Here is the Summary of Reclaim your heart, a book Yasmin Moaghed. Get your chai mug and enjoy the blog! happy reading.
Read a detailed review of the Book:
Reclaim Your Heart is a self-help manual containing 192 pages. Yamin Mogahed helps you overcome Attachment with people, love of another, hardships of life, desires of Dunya.
The book helps you understand God’s love and the urgency of being true believers. Reading through the pages I noted down what i learnt from each chapter, therefore sharing it with you all.
Ps: This summary is my personal reflection of the book; which is inclusive of the main points that i learnt from each chapter. I recommend reading the original book as it has a lot more to offer!
Section one: Attachment
1. Why do people have to leave each other?
People have to leave each other because the life of this world is not perfect. As humans, we long for perfect and eternal moments. We crave everlasting relationships, and in doing so we hurt ourselves by keeping false expectations in people. Pain as a sign tells us that something is wrong and we need to stop expecting from the world. Only God presents an unbreakable hand-hold. We shall only rely on God; as He is eternal and everlasting.
2. People Leave but do they return?
When we lose important people in life, they do return to us, but when they don’t, God replaces them with some better humans. We go through the pain of loss so we redirect our focus towards God. The nature of this world is perishable, similar to the gifts blessed to us by Allah in the form of people and relationships. But, God is never-ending. Therefore, only God should have our whole hearts.
3. On filling the inner Hole and Coming Home
We all have deep holes of emptiness inside of us, as a result of the separation we have with God. This place of emptiness can not be filled by pleasure, wealth, relationship, or job. We should stop losing ourselves there. We cannot numb the waves of blankness within us by filling it with Dunya. We should look for our purpose by contemplating over the signs that exist in our losses wins, experiences, beauty, etc. The hole of emptiness is only filled by God.
4. Emptying the Vessel
Our vessels of hearts should be emptied from false attachments. While we live, we start worshipping things important to us. Soon they take over our hearts and become the prime focus of all our love, attention, fulfillment, and practice – all in the end leave us devastated. To save ourselves from falling into the trap of Dunya, we must detach from all the needs. All five pillars of Islam teach us to be detached from the world and exercise spiritual growth.
5. For the Love of the Gift
Allah gives us gifts with His blessings. He gifts us people, abilities, status, wealth, relationships, and much more. But we start depending on the gifts more than the main source – that is God. When these gifts take us away from God, where our lives become empty and meaningless.
6. Peace on a Rooftop:
Peace cannot be achieved except with Allah. If we prioritize our worldly desires, they make us chase them till the last breath. They make us want more and more. That quench never ends; the heart never finds absolute relief. But, if we choose Allah before our worldly desires, God places peace in our hearts – one of an eternal kind.
7. The Ocean of Dunya
The world is a place for temporary residence. We should live in it like a traveler. If we let the world enter our hearts, it’ll become a deadly ocean. Which drown us, and we sink in it deeper and deeper until we’re lost. We should detach from the world at the same time love it. We should be grateful if we are blessed with a gift, but shouldn’t be ungrateful if it is no longer there.
8. Take Back your Heart
When we lose ourselves to Dunya and reach the lowest point in our life — where there is no light of hope or contentment — there is still Allah. We need to call upon Him wholeheartedly. He will fix our hearts. He can fix them – only He can. So we must take our heart back from the world, and hand it over to the creator.
Section 2: Love
1. Escaping the worst prison
Love is that place in our hearts, where only God should be. If anything else takes that place – we should be aware of entering the worst prison. Love of any worldly thing, whether it be people or materials, can create a painful home for us.
2. Is this Love that I’m feeling?
If loving someone makes us cross all limits, pushes us to step over our self-worth and dignity. If our relationship with that person can make us do anything just to please them – we must know that it is attachment or lust but not love. Real Love is about mercy and affection. Love is different from attachment and lust.
3. Love is in the Air:
We think that love is a concept that exists for physical things. We do not think about it from God’s perspective. Hence, we love our family, businesses, dreams, and relationships more than Allah. We keep Allah’s love in the last box. We fill our hearts with the love of Dunya so much, that we do not think about what is it like to love Allah.
4. The search for love
God kept the need for love in all of us. Human beings crave love, but if we seek it from the people, we will never have enough of it. We will never truly fill. Allah tests us with our relationships.
We all should seek love from God. Every step that we’ll take, would help us gain both Dunya and akhira. We’ll become best fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, friends, neighbors all at once.
5. This is love
People and things are variables, only God is constant. Every relationship be it family, friends relatives even the closest people like spouse’s love shouldn’t be your prime focus.
