Purification of the Heart

I seldom take notice of the daily "breakfast television show" dished out by our television stations. To me they are just there, in the background, to accompany me as I bite into my toasts.
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But last week, Wardina, one of the hosts on TV3, started talking about this book entitled "Purification of the Heart" by Hamza Yusuf.

It made me stop chewing on my toast momentarily. For I had heard that title before. But I could not pin-point exactly where, and when. Memory failed me, I went on to finish up my half-boiled eggs and promptly left the dinning table.

It was only later on in the day that I remembered the book had been lent to me by cousin, Iwan, quite some time back. I had browsed through it. But I never really got to start reading it.

Thank you Wardina for reminding me. I really do have to catch up on my reading, haven't I?

Allow me to share some excerpts from the book's Introduction :

"The sound heart is understood to be free of character defects and spiritual blemishes. This "heart" is actually the spiritual heart and not the organ per se, although in the Islamic tradition, the spiritual heart is centred in the physical".

"Many in the West have long proffered that the brain is the center of consciousness. But in traditional Islamic thought - as in other traditions - the heart is viewed as the center of our being."

Wallahua'alam.