The
Meaning of Qaswah [Hardness] of the Heart
The
word Qaswah comes from Qasā/Yaqsū, which in the Arabic
language means to be hard in every sense. It is said a stone is Qās, meaning solid; and the earth is Qāsīyah, meaning it does not produce any vegetation.1
Ibn Manẓūr (رَحِمَهُ اللهُ)
said:
“Hardness of the heart is
the loss of softness, mercy and humility
from it.”
Al-Qurṭubi (رَحِمَهُ اللهُ)
said:
“Al-Qaswah is hardness,
sternness and dryness.
Therefore,
this is a word indicating the absence of penitence and [lack of] submissiveness
to the Ayāt of Allāh.”2
Al-Mubārakfūrī
(رَحِمَهُ اللهُ) defined ‘hardness of
the heart’ to mean:
“A dislike to hear the
truth and a desire to [excessively] socialize with the creation; and a
deficiency in the fear of Allāh, the
absence of humility and weeping, and frequent
heedlessness of the everlasting abode [i.e. the Hereafter].”3
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1
Lisān
al-‘Arab (15/181).
2 Tafsīr al-Qurṭubi (1/204).
3 Tuhfah
al-Aḥwadhī
(12/442).
~
Selected from: A Treatise In Condemnation Of THE HARDNESS OF THE HEART, 18|Page, by Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbalī (d. 795H), Translated
by Hassan Hussein Abdi, Publisher: HIKMAH PUBLICATIONS, Philadelphia, PA.
Note: wrong typos edited today 6/27/18 @ 12:35 PM. Baarak Allaahu feekum
