The Effect of Human Actions on the Heart: Black and White Spots
God, Blessed and Exalted, says in the Holy Qur’an:
{No! Rather, what they used to do has covered their hearts with rust (darkness).}
(Qur’an 83:14)
The narrations of the infallible Imams (peace be upon them) describe the mechanism of sin and its impact on the human heart in this way:
Every good deed is like a white spot that settles on a person’s heart. If the person continues to perform good deeds and acts of worship — for example, helping someone in need or guiding someone to the right path — these white spots gradually increase and purify and illuminate the heart’s page.
Such a person becomes like Abu Dhar, Salman, Sayyid Bahr al-Uloom, Sheikh Mufid, Sheikh Tusi, or Jabir ibn Abdullah Ansari. All of these individuals accumulated good deeds little by little, purifying and brightening their hearts until their hearts became entirely pure and white. With a pure heart, they could reach the highest levels of spiritual perfection and attain great stations.
On the other hand, if a person commits sin, a black spot appears on their heart. If they continue to sin and commit injustice, this black spot spreads. However, if they repent and seek forgiveness, the rust (darkness) on their heart is cleansed and the black spot disappears.
Woe to the one who does not repent and accumulates sins upon sins. For such a person, the black spot grows larger and covers the whole heart. In this state, the entire heart becomes shrouded in darkness and filth, and the person is no longer able to obey God or perform good deeds.
Someone with such a heart might become like Harun al-Rashid, Ibn Ziyad, Shimr, and others like them. These people did not fall into such depravity all at once; rather, they repeatedly committed sins. As the Qur’an states, {بَلْ رَانَ عَلَي قُلُوبِهِم} — the rust of sin settled on their hearts, just as iron rusts and loses its function. Their hearts became dominated by desire and lust, and no way remained for their reformation.
The Arabic word “ران” (ran) means rust or corrosion. God says that lust and desire act like rust on the heart, causing its corruption and destruction. In this state, the heart no longer has access to light and purity and is completely immersed in darkness.
A significant point to consider is that this process does not happen suddenly.
In the continuation of the verse, {بَلْ رَانَ عَلَي قُلُوبِهِم مَّا کَانُوا يَکسِبُونَ}, the meaning is that the actions which a person has earned through their own choices accumulate and cover their heart with darkness. Such a heart no longer welcomes the light.
Of course, such individuals have brought this harm upon themselves by their own choices and have deliberately turned away from the light.
I Sell My Religion for Your Sake
In the noble books of Hadith, there is a very striking story about one of the henchmen of Harun al-Rashid named Humayd ibn Qahtaba. One of Humayd ibn Qahtaba’s friends came to visit him in Khorasan during the holy month of Ramadan and found Humayd sitting at a table, eating. In utter disbelief, he asked him, “Are you traveling?” Humayd replied, “No.” Again he asked, “Then you must be sick and excused from fasting.” Humayd again said, “No, I am not sick.” His friend, surprised by his behavior, then asked, “So why are you breaking your fast?” Humayd said, “In my life, I have committed sins that make my fasting of no benefit to me.” Then he began to recount one of his crimes.
He said: “Once Harun sent for me at midnight, and I went to him. He asked me, ‘How loyal and devoted are you to us?’ I replied, ‘With my life and my wealth.’ Harun said, ‘Good, go.’ Without understanding his true intent, I returned home. Not long after, Harun’s special servant came to me again and said that Harun had sent for me and wanted me to come immediately. This time I was very afraid. I thought maybe he wanted to kill me. The first time, since I was his friend, he held back; this time, he surely wants to kill me. This feeling is not far from reality.
Servants and supporters of tyrants always live in fear of them, otherwise, summoning someone wouldn’t normally cause fear. Tyrants kill people with a mere gesture, and have no hesitation in shedding even the blood of friends or acquaintances.
Harun’s special servant had come for me, and I had no choice but to go. In summary, I went to Harun’s court terrified. Harun repeated his question: ‘How far will you go in self-sacrifice for us?’ This time I said, ‘I will sacrifice my life, wealth, family, and even my children for you.’ He said, ‘Good, go.’”
Not long after, Harun’s servant came for me again and said, “Harun is calling you.” I went to him, and for the third time, Harun repeated his question: “How much self-sacrifice do you have for us?” This time I answered, “With my wealth, my life, my family, and my religion.” Harun, as if waiting to hear this very response, said: “Now that is so, take this sword and follow this servant wherever he goes, and do whatever he says.”
That very midnight, I entered a house with the servant and went straight to its basement. There was a deep well dug there. Next to the well were three locked rooms. The servant opened the first room, and I saw twenty of the children of Imam Ali and Fatimah (peace be upon them). The servant told me: “Kill them one by one.” Without hesitation, I obeyed and beheaded them all. Then we threw their bodies into the pit.
Next, he opened the second room. There were twenty more of the descendants of Amir al-Mu'minin (Imam Ali) and Lady Zahra, both young and old. Following the servant’s command, I beheaded them too and threw the bodies into the well.
Similarly, when the third room was opened, there were twenty more grandchildren of Imam Ali and Lady Fatimah (peace be upon them). Again, the servant asked me to kill them. One by one, I beheaded them and, with the servant’s help, threw their bodies into the well.
In total, that night, I killed sixty people and threw them into the pit. After recounting this great cruelty, Humayd ibn Qahtaba turned to his friends and said, “With all these crimes, how can fasting benefit me?”
“The egg thief becomes a camel thief.”
This person was not like this from the beginning. Once upon a time, he was an innocent child, just born. Gradually, he grew up, passed through adolescence and youth, and was not yet so hardened-hearted.
