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

Dear Muslim friends!

The Quran claims that the heart is the organ which is responsible for thinking, understanding, reasoning and cognitive behaviour.

The writer of the Quran (i.e. Muhammad in our view) copied this scientific mistake only from our ancient ancestors. Yes, the ancient scientists made a mistake, and they thought that it was the heart which was responsible for thinking, reasoning, wisdom emotions and love. And Muhammad/Allah repeated this mistake in the Quran. 

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.

Therefore, according to the Quran, we comprehend and rationalize through the heart, not the brain!

1st argument: Zakir Naik claimed that in Arabic, the word “Heart” also means “Intelligence”

When Zakir Naik was first asked (about 20 years ago) about this question, then he came up with a claim that the word “Heart” also means “Intelligence” in the Arabic language (Video link at 2:36)

But Zakir Naik is not correct, while the Quran itself made it clear that it was not talking about any figurative intelligence, but the literal heart, which is in the chest.

When the writer of the Quran (i.e. Muhammad) said: “... their ears might listen”, then it is already proof that he was talking in a literal sense. Thus, the words: “... their hearts might understand” is also in a literal sense. And this is further strengthened when the writer of the Quran also literally pointed out: “... the hearts, which are in the breasts". 

After that, