The Prophet Muhammed (peace and blessings be upon him) said: ‘Awareness emanates from the heart and if the heart is sound, the whole body is sound; if it’s corrupt, the whole body is corrupt.’ The commentary for that hadith further explains the parables for the individual. On the physical level, if the heart is not functioning properly to pump blood, it will affect the body. On a spiritual level, if the heart is sound, then the body and mind will do sound things. But if it is sick then the body and mind are going to do unsound things.

It is also a parable for society. Society is characterized by the individuals comprising it, and the wholesomeness or the corruption of the individual stems from the state of his or her heart. The nature of our society will reflect that, so we see a lot of sick hearts and as a result we are seeing the sort of things that we witness daily. The heart of the individual is the heart of society.

Spirituality is very important and should be an active part of our lives, our children’s lives, and an active part of our educational curriculum. The heart is then more sensitive to the Creator, and that enhanced sensitivity enhances our family responsibilities, moral values, community interactions, education, as well as awareness of social justice, ecological, and environmental issues.

By being sensitive to the Creator, we are more sensitive to the creation. Spirituality gives us an awareness of those things that guard our relationship with the Divine and that leads to a propensity to safeguard our relationship with other people and our environment.

This also transforms to excellence in worship. For many people, Salat has become mechanical because they are not reflecting much on God before entering into it. A person who rarely thinks about God will inevitably have difficulty reflecting in his or her prayers. On the other hand, someone who wakes up in the morning and reflects, reads Quran every morning, and prays on the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) will find it a lot easier to be mindful of God in their Salat. For the latter person, Salat is just reinforcing and strengthening their general spirituality.