Course Name/Code: Islamic Psychology 101 / PSY 101

Attempt# 1

Assignment Question:
“And We have certainly created for Hell many of the jinn and mankind.
They have hearts with which they do not understand, they have eyes with
which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear.
Those are like livestock; rather, they are more astray. It is they who are the
heedless.” al-A’raaf (7):179.
With reference to the above mentioned verse, discuss the types of hearts.
Support your answer with evidences from Quran and Hadith.
The English word heart, or qalb in Arabic, refers to both the anatomic heart that pumps blood
and the ethereal heart that controls one’s spiritual state.
The literal meaning of the word qalb means “to turn” which denotes the concept of change to
different states, transformation and fluctuation. The Quran also uses other terms to refer to
the heart like fu’aad and sadr. It is important in Islam as the state of one’s heart directs the
emotions and actions in one’s life. The heart is the central control of the human body, and it
is where motivation and energy come from. The mind, on the other hand, is one with the help
of which one rationalise, analyse and create logical reasons and even understandings of the
world around. However, the heart is what pushes one to do the things, and it’s where one
feels the emotions that motivate or demotivate. In Sahih al-Bukhari book 2, hadith 45
Allah’s messenger (pbuh) said:

“There is a piece of flesh in the body if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body
becomes good but if it gets spoilt the whole body gets spoilt and that is the heart.”

One of the attributes of the heart is “realization of truth” which include comprehension and
understanding. If the heart is unable to understand, it means that it is damaged and unsound.
According to surah Al-A’raaf verse 179, among men and jinn those who do not use their
hearts for thinking, reflecting and understanding will be fuel for hell.

“And certainly, we have created for hell many of the jinn and the men; they Have hearts
with which they do not understand.” (Quran 7:179)
Types of Heart

Allah Almighty discussed different types of hearts in surah Al-Baqarah verse 74,
“Then, after that, your hearts were hardened and became as stones or even worse in
hardness. And indeed, there are stones out of which rivers gush forth, and indeed, there
are of them (stones) which split asunder so that water flows from them, and indeed, there
are of them (stones) which fall down for fear of Allah. And Allah is not unaware of what
you do”.
(Quran 2:74)
In this verse Allah, the Most Wise resemble the state of ‘the Heart’ with different forms of
Rocks. Allah demonstrates that the Heart comes in different forms, just like stones do.
 The heart which gushes forth with mercy and compassion.
  The heart which is hard but has some mercy and compassion (split asunder),
 The heart which falls into submission and prostration from the fear and reverence
that it has for Allah the Almighty
  Lastly, the Hard Heart which is devoid of all mercy and compassion.

In the above four types of hearts, the first three have some elements of mercy and compassion
and are the hearts of believers with varying degrees of Iman. However, the fourth heart is sick
heart completely devoid of any mercy and compassion and is the heart of disbeliever,
completely dark and hardened heart. It is the type that commits crimes and is merciless.

Another verse about the types of heart, is from Al-Jathiyah which communicates

 
“Have you seen him who takes his own lust (vain desires) as his ilah, and Allah knowing
(him as such), left him astray, and sealed his hearing and his heart, and put a cover on his
sight. Who then will guide him after Allah? Will you not then remember?”
(Quran 45:23)
In this verse, Allah says that a sick and hard heart is the one which is controlled by vain
desires and is lost. And Allah almighty seals such heart making it not receptive to the truth.
So, one with sealed hearing, covered sight could hear and see with ears and eyes, but be deaf
and blind spiritually.
In contrary to “Hard heart” another type of heart mentioned in Quran is “Qalb-e-Saleem”
which is translated as “sound heart”.
 Allah says in the Quran Surah Shu’ara, 
“The day when wealth and children will not benefit anyone except he who will come to
Allah with a Qalb-e-Saleem.” 
(Quran 26: 88-89).

In the opinion of Abdullah bin Abbas, Mujaahid, Qataadah, Ibn Sireen and many others (R.A),
Qalb-e-Saleem is a heart that is absolutely free from Kufr (disbelief) and Nifaaq (hypocrisy).
It is the pure heart which leads to total obedience to Allah and his messenger (pbuh). Our
beloved prophet Muhammad (pbuh) used to say this Du’aa
“O Allah! I ask you for a Qalb-e-Saleem.” (Tirmidhi)

Ibn Sirin said,

“The clean heart  knows  that Allah is true, that the Hour will undoubtedly come and that
Allah will resurrect those who are in the graves.” (Ruh-ul-Ma’aani, Ibn Katheer)
According to the Salaf
“The heart is the king of the limbs and the rest of the limbs are its soldiers; they always
obey him by implementing his instructions and they never disobey him in any regard.
(Remember) when the king is pious, his soldiers will also be pious. Similarly, when the
king is sinful, his soldiers will also be sinful.” (Jaami-ul-Uloom wal-Hikam by Ibn Rajab
Hanbali)

References
 AL QURAN, Al-Baqarah verse 74, Al-Jathiyah verse 23, Surah Shu’ara, verses 88-89,
Al-A’raaf verse 179.
 Sahih al-Bukhari book 2, hadith 45
 Quranic. (2022, November 9). 5 Verses About the Heart in The Quran That Will Melt

Your Heart https://www.getquranic.com/5-verses-about-the-heart-in-the-quran/

 Zahra Tahmasebi. (2015). The concept of heart in Quran. Journal of Applied

Environmental and Biological Sciences, 5(10S), 386-391.