The soul needs food too

Shaykh Bali says — the soul must be fed, or it grows weak and lifeless. And it has only one food: the dhikr of Allah.

The state you may be in

You are praying salah, but nothing inside you stirs. You open the Qur'an, your eyes move, but your heart does not. There is a hard, dry feeling in your chest.

A man came to Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) and said — I feel hardness in my heart. He said, Remove it with the dhikr of Allah.

This is where Shaykh Bali raises the point — just as the body grows weak when its food is cut off, so the inside is extinguished when the food of the soul is cut off.

So what exactly is the food of the soul?

The Shaykh's answer

The soul has only one food — the dhikr of Allah. Remembrance with the tongue, and feeling it with the heart.

Dhikr does not mean only tasbih — istighfar, salawat upon the Prophet ﷺ, dua, salah, recitation of the Qur'an, learning knowledge, calling to Allah, enjoining good and forbidding evil — all of these fall under dhikr.

The evidence — what brings the heart peace

ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُم بِذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا بِذِكْرِ ٱللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ ٱلْقُلُوبُ

Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allāh. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allāh hearts are assured." (Surah Ar-Ra'd 13:28 — Saheeh International)Copy

The Prophet ﷺ taught — whoever says “La ilaha illallahu wahdahu la sharika lah…” 100 times in a day, it will be a shield for him from Shaytan until that evening. (Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim)

What to do

1. Set a daily wird for yourself — and write down the count.
2. Subhanallah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar, La ilaha illallah, istighfar, salawat upon the Prophet.
3. As your tongue moves, move your heart too — do not say memorized words, say them with feeling.
4. When you sense hardness in your heart, increase your dhikr — this is the remedy of Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him).

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Source: Based on the talk of Shaykh Wahid Abdussalam Bali

Translation and compilation: Raqi Faisal Ahmed Sabit — Al Quran Ruqyah Healing Center