The Heart as it Relates to Knowledge (3/3)

The intent of all of these acts of obedience and actions of the members is the purification, improvement, and enlightenment of the heart. “Prosperous is he who purifies it...” (Surah Ash-Shams, 91:9). Purpose of improvement is to achieve the illumination of faith in it; I mean the shining of the light of knowledge [of God]. That is the point in the statement of the Exalted, “Whomsoever God wants to guide, He expands his breast to [accept] Islam.” (Surah Al-An’am, 6:125); and in His statement, “So is one whose breast God has expanded to [accept] Islam, and he is upon light from his Lord [like one whose heart rejects it].” (Surah Az-Zumar, 39:22).

This illumination and this faith have indeed three degrees. The first degree is the faith of the rank and file, which is purely blind imitation (taqlid).[1]

The second is the faith of the theologians (mutakallimin), which is mingled with a sort of logical reasoning but its degree is nearly the same as that of the faith of the rank and file. The third degree is the faith of the mystics (arifun), which is seeing [clearly] with the light of certainty.[2]

We will make clear to you these degrees, with an example, your acceptance that Zayd, for instance, is in the house. This has three degrees.

The first is that someone has told you, someone whom you have experienced to be truthful, and never known to lie and never doubted his word.

Your heart, by the mere hearing, calmly receives his report and is satisfied with it. This is belief by mere blind acceptance, and of such nature is the faith of the rank and file.

For when they reached the age of discrimination they heard from their fathers and mothers of the existence of God, the Exalted, of His knowledge, will, and power, and the rest of His attributes; also of the sending of the messengers and their veracity, and their message.[3]

They received even as they heard and became established therein and satisfied therewith; and it never occurred to their minds to disagree with what their fathers and mothers and teachers told them because of the high esteem in which they held them.

This faith is the efficient cause of salvation in the world to come, and those who embrace it are in the first [i.e., lowest] ranks of the people of the right hand:[4] but not among those who are drawn near [to God]. For this [faith] has in it no mystical unveiling, nor insight, nor enlargement of the breast by the light of certainty, since it is possible for there to be an error in what is heard from individuals, nay, indeed, from groups, in that which pertains to creed.

The hearts of Jews and Christians are also satisfied with what they hear from their fathers and mothers, only their belief is a mistaken one because an error has been passed on to them.

Muslims believe the truth, not because they have studied it, but because the word of truth has been passed on to them.

The second degree of belief is that you hear the words and voice of Zayd from within the house, but from behind a wall, and you deduce from this the fact of his being in the house. Then your belief, your acceptance as true, and your certainty that he is in the house are stronger than your belief through hearsay alone. For if you are told, "He is in the house," and then hear his voice, you become more certain of it, for the voice indicates shape and form to him who hears it, on condition of seeing the form.

So his heart judges this to be the voice of that person. This is belief mingled with proof. It is also possible for error to follow because one voice might resemble another. Also pretense is possible by means of imitating the voice. This might not occur to the mind of the hearer, for he had no thought of any such accusation, or that anyone had a purpose in such deception and imitation.

The third degree of belief is to enter the house and look at him with your own eyes and see him. This is real experiential knowledge and sure observation. It is like the knowledge of those who are drawn near [to God] and of the veracious (siddiqun), for their belief is based on eyewitness [account].

This belief includes that of the rank and file and that of the theologians; and they have this very evident additional advantage that the possibility of error is taken away. It is true that believers of this class differ in rank according to their attainments in knowledge, and the degrees of unveiling.

An example of the difference in degrees of knowledge is that one man sees Zayd in the house when he is near at hand in the courtyard and while the sun is shining, and so he sees him perfectly; while another sees him in a room, or at a distance, or in the evening, so that his form is sufficiently plain that he can be sure that it is he, but the minute details and hidden features of his form are not made clear to him.

The variance in degree in seeing divine things is of this sort. Regarding the difference in the attainments of knowledge, it is as though one sees Zayd, 'Amr, Bakr, and others in the house, while another sees Zayd only.

The knowledge of the former is unquestionably greater than that of the latter because of the abundance of things known.

This is the state of the heart in relation to knowledge, and God, the Exalted knows best that which is right.