(fuʾād; human subtlety; maqām al-qalb/maqām al-dhāt; maqāmāt al-sirr; ṣadr; tarahhud al-qalb)
My brother! Task your qalb (the heart) with matters of the Hereafter and expand it in this regard. Prevent it from recalling the causes of the dunyā (the world), and from inclining toward worldly greed and desires. Do not allow your qalb to occupy itself with things that will distract it from the goal you seek, for this extinguishes the light of the qalb. Be eager for your qalb to become familiar with a praiseworthy end (Paradise). Remind yourself that you must show shukr (gratitude) for the blessings of the dunyā in your possession, but also reflect on how little shukr you actually offer, and thus instill fear of punishment in your nafs (the lower self). Recognize your weakness in shukr and consider the blessings you have as abundant, so that your nafs does not become preoccupied with desiring more of the dunyā. (Ādāb, 65)
The term qalb is a comprehensive name that encompasses all the faculties within. There are many loci in the inner realm; some are external to the qalb, some internal. The name qalb is likened to the term ‘ayn (eye): the eye is a name for the white, the black, the pupil, and the light of the pupil between the two eyelids. Each of these has its own function and meaning distinct from the others, yet they assist each other and their benefits are interconnected. The external is the foundation for what comes from within. The quality of the light depends on the quality of these components. (Bayān, 33)
Just as the white of the eye is to the eye, so is the maqām (station) of the ṣadr (chest) to the qalb. Likewise, the courtyard is to the house, the environs of Mecca to Mecca itself, water to the lamp, and the outer shell to the almond when the tree dries. The ṣadr is the place where, just as blemishes like pimples or eye inflammation affect the whiteness of the eye, so too do waswasa (whispers) and afflictions enter. (Bayān, 35)
The ṣadr is something included in the chest, which can be sensed at times, even if only slightly. It is the place where enmities, shahwa (passions), desires, and needs enter; sometimes it constricts, sometimes it expands. It is the domain of the commanding nafs (nafs al-ammāra). It has an entrance that bears the burdens of things and, boasting, displays its own power. It is the abode of the light of Islam, the place for learning and hearing the rulings and reports, and the first path to attainment. (Bayān, 35)
The qalb is the second station within the ṣadr (chest), just as the black part of the eye is within the white. The qalb is the source of the light of iman (faith), khushūʿ (humility), taqwa (God-consciousness), maḥabba (love), riḍā (contentment with God's decree), yaqīn (certainty), khawf (fear), rajāʾ (hope), sabr (patient endurance), and qanāʿa (contentment). It is the mine of true knowledge. The qalb is like the source of water, and the ṣadr is like a pool; knowledge flows from the qalb to the ṣadr, just as water flows from a spring to a pool. Yaqīn, knowledge, and intention arise in the qalb and flow to the ṣadr. In this ḥāl (spiritual state), the qalb is the root, the ṣadr its branch. The branch derives strength from the root. As the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "..." (Bukhārī, Kitāb II, bāb 41) (Bayān, 36)
The qalb is not in the hand of the nafs, nor is it a mercy from Allah. For the ruler is the qalb, not the nafs. The qalb is like a lamp; its soundness is known by its light. The light is the light of taqwa and yaqīn. When there is no light, the qalb becomes like a lamp whose light has gone out.
Any deed that comes from the nafs and not the qalb is not valid in the judgment of the Hereafter. As Allah the Exalted says in the verse: ... the one who is {mute} is not held responsible, nor does obedience earn reward. (Bayān, 37)
Just as the pupil is to the blackness of the eye, the Sacred Mosque is to Mecca, the bedroom and closet are to the house, the wick is to the lamp, and the kernel is to the almond, so is the fuʾād to the qalb. The fuʾād is the locus of maʿrifa (gnosis), khawāṭir (inspirations), and ruʾya (vision). Whenever a person benefits (from material or spiritual knowledge or realization), it is first the fuʾād, then the qalb, that receives benefit. Just as the pearl is within the shell and the qalb within the ṣadr, so is the fuʾād within the qalb. (Bayān, 38)
Know that the fuʾād is the locus of seeing, it perceives; the qalb knows. (Bayān, 38)
Regarding haqq (truth) ...
