I read in a book by prof.Ahmed Rafique Akhtar,(let it not be the issue who said what) he wrote that faith is something that satisfies the heart, mind is not its favorite thing. It is something that aims at heart…”emaan ki jaga dil hai” (what do u have to say abt this very idea) also relating this with the concept of ghamidi sahib’s explanation of fitrat … and my own personal experience up till now… this satisfies me… and I agree to this to some extent that yes the resting place of faith is in heart not mind…I can relate that to Ayats telling about “qalbs(hearts) of wrong doers being stamped” and “wrong doers being deaf and dumb from hearts” I can even relate that to the Hadith which tells that sin is something that pricks your heart… and then my understanding that emotions are a product of one’s heart .. Not mind! So…Keeping in mind, all of what I’ve mentioned above … and then reading your BLOG… “intellect and emotions in islam” where intellect should come before emotion…that satisfies me a lot as well..! Now I’m confused between 2 things and both of them seem right to me at their places but are contradicting each other! According to my understanding … Please help!
One answer to my own question…after contemplating over it …I have a thought that it is all about trusting the emotion or heart at the right time of my life.. may be I’m just a beginer so I am not educated enough to trust my heart ..or in other words my heart is not literate enough right now! So I should follow the later perspective… However I want an expert’s explanation ..Please guide me where I am going wrong??
Answer
I also believe that faith resides in the heart (the centre of emotions) and not in the mind (the headquarters of reflection and contemplation). However, emotions can be influenced by many factors: circumstances, one’s personal tastes, personalities etc. Therefore, the only valid faith is the one that reaches the heart through the mind. Many bogus faiths can reach the heart without touching the mind. People can be emotionally attached to the fact that this world is resting on one of the horns of a bull and when, after getting tired or bored, it shifts the ball from one horn to another, it causes the earth to shake, and thus an earthquake takes place. As soon as the believers in this faith realized that this faith was unscientific, no matter how much they loved it in their heart, it was imperative that they should shun it immediately. It may have happened that believers in such a faith may have created emotionally touching poetry to support their view; they may have resorted to rituals to reinforce their understanding; there may have been legends narrated by the elders to glorify the belief. However, that belief in the nonsense still has to be destroyed. Likewise is true for all other faiths.
It is because of this reason that you find that Qur’an asks the believer to be emotionally attached to his faith but also emphasizes that the faith has to be acquired and strengthened through constant reflection.
One thing more: If faith is acquired through non-rational ways, it can’t be removed easily through rationality. Someone has said it well: “What never went in through intellect cannot be brought out through it.” Those who have an emotionally acquired faith react emotionally to rational questions raised against it.