Fallacies that Block the Hearts Vision - Umar Faruq الشبهات التي تحجب بصيرة القلب - عمر فاروق

Summary

The transcript discusses the importance of maintaining a pure heart in Islamic spirituality, emphasizing that uncontrolled anger and appetite can corrupt it. It also addresses the impact of misconceptions and wrong priorities, known as 'shubuhat,' on one's spiritual journey. The speaker highlights the necessity of having sound knowledge and cognitive frameworks to interpret reality correctly, as incorrect beliefs and ideologies can veil the heart. Historical examples, such as the Muslim presence in the Americas before Columbus, are used to illustrate the importance of proper cognitive understanding. The speaker concludes by stressing the need to challenge and correct one's beliefs to ensure the heart remains open to truth and spiritual growth.

Takeaways

• 😀 The heart's purity is essential for spiritual clarity, and it can be blocked by unchecked appetites and anger.
• 🔍 Controlling one's desires and emotions is crucial for maintaining a clean heart and avoiding spiritual darkness.
• 🌟 Prioritizing worldly concerns over spiritual ones can lead to a misguided life and a 'veiled' heart.
• 📚 Sound knowledge and the right cognitive frameworks are necessary for the heart to function properly and perceive reality clearly.
• 🚫 Fallacies, misconceptions, and wrong priorities can act as veils, preventing the heart from understanding ultimate truths.
• 🌐 Historical knowledge, such as Muslims' presence in the Americas before Columbus, challenges conventional narratives and requires a shift in cognitive frames.
• 🗣️ Empirical science should be descriptive and not metaphysical; it should not be confused with the whole story of reality.
• 🚫 Ideologies like materialism, anthropomorphism, and atheism can block the heart if they are not properly understood or challenged.
• 🌐 The importance of having the right theological understanding to avoid misconceptions about God and reality.
• 🔑 The necessity of freeing oneself from fanaticism, tribalism, and sectarianism to seek the truth and maintain an open heart.

Q & A

What are the two main things that can block the heart according to the transcript?

The two main things that can block the heart are appetites and anger that are out of control.

How does having out-of-control anger and appetite affect the heart?

When anger and appetite are out of control, it can sully and darken the heart, causing the 'mirror' to not work properly.

What does the term 'Shahada' refer to in the context of the transcript?

In the transcript, 'Shahada' refers to fallacies, misconceptions, and confusions that can block the heart.

Why are wrong priorities considered a form of 'Shabbiha' or fallacy?

Wrong priorities are considered a form of 'Shabbiha' because they divert one's focus from ultimate concerns, leading to a misguided understanding of what is truly important.

What is the core veil or misconception that can block the heart according to the speaker?

The core veil or misconception that can block the heart is the lack of sound knowledge, right ideas, and proper cognitive frames and paradigms.

Why is it important to have the right cognitive frames and paradigms?

Having the right cognitive frames and paradigms is crucial because they enable a person to process information correctly and understand reality as it is, without being deceived by fallacious beliefs.

What historical event does the speaker mention as an example of how cognitive frames can affect perception?

The speaker mentions the historical event of Muslims traveling to North and South America long before Columbus as an example of how cognitive frames can affect perception.

What does the speaker suggest about the role of empirical science in understanding reality?

The speaker suggests that empirical science should be descriptive and not metaphysical, and that it should not deceive one into thinking that what is observed is the whole story.

What are some of the ideologies and beliefs that the speaker says can veil the heart?

Ideologies and beliefs such as materialism, anthropomorphism, the Trinity concept, idolatry, polytheism, communism, fascism, nationalism, and atheism can veil the heart.

How does the speaker describe the importance of having a heart free from fanaticism and tribal spirit?

The speaker describes the importance of having a heart free from fanaticism and tribal spirit by emphasizing the need for seeking truth and having adequate theology, which allows for a broader and more accurate understanding of reality.

Outlines

00:00

🛡️ The Importance of Heart and Mind in Spirituality

The speaker emphasizes the significance of using the heart properly in spiritual matters. They discuss how unchecked emotions like anger and uncontrolled appetites can corrupt the heart, impairing its function. The concept of 'Shahadat' is introduced, referring to fallacies and misconceptions that can cloud judgment and understanding. The speaker highlights the importance of having the right priorities, focusing on ultimate concerns rather than getting sidetracked by personal relationships or other worldly matters. The discussion also touches on the need for sound knowledge and cognitive frameworks to properly interpret reality, suggesting that without these, one's heart can be veiled from truth.

