Chapter Two
The Intelligence of the Heart
THERE IS NO doubt that both the human brain
and the human heart possess intelligence. However, the intelligence of the
heart and that of the brain are not the same and as a consequence the two
organs perceive truth and reality in different ways. This chapter discusses the
differences in the two organs and their relationship with each other.
What is Intelligence?
Prior to the 1980's, it was widely believed
that there was only One kind of intelligence, expressed by the brain and
measurable through IQ (Intelligence Quotient) tests. In 1983, Howard Gardner,
the Harvard University researcher and developmental psychologist, in his book 'Frames
of Mind', revolutionised the whole concept of intelligence. He propounded that
there are different kinds of intelligence such as linguistic, musical,
logical-mathematical, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal (dealing with
one 's own knowledge) and interpersonal (dealing with knowledge of others).14 Gardner's theory of multiple types of
intelligence is in stark contrast with the prevailing scientific view of
intelligence as a single, general faculty of the mind. According to Dr.
Gardner, every person possesses a blend of these seven kinds of intelligence,
most of which are overlooked in our educational system. Hence, intelligence is
far more complex than an IQ rating would suggest. An IQ test only measures two
aspects of intelligence, logical-mathematical and linguistic. As a result of Gardner's
research, many people started to reconsider their definitions of intelligence.
Presently, there is a growing recognition among educators, neuroscientists,
psychologist and others that human beings possess a range of potentials and
capacities that cannot be easily quantified.
In 1996, Daniel Goleman presented a more
holistic view of intelligence in his famous book 'Emotional Intelligence' based
on his own research as well as the research of many other scientists. Goleman
argued that success in life depends more on the ability to manage emotions
rather than simply mental abilities. He explained through research that having
a high IQ does not necessarily guarantee success in life and many people with
an ordinary IQ are more successful in their lives just because they are
emotionally more intelligent.15
According to Goleman, IQ measures are inadequate as determiners of an
individual's future success (or happiness). Emotional intelligence, even though
it is not a wholly quantifiable factor, is a more important contributor to an
individual's potential success. The heart plays a major role in regulating our
emotions and has a direct connection to emotional intelligence, even though
that is not the only kind of intelligence that the heart possesses.
Emotional Intelligence of the
Heart
Scientists of the past believed that the
brain was the source of ll emotions that we experience. It has been shown now
that our emotions are much faster than our thought process and they surpass the
linear reasoning process of the brain due to their speed. Since the thought
processes of the brain ate much slower than the speed with which emotions
appear, emotions cannot be the result of a normal thinking process of the
brain. Hence, as LeDoux showed in 'The Emotional Brain: The Mysterious
Underpinnings of Emotional Life', it is not true that emotions originate in the
brain.16 The centre of the brain
that plays the most important role in our emotional memory processing is called
the amygdala. Recent research has shown that the heart affects this centre of
the brain, 17and thus
our heart influences our emotion.
The concept of mind and body being
distinctly separate entities originated when Rene Descartes (1596-1650), French
mathematician and philosopher, proclaimed, "I think, therefore I am".
Since then, philosophers have considered mind and body as separate entities, a
concept known as Cartesian Dualism. Antonio Darnasio, head of neurology at the
University of Iowa and a prominent researcher on human brain function, has recently
challenged this premise in his book 'Descartes' Error:
Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain'.
Damasio showed that psychology's separation of reason from emotion is flawed
and that emotions playa central role in human decision-making. He showed this
through case studies of various patients whose own emotion-interpreting brain
centres were damaged in accidents. Despite their perfect memory and no physical
impairment, those individuals were lacking the ability to make correct
decisions. Damasio showed that rational decisions are not the result of logic
alone but they need the support of emotions and feelings. 18
Intuition of the Heart
Intuition is an immediate knowing or
learning of something without the conscious use of reasoning.19 In other words, it is the process through
which information is perceived by us which is normally outside the range of our
conscious awareness. People use terms such as 'sixth sense' and 'gut feeling'
to describe their intuitive feelings about a future event or a distant object.
Often, the person having the intuitive feeling is certain about the experience
and these feelings may be accompanied by positive emotions such as hope and
excitement or negative emotions such as pessimism fear or terror. People across
all cultures generally know that our heart plays an important role in our sense
of intuition. However, little scientific research has been conducted to
elucidate the role of the human heart with respect to intuition.
