Lesson 3 of 6 · Fatrah is inside the sunnah
There is a word for this, and it is not a word for failure
Shirrah is a burst of zeal. Fatrah is the slackening that follows it.
The two are named together in the reports as a pair, which is the part almost nobody is told. Not zeal as the norm and slackening as the fall from it. Both, alternating, as the ordinary shape of a religious life.
That single fact changes what a dry month means. It is not evidence that you have been abandoned. It is the second half of a pattern the tradition already described.
There is something underneath the pair that is worth having this early. The reports describe the hearts of the sons of Adam as being between two of the fingers of the Most Merciful, turned as He wills. And they record that the supplication the Prophet, peace be upon him, said most often was about exactly that. O Turner of the hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion.
A heart that moves is not the exception in the sources. It is the thing the most frequent supplication was about.
Qur’an and Sunnah
A heart that moves is not the exception in the sources. The hearts of the sons of Adam are described as being between two of the fingers of the Most Merciful, turned as He wills.
Abdullah b. Amr b. al-'As reported that he heard Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:Verily, the hearts of all the sons of Adam are between the two fingers out of the fingers of the Compassionate Lord as one heart. He turns that to any (direction) He likes. Then Allahs Messenger (ﷺ) said: 0 Allah, the Turner of the hearts, turn our hearts to Thine obedience
Sahih Muslim 2655graded sound, sahihaynthe Arabic and its grading
And the supplication reported as the most frequent one. O Turner of the hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion. The thing asked for most often was steadiness, which tells you what was taken as ordinary.
Shahr bin Hawshab said:“I said to Umm Salamah: ‘O Mother of the Believers! What was the supplication that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said most frequently when he was with you?” She said: ‘The supplication he said most frequently was: “O Changer of the hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion (Yā Muqallibal-qulūb, thabbit qalbī `alā dīnik).’” She said: ‘So I said: “O Messenger of Allah, why do you supplicate so frequently: ‘O Changer of the hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion.’ He said: ‘O Umm Salamah! Verily, there is no human being except that his heart is between Two Fingers of the Fingers of Allah, so whomsoever He wills He makes steadfast, and whomever He wills He causes to deviate.’”
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 3522graded sound, albanithe Arabic and its grading