Surah Baqarah Verse 7

Allāh has set a seal upon their hearts and upon their hearing, and over their vision is a veil. And for them is a great punishment. Surah Baqarah Verse 7

We covered this verse in lesson 3, and up until then I was taking this course very logically, and as factual statements from the Quran. As a psychology student, I have been learning for the past 4 years in university that the brain is the seat of perception and reasoning, not the heart. However, in this ayah Allah SWT mentions thatHe has sealed the disbelievers' hearts...it does not say brain!

In trying to make amends between what I was learning from the Quran and what I learned in university, I realized that from experimental work, as an organ, the brain has no sense of feeling or pain. It has receptors and neurotransmitters that are sent to other parts of the body so that we are able to interact with our surroundings. Therefore, the heart is the seat of reasoning and perception, and I learned that I must open my heart, and not just my brain if I truly want to benefit from the Quran. Also, I realized that even when we are taking notes, or thinking about the Quran and gaining simply factual knowledge, we may not benefit if our hearts are "sealed" as mentioned in this verse. Consequently, if Allah seals our hearts, because of our own lack of usage, our eyes and sense of hearing would also be covered up.

Therefore, the heart is not simply an organ like the brain, rather, it is a means through which we can understand the Quran and obtain guidance from it

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Kashmala Qasim
On Site Student
Taleem Al Quran 2010