The Role of the

Heart in Ibn
Al-Arabis
Doctrine

INTRODUCTION

he Andalusian Sufi master, Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn al-Arabi (1165-1240 CE),
known as al-Sheikh al-Akbar, has been revered throughout the Muslim world as
one of the greatest Sufis of Islam.1 He was able to elucidate Islamic spiritual concepts
in a masterly and incisive form. He wrote extensively but the two treatises for which
he is famous are the encyclopaedic Futuhat al-Makkiyah (The Meccan Revelations) and
the shorter Fusus al-Hikam (The Wisdom of the Prophets). The first of these works is the
aggregate of the Islamic esoteric sciences as understood by the Sufi master. The latter
is a compact book detailing the wisdom that was personified and brought forth by the
twenty-seven prophets mentioned in the Quran. These prophets form a direct lineage
starting with the prophet Adam and ending with the last prophet, Muhammad 2.
Ayesha L. Saeed has a PhD in Philosophy of Education from the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies,
Melbourne University, Australia. She is a member of the Academic Advisory Committee, at Virsa College of
Arts, Islamabad. The author wishes to extend acknowledgement and thanks to Mr. Emran Akhtar for his
critical appraisal and guidance.
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Insight | 33

CREATIVE ENCOUNTERS

Winged Heart; original art, Lonnie Hanzon

AYESHA L. SAEED

The Role of the Heart in Ibn Al-Arabis Doctrine

This article will explore the concept of the heart in Ibn al-Arabis
doctrine to see what role it plays in the
growth and spiritual actualization of the
human being. The need for understanding the role of the heart in the process of
spiritual growth arises when we become
cognizant of the bent of the times. The
focus on outward differences between
religions and the overbalanced importance given to formal rituals can lead to
serious misunderstandings. Ignorance
regarding the inner significance of various articles of faith and of the symbolic
significance of religious rituals can further cause disharmony and discord, not
just among people from different faiths,
but also between various sects from the
same religion. Ibn al-Arabis doctrine
reveals the importance of the role of
the heart in the process of spiritual
transformation so that human beings
can reach their true stature, that of
the representative of God on earth.
This knowledge can prove invaluable
for researchers interested in spiritual
elevation of human beings irrespective
of their religious background.

ORGAN OF COMPREHENSION

ccording to Ibn al-Arabi, the heart

(al-qalb) plays a crucial role in the
spiritual actualization of the individual
human soul. This is the organ that comprehends true knowledge, receives and
accepts the truth of intuition, achieves
gnosis (marifa) of God, and perceives
the Divine mysteries.3 Discussing the
qualities of people who reject Divine
guidance the Quran states, They have
hearts with which they understand not...
They are like cattle, nay more misguided: for they are heedless (Quran,
34 | V5 N1 January2007

7:179). The Quran, thus, makes it clear

that the true organ of comprehension
of spiritual truths and understanding of
Divine guidance is the heart.
Sound knowledge is only that
which God throws into the heart
of the knower. It is a Divine
light for which God singles out
any of His servants whom He
will, whether angel, messenger,
prophet, friend, or person of
faith. He who has no unveiling
has no knowledge (man la kashf
lah la ilm lah).4
It is the gateway, so to speak, of the
special knowledge termed in Arabic the
ilm al-batin, the esoteric science. The
Spirits connection with the heart is
made clear by Ibn al-Arabi:
When the Spirit descends upon
the heart of the servant through
the sending down of the angel of
the casting and revelation of God,
the heart of the one to whom it
is sent down comes alive.5
It is essential to realize that the
heart mentioned here is not the physical
organ of flesh found under the ribs, even
though there is a certain connection, the
reality of which is known only to the
adept.6 The belief in a special, to use
Corbins words, subtile [sic] physiology has been given utmost importance
by mystics of all times, such as the belief
in the Prayer of the Heart, the charisma of cardiognosis held by Oriental
Christianity.7 According to this subtile
[sic] physiology, the mystics subtile

