What are the causes of hardness of heart and how can a Muslim treat it?
Short answer
Among the causes of hardness of heart are sins, neglect of the remembrance of Allah and of reciting the Qur'an, cutting the ties of kinship and disobedience to parents; and the treatment is repentance, keeping away from sins and turning to dhikr, the Qur'an and obedience.
Evidence and explanation
The Shaykh linked hardness of heart with sins, neglect, cutting kinship ties and disobedience, and called to repentance, abandoning sins and turning to obedience.
Scholar referenced
This editorial summary is based on the original source linked below and is not presented as a verbatim quotation from the scholar.
From the text of the answer (Arabic, with an English translation)
Original answer — Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz
أسباب قسوة القلوب وعلاجها — فتوى ٨٤٧٠- Question
«المستمع (م. م. م) بعث يسأل ويقول: هل من أسباب قسوة القلوب قطع صلة الرحم؟»
English translation (unreviewed): The listener (M. M. M.) sent asking: Is cutting the ties of kinship one of the causes of hardness of hearts?
- From the text of the answer
«نعم جميع المعاصي كلها من أسباب قسوة القلوب، والغفلة عن ذكر الله وعن قراءة القرآن من أسباب قسوة القلوب، وقطيعة الرحم من المعاصي التي تسبب قسوة القلوب أيضاً، وهكذا عقوق الوالدين أو أحدهما هو أيضاً من أسباب قسوة القلوب، فجميع المعاصي من أسباب قسوة القلوب، فينبغي للمؤمن أن يحذرها وأن يبتعد منها، وأن يتوب إلى الله مما فعل منها، هكذا المؤمن والمؤمنة يجب عليهما التوبة إلى الله من سائر المعاصي؛ لأنها شر عظيم في الدنيا والآخرة؛ ومن أسباب قسوة القلوب؛ ومن أسباب غضب الله في الدنيا والآخرة؛ ومن أسباب سوء الخاتمة؛ ومن أسباب العذاب يوم القيامة وفي البرزخ، فالواجب»
English translation (unreviewed): Yes, all acts of disobedience are causes of hardness of hearts; neglect of the remembrance of Allah and of reciting the Qur'an are causes of hardness of hearts; cutting the ties of kinship is among the acts of disobedience that also cause hardness of hearts; and likewise disobedience to parents or one of them is also among the causes of hardness of hearts. All acts of disobedience are causes of hardness of hearts, so the believer should beware of them, keep away from them and repent to Allah of what he has done of them. Likewise the believing man and woman must repent to Allah from all acts of disobedience, because they are a great evil in this world and the next; they are among the causes of hardness of hearts, of Allah's anger in this world and the next, of a bad ending, and of punishment on the Day of Resurrection and in the barzakh. So the duty ...
The Arabic excerpts matched the original page word for word by an automated check and have not had human scholarly review. The English translations are unreviewed translations made for this site; they are not an approved Shari‘ah translation. Rely on the Arabic original.
Source
The causes of hardness of hearts and their treatment
Title of the original page (Arabic): أسباب قسوة القلوب وعلاجها
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz, may Allah have mercy on him