ভূমিকা

Muhammad ibn Ya’qub (al-Kulayni), from ‘Ali ibn Ibrahim, from his father, from al-Nawfali, from al-Sakuni, from Abu ‘Abd Allah (Imam al Sadiq) (A) that he said: Amir al-Mu’minin (A) used to say: “Arouse your heart to contemplation; keep your side clear off the night; and be heedful towards your Lord.”[^1] Exposition The phrase kana yaqul (used to say) has a meaning different from qala (said) or yaqul (says), as it indicates continuation and perpetuation.

It shows that Amir al-Mu’minin (A) repeatedly used to utter these words. The word tanabbuh means ‘to arouse’, ‘to warn’, ‘to call attention to’, and ‘to awaken from sleep.’ Here all of these meanings are suitable, for the hearts are in a state of neglectfulness and sleep prior to contemplation, and they come out of this state by means of it. Sleep and awakening, unconsciousness and consciousness are different for the realm of the body and the kingdom of the soul.

Many a time the outward eye is awake, the corporeal personality is conscious but the inner eye and the inward vision is deep asleep, and the spiritual regions and the domain of the soul are heedless and unconscious. Tafakkur (contemplation, intellection) is the activity of the intellect. It is the reordering of known matters for the purpose of reaching hitherto unknown conclusions. It includes the kind of contemplation which is one of the characteristics of mystics and wayfarers of the Path.

There are various applications and denotations of the word ‘heart’.