Spiritual diseases of the heart are those sins which are committed by the heart and cannot be seen. They have an impact on our outer actions, because they are often the cause of other sins. Imam Al-Ghazali once wrote: “Other sins are like the mosquitoes hatched in a swampland and the sins of the heart are like the swampland itself. Unless the swampland (i.e. sins of the heart) is not eradicated, it would not be possible to get rid of the mosquitoes (i.e. other sins).” If we do not cure these diseases, we cannot truly get rid of the cycle…

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The supplication (dua) is a weapon of the believer. It is one of the best ways for a believer to connect with his Maker. Allah in the Qur’an commands the believers call out to Him: And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me – indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided. [Qur’an 2:186] In another verse Allah tells Muhammad (pbuh) to tell his followers: Say, [O Muhammad], “I only invoke…

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The word khushu’, humility, implies two meanings: One is humility and submissiveness, while the other is calmness and tranquility, which require a tenderness of the heart that is contrary to harshness. Thus, a humble heart implies its worship of Allah as well as tranquility; hence, humbling oneself in prayer implies both humility and tranquility.  The word ‘humble’ cited in the verse “Those [the believers] who humble themselves in their prayers” (23:2) means to Ibn Abbas that the believers are in a state of submissiveness; according to al-Hassan and Qatadah, they are in a state of fear while praying before Allah. Also they…

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