Causes of Spiritual Emptiness and Its Cure

Question:
May Allah reward you with good and do you good. A sister of ours from Ha'il says: The sender is Raaishin Hasan al-Banna. Our sister is asking a collection of questions, one of which is: What are the causes that lead to spiritual emptiness? And what is the cure? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
The causes that lead to spiritual emptiness are many. Among them is heedlessness regarding the remembrance of Allah the Exalted, and turning away from reciting the Qur'an. Among them is keeping the company of people of evil, and people of laziness and lethargy, for they affect those who keep their company and mix with them. Among them is eating what is forbidden, and nourishing oneself with what is forbidden, for it hardens the heart. And among them is...
Laziness in performing the obligatory acts at their times, and with the Muslim congregation in the case of men. In any case, laziness in performing acts of obedience is one of the things that creates spiritual emptiness. Likewise, following desires is also one of the things that breaks a person away from obedience and from the remembrance of Allah the Exalted. So the result is that the causes of spiritual emptiness are many. Among them is ignorance, ignorance of the rulings of the Shari'ah, and the fact that a person does not learn the matters of his religion. Among the causes is also staying away from gatherings of dhikr and attending sermons of admonition, for this causes a person to have spiritual emptiness, as the questioner says; because he will be devoid of beneficial knowledge and of insight, because he has not engaged in the causes of that. So the Muslim should strive for beneficial knowledge, and for righteous deeds, and for increasing acts of obedience, and for the remembrance of Allah the Exalted, and for keeping the company of the righteous, and for attending gatherings of dhikr, for these cultivate good in the soul of the Muslim. Yes.