The Marvelous States of the Heart
Volume 3: Things That Destroy
Human honor and superiority over other beings stems from the capacity to comprehend divine truths and know God (mârifet). The center of this capacity is not a piece of flesh that is a physical organ, but the heart—a "lordly and spiritual faculty" (lâtife). The source text compares the heart to a ruler and the body to the country he governs. The heart is a continuous battlefield between the inspirations of angels and the whisperings of Satan. Human felicity depends on purifying the heart from bestial and satanic qualities and fortifying it with the armies of reason and piety (takwā). Spiritual development is possible not only through acquiring external knowledge, but also through purifying the heart (tasfiya) and opening it to divine light.
Summary
Human honor and superiority over other beings stems from the capacity to comprehend divine truths and know God (mârifet).
Sections
A. Conceptual Terminology: Four Fundamental Faculties
The document defines the four terms that form the foundation of spiritual psychology, each with two levels of meaning:
| Concept | Material/Lower Meaning | Spiritual/Exalted Meaning | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Heart | The cone-shaped piece of flesh found on the left side of the chest. | The essence of human reality—the spiritual faculty that perceives, knows, and is held accountable. | | Spirit | The subtle vapor/body that issues from the heart and spreads through the body (the subject of medicine). | The perceiving and knowing faculty in the human being (originating from the divine command). | | Soul | The force that gathers the powers of lust and anger, commanding evil. | The human reality; when obedient it is called mutmainna, when erring lawwāma. | | Intellect | The attribute of knowing the reality of things (knowledge). | The heart itself as the locus of the sciences (the perceiving essence). |
B. The Heart's Armies and Mode of Governance
The heart is like a sovereign and has two kinds of armies: 1. Outward Armies: Physical limbs such as the hand, foot, and eye. These are bound to the heart with complete obedience. 2. Inward Armies:
- Driving/Encouraging Forces: Lust (drawing toward what is beneficial) and Anger (repelling what is harmful).
- Perceiving Forces: The five outward senses and the five inward senses (imagination, memory, reflection, recollection, common sense).
- Motivating Force: Power (qudra).
Governance Model: In the ideal human being, Reason is the "vizier," Anger the "security chief," and Lust the "servant who brings provisions." If the servant (lust) or the security chief (anger) escapes the vizier's (reason's) control, the country (body) is plunged into chaos.
C. Four Fundamental Qualities in the Heart
Four different natures' qualities are gathered in the human heart:
- Predatory Qualities: Enmity, hatred, and a tendency to attack people.
- Bestial Qualities: Gluttony, lustfulness, and greed.
- Satanic Qualities: Deceit, trickery, and presenting evil as good.
- Lordly Qualities: The desire to rule, to establish superiority, and love of knowledge.
D. Paths to Knowledge: Inference and Inspiration
The heart's process of reaching knowledge divides into two main channels:
- People of Inference (Scholars): They gather knowledge from the external world through learning and proofs (via the gate of the five senses).
- People of Sufism (Saints): By purifying the heart, they receive knowledge directly through the inward gate opening onto the realm of dominion (malakūt)—by way of "inspiration" and "unveiling." If we compare the heart to a pool: letting water flow in from outside (learning) is one path; drawing water up from the bottom of the pool (inspiration) is the other.
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Satan's Gateways into the Heart and Defensive Mechanisms
The source text details the weaknesses (gateways) Satan uses to enter the heart as follows:
1. Anger and Lust: They disable reason. In moments of anger, Satan circulates in a person's blood. 2. Envy and Greed: They blind and deafen a person; they make forbidden things appear beautiful. 3. Eating to Fullness (Satiety): It strengthens lust, makes worship burdensome, and hardens the heart. 4. Attachment to Worldly Ornaments: Seeking comfort in house, clothing, and possessions plunges a person into an endless cycle. 5. Covetousness and Stinginess: They drive a person toward flattery, ostentation, and failure to fulfill rights. 6. Haste: It prevents thorough verification of matters and allows Satan to inject his evil into the heart. 7. Fear of Poverty: It withholds one from spending in charity and gives rise to evil suspicion. 8. Bigotry and Resentment: Belittling others on the basis of school or opinion is the outward expression of a hidden predatory quality.
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Key concepts
- Concept
- First Meaning (Corporeal/Outward)
- Heart
- The cone-shaped piece of flesh found on the left side of the chest. It is also found in animals and the dead.
- Spirit
- A subtle vapor arising from the cavity of the heart and spreading through the body via the veins (the physicians' definition).
- Soul
- The center in the human being that gathers the forces of lust and anger—the source of evil qualities.
- Intellect
- The attribute of knowing the reality of things. A type of knowledge whose center is the heart.
Study questions
Why has the heart been compared to a mirror?
Because the heart has the capacity to reflect the forms of things and divine truths. If the mirror is cleansed (tasfiya), truth shines there brilliantly.
What is the way to narrow Satan's paths?
Breaking lusts, eating little (hunger), and persisting in the remembrance of God.
What does "Nafs-i Emmâre" mean?
It is the stage of the soul that obeys the desire of lusts and Satan's call, vehemently commanding evil.
What is "Ledünnî Knowledge"?
It is knowledge based on a secret opened in the heart through a direct divine grace, without external learning or intermediary cause.
What is the task of Satan's assistant named "Hanzeb"?
To intrude between a person's prayer and recitation, disrupting the tranquility of worship and casting whisperings.