How can we become mindful of always cleansing our hearts?

■ How can we become mindful of always cleansing our hearts?

To become mindful of consistently cleansing our hearts, it’s essential to make meditation and self-accountability a daily practice. Before beginning your meditation each day, take a moment to reflect on your actions. Ask yourself, “How did my day go? What did I do wrong? Who did I hurt with my words or actions? Where did I lose my temper?”

This process of daily self-reflection and meditation is critical. If you don’t take time at the end of each day to meditate and assess yourself, to truly examine your words and behavior, you may miss the opportunity to seek forgiveness from Allah ﷻ. This neglect can lead to a buildup of negative traits, like scabs that cover a wound. Without asking Allah ﷻ to cleanse these faults, they harden and become part of us.

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ described how sins can accumulate like scabs on a person if one doesn’t seek forgiveness, saying that they become scars of wrongdoing. If we don’t examine ourselves, we risk being deceived by Shaytan into thinking we’ve done nothing wrong, and those sins settle into our hearts.

Therefore, it’s essential each night to account for our actions, to think carefully and sincerely ask for forgiveness, especially for those moments we know were wrong—when we lost our temper, shouted, or acted harshly. This sincere accounting helps prevent these mistakes from multiplying and hardening. Remember, Allah ﷻ is patient. Just because no harm came immediately doesn’t mean that our actions are forgotten. Accountability prevents these sins from taking root and keeps us vigilant in seeking forgiveness.

When we make this a daily practice, we start recognizing patterns. If we find ourselves repeatedly asking forgiveness for the same issues, it’s a sign that we need to address the root of these behaviors. Allah ﷻ wants us to identify and understand our weaknesses so that we can work on them, controlling our energy and refining our communication.

Over time, with sincere effort, we learn to avoid repeated mistakes and grow closer to Allah ﷻ by purifying our hearts and actions.