The Mind and Heart

Footnotes

1. It is important to remember that when we use the term "intellect" we don't mean the same thing as what is meant by intellect in today's desacralized language.
   
   Instead we claim that the `aql is an immaterial light that we perceive reality with and it's a very high thing and and even the medieval scholastics in the Western tradition understood it as something very different from what it's understood today when it's nothing more than a cognitive function, as opposed to something that has an intuitive quality, but also it has a capacity that's extraordinary in its immense possibilities which it has in our tradition.
   Edited from Understanding the Nafs, Intellect, and Heart – Shaykh Hamza Yusuf - YouTube
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2. See more:
   This is why it is called the “true essence of a human being” (Al-Jurjani), containing “all levels of inner being” (al-Hakeem al-Tirmidhi), and for the Prophets (pbut) it is the place of revelation.
   On the Science of the Heart (livingislam.org)
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3. Partly transcript from the video
   Four sections, 3. 4. 5. and 6.
   Heart-Mind Relationship In Islam - Shaykh Hamza Yusuf
   
   Section 3.
   
   Now one of the interesting things also about the heart is that we know that it actually starts beating before the brain is formed. In other words the heart itself begins to beat without any central nervous system.^[10] Now the dominant theory is that the central nervous system is what's controlling the entire human being from the brain and yet we know now that the nervous system does not initiate the beat of the heart that it's actually self-initiated or we would say initiated by Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la and also we know now that the entire heart all of the the connections to the brain can be severed in a heart transplant and another heart can be put into a human being's body and the heart continues to beat without any connection to the brain whatsoever because we cannot regenerate nerve cells.
   
   So the fact that the heart itself is the not only the center of the human being but it is not beating because of the brain - because of the central nervous system.
   
   Section 4.
   
   Now another interesting thing about the brain there are many actually people that think that the the brain is also the center of consciousness and yet the Quran very clearly states "Lahum qulubun la yafqahuna-biha" they have hearts but they're not able to think with or they're not able to understand with and so the understanding from that according to the Muslims is that the center of the intellect the center of human consciousness is the heart and not the brain itself and
   
   It's only recently that human beings have realized that there are over 40,000 neurons in the heart, in other words there are actually cells in the heart that are communicating.^[11] There's now understood to be a two-way communication between the brain and the heart, in other words the brain sends the heart messages but the heart is also sending the brain messages and these things are only recently being discovered.
   
   Section 5.
   
   There was a study done by two physiologists in the 70s John and Beatrice Lacy that found that the brain actually sent messages to the heart but the heart did not automatically obey the messages sometimes it speeded up and other times it slowed down, indicating that the heart itself has its own type of intelligence.
   
   (Now) the brain - that signals from the heart that reach the amygdala, the thalamus and the cortex which relates to emotions the cortex or neocortex relates to learning and reasoning and these are only recently discovered we don't fully understand them but what we do know is that the heart is an extremely sophisticated organ and it's also according to the hadith (that) it's (the heart which is) a source of knowledge.
   
   Section 6.
   
   The Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wa sallam (may Allah's blessings & peace be upon him) said that wrong action is what irritates the heart and you do not desire other people to see it, so the heart actually knows wrong action and this is one of the reasons why people can do terrible things but ultimately they're affected,
   
   If you look for instance in Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, what the brilliant Russian author was indicating in that story was that the crime itself is the punishment because human beings have to live with the results of their actions and that the soul/ when somebody does a crime/ when somebody does something that is against the heart/ is against the soul then that actually affects the human being to the degree that they will go into a state of spiritual agitation and
   
   they will use many many ways to cover this up, this is what Kufr is - it's a covering up they will use alcohol, they will use drugs, they will use sexual experiment, they will use all seeking power, seeking wealth, seeking fame, all of these ways to try to to basically to go into a state of heedlessness, into a state of submersion into the world, that makes us (or them) forget our (their) essential nature, that makes us forget our hearts and so people become very cut off from their hearts .
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4. See:
   Reverential fear of Allah, or the awe of God - taqwa (livingislam.org)
   "Taqwa's meaning is fear (of falling into the displeasure of Allah), clinging to obedience to Allah and abandoning disobedience to Him. It is the sum of all good."
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5. Purifying the heart through remembrance of God (dhikr), repentance (tawba), and seeking knowledge.
   
