But the sickness of the heart—may Allah protect us from it—brings ruin in this world and the next. When a heart is afflicted with doubt, with shirk (associating partners with Allah), with hypocrisy, with dislike for what Allah has revealed, with aversion toward one of Allah’s friends, or anything of that sort, the person forfeits both his worldly life and his afterlife. For that reason, whenever you ask Allah for well-being, you should be mindful that you are beseeching Him for well-being from the ailments of both heart and body—the disease of the heart whose root is doubt, shirk, or sinful desire.

The author (may Allah have mercy on him) also cited another wording: a man asked the Prophet ﷺ what would benefit him and what he truly needed, and the Prophet ordered him to say this supplication: “O Allah, forgive me, have mercy on me, guide me, grant me well-being, and provide for me.” A Muslim should therefore cling to this prayer that the Prophet ﷺ taught his community and that he would hasten to teach the new convert.

“Provide for me” includes the provision that sustains the body—food, drink, clothing, housing, and the like—and the provision that sustains the heart, namely beneficial knowledge and righteous deeds. Provision is thus of two kinds: that which keeps the body alive and that which keeps the heart and religion alive. When a person says, “Provide for me,” he is asking Allah for both. Allah alone grants success.

1470 – ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (may Allah be pleased with them both) reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “O Controller of the hearts, turn our hearts toward Your obedience.” Narrated by Muslim.