Tradition

إِنَّ لِلّهِ عُقُوباتٌ فِى الْقُلُوبِ وَ الأَبْدان: ضَنْكٌ فِى الْمَعيشَةِ وَ وَهْنٌ فِى الْعِبادَةِ وَ ما ضُرِبَ عَبْدٌ بِعُقُوبَة أَعْظَمُ مِنْ قَسْوَةِ الْقَلْبِ!

Imam al-Baqir (‘a) is narrated to have said: “God has punishments which affect the body and the soul and these include reduced sustenance and feebleness in worship. Yet God has not punished any of his servants with a more severe punishment than that of hard heartedness.”1

Brief Commentary

Divine punishments are in reality the natural reaction that people earn in place of their negative actions. In some cases, these punishments come in the form of an unbalanced income flow, while in other cases, they come in the form of a lack of vitality in worship and one’s connection to God. Yet, the most important and dangerous form of punishment comes in the form of hard heartedness. This is when one’s heart becomes empty of human emotion and feeling, and where it becomes devoid of all feelings of friendship and social connection. Such a condition is the root of a great many sins and evil actions.

• 1. Tuhaf al-’Uqul, p. 217.