The Prophet (saw) said: “The qalb (heart) was given this name only because of its fluctuations. The heart is like a feather in the wilderness – at a base of a tree – that continues to be turned on its head by the wind.” (Imam Ahmad)

Though the heart is the most important part of our body, it is also the most volatile and unpredictable. Both of these facts explain the great attention we should pay to it and the great care it needs.

Like feather in the wind.

We typically give names to things around us based on the qualities that distinguish them, what stands out about them, and the attribute that we feel most defines them. When it comes to the heart, the name given to it in Arabic, signals its key features, if not its most important and dangerous quality.

The heart in Arabic is called qalb, meaning, as the hadith explains, what keeps turning and changing. This quality points to an intense volatility. The heart continuously moves from one emotion to another, from one intent to its opposite in the span of minutes or even seconds, and this taqallub (fluctuation) demonstrates how unpredictable and weak our hearts are.

The example that the Prophet (saw) gave of this is feather carried by the wind in an empty, flat land. The wind blows its hardest in an empty space. As the wind blows, the feather is helplessly tossed in the air, turning from one side to the other, carried from one place to the other. Like the light feather, the heart is also vulnerable organ that is unstable and is easily susceptible to outside influences. As the feather keeps flying and turning, so does the heart fly between different emotions, thoughts, and intentions. 

In another hadith, the Prophet (saw) paints for us another poignant portrait of the nature of our hearts. He (saw) said: “The heart of the child of Adam is more volatile and quicker to change than the completely boiling pot.” (Imam Ahmad)

Anyone who cooks or attempts to cook can appreciate this image. Here, the full pot passes the water’s boiling point, completely shaking with the heat beneath it. The heart is similarly in a state of complete agitation. The heart is the most active part of our body. Unlike other body parts, the heart does not stop working. We can shut our eyes and close our mouths, but we can not stop thinking about and reacting to the world around us.

The heart is indeed restless.

How can our heart, the most important part of our body, be the most unstable? Why is the heart so volatile like a feather carried by the wind or a like boiling pot? There are several reasons behind this:

1.The heart is the arena where the Satan is continuously whispering and sending his soldiers of doubts and worldly desires. It is also the arena where the angel of Allah reminds us of virtue and the Hereafter. The Prophet (saw) said: “The Satan has a connection to and influence on the child of Adam and the angel has a connection and influence. The connection and influence of Satan is the promise of evil and the denial of the truth. And the connection and influence of the angel is the promise of goodness and the acceptance of the truth. So, whoever finds this let them thank and praise Allah, and whoever finds the other one let them seek Allah’s protection from Satan.” Then the Prophet (saw) read Surah of Al-Baqarah: 268: “Satan promises you poverty and commands you to commit indecency, and Allah promises you forgiveness and bounties from Him.” (Tirmidhi).

So, the battle between the soldiers of Satan and the soldiers of Al-Rahman (the Merciful) rages on in the heart. The heart is flooded with whispers from Satan to try to tempt and confuse. These include introducing doubts about what Allah revealed and commanded and inflaming our love and desire for this world in order to abduct us from the path that leads to Allah. Since the heart is the place for these whispers and our resistance to them, it is no wonder that it be so agitated.   

  1. 2. Human movement is motivated by a search for meaning, stability, and permanence. Without iman in Allah, the one thing that grants humans stability and meaning, the heart bounces from one thing to the other, looking for this elusive meaning and satisfaction. When it fails to find what it needs, it quickly moves to the next thing. This is why the heart is so temperamental.
  1. 3. The heart is the gentlest organ since it is the repository of emotions and can be swayed easily.

(To be continued)

by Dr. Ali Albarghouthi