[Vagtlaldo]

Some great suggestions in this thread, Masha'Allah.

Brother I know what you mean by your heart becoming dark and hard due to worldly things, we all experience that these days I believe, may Allah protect our hearts from becoming dark and hard. Ameen.

I also Insha'Allah have a simple but powerful recipe for you to "wash" your heart as much as you can daily.

Listen to recitation of the Qur'an as much as possible. I accomplish this usually when driving. Whenever I'm driving, I put the Qur'an on through my phone (can be done with phone, CD, etc, whatever is convenient for someone Insha'Allah). Listening to the recitation of the Qur'an is Insha'Allah literally like taking your heart out, washing it really well with the cleanest water as all the darkness, dirtiness and hardness washes away, and then putting it back into your body. Even if you're going somewhere for a quick 5 minute drive, just put on the Qur'an until you get to your destination. If I end up at a place where music is being played and immodesty is all around (such as going to the mall to buy clothes, even supermarket and many "simple" places these days), then I feel that was a bad 'blow' to my heart so I try to increase the amount of time I listen to the Qur'an that day as soon as possible. So for example, if I'm driving somewhere and I get there, I'll just sit in the car for another few minutes listening and pondering before turning the car off and getting out. You can also put some earphones on while in bed before going to sleep and listen, but you have to be careful with this: You should be dressed appropriately (awrah covered) and turn it off while you're still fully awake. It is not recommended to fall asleep while listening to the Qur'an as Allah commands us in the Qur'an to listen with attentiveness while the Qur'an is being recited.

For those who don't drive, the same goes for walking & taking buses/trains/taxis/etc. Insha'Allah download any of the several free Qur'an apps available for smartphones these days and pop on your earphones. Similarly, you can download MP3's online and invest in a cheap MP3 player if you do not have a smartphone.

You do not need wudhu or anything special to listen to the recitation of the Qur'an. Just need to be properly dressed and be in a clean place (obviously your car qualifies). Insha'Allah you will notice a huge, huge difference after adopting this simple but powerful habit.

May Allah make it easy for all of us. Ameen.

May Allah forgive me if I said anything wrong and Allah knows best.