   ”The root of most of the world’s problems is diseased hearts. Hearts which do not know Allah, hearts which are full of arrogance, greed and selfishness. Hearts which have become corrupted by sins and no longer taste the sweetness of īmān. Hearts torn apart by pride, envy and hatred, resulting in fractured communities.”
   The Purification of The Soul
   
   { قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّىٰهَا ، وَقَدْ خَابَ مَن دَسَّىٰهَا }
   
   {Successful indeed is the one who purifies their soul, and doomed is the one who corrupts it!}
   91-9/10
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6. The often repeated, important quranic demand to reflect, to think and understand
   
   {a fala tatafakkaruun} {Are you then not reflecting and contemplating over them meaning of the Quranic message? }
   Or
   {Verily, We have explained (Our) signs/ verses in detail for a people who would understand.}
   6-98
   □ comment: They would understand if they would care, if they knew what is at stake (the Other Life).
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7. The AI (AI4) answer was edited and detailed.
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8. Comment/ Tafsir to verse 26-88/89
   The gist of the verse, according to this interpretation would be that wealth and children will not be helpful to anyone, neither to a believer nor to a disbeliever; what will be helpful, instead of wealth and children, is one's sound heart, i.e. the true faith and righteous deeds.
   
   The second interpretation, adopted by the majority, is that it is a normal exception which means that wealth and children may be helpful to the one who will come to Allah with sound heart, i.e. with faith and righteous deeds, but these things will not be of any use to a disbeliever.
   
   Another point worth noting in this verse is that while referring to 'children' the Holy Qur'an has used the word بَنُون (banun) which is literally restricted to the male children. Probably the reason is that it is the male children from whom an effective help is expected in adverse situations. The expectation of help from female children in some calamities is very rare even in this world. Therefore, the male children are specifically mentioned in the context of the Hereafter to indicate that even those who were expected to help in the world will not be of any use there.
   
   It may also be noted that "sound heart" literally means a healthy heart. But according to Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas here it means that heart of a believer that testifies the Oneness of Allah and is pure from shirk. The same interpretation is reported from Mujahid, Hasan al-Basri and Said ibn al-Musayyab رحمۃ اللہ علیہم with different expressions. Said ibn al-Musayyab (رح) says that the sound heart is only that of a believer because the heart of a disbeliever is sick. The Holy Qur'an says, فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَ‌ضٌ (In their heart there is a malady or disease (2:10).
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9. Islamic Concepts & Definitions (livingislam.org)
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10. References:
    
    a.
    How the Heart Starts Beating | Harvard Medical School
    
    “We wanted to answer a basic question: How do heart cells go from silent to beating?” Megason explained. “When your heart starts it is a once-in-a-lifetime event, but it’s not obvious how that happens.”…
    To their surprise, they discovered that all the heart cells abruptly transitioned from not beating to beating — characterized by simultaneous spikes in calcium and electrical signals — and immediately began beating in sync.
    
    b.
    Anatomy of the Human Heart - Physiopedia
    
    The heart itself has a natural pacemaker, the sinoatrial node, which does not need a nervous supply to function. If you sever all the nerves to the heart, then it will continue to beat. In fact, it will beat faster than normal, since there is normally a parasympathetic supply slowing the heart down.
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11. References:
    
    a.
    Clinical potential of sensory neurites in the heart and their role in decision-making
    
    It has been found that the heart comprises an intrinsic neural system that contributes not only to the decision-making process but also the short-term and long-term memory. There are approximately 40,000 cells present in the heart known as sensory neurites which play a vital role in memory transfer. The heart is quite a mysterious organ, which functions as a blood-pumping machine and an endocrine gland, as well as possesses a nervous system. There are multiple factors that affect this heart ecosystem, and they directly affect our decision-making capabilities.
    
    b.
    The heart has its own ‘brain’ | Karolinska Institutet
    
    New research from Karolinska Institutet and Columbia University shows that the heart has a mini-brain – its own nervous system that controls the heartbeat. (This points to a) much more diverse and complex (system) than previously thought.
    
    The heart has long been thought to be controlled solely by the autonomic nervous system, which transmits signals from the brain. The heart’s neural network, which is embedded in the superficial layers of the heart wall, has been considered a simple structure that relays the signals from the brain. However, recent research suggests that it has a more advanced function than that.
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