In Search of A Weeping Heart 3/5

'A'udhu billahi min al-Shaytan al-rajim, Bismillah, al-Rahman, al-Rahim. Al-hamdulillah Rabbi 'l-alameen, bari' al-khalaa'iqi ajma'een. Wa as-salat wa assalam 'ala asharaf al-anbiya'i wa'l-mursalin, sayyidina wa nabiyyina wa habibi qulubina wa tabibi nufusina wa shafi'i dhunubina Abil Qasim Muhammad. [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad]. Thumma as-salatu wa assalam 'ala aali baytihi at-tayyibeen at-tahareen al-madhlumeen. Wa la'anatullahi al a'da'ihim ajma'een min yawmi 'adaawatihim ila yawm id-deen. Amma ba'du, faqad qal Allahu tabaraka wa taa'la fi kitabih, A'udhu billahi min al-Shaytan al-rajim, "fal yadhhaku qaleelan wal yabku katheeran jaza'an bi ma kanu yaksibun"(9:82). Salawat 'ala Muhammad wa aali Muhammad. [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad].

This is our third discussion In Search of a Weeping Heart. We have been talking about the importance of weeping in Islam, and we said on the first night that weeping is an indicator of the inner state of a person's heart. And that Islam wants us to come to a point where the heart is soft, and that softness is reflected through weeping. But before we can talk about weeping and its significance and what softens the heart and what hardens the heart, we said it is important that we first understand the importance of the heart itself and its relationship to a human being's entire existence and its relationship to Allah, Subhana Wa Ta'ala.

So yesterday, we said there were three aspects of the heart that we want to talk about and inshaAllah tonight we want to talk about all three and come to a conclusion so that from tomorrow, inshaAllah, we can talk about what we had actually, what is the main part of this series, and that is what is it that softens the heart? What is it that hardens the heart? How do we purify the heart? And how do we bring ourselves to the stage where we have a weeping heart?

And we said there were three parts that we want to discuss. The first was, what is the relationship of the heart to the mind? The second was, what is the relationship between the physical heart and the spiritual heart? And the third was, what is the significance of the heart itself and how does it relate to the essence and to the identity of a human being?

Now, we did start talking about the relationship of the mind and the heart last night. And we saw, through examples, Islamically and scientifically, that as far as the Qur'an is concerned, the most important part of a human being is his or her heart. If you are speaking physically, then the most important organ in the body of a person is the heart. And if you speak spiritually as well, then the most important part of the human spiritual existence is the heart. And when a person truly understands something, they understand it with the heart. And when a person loses the ability to understand something, it is because the heart has lost the ability to understand.

For example, we said that the Qur'an says, why do they not reflect on the Qur'an? Are there locks on their hearts? Am 'ala qulubin aqfaluha (47:24). So when you look at the things that affect the heart and when you look at the adjectives that the Qur'an uses for the heart, in a negative sense, you will see words like blindness, hardness, rust, corruption, seal and so on and so forth. There is a seal on their heart, there is a disease in their hearts, their hearts have become blind and so on and so forth.

And it is for this reason that we see it in some ways it is pointless to have a debate with an atheist. Because when you are having a debate with an atheist and you are talking about the existence of God, the atheist's argument, there are two challenges. The first challenge is that the atheist does not believe in a world that does not, that cannot be comprehended by the limited five senses of the human being. The atheist might accept that scientifically the human eye or the human ears or the human sense of touch or smell is limited. But he or she denies the existence of anything that cannot be comprehended by these limited senses. Whereas a believer comes from the perspective of "alladheena yu'minoona bil ghayb" (2:3), that they believe in the unseen.

The other challenge that you will find with the atheist is that the atheist's argument will originate from the brain and the mind and not from the heart. The idea that any true form of understanding or realization is from the heart escapes the atheist. Because from the Qur'an's perspective, "Kalla bal raana 'ala qulubihim ma kanu yakseebun" (83:14), nay, it is because of the rust on their hearts, because of the things they have done in the past that they are now no longer able to comprehend.

So the Qur'an keeps saying, look to the heart, knowledge is in the heart, truth is in the heart, the mind is simply a tool that you use to help you carry your day to day mundane tasks and activities. But the moment the mind starts chattering or the moment the mind takes over one's being in existence, or the moment the mind abuses the heart and begins pretending it is the real you, then the heart is suppressed, even though it will always point to the truth where it is allowed. There comes a point of cause when the heart is no longer able to guide anymore, when the seal is complete and we shall talk about that, inshaAllah, tomorrow.

For now, we look at a few more verses of the Qur'an to see that how the Qur'an slowly when it talks about the heart, and this is one of the miracles of the Qur'an, and it slowly transitions to the next subject. We said the first subject was what was the relationship between the mind and the heart, and we have discussed quite a bit about it yesterday. The second part of this was what was the relationship between the physical heart and the spiritual heart?

Now, many a scientist and many a doctor who does not believe in a god, is now coming to this realization that perhaps there is more to the heart than we have taken it to be. Up until now, the perspective of science has been that the heart is merely a pump, it just pumps blood, but it is controlled by the brain. Now, there is a realization that perhaps in a healthy, balanced human being, it is not the brain that controls the heart, but the heart that controls the mind or the brain.

The miracle of the Qur'an is that for 1400 years, it has not only been saying that the truth lies with the heart, but it has also been hinting that there is some truth to do with the physical heart, that the physical heart is more than a pump. For example, Surat al-Hajj, chapter 22, verse 46. "Fa innaha la ta'mal absar. Wa lakin ta'mal qulub allatee fis-sudoor" (22:46), very, very explicit. It is not the eyes that become blind, but it is the hearts which are in the chests that become blind. You see, if the Qur'an had only said it is not the eyes that become blind, but it is the hearts that become blind, then we could have said maybe it is spiritual heart. And maybe it is spiritual heart, but then this spiritual heart has some sort of a connection to the physical heart because the Qur'an is very explicit, it is saying, "wa lakin ta'mal qulub" (22:46), it is the hearts that become blind. "Allatee fil-sudoor", which are in the chest.

