Stop Killing your heart

Author

ali
July 23, 2025

As-salaamu ‘alaykum wa rahmatullah,

I need you to hear me out

This one’s personal.
Because I’ve felt what I’m about to describe.
And maybe you have too.

  • You still believe in Allah.

  • You still care about your Deen.

  • But when you sit to pray, to make dua, to read Qur’an…

Your heart feels distant.
Heavy.
Unmoved.

You wonder:
Why don’t I feel anything anymore?

I used to think I just needed more motivation.

But then I realized — I was quietly killing my own heart.

The App That Almost Took Over My Soul

A few years ago, I downloaded Tiktok.

At first, it was for a good reason:

I wanted to promote my clothing brand (it flopped lol)

“Going viral equals sales,” they said.

But something weird happened.

The algorithm started learning me.
And the more it showed me what I liked, the more it pulled me in.

What began as “just marketing” turned into mindless scrolling

the content just kept getting better and better

I just couldn’t stop.

And slowly, without noticing…
I wasn’t just consuming content.

I was being consumed.

What the Salaf Said About This

One day, I came across a quote from Hasan Al-Basri رحمه الله that just made sense:

“Excessive amusement causes the death of the heart.”

this quote perfectly describes what apps like TikTok and IG are doing to us today.

Because that’s exactly what they are: amusement on demand.

  • 15-second clips to make you laugh

  • 7-second edits to give you fake motivation

  • A dopamine hit every swipe

  • No stillness, no silence, no space to think

It’s not just entertainment — it’s overstimulation.

And that’s the kind of amusement that numbs the soul.

You keep watching one more.
And another.
And another…

Until your heart is too distracted to remember Allah.
And Ibadah feels heavy.

That’s what Hasan Al-Basri was warning us about.

When amusement becomes your go-to escape,
your heart slowly forgets what real peace feels like.

The Warning Signs Are Quiet

The scary thing about spiritual damage is that it doesn’t always scream.

It just silences your connection.
And you don’t realize how deep you’ve fallen until you try to come back.

A dead heart can’t cry in salah
A dead heart can’t focus during dua
A dead heart seeks noise because it forgot what peace feels like.

the sad part is that many Muslims don’t know this

Alhamdulilah that you and I do now

so we know that we have to fight back

You Don’t Need to Quit Everything.

But You Do Need to Start Somewhere.

Here’s one small shift that helped me reconnect:

Set aside your phone for just 30 minutes a day.
No scrolling. No background noise. Just silence and space.

You can walk. Reflect. Do dhikr.
Or just be present and be aware of Allah.

The goal isn’t to be a monk.
It’s to give your heart room to breathe again.

And when you do…
You’ll start to feel more — and scroll less.

If you want a simple solution,

I put together my years of knowledge and experience into a guide

it’s called the Halal Digital Detox — a 10-day challenge to help you:

  • Scroll less

  • Procrastinate less

  • Feel closer to Allah again

It’s simple, grounded in Deen and psychology

Nothing extreme.
Just a steady return to focus, barakah, and calm.

– Ali