Bells; photo, Cetta Kenney

The heart is the quality within

human nature, which transforms
spiritual potentiality into reality.
[sic] body is composed of psycho-spiritual organs or centres, which need to be
distinguished from the concrete physiological organs.8 For Ibn al-Arabi, the
heart is one of the most important centres of this subtile physiology. Corbin
explains this concept of the function of
the heart as the eye with which the
mystic has a vision of the Divine form
(surat al-haqq).9 The heart is the quality
within human nature, which transforms
spiritual potentiality into reality. The
heart is able to perceive into the depth
of sensory perceptions such as sight and
sound. When it performs its proper
function it is able to distinguish between
reality and illusion, right and wrong,
and truth and falsehood. If the heart
is not functioning properly, even the
sensory organs start to lose their true
functions. The hearts role is an exten-

sion of the functions of the sensory

capacities to a higher level of functioning. People whose hearts are locked
towards Divine guidance are described
in the Quran as, They have hearts with
which they understand not, eyes with
which they see not, ears with which they
do not hear (Quran, 7:179).
The Quran mentions the perceptions of seeing and hearing most often.
It is these perceptions that become
dulled because the heart is not alive to
their inner meaning. Evidence is given
in the Quran of how a person in such
a condition has mere sensations, devoid
of their true and wholesome worth. As
to those who reject faith, it is the same
to them whether thou warn them or do
not warn them, they will not believe.
Allah hath set a seal on their hearts and
on their hearing and on their eyes is a
veil; great is the penalty they (incur)
(Quran, 2: 6-7).
The present and future generations who inherit wealth and power
are warned that if they reject and rebel
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The Role of the Heart in Ibn Al-Arabis Doctrine

against the guidance of Allah then, We

could punish them (too) for their sins,
and seal up their hearts so that they
could not hear (Quran, 7: 101). This
quote makes it clear that using the ears
for listening to the ayats (signs) of the
scriptures is not enough. The key to
true guidance lies in the openness of the
heart in allowing for a cognitive comprehension of the outer and inner meanings
of the scriptures, which then have the
effect of directing human beings to a life
of righteousness (Quran, 4: 155, 63: 3,
and 16: 106-108). This subtle spiritual
heart has also been defined as the organ
of transcendental intuition, which has a
correspondence with the physical heart,
just as thought has a correspondence
with the brain.10 The spiritual heart
transcends the physical heart, just as the
mind transcends the grey matter of the
brain.11 It is not the eyes that are blind
but the hearts (Quran, 22:46). The
heart is where the Divine Presence is felt
because this is the limitless organ where
the Spirit is known to dwell. The potential of the heart is unlimited, therefore,
the potential for spiritual growth within
human beings is also unlimited. God is
Infinite, His Self-disclosures are infinite,
therefore the ability of human beings
to experience unveilings as a result of
the hearts openness is infinite as well.
Vision of the Divine Presence can be
attained through the eye of the heart.
The heart is the locus of Divine
self-disclosures within human existence.
In reality, Divine self-disclosures are the
manifestation of Divine creativity. It is
the heart that is the organ of intuition
(al-kashf) and also the point of identification (wajd) with being (wujud).
Intuition takes place in the heart when
Divine self-disclosures take place in
36 | V5 N1 January2007

the heart through the creative power

(al-himmah) of the heart.

CREATIVE POWER OF THE

HEART: AL-HIMMAH

he secret hidden power of the heart

is called al-himmah in Arabic. It is a
secret force or energy (quwwat khafiya),
which comprehends Divine realities and
spiritual knowledge. The form of God
is reflected, as in a mirror, in the heart
of the human being when it undergoes
unveiling. The term al-himmah signifies
a powerful creative force that includes
the intentions and desires of the heart.
Al-himmah is a spiritual quality of the
heart, an intention of the soul so powerful that it has the ability to engender
into existence that which was only a possibility amongst the infinite possibilities
of Unmanifest Being.12
Analysis of the concept of al-himmah in Ibn al-Arabis philosophy reveals
that it is the creative ability of the heart
to project into an external plane that
which was conceived by the heart. It
is this ability of the heart that has perception of Divine consciousness. It is
this perceptive ability of the heart that
enabled the Prophet Muhammad to
experience the highest of all spiritual
goals, i.e. the vision of the Lord. The
Prophet used the following words to
describe this experience: I have seen my
Lord in the most beautiful of forms.13
This vision of the Lord through the
power of the al-himmah is known in Ibn
al-Arabis and Sufi terminology as an
experiencing of dhawq, meaning an intimate taste or touch. Such an experience
is not to be confused with the physical
function of sight. Instead, dhawq means
the transcendence of consciousness to a

