The Heart Is Like a City

And then he says — now, how does one really do this? He lowers the gaze from what is forbidden: the eye. The Qurʾān says that the eye, the ears and the heart — the human being is responsible for them:

We have been given these gifts, and we are responsible to guard them and protect them from, one, things that they should not be involved in, and two, things that will harm the heart. The eyes and the ears are considered the inroads to the heart. And the heart, according to the Muslims, is like a city, and it is protected by the boundaries of the seven limbs: the feet, the hands, the mouth, the ears, the eyes, the stomach, the genitals. These are the inroads to the corruption of the city. And the city in its essence is pure; and if we do wrong actions, we begin to corrupt the heart.

And the Prophet (peace be upon him) said that there is a black spot on the heart. Some would say this is similar to the Christian religious idea of original sin. There is an idea in the Islamic tradition that there is, within the human being, a potential for darkness: that there is a black spot on the heart, and if one does wrong actions it begins to grow — metaphorically — until the entire spiritual heart becomes black. So there is an idea that the heart can grow black. And this is what is called, in the tradition, a black-hearted, hard-hearted person: somebody who has just done so much wrong that the heart has become opaque, so that light does not penetrate that type of heart. There are many, many people like that in this world, unfortunately.

And then: he prevents his ears from hearing offensive speech, such as backbiting, malicious slander, false testimony and lying. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that if you listen to backbiting, then you are partaking in it, because you have become the vessel for the actual poison; you take in that poison. And so, if somebody backbites, the Muslim is encouraged to say: I do not want to hear this — or: should we really be talking about this? And the Prophet was asked what backbiting was. He said: backbiting is to mention your brother or sister in a way that, had they been in your presence, they would have detested it. And one of his companions said: what if it was true? And he said: no — that is only if it is true; if it is false, that is calumny. So backbiting is saying true things about people that are unpleasant. And we know the insidious effects that it has within our workspaces and elsewhere. And one of the Muslim Sufis once said: whenever you hear somebody backbiting to you about somebody else, be sure that he is going to be backbiting about you to somebody else. Because it is nature; there is a nature there that is emerging, that is showing up.

And then he says: it is more obvious that the tongue should abandon what was mentioned. In other words, if it is prohibited to listen to these things, how much greater is it to be the one who is perpetrating them, or speaking about them? Now, obviously, there are circumstances in the Islamic tradition where one can say things about people — like bearing witness against them in a court of law, or when asked about a position. If somebody has had business transactions with somebody who cheated them, and somebody says: listen — there is a thought of going into business with so-and-so; how was your experience with them? — one is obligated to tell them: a bad experience was had with them; with the condition that one does not embellish it. And by the way, he drinks too!