How should we understand the hadith ‘The hearts are in Allah’s hands; He turns them as He wishes’?

Is there a force and pressure here? Will you explain it within this framework?

Dear Brother / Sister,

No, there is no force and pressure here; the slave wants and Allah creates.

In the hadith, it is stated that man’s heart always changes based on his will, and attention is drawn to the fact that he should take refuge in Allah all the time.

According to what is reported from Hz. Anas, the Prophet often prayed as follows:

يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِي عَلى دِينِكَ

"O Changer of the Hearts! Strengthen my heart upon Your Religion.

Once, I said to him, "O Messenger of Allah! We believe in you and what you have come with, but do you fear for us?" He gave me the following answer:

"Yes. The hearts are between two Fingers of Allah; He changes them as He wills." (Tirmidhi, Qadar 7)

As it is understood from the hadith, what is essential is the slave’s turning toward Allah and praying by using his will. Allah’s answering the prayer of His slave, that is, creating the deeds according to the will of the slave as the absolute creator of everything means changing/turning the hearts.

Therefore, we need to beg Allah in the same way as it is mentioned in the hadith so that our hearts will remain firm upon the religion.

The phrase "between two fingers of Rahman (All-Merciful)" is a metaphorical expression and it states that the hearts’ taking different forms depends on the will of Allah. For, it is not permissible to attribute human organs such as hand and finger to Allah Almighty.

Hereby, we regard it useful to draw attention to an issue:

1. The heart mentioned in the hadith is not the material heart located in the human breast and created from flesh. What is meant by the heart in the hadith is a spiritual divine faculty.

2. The heart has many different states like obedience-disobedience, peace-heedlessness, and belief-unbelief. Although it is the slave who wants them, it is Allah who creates them. The aim in the hadith is to draw attention to Allah’s creation.

3. The meaning of the question of Anas "... do you fear for us?" is as follows: "Your statement must not have been made about yourself because you are protected against mistakes and errors. It is not possible for your heart to turn, especially regarding religion. Therefore, the purpose of that prayer is to teach your ummah and to warn them. Do you feel worried that the blessing of belief bestowed by Allah upon us will disappear or decrease?"

The Prophet (pbuh) answered the question bearing that meaning by saying "Yes!" He confirmed that he was worried about his ummah: "Allah changes/turns hearts as he wishes."

That is to say, man have no continuity in terms of belief, fisq or unbelief. He can change at any moment; there is no guarantee that he will die as a believer; it is necessary to be in fear. There is no certainty that he will die as an unbeliever; it is necessary to be in hope.

Besides, we should neither rely on our current state by saying "I am fine" nor say for anybody "He is good!" or "He is bad!" He may be good for today, but he may change tomorrow. In that case, it is necessary to make efforts to continue to be a good person. A person may be bad today, but he can be better; it is necessary to make efforts to improve.

That is to say, one should not make definite judgments about people. Good people can become bad and bad people can become good because the heart is changeable. Allah changes it in accordance with the will of the slave.

4. The Prophet’s repetition of that prayer is due to the concern he feels for his ummah. It is stated in the hadith that it is only a matter of time for the hearts to turn from aberration to guidance and from guidance to aberration and hence it is necessary to take refuge in the protection of Allah in order to remain stable in the true path and guidance. For, the heart is changeable.

5. Imam Ghazali narrates some hadiths that indicate the variable structure of the heart and in which the psychological state of the hearts is described:

“No! I swear by Allah, who turns the hearts...” (Bukhari, Tawhid 11)
“O my Lord, who turns the hearts from one state to another! Make my heart firm upon Your religion.” (Tirmidhi, Qadar, 7)
“The heart is between two fingers of power of Rahman (All-Merciful). He turns it as He wishes.” (Muslim, Qadar 3)

According to Ghazali, the constant change of the heart means the constant struggle of two powers (angel and devil) in the heart. Those two powers are the delusions from Satan and inspirations from the angel. (see Ihya, 3/46-48)

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