Ayesha L. Saeed

height where God intimately pervades

the seekers consciousness, and he/she
experiences a radiant union with the
Divine Beloved. Al-himmah is in its
practical aspect, the free disposal of
things (tashkir al-ashya), while in its cognitive aspect it is an extraordinary power
to penetrate the secret of Being which
lies beyond the grasp of reason.14
Who is here and what there?
Who is here is what is there.
He who is universal is particular,
And He Who is particular is
universal.
There is but one Essence,
The light of the Essence being
also darkness.
He who heeds these words will not
Fall into confusion.
In truth, only he knows what
we say
Who is possessed of spiritual
power [al-himmah].15
Ibn al-Arabi gives an in-depth explanation of a verse in the Quran: Surely in
this is a lesson for him who has a heart and
who gives ear and is an eye-witness (shahid) (Quran, 50:36). On the grounds of
this verse He divides human beings into
three categories: (a) the disciples of the
science of the heart, who are the people
who possess the psycho-spiritual organ
designated as the heart (ashab al-qulub)16;
these are the mystics the more perfect
among the Sufis.17 These are the perfect human beings (insan al kamil) and
the representatives of God on earth

(khalifatullah); (b) the disciples of the

rational intellect (ashab al-uqul); this
group includes the rational theologians
who give uncompromising emphasis to understanding religion from a
rational standpoint alone; (c) the third
group comprises the simple believers
(muminun). Under a spiritual guide, a
simple believer can develop into a mystic
of the heart. But between the mystics
and the rational theologians18, there is an
unbridgeable gulf .19

CREATIVE POWER OF LOVE

THROUGH SPIRITUAL POWER
(AL-HIMMAH)

he gnostics20 heart is the eye

through which God reveals Himself
to Himself. Gods self-disclosures in
as much as He wills them, take place
within the heart of the mystic through
the unveiling that has been arduously desired with this powerful quality
of al-himmah. Ibn al-Arabi proclaims
that each self-disclosure of the Lord is
absolutely unique, as He never reveals
Himself twice in exactly the same manner. This power of al-himmah has an
integral role in the whole creative process, and revels to the gnostic that God
is constantly manifesting Himself in
new theophanies (tajalli). Therefore, the
folk of God know God in whatever form
of belief He discloses Himself. They do
not deny His divinity as it is manifested
in other creeds, religions and traditions.
For the gnostic, the Reality is
[always] known and not [ever]
denied. Those who know in
this world will know in the
Hereafter. For this reason He
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The Role of the Heart in Ibn Al-Arabis Doctrine

says, for one who is possessed of a

heart (Quran, 50:37) namely,
one who understands the formal
transformations of the Reality
by adapting himself formally,
so that from [or by] himself he
knows the Self.21

Divine Spark, original art, Lonnie Hanzon

The seeker is himself / herself

a spark lit by the light of the
Divine Being.

In order to understand Ibn alArabis views regarding the importance

of the heart there is a need to grasp a
basic principle of Sufism: like seeks to
unite with like. According to this belief,
a substance can truly see and know its
38 | V5 N1 January2007

own like, and it can itself be truly seen

and known by its like.22 Ibn al-Arabi
says, concerning the gnostic, [In truth],
his self is not other than the Divine
Identity Itself, as also no [determined]
being, now or in the future, is other than
His Identity; He is the Identity Itself.23
This is the principle that sets in
creative movement the relationship
between the human lover and the Divine
Beloved, and the Divine Lover and the
human beloved.24 Once the creative
power of the heart becomes an intense
yearning and thirst for the Divine
Beloved, there is a corresponding desire
of the Divine Beloved towards His
lover. This process is creative in nature
because it is brought about by a totally
unique phenomenon, a lovers secret
and intensely individual desire for his
Lord and the Lords totally unique
response that results in Gods creative
self-disclosures.
These creative self-disclosures
of God (tajalli) take place because of
the Lords intense and totally specific
yearning for His beloved (abd) and
the beloveds totally unique, creative
response of the heart. This is verified by the principle of the renewing
of creation at each moment. Ibn alArabi keeps reiterating that the Lord
never manifests Himself twice in the
same manner. What is sought in this
great creative endeavour is the Divine
Being. The seeker is himself / herself
a spark lit by the light of the Divine
Being. Human beings, by transcending
the limitations imposed by their material nature, can become fully aware, and
taste (dhawaq) being a particle of this
Divine light through the creative power
of love in their hearts.25

