What is ‘Qalb’ in the Qur’an?

Question

I am having difficulty understanding the meaning of “qalb” (قلب). I am presenting a detailed account of my confusion, and I request that you study it and help me resolve this issue.

In Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 10, it is stated:

“There is a disease in their hearts, and Allah has increased their disease.”

We have translated the word “qalb” as “heart.” This word appears several times in the Qur’an. As you know, ancient philosophers and religious texts also mention the heart as the centre of emotions. However, according to modern psychology, this idea is entirely incorrect:

Ancient philosophers and popular belief consider the heart as the seat of emotions. In contrast, modern scientific research shows that the brain is the centre of motivations, inclinations, and emotions.

(Psychology for VCE, Valerie Clarke & Susan Gillet, 3/48)

Even something like love has now been identified as a function of a specific part of the brain through the measurement of blood flow in that part. For more details, see The Science of Love by Charles Pasternak.

Please tell me how should we define the word “qalb” in the Qur’an. If we accept the claim of the Sufis that the qalb is a subtle part of the human soul associated with many human characteristics, modern psychology deems this incorrect as well:

In the seventeenth century, the French philosopher René Descartes proposed the concept of dualism, suggesting that the mind (or soul) and the body are separate entities. The idea of the mind and body as distinct and independent entities seemed reasonable to philosophers who had little understanding of the complexities of the human body. However, during the nineteenth century, we began to better understand the brain’s functions, likely beginning with Broca’s discovery in 1860, identifying the part of the brain responsible for speech. The scientific discoveries of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have rejected the concept of dualism, favouring the idea of unity, which means that nothing is considered mental unless it has a physical basis.

(Psychology for VCE, Valerie Clarke & Susan Gillet, 3/48)

Answer

One answer to your question is that the term “qalb” in the Qur’an is used metaphorically. The Arabs attributed certain actions to the qalb. The Qur’an did not find it necessary to refute this notion and used the same words and expressions for some human characteristics that the Arabs used. In other words, the Qur’an does not advocate a duality between the brain and the qalb. Since the Qur’an’s primary concern is guidance, it did not aim to correct the Arabs’ understanding of psychology, astronomy, biology, or zoology. Therefore, it used the commonly understood word “qalb” to express its message so that the audience could understand it properly.

Another answer to your question is that science and psychology are limited to analyzing what is observable. If the actual human personality is something incorporeal and separate from the physical body, it is beyond the domain of science. Therefore, science is not in a position to make any judgments about it. The human brain is a material entity, and scientists have made remarkable discoveries by studying it. You are correct in noting that scientists, rejecting the mind-body dualism, consider the brain as the centre of all cognitive and psychological functions. We accept this limitation of science and find no problem in acknowledging their discoveries for now. The real question is whether the Qur’an also supports this notion of unity. The answer is not in the affirmative. When describing the event of death, the Qur’an states:

وَلَوْ تَرٰٓی اِذِ الظّٰلِمُوْنَ فِیْ غَمَرٰتِ الْمَوْتِ وَالْمَلآءِکَۃُ بَاسِطُوْٓا اَیْدِیْہِمْ اَخْرِجُوْٓا اَنْفُسَکُمْ اَلْیَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ عَذَابَ الْہُوْنِ بِمَا کُنْتُمْ تَقُوْلُوْنَ عَلَی اللّٰہِ غَیْرَ الْحَقِّ

And would that you had seen when these unjust people would be in the unconsciousness of death and angels with outstretched hands would be demanding from them: “Come, hand over your souls; today, you will be meted out a humiliating punishment because of this crime of yours that you would fabricate falsehood about God

(Qur’an 6:93)

This verse clearly indicates that death involves the separation of something from the body. To a scientist, death can be nothing more than the cessation of the body’s machinery due to some cause. However, the Qur’an’s use of the term “soul” (nafs) suggests that it is something distinct from the body. Obviously, like the body, it has its own functions and activities. It seems that it uses the body to perform its functions, which is why when it separates from the body, these functions also cease.

Modern experts only observe the body’s functioning and, due to their limitations, are compelled to consider it the entirety of human existence. We also acknowledge the authority of science, but in light of the clear statements of Allah, we tend to deny the conclusions of scientists.

Having accepted that the human personality consists of two parts, the next question is about the nature of their integration. Does the soul pervade the entire body, or does it use the body from one specific place? The Qur’an does not explicitly address this, but it does indicate where the “qalb” (heart) is located. In Surah Al-Ahzab, it states:

God has not placed two hearts in the chest of any person

(Qur’an 33:4)

Similarly, in Surah Al-Hajj, it says:

Then have these people not walked about in the earth that [after seeing these places that teach a lesson] their hearts could have become such that they could have understood from them and ears could have become such that they could have listened from them? So, the fact is that the eyes on the faces are not blind. In fact, those hearts become blind which are in the chests.

(Qur’an 22:46)

These verses suggest that the concept of the “qalb” being used metaphorically is not entirely accurate. They imply that the physical heart in the chest is indeed responsible for certain actions. The reason for this inclination is that if the brain were solely responsible for all functions and actions, the Qur’an would use the term “qalb” but would not include such explicit statements about it.

For example, when the Qur’an was being revealed, it was commonly believed that the earth was stationary and that the sun revolved around it. The Qur’an did not explicitly refute this notion. However, when it mentioned celestial bodies, it described them as moving in their orbits. The same should have been done in the case of the heart. If its practical reality was different, it would have been attributed to the brain.

These verses also answer the question of where the centre of this human capability lies. When the Qur’an says that the hearts that are in the chests become blind, it makes it clear that in reality, whatever decision a person takes, his capacity to accept the truth depends on the correct functioning of his heart. The difference between the brain’s function and the heart’s function is like the difference between the operation of a machine and the work of its operator. Production indeed takes place in the brain, according to the observation of the scientists, but the entity that brings it into existence is something else.

Translated by: Mushfiq Sultan

Answered by: Talib Mohsin

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