When Abdullah ibn Abbas (radhi allahu anhuma) was asked, “How did you achieve this Ilm?”
He replied: بلسان سؤول و قلب عقول “With a tongue that questions, and a heart that understands.”
Comprehension comes from the heart, Qalb.
Qalb has two meanings:
- Physical flesh heart
- Inside/core of something
So what is true knowledge?
True ‘aql starts in the heart, then it travels to the brain. If you have a pure heart connected to Allah (swt) and it is sincere, you reason with a purity of intention. It isn’t corrupted by your desire.
This is where differences comes into reasoning. If someone doesn’t want to believe in Allah (swt), then they won’t reason with purity. In the akhira, “… they will say: “Had we but listened or used our intelligence, we would not have been among the dwellers of the blazing Fire!” [Quran 67:10]
True intellect comes from having a pure heart. True knowledge comes when a person’s heart is connected to their Creator.