One such study was recently conducted with
the aim of showing, using the latest biomedical instruments, that the body has
the ability to respond to an emotionally arousing stimulus seconds before it
actually happens and also to investigate where and when in the body the
intuitive information is processed.20
The results of this study found that both
the heart and brain appear to receive and respond to intuitive information. A
significantly greater heart rate deceleration (decrease in the rateof heart
beat) was detected before the occurrence of future emotional stimuli as
compared to future calm stimuli, showing that the heart plays a direct role in
processing and decoding intuitive information. Another very interesting finding
was that there appear to be significant differences in the way men process
intuitive information as compared to the way women process the same kind of
information. The results indicated that, in females, the heart was controlling
the electrical signals in the cortex of the brain when the intuitive
information was processed. Thus, "females are more attuned to information
from the heart. "21 It is
truly one of the signs of Allah that the ideal family unit is comprised of a
balance between masculine intuition (brain- Inclined) and feminine intuition
(heart-inclined).
The Intelligence of the Heart
and the Intelligence of the Brain
The human brain works in a linear, logical
manner. Its basic functions are to analyse, memorise, compartmentalise, compare
and sort through the information obtained from our senses. Based on past
information, experiences and memories, the brain sorts the incoming messages
from our senses and transforms that data into perceptions, thoughts and
emotions. This linear approach of the brain is necessary for our survival, but
there are disadvantages to this ability. The brain can easily get stuck in a
fixed pattern. This means that since there is already information in the head
(it does not matter whether that information is based on reality or not), the
brain always compares the new information to the old model it has and sees
unconsciously if the new information matches with the old ideas and perceptions
it has. This is the reason why it is so hard for us to change our old habits
and perceptions.22
The German philosopher, Immanuel Kant
(1724-1804) argued that intellect alone is totally inadequate for the
comprehension of God's Essence.23 That is true because the Qur'an says about Allah:
There is nothing like unto Him. (Surah Ash-Shu'ara: 11)
The brain works by comparing new information
with information that it already possesses. In the case of the Essence of
Allah, the brain does not have anything to compare it with because there is
nothing like Allah. Therefore, the brain alone becomes helpless in discerning
Allah directly. The only way it can understand Allah is by indirect knowledge -
by contemplating upon the creations of Allah. That is why, Abu Bakr Siddique ~
said about the recognition of Allah: lory to God who has not given to his
creatures any other way to attain the knowledge of Him except by means of their
helplessness and their hopelessness of ever reaching such attainment.24
The heart, however, cuts through any
needless complexity or confusion, very similar to a flashlight beam that
illuminates the darkness and allows one to see what is actually important. The
intelligence of the heart processes incoming information in a different way
that is less linear, more intuitive and more direct. In fact, there are many
things in life, which we cannot explain logically. For example, belief in the
Unseen and fear of Allah coupled with a desire to please Him all defy logic.
But the heart can understand these concepts because of the way that it
processes information.
Imam Malik, the great jurist, referred to
the superiority of the heart's intelligence over that of the brain when he
described true knowledge:
Knowledge does not refer to plenty of
information; rather, knowledge is a light that Allah puts into the heart of a
true believer. 25
Real knowledge is not the learning of facts
and theories but the recognition of the Essence of Allah, the purpose of
creation and the realisation of man's insignificance in comparison to the
vastness of Allah's creation. It is this kind of intelligence which Rumi
referred to in his poetic masterpiece Mathnawi as follows:
"The intelligent person sees with the
heart
The result from the beginning;
The one lacking in knowledge
Only discovers it at the end."
(Mathnawi, Vol III, 4129) 26
The intelligence of the heart is of the
humanistic type, which cares about other people as well. The intelligence of
the brain is of a selfish kind, which is more concerned about its own survival.
