Effects of the Five Heart Corrupters

Written by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

Madaarij as-Saalikeen, vol. 1, pp. 443-9

DR. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips

The
Five Heart Corrupters are : Excessive socializing, wishful thinking,
attachment to others besides Allaah, eating to one’s fill, and sleep.
These five factors are the greatest corrupters of the heart. In this
article I will mention the effects that are common to all of them as
well as those effects that are unique to each of them.
Know
that the heart is on a journey to Allaah, Most Great and Glorious, and
to the world of the Hereafter, and [that it is able to] discover the
path of truth as well as the faults of the soul and of deeds. Its path
is traversed with its light, life, strength, health, determination
(‘azm), the soundness of its hearingand sight, as well as the absence
of distractions and impediments from it. These five (corrupters)
extinguish its light, distort its vision, muffle its hearing, if they
do not deafen it, dumfound it, and weaken its powers/strengths
altogether. They weaken its health, slacken its drive, halt its
decisions, and reverse it (sending it backwards). And if one does not
sense it, his heart is dead – as wounding a corpse does not inflict
pain. They are impediments that prevent it from achieving its
perfection, and prevent it from arriving to what it was created for,
and making its pleasure and happiness ibtihaah and its enjoyment in
arriving to it.

For
there is no pleasure, sweetness, ibtihaaj, or perfection except by
knowing Allaah and loving Him, peace in remembrance of Him, happiness
and ibtihaaj in being close to Him and desiring to meet Him.[1] This is
(the heart’s) early paradise. As there will be no pleasure or success
for it in the Hereafter, except by being its neighbour in the abode of
pleasure in the early paradise. It has two paradises. It will not enter
the second of the two if it did not enter the first.
I
heard Shaykhul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah – may Allaah have mercy on him –
say: “Indeed there is a paradise in this world, whoever doesn’t enter
it will not enter the paradise of the Hereafter.”
…
Some of those known for their love of Allaah (al-muhibboon) [were
reported to have] said: “The truly unfortunate people of this world are
those who leave the world without tasting the sweetest thing it
contains.” When they were asked what it was, they replied: “The love of
Allaah, to feel comfortable in His company, to desire to meet Him,
turning towards Him and turning away from everything besides Him.” Or
some words similar to that.[2] Everyone who has a heart bears witness
to this and knows it as a result of having tasted it. And these five
matters cut [the person] off from this, block the heart from it, impede
its journey, cause sicknesses and defects for which, if the sick person
does not realize it, [destruction] is feared

Active Member

our beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) himself made clear the importance of eradicating a corrupt heart by making it pretty concise in saying :

" Indeed, there is in the body a morsel of flesh, if it is sound and wholesome, then the whole body will be sound and wholesome and if it is corrupt, the whole body will be corrupt. Indeed it is the heart."

[Sahih Bukhari and Sahi Muslim ]

thank you sister,Mrs.Pretty Algeria.

MAy Allah grant you Paradise..jannatul firdaws.

Thank you sister sacha for this addition

Active Member

Nothing can stop the faithful Muslim from reaching the top of his relationship with his Creator providing that he owns a strong will for that. Thank you Mrs. Pretty Algeria