Dr Ghazala Qadri delivered a thought-provoking first lecture at the Minhaj Sisters Al-Tazkiya retreat today in the UK. The lecture was focused on why reforming the heart is an important exercise for us to undertake in our lives.

Dr Ghazala described the concept of how people have two sides, the outer 'Zahir' and the inner 'Batin'. She explained that the inner self 'baatin' is controlled by its headquarters; the heart.

Dr Ghazala Qadri informed the participants that the condition of the heart affects a person's intention, and the intention further affects the actions that a person takes.

In the Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ, he ﷺ said: "Allah looks into your heart 70 times every day".

Here, Dr Ghazala Qadri explains that the natural sequence of events is inverted when it comes to Allah; He first looks at our inner state and then looks at the action.

The importance of reforming the heart is high because if a person has a diseased heart, they may not be aware just by looking at themselves, but it will be causing pain to the soul 'ruh'.

If the diseases of the heart are not diagnosed, it cannot be treated, trying to reform it, when it is too far gone, may then become very difficult.

Thus, Dr Ghazala Qadri expressed the importance of focusing ourselves on improving our inner selves, making sure our inner self is better than our outer self.

She mentioned the 3 types of acts taken from Imam Ghazali's Ihya ul Uloom:

1. Ma'asi - Sinful acts that are prohibited by Allah SWT and the Prophet (s)

2. It'aat - Obedient acts that are rewarded by Allah SWT

3. Muhabaat - Permissible acts that are neither rewarded or prohibited.

Dr Ghazala Qadri stressed the importance of reforming the inner state and intention because it has the ability to turn a good act 'It'aat' into a sin.

Dr Ghazala Qadri summarised the lecture by stating that the heart affects the intention of a person, and the intention of a person will affect the actions of a person. For this reason, taking serious time to work on reforming the heart is of immense importance.

The next lectures at the Al-Tazkiya retreat will give participants insight on how they can begin the process of reforming the heart.