... expands for it. For bāṭil (falsehood) ... expands for it. Consider the verse in which Allah mentions His Messenger: (al-Inshirāḥ 94:1) (Bayān, 42)
The depths of the seas of the qalb are infinite. The number of its rivers is unknown. The wise are like divers in the seas of the qalb, and like water-carriers and fishermen in its rivers. Each person finds and extracts from it as much as Allah provides. Some discover the essence of knowledge about the defects of the dunyā, its rapid changes, its great deceptiveness, its lack of stability, and its fleeting nature, as well as the various whisperings and deceptions of Shayṭān. (Bayān, 50)
The ṣadr is the place where the science of expression (ʿibāra) is opened. The qalb is the mine of the knowledge beneath ʿibāra. That knowledge is the science of ḥikma (wisdom) and ishāra (allusion). The science of ʿibāra is Allah’s proof against His creation: He says to them, "What did you do with what you knew?" The science of ishāra is the servant’s proof before Allah, for by it he is guided (hudā) and witnesses the unseen, so that if the veil were lifted, he would see everything with his own eyes as if nothing would increase in his faith. Allah grants the servant the unveiling (kashf) of his qalb due to his witnessing of the unseen and what lies behind the veils, as if he sees it all. Thus, the qalb is the locus of the science of ishāra. (Bayān, 58)
The qalb and fuʾād are referred to with the word baṣar (sight), for they are the two loci of baṣar. Allah the Exalted says: "Allah alternates the night and the day. Indeed in that is a lesson for those who have baṣīra (insight)." Take heed, O people of intellect! (Bayān, 64)
The difference between the qalb and the ṣadr is this: the light of the ṣadr has an end, but the light of the qalb, even after the servant dies, has no end, limit, or interruption. If the servant dies with iman, its light does not leave him in the grave or on the Day of Resurrection (qiyāma), but remains with him always.
The stations of the sirr (secret) are like the ṣadr and qalb. It is the tongue, but its reality is to indicate the lights. Allah created it from the treasures of His own light. (Bayān, 65)
The qalb is called so because of its rapid changes. (Bayān, 66)
The name fuʾād is more subtle in meaning than qalb. Both are close in meaning, like the names al-Raḥmān and al-Raḥīm. The protector of the qalb is al-Raḥmān, for the qalb is the source of iman. The believer relies on al-Raḥmān with sound iman. (Bayān, 69)
The stations of the sirr are, like the ṣadr and qalb, of the tongue. Its reality is only to indicate the lights. Allah created it from the treasures of His own light. (Bayān, 94)
The word qalb is used in two senses. The first is a particular piece of flesh, pine-cone shaped, with cavities, located on the left side of the chest. Within it is black blood, the source and mine of the ruh (spirit). Since this is a matter for physicians and not connected to any religious purpose, we do not intend to describe its form and quality. This qalb is found in animals and even in the dead. In this book, when we use the word qalb, we do not mean the organ, for it is a piece of flesh belonging to the realm of mulk (dominion) and shahāda (the visible world), and thus even animals can see it with their eyes.
The second is a divine, spiritual subtlety connected to the physical qalb. This subtlety is the reality of the human being. It is this qalb that perceives, knows, and recognizes, that is addressed, held accountable, and deserving of reward or punishment. This subtlety is related to the physical qalb, but most creatures are perplexed as to the nature of this connection. It is like the relationship of an accident to a substance, an attribute to what it describes, the user to the tool, or a substance occupying a place to the place itself.
For two reasons, we refrain from explaining this further. First, it pertains to the sciences of unveiling (mukāshafa). Second, its investigation would require disclosing the secret of the ruh, which even the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not discuss; it is not fitting for anyone else to do so. In this book, when we use the word qalb, we mean this subtlety. Our aim is not to discuss its essence, but its attributes and states. The science of muʿāmala (practical engagement) requires understanding its attributes and states, not its essence. (Iḥyāʾ, II, 4)
The soldiers of the qalb are threefold: The first group directs and encourages either the attraction of what is beneficial and suitable, like shahwa (desire), or the repulsion of what is harmful and contrary, like anger (ghaḍab). This director is called irāda (will).
The second group moves the organs toward this purpose. This is called qudra (power). These soldiers are distributed among the organs, especially the muscles and tendons.
