A Map of the Divine Subtle Faculty: The Concept of the Heart in the Works of Ghazali, Said Nursi, and Fethullah Gulen

by Mehmet Yavuz Seker

Overview

The heart in the Islamic understanding is the expression of a human being's spiritual existence. It is a Divine gift and Divine subtle faculty bestowed upon humanity. It is a polished mirror reflecting God. Like a general, the heart commands all other bodily organs and faculties, which are its troops, Everything that comes from a human being, whether good or bad, is a product of the heart. Mehmet Y. Seker, a scholar of Sufism and tasawwuf, studies the concept of the heart in the Islamic tradition looking at how it is approached by three prominent scholars and thinkers of Islam: Ghazali, Said Nursi, and Fethullah Gulen. Being the first in English to take as its focus the human heart from an Islamic spiritual, this book comparatively analyzes classical and modern age interpretations and evaluations on the concept and adds to the rich literature of spirituality in the Islamic tradition.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781597843409
Publisher:	Tughra Books
Publication date:	04/07/2015
Pages:	306
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Mehmet Yavuz Seker completed his undergraduate studies at Ankara University, School of Theology and his post graduate studies at Sakarya University, Turkey. He received his Ph.D. from the Australian Catholic University, studying Islam and Muslim-Catholic relations. A regular speaker at conferences both nationally and abroad, he has appeared on various television and programs and published in diverse magazines and journals. Author of nine books, Seker is a professor at the department of Sufi studies, Canakkale University's School of Theology. He lives in Istanbul, Turkey.

Table of Contents

Foreword ix

Introduction 1

Heart in the Islamic Context 3

Relationship between the Physical and Spiritual Heart 6

Words Close in Meaning to the Notion of Qalb 8

Fuad 8

Lubb 10

Sadr 11

'Aql 13

Hilm, Hijr and Nuha 17

Part I Functions and Characteristics of the Heart

Functions of the Heart 23

Centre of Insight and Perception 23

Centre of Feeling and Emotion 26

The Centre of Knowledge 30

The Centre of 'Amal 36

Salah 37

Irada 40

Niyya 41

Conclusion 48

Characteristics of the Heart 49

Factors Affecting the Heart 50

God-Angel 50

Jinn-Satan 53

Human-Environment 54

The Heart's Responsibility in View of Thoughts and Imaginings Occurring to It 57

Positive Qualities of the Heart 58

The Heart's Soundness 58

The Heart's Tenderness 61

Negative Qualities of the Heart 62

Hardening of the Heart 63

The Heart's Swerving and Its Being Sealed 68

The Heart's Sickness 76

Conclusion 79

Heart in the God-Human Relationship 81

Divine Disposal of the Heart 81

Knowing the Heart 83

Intervening between a Person and Their Heart 89

Expanding and Contacting the Sadr 91

Guiding the Heart 95

Giving Inner peace and Reassurance to the Heart 100

Making Hearts Steadfast 110

Cleansing the Heart 116

The Heart's Turning to God 119

The Heart's Belief in God 119

The Heart's Knowledge of God 123

The Heart's Love of God 133

God's Love for His Servants 137

Servants' Love of God 141

Fear of God 152

Remembrance of God 161

Conclusion 165

Part II Ghazali, Said Nursi and Fethullah Gülen's Approaches to the Heart

Ghazali and the Heart 171

The Heart's Functions 171

Latifa al-Rabbaniya 174

The Locus of Knowledge of and Nearness to God 175

God's Addressee 176

The Heart's Soldiers 177

The Characteristics of the Heart 178

Knowledge Being Associated with the Heart 180

Satan's Attack on the Heart 182

The Heart and Lust 185

Conclusion 188

Nursi and the Heart 189

The Essence of the Heart 189

The Heart's Functions 193

The Locus of Belief 193

Windows Opening onto Reality 196

Throne of Divine Knowledge 198

Mirror of God's Eternal Besoughtedness 205

Seat of Love and Hate 206

Map of Thousands of Worlds 208

Mainspring of the Human Machine 210

Seed of the Human Being 214

Said Nursi's Positive Allusions to the Heart 214

The Heart Telephone 215

The Eye, Ear, Feet of the Heart 216

The Sustenance of the Heart 218

Nursi's Negative Allusions to the Heart 220

Satanic Centre 220

Blindness 221

The Heart's Being Pierced 222

The Heart's Being Gnawed At 223

The Heart's Illness 224

The Heart's Death 225

Conclusion 225

Gülen and the Heart 227

The Heart and Its Functions 227

The Biological Heart's Spiritual Aspect 230

Source of Feeling and Belief 232

The Combination of Divine Favor and Essence of Human Existence 232

Projection of the Realms Beyond in the Corporeal World 233

Point of Observation 239

Sirr, Khafi, Akhfa 240

Sirr 245

Khafi 248

Akhfa 249

Heart-Conscience Relationship 253

Heart-Spirit Relationship 256

Emerald Hills of the Heart 259

Social Contribution of a Life of the Heart 262

The Inheritors of the Earth 263

People of Heart 265

Marriage of Heart and Mind 266

Metaphysical Thought 267

Conclusion 268

General Conclusion 273

Glossary 279

References 285

Index 293