Renewal of the Heart and Soul

Phase 3 – Cleansing the Soul: Letting Go to Grow

What Are the Sicknesses of the Heart?

Respected listeners, as we now edge closer to the second half of this blessed month, we begin a new and critical phase in our journey of renewal. We have spent the first 10 or 11 days strengthening our connection to Allah — through sincerity, through remembrance, through the Quran. Our hearts have been awakened. They have tasted the sweetness of faith.

But now we must do something that requires even more courage. We must look inward. We must perform a spiritual diagnosis.

Because here is the truth that many of us avoid: The heart can be sick. Just as the body falls ill with viruses and diseases, the soul falls ill with spiritual maladies. And just as ignoring a physical illness can lead to destruction, ignoring the diseases of the heart can lead to eternal loss.

The Quran speaks directly about this reality. Allah ﷺ says:

“فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ فَزَادَهُمُ اللَّهُ مَرَضًا”

“In their hearts is a disease, so Allah has increased their disease.” (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2: 10)

This verse was revealed about the hypocrites, but the principle applies to all of humanity. Spiritual diseases, left untreated, do not remain static. They grow. They spread. They corrupt everything around them.

So what exactly do we mean by “sicknesses of the heart”?

When scholars speak of the heart in the Quran and Sunnah, they refer to three types. There is the sound heart (qalbun salīm) — the heart that is healthy, pure, and connected to its Creator. There is the dead heart (qalbun mayyit) — the heart that feels nothing, that has no life, no consciousness of Allah. And between them is the sick heart (qalbun marīḍ) — the heart that has life, but also has disease. It believes, but it also harbours envy. It prays, but it also feels pride. It fasts, but it also holds grudges.

This sick heart is where most of us reside. We are not hypocrites. We are not disbelievers. But neither are we spiritually healthy. There are illnesses festering within us that we have never bothered to treat.

What are these illnesses? They are numerous, but the most destructive include:

Pride (Kibr): The belief that you are better than others. The inability to accept advice. The refusal to apologize.

Envy (Hasad): Resenting the blessings Allah has given to others. Feeling pained when others succeed and pleased when they fail.

Anger (Ghaḍab): Uncontrolled rage that destroys relationships and leads to words and actions deeply regretted.

Heedlessness (Ghaflah): The state of forgetting Allah, being distracted by the dunya, and living as if death will never come.

These are not minor personality flaws. They are spiritual diseases. And they have symptoms.

The signs of a sick heart include:

• Feeling no remorse when you sin
• Finding worship burdensome instead of nourishing
• Being more concerned with what people think than what Allah knows
• Holding grudges and refusing to forgive
• Feeling entitled to blessings without gratitude

If you recognized any of these symptoms in yourself, do not despair. Recognition is the first step toward healing. The fact that you are here, that you are listening, that you are concerned about your heart — this itself is a sign of life.

The great scholar Ibn al-Qayyim R said: “The heart’s journey to Allah is like a bird. Love is its head, fear and hope are its wings. When the head is healthy and the wings are sound, the bird flies perfectly. But when the head is cut off, the bird dies. And when the wings are damaged, the bird becomes prey for every hunter.”

Our hearts have been damaged. They have been wounded by sins, by neglect, by attachment to this world. But the door of healing is wide open. And it is called Ramadhan.

This month is the spiritual hospital. Allah has given us thirty days of fasting, prayer, and Quran to diagnose our diseases and begin treatment. But we must be honest about our condition. We must stop pretending we are fine when we are not.

Let us use these remaining days to look inward. Let us ask ourselves the hard questions: What diseases reside in my heart? What sins have I normalized? What grudges am I still carrying? What pride is preventing me from growing?

May Allah grant us the courage to diagnose our hearts and the strength to heal them. Ameen.