As researcher Dr. Paul Pearsall writes:
"The brain itself never truly falls
completely asleep. It has different levels of vigilance, but it never gives up
its hold on the body .... The brain is mortality phobic. "27
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi states
in his book 'The Evolving Self that our brain is inclined more towards
pessimism and always expects the worst to happen. This is the brain's mechanism
for being prepared for the unexpected.28 It is this fear and pessimism of the human brain that is
exploited by the shaytan when our heart wants to spend in the path of Allah: Shay tan threatens you
with poverty, (Surah AI-Baqarah: 268)
Similarly, shaytan takes advantage of the
hidden fears of the brain and, as a result, the brain makes the heart
spiritually sick as well. As a consequence, both the sinful brain and the
sinful heart will be punished on the Day of Judgement:
Nay! If he ceases not, We will catch him by the Forelock
(front portion of the brain), a lying sinful forelock. (Surah Al-'Alaq: 15-16)
The fire of Allah,
kindled, which leaps up over the
hearts. Surah
Al-Humazah: 6-7)
While it is vital for man's survival on this
earth to have intelligence of the brain, the possession of emotional
intelligence is also important for happiness and success both in this
world and in the Hereafter. For it is only people who have intelligent hearts
who have been promised success in the next world:
The Day whereon neither wealth
nor sons will avail, except him who brings to Allah a clean (sound) heart. (Surah Ash-Shu'ara: 88-89)
Dr, Mohammad Iqbal, great Islamic poet,
philosopher and Islamic scholar, in his 'Reconstruction of Religious Thought in
Islam' made the following remarks about the heart:
"The heart has a kind of inner
intuition or insight which, in the beautiful words of Rumi, feeds on the rays
of the sun and brings us into contact with aspects of Reality other than those
open to sense-perception. It is, according to the Qur'an, something which
'sees', and its reports, if properly interpreted, are never false. "29
Relationship between the Heart
and the Brain
Up until the 1970's, it was widely believed
that the brain sends one-way commands to the heart which the latter then obeys.
However, it was during the 1970's that it became clear that two- way
communication exists between the heart and the brain.30 When the brain sends a command to the heart
through the nervous system, the heart does not always blindly obey but seems to
use its own kind of logic. In addition, the research found that the heart was
also sending messages back to the brain that the brain not only understood but
also followed.31
More recent research is beginning to uncover
specifically how the heart can communicate with the brain and it has been found
that it can do so in four different ways. 32 33 Firstly,
the heart has its own set of 40,000 nerve cells or neurons that transmit
information to the brain. This transmission of information through the nerves
is called neural traffic and research has shown that the heart sends more
neural traffic to the brain than the other way round. 34 Secondly, the heart has been found to
secrete a very powerful hormone called Atrial Natriuretic factor (ANF) that has
a profound effect on many parts of the body including those portions of the
brain that are involved in memory, learning and emotions.35 Thirdly, with every heartbeat, pressure
waves are generated and when these travel through the arteries to the brain,
there are recordable changes in the electrical activity of the brain.36
Finally, the heart has an electromagnetic energy field 5,000 times greater than
that of the brain and this field can be measured with magnetometers up to ten
feet beyond the physical body.37 Since
the heart's energy field is greater than that of the brain, it can be assumed
to have a profound effect on the brain's functions. It must be borne in mind
that as the heart is the only organ in the body that pulsates so its effects
will reach each part of the body at every moment.
Even though the timing of the heartbeat can
be influenced by the brain (through the autonomic nervous system), the source
of the heartbeat is present within the heart. There appears to be no need for
nerve connections between the heart and the brain.38 That is why, when a person has a heart
transplant, all the nerve connections between the heart and the brain are cut
but that does not stop the heart from working when it is placed in the new
person's chest. 39
Usually, a person's heart is about the size
of his own fist. As the body develops, the heart grows at the same rate as the
fist. Hence, a baby's heart and fist are about the same size at birth. In the
womb, however, that similarity is not always true. During the first few weeks
after conception, the foetal heart occupies most of its mid-section. The ratio
of the heart size to body size is nine times greater in the foetus than in the
infant. It is common knowledge now that the heart of the unborn child develops
and starts pumping long before the brain cornes into existence. Even though the
actual event which triggers the beating of the heart cells of a baby is not
known, it is suspected as Paul Pearsall, Ph.D. writes, that "the mother's
heart energy conveyed in primal sound waves contains the information that is
the code that jump-starts our life."40 Once the heart begins to beat, it
continues to beat throughout a lifetime (auto rhythmic beating function) even
when the brain stops working in cases like 'brain death'. Brain death is
described as a condition when brain activity has stopped forever. Hence, even
when the brain dies, the heart can still live. But when the heart dies (unless
we find a replacement for the heart), the brain cannot live. Thus, the brain
needs the heart for its survival more than the heart needs the brain.
The final words on this subject have been
reserved for the verse of Iqbal highlighting the differences between the roles
of the brain and the heart:
"Intellect (brain) one day said to the
heart:
'I am a guide to those who have gone astray
Though bound to earth, I reach the heaven
above
Just see how far reaching is my sway
I am cast in the mould of the legendary
Khidhr
I am destined in the world to show the way
I am the interpreter of the book of life
I am an attribute of divine display
You are only a drop of blood
I am the envy of ruby's ray.'
