Ramadan Begins in the Heart: How to Prepare Spiritually

Meal plans, ibadah schedules, and Eid shopping—are we forgetting the most important preparation of all?

Preparing for Ramadan: More Than Just Schedules and Plans

Ramadan is just around the corner, and everywhere you look, people are busy preparing. Meal plans are being made—deciding what to cook for suhoor and iftar. Families and friends are arranging gatherings, organizing their Eid shopping, and making lists of all the ibadah (acts of worship) they want to complete. Some are planning how many surahs to recite, how much dhikr to perform in the mornings and evenings, how much charity to give, and how to wake up for tahajjud.

But in the midst of all this preparation, have we forgotten the most important preparation of all?

Preparing the heart for Ramadan.

This is your Ramadan. Don’t enter it with a heart weighed down by worldly concerns, cluttered with distractions, grudges, or unnecessary worries. Before we plan what we will recite, let us first reflect on how we will recite—with sincerity, with a heart truly connected to Allah. Before we rush to complete our goals, let us ensure that our hearts are in the right place.

The state of your heart matters more than the number of times you complete the Qur’an.

So, as we prepare for Ramadan, let’s take a step back and focus on what truly matters. What is the condition of your heart? In this post, we’ll discuss the three types of hearts in Islam. In the next post, we will go deeper into how to overcome the sickness of the heart and work towards a sound heart, using the guidance of the Qur’an and Sunnah. So you can understand what to work towards, how to prepare, and which type of heart will allow you to experience the most rewarding Ramadan.

If this resonates with you and you want to know how to improve the condition of your heart, subscribe so you don’t miss the next post. Let’s make this Ramadan not just a month of rituals, but a month of true transformation, beginning with our hearts.

The Struggle Within: The Three Types of Hearts in Islam

Our hearts are the foundation of our faith, guiding our actions, emotions, and ultimate destiny in the Hereafter. In the Qur’an and Hadith, the heart is mentioned frequently as the key to salvation or destruction. Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله categorized hearts into three main types, helping us recognize where we stand and how we can improve.

1️⃣ A Sound (Healthy) Heart [القلب السليم] – The Heart Devoted to Allah

This is the heart that is pure, sincere, and in complete submission to Allah. It is free from arrogance, hypocrisy, and spiritual diseases. This heart will be the only thing that benefits a person on the Day of Judgment.

The Day when neither wealth nor children will be of any benefit, except one who comes to Allah with a sound heart.

(Surah Ash-Shu’ara 26:88-89)

Signs of a Sound Heart:

✅ Loves, hopes, and relies on Allah above all else.
✅ Forgives others for the sake of Allah, without holding grudges.
✅ Controls anger and desires, choosing righteousness over temptation.
✅ Shows humility and kindness to everyone, embodying good character.

The people with such a heart are those whom Allah fills with tranquility and strengthens in faith:

The Best Heart

The Prophet ﷺ was once asked, "Who among men is the best?"
He replied:

"Everyone who is pure of heart (makhmūm al-qalb) and truthful of tongue (ṣadūq al-lisān).”

The companions asked,

"Truthful of tongue – we know what this is. But what is makhmūm al-qalb?"

He ﷺ responded:

"It is (the heart) that is pure and pious, upon which there is no sin, transgression, deceit, malice, or envy in it."

(Sunan Ibn Majah)

A truly sound heart is not merely free from disbelief or sin—it is cleansed of all spiritual impurities that weigh it down. It does not harbor grudges, hatred, or jealousy. It is a heart that forgives easily, wishes well for others, and finds peace in sincerity. A heart like this is a heart prepared for Ramadan, a heart ready to receive the blessings of Allah.

Allah Himself commands us to purify our hearts from bitterness and ill feelings, reminding us to seek His mercy through sincere supplication:

Our Lord! Forgive us and our fellow believers who preceded us in faith, and do not allow bitterness into our hearts towards those who believe. Our Lord! Indeed, You are Ever Gracious, Most Merciful.

(Surah Al-Hashr 59:10)

Those with a sound heart will attain true success in both this life and the Hereafter.

2️⃣ A Dead Heart [القلب الميت] – The Heart Enslaved to Desires

This is the heart that has turned away from Allah, filled with heedlessness, sin, and the pursuit of worldly pleasures. It neither recognizes truth nor desires guidance.

Then after that, your hearts were hardened and became as stones or even harder.

(Surah Al-Baqarah 2:74)

Signs of a Dead Heart:

❌ Seeks only self-pleasure and indulges in worldly temptations.
❌ Is a slave to its desires, without concern for right or wrong.
❌ Chases wealth and status, even through ḥarām (forbidden) means.
❌ Lacks faith and sincerity, showing no concern for Allah’s commands.

The True Meaning of Poverty

The Prophet ﷺ explained to Abu Dharr رضي الله عنه:

O Abu Dharr, do you say an abundance of possessions is wealth?

