Recognition of Imam Part II - Expansion of the Heart (sharh-i sadr)
Expansion of the Heart (sharh-i sadr)
Tags: sharh-i sadr, openheartedness, heart
In verse (39:22), God says: "Is he whose chest Allah has expanded for Islam, and then he follows a light from his Lord, (as those whose hearts are hardened)? Then woe to those whose hearts are hardened against the remembrance of God! They are in plain error."
This holy verse is, first of all, about the Perfect Men, i.e., the last Prophet and the true Imam and then about other hudud of religion also. For, the expansion of the heart, Islam (submission, obedience) and the light of God, granted to him by God, are also given to other hudud according to their ranks, through the Perfect Man, in whom, these and all other virtues are always in the most perfect form.
The wisdom-filled teaching of this holy verse begins with the expansion of the heart i.e., mentioning openheartedness. And it is said that Islam cannot be duly accepted unless God grants someone open-heartedness. Further, with respect to another meaning of the word "Islam", it is said that he who is not granted openheartedness by God, cannot obey God. For, Islam means obedience and submission. Then it is said that, he whom God has granted open-heartedness can, in a real sense, fulfil the true Islam or obedience. When he obeys the true Guide - the Imam of the time - the light of God gradually manifests in his heart and mind and the remembrance of God continues automatically, by which, tenderness and kindness are created in his heart as a result of which the chain of guidance(s) begins in the miraculous voice of God.
Contrary to this condition, which contains the living miracles of realities and recognitions, those whose hearts are hard and closed, cannot accept true Islam. As a result, their hearts cannot receive the light of God, nor can they continue His remembrance. Consequently, they become subject to the spiritual disease of callousness and perish in the desert of deviation.
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