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seated in the (subtle) heart, and what prevents belief is not a mental
error, but the heart becoming overwhelmed by the accumulation
of a person’s bad32 deeds over his or her lifetime: bad deeds form
a kind of ‘psychic covering’ over the heart of those who commit
them, so that in the end, if enough bad deeds are committed, no
light emerges from a person’s heart and that person becomes a
disbeliever. Thus the way to remove that ‘cover’ is repentance and
performing good deeds. Indeed, God says: No indeed! Rather that
which they have earned is rust upon their hearts. (Al-Mutaffifin, 83:14)
The Prophet himself commented on this verse as follows:
If a servant [of God] commits a sin, a black spot forms on his
heart, and if he changes, repents and asks for forgiveness, his
heart is cleansed. But if he [the servant] relapses, it returns
until it dominates the heart. This is the rust that God mentioned:
“No indeed! Rather that which they have earned is rust upon
their hearts”. (Al-Mutaffifin, 83:14)33
In short, faith increases not—as educated people might sometimes
think—through reading complicated works of doctrine and
theology or of shari‘ah but through the practice of Islam and good
deeds. As Abu Hamid Al-Ghazali says:
If a man has studied a hundred thousand intellectual issues and
certain vision (‘ayn al-yaqin) or certainty through the vision of the heart (qalb) and inner
heart (fu’ad); and certain truth (haqq al-yaqin) or consummation in the truth. God says:
No indeed! Were you to know with certain knowledge (‘ilm al-yaqin). (Al-Takathur, 102:5)
Again, you will surely see it with certain vision (‘ayn al-yaqin). (Al-Takathur, 102:7)
This indeed is the certain truth (haqq al-yaqin). (Al-Waqi‘ah, 56:95).
32 These ‘bad’ deeds as such need not be deeds that actively harm others as such (although
these are the worst deeds). They may be deeds that are simply self-centered and indifferent
to God, or dominated by lower passions, and in that sense are ‘bad’. God says:
[A]nd no one has any favour [outstanding] with him that must be requited; / but only
seeking the pleasure of his Lord the Most High; (Al-Layl, 92:19–20)
Thus all deeds that are not done for the sake of God, or that are done in indifference to Him,
are in that sense ‘bad’, or at least not ‘good’.
33 Sunan Al-Tirmidhi, Kitab Tafsir Al-Qur’an, Tafsir Surat Al-Mutaffifin (83:14); no. 3334.
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