Ayesha L. Saeed

The heart is the organ of perception, whose goal is to strive towards

infinity and not to accept any limitations on the way. Gods infinity and
vastness do not allow for limitations of
any kind. Although Ibn al-Arabi usually
discusses the doctrine of perpetual creation from the metaphysical standpoint
of Gods creativity, he does give some
very interesting points to show how
human beings can seek to come closer
to God through the use of their own
aspirations (al-himmah).
God is much vaster than that
a person should be satisfied with
a little of what comes from Him.
Rather, one should be satisfied with
Him, but not with what comes
from Him, since satisfaction
with what comes from Him cuts
of the Men [human beings] from
their aspirations (himmah)...
So there is nothing too great to
be sought from God, since that
which is sought from Him is
infinite and hence has no end
where we should come to a halt.
So make your seeking of increase
vast, if you are among those who
know God! And since the vastness
of the possible things accepts no
finitude, what do you suppose
of the Divine Vastness?26
Ibn al-Arabi believes in the power
of human aspirations (al-himmah) and it
is through this power that human beings
can strive towards infinity. To seek
love from the Lord is to seek from an
infinitely vast and creative Being, who
accepts no limitations.

GREATEST CREATIVE FORCE

t is worth mentioning Ibn al-Arabis

standpoint with regard to Divine
self-disclosures and their relationship to the level of aspirations within
human being. For him, all things
existent are different because each can
only receive the Divine self-disclosure
only to the extent of its own level of
realization. Whoever holds a belief
regarding God (itiqad) holds it in
accordance with his own preparedness,
and so the belief is absolutely unique.
In reality, the object of our belief is
only ourselves, since God stands far
beyond our capacity to conceptualize
or understand.27 In the same manner, even if human beings should
attain the state of presence (hudur)
with God, the God with whom we
are present is determined by our ability to encompass Him: we can never
encompass God, so we are only present with ourselves. 28 Ibn al-Arabi
explains this concept in the following
words: The Real does not return to
you except through you, not through
Himself. For it is not in the capacity
of the creature to endure Him.29
The power of love for the Divine
Beloved, which is actualized through
al-himmah, is the greatest creative force
within human beings. This creative
power of the heart exercises its influence
on the imaginal (al-khayal) realm of the
soul in human beings. The imagination
(al-khayal) is common to all human
beings in its passive mode, but when
it is aroused by the spiritual will and
aspirations (al-himmah), it creates lasting forms. This quality of al-himmah
encompasses the ideas of the power
of spiritual decision, of concentration,
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Mystic Heart, original art, Lonnie Hanzon

and of aspiration towards God. It is the

opposite of wahm, illusion, conjecture
or opinion. Ibn al-Arabi makes a clear
distinction between the imagination
that is accompanied by spiritual will and
imagination without spiritual will. The
latter is nothing but fancy and fantasy.
It is important to note here that many
a seeker on the spiritual path has been
led astray for want of proper guidance
in distinguishing between the two kinds
of imaginable realities. To differentiate
40 | V5 N1 January2007

between these two imaginable realms

it is essential to find the right spiritual
guide; one who has been through the
various spiritual trials and stages to reach
the level where he/she can save the seekers from the many pitfalls of the imaginable realm. Such guides have themselves
tasted of the Divine realities through
their own himmah and therefore they
have an insight into the states of the
seekers heart and are able to direct the
course of their spiritual journey.

Ayesha L. Saeed

It is through the power of the

heart, the intense longing of love for
the Divine Beloved, that Divine realities
are manifested in the heart. According
to Ibn al-Arabi the spiritually mature
person seeks God through the creative
power of the heart known as al-himmah.
Such a person realizes that Divine selfdisclosures are limitless. No limitations
can be set regarding how God chooses
to disclose Himself in the heart of His
true believer. To the one who attains a
vision of God through the eye of the
heart all religions and all creeds have
their own beauty, their own uniqueness
and importance, as God reveals Himself
in myriad of ways.
My heart has become capable of
every form;
It is a pasture for gazelles and a
convent for Christian monks,
And a temple for idols and the
pilgrims Kaba
And the tables of the Torah and
the book of the Quran.
I follow the religion of Love:
whatever way
Loves camels take, that is my
religion and my faith.30

NOTES
A. ATES, IN ALARABI IN Encyclopaedia of
Islam, CD-ROM, Edition v. 1.0. Leiden:
Koninklijke Brill NV, 1999.
1

May the peace and blessings of God be

upon all the prophets.
2

Corbin, Henry. Creative Imagination in the

Sufism of Ibn al-Arabi. Translated by Ralph
3

Manheim. Princeton: Princeton University

Press, 1969, 221.
Ibn al-Arabi, Futuhat, I 218.19, quoted in
Chittick, Sufi Path of Knowledge, 170.
4

Ibn al-Arabi, Futuhat, III 356.2, quoted

in Corbin, Creative Imagination, 277.
5

Corbin, Creative Imagination, 221.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Ibid.

