The Unity of the Human Being
Hearts are sanctuaries free from fear because they are the home of Allah. We have previously mentioned this, and it is worth emphasizing that this applies to all hearts, even those of inorganic matter, which we conventionally describe as "dead."
Regarding the innate purity of hearts in their original creation, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Every child is born upon the fitrah (natural disposition). It is his parents who make him Jewish, Christian, or Zoroastrian."
Similarly, Allah says about the Jews: "And they said, ‘Our hearts are wrapped.’ Rather, Allah has cursed them for their disbelief, so little is it that they believe." (2:88)
He also says: "So for their breaking of the covenant, and their disbelief in the signs of Allah, and their killing of the prophets without right, and their saying, ‘Our hearts are wrapped’, instead, Allah has set a seal upon them for their disbelief, so they believe not, except for a few." (4:155)
Even the disbeliever is not completely devoid of faith, for within their heart, within their subconscious mind, lies the truth. However, this truth is veiled from the conscious mind by thick barriers. These veils are what Allah, Blessed and Exalted, referred to when He said: "No! Instead, what they used to earn has rusted upon their hearts. No! Indeed, they will be veiled from their Lord that Day." (83:14–15)
The "rust" (rein) here refers to corruption, impurity, and bad conduct. All of this stems from repression (kabt) that began with the emergence of human society and continues to this day. It is rooted in illusions, superstitions, and falsehoods that have accompanied our understanding of Allah, the realities of things, and what is required of us toward ourselves, towards Allah, and towards the community. This phase, which we have referred to as "the struggle between body and intellect," will, by Allah’s Grace and Guidance, eventually give way to the phase of harmony between body and intellect.
Since hearts, in their innermost essence, have been made sanctuaries of peace by Allah, the zone of repression does not occur within them. Instead, it resides in the kharṭūm, "confluence" or "isthmus" located at the meeting point of the two seas: the conscious and subconscious minds. Allah refers to this in His words: "He set forth the two seas that meet together. Between them is a barrier [so] neither of them transgresses." (55:19–20)
This kharṭūm is the locus of the "human within the human", the abode of the complete human within the evolving human, which is an ongoing project of perfection.
Just as the process of formation and development follows a spiral path, so too does repression. It is a spiral that revolves around a center.
The Complete Human emerges from the [Qur’anic] union of Moses, representing intellect (aql), with Khidr, representing the heart (qalb), on the condition that Moses demonstrates patience and steadfastness in the journey. However, as recounted in the Qur’an, Moses, the prophet of the law (shari‘a), could not endure the companionship of Khidr, the sage of ultimate truth (haqiqa): “And when Moses said to his servant, ‘I will not cease [traveling] until I reach the junction of the two seas or continue for a long period.’ But when they reached the junction between them, they forgot their fish, and it took its course into the sea, slipping away. So when they had passed beyond it, [Moses] said to his servant, ‘Bring us our morning meal. We have certainly suffered in this, our journey, [much] fatigue.’ He said, ‘Did you see when we retired to the rock? Indeed, I forgot the fish. And none made me forget it except Satan, that I should mention it. And it took its course into the sea amazingly.’ [Moses] said, ‘That is what we were seeking.’ So they returned, following their footprints. And they found a servant from among Our servants to whom We had given mercy from Us and had taught him from Us a [certain] knowledge. Moses said to him, ‘May I follow you on [the condition] that you teach me from what you have been taught of sound judgment?’ He said, ‘Indeed, with me you will never be able to have patience. And how can you have patience for what you do not encompass in knowledge?’” (18:60–68)
Moses could not endure, for he was a prophet of the law and deeply committed to its principles. Had he worked through his shari‘a until he attained a truth akin to Khidr's, he might have been able to persevere.
The task before us, in this era, is to cultivate our intellects through worship so they harmonize with our hearts without causing disruption or haste. In doing so, we can live illuminated and illuminating lives, balanced between the horizons of our intellect and our hearts, with our shari‘a (laws) as the moonlight, and our haqiqa (reality) as the sunlight, preserving the distinction between them without discord: “It is not allowable for the sun to reach the moon, nor does the night overtake the day, but each, in an orbit, is swimming.” (36:40)
Within each of us lies a zone of repression (kabt), a terrifying prison darker than the infamous Bastille. This prison is devoid of light, air, and even external sound. Imprisoned within it are the innocent, the oppressed, and the free-spirited, confined without trial. The prison’s gates are guarded by cruel and severe wardens who subjugate the prisoners, forcing them into submission, robbing them of freedom, and, in some cases, immobilizing them. Yet, all these prisoners remain alive, yearning for liberation.
They face two paths: to rise against their captors and storm the gates, spilling out in a human torrent, or to receive justice, fairness, and profound understanding from us. Efforts toward understanding have manifested in lifestyles and ideologies like the "hippie" movement and the absurdist philosophy of "the theatre of the absurd" in Europe and America. These are expressions of confusion, anxiety, and ignorance of the root problem. Nevertheless, they hold the virtue of acknowledging this tragedy that most choose to ignore. For this reason, we do not view these youth movements, such as the hippies, as symptoms of illness but rather as signs of vitality. This belief strengthens our conviction that we are living in the final days of the organic-intellectual evolutionary phase.
To address this tragedy, one must delve deeply into its origins, which trace back to the dawn of human intellect. Fear and ignorance dominated the judges and jailers of these oppressed. Freedom can only be restored to the oppressed when those who judge and guard them liberate themselves from fear and ignorance. Such liberation comes only through knowledge of things as they truly are.
The first truth revealed by this knowledge is that humans were created to be free. The fact that humans were created weak should not obscure this reality. Weakness is a phase; during it, humanity has sold its freedom. The time has now come to reclaim this freedom, through collective action and individual effort.
The first contribution that collective action can offer is organizing society under the rule of justice rather than the law of the jungle. This would allow us to combat fear, thereby avoiding the unnecessary increase of "prisoners" (repression). The rule of justice dictates that there is no distinction between the strong and the weak, but rather between the rightful and the wrongful. The rightful receives their due even if they are powerless, while the wrongful [one] is held accountable by the authority of justice, even if they are a [powerful] tyrant.
To combat fear, the rule of justice also affirms that all people are equal participants in the blessings of the earth and in assuming power, which is the essence of socialism and democracy, both of which are upheld by social justice.
The second truth revealed by the reality of things is that existence is entirely good. There is no inherent evil in its essence; evil exists only in its appearances. The root of evil lies in our ignorance of this truth. Therefore, there is no [ultimate] justification for fear.
We cannot fully realize this great truth unless we receive knowledge directly from Allah without intermediaries. This direct reception is only possible when we encounter Allah. Such an encounter is unattainable unless we live in alignment with the principle of Adab Al-Waqt (the etiquette of time), which is to live in the present moment without being preoccupied with the past or the future. This is why prayer was prescribed. This is the essence of prayer. These concepts are elaborated upon in detail in this book, which we reintroduce with this extensive and comprehensive preface.
Practicing Adab Al-Waqt leads to the essence of Allah. By Allah's Grace, it unifies the human self by resolving the psychological knots that have fragmented our personalities and caused abnormalities at all levels and in all forms. Moreover, practicing Adab Al-Waqt inaugurates the new era, the fourth stage of human evolution, characterized by pure intellectual development, as discussed earlier and promised to be further elaborated.
However, in this context, we cannot delve deeply into its details. Instead, suffice us to say what has already been presented regarding it in this preface.
