In Sufism, the heart is considered to be the center of the intellect and the conscious center of Being. Troublesome deeds, for the purpose of this paper, can be anything that holds us in a state of limited consciousness. Many individuals may strive for the knowledge of unity, the vision of Universal Reality, yet few achieve this knowledge in a lifetime. Those who do achieve this level are called Sufis. For the rest, we live in a limited stage or state of understanding or knowledge, within the realm of multiplicity.
One phrase that is used in Sufism to describe the realm of multiplicity is that the heart is veiled in ignorance, which indicates a state of less than full consciousness. This state is also defined as living in darkness or searching for light. The light can be considered a metaphor for ultimate or cosmic consciousness. In Sufism it is understood that wisdom, light, and a complete system of existence exists, yet they are often hidden from view. As the great Sufi, Amir al-Moumenin Ali said, “You think you are a small body, yet within you is wrapped the greater world.” Through this saying Sufis are given the key to understanding existence. It is not to focus on the small body or to look somewhere outside, but rather, the greater world (awareness of existence) is wrapped within, more specifically, within the heart.
On the subject of the heart, Henry Corbin writes, “In Ibn Arabi as in Sufism in general, the heart (qualb), is the organ which produces true knowledge, comprehensive intuition, the gnosis (ma’rifa) of God and the divine mysteries, in short, the organ of everything connoted by the term “esoteric science” (‘ilm al-Batin). It is the organ of a perception which is both experience and intimate taste (dhawq).”
Once the Sufi practitioner knows where to look, we must then come to understand the process of uncovering and seeing the light and moving away from ignorance and darkness. Whatever is seen in the darkness is a limited view with hidden angles. From this limited view we remain in the realm of multiplicity, which is the term used for anything less than knowledge and experience of unity.
Hadrat Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani writes: “Some of the properties of this darkness are arrogance, pride, envy, miserliness, vengeance, lying, gossiping, backbiting and so many other hateful traits… To rid one of these evils one has to cleanse and shine the mirror of the heart. This cleansing is done by acquiring knowledge, by acting upon this knowledge, by effort and valour, fighting against one’s ego within and without oneself, by ridding oneself of one’s multiplicity of being, by achieving unity. This struggle will continue until the heart becomes alive with the light of unity - and with that light of unity, the eye of the clean heart will see the reality of Allah’s attributes around and in it.”
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