C O N T E N T S
Transliteration Table
12
T h e  life o f  Ib n  Taym iyyah
13
His  Teachers
17
His  Students
18
T he Praise  o f the  Scholars  for him
19
His  Sayings
25
His D eath
29
His  Works
30
COMPILER’S  FOREWORD
34
COMPILER’S INTRODUCTION
The Keys to the Life o f the H eart
36
The Ailments o f the Hearts and their Cures
41
Verses  o f   th e  Q u r ’an  c o n c e rn in g  H ealin g
44
CHAPTER O N E
Concerning the Ailments  of the Hearts
and their Cures
4 6
[ U
Between  Sickness  and  Death]
52
[1.2
T he Q u r’an is a cure  for the  Heart]
54
[1.3
Righteous A ction are a  Cure  for the  Heart]
55
[1.4
Leaving Indecent Actions  are a Cure  for the
Heart]
56
[1.5
The  E ffect  o f Sins  U pon  the  Purity  o f the
Heart]
60
[1.6
Types  o f
Zulm
63
[1.7
T he  Life  o f  the  Heart]
71
1.8
The  State  o f the  D ead  Heart]
71
[1.9
T he  N eed  for Beneficial  Knowledge]
78
[1.10
T he  Reality  o f the  Life  o f the  Heart]
82
CHAPTER TWO
Envy is
a Sickness  o f the Heart
8 7
[2.1
T h e Types  o f
Hasad
88
[2.2
Between
Hasad
 and
Ghubta
92
[2.3
T he  C om petition  between
as-Siddiq
 and
‘Umar]
95
[2.4
M oses Displays
Ghubtd
96
[2.5
W hoevers  Ranking Becomes  Lofty,  He  is
Secured  from  
Ghub/a]
97
[2.6
Blameworthy Jealousy]
101
[2.7
T he Cure  for Jealousy]
108
[2.8
T h e Causes  for Jealousy]
109
[2.9
Between Jealousy  and  Miserliness]
115
CHAPTER THREE-
The  Disease  of Desires  and
Passionate Love
1 1 7
[3.1
Between Jealousy  and  Desires]
117
[3.2
The  Reality  o f Passionate  love  (ifM)]
118
[3.3
The  Natural  Inclination  o f the  H eart  is
to  love
Allah]
124
[3.4
Preventative  M easures  from  Passionate
Love]
126
[3.5
Some Cures  for the Heart]
127
APPENDIX
Ib n  Q ayyim  al-Jawziyyah
130
Types o f  Hearts
1 3 6
T he Correct and Sound H eart
136
T he D ead  H eart
140
The  Diseased  H eart
141
Selected  biographical  notes
149
Glossary for Arabic term s
156
Bibliography
160

H e  is  A h m ad   b in   ‘A b d u -l-H alim   bin  ‘A b d u -s-S alam   b in  
‘Abdullah bin A bu Qasim  ibn Taymiyyah al-H arrani TaqI ad-D ln
Abu al-‘Abbas bin Shihab ad-Din. H e was born in Harran, an old
city within  the  Arabian  Peninsula  betw een  Syria1  and  Iraq,  on
the tenth or the  twelfth o f the m o n th  
R abf u-l-Amval
 in the year
661H.  He  and  his  family were  later forced to  flee  to  D am ascus
due to  the  occupation by the Tartars.
He came  from a  family o f scholars, his  father and grandfather
were  b o th   scholars  as  w ere  three  o f   his  b ro th ers:  ‘A bdu-r-
Rahman, ‘A bdullah and his half-brother, M uham m ad.
D uring  his  early  studies  o f Islam,  he  never  ceased  to  amaze
his  teachers  at  the  strength  o f  his  memory,  keen  intelligence
and  depth  o f  understanding.  It is  said  that he was  first allowed
to give legal verdicts at the age o f nineteen and he  began teach­
ing at
Ddr al-Hadith as-Sukrijyah
 at the age  o f  twenty-two.
He  became  famous  for  his  knowledge  o f hadith2C  indeed  he
1   Ar.
Sham
, in those days represented the areas of Syria, Jordan and Palestine.
13
DISEASES OFTHE HEART AND THEIR CU R E S
was a //^ ^ ( H a d lth  Master), and for his knowledge o f the Q u ra n  
and its related sciences, he im pressed all with his circles on
tafsir.
H e  also  attained  expertise  in
Usui al-Fiqh
 and
Fiqh
,  knowledge
o f  the  differences  o f  opinions  present  am ongst  the  scholars,
writing,  m athem atics,  history,  astronom y  and  medicine.  Many
o f  the  scholars  o f  his  tim e  testified  that  he  had  attained  the
rank  o f
Mujtabid.

 By ShaykhulIslaam Ibn Taymiyyah. Actions are distinguished, one from the other, with respect to their excellence in the Sight of Allaah in accordance with the condition of the heart, not by their number or form, but rather due to the strength of the caller, his truthfulness, his sincerity and the extent to which he prefer Allaah over himself…