Healing Through the Heart
When facing Different diseases or ailments, most people immediately turn into modern medicine and natural treatments as a remedy. Seeing a doctor or taking a medicine would be the first thought for many and very few would consider spiritual healing as an option to improve their physical health and well-being. However, it is important to know that the physical body and the spiritual being are two inseparable entities, and they closely and consistently influence one another. In fact, many times, the body reflects the true condition of the heart, so the presence of a physical illness may portray the suppressed agitation in the heart. Through different spiritual practices, people can start the heart purification process and thus get prepared to receive their healing.
Heart possesses a significant role in the healing process since it is placed between “self” and the Divine. According to the Qur’an, “And know that God stands between a man and his heart, and that to Him you will be gathered” (8:24). Heart connects the physical world to the spiritual world, and it receives the spiritual energy and love from God and conveys it to the self. Being a mediate between physical and spiritual world, the heart can be attracted by either the desires of the self and/or spiritual qualities of the spiritual world. If the heart is more attracted toward the desires of the self, the heart becomes hard and sick, but if the heart is more drawn to the spiritual realm, then it becomes more soft and fully alive. Such a heart can receive and further transfer the qualities of the spirit to every aspect of the human being, so it is quite significant for individuals to have a sound heart.
To possess a healthy heart (that is so essential in receiving healing), one must listen and attend to the longing of the heart, and becoming united with God is the single deep yearning of the heart. The fulfillment of this longing will produce peace and healing: “Truly, in the remembrance of God hearts find peace” (Qur’an 41:45). When people go deep within their heart, they can feel the presence of God and experience oneness with him. Within the heart, in other words, people come closer and closer to the presence of the Divine, so much so that eventually one merges into the reality of the Divine. Being washed in the pure Divine love, the heart becomes whole and alive—the very essential condition that is needed for healing.
In heart purification process, one endeavors to achieve this state of wholeness. There are different spiritual practices that can purify the heart and assist in the healing process. For instance, reciting Qur’an—rhythmically and loudly (either by the sick people themselves or by others) is one of the main effective ways of softening the heart. Reciters must read Qur’an with a relatively high and beautiful tone. “The comparison between a silent reader and a reciter is like a bottle of perfume when it is closed and when it is opened.” (Hadith) Listening to Qur’anic recitation makes the remembrance of God alive in the heart and prepares it for healing.
Dhikr (the remembrance of God) is another method of heart purification that softens the heart and thus helps in receiving healing. In Dhikr, which is a kind of heart meditation, different Qur’anic verses or Divine names of God is being chanted. According to a Hadith, “There is a polish for everything that removes the rust and the polish for the rust-of- heart is the dhikr (remembrance) of God.” Dhikr helps the heart to be more sensitive and receptive toward the Divine love.
Once the heart is fully purified and is one with the true love of God, individuals enter into the sacred reality of the divine. In that moment, one has succeeded in leaving the world of humanity and entering into the realm of the divine. This is a beautiful and Holi state where the lovers (human beings) are lost in the Beloved (God). IN this profound moment of spirituality, there remains nothing but the Holi and Healing present of the Divine. No sickness, disease or deficiency can exist in this present, and it is in this sacred presence of the Divine where healing takes place.
Healing from physical, mental, and spiritual diseases are available for everyone through heart purification, and people must start the healing process within themselves by going deep within their hearts. In other words, the heart is the place where healing takes place; it is where individuals can become one with their creator. In order for healing to take place, people must activate their heart and prepare themselves for a sacred reunion with God. The work of the believers is therefore solely heart purification, and God is the One who reveals the Truth and brings healing to a pure heart. Listening to Qur’anic recitation, meditation, Dhikr, and other heart-softening methods can cleanse and prepare the heart and thus help believers to receive healing.