The cost of drifting [83:14]

Over these past weeks, we have explored the inner landscape of the human soul [the fitrah upon which we were created], the states of the nafs, the pull of desire, and the gradual silencing of the conscience. Over the last few days, we have been talking about our mutual role of guardianship where we try to keep each other’s consciences alive. 

Today, as we enter the final third of this blessed month, we turn to the question of what happens to the soul when it drifts and does not return?

Let us reflect on verse 14 from Chapter 83, Sura Al-Mutaffafin:

كَلَّا بَلْ رَانَ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِم مَّا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ 

[83:14] Nay! rather, what they used to do has become like rust upon their hearts.

The verse is addressed to those who reject Allah [swt]’s communications and call the Message of the Quran: “stories of old or myths of the ancients”.

The verse is telling us that rejecting guidance and continuing with unworthy actions has become like rust upon their hearts. 

The word the Quran uses here is rān — often translated as “rust” or “a covering.” Classical scholars have interpreted it as 'the coating or film formed on the precious things', which dims the innate brightness of innate goodness such that the illumination of Revelation cannot reflect on their hearts. In other words, this “raan” compromises their receptivity to truth. 

In line with our discussions on fitra, scholars explain that in its original state the human soul is pure, transparent and polished, such that it can distinguish between right and wrong [91:7-8]. This verse explains why those who persist in wrongdoing become in a sense, blinded and deaf to guidance in opposition to their fitra. How we act and what we do has an impact on our judgement and ultimately our soul. Scholars also explain that the more someone persists in wrongdoing, the thicker the darkness becomes that covers his soul until the point where he considers his evil deeds as his good deeds and he is even sometimes proud of them. By doing so, human beings are literally “burning the bridges of return to the Merciful” and this is the most dangerous position that a person can be in.

There are several traditions from the Holy Prophet [saw] which are on this topic:

He [saw] said: "Abundant sins cause the heart to decay.” And  "When a servant commits a sin, a black stain appears on his heart. If he repents and leaves off committing the sin and asks for forgiveness from Allah, his heart will be polished. And if he digresses again, the stain will spread until it covers his heart completely”. 

It is important to note that the Quran is saying “what they used to earn or what they did” covered their hearts. The covering is the consequence of their own actions repeated, normalised, and left unattended. So the raan is a condition we create for ourselves by slowly silencing our consciences. 

Of course, this process is not inevitable. There is a way out back to within the fold of our fitrah, our primordial nature which is naturally inclined towards goodness. We can interrupt this process of the gradual rusting of our hearts and conscience. 

We spoke about Amr bil Marouf and Nahi Anil munkar, how giving and receiving the gift of correction is one way to keep consciences alive. There is a hadith from the Holy Prophet [saw] which confers with this and adds that the words of the Beloveds of Allah [swt] can act as a polish to get rid of the rust:  "Speak with each other, and visit each other, and tell of the traditions (of ours). Surely the traditions refine the hearts. Verily, hearts become rusted as a sword does, and the traditions are the polish.”

So as we turn to the topic of returning to Allah [swt] proximity, we will inshallah turn to the words of His most Beloveds to help us navigate the return. 

But this must be done without delay, for Imam Khumayni, in Forty Hadith says:  “If the tree of sinfulness growing in the orchard of the human heart reaches maturity, its roots becoming strong, the results are calamitous — one of which is to turn away man totally from repentance.” 

We are all familiar with this voice. “I will repent when Ramadan comes.” “I will fix this after the exams.” “I will address this when life settles down.” The danger is not only that we keep drifting in the meantime. The danger is that each cycle of delay makes genuine tawbah harder, because with each passing season, the covering thickens, the sensitivity dims, and the urgency we once felt begins to disappear. All these are signs that the “tree of sinfulness” is growing strong roots. 

Imam Zayn al-‘Abidin (as), in Dua at-Tawbah (Dua #31, Sahifa Sajjadiyya), describes the soul that has let negligence accumulate: “the reins of errors have led him, and Satan has overcome him; so he fell short in what You commanded by negligence.” That word negligence is key. The rān does not always come from bold rebellion. It can be a result of  continuous neglect. From postponing accountability. From giving in to temptation “one more time”. From simply not turning back.

This reflection is not meant to frighten us into paralysis. Far from it. Let us remember that the rān is not a verdict if is taken as a warning, and more importantly, a description of a process that can be interrupted and reversed.

The Merits of the Soul reminds us that the beloved of God is precisely the one who, after years of drift, turns back: “Now that you are remorseful, penitent and repentant, God Almighty has taken you for His loved one. What abundance of mercy and what plentitude of bounty is it!”

We are in the month of Ramadan when the gates of mercy are flung open. He is waiting for us. If there is ever a time when the rān can be lifted, it is now. And the door back to Him is always, always open.

Questions for Reflection

• Is there an area of my life where I once felt discomfort about something and no longer do? What changed?
• What have I been postponing: a return, an apology, a letting go, a practice that my inner compass keeps pointing toward?
• If I could name one layer of rān on my heart right now — one place where I sense a dimming of sensitivity — what would it be?

Awareness is the first movement of return. 

PS: Here is a webpage with lots of resources for a meaningful Laylatul Qadr: https://www.livingthequran.org/blog/Resources%20for%20Laylatul%20Qadr