05:00

🌍 Historical Evidence of Muslim Presence in the Americas

The speaker shares his research on the historical evidence of Muslims traveling to the Americas before Columbus. He mentions an expedition led by Abu Bakr II, where 2,400 boats with warriors crossed the Atlantic Ocean and reached the New World. The speaker asserts that this journey can be proven with historical validity and that there is terracotta evidence in Mexico and other parts of the New World. He describes the figurines found in the National Museum of Mexico, which depict the distinct features of the African warriors, and how they can be identified by their tribes and professions. The speaker also discusses how cognitive frames and paradigms can prevent people from accepting this historical truth, even when the evidence is clear.

10:00

📚 The Role of Correct Beliefs and Theology in Opening the Heart

The speaker delves into the importance of having the correct beliefs and theology for the heart to function properly. He talks about how ideologies, prejudices, and cognitive frames can block the heart from understanding reality. The speaker mentions various ideologies such as materialism, anthropomorphism, and atheism, and how they can veil the heart from truth. He shares his personal experience of rejecting the concept of the Trinity as a Christian and how embracing Islam opened his heart to new understandings. The speaker concludes by stressing the need to be free from fanaticism and tribal spirit to seek the truth and to have a heart free from the veils of false beliefs.

Keywords

💡Heart

In the context of the video, 'heart' is used metaphorically to represent the core of a person's being, encompassing their emotions, intentions, and spiritual state. It is central to the theme as it is described as being affected by various factors such as anger and appetite, which, if not controlled, can 'sully' or 'darken' it. The speaker emphasizes the importance of a pure heart for proper moral and spiritual functioning, using the 'mirror' analogy to illustrate how a clear heart reflects reality accurately.

💡Appetites

The term 'appetites' refers to the desires and cravings that a person may have, which can be for food, material possessions, or other worldly things. In the video, it is mentioned that uncontrolled appetites can block the heart, suggesting that excessive desires can lead to moral and spiritual corruption. This is tied to the broader message of the video, which is about maintaining a balanced and pure inner state.

💡Anger

Anger is discussed as an emotion that, if not managed properly, can negatively impact the heart. The video suggests that allowing anger to control one's actions and words can lead to a 'darkened' heart, which metaphorically means a state of spiritual and moral impairment. The speaker advises controlling anger as part of maintaining a clear and functioning heart.

💡Shahada

In the script, 'Shahada' is used to refer to the declaration of faith in Islam, but it is also extended metaphorically to mean 'testimony' or 'witnessing' to the truth. The speaker uses this term to discuss the importance of having a clear and unobstructed heart to 'testify' to the truth, which is a central theme in the video about spiritual clarity and moral integrity.

💡Shabiha

The term 'Shabiha' is used to denote fallacies, misconceptions, or confusions. In the video, it is mentioned in the context of wrong priorities that can veil the heart. The speaker argues that even if one's appetites and anger are under control, having incorrect priorities or misconceptions can still block the heart, preventing one from seeing the truth clearly.

💡Sound Knowledge

In the video, 'sound knowledge' refers to accurate and truthful understanding, which is necessary for the heart to function properly. The speaker emphasizes that having the right knowledge and cognitive frameworks is crucial for perceiving reality correctly. This concept is integral to the video's message about the importance of clear and accurate understanding in spiritual and intellectual growth.

💡Cognitive Frames

Cognitive frames are the mental structures or perspectives through which individuals interpret and understand the world. The video discusses how having the right cognitive frames is essential for perceiving reality correctly and for the heart to be unobstructed. The speaker gives examples of how incorrect cognitive frames, such as materialism or anthropomorphism, can veil the heart and hinder spiritual and intellectual clarity.

💡Veil

The term 'veil' in the video is used metaphorically to describe anything that obstructs or blocks the heart from perceiving truth and reality. This can include uncontrolled emotions, wrong priorities, or incorrect beliefs. The concept of 'veil' is central to the video's theme, as it is discussed extensively in relation to how various factors can prevent a clear understanding of the world.

💡Empirical Science

Empirical science is mentioned in the context of studying the physical world through observation and experimentation. The speaker argues that empirical science should be descriptive and not metaphysical, meaning it should focus on describing reality without making assumptions about its ultimate nature. This concept is used to illustrate the importance of having the right cognitive frames and not letting scientific observations lead to incorrect metaphysical conclusions.

