Quranic Mistake: The heart is responsible for Thinking, Understanding, Reasoning, and Emotions (An analysis of all arguments by Islamic apologists)

Summary:

• In the era of Muhammad and before him, people (including scientists like Aristotle) were literally of the opinion that it is the heart which is responsible for thinking and understanding and beliefs and faith.
• There is no All-Knowing Allah present in the heavens, and Muhammad was himself making the religion in the name of Allah and the revelation. Since Muhammad was only a human (and not All-Knowing), thus he made a human mistake and repeated that common scientific mistake in the Quranic verses and Ahadith. 
• But science finally cleared all doubts in the 16th century, and established it without any doubts that it is not the heart, but the brain which thinks, reasons, understands etc.
• But for Muslims, it was impossible to agree with science, while the Quran and Ahadith are clear that it is the heart which is responsible in the literal sense for thinking and understanding.
• Therefore, Muslim preachers of this century broke all records of their abilities to deceive people by making lame excuses. They twisted the scientific facts and came up with deceptive scientific claims that it is the heart which is responsible for thinking and understanding. 
• After this deception by Muslim preachers, it was no more a scientific mistake of the Quran, but it became a scientific MIRACLE of the Quran.  

Nevertheless, such deceptions cannot last long, and sooner or later the truth becomes evident:

• Science first made an artificial heart. And despite that artificial heart absolutely no change took place in the thinking, understanding, reasoning and beliefs of people. 
• Secondly, science also replaced the human heart with a genetically modified PIG heart. And now the centre of faith (Imaan إيمان) is the pig's heart. 

Detailed Answer:

Muhammad copied this scientific mistake only from our ancient ancestors, who were the first ones, who thought that it was the heart which was responsible for thinking, reasoning and wisdom. Adam Elmasri explains it in his video (link):

Zaker Naik didn’t realize that he confirmed that the Quran fell into a widely spread common mistake that mankind held as true since the dawn of time. This widely spread common mistake is known in history as “The Cardio-centric hypothesis”. The cardio-centric hypothesis was the historical belief that the heart controls sensation, thought, and body movement.

Cardio centrism was first derived from the ancient Egyptian belief that the heart was the house of thought and soul. The ancient Egyptians believed that the heart rather than the brain was the source of human wisdom and the centre of emotions and memory. 

This is why, during the mummification process, the ancient Egyptians would take all the valuable organs out of the deceased body and preserve them in vessels next to the mummy. While they leave the heart and ONLY the heart inside the mummy. As for the brain, it was a useless organ. They didn’t preserve the brain. Rather, they used a hock shaped needle to take out the brain through the nose and dispose of it.

Like the Egyptians, Ancient Mesopotamians too believed that the heart was the organ responsible for intellect and was in control of the motor and sensory systems. The heart, not the brain! 

It wasn’t until the ancient Greeks that we find a division and controversy about the organ served as the seat of the soul and thought. 

Some favoured the heart or the cardiocentric view and among them was Aristotle. Others favored the brain or the cephalocentric view and among them was Plato and Pythagoras. 

However, throughout history, it was Aristotle's contributions that have been more influential than Plato’s, particularly when it comes to science and logical reasoning. So the wider spread idea through the ancient world, and the mainstream consensus was the idea that we think and understand by the heart rather than the brain!

It wasn’t really until the 16th century that we came to understand the nervous system. And only in the last 100 years or so that we established Neuroscience or what we call Neurology.

And you will find all the relevant references in the description box under the video (link). 

So it is no surprise that all our human languages carry the evidence of our ignorance and the long-held wrong belief that we think, reason and comprehend by the heart. It is no wonder that nearly all languages have statements such as “memorized by heart” or “Love you from the bottom of my heart” – Because WE DID NOT KNOW, until very very recently that we love from the brain and we also memorize, think and understand from the brain.

We simply didn’t know. But, didn’t the creator of the universe know that? How could God fall into the same trap of human ignorance and send down a book saying verses like “They have hearts they do not understand with” and “they travelled the land so their hearts may reason”?

Didn’t God of the Quran know that we think and reason by the brain? Isn’t it appropriate, that when God sends down a book to correct human mistakes rather than carry them on?

Since there is no All-Knowing Allah present in the heavens, and Muhammad was himself making the religion in the name of Allah and the revelation. Since Muhammad was only a human (and not All-Knowing), thus he made a human mistake and repeated that common scientific mistake in the Quranic verses and Ahadith. 

Quran 7:179:

And We have certainly created for Hell many of the jinn and mankind. They have hearts with which they do not understand, they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear.

Quran 63:3:

That is because they believed, then disbelieved, therefore their hearts are sealed so that they understand not.

Quran 22:46:

Have they not journeyed in the land that their hearts might understand and their ears might listen? For indeed it is not the eyes that are blinded; it is rather the hearts, which are in the breasts that are rendered blind.

Muslim preacher Zakir Naik came up with an excuse that the "heart" in the Quran means only "intelligence". But this verse refuted Zakir Naik completely when it says:  “... the hearts, which are in the breasts", and we know that no intelligence is present in the "breasts".

Similarly, all Ahadith of Muhummad are also proving that Muhammad was not talking in any figurative sense, but in the literal sense that it is the heart which is responsible for thinking, understanding and Faith (Imaan إيمان).

Sunan Tirmidhi, 3346:

The Prophet of Allah said: “While I was at the House, between sleeping and being awake, I heard someone saying: “The one in the middle of the three.’ I was brought a vessel of gold containing Zamzam water, so my chest was split, to here.’” – Qatadah said: “I said to Anas: ‘What does that mean?’ He said: ‘To the lowest part of his stomach.’” – He said: “So my heart was removed, and washed with Zamzam water, then returned to its placed. Then I was filled with Faith and wisdom.”