And that is why you will see that some of the 'ulama, they also use the word chest, synonymously, with heart when they are interpreting the Qur'an. For example, many of verses of the Qur'an where Allah wants to say that He knows what is on your mind or what is in your hearts, He says, "innahu 'aleemun bi dhatil sudur" (67:13). He is aware of what is in your hearts, that is the common translation. But sudoor actually comes from sadr, which is chest. So "innahu 'aleemun bi dhatil sudoor"(67:13). Is He knows what is in your chests, what is on your mind. We translate it as what is on your mind, because scientifically that is how we are programmed to believe, that it is all in the mind.

Or, for example, "Ya'lamu kha'inatul 'a'yunee wa ma tukhfee as-sudur" (40:19), He knows the stealthy glances that you make, He knows when you are pretending not to look at something, but you are looking at it. You are walking on the street, there is something you shouldn't be looking at, you are pretending you are looking straight, but from the side of your eyes, you are looking. That is called khiyana of the eyes, treachery of the eyes. Allah says, "ya'lamu kha'inatu a'yunee", He knows when you are doing khiyana with your eyes, when you are being treacherous with your eyes, He knows it.

"Kha'inatul a'yunee wa ma tukhfee as-sudur" (40:19), and He knows what your chests conceal. So, again, He is referring to the hearts in reference to the chest, so we see again and again that there is a point here being made that perhaps the physical heart has some reality.

Another example, this is from Surah Yunus, chapter ten and verse 57, "ya ayuhal nas" - now, this verse is interesting because in the start it is addressing mankind, but in the end it is addressing believers. "Ya ayuhal nas, qad ja'akum maw'idhatun min Rabbikum" (10:57), oh mankind there has come to you an admonition from your Lord. "wa shifa'un li ma fil sudur" (10:57), and a healing for what is in your chests. "Wa hudan wa rahmatun lil mu'minin" (10:57), and a guide and a mercy for the believers. So Allah is talking about the Qur'an here. He is saying, oh mankind, by saying we have sent you the Qur'an, He is saying, oh mankind, there has come to you a maw'eedha, an admonition from your Lord. This is the Qur'an. And it is a healing for what is in your hearts. "Wa shifa'un li ma fi sudur." And if you accept this Qur'an and you allow it to heal your hearts, then you move on to the next level of being a believer.

Then the Qur'an not only heals and becomes an admonition for any human being, but now it becomes a guide and a mercy. "Wa hudan wa rahmatun lil mu'minin" (10:57). So the Qur'an cannot guide the person until they become believers. It is a bit of a chicken and egg thing. The Qur'an will only prove to be a mercy and will only prove to truly guide a person when there is some purity left in the heart to accept that message. If the heart is sealed, if the heart becomes so diseased that it has lost the capacity to take any guidance, then even the Qur'an cannot guide it. That is why even in Surat al-Baqarah, it says "Dhalikal-kitab la raiba fih"(2:2), that is the book, there is no doubt it, "hudan lil-muttaqeen", a guide for those who are pious.

So the Qur'an is again hinting at something very important here. Today when we look at the problems in the world, when we look at the suffering that mankind have, whether it is at an individual level, where we suffer from depression or unhappiness or sadness or anxiety or stress. Or whether we look at a problem on a global level, like poverty, for example, or oppression, for example, or terrorism, for example, and we try to find solutions for it. The world is trying to find the solution as a mental solution. They are trying to use the brain to find the problem. Whereas the Qur'an is saying the problem is not with your minds, the problem is with your hearts, that is where the problem is. We think we can fix things either with money or with intelligence of the mind, whereas Allah is saying unless you change people's hearts, you will not be able to change anything.

That is why when Rasul Allah sallallahu alayhi wa aali wa sallam [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad]. When he came to the Arabs who are idol worshippers and who are oppressive and who are burying their own children alive, he first had to change their hearts. He was sent to purify them and then to teach them the Book. "Yuzakeehim wa yu'alimuhum al-kitaba wal-hikma" (62:2).

There is another verse of Qur'an where the Prophet Ibrahim is praying for our Prophet when he builds the Ka'ba, he prays to Allah and says, "oh Allah, send amongst them a prophet who shall teach them the book and purify them." But then when Allah sends the Prophet, he reverses the prayer of Ibrahim and in Surat al-Jum'ah he says "He has sent them a prophet to purify them and then teach them the book." Ibrahim had prayed, "yu'alimuhum al-kitaba" and then "yuzakeehim"(2:129). Allah says He sends the prophet "Yuzakeehim wa yu'alimuhum al-kitaba"(62:2). In other words, learning is a secondary process. First, the ground has to be ready. The ground has to be fertile before you plant the seeds. If the ground is barren, what is the point of planting the seeds? Nothing is going to come out of it.

So today, when we are looking at poverty, for example, let's take an example, like poverty. The world is crying and saying there is poverty, there is poverty. How do we eliminate poverty from the world? So all these rich nations and the G7 get together and United Nations and they get together and they come up with a plan, how are we going to do it? Either they say all the rich countries should contribute and pay a certain percentage of their annual revenue or whatever percent towards the poor countries to eliminate poverty, or they come up with a plan that uses the mind and says the root cause is ignorance. If we give education to people, then it will eliminate poverty.

It will certainly make a difference, and we are not saying it is a bad thing. Certainly money should be given to Third World countries to help them. And certainly knowledge will play a big role because when you remove ignorance, a lot of problems will get solved, but it will not remove poverty. It will not remove poverty because there will still remain problems with the heart, like greed, for example, and materialism, for example. So as long as there is somebody who is greedy and who is materialistic and who believes that he or she must benefit and enjoy life to its fullest, even if it means denying somebody else of their right, as long as somebody else is taking what belongs to somebody else, you will not eliminate poverty.

So the root cause as far as Islam is concerned is fix the heart and you will fix the world's problems, not fix the mind. And that is why the Qur'an says, "Qad ja'atkum mo'eedhatun min Rabbikum" (10:57), an admonition has come to you from your Lord. "Sheffa'un li ma fil-sudoor" (10:57), it is a healing for that which is in the chest, it is a healing for your heart. Otherwise, Allah would have said it is a healing for your mind, it is a healing for that which is in your skull. He says no, it is a healing for that which is in your chest. That is the purpose of the Qur'an.

