3.5.4 The Hexagonal Heart and the Origin of Symmetry

The term “Universal Heart” , however, is not normally found in Sufi literature, although similar terms were used that may refer to the concept of the heart of the cosmos. The Arabic word for the “heart” is (qalb) and it can be related to different but closely connected roots as summarized by Abd-ul-Karim al-Jiliy in his book of (the Perfect Human). First it means that it is the summary of the creations and the outline of all existent things. It can be also connected to the Arabic verb (qalaba) which means “to turn over” , and that is because it changes so quickly and it is always turning from one state into another. Yet another meaning is that the heart is the “reverse” or “inverse” (maqloub) of all contingent things because its origin is divine and eternal, and it keeps returning to this divine origin because it is always fluctuating between witnessing the creation and witnessing the Real, and for this reason the heart is like a mirror in which all the realities of existence are reflected so that it always shows their reverse images, though, as a matter of fact, the Jiliy adds that: is “the cosmos is the image of the heart rather than the opposite, because the heart is the origin and the cosmos is a reflection” .

On the other hand, Ibn al-Arabi explains that the heart is a power beyond the intellect because it is always switching between different states; it never remains on one state, just like divine manifestations. The intellect and other forces hold the information while the heart keeps turning from one state to another to follow up with divine manifestations; for this reason the person who doesn’t witness these manifestations with his heart may deny them, thus Allah said in Quran after mentioning some signs: “There is some reminder in that for that who has a heart or who gives ear and witnesses (the truth)” [Quran, 50:37], and the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said that the heart is between two Fingers of the Fingers of the Merciful where He keeps turning it over as He wills [Futuhat: I.289.31]. Also, in his commenting on the verse where Allah says: (those who believe and their hearts calm down in remembering Allah, for in remembering Allah the hearts calm down) [Quran, 13:28], Ibn al-Arabi explains that they calm down in their changing along the breath, because they know that staying on one state is not possible, since the form of the Real is not confined, and its immensity is achieved only through changing, because everyday He is at one task [Futuhat, IV.21.6].

Ibn al-Arabi also explains that the heart, which is the hidden or the inner dimension, has six faces to meet the six faces or directions of the outer space that is the locus of divine manifestations [III.305.24]. In this way the heart is capable of seeing the manifested cosmos all at once at every instance of time while the intellect is only capable of hearing the Command of Allah or conducting his knowledge into the cosmos through speaking, i.e. only one bit at a time. For this reason, since the first form the breath of the Merciful accepted was the form of the Cloud which was the first instance of the existence of the Real, so the Real was for this Cloud like the heart for the Human, just as He is for the heart of the knowing human believer (i.e. the Perfect Human) like the heart for the human, so He is the Heart-of-the-Heart [III.430.2]. Therefore, the heart is the instantaneous form that the spirit keeps acquiring, while the soul is the sum of these forms through time, as we shall describe shortly.