Editorial

The Most Precious Vessel

We often think about our hearts as a defining aspect of who we are and use a wide range of terms to describe how our very nature and personality are tied to it. Some people are called good-hearted because of their sympathy and altruistic concern for others. Some are vested with so much generosity, they come to be kn0wn as large-hearted benefactors. Kind-hearted and soft-hearted people are usually of a genial, compassionate disposition and favor a gracious manner. Hard-hearted people are primarily cold and distant, quick to dismiss the virtues of mercy, leading to them making little room for pity or affection in their harsh inner world. 

All in all, no two human hearts are identical, just as no two snowflakes are, and, no matter how minute, they will always have distinctive differences. However, whatever the nature, there is one thing about our hearts, and in fact the entire universe, that isn’t subject to change, and that is change itself. So how does peace—lasting, consistent, perfect peace—persist in an ever-shifting construct that exists in an ever-evolving universe and is rocked by waves of hope and disappointment, joy and misery, love and loss, and dignity and dishonor? How does a heart find its center among all this turbulence and hold onto peace? It does so by anchoring itself to the one constant that isn’t subject to change, the one who is the creator of change, Allah (subhanahu wa ta’ala). A heart is such a unique vessel that it will never hold a vacuum; it will never be void. It is coveted by many, not the least of which are those who whisper waswasas into hearts, and, one way or another, it will be filled by what it is most attracted to. We should beware that what we welcome into our hearts becomes a part of us in time. If we open our hearts up to the world and its temptations, we may find either temporary gratification or discontentment, depending on our ability to attain our objects of desire, but never peace. Peace is reserved for those who obey Allah and hold love for only Him in their hearts.

A heart will always worship that which it holds because, by design, it is meant to be the holding place for what one considers above everything else. So, claims that one may hold nothing sacred, cherish nothing, or praise nothing inevitably ring hollow as even a heart that denies all sanctity worships the desires of the nafs and holds its whims sacred. If we want true, lasting peace not to miss us in this life and the next, we should be wary of what we permit into our hearts. The ever-present difference between a heart that remembers, worships, and loves its creator and one that is trapped under the weight of the world and smothered by unattainable goals will always be the determining factor in where and with whom peace lies.

I wish to finalize my words with the prayer that we find peace by truly embracing the principles of Islam, and I hope to see you in the September issue inshallah.

M. Galip Dönmez