Sahih Bukhari, 52:

Beware! There is a piece of flesh in the body if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good (reformed) but if it gets spoilt the whole body gets spoilt and that is the heart.

Sunan Ibn Majah, 4244:

It was narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “When the believer commits sin, a black spot appears on his heart. If he repents and gives up that sin and seeks forgiveness, his heart will be polished. But if (the sin) increases, (the black spot) increases. That is the Ran that Allah mentions in His Book: “Nay! But on their hearts is the Ran (covering of sins and evil deeds) which they used to earn.” [83:14]

Grade: Sahih (Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Al-Syuti. And Albani declared it Hasan. Nevertheless, Albani declared a similar hadith from Tariq bin Shihad to be Sahih)

Hence, to support the Quranic verses and Hadiths, the Islamic preachers of this century have taken deception to new levels, transforming what is a scientific error into a supposed scientific miracle of the Quran. They have vigorously propagated this so-called miracle far and wide.

For example, this Islamic preachers claims (link):

Research has shown that the heart communicates to the brain in four major ways: neurologically (through the transmission of nerve impulses), biochemically (via hormones and neurotransmitters), biophysically (through pressure waves) and energetically (through electromagnetic field interactions). Communication along all these conduits significantly affects the brain's activity. Moreover, our research shows that messages the heart sends the brain can also affect performance. [ Source : Science of The Heart:Exploring the Role of the Heart in Human Performance]

Yasha Kresh, PhD, Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Medicine, Research Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery says: "It turns out that the heart has its own 'brain' - an intrinsic nervous system. It's not clear what it does or if it's subservient to the higher brain. But it's clear that it is there, and I believe it has a mission because evolution does not allow things to remain without purpose. We think this internal nervous system helps to fine-tune and integrate the heart's diverse activity." [ Source : The Brain and Heart of Chaos, An interview with Dr. Yasha Kresh]

Answer: The Artificial Hearts (and the heart of a Pig) beg to differ from these Islamic Preachers

A person remarkably survived with a pig heart for two months (link). 

While others have thrived with artificial hearts for months or even years.

Larkin, pictured above, a 25-year-old with a rare form of cardiomyopathy who lived for 555 days — outside of the hospital — using a Total Artificial Heart before receiving a heart transplant at UMHS in May. “He's absolutely thriving now. (link)

These cases demonstrate that people can still think, understand, reason, and exhibit cognitive behavior without a human heart.

Dear Muslim friends,

Please think about it:

• Should we now believe that the center of faith lies within a pig's heart?
• Or should we consider that artificial hearts (machines) govern our emotions, love, and reasoning?

One more Muslim argument: Behavioral changes in heart transplant recipients reflecting their donors' personalities

MuslimSkeptic Website came up with this argument (link):

In 2000, three authors associated with American universities penned an article titled Changes in Heart Transplant Recipients That Parallel the Personalities of Their Donors for the Integrative Medicine journal.

They studied many cases and directly interviewed not only transplant recipients but also their families and friends, and also those of the donors. They claimed that the transplant recipient very often replicated some of the donor’s most unique behavioral traits – as if there was some sort of experiential or emotional transfer which had occurred.

They write: "Two to 5 parallels per case were observed between changes following surgery and the histories of the donors. Parallels included changes in food, music, art, sexual, recreational, and career preferences, as well as specific instances of perceptions of names and sensory experiences related to the donors (e.g., one donor was killed by a gun shot to the face; the recipient had dreams of seeing hot flashes of light in his face)" 

Response:

The study involved only 10 participants, making it a small and singular investigation. No further studies have replicated these findings since 2000, raising questions about its validity. While a professor wrote a book on this topic in 2020, it remains a hypothesis and not a comprehensive study.

Interestingly, some Muslim preachers readily accept this singular hypothesis while rejecting the well-supported Theory of Evolution, which is based on numerous studies and overwhelming evidence. This inconsistency raises concerns about double standards in evaluating scientific claims.

Even if these Muslim preachers believe in this study of so-called “cellular memory”, against all scientific standards, still how they cannot see that the influence of the heart is minimal to negligible on the thinking and reasoning ability of a person (even according to this study). In no way, it could be said that the heart is sealed, and thus a person loses his ability to make the right decision. The brain still stays the organ, which is responsible for thinking and reasoning. 

Muslim excuse: The heart controls emotions, and thus the heart controls the emotional decisions, not the brain

Another Muslim preacher argued that the heart possesses neurons, an intrinsic nervous system, and maintains a "Heart Brain Connection." According to this preacher, the heart controls emotions, leading to emotional decisions, and not the brain.

Response:

However, similar qualities can be found in other organs as well. For instance, the digestive system also contains neurons, an intrinsic nervous system, and communicates with the brain to influence emotions.

To gain more insights, you can inquire the following questions from ChatGPT:

• Do emotions control the heart, or does the heart control emotions?
• Does the heart regulate the pain system, or is it controlled by the brain?
• Does the digestive system impact emotions?
• Are there neurons in the digestive system?
• Does the digestive system communicate with the brain?
• Which organs possess an intrinsic nervous system?

The fundamental questions remain:

• Will a Muslim become a non-believer after receiving a non-believer's heart?
• Will a Muslim start behaving like a pig after receiving a pig's heart?

Conclusion:

• It is unfortunate that some Muslim preachers still claim that the Quran speaks the truth about the heart.
• It is disheartening to witness the immense power of propaganda wielded by these preachers, which continues to mislead and confuse millions of people on this matter.
• It is regrettable that we must still spend time refuting such baseless Quranic claims in the 21st century.