When the first MCO began in early 2020, I was one of the students who had to stay on campus while many of us already went home. It was then that I learnt about the 5Pages1Day telegram channel, wherein people share short reflections/quotes from their readings of the day. At the time, the number of subscribers was less than a thousand.
With the limited amount of my own books to read, I spent quite some time reading those sharings, one of them being about this book, Heart Therapy. It was shared by a sister I didn't know and still don't know, but I'll always be thankful for.
I noticed that quotes from the book were very interesting in that they touch my heart and they discuss things I have never thought of. Months later when I was at home, I decided to buy the book and found that it could be one of the best books I have read. Its title is very descriptive of what's inside - the 40 (+1) hadith that were discussed are truly helpful in soul purification.
The book discussion begins with a few hadith that help us understand the nature of our hearts; that our heart is central to our iman, that it is volatile, that it is forgetful, that it can be either rich or poor, and many other features of the heart. These hadith and the commentaries help us comprehend first and foremost why is soul purification important.
It then moves to a few hadith that illustrate the different states of the heart, and what causes them, and the many conducts and prayers taught by the Prophet SAW to help us cure them or enhance them. Here we learn what our heart loves and what it dislikes, what it constantly needs and what burdens it, and how the states of our hearts translate into our speeches, actions, thoughts, and habits.
And towards the end of the book, hadith on what habits ail the heart and what habits should we observe instead to purify them and keep them pure are brought into the picture.
I personally feel that this book has taken a special place in my heart. From my limited reading, it feels that there are not many books that discuss the relationship between what we do in our day to day life in a way that enables us to see the significance of every little thing we do as this book does.
Here we can see how what we do/think of/say can either stain/clean our hearts, how the sins we collect from day to day can slowly turn our hearts to a dark, black wall, unable to receive the light of faith. The discussions inside this book helped me view the importance of constant repentance and effort to abstain from sin with better comprehension.
And the way these things are discussed - they are so eloquently written and coherently elaborated. The author uses words that help us feel close to the issue at hand. The hadith chosen were also, as far as I observed, only the ones graded hasan and sahih.
The author also made sure to cite the full name of the kitab he referred to, to include the reference numbers and page numbers, and to include both the Arabic text of the hadith and its English translation inside. This helps readers feel secure and convinced of the authenticity of what is delivered, and when we don't, we can always cross-check the sources.
The fact that this book is actually commenting on a number of hadiths - sayings of our beloved Prophet SAW - also made me feel so loved, so differently from before. It made me think of the many many things on which the Prophet SAW took the time to say as a reminder and guidance for us in living this life that's full of trials and tribulations.
For the love that he had for us, he made sure to remind us of what Allah loves and what Allah dislikes, so we can live life adhering to this guidance, complementing the Quran. It really changed the way I see and read hadith, and it did make me wonder why I never thought of this before - or perhaps I have forgotten to.
There were many times when reading this that I felt the urgent need to share my readings with everyone because it felt so good a reminder for me. I usually abstained from doing so because I was too afraid of making a mistaken conclusion from what's being said. I thought I should let people read this and benefit from it on their own.
The book is only 473 pages long, but I really took my time, having started in May and only finishing today, to fully grasp the message and try to inculcate them in my daily life, in shaa Allah. In fact, this is what the author enjoins. The book encourages readers to read only one hadith a week and use the 'Project' section at the end of each chapter to try to practice what we've learnt.
This can mean practising some habits that the Prophet enjoined, or abstaining from what the Prophet said to be harmful, or memorising a du`a, and many more.
If you are looking for something to read and refresh your iman, or to remind you of abstaining from sins and doing more of what Allah loves, I would highly recommend reading this, in shaa Allah. May Allah purify our hearts and guide us all to become better believers.