religion of laws and beliefs enforced upon others by people who deem themselves better than others. Slogans like ‘we are the saved sect’ and ‘our group is guaranteed Paradise’ are signs of religious arrogance. Arrogance is itself a spiritual sin and is prohibited in Islam.

The result is that these arrogant Muslim movements alienate others from Islam. People look at them as role models of Islam and see only ugliness and harshness. This is extremely oft-putting. Furthermore, because the average person doesn’t understand what causes this harshness, they assume it is Islam and are chased away from Islam.

So the harshness has a double consequence. It distances the harsh individual from Allah through his arrogance, and it distances those who interact with him from Islam due to his bad manners.

A simple solution

Every Muslim must be taught basic Islamic spirituality. Putting aside all the areas that are open to differences of opinion, and all the practices that some groups consider bidah. There remain many agreed upon spiritual elements that should be universally taught.

These include, but are not limited to, praying Salah with Khushu, fasting with purpose, seeking forgiveness daily, remembering Allah throughout the day and consistently purifying one’s intentions.

These concepts must be taught to our children like how we teach them to pray and recite Quran. These concepts must be taught in our Islamic books, conferences, lectures and seminars. Similar to how we teach history and theology.

If every Muslims knows the basic means of protecting their spiritual heart from dying, then whatever group or movement they join, they will remain connected to Allah.

Never forget: spiritual development is a fundamental part of our religion. So do not neglect it for yourself, your family or your students.