For many, Ramadan will start tomorrow and I just wanted to highlight an important part of this blessed month.

There are a number of objectives, but two of immense importance are;

1️⃣ To attain God consciousness (Taqwa).
2️⃣ To attain forgiveness for past transgressions.

Hence at its core, Ramadan is about ‘spiritual cleansing‘.

Of course, in many faiths, the heart is considered to be the centre of spirituality.

In a prophetic tradition, it’s narrated that the Prophet (pbuh) said;

‘In the body, there is a piece of flesh. If it is sound, the rest of the body will be sound. If it is corrupt, the rest of the body will be corrupt. Truly, it is the heart’ (Authentic).

However, it’s also interesting that in 1991, Professor Andrew Armour discovered that the heart’s nervous system contains approx. forty thousand neurons called ‘sensory neurites’. They have the ability to feel and assist with healing trauma and so it was considered the heart had a ‘little brain’.

More research is being conducted, but it’s fair to say even from our own experiences that the feelings of intense sadness, love, guilt and faith we encounter, are physically felt in the heart.

Hence, a reminder that whilst fasting, the many actions of the heart – mercy, forgiveness and generosity are intrinsic to making this Ramadan a success.