01/02/2026
riwayat Bukhari dan Muslim: "Ketahuilah, sesungguhnya dalam tubuh manusia terdapat segumpal daging. Jika ia baik, maka baik p**a seluruh tubuh. Jika ia rusak, maka rusak p**a seluruh tubuh. Ketahuilah, segumpal daging itu adalah hati (qolbu)".
A person can have knowledge without mercy
A person can have intellect without conscience
A person can become so hardened that reminders no longer move them
People can know something is wrong yet still do it
Criminals often show no remorse, no sympathy
This feels like a “cold heart”
“For indeed it is not the eyes that are blinded; rather, it is the hearts within the breasts that are blinded.”
(Qur’an 22:46)
Behaviour changes when inner emotional response disappears
The brain distinguishes right and wrong, but the heart can accept or reject
The “heart” in the Qur’an is the center of moral–spiritual perception and decision-making, not merely an organ
Hearts harden
Hearts become blind
Hearts understand or fail to understand
Hearts turn away
Hearts are sealed
Heart with it's intrinsic network of neurons
People can know something is wrong yet still do it
Criminals often show no remorse, no sympathy
This feels like a “cold heart”
Behaviour changes when inner emotional response disappears
💖💖💖 **Qur’an 2:74 —
> **“Then your hearts hardened after that, so they became like stones, or even harder. For indeed, among stones are those from which rivers flow, and among them are those that split and water comes out, and among them are those that fall in fear of Allah. And Allah is not unaware of what you do.”**
> *(Qur’an 2:74)*
**Why the Qur’an Speaks of the Heart — Not the Brain**
When the Qur’an speaks about guidance, misguidance, moral blindness, or cruelty, it consistently refers to the **heart (qalb)** — not the brain. This choice is deliberate and precise. Modern psychology and neuroscience are now uncovering what the Qur’an identified centuries ago: **behavior is not controlled by intelligence alone, but by the emotional and physiological state of the heart.**
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# # **The Heart Is Not Just a Pump**
Science caught up with religion and says that the heart has its own **intrinsic nervous system (ICNS)** — often called the “little brain of the heart.”
It contains approximately **40,000 neurons**, capable of:
* processing information
* sending signals to the brain
* influencing decision-making, emotional regulation, and behavior
Importantly, **most neural traffic between the heart and brain travels from the heart to the brain**, primarily through the **vagus nerve**.
This means the heart does not simply obey the brain — it **informs** it.
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# # **When the Heart’s Signals Are Healthy**
In emotionally responsive individuals:
* Heart rate variability (HRV) is balanced
* Emotional signals reach the prefrontal cortex
* Empathy, moral restraint, and self-control are active
* Fear, compassion, and conscience work together
The brain can clearly distinguish **right from wrong**, and the body responds accordingly.
---
# # **When the Heart Becomes Hardened**
Psychology observes something disturbing in individuals who commit violent or remorseless crimes:
* Low empathy
* Reduced fear response
* Emotional coldness
* Absence of remorse
Brain scans often show abnormalities in regions like the **amygdala**, **prefrontal cortex**, and **anterior cingulate cortex**. But this is not merely a “brain problem.”
It is a **broken feedback loop**.
When the heart’s emotional signaling is muted or suppressed:
* The brain still understands rules
* The brain still plans actions
* But **moral inhibition disappears**
This is why some crimes are **calculated**, not impulsive.
---
# # **The Qur’anic Diagnosis: Hardened Hearts**
Allah says:
> **“Then your hearts hardened after that, so they became like stones, or even harder…”** *(Qur’an 2:74)*
This verse is not poetic exaggeration. It is a **functional description**.
Allah explains that even stones:
* can crack
* can release water
* can respond to pressure
But hardened hearts:
* do not respond 💔
* do not soften💔
* do not release compassion 💔
This is exactly what psychologists describe when they speak of individuals who show **no sympathy and no remorse**, despite full awareness of their actions.
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# # **Knowledge Without Response**
A hardened heart does **not** mean lack of intelligence.
It means:
* the emotional system is unresponsive
* moral knowledge exists but does not restrain behavior
This is why the Qur’an does **not** excuse such people as ignorant. Allah ends the verse by saying:
> **“And Allah is not unaware of what you do.”**
They know.
They understand.
They choose — without being moved.
---
# # **Why the Qur’an Mentions the Heart, Not the Brain**
The brain analyzes.
The heart **decides whether it matters**.
Without the heart’s emotional approval:
* learning becomes mechanical
* morality becomes optional
* cruelty becomes possible
This is why a person may be highly intelligent yet profoundly dangerous.
---
# # **Conclusion**
The Qur’an’s emphasis on the heart is not symbolic mysticism — it is **behavioral precision**.
Modern neuroscience shows what revelation already stated 1400 years ago..
> **A hardened heart is not a lack of knowledge — it is a loss of responsiveness.**
That is why the heart leads.
That is why it can turn cold.
And that is why the Qur’an speaks to our hearts
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