Heart Centred Meditation Week 7: Finding Allah’s Peace

‘I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh’ (Ezekiel: 36:26)

Welcome to From the Heart. You will find here 8 Islamic Heart-Centred meditations to be used across 8 weeks. There is a natural sequence from week 1-8, where you gradually get closer to Allah, so do not try jumping across weeks.

The meditations are based in a long tradition of heart-centred contemplative exercises from the Islamic tradition that goes back to Al-Ghazali. They were originally developed by Wadud Hassan and edited by Dr Miguel Farias and Sara Shah.

These meditations were developed as part of a research project sponsored by the Templeton World Charity Foundation. The protocol was published in BMC Psychology, 2024 and the research was led by Faye Ng, Miguel Farias, and Inti Brazil.

Transcript

Relax your mind and body. And sit with curiosity. Have you ever seen a bird just sitting in your yard? If you are sitting on the floor, Sit in a comfortable position and support your back. If you are sitting on a chair, Support your lower back, Lengthen your spine, Soften your shoulders, Place your hands on your thighs, Feel your feet on the floor. This is called grounding. Bring your body. To a relaxed yet alert position. To do this guided practice together. On Allah's name. Assalamu Alaikum. Lower your gaze. Close your eyes. Focus inwardly. And bring the remembrance of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala into your mind. Take a deep breath in. And let a long breath out. To fully relax. Let us do two more of those. Deep breath in. And a long breath out. Now, Let us breathe normally. No need to shorten or lengthen your breath. Just breathe in. And breathe out. Normally. And as you breathe. Focus upon the remembrance of Allah in your heart. Every breath, Every moment. Is a gift from Allah. And we bring a sense of gratitude into our heart, A smile on our faces, As we concentrate on Allah's presence with every breath. Today, We are going to meditate on Allah's name. Asalaam. He who brings peace to all creation. This was the first word Allah taught Adam. And after the prophet was driven out of his homeland in Makkah and finally reached Medina, What was the first thing he taught the people in Medina? He said, Ayy afshuwa salam, Spread peace. You So today we are seeking peace in our heart by invoking the name Asalaam, Seeking the peace of Allah. Let us focus on the name of Allah. Assalam. Let us bring this name into our heart. Yassalam. Take a deep breath in while saying Asalam and seeing it move into your heart. Say Asalaam from the center of your heart. And feel Allah's peace. Radiating as you breathe out. Yassalam. You you Yassalam. Ya Salaam. You you you you you you Yassalam. You you you you you Say Yassalam from the center of your heart and feel Allah's peace radiating as you breathe out. You you Let go of all your thoughts. Let go of all worries. All uncertainty. All pain and sorrow. Focus only on Allah's peace. Yassalam. YASALAM. YAH SALAM you you you Feel Allah's peace radiating all over your body as you breathe out. Yassalam. Yassalam. Yassalam. You you It is written in the Quran. When they meet him, They will be greeted with peace. And he has prepared a generous reward for them. We have all come from Allah. The source of peace. As-salāmu. Today we remembered Allah's name. Assalam. So that one day we can return to the source of infinite peace. May Allah make us a source of Asalaam to everyone and everything. Before we finish, Focus again your attention on your breath. Just breathing in. And breathing out normally for a few short moments. You you We ask Allah to forgive and cleanse all our sins and shortcomings. We send his blessings to the beloved messenger of Allah. Muhammad. May Allah bless this practice. Infinite praise and thanks to him alone. You may open your eyes. Gently. And take in your surroundings. After you finish, Write down the main experiences, Insights, Or questions from today's practice in your notebook.