That is actually the purpose, why Allah sent anbiya and mursaleen and imams and awseeya', we may come up with many, many different reasons why Allah sent the prophets and why He sent imams and what was the role of Imam Ali. The primary purpose was to heal the heart from its disease. That was the main cause.

That is why, Ameer al-Mu'minin 'alayhi assalam, if you read Nahj al-Balagha, [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad]. In Nahj al-Balagha, when he describes the Prophet, he calls him a doctor. And then the way he describes them is so beautiful, he says the Prophet was "tabeebun dawwarun bi tibbih", he was a doctor who went around with his medicine. It is the same word you used today for a doctor in Arabic, tabeeb. Dawwarun is to go around, tibb is medicine. He calls the Messenger of Allah as "tabeebun dawwarun bi tibbih." Why?

Because most people or most doctors, they sit where they are and the one who is sick comes to the doctor and says, I am sick can you heal me. The Prophet was a doctor, he would go around with his medicine, house to house, door to door, looking for people who are ill to cure them. But what was he curing? He was not curing physical illnesses. So he was curing the diseases of the heart. That is why he was called "tabeebun dawwarun bi tibbih", the most beautiful praise you can give this Prophet from the words of an Imam. That this messenger was a doctor who went around with his medicine, and that is the primary reason for sending the prophets and imams to cure the heart of its illnesses.

And another ayat we see from Surah al-Ankabut, chapter 29, verse 49 "Bal huwa ayaatun bayinat fi sudur alladheena utul 'ilm"(29:49). And again, here Allah is talking about his signs and about knowledge, and He says, indeed it is manifest signs "ayaatun bayinat", that We have given. Where have We placed this true knowledge? Where have We placed this true manifest signs? "Fi sudur alladheena utul 'ilm", in the chests of those who have been given knowledge. So again, and there are so many ayats like this that you can go look for yourself and see. Allah does not say that these are our manifest signs that We have placed in the minds of those who have been given knowledge, He says We have placed it in the chests of those who have been given knowledge. When He says to the Prophet about revealing the Qur'an, He says, oh our Prophet, We have revealed this Qur'an on your heart, not on your mind.

So we wrap that discussion as well by saying that from an Islamic perspective, it is the heart that knows anything meaningful and true knowledge also comes from the heart. So Islam distinguishes knowledge from wisdom. It distinguishes 'ilm from hikma. Sometimes it even uses 'ilm to mean hikma. 'Ilm is something that you can gain yourself, you can go to school and gain that. Hikma does not come from a book or from listening to a lecture. Hikma comes when one struggles spiritually to purify themselves then Allah gives them hikma. That is why He says in the Qur'an, "wa man yu'tal hikma faqad utiya khairan katheera" (2:269), and whosoever has been given wisdom then indeed he has been given a great amount of good. So Allah gives wisdom to people, provided their hearts are ready.

Now I give you one or two ahadith just to show you that what is real knowledge as well from Allah's perspective. It is not trivia. Nowadays in the world we live in, we think trivia and the word trivia itself suggests what that kind of knowledge really is, but if somebody knows a lot of facts and if somebody can win, you know, who wants to be a millionaire and if somebody can answer questions like 'who won the game of 1964' and 'who was the player who did this' and 'who was the movie star who acted in', oh he is very knowledgeable. I see that all the time. 'Oh, he's a whiz, he's brilliant, he's got so much knowledge'.

Islam says that is trash. Abu Jahal was called Abu al-Hakam, father of wisdom. It was the Prophet who calling Abu Jahal, that his name changed to Abu Jahal, because Abu al-Hakam means father of wisdom, but that which he knew was all trash, it was trivial like this. If he had lived in our times, he would have been a millionaire. You would have seen him on the TV all the time. The Prophet said he does not have knowledge, he has ignorance, he is Abu Jahal.

So now what is knowledge? "Laysal 'ilm bil ta'allum". Imam al-Sadiq 'alayhi assalam says, [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad]. Knowledge does not come from learning. He is not saying do not learn, learn. But even religious knowledge, when you go to the hawza, when you attend classes, Islamic classes, madrassa, that is just a means, it is just the starting point, it is just a signpost to give you the tools and the understanding of how to go about purifying yourself, but that is not knowledge in itself. "Laisal 'ilm bi ta'allum", knowledge does not come by learning and studying. "Innama huwa noorun yaqa'u fi qalbee man yureedu Allahu Ta'la wa tabaraka an yahdeehee", knowledge is a light that is infused in the heart of one whom Allah wishes to guide. Knowledge is noor.

OK. So now how does Allah discriminate, in whose heart does He put knowledge? So now there is another hadith from Imam al-Sadiq, 'alayhim assalam says. [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad]. And this is kind of going a little bit into what we will discuss tomorrow and the day after we start talking about solutions to hard heartedness. But he is showing you how all Allah wants from you is sincerity. Show sincerity, show Allah I am ready to turn back to You and then see what He gives you from real knowledge, knowledge that is so profound that you will realize, but you will not be able to express in words to others.

The Imam says, "Idha takhalal 'abdu bi sayyiddeehee fi jaufal layl al-mudhlim wa naajahu aghbata Allahu an-noor fi qalabihi", when a person makes a habit of waking up in the middle of the dark night and sitting on his prayer mat all alone and calling out to his Lord and supplicating and whispering and talking to his God, to his master, "bi sayyidihee, aghbata Allahu an-noor fi qalabihi", Allah establishes the light in his heart.

That is why just to digress here, somebody asked Imam al-Sadiq 'alayhi assalam, he says, why is it? [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad]. He said, why is it that people who pray salat al-Layl regularly, there is a light in their face that we notice. And the Imam says, that is because while they are praying in the darkness of the night, the Noor of Allah is shining on them constantly. There is an after effect of that for those who perceive it. So Allah establishes the noor in the heart of such a person.

