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Purification of the Heart: Signs, Symptoms, and Cures of the Spiritual Disease of the Heart |
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By (Reviewed by) Dania Amaira
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Published by Starlatch Press in 2004
202 pages
Written by Muhammad al-Muratani and translated by Hamza Yusuf
Purification of the Heart is based on a poem named "Matharat Al-Qulub," which literally means purification of the hearts. This book offers a means by which purification can be achieved and is filled with excellent commentary and advice by Shaikh Hamza Yusuf that captivates the mind, body, and soul. 
The main point that Yusuf wants to portray to his readers is that the trials and tribulations of the world are actually rooted in the human heart. Greed, envy, murder, excessive obsession with wealth, lack of love, and other problems are manifestations of the diseases found nowhere but in the heart. In order to solve these problems, Yusuf stresses that we must not begin with rectifying the outward, but mend the inward. This book offers a way to cure the inward, which will seep out and naturally mend the outward.
The best part of the book is that it is so easily outlined for the reader, which makes it easy to follow, understand, and thus apply. The author provides verses from the Holy Quran pertaining to each disease, providing more explanation for the reader. The initial paragraphs of each chapter first define the disease of the heart being discussed, and Mawlud takes the time to derive the root of the word. Behind each disease Mawlud tells a story that corresponds to the disease. For example, he ties arrogance and envy with Satan refusing to bow to Adam. Then he goes on to discuss the treatment of the disease. He does not only offer one solution, but gives many options for his readers. He offers solutions that are simple and attainable for all, even as small as, for example, making a dua’a (supplication) to rid your heart of hatred. And of course how would one know how to cure this disease without knowing the causes of it? That’s why Mawlud discusses the etiology, or causes, of the disease, or else it would be difficult to abandon it.
The spiritual diseases of the heart addressed in this volume include: miserliness, wantonness, hatred, iniquity, envy, ostentation, vanity, fraud, to name a few. Imam Mawlud directs his attention to each of these diseases, discusses their causes, and offers cures. His teachings imply that purification is a life-long process, not something that is applied once and then forgotten. Purity of heart never survives a passive relationship. Rather, it requires constant consideration. This book hopes to introduce to readers how that is done.
This book offers an insightful introduction to one of the most ancient of religious concerns: spiritual purification of the heart. It takes the reader through a well-known text from the Muslim traditions and gives thorough commentary that is relevant to today and to people from a variety of religious faiths.
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