slightest. Even if he does come towards it, he feels no effect of it inwardly as his heart is black. He tries to run from sunnah-inspired religious environments, his nafs feeds him fleeting hopes, negligence takes hold of him, and ultimately, such a person remains distant from goodness.

How to cure a black heart

Dear Islamic brothers! Curing this black-heartedness is vitally important. One of the most effective means to go about this is affiliating oneself with a qualified murshid. This means to give your hand into the hand of a noble elder, who himself is pious, an embodiment of sunnah, upon seeing whom you are reminded of Allah and His Messenger صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, whose words increase you in love for salah and the sunnah, and whose company causes you to prepare for death and the Hereafter.

If you find such a murshid, then اِنْ شَــآءَالـلّٰـه, the blackness of one’s heart will definitely be cured.^[1]

It is a special blessing of Allah in that He sends His awliya رَحِمَہُمُ اللہُ السَّلام in every age, who serve to guide and reform the ummah of the final Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. With their wisdom and insight, they strived to give people the following mindset of, “I must strive to reform myself and the people of the entire world” اِنْ شَــآءَالـلّٰـه.

An example of a qualified murshid nowadays can be found in the Amir of Ahl al-Sunnah, ʿAllāmah Muhammad Ilyas Attar Qadiri دَامَـتْ بَـرَكَـاتُـهُـمُ الْـعَـالِـيَـهْ. With his saintly gaze, thousands of Muslims (in particular, those who are young) have had their lives completely changed.

We present a humble piece of advice to any Islamic brother here who currently is not a murid! In order to better your worldly and Hereafter-