Abu Dharr replied,

The Prophet ﷺ asked,

Do you say a lack of possessions is poverty?

Abu Dharr replied,

The Prophet ﷺ repeated this three times and then said:

Wealth is in the heart, and poverty is in the heart. Whoever is wealthy in his heart will not be harmed no matter what happens in the world. And whoever is impoverished in his heart will not be satisfied no matter how much he has in the world. Verily, he will only be harmed by the greed of his own soul.

A heart that is empty of contentment will always remain in need, no matter how much it accumulates. True richness is not measured by wealth, but by a heart that is satisfied with what Allah has decreed. The one who trusts in Allah, practices gratitude, and seeks closeness to Him will always feel fulfilled, regardless of worldly circumstances.

May Allah protect us all from the poverty of the heart and grant us the ability to strive towards a sound, content, and righteous heart. Ameen. 🤲

3️⃣ A Sick Heart [القلب المريض] – The Heart Torn Between Truth and Desires

This heart is neither fully guided nor completely lost. It recognizes the truth but struggles with worldly attachments. It is in a state of constant battle between faith and temptation.

There is sickness in their hearts, and Allah ˹only˺ lets their sickness increase.

(Surah Al-Baqarah 2:10)

And Allah again warns us in the Quran:

And do not follow ˹your˺ desires or they will lead you astray from Allah’s Way. Surely those who go astray from Allah’s Way will suffer a severe punishment for neglecting the Day of Reckoning.

(As Sajdah 26:38)

Signs of a Sick Heart:

• Loves Allah but also finds it hard to let go of sins and temptations.

• Has sincerity but is also attached to materialism and desires.

• Struggles between good and evil, sometimes choosing faith, other times falling into heedlessness.

This heart needs purification, because Allah knows what lies deep within it:

Whether you speak secretly or openly—He surely knows best what is ˹hidden˺ in the heart.

(Surah Al-Mulk 67:13)

The Danger of Following Vain Desires

One of the greatest dangers to a sick heart is following vain desires to the point of making them one’s ‘god.’ Allah warns against this in the Qur’an:

This verse is a powerful reminder that Allah is the One who seals the hearts, making them unreceptive to the truth. He specifically speaks about those who let their desires control them, whether it be wealth, status, food, or even harmful addictions like drugs and pornography. While desires in themselves are not sinful—since they are part of human nature—what matters is how they are pursued. When desires become the ultimate goal, replacing Allah as the center of one’s life, they turn into a form of worship.

The Spiritual Blindness of a Sick Heart

Allah also mentions sealing the hearing and covering the sight in this verse. This does not only refer to physical blindness or deafness—it refers to the heart. A person with a sick heart may hear the Qur’an being recited, but feel nothing from it. They may see suffering and injustice around them, yet remain unmoved. Their spiritual senses have become dull.

A truly pure heart sees and hears with sincerity—it trembles at the words of Allah, it softens at the sight of those in need, and it inclines toward goodness. But when the heart is diseased, a person may still possess their physical faculties, yet they are spiritually blind and deaf.

It is not the eyes that are blind, but the hearts in the chests that grow blind.

(Surah Al-Hajj 22:46)

A sick heart can either become purified and sound, or it can harden and become dead-incapable of receiving guidance. And it is imperative for Muslims to take care of their hearts, because Allah does not judge us by our appearance or wealth, but by the state of our hearts and our deeds:

Abu Huraira رضي الله عنه reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

Verily, Allah does not look at your appearance or wealth, but rather He looks at your hearts and actions.

(Muslim)

A Ramadan That Transforms You

Ramadan is more than just a month of rituals—it’s a time of renewal, a time when Allah opens the doors of mercy, forgiveness, and change. But true change doesn’t happen unless it starts from within.

We fast with our bodies, but do we fast with our hearts? We stay away from food and drink, but do we also stay away from resentment, jealousy, and the distractions that pull us away from Allah? We fill our schedules with worship, but do we take a moment to feel it—to let the words of the Qur’an soften us, to let our duas come from a place of deep sincerity?

The reality is, our hearts will carry us through Ramadan and beyond. If they are sound, our worship will be meaningful. If they are sick, we will struggle. If they are dead, we will go through the motions but feel nothing.

So ask yourself: What kind of heart are you bringing into this Ramadan?

This is your chance. A chance to heal, to let go, to return to Allah with a heart that is clean, light, and full of faith. The food will pass, the nights of prayer will fade, but the heart you build in Ramadan will stay with you long after it ends.

In the next post, we will explore how to overcome the sickness of the heart, how to purify it, and how to strive toward a sound heart using the guidance of the Qur’an and Sunnah. If this message resonated with you and you want to learn how to improve the condition of your heart, subscribe so you don’t miss the next post.

May Allah cleanse our hearts, fill them with His light, and allow this Ramadan to be the one that truly transforms us. Ameen. 🤲