And then he says, "fi idha qala ya Rabbi, ya Rabbi, ya Rabbi, ya Rabbi", and then when this person in the darkness of the night, sitting all by himself, on the prayer mat, alone with his Lord, worshiping and supplicating to Him, and Allah has established light in his heart, when he begins to call out to his Lord and saying, My Lord, my Lord, my Lord, ya Rabbi, ya Rabbi, ya Rabbi. Then Allah responds: "al-jaleel jalla jallalahu", the magnificent Lord of the universe, the King of kings begins speaking to him, He says to him, "Labbaik 'abddee, I am here, my servant. Salnee a'ataik wa tawakkal 'alaiya akfeek, ask Me what you want, I shall give you. And place your trust in no one but Me and I shall suffice for you, in all your affairs."

So Allah establishes knowledge in the hearts of those who purify their hearts. You start, you take a step and then Allah takes ten steps towards you, you walk towards Allah, then He comes running towards you. Do not worry about somebody else having more knowledge than you, Allah can give you knowledge from where you never imagined.

"Wa man yatawakal 'ala Allah fa huwa hasbuh" (65:3) Allah says in the Qur'an, whosoever places his trust in Allah that He suffices for him. "Wa yarzuquhu min haythu la yahtasib"(65:3), and He shall sustain him and feed him from a source he never imagined. This rizq that Allah gives a person is not just food, when we hear rizq, we think food and water, rizq is also knowledge. That if a person places his trust in Allah, then Allah will sustain him and feed him with knowledge from a source he never imagined.

So we don't want to discuss what is knowledge, but this is just pointing to that fact. That from an Islamic perspective, knowledge, or true knowledge, or meaningful knowledge, or wisdom, resides in the heart, comes into the heart, establishes itself in the heart, and that is what we want, rather than just the trivia that we accumulate in the mind. Once it establishes itself in the heart, then even as you grow old, even as we become senile, even if we start suffering from an illness so that we start losing our memory, our minds might become weak, but our heart will remain sharp and that which is in the heart, will never be lost.

So we take this now to the next discussion, what is the relationship between the physical heart and the spiritual heart, if you can recite salawat 'ala Muhammad wa aali Muhammad [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad].

Now. Again, we have mentioned a couple of things here already that the physical heart and the spiritual heart seems to have some connection and that the miracle of the Qur'an is that it says it is not the eyes that become blind, but it is the hearts which are in the chest that become blind.

It appears from hadith, when we read hadith, it appears that the soul of a person is in the same form as their physical body. Unless the person commits sins or commits such acts that the soul becomes deformed, if the soul is kept with a certain amount of decent purity, when the soul separates from the body, according to Imam al-Sadiq, alayhi assalam, if you were to see the soul of a person, you would recognize who the person is.

So the soul is not a small, subtle, invisible thing that looks like a small cloud or something like that, or a little piece of jelly. The soul is actually like the complete form of a human being, and it resides in the body. But it appears as if the connection between the soul and the body is on the heart and that the spiritual heart and the physical heart is where it is most attached. And that is why when the soul leaves the body, there are impressions and certain amount of knowledge and wisdom that is left with the physical heart. And we gave an example yesterday, and there are many others that you can go read up on, that even when the heart is transplanted to another human being, if the person who receives the transplant is very sensitive, they can extract some of that memory and some of that knowledge and some of that ideas and likes and dislikes that have been embedded in the physical heart.

What actually, from an Islamic perspective, that actually resides with the spiritual body, with the soul, because that is what comes out of the body. And again, from an Islamic perspective, when you read the Qur'an, you see that Allah says that death and sleep is one and the same thing. We are all afraid of dying. But the truth of the matter is we all die at night. And tonight, also, when you go to sleep, you will die, you will die exactly the way you die when the final death comes to us, that is from the Qur'an perspective. The only difference is that Allah says that for some people, We return their souls back into their bodies and for some We don't. So there is the idea in the Qur'an that the soul does leave the body.

However, again, from a hadith perspective, even when the soul leaves the body, if it is not the final departure, there is a connection left between the soul and the body. And that connection appears to be from the heart in the soul to the heart in the body. Until it is severed during the actual physical death.

And now you will see that even psychologists or parapsychologists or people who look into E.S.P or extrasensory perception and so on, they are coming out with the same ideas. For example, when they are doing research on something called astral projection, where people claim to have traveled or been to places in their sleep and they have tried to do experiments with this in a controlled lab environment, where they would place something in another room and they would ask somebody to sleep in another room and they would ask him to astrally project himself and travel to the other room and come back and say what has been placed in that room. And they have come back and accurately said that I was able to go to this place and see this, this, this and come back. Or that they have used this for other types of science experiments - try and read up on this a little bit, you will see.

When they talk about this as well, those who astrally project themselves or those who have what they call OBE (out of body experiences) or what they call NDE (near-death experiences), they say that when we come out of our bodies and we look back and we see our physical body lying, we see something like a silver cord that is attached from our heart or the middle of our astral body to the heart of the physical body.

So again and again, there seems to be evidence that there is a physical self and there is a spiritual self. Science, of course, denies the spirit, denies the soul, so it will talk in terms of the mind, the body and the physical heart. But from an Islamic point of view, there is a very close connection between the spiritual heart and the physical heart. The only thing is that when you read the Qur'an and when you read ahadith, some words are overlapped and used commonly for both physical and spiritual, and some words are used uniquely for spiritual or uniquely for body.

For example, most often when the Qur'an uses the word sudur, it is referring to the physical heart. When it uses qalb, sometimes physical, sometimes spiritual, when it uses nafs or ruh, sometimes it is the spiritual heart and sometimes the nafs is in reference to the ego. So there is a whole discussion about these and there are 'ulama and scholars, both from Shias and Sunnis, for example, al-Ghazali has written about this in great length, chapters on it just to explain what is the difference in terminology and taken all the verses of the Qur'an and grouped them and try to see where the Qur'an, in what context does it use qalb, where does it use nafs, where does it use ruh, and so on.

