Presence of the Heart: Difference between revisions

Presence of heart means considering God, confidence of the mind, reflecting on God by the heart and feeling His presence everywhere, so that He is believed to be present everywhere and the person knows God his intimate. According to some sources, the phrase of "the presence of heart" has been mentioned in [[hadith]]s for the first time. Advising about the presence of heart is also seen in previous religions, including in the consults of Prophet [[Idris (a)]], and [[Luqman the Wise]].

According to [[Mulla Ahmad Naraqi]], presence of the heart means freeing up the heart from anything it is occupied with. In some books of ethics, [[Ikhlas]] has been defined as the presence of heart and they have considered the [[supplication]] having ikhlas, a supplication recited with the presence of heart. To the scholars of ethics, the truth of [[dhikr]] is the presence of heart.

[[Mulla Sadra]] believed that a person who seeks God, need the presence of heart and saying dhikr or performing prayer without the presence of heart does not lead a person to the desirable destination. Some scholars believe that the presence of heart for some short moments does not yield any benefits and only constant remembrance of God results in intimacy with God and keeping away from temptations. Also, according to [[Imam Khomeini]], the key to all happinesses is the presence of heart. He also believed that supplication means seeking and true quest does not happen without the presence of heart.

Some scholars consider the presence of heart among the requirements for the correctness of the prayer and believe that without the presence of heart, the prayer is not accepted. However, some scholars of [[fiqh|jurisprudence]] did not consider the presence of heart a requirement of the prayer and some others considered it enough to have the presence of heart upon saying [[Takbirat al-Ihram]]. According to [[al-'Allama al-Majlisi]], the prayer without the presence of heart saves the person from [[reward and punishment|punishment]], but does not take him to higher levels of perfection. He believes that the presence of heart follows the person's disposition. The more perfect a person's knowledge and at a higher level of [[certainty]] is, the more his presence of heart would be. He also believes that reflecting upon another act of worship during prayer does not disagree with the presence of heart.

[[Mirza Jawad Aqa Maliki Tabrizi]] mentioned some levels for the presence of heart in the prayer, the highest of which is the person's reflection on the fact that he is standing before God. Also, some scholars considered reflection upon the [[secrets of the prayer]] (reflection upon the truth of [[takbir]], [[tasbih]], [[tawhid]] and [[taqdis]]) and entering the knowledge of words into the heart, disclosure and witnessing among other levels of the presence of heart. For the presence of heart, [[Mujtaba Tihrani]] too mentioned some levels including knowledge, [[faith]], [[intuition|intuitional]] and annihilation levels.

Mirza Jawad Aqa Maleki Tabrizi considered efforts and will as the factors to achieve the presence of heart and believed that if a person believes that "worshipping in the cause of his happiness", he would make all his efforts to present his heart before God. In his view, the more a person's efforts are, the more his remembrance of God will be. [[Feyd Kashani]] believed that the medicine for the presence of heart is repelling temptations and worldly occupations. Some believe that acquisition of the presence of heart is easier in the middle of the night than during the day.

Imam Khomeini believed that a person who seeks to achieve [[faith]], needs to first purify his [[intention]] for acquisition of knowledge, truths and worships at the beginning of the way and then, after purification, in hours such as the middle of the night or before the sunrise, having physical purification, tries to recite [[verse]]s of the [[Qur'an]] such as verse 18 of [[Qur'an 59]] (Sura al-Hashr) with the presence of heart.

*'''Outside obstacles'''': for example, if during prayer, the person's eyes and ears are busy watching and listening to different things. This way, the person's heart becomes occupied with other thoughts and they prevent the presence of heart. Mulla Ahmad Naraqi considered closing the eyes during the prayer and not performing prayer in busy places resulting in the presence of heart.

Also physical obstacles, Satan's temptations, forbidden daily sustenance, routineness and habits, inappropriateness of the place of prayer and inappropriateness of spiritual conditions are considered among the obstacles of the presence of heart.