Looking with the Head, Seeing with the Heart
Humans have two physical eyes to perceive the material world; however, to see the true realities, the secrets behind things, and divine wisdom, one needs the “eye of the heart” (basiret). Geylani (q.s.) reminds us of the verse from the Noble Quran: “Their eyes were not blind, but their hearts were blind” (Hajj, 46), stating that true blindness is spiritual blindness. A person who only looks at the world with their physical eyes sees wealth, property, status, and desires, and is deceived by them. But a believer whose heart’s eye opens clearly witnesses that the world is transient, the afterlife is eternal, and there is an absolute Creator behind everything.
Diseases That Cause Insight to Close
The sole cause of the heart’s eye closing, dimming, and darkening is persisting in sins and excessively loving the world. “If someone becomes captivated by the world, their heart darkens. The sense of accountability also dies. They no longer say what is forbidden or permissible, and they begin to accumulate wealth.” Consuming haram food, falling into hypocrisy (riyā’), lying, and expecting benefit from people are black veils drawn over the eye of insight. Just as a person whose eyes are blind cannot perceive dangers and may tumble into an abyss, a heart with closed basiret cannot see the traps of the nafs (ego) and Satan, and cheerfully walks towards eternal ruin.
The Prescription for the Opening of the Spiritual Eye
The healing and reopening of the heart’s eye comes through sincere repentance, lawful sustenance, and sincere worship. Geylani (q.s.) presents the prescription, saying: “For the eye of the heart to open, both the inner and outer eyes must have sound perception… The heart must be removed from created things and the natural desires and all the cravings of the nafs,” 20. Divine lights begin to flow into the inner world of a servant who draws all limbs away from prohibitions, abandons suspicious things, and binds his heart solely to the remembrance of Allah. Through that light, the heart comes alive, insight opens, and the servant then becomes an arif (gnostic), looking at everything with the light of God, reading His artistry and wisdom in every particle.