How to Achieve Tranquility of the Heart Series: Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII | Part IX | Part X | Part XI | Part XII | Part XIII | Part XIV | Part XV | Part XVI | Part XVII | Part XVIII

“O mankind, there has to come to you instruction from your Lord and healing for what is in the breasts and guidance and mercy for the believers.” (Qur’an, 10:57)

Some things uplift us because they touch our hearts. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala (glorified is He) knows what hurts us or causes us to feel down; for each of our diseases, there is a cure. The Qur’an is one such source of healing. The Prophet ﷺ (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Make use of the two cures, Qur’an and honey.” (Ibn Majah)

How is the Qur’an a cure? The Qur’an is comprised of the complete, eternal Words of Allah. If we receive a letter from someone we love, our hearts are soothed by reading their words. Because we love them, and especially if it is someone we respect, we take their words seriously and know they have our best interests in mind. If it is someone we are longing to meet, we read their words over and over again, seeking refuge in them, until we meet them. Now imagine that the Qur’an is made up of the Words of Allah, directed to you. Imagine the longing of the heart for the Words of its Most Beloved, of its Master. From personal experience, if ever I woke up shaken from a bad dream and my heart feels scared and uncomfortable, I recite the Qur’an. It always calms me down. The same is true whenever I have felt sadness; there is something about when the Qur’an enters your heart that takes away any worldly negativity.

The Qur’an also takes us back to what is important. We read that Allah is One, and that He possesses everything, and He is the Lord of the worlds – so how can we ever believe humans work outside of Allah’s Will when we see injustice? We read about the trials of those before us, how they remained steadfast and Allah (swt) was with them – how then can we give up? We read that whoever trusts in Him, then He will be sufficient for him, that He answers all du`a’ (supplication) – how then can we despair? When we are reminded that there is a Day of Judgment, and we can only take with us our good deeds, how small should our worldly desires be to us?

In order for the Qur’an to heal us, we need to read it with that understanding, and with the intention of receiving guidance. Sheikh ash-Sha’rawi in his book of tafseer (commentary on the Qur’an) quoted a beautiful statement of Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq, who he said was the most knowledgeable of the secrets of the Qur’an:

“I am amazed at the one who has been afflicted with fear, and he does not flee to the Words of Allah:

‘Sufficient for us is Allah, and [He is] the best Disposer of affairs’ for verily Allah has said after it

‘So they returned with favor from Allah and bounty, no harm having touched them.’ (Qur’an, 3:173-174)

And I am amazed at the person who is afflicted with sadness, and he does not flee to the Words of Allah:

‘There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers,’ for verily Allah has said after it

‘So We responded to him and saved him from the distress. And thus do We save the believers.’ (Qur’an, 21:87-88)

And I am amazed at the person who is afflicted with betrayal and deception by people, and he does not flee to the Words of Allah:

‘I entrust my affair to Allah. Indeed, Allah is Seeing of [His] servants’ for verily Allah has said after it:

‘So Allah protected him from the evils they plotted, and the people of Pharaoh were enveloped by the worst of punishment.’ (Qur’an, 40:44-45)

And I am amazed at the person who is afflicted with sickness, and he does not flee to the Words of Allah:

‘Indeed, adversity has touched me, and you are the Most Merciful of the merciful,’ for verily Allah has said after it:

‘So We responded to him and removed what afflicted him of adversity. And We gave him [back] his family and the like thereof with them as mercy from Us and a reminder for the worshippers [of Allah].'” (Qur’an, 21:83-84)

If we read this and feel that we are far from the Qur’an and that it does not touch our hearts, then we should make the effort to recite it until the words enter our hearts. Plead with Allah for the Qur’an to touch your heart. We have to remember that the Qur’an is truth- if Allah tells us that it is a healing for what is in the hearts, then it certainly is. We have to have yaqeen (certainty) in this. We should also develop our relationship with the Book of Allah by trying to understand it. We should listen to tafseer and read tafseer books if we have access to them. In the age of the internet, there should be no excuse, especially with Imam Suhaib’s amazing series of the tafseer of the short surahs (chapters of Qur’an).

To end with a du`a’ of the Prophet ﷺ, who said that if a person suffers anxiety or grief, they should say:

“اللهم إني عبدك وابن عبدك وابن أمتك ناصيتي بيدك ماض في حكمك

عدل في قضاؤك اسألك بكل اسم هو لك سميت به نفسك او انزلته في كتابك

أو علمته أحدا من خلقك أو إستأثرت به في علم الغيب عندك أن تجعل القران

ربيع قلبي ونور صدري وجلاء حزني وذهاب همي”

“Oh Allah! Indeed I am Your servant

Son of Your male servant and female servant

My forelock is in Your Hand (i.e. You have control over me)

And Your Judgment upon me is assured, and Your Decree upon me is just

I ask you with every name that You have named Yourself with

Or revealed in Your Book (Quran), or taught to any of Your creation

Or kept with Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen that is with You

That You make the Quran the life of my heart, and the light of my chest

And the banisher of my sadness and the reliever of my distress.”

And Allah (swt) will take away their sorrow and grief and give them in their stead joy. (Ahmad)