There are certain ignorant philosophers in this day and age, who attribute all positive advancement to the brain. However, such people do not realise that the brain only possesses the ability to weigh arguments and evidence. Although it is the brain that possesses the faculty of reflection and retention, the heart possesses a quality which moves it to the position of a chief. The mind follows a forced, mechanical process, while the heart is free of this and functions in an unforced, natural way. It is for this reason that the heart holds an affinity with the Lord of the Throne, and is able to determine the truth merely through its faculty of sense,
without any evidence or proof. This is why it is narrated in a Hadith:
استفت قلبك
Meaning, seek a verdict from your heart. One has not been instructed to seek a verdict from one’s brain. It is the heart with which the line of divinity is linked. No one ought to view this as improbable. This concept is deep and difficult indeed, but those who are experienced in purifying the soul know that all good values inherently exist within the heart. If the heart had not possessed these powers, the very being of man itself would be without purpose. Sufis who remain engaged in mystic practices and those who undertake spiritual exercises know well that the heart can be seen to visibly emit columns of light, which flow towards the sky in the form of a straight line. This is a clearly visible and categorically established phenomenon. I cannot explain this with any specific examples, but indeed, those who have had to engage in exercises in spirituality, or who have sought to traverse the stages of the spiritual quest, have found this spectacle and experience to be true.
It is as though a thin line exists between the heart and the throne of God, and the heart experiences a pleasure in whatever command it receives from the Lord’s throne. The heart is not in need of external evidence or proofs; in fact, it receives revelation from God and is enlightened by God from within, whereafter it gives a verdict. It is a fact, however, that until a heart becomes a heart in the true sense, it may be aptly described by the following verse:
لَوۡ كُنَّا نَسۡمَعُ اَوۡ نَعۡقِلُ مَا كُنَّا فِـی اَصۡحٰبِ السَّعِيۡرِ
If we had but listened or possessed sense, we should not have been among the inmates of the blazing Fire.
To further explain, man experiences a time when both the heart and mind do not possess any faculties or powers at all. Then a time comes when the brain begins to grow and develop. Then a stage arrives when the faculties and powers of the heart are developed, after which the heart becomes enlightened, ignited and il- luminated. When the heart arrives at this point, a human being reaches the stage of spiritual maturity, and the brain becomes subservient to the heart, and the faculties of the mind no longer control the qualities and faculties of the heart.
It should also be remembered that these various states of the mind are not specific to believers alone. Hindus and people from among the scheduled classes all make use of the brain. Moreover, those who are engaged in worldly affairs and business, all make use of their brains. The mental faculties of such people have grown and developed fully, and it is through these faculties that they come up with new and innovative ideas to further their business. Look at Europe and the New World, and you will see how its people make use of their mental faculties, and the pace at which they invent new technologies. The work of the heart begins when a person becomes devoted to God. At such a time, all the inner faculties and authorities of man cease to exist and the rule of the heart gains a power and strength. It is then that a human being may be deemed complete. It is this very state in which a human being becomes an embodiment of the verse:
نَفَخۡتُ فِيۡهِ مِنۡ رُّوۡحِيۡ
I have breathed into him of My Spirit.
It is in this very state that even the angels prostrate before such a person. At this time, the individual in question becomes a new person altogether, and their soul becomes fully absorbed in pleasure and joy. It must also be remembered that this pleasure cannot be likened to the pleasure that an impulsive evil-doer feels in fornication, or to the enjoyment that an admirer of good voices experiences on hearing a melodious person sing—not in the least; one must not be deceived. The soul experiences pleasure when a human being melts and begins to flow towards God in the likeness of water, due to fear and awe of Him. At this stage, the person in question becomes the ‘Word of God’ and the following verse begins to show its effects in them:
اِنَّمَآ اَمۡرُہُٓ اِذَآاَرَادَ شَيۡئًا اَنۡ يَّقُوۡلَ لَهٗ كُنۡ فَيَكُوۡنُ
Verily His command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, ‘Be!,’ and it is.