What is the ruling on one who has killed his conscience, which commands good and forbids evil, thereby becoming ignorant of the rulings of his actions or forgetting them? Will he be held accountable for his deeds or be excused? And how can he revive his dead conscience?

The questioner should first be advised that the term "conscience" has recently become prevalent in both praise and censure, and it is incorrect to use it in this novel sense. It is better to replace it with Shar'i (Islamic legal) terms such as "piety" (Taqwa (definition)) and "awe of Allah" (Khashya). Furthermore, a servant is accountable for their actions as long as they are a responsible individual (mukallaf), and only a non-responsible individual is exempt. What is termed "the death of conscience" – and correctly, "the death of the heart" – does not remove responsibility, and it is a result of the servant's negligence in acts of obedience, an abundance of sins, and heedlessness in remembering Allah. The servant must strive to rectify their heart by increasing in acts of obedience, reciting the Quran, remembering Allah, and by staying away from sins, repenting, and seeking forgiveness.

Ibn Al-Qayyim divides hearts into sound, sick, and dead. The sound heart accepts truth and submits to it, while the dead heart does not know its Lord nor worship Him, and follows its desires. The sick heart, if its sickness overcomes it, joins the dead heart; and if its soundness overcomes it, it joins the sound heart. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, warned against tribulations that are presented to hearts. If a heart absorbs them, a black spot appears on it, and if it rejects them, a white spot appears on it. The dead heart becomes black like an overturned cup, neither recognizing good nor condemning evil, whereas the white heart is not harmed by any tribulation as long as the heavens and earth endure. The ailments of the heart are the ailments of doubts (shubuhat) and desires (shahawat), and the Quran is a cure for both.