💡Ideologies

Ideologies are discussed as sets of political or social principles that can become veiling factors if they are not critically examined. The video suggests that ideologies, such as materialism, nationalism, or atheism, can create cognitive frames that block the heart from seeing the truth. The speaker emphasizes the need to be free from the constraints of ideologies to maintain a clear and open heart.

Highlights

The heart must be used properly, and things that block the heart are uncontrolled appetites and anger.

When anger and appetite are out of control, it sullies and darkens the heart, affecting its function.

Shabbihah refers to fallacies, misconceptions, and confusions, which can be wrong priorities.

Personal relationships and friendships are important but should not be the ultimate concern.

The core of Shabbat is having the right knowledge, language, images, cognitive frames, and paradigms.

Even with a sound and mature heart, one can be veiled by not having the right knowledge and ideas.

Prejudices, presumptions, and commitments to tribes, schools, or sects can block the heart.

Cognitive frames are crucial for understanding reality, such as the historical presence of Muslims in the Americas before Columbus.

Empirical science should be descriptive and not metaphysical; it should not deceive us into thinking it tells the whole story.

Ideologies, prejudices, and certain beliefs like materialism, anthropomorphism, and the Trinity can veil the heart.

Islamic civilization emphasizes careful use of language and setting cognitive frames to avoid veiling the heart.

Adequate theology and freedom from fanaticism and tribal spirit are necessary for seeking the truth.

The transcript discusses the importance of having the right cognitive frames to understand historical events, such as the Muslim presence in the Americas.

The speaker shares his personal journey from Christianity to Islam, influenced by rejecting the concept of the Trinity.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of having a heart free from cognitive blocks to understand complex ideas and historical truths.

The transcript highlights the need for sound knowledge and the right cognitive paradigms to avoid misconceptions and to truly understand reality.

