“The natural disposition with which Allah created mankind—there is no altering Allah’s creation. That is the upright religion.”

What generally stands between the heart and the truth is its preoccupation with other things: worldly temptations, bodily demands, and the desires of the soul. In this state, it resembles an eye looking down at the ground, unable at the same time to see the crescent moon. Or it may incline towards those distractions, which then prevent it from following the truth; it is then like an eye with a speck in it, unable to see things.

Desire may intervene before a person knows the truth, preventing him from examining it, so that the truth never becomes clear to him. As it has been said, “Your love of a thing makes you blind and deaf.” He thus remains in the darkness of his thoughts. This often arises from pride that prevents him from seeking the truth:

“Those who do not believe in the Hereafter—their hearts deny, and they are arrogant.”

Desire may also intervene after he has recognized the truth, causing him to deny it and turn away from it, as our Lord, glorified be He, says of such people:

“I will turn away from My signs those who behave arrogantly on earth without right. Even if they see every sign, they will not believe in it. If they see the path of sound guidance, they will not take it as their way; but if they see the path of error, they will take it as their way.”

The heart, moreover, holds knowledge as a vessel holds water, a container holds honey, and a valley holds floodwater. As Allah Most High says:

“He sends down water from the sky, and valleys flow according to their capacity,” and the remainder of the verse.

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: “The guidance and knowledge with which Allah has sent me are like rain that falls upon a land: one part of it absorbs the water and brings forth herbage and abundant grass