But the purpose of my telling you this is to show you some other ahadith, that even when we communicate amongst each other, we communicate with our hearts more than our minds in a meaningful way. Unfortunately, because most of us are caught up with the chatter of the mind, we are not listening to the heart. But if you listen to the heart, it will tell you amazing stories and you will become a person who is extremely perceptive. You will sit in a room, not say a word, but there is so much you will take with you. You will read people's hearts. People talk about reading people's minds. When you read people's minds, you will only read empty chatter, you will get trivia. But if you read people's hearts, you will know their essence and their reality. I will give you an example.

In one hadith we are told that the companion, Jabir. Jabir bin Abdillah al-Ansari was one of the oldest companions, he lived to see the fifth Imam. He is sitting with Imam al-Baqir, alayhi assalam, on one occasion [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad] and he sighs, he expresses remorse, he just heaves and sighs. Then he says to the Imam, he says, "Ya ibn ar-Rasul Allah, sometimes I am sitting by myself and I just feel very sad and I don't know why. There is a grief that overcomes me and unhappiness, and that unhappiness is so profound that even my family members, when they see my face, they can detect that unhappiness."

The Imam smiles. He says, "na'am ya Jabir, indeed", oh Jabir, that is true." So Jabir is now disturbed. "Why is that ya ibn ar-Rasul Allah? Why is that happening?" So the Imam does not tell him. He says, "Ma tasna' bihee", what will you do by knowing oh Jabir? Let it go". "No, ya ibn ar-Rasul Allah, tell me, why? Why do I feel sad without a reason?" And the Imam then is inspired. "Oh Jabir, the souls and the spirits and the hearts in this world, they are like "junoodun mujanada", they are in troops and armies, they are in groups and in batches, just like horses that get together and move together. Oh Jabir, the souls and the hearts of the believers are like one body, they are like a batch, even if physically they are separate. Oh Jabir, Allah has allowed the souls of the believers to come from the same clay, they are of the same essence. Oh Jabir, if there is a mu'min in another part of the world who is being afflicted by some suffering, you will feel sad with no reason here because your heart is attached to his heart, even though you do not know. You are one, you are with those you love, always."

That is why the Ahl al-Bayt, 'alayhihum assalam, when they described their Shi'as, they said, "yafrahuna bi farheena wa yahzanuna bi huzneena", they rejoice when we rejoice and they grieve when we grieve". They are not saying that this is something you plan, that you say tonight is the wafat of an Imam, so I will feel sad. Or tonight is the weeladat of an Imam, so I will feel happy, no! You will feel a grief that will overcome you. Ask the mu'minin, they will tell you. How many people on the day of Ashura they feel ill, they feel headaches, they feel feverish, they feel weak, they feel sad. It is not just physical exhaustion, it is that attachment to Aba Abdillah al-Husayn, you are with those you love.

That is why I said to you a couple of nights ago, I said that at the Jaffari Islamic Center, actually, that a believer has no choice but to love 'Ali. You cannot despise 'Ali, even if it strikes your nose off and mutilates your body and a hypocrite cannot love Ali, even if he gives them the world and all it contains.

There is another hadith from Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, salawatullahi wa assalamu 'alayh [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad]. He says, "The hearts of the believers are like beacons, they call out to each other, they attract each other. Wa law ja'al mu'min ila al-masjid wa fehee unasun katheer. Wa laisa feehum mu'minun illa wahidun. La malat ruhuhu illa dhalikal mu'min hatta yajlis Ilahee." If a believer enters a mosque and the mosque is filled with people and there is no other mu'min in that mosque except one mo'min. That mu'min who comes in, his heart and his spirit will attract the other heart and spirit until he goes and sits beside him.

And you can experiment with this. You can experiment it here, it won't work, for two reasons. One is because MashaAllah, there is too many mu'minin, we are all one mashaAllah. So you will not see a difference, whoever you sit besides, you will see a fellow brother, a fellow believer. The other issue is that here the quality of of course, "unasun katheer" doesn't apply, but nonetheless, because this is a place where there is a community that attends regularly, people have come to take certain places where they normally sit. So people will go sit where they usually sit.

But try and experiment with this when you are somewhere else completely. For example, when you go for hajj. When you go for a hajj, when you go to the Ka'ba, Masjid al-Haram or Masjid an-Nabawi, try this. You will enter in and there are thousands of people. Don't plan and say, where is somebody who looks like one of us, just go in where your heart takes, see where you sit and then look around, you will see, it always works.

So our hearts communicate a lot more than we think. And yesterday, I talked about a book called The Heart's Code by a doctor called Dr. Paul Pearsoll. And I said, I will quote another passage from there, he says, The human heart has the ability to remember, to think, to feel, to love, to communicate with others. And he talks about something he called cellular memories. He says it is able to retain that information, which makes up the essence of the person. And if you transplant that heart to another human being who has some level of sensitivity, they will pick up on that information from that heart.

Now. There was something else he talks about, he actually at one point says up until now, we have not believed in the existence of a soul, but if there is a soul in human beings, then it must for sure reside in the heart. And he asked certain questions. People will tell you that if somebody has an open heart surgery, it affects their memory. You may have heard of this. I ask, they are opening their hearts, they are not opening their brain. If knowledge and memory only resides in the brain, why does an open heart surgery affect the memory? You tell me.

So now there is a passage that I want to quote very quickly. And just because I do not want to carry this book with me every day. He challenges doctors and scientists and cardiologists on a point to do with the heart and how it meets. He says, "beyond the current medical science is basic and clinical understanding of ECG's and MCG's, which are electrocardiograms and magnetic cardiograms, medical science has been afraid to take the logic of the known physics of ECG's and MCG's to their inevitable conclusion. ECG's and MCG's are measured outside of the body. This means that the heart's biophysical energy and information travels throughout the body and reaches the outside of the skin. Heart sounds, another source of energy and information, also travels through the fluid and makes their way to the outside of the skin. Now, what happens to all this measurable energy and information once it reaches the skin? Does it simply stop? Does it disappear? Is it being ignored? Or is it being forgotten?"