Otherwise, you’ll lose very integral parts of yourself once they are no more. However, Allah’s love is strong and permanent. If you seek love through God, you’ll fall but won’t be left in the dark. Allah will come to pick you up.
6. Fall in love with the real thing
The life of this world and the love that we have for it is nothing compared to the life of hereafter and the love our hearts could offer it. The love from the servants can never make you feel what the love from a King can; and when the king is the highest, who rules the whole universe and thousands like it – no love seems sweeter than it.
7. A successful marriage: the missing link
A marriage becomes successful when both husband and wife have something to offer. Psychology says that men expect respect while women expect love from a relationship at most. If both do their part and do not expect to get the right treatment first, marriage will become successful.
Section 3: Hardship
1. The only shelter in the storm
When hardships hit our world, we are suddenly running to each door that could shelter us. But often we find those doors shut. It is because Allah wants us to realize, how we need to depend on Him alone. Strom comes to bring ease to our lives. Allah takes away all other weak dependencies from us and makes us choose Him. We should only rely on Allah.
2. Seeing your home in Jannah: On seeking divine help
When hardships of life entangle us, we should try to look for our homes in Jannah. If our hearts could see that home, no trial on the earth could break us apart. When we are tested by Allah, we should ask for Allah’s help. He sends sabr and contentment in our hearts if we but see.
3. Hurt by others: How to Cope and Heal
It is normal to get hurt. When we live with people who are different than us, there are possible chances of getting hurt by them; especially by their thoughts, words and actions. Even prophets were teased and accused by people. However, we should always follow what Allah wants from us. We should become merciful towards others and forgive them for being forgiven on judgment day.
4. The dream of life
Life is a dream, where we only wake up after death. We assume good things should happen to good people. But good people go through worse conditions to live a happy healthy life.
Some of the nicest people never witness any goodness in this world. Goodness is not what we may define but real goodness is with Allah. He does what is best for us.
5 Closed doors and the illusion that blind us
When new doors in our lives get shut, we feel devastated, i.e., lose a job, miss an opportunity, lose a competition. But there is goodness in every closed door. We find beautiful examples in the story of Qarun, Al kidhr, or even the writer’s son.
6. Pain, Loss, and the Path to God
We face some unfavorable situations, but they are undoubtfully favorable for us. Pain is good for us, It changes us into better people. We see better realities after that.
7. A believer’s response to hardship
A believer’s response to hardship always consists of sabr and tawakul. Steadfastness and God’s consciousness are two factors that are the ideal reply expected from a believer in Quran.
8. This life: a prisoner paradise
Everyone here is a prisoner. The life of Dunya is full of imperfections. People suffer from pain, sickness, hardships, and loss of life. Our souls are entrapped into this temporary flawed world while we yarn for perfection in all matters. Therefore, this life is a prison’s paradise.
Section 4: Relationship with God
1. Looking for God
Certain things make us realize how we only look for God, while not knowing. Our losses, fears, and failures are signs that nothing other than God can fill us. Tomorrow is unknown. No human being knows it. It is what only God knows. Our trust and love towards God can get us through it.
2. Salah: Life’s forgotten purpose
Salah should be our priority. It was the only commandment that required Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) to travel above seven skies to accept as a gift to Ummah.
Salah’s importance can be understood by the Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h). But some of us still take it for granted. We keep our bodily needs above our spiritual needs.
3. Salah and the Worst Kind of Theft
Satan is a thief. He tries to manipulate us and makes us miss salah. He wants to take away our goodness. He wants to steal what we offer God for an outstanding end — He is all towards our Soul.
And we let him have control over us. Satan makes us delay, miss, and eventually leave salah for all other important work of life. We shouldn’t let him drive us mad.
4. A Sacred Conversation
Every day the king of the universe descends on the first heaven for a sacred conversation with the believers. Unfortunate are those who miss it in complete unmindfulness. God is all-sufficient yet He makes Himself available for a special meeting. Why do we miss it?
5. The Darkest Hour and the Coming of Dawn:
Even in the darkest times of our lives, when our Imaan is the weakest; Allah sends Ramadan. The Holy month of Ramadan walks as a bright Sun into our lives and makes all darkness go away. It teaches us good speech, refined thoughts, and a better connection with the creation and the creator.
6. We Buried a Man Today
When a person dies, he sets off on a journey to meet his Creator. He leaves his body here on the earth, while his soul ascends to the skies.
Death should teach us, correct us and have us an improved lifestyle. Instead of stamping us into annihilation.