Martin Lings, What is Sufism? (Lahore:

Suhail Academy, 1999), 48.
10

Ibid.

11

According to Henry Corbin himmah is an

extremely complicated notion which cannot be translated by any one word. Many
equivalents have been suggested: meditation, projection, intention, desire, force of
will; here we will concentrate on the aspect
that encompasses all the others, the creative power of the heart. Corbin, Creative
Imagination, 220.
12

This hadith has been transmitted from

Ikrima. Its authority has been disputed by
the ulama. The complete hadith is: "I saw
my Lord in the form of a beardless youth,
wearing a cloak of gold, upon his head a
crown of gold, and upon his feet sandals
of gold" (Dhakhair, 17). Although Ibn alArabi is aware of the controversy surrounding the hadith, he alludes to it in his commentary of the Tarjuman al-ashwaq. See
Muhyiddin Ibn al-Arabi, The Tarjuman
Al-Ashwaq: A Collection of Mystical Odes,
trans. and ed. Reynold A. Nicholson
(London: Theosophical Publishing House,
1978), 55-56.
13

Toshihiko Izutsu, Permanent

Archetypes. In Sufism and Taoism: A
Comparative Study of Key Philosophical
14

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The Role of the Heart in Ibn Al-Arabis Doctrine

Concepts. Revised edition of A Comparative

Study of the Key Philosophical Concepts in
Sufism and Taoism, Berkeley: University of
California Press, 1984, 279. Here, the use
of the word reason is to denote the concept of the kind of common, limited, blind
reason used by people who have not been
able to raise their mental abilities from a
state of concrete level of consciousness.
Knowledge of the unseen world of Spirit
is rejected outright as it cannot be grasped
through their physical organs of sight,
hearing, smelling, tasting and touching. In
contrast, for those who have had a vision
of their Lord, their intellect and reason
are raised to an infinitely higher state of
consciousness. Such people use their reason
and intellect as a tool to gain further understanding of the Divine realities. But, the
most powerful organ for spiritual insight
is the heart and the creative power of the
heart to apprehend spiritual realities and to
take part in creativity is called al-himmah
in Arabic.

20

Muhyi-d-Din Ibn Arabi,. The Wisdom of

the Prophets: (Fusus al-Hikam). Partial French
translation by Titus Burckhardt, rendered
into English by Angela Culme-Seymour.
Lahore: Suhail Academy, 1999, 150.

27

15

It is my understanding that the term

disciples of the rational intellect used here
denotes dogmatic, literalists whose minds
and hearts are closed to higher spiritual
truths. Such knowledge is based on given
dogmatic doctrines and second-hand learning, not direct research and experiencing of
the spiritual realities.
16

Corbin, Creative Imagination, 230.

17

The term rational theologians, in my

opinion, refers to dogmatic literalists whose
qualities are discussed in note 16.
18

Ibid.

19

42 | V5 N1 January2007

The term gnostic is here used for those

adepts who have achieved a certain level
of spiritual actualization and have gained
insight into esoteric spiritual sciences.
Ibn Arabi, Fusus,151.

21

Henry Corbin, The Man of Light in

Iranian Sufism, trans. Nancy Pearson
(London: Shambala, 1978), 68.
22

Ibn Arabi, Fusus, 151.

23

For a comprehensive understanding of

Ibn al-Arabis concept and experience of
love see Claude Addas, The Experience
and Doctrine of Love in Ibn al-Arabi,
translated from the French by Cecilia
Twinch on behalf of the Muhyiddin
Ibn Arabi Society for the Symposium at
Worchester College Oxford May 4-6th
2002; available from http:// www.ibnarabisociety.org/; accessed 4 August 2002.
24

Ibid.

25

Ibn al-Arabi, Futuhat, II 213.23, quoted

in Chittick, Sufi Path of Knowledge, 104.
26

Ibid.
Ibid.,105.

28

Ibn al-Arabi, Futuhat, II589.28, quoted

in Chittick, Sufi Path of Knowledge, 105.
29

Ibn al-Arabi, The Seals of Wisdom from

the Fusus al Hikam, ed. Raghvan Iyer (New
York: Concord Grove Press, 1983), 25.
For further understanding of Ibn al-Arabis
concept of love see William C. Chittick,
The Divine Roots of Human Love.
Journal of the Muhyiddin ibn Arabi Society
17 (1995): 55-78.
30