'This is all true', replied the heart
'But look at me, be as it may
You look at life's trauma and drama
I see through life's white and grey
You deal with outer manifestations
And I am aware of the inner fray
Knowledge is to you, intuition to me
You seek God, I show how to pray
Limit of wisdom is restless doubting
I am cure for the malady of dismay
You are a lantern to illuminate a spot
I am a lamp to illuminate the path
You deal with time and space
I deal with Judgment Day
To what lofty place do I belong?
I am the pedestal of God Almighty, I
say.'"
Aql aur Dil (Intellect and Heart)
by Mohammad Iqbal 41
14.Gardner, Howard (1985). Frames of mind: The Theory of Multiple intelligences. New York, Basic Books.
15.Goleman, Daniel (1995). Emotional Intelligence. New York, Bantam Books.
16.LeDoux,J.
(1996). The Emotional Brain: The mysterious underpinnings of Emotional Life. New York, Simon
and Schuster.
17_ Armour.J, Andrew, M.D., Ph.D. &
Ardell, Jeffry L., Ph.D. ed. (1994). Neurocardiology. New York, Oxford University Press.
18.Damasio, Antonio (1994). Descartes' Error: Emotion, 1-(ca5011 and the Human Brain. New York Quill Publishers.
19.Webster's Dictionary
20. Mc Craty, Rollin, Ph. D.,
Atkinson, Mike & Bradley, Raymond T., Ph.D. (2004). Electrophysiological Evidence
of Intuition: The Surprising Role of the Heart. Journal of Alternative and
Complementary medicine 10(1), 133-143.
21. ibid
22.Childre, Doc & Martin, Howard (1999). The HeartMath Solution. New York, Harper San Francisco.
23.Kant, Immanuel, (1990). The Critique of Pure
Reason. New York,
Prometheus Books.
24. Ghazali, Imam Abu Hamid (1978). Ihya Ulum ad Din. Karachi, Darul Isha'at Publishers
25. Abu Zahra, Muhammad (1990). Life of lmam Malik (Urdu) Lahore, Sheikh Ghulam Ali & Sons.
26.Rumi, Jalaluddin Mathnawi quoted in
Helminski. Kabir (1999). The
Knowing Heart: A
Sufi path of Transformation. Boston,
Shambhala Publications.
27.Pearsall, Paul Ph.D. (1998). The Heart's Code. New York, Broadway Books.
28.Csikszcntmihalyi, Mihaly (1993). The Evolving Self. New York, HarperCollins.
29. Iqbal. Sir Mohammad (Allama) (1994). The Reconstruction o{
Religiolls '17lOught in Islam. New Delhi,
Kitaab Bhavan.
30.Lacey,
Beatrice C. & Lacey, John L (1978). Two-Way Communication Between the Heart
and the Brain: Significance of Time Within the Cardiac Cycle. AmcriwlI Psychologist,
99-113.
31.Lacey, Beatrice C. &' Lacey, John I.
Some autonomic-central nervous system interrelationships. In:
Black, Perry. Ed. (1970). Physiological Correlates oi Emotion. New York, Academy Press: pp. 205-227.
32.Childre, Doc & Martin, Howard (1999). The Heart Math Solution. New York, Harper San Francisco.
33. Ibid.
34. McCraty, Rollin, Ph.D. (2003). Heart-Brain Neurodynamics:
The Making of Emotions. Boulder
Creek, California, Institute of HeartMath.
35. Cantin, Marc & Genest, Jacques
(1986). The Heart as an Endocrine Gland. Scientific
American 254(2),76-81.
36. Childre, Doc & Martin, Howard
(1999). The
HeartMath Solution. New York,
HarperSanFrancisco.
37. Pearsall. Paul Ph.D. (1998). The Heart's Code. New York, Broadway Books.
38. Childre, Doc & Martin, Howard
(1999). T1,c Heart.Math
Solution. New York,
HarperSanFrancisco.
39. ibid.
40. Pearsall. Paul Ph.D. (1998). The Heart's Code. New York, Broadway Books.
41. Iqbal, Sir Mohammad (Allama) (1987). Bang-e-Dara. Lahore, Sheikh Ghulam Ali & Sons.
English translation of the poem taken from: http://underprogress.blogs.com/weblog/2003/10/intellect_and_
h.html
Important information on Position of Music status in Quran and Hadith and Scientific reasoning http://guidingchristiansandidolators.blogspot.ae/2013/02/music-status-in-islam-allowed-or-not.html
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