7. Why aren’t my Duas being Answered?
Sometimes we ask for simple things and happy moments but without knowing we ask for persistent pain, lifelong suffering, or even death.
We unconsciously ask for a troublesome future.
God knows it before we experience it. Therefore, those duas don’t get answered.
At the core level, the purpose of Dua is to build a better connection with God Almighty.
Note: One shouldn’t stop asking Allah, because many times it’s the complete opposite.
8. Facebook: The Hidden Danger
Facebook presents a great way to think high of oneself. Although it has a lot of benefits, but excess of everything is bad. If we crave being seen, heard, and felt so much – however important but if immensely – we would never feel satisfied with our ordinary selves. We won’t give importance to our ordinary self. We would start running the race and pretend to be extraordinary -which could result in devastation.
9. Tawakkul
Tawakkul is complete trust. One must have complete faith in God. The Almighty’s plans are always the best. A newborn never knows how would he live in the world, while His protector has already planned for everything. His nourishment from blood is replaced by mother’s milk and mother’s womb from the family’s arm.
10. Tawakkul: Hope and Striving
Tawakkul doesn’t mean one should stop making an effort. Tawakkul is striving with all energy without doubting Allah’s plan. It is about adding the input but being satisfied by the output.
11. Awakening
When you newly discover Islam as a revert or born Muslim, you feel amazing and suddenly your ability to pray becomes unmatching. However, it never stays the same. The believers face highs and lows in their Imaan. It’s because we are human beings and progress is a persistent work. The only important thing is to have patience, faith, and consistency in small acts of worship. With time, zikar and worship can be increased.
Section 5: Women’s Status
1. Women Empowerment
Woman is not empowered when she can reserve her seat in a men’s all-field. Man is not a standard. God has honored women in relation to Him. She is respected because God has honored her. She needs to please Allah, be righteous instead of submitting to the world’s standard of beauty.
2. A Letter to the Culture that Raised me
The culture changes with time. Some cultures ask women to show their bodies and flaunt their beauty to attract men -so their business can grow and their products can sell. Some cultures raise women into thinking they are weaker than men, therefore, they start pleasing them. But a dignified woman never steps there. She knows her worth and shows her beauty to the one deserving — Her husband, and No one else.
3. A women’s reflection on leading prayer
God has blessed Women in her distinctiveness, not sameness. A woman can be like a man, but this way she will lose her uniqueness. Man cannot give birth to a child, it is a woman’s power. When Muslim women try to lead prayer, what do they think? do they consider imam more spiritually higher or respected within society?
4. Manhood and the Facade of being Hard
It seems, today the definition of man has changed. It is more to behave like a Hollywood gangster than a respected individual. He can harass or even punch a girl on a street. The image of man is changing today. Calling a woman has become more manly or even a pride than protecting her. However, Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) set a great example for man to live in a society. He was Kind, Expressive, and Gentle.
Section 6: Ummah
1. Drop the Prefix
Cheryl Benard says in her Report that Islam needs to modify or selectively ignore some elements to progress like the west. She suggests some strategies to label, divide, and control Muslims. In Simple words, the West is trying to divide Muslims by assuming they could make Muslims fight each other. However, Muslims should not gift them a victory.
2. Be Muslim, but only in Moderation
Incidents in the past tell us how adversely the world looks upon practicing Muslims. They quickly label such Muslims as “radical Islamic Muslims”. The west has categorized Muslims where moderate Muslims are welcomed: who knows Islam on the surface level. However, Islamic Muslims are unwelcome and charged or investigated for terrorism just because they are properly following Islam.
3. Unspeakable Tragedy and Condition of our Ummah
Muslims all over the world, especially, in Syria and Palestine are facing backlash and hatred. But the Ummah is quiet. Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h) predicted this situation of the ummah. He said people will attack Muslims as they invite others to share food, and Muslims will become like the fourth which can be carried anywhere by the water; so God will take away their fear from the enemy’s heart and put the love of Dunya in the hearts of Muslims. This is our situation today. We need to rise and return to Allah.
4. Today’s opening of the Red sea
Difficulties teach us the best of lessons. Allah defines two qualities of afflictions; 1) it comes to humble us 2) it comes to purify us. Similarly, Egypt faced hardships but that made them stand tall. Hardships come as a sign of Allah to bring the believers back to their originator. However, Muslims need to liberate themselves from their nafs to become truly free. Hardships, although
Section 7: Poetry
Poetry:
Poetry is the last section of Reclaim your heart. It is filled with beautiful poems. The writer has shared her simple thoughts over the love of God and the uprising of the ummah.
If the summary was helpful, do let me know in the comments below!