The third group are those who, like spies, perceive and recognize things. These are the senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. They are distributed among specific organs. This is called knowledge and perception.
In addition to all these inner (bāṭin) soldiers, there are also outer (ẓāhir) soldiers. These are the fat, flesh, veins, blood, and bones that provide tools for these soldiers. Grasping is only possible with fingers, seeing only with the eyes, and so on for the other organs. (Iḥyāʾ, III, 7)
By nafs I mean the perfect, unique substance whose function is only remembrance (tadhakkur), reflection (tafakkur), discernment (tamyīz), and contemplation. The nafs accepts all knowledge and does not refrain from accepting abstract (mujarrad) forms. This substance is the chief of the spirits and the head of the faculties. All serve it and obey its command.
The rational soul (nafs al-nāṭiqa)—this is the substance I mean—has a specific name in every discipline. The philosophers call it nafs al-nāṭiqa. The Qur'an calls it nafs al-muṭmaʾinna and rūḥ al-amīn. The Sufis call it qalb. The difference is in names, not in meaning.
According to us, the terms qalb, ruh, and nafs al-muṭmaʾinna are all names for the nafs al-nāṭiqa. The nafs al-nāṭiqa is a living, active, and perceiving substance. When we use the term ruh or qalb in an absolute sense, we mean this substance. The Sufis call the animal spirit nafs. This is also how it appears in the sharia. As it is said: "Your greatest enemy is your nafs." (ʿAjlūnī, I, 143) The Lawgiver used the word nafs, emphasized it by attribution, and said, "...the nafs between your two sides..." By this word, he indicated the faculties of desire and anger, for these faculties originate from the qalb within the human being. (Risāla, 7)
The First Intellect, the Tablet, and the Pen are unique substances distant from matter. They cannot be perceived by the senses, but only by the intellect; they are abstract lights. In our usage, ruh and qalb are of this kind of substance. They do not decay, perish, or die, but are separated from the body, and, as stated in the sharia, await return to the body on the Day of Resurrection (qiyāma). (Risāla, 9)
The people of the tariqa (Sufis) rely more on the ruh and qalb than on the person. Since the ruh is a command from Allah the Exalted, it is like a stranger in the body. Its orientation is toward its origin and source. When it is strengthened without being tainted by the impurities of nature, it perceives more by its origin than by the person.
If you understand that the ruh is a unique substance and that the body requires a place, and that an accident subsists only with a substance, you should also know that a substance does not settle in a place or occupy a location. The body is not the place of the ruh, nor is the qalb its abode. Rather, the body is the instrument of the ruh, the means of the qalb, and the mount of the nafs. The essence of the ruh does not attach to the parts of the body, nor is it separated from them. Rather, the ruh turns toward the body, benefits it, and bestows grace upon it.
The first place where the light of the ruh is seen is the brain, for the brain is the special locus of the ruh’s manifestation. From the front of the brain comes the guard, from the middle the vizier and administrator, from the back the storekeeper and treasurer, from all its parts the infantry and cavalry soldiers, from the animal spirit the servant, from the natural spirit the deputy, from the body the mount, from the world the field, from life the goods and wealth, from movement the commerce, from knowledge the profit, from the Hereafter the goal and destination, from the sharia the path and method, from the commanding nafs the guard and watcher, from the blaming nafs the warner, from the senses the spy and helper, from the religion the armor, from the intellect the master, and from the sense organs the student. (Risāla, 10)
The nafs is the qalb recognized by the inner eye. Your reality is inward, for the body is the beginning, the qalb is the end. The nafs is the end, the qalb is the beginning, and is called qalb. The qalb is not the piece of flesh on the left side of the chest. The qalb as a piece of flesh exists in animals and the dead. Everything you see with the outward eye belongs to this world called the realm of shahāda (witnessing). The reality of the qalb, however, is not from this world, but from the unseen (ghayb). Thus, the qalb is a stranger in this world.
The qalb as a piece of flesh is composed of various things. All the organs of the body are soldiers of the qalb. The qalb is the ruler. The maʿrifa (gnosis) of Allah the Exalted and the witnessing of His beauty are attributes of the qalb. The obligation is placed upon it, and the address is directed to it.