So what he is saying is that your heart is constantly beating. And in doing so, it is producing some energy and a sound wave. When they put you on this ECG machine, or when the doctor is listening to your heartbeat, it is quite loud. Right now when you are sitting here, your heart is still beating and as it beats, you could be compared to a lighthouse that has a beacon inside and that beacon is constantly beating and making a sound. When it makes that sound and it creates that wave and that energy, it travels through the fluids in your body, it travels through the inside of your skin and it comes to the surface of your body. When they put a machine, they are picking up those signals.

But right now, when you are not on that machine, where are those signals going? In other words, you think you are nothing, you are not doing anything, but even now there are signals you are giving out like a lighthouse. There is something that you are constantly emanating and emitting. We are not sensitive enough to know and pick up on what you are emitting, but there is something you are giving out right now. Where is that going? He is asking. He says, use physics to say, where is that going?

"Simple physics tells us that energy and information leave the body and go out into space. It reaches our loved ones, our pets, our plants, it extends to the sky. And yes, logically, the electromagnetic fields expands into the vacuum of space at the speed of light, which is 186,000 miles per second". And that is why you will hear people saying that animals can detect vibes from you. There are people who, when they enter the room, they light up the whole room, they might be a very old person, your grandmother, your grandfather, 90 years old, they come in the whole room, light up. There are people who, when they are near babies, if the baby is crying, they calm down because they have these vibes they give out. They are so calm and tranquil, they calm others. There are people who are so agitated or temperamental when they come in to agitate others.

So there are things that we are constantly giving out. But he says this doesn't stop with your animals and plants and other loved ones. It goes out into the space at the speed of light. Through the signal strength, though the signal strength will obviously be very thin, each second after our hearts beat, our individual heart's code has expanded and traveled 186,000 miles into space. Like star codes, whose energy and information travels through space forever, and we are made of matter, energy and information derived from the ancient stars, so too logically does our heart's code, the largest source of biophysical energy in the body travel in space forever.

So, for example, when you look at the heavens, because light travels at the speed of 186,000 miles a second or what we call light year. What is a light year? A light here is if light travels at the speed of 186,000 miles per second, the distance that it would cover in one year is called a light year. So if you take something traveling at 186,000 miles a second, the distance it will cover after one year of traveling at that speed every second, is one light year.

Now, there are stars that are billions of light years from us. So in theory, what scientists say is some of the stars that we see twinkling, they no longer exist, they exploded a long time back and disappeared. But the light that left their body is still traveling. And there is light that we will continue seeing for the next 20, hundred, thousand years because it still hasn't reached us. But the star or the source doesn't remain anymore.

So you are giving out some energy, which is traveling all the way into space from a physics point of view, and it will continue traveling until the Day of Judgment. You might die physically, but the emanation and the energy you give out will continue existing in space. If Allah can create you from nothing, but you think He cannot bring you from that?

So now he says on our first hearing, this may sound fantastic, if not outlandish. However, the same was once said about the Earth being round and he talks about all that. But the point that I want to share with you here is that he says, "the heart's code points the way to a new revolution in our thinking. Metaphorically, the heart is the sun, the pulsing, energetic center of our biophysical solar system, and the brain is the Earth, one of the most important planets in our biophysical system. One implication of the energy, cardiology or cardio-energetic revolution is the radical idea, that energetically, the brain revolves around the heart and not the other way around".

Now, you tie this to the poetry of Imam Ali, alayhi assalam, when he talks about a human being. [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad]. Imam Ali talks about insan. He says, do you think you are some small, insignificant thing in this universe? "Ataz'amu annaka jurmun sagheer?" Do you think you are some small life-form insignificant in this vast galaxy? "Wa feeka intawa al-'alam al-akbar", when within you resides the entire universe, you are the core and the map of the whole universe, you are a microcosm of the whole universe. The whole solar system, the whole universe is mapped inside you." And then he says, "dawa'uka feek, da'uka minka wa da'uka feek", your illness is from you, but the cure for your illness is also from you. You are the code that Allah has created, He has placed the whole secret of the universe, He has placed the whole map of the universe in your DNA, you are not an ordinary being, and the source, the sun, the origin, the center is the heart.

So just a few points that he mentions here, and I am just mentioning it because he is saying it as a scientist. He says, "have we been too brain focused on our search for the mind? Is what we refer to the soul, at least in part, a set of info-energetic cellular memories that has been constantly modified during the soul's brief stay in the physical body? Are the remarkable stories by some heart transplant recipients regarding changes to their food preferences, their dreams, their fantasies and their personality manifestations related on some level to the cellular memories of the donor?" So once they receive a transplant, their dreams change, their preferences change, their conditions change, their behavior changes. And so he says, is there a form of energy that humankind has sought for centuries and that science has missed altogether?

So there are lots of such things that we can keep saying, but in the interest of time, we don't go into all that. The point that we are trying to make here is that science as it advances, it will only prove that Islam was always right and that Islam always said that the secret to finding the solutions to mankind's problem is in the heart.

So we will conclude this for tonight and then inshaAllah, develop this tomorrow when we now actually start talking. If we understand the importance of the heart, if we have understood that the heart is the most important and prized possessions we have, then how do we preserve this? How do we keep it secure? How do we soften it? And so on and so forth.

The difference between the heart and the mind is the difference between yaqeen and shak. In all aspects you will see, until something does not enter the heart, there is no certitude. I mentioned this to you yesterday as well, that if la Ilaha illa Allah, Muhammadan Rasul Allah does not enter a person's heart, they will deny it when they die.

In the past, I have given you an example from Imam Khomeini, ridwan Allahi alayh, that he says that if a person believes with the mind that dead bodies do not harm, but it hasn't entered his heart, if you tell him to spend a night alone with a dead body, they will not, they will be frightened. Why? Because that belief has entered the mind, but not the heart. The heart still believes he might wake up. It is only when the heart is convinced that this person will not wake up, that they will spend the night with the dead body.

So there is that level of yaqeen. When you look at jihad as well, you will see the difference between the people who ran away from jihad and the people who stood remaining saying that we have nothing to lose because either we will have martyrdom or we will succeed, it was the same thing: yaqeen and shak. When a person has yaqeen, they will be able to stay on the battlefield, if a person has doubt, they will run from the battlefield.

