In Islam narrow-mindedness is a human weakness and flaw. It creates many crises in life, gets in the way of living a sound and normal life, and can even keep people from finding the truth. The Quran says: "Whomever Allah wants to guide, He opens his heart to Islam; and whomever He wants to send astray, He makes his heart tight and constricted, as though he were climbing into the sky. Thus does Allah disgrace those who do not believe." (Surah Al-An'am, 125)

The verse makes clear that, in Islam, an open heart means being able to accept faith and Islam, while narrow-mindedness means failing to accept Islam's true and beautiful message. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "When faith enters the human heart, it expands and opens up." The Companions asked: "O Messenger of Allah, is there a sign of the heart opening?" He said: "Yes. Turning towards the everlasting abode (the hereafter), turning away from the abode of deception (this world), and preparing for death before death comes." (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 6/167)

Turning away from the remembrance of Allah breeds narrowness in the heart and gradually narrows a person's life. Allah says: "Whoever turns away from My remembrance will have a constricted life, and We will raise him blind on the Day of Resurrection." (Surah Ta-Ha, 124) Learned scholars explain that when people turn away from remembering Allah, ignore His commands and prohibitions and fall into sin, Allah makes their worldly life difficult.

Those who show narrowness in accepting truth and beauty face many kinds of crisis in this life. For example:

• Loss of softness of heart. Allah says: "Has the time not come for the hearts of those who believe to be humbled at the remembrance of Allah and the truth that has come down, and not to be like those who were given the Book before, whose hearts hardened after a long time passed? Many of them are defiantly disobedient." (Surah Al-Hadid, 16)
• Fatigue of body and mind. Narrow-minded people who turn away from Allah's remembrance and obedience suffer physical and mental exhaustion. Allama Ibn al-Qayyim said: "A purified heart is the believer's source of strength. When his heart is strong, his body is strong too. The sinner, even if physically strong, does not find his strength when he needs it, because his strength betrays him just as he betrayed himself (regarding Allah)." (Ad-Da' wa ad-Dawa', page 136)
• Waste of life and wealth. With no self-control and no fear of accountability in the hereafter, such people waste their lives and wealth, and at some point in this life and in the hereafter they will lament: "He will say, if only I had sent ahead something for this life of mine!" (Surah Al-Fajr, 24)
• Being deprived of people's love. Of narrow-minded people who do not obey Allah, the Prophet said: "When Allah hates a servant, He calls Jibril and says, I hate so-and-so, so hate him too. Jibril then announces this among the dwellers of the heavens, and then hatred for him is created in the hearts of the people of the earth." (Sunan Tirmidhi, hadith 3161)
• Destitution in the hereafter. Those who show narrowness in accepting the truth will be destitute and face calamity in the hereafter: "Those who stray from the path of Allah will have a severe punishment, because they forgot the Day of Reckoning." (Surah Sad, 26)

Only faith in Allah and His Messenger, and obedience to them, can save people from narrow-mindedness and its crises and give them a good life. The Quran says: "Whoever does good, male or female, while a believer, We will surely grant a good life, and We will surely give them their reward according to the best of what they used to do." (Surah An-Nahl, 97)

Source: Kaler Kantho. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.