Yet one night, he could slaughter sixty men, women, young and old, without mercy. Small and great injustices, one after another, made him every day more callous and ruthless, until he developed the capacity for this great crime.
His behavior amazes people and raises a question in the mind of anyone who hears this story: Where is the human compassion? How can a person become so heartless that they commit such acts? Naturally, human nature is not like the fierce nature of a wolf. At least, that is not its essential disposition, nor was it so at the time of creation. So how can someone fall so far from their rank and nature?
There is no explanation for this inhumane behavior except what God said in the mentioned verse: “Rather, their hearts have become covered (with rust).”
Desires, lust, whims, and oppression corrupt the human heart and change its nature. The clear and innocent heart gradually darkens, leaving no room for purity and goodness.
“Eating salt and breaking the saltshaker”
There is a story about another tyrant of our time who committed many atrocities. It is said that once, when a political problem arose for him, he and his accomplices fled to the desert. At night, hungry and thirsty, they sought refuge in the tent of a desert dweller. Desert people are usually generous, and anyone who comes to them—even strangers—they welcome and provide food, water, and shelter.
The desert dweller hosted them, and they spent the night in his tent. He and his family slept in another corner of the tent. When they were sure the owner of the tent was asleep, they took a weapon hanging in the corner of the tent, hoping it would be useful in the wilderness. As they quietly tried to leave, their eyes fell upon a breastfeeding infant sleeping beyond the door of the tent. They thought the baby might soon wake and cry, alerting the parents.
They feared that if the parents noticed their departure and found their weapon missing, they might take another weapon and pursue them in the desert and catch them. After a brief moment of thought, cruelty took over; one of them put his foot over the baby’s mouth, pressed hard, and suffocated the child. Then they stole the weapon and fled.
The Spreading Darkness of Sin
How a person can reach such a degree of hardness and cruelty—though it is hard to believe—is due to the sins and injustices they have committed, which gradually darken and corrupt their heart. Otherwise, by nature, the human fitrah (innate disposition) cannot endure such heartbreaking behavior. This is exactly the series of black spots that repeatedly settle on a person’s heart and cover it. As the Qur’an says, {بل ران علی قلوبهم} — "But the evil deeds which they did have covered their hearts with rust."
The black spots caused by sin are like rust on iron that covers it and leaves no way for repair. The heart of a human is the center of emotions and goodness. If a sin pollutes its clarity and purity, it must be quickly cleansed by repentance and seeking forgiveness. In any case, an ordinary person—who is not infallible—may commit mistakes.
These mistakes relate to their relationship with themselves, God, or other people. Like committing sins, consuming others’ property unlawfully, or neglecting a religious duty that God has made obligatory upon them.
Repentance and Seeking Forgiveness: The Remedy for Darkened Hearts
If a person, God forbid, has committed a sin, violated someone’s rights, or neglected a religious duty, they must repent sincerely and take steps to make amends. They should return the rights that have been wrongfully taken from others. If they have harmed someone’s reputation, they should strive to restore it and seek that person’s satisfaction by any means possible.
In short, one important stage of repentance is to compensate for one’s shortcomings. With true and accepted repentance and abundant seeking of forgiveness (istighfar), the harmful effects of sins on the heart lessen, and the heart regains its purity.
However, if a person neglects repentance and keeps committing sins one after another, the darkness caused by sins envelops the heart and does not easily go away. Even so, the heart does not lose its natural inclination toward goodness. It still tends to do good deeds, helps others, and tries to guide them. With such actions, small bright spots gradually settle on the heart.
God says in the Holy Qur’an:
{And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves [by transgression], remember Allah and seek forgiveness for their sins—and who can forgive sins except Allah?—and do not persist in what they have done while they know.}
(Qur’an 3:135)
Repentance: A Constant Companion for Human Beings
It should not be forgotten that those whose hearts do not become darkened are not necessarily infallible. Even sinners may still have a bright heart, provided that after every sin they sincerely seek forgiveness (istighfar), feel remorse for their actions, and firmly resolve not to return to or repeat the sin—that is, they repent.
Yes, it is possible that their rebellious soul may draw them back into sin, but they must repeat these steps again. Of course, as the noble verse commands, they must not persist stubbornly in sin, but rather strive not to fall into it again.
In a narration from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him), it is said:
“The one who repents from a sin is like one who has no sin.”
Thus, a sinner can completely cover their sin through repentance, or more accurately, wash it away from their heart as if the sin had never occurred.
In another narration, it is mentioned that even the angels assigned to record human deeds—both good and bad—forget the sins of a person after they repent. Although angels do not experience forgetfulness and never neglect their duties in recording deeds.
The narration states that when the angels see that person, they never recall their sins. The Compassionate and Merciful God cleanses the darkness of the heart of the sinner who repents and strives to make amends to such an extent that even the angels find no trace of those sins within him.
Firm Resolve
The path to salvation and the key to a person’s success lies in their firm decision. If a person does not make a serious decision to reform themselves, they cannot be safe from their commanding ego (nafs al-ammara). The commanding self constantly urges them toward evil. At one moment, it stirs up sexual desire and lets lust dominate them; at another, driven by the desire for prominence, or by arrogance and rebellion, it may push them to oppress others.
But if after every sin a person sincerely repents and resolves not to commit that sin again, in the end, they become like Abu Dharr, Salman, and Ammar. People like Zararah, Muhammad ibn Muslim, and Abi Umair all overcame their lower selves and were steadfast and resolute in abandoning sin.
We hope that Almighty God will never deprive us of the ability to repent, so that after every sin we return to ourselves and strive to make amends. In this way, the black stains of sins will be wiped from our hearts, and the page of the heart will remain pure and clear.
May blessings and peace be upon Muhammad and his pure family.
