Allah will not call you to account for what is vain in your oaths,
but He will call you to account for what your hearts have earned, and Allah is
Forgiving, Forbearing. (2:225)
A "al-laghw" (vain) action is that which has no effect. The effect of a thing
varies according to variations in its attachments, etc. An oath may have an
effect in so far as it is a word, or in so far as, it emphasizes speech; or
thirdly in so far as it is a vow; or fourthly if it is broken, or if one
perjures, and so on. In this verse the vain oath is contrasted with that (oath)
which hearts have earned. It shows that the vain oath here means that which has
no effect on the intention of the speaker, that is, such oaths which one utters
(like 'No, By God', 'Yes, By God' ) without taking those words seriously.
"al-Kasb" means to earn profits by a work or profession etc. Originally, it was
used for the obtaining of those things which fulfil material needs. Then it was
metaphorically used for any good or evil a man may get as a result of any of his
actions, like earning praise and good reputation through good character and
social services, and earning good knowledge, superiority, and nobility by
striving for them; or earning condemnation, abuse, and slander; or sin and error
by one's evil actions. This is the meaning of al-Kasb and al-iktisab. Some
people say that al-iktisab is used when one earns a benefit for one's own self;
and al-kasb refers to earning a benefit whether it is done for one's own self or
for others, as when a servant earns for his master, or a guardian for his ward.
In any case the active participle al-kasib and al-muktasib (both of which mean
"one who earns") are used only for a human being.
The above explanation is a proof that the words "your hearts" in the verse refer
to the man himself - his spirit and soul. The faculties of thought,
understanding, love, hate, fear, and so forth, may be attributed (basing what
one says on the common man's belief) to the heart, as hearing is attributed to
the ears, sight to the eyes, and taste to the tongue. But the word "earning" can
only be attributed to man. As the verse uses the expression, "for what your
hearts have earned", it proves that the "heart" here stands for the 'soul',
'spirit'.
The same meaning applies to the verses: ..........his heart is surely sinful
(2:83) and: .........and comes with a penitent heart. (50:33)
When man looked at animals and at himself he found that perceptions and thinking
sometimes become ineffective, for example, during epilepsy or lunacy, yet life
continues, as it is witnessed by the heart-beat and the pulse. This led him to
believe that the source of life is the heart; he thought that the spirit of life
first attaches itself to the heart, and then it is from there that life extends
to all parts of the body. He further believed that all the psychological
faculties, such as perception, will, love, hate, hope, fear and other such
things, belong to the heart because it is the seat of the psyche - the spirit.
Of course, every organ is the source of its own function - the mind for
thinking, the eyes for seeing, the ears for hearing, the lungs for breathing,
and so on. But all are like tools which are used in the work they are made for;
it is the heart that is the tool-wielder.
And it is a fact that physical research and experiments have not been able to
pin-point the source of control which rules over the whole body. There is no
doubt that the limbs and the organs of the body, even though they are different
from each other and have different functions and duties to perform, are united
under the control of one ruling power, and are really one unit.
It is not that the ancients were not aware of the mind and its functions. Man
knew the importance of the head from the very beginning. Does one not see that
all the nations and races, with their different languages, name the "authority"
the "head", and with it its derivatives. For example ar-ra's (head), ar-riyasah
(headship, meaning presidency) and ar-ra'is (head, that is, President). Then
there are the phrases like head of a thread, the head (beginning) of a period,
the head (starting-point) of a distance, the head (beginning) of a speech, the
head (summit) of a mountain, a head (individual number) of animals or cattle,
the head of the year (new year's day), etc.
Apparently, this is the reason why people attribute perception and thinking and
sentiments (which are totally void of perception) like love, hate, hope, fear,
will, envy, chastity, bravery, etc. to the heart. But by heart they mean the
spirit which runs into or is attached, to the body. They attribute perceptions
and sentiments to the heart, as well as to the spirit and soul, and also to
their own selves. They say: I love him; my soul loves him, my heart loves him.
Then the metaphorical use of the heart for spirit and soul came into general
use; then this use was extended to the breast, because the breast contains the
heart; and, therefore, to it were attributed the faculties of perception, action
and the sentiments.
There are many such uses in the Qur'an: .....He expands his breast for
Islam...(6:125) ......your breast straitens at what they say (15:97) ......and
the hearts rose up to the throats......alluding to the constriction of the
breast (33:10); Surely, Allah knows whatever is in your breasts. (5:7)
A point to consider: Can these expressions not be a support for the common
belief mentioned earlier, even if it is yet to be clarified? Shaykh Abu 'Ali ibn
Sina is inclined to believe that it is the heart that perceives, and the brain
is its tool.
Comments posted are the sole opinion of the author and may not necessarily reflect the opinions of AIM. |