And so tomorrow we will develop again this idea and make references to this yaqeen and shak as well. If you can recite salawat 'ala Muhammad wa aali Muhammad [Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'aali Muhammad].

In our discussion of the Ahl al-Bayt's 'alayhim assalam suffering and their journey from Karbala to Kufa and Kufa to Sham. Last night, we said that Ibn Ziyad, la'anatu Llah 'alai sent the womenfolk from the Ahl al-Bayt 'alayhim assalam, along with Imam Sajjad, alayhi assalam, from Kufa to Sham. He sent them on unsaddled camels tied with ropes and chains. And he sped with them to Sham with the heads of the martyrs.

When they were brought to Sham, because the people of Damascus were kept in ignorance from the time of Mu'awiya and they were not aware of who the Ahl al-Bayt were, their response was different from those of the people of Kufa. The people of Kufa understood to some degree who Husayn was because Imam Ali had been a caliph there, and they also realized that they had betrayed Husayn. So when they saw Zaynab, 'alayha assalam, and when they saw Umm Kulthum being paraded in the streets of Kufa, they began crying.

But the people of Sham had been told that these are some rebels who have been brought, so they decorated their towns and they stood on their rooftops throwing stones at them. And as they were brought to the court of Yazid, we are told that Yazid ordered the head of Imam Husayn, alayhi assalam, to be brought on a golden tray in front of him and to be placed before him, and he sat on his throne with the crown made of rubies and pearls.

We are told Imam al-Sajjad, 'alayhi assalam, entered the court with shackles and chains. He was tied and when he came in, the first thing he did is he looked at Yazid in the eyes and said, "Oh Yazid, what do you think Rasul Allah would say if he saw us in this condition?" Right away, you see, that what Imam Sajjad and Zaynab, alayha assalam, are making the people of Sham aware because Yazid thought this was a moment of glory for him and he packed his court with people thinking that the more people there are, the more I will enjoy this moment of glory. But right away, we see that both the Imam and Sayyida are demolishing the kingdom of Yazid.

First, the Imam says to him, "What do you think, Rasul Allah would say?" So he is already informing the people in the darbar of Yazid that recognize who we are. And Zaynab alayha assalam, when she sees the head of her brother on the gold tray, she begins crying for him. But again, the words that she uses show us that she is going to tableegh. Because how does she cry for him? She says, "Ya Husayna, ya Husayna, ya ibna Rasul Allah, ya ibna Makkah wa Mina", so she is telling the people of Sham, he is not an ordinary person. Then she says, "Ya Husayna, ya ibna Fatimat az-Zahra', ya ibna bint al-Mustafa".

And as she says that Yazid starts getting worried. And so now he begins to call other people for entertainment and he begins, he says, bring me a stick. He takes a cane. La'anatullah 'alaih, he takes the cane and he starts beating on the lips of Aba 'Abdillah al-Husayn. As he does that, an old man there, Abu Barza al-Aslami, comes forward. He says, "Shame on you, Yazid, by Allah I have seen Rasul Allah kiss these lips when he was a young boy. I have seen the Messenger of God kissing his lips and saying, oh, Husayn, anta Sayyid al-Shabab ahli al-jannah, you are a master of the people of jannah. Have you no shame?"

Yazid is drunk and intoxicated with power. He says "this man is rambling, throw him out." Now the slaves begin standing up for Husayn, because now there is awareness being created little by little, and we are told a slave girl stands in the court of Yazid. She says, "oh, Yazid, you cannot see what I can see. Oh Yazid, I was asleep a little while ago, I saw a door opening up in the heavens, I saw a ladder of light coming from that, I saw a man come down from the ladder. The man was saying, Oh my father, Adam, descend, oh my father Ibrahim, descend, oh my brother Musa, descend, oh my brother Isa descend. And a voice called out and said, This is Rasul Allah himself. Then I saw a lady coming down from this ladder, her hair was disheveled, she was crying loudly. She was saying, oh my mother Hawwa descend, oh Sarah, descend, oh Mariam, descend, oh my mother Khadeejah, descend. And a voice said, This is Fatimatul az-Zahra', the mother of Husayn."

Then the slave girl says, "Oh, Yazid, then I saw Fatima Zahra saying to her father, Ya Rasul Allah, look at what your umma has done to my Husayn. Rasul Allah began crying. Then Rasul Allah turned to the anbiya and said, oh Ibrahim, look at what the oppressors have done to my Husayn, oh Adam, look at what they have done to my Husayn. Oh Yazid, by Allah, I saw 8,000 angels descend with fire. They covered you with the fire. Oh Yazid, I can see you crying, saying the fire, the fire, how can I escape from the fire? You do not know oh Yazid, but you are already burning in the fire."

Yazid says "this woman wishes to disgrace me, throw her out of here." She throws. He says, "behead her", and the slave girl is beheaded as well. Now Yazid begins playing with chess and drinking wine. He lets wine be distributed in the court of his majlis. He says to the people, "drink, drink, today we celebrate the killing of Husayn. I have avenged my father and brother."

He begins to recite his own poetry. He says "Layta ashyakhee bi badree shahidu", if only my forefathers from Badr had been here today. "La ahhallu wastahallu wa yaqulu ya Yazid tashal", they would have rejoiced farhan and said to me, Oh, Yazid, congratulations, congratulations. "La'eebat Hashim bil mulki fala ja'a khabrun wala wahyun nazal", the Banu Hashim played a game to get kingdom. There was no wahee that came down, there was no revelation that came down."

Now the people of Sham are shocked. Now the people are thinking what is this that is happening? What is this that Yazid is saying? Imam al-Baqir ,'alayhi assalam, says "I was four years old, when I was taken to the Darbar of Yazid, there were only 12 children amongst us that were left from Karbala to Kufa and Kufa to Sham. He says, my father was taken in front of Yazid and Yazid saw him. Yazid began saying to him, al-Hamdulillah alladhee qatala abak, all praise is to Allah who killed your father."

He says, "My father looked at Yazid and said: "la'antu Llahee min qatala abee", may Allah's curse be on the one who killed my father." Yazid says, "by Allah, I will behead you." And he says, "My aunt Zaynab stood in front of between Yazid and Imam Sajjad and said, Oh Yazid, have you not spilt enough blood from our family? Leave him alone. What has he done to you?"

And we are told now that an old man comes to Imam as-Sajjad and stands beside him and he is - again, the people of Sham there is this ignorance, there is this unawareness. He sees the Imam as-Sajjad 'alayhi assalam standing, he says to, he comes near Imam and says "all praises to Allah who destroyed you, rebels that you have revolted against Amir al-Mu'minin Yazid."

Imam Sajjad alayhi assalam, says, "Oh Sheikh, you look like a nice person. Have you read the Qur'an?" He says, "Yes, I have read the Qur'an." He says, "Have you come across the verse that says, Qul la as'alakum 'alaihee ajran illa mawadat fil qurba?"(42:23). He says, "Yes, I have heard that." He says, "by Allah we are that qurba that is being referred to. Have you read the ayat, "wa atee thal qurba haqahu?" (17:26). He says, "Yes, I have read that ayah." He says "we are that Qurba that is being referred to. Oh Sheikh, have you read "inna ma yureedu Allah liyudhiba 'ankumal rijs?" (33:33). He says, "yes, I have read that." He says "we are the family of tatheer. "

The old man now becomes aware. He begins to curse Yazid. Again, Yazid wants to kill him. Again Yazid wants to get rid of him. And as this debate is going on back and forth, Yazid now summons one of his 'alims, one of his scholars, and says ascend the pulpit and praise my forefathers and curse Husayn. The man ascends the pulpit. He begins to speak. Once he is done, Imam as-Sajjad says "you have ruined your hereafter for the sake of Yazid." Then Imam as-Sajjad alayhi assalam, says to Yazid, "oh Yazid, I want to say something now. Let me ascend the pulpit and speak." Yazid says, "No, no, no, he will not speak." And the people are now in an uproar. They say "let him speak, he is chained, he is in shackles, his father has been killed. What is it that he can say that will shake your kingdom? Let him say, let us speak and let us hear what he has to say."

Imam as-Sajjad 'alayhim assalam, I have no idea how he ascended the pulpit with chains and with shackles. But he ascends to the top of the pulpit. He begins praising Allah, he begins praising the Prophet. Then he begins to say "man 'arafanee fa qad 'arafanee wa man lam ya'rfanee fa anub'ihu hasabee wa nasabee", whoever knows me knows me, whosoever does not know me, let him know me. "Ana ibnu Makkah wa Mina", I am the son of a Makkah and Mina, "ana ibnu Safa wa Zam Zam", I am the son of Safa and Zam Zam, I am the son of Rasul Allah. Oh people. Have you not heard of 'Ali ibn Abi Talib? Oh people, have you not heard of Fatimatu az-Zahra'? I am the son of Fatimatu az-Zahra, I am the son of the master of paradise."

And then he says, "ana ibnu man qutila 'atshanan", I am the son of he who was killed thirsty. I am the son of he who was tortured and killed bit by bit while his children were killed before him." He begins to praise Imam Husayn. He begins to say, now the hadith, now the muarikheen said, "fa lam yazal yaqul ana, ana hatta dhajjal nas bil buka' wal naheeb", he did not stop saying, ana, ana, I am the son of so-and-so I am the son of so, until the whole majlis began crying, until there was an uproar in the court.

Yazid now is afraid, he says to the mu'adhdhin, "oh mu'adhdhin, start calling out the adhan." A man says to Imam as-Sajjad alayhi assalam, "who won the Battle of Karbala. Did you win? Did your father win or did Yazid win?" Imam as-Sajad says to him, "Wait until the adhan comes, you will know who won the battle of Karbala." The mu'adhdhin says, "Allahu Akbar". Imam as-Sajjad says "Allahu Akbar". The mu'adhan said, "ashadu an la ilaha illa Allah", then Imam as-Sajjad says, "ashadu an la ilaha illa Allah". Then the mu'adhdhin says, "wa ashadu an Muhammadun Rasul Allah".

Now Imam as-Sajjad tells him to stop. He says, "Oh, Yazid, this Muhammad Rasul Allah ahuwa jadduka am jaddee? Is he your grandfather or is he my grandfather? Oh Yazid, if you say he is your grandfather, you are a liar. And if he is my grandfather, then for what reason did you kill us? For what reason are you treating the family of your Prophet like this? Have you no shame oh Yazid that you say, ashahadu anna Mohammad Rasul Allah and face the Ka'ba and you do this to the family of your Prophet?"

The whole city was in an uproar. The people of Syria began revolting. Yazid now does not know what to do. He says take them away to prison. Now the prisoners are taken away. But as they are taken, Yazid says, take them through the neighborhood of the Jews and Christians so that people may not be able to support them and take them. And here we are told that the Yazid sent a messenger ahead to say to those neighborhood, oh people of this neighborhood, these prisoners who are coming, other children of those who killed your forefathers in Khaybar and Khandaq.

Imam as-Sajjad later on when he says ash-Sham, ash-Sham, ash-Sham, he says "ya Nu'man fa lam yabqa ahadun minhum illa alqa' 'alaynal turab wal hajar, oh Nu'man, when we passed through the streets of the non-Muslims in Sham there was not one of them left who was not throwing stones or dust on us."

Ala la'natu Llahee 'alal qawmil dhalemeen wa sa ya'lamul ladheena dhalamu aya munqalabin yanqaleebun. Ilahi, bi haqqi Muhammad, wa 'aalihim, wa Fatima, wa al-Hassani, wa al-Husayn wal tis'ati min dhurratee al-Husayn. Oh Allah, we ask you for the forgiveness of our sins. Oh Allah, bi haqqi Muhammad, we ask you to accept our gathering here this night and we ask you, oh Allah, bi haqqi Muhammad wa aali Muhammad for shifa' for those who are ill and maghfeera for those who have passed away. Bi haqqi Muhammad wa aali Muhammad we ask you to hasten the appearance of our Imam and make us of his ashab and ansar. Rabbana taqabbal minna, innaka antal samee' ul 'Alim. Matam al-Husayn.