Transcripts

good but you know you have to use the

heart the proper way and as we said

before the things that block the heart

most effectively are shahe wat they are

appetites and anger that are out of

control okay that's the second matter

that we talked about when our anger and

our appetite are out of control and we

do things we shouldn't do and say things

we shouldn't do then that will Sully the

heart it will darken the heart the

mirror won't work properly okay those

are the Shahadah

now we're talking really about the shoe

boo hat the shoe boo hat being the

fallacies the misconceptions the

confusions that we have and in this case

the shabiha might be nothing more than

wrong priorities in other words we we

love a law we want a law but we're

always focusing on other things you know

maybe we're concerned with our personal

relationships our friendships and and

things like that which are not those are

important parts of our life but they

should not be our ultimate concern and

they should not divert us from looking

at those things which are ultimate

concerns okay then the next matter that

he talks about is one of the greatest

veils of all and one of the most subtle

veils of all and this really is maybe we

could say the core of Shabbat it is the

core of fallacious ideas and

misconceptions and misconstruing reality

so in order for the heart to work

properly then we have to have in it

sound knowledge we have to cultivate

ourselves to use the right language when

we speak about reality we have to have

the right images

that we're looking for and we have to

also have sound cognitive frames and

paradigms and content the content of our

belief and so forth so therefore a

person may have a heart which is very

sound mature intact and that person may

also be one who controls his or her

appetite and anger so they're not doing

wrong they're not saying things that are

wrong they may be very polite they may

be very courteous and that person may

even be looking for the right things

like I want to know a law I want to know

the meaning of life I want to know about

myself and yet they can be fundamentally

veiled and the veil here is the fact

that they do not have the right

knowledge they do not have the right

ideas they do not have the right

cognitive frames and paradigms and they

have adopted as true other conceptions

which are fallacious so this blocks them

very much and also here we could put

things which are which have more of a

moral content such as the fact that

there can be prejudices there can be

presumptions there can be other kinds of

commitments to the tribe or to the

school or to the sect and think and

those block the heart and you can have

very good Muslims who are very sincere

and who read the best books but their

hearts are narrowly confined in a

particular sectarian outlook or even it

can be a particular school and it can be

one of the great schools of Islam but

that's like for them everything okay so

that becomes a veil also all right

so you cannot see in the mirror anything

but what you believe and anything that

is inconsistent with your convictions

that you already have you will be

blocked from the same way that we think

you know unless we get our cognitive

cognitive frames right

we can't understand reality for example

one of the great realities of history is

that Muslims were going to North and

South America long before Columbus and

inshallah I hope to write a book on this

there been some things written on it

before it's something that I've studied

a lot but in 13 12 months a con con abu

bakr ii sent 2,400 boats with Mandinka

and mum barra and other warriors across

the atlantic ocean directly into the

equatorial current and he got to the

other side and we have terracotta proof

of that in ancient mexico and in other

parts of the new world this is an

amazing story and we can prove this with

a historical validity that is superior

to even proving that Columbus crossed

the ocean in 1492 which we don't doubt

okay and in the National Museum of

Mexico

you have terra cotta s-- which are these

beautiful clay figurines of men who were

in his fleet who are so distinct that

you can show them to West African who

has knowledge about these things and

I've done that and they could even tell

you what profession they had and what

tribe they had one of them is a famous

black face that has a Mandinka helmet

and I showed him to a great Mandinka

scholar and he said dole soul he said he

is a hunter meaning that he was the head

of the fleet and he has the spiritual

gifts that enable him to hunt lions and

also to protect you from snakes

he would be the one to put the fleet

together and to out rig the boats and to

take them to the jungles when they got

to Yucatan and he's right there in the

National Museum of Mexico and he was the

terra cotta was made around 1300 and 15

according to archeologists and you have

a lot of others as well some of them you

show them to West Africans they say he's

a Bambara and this is a warrior and this

one it has another caste and one great

German scholar alexander von putin oh

who has written about this very thing he

will take european students and he will

show them the terra cotta and he will

say what kind of people are these they

say well they look like africans but

they can't be there were no Africans in

America before Columbus and when

Columbus comes to Mexico City

Tenochtitlan when he conquers it he

writes in his diary I found in at many

mosques and many pagan temples and many

beautiful houses and most historians

know that but again they say but that

can't be there were no Muslims here

before Columbus so what's going on here

cognitive frames they do not have the

cognitive frames and the paradigms that

enable them to process that information

therefore they can't see it even though

it's as clear as day so this is one of

the most important things of all you've

got to have knowledge in your heart and

you have to construe it properly and one

of the greatest credits to Islamic

civilization is that we use language

very carefully and we set our cognitive

frames very carefully and also when we

talk about empirical science and some of

you've asked questions about empirical

science this is what we have to do

empirical science should only be

descriptive it should never be

metaphysical if you want to be

metaphysical then you learn meta fix

physics and you can do that but when

you're studying this physical world

that's a great thing to do you can

describe and you can generalize and you

can make general statements about

customary reality ok but you must not be

deceived

by thinking that what you see of reality

is the whole story if you do that it

will Veil the heart

okay so then among the things that Veil

the heart are ideologies and ideas

prejudices and so forth the materialist

must be freed from the illusion of his

or her materialism otherwise the heart

won't work

anthropomorphism the conviction that God

exists but he is like you and me that

he's like a human being okay so that

will block the heart the Trinity and as

we said before you know we tolerate

Christians and they are our neighbors

and we will defend them but that doesn't

mean that we say you're okay I'm okay

no let's like let's talk about your

belief where did you get this Trinity

has no basis in your Bible let's be

honest about it and this will block you

I know myself that in coming to Islam

Hamdi Ludd the Trinity was one of the

first things I rejected as a Christian

as 12 years old and I don't want to tell

the story because we don't have time and

my father was my help there my father

was a very intelligent man and I had

just become a Christian I'd learned the

Catechism and he said do you really

believe in that you really believe in

the Trinity because he didn't and most

Christians don't many Christians don't

and then for me it's like I can't take

that it's like this doesn't make sense

does it so it will block and when you

come to Islam and you learned this the

sim how do you say the the simplex

nature of reality based on the oneness

of God it opens your heart to all kinds

of things that you couldn't understand

before I experienced that so that in my

own life it's like how could you not

have seen this before but you can

because you have already other cognitive

frames that block you idolatry

polytheism communism fascism nationalism

atheism okay these are all ideas right

they are all structures of cognitive

frames

and you have to change that first you

have to get that right first shake humza

often talks about the great shape you

know who was taken to an atheist and

when he came in he said to the atheist

this is a long time ago he said the God

you don't believe in I don't believe in

either in other because you have false

cognitive frames about reality and about

God who explains that reality and you

know therefore I don't buy I don't

accept those cognitive frames and the

kind of God you conceive of falsely

based on that that's not the way I

conceive of called okay so we have to

have adequate theology we have to have

hearts that are free of fanaticism and

we have to be free of you know this

tribal spirit connected to our own

schools to our own point of view and so

forth seeking the truth but all these

things will block us they are very very

big blocks and this is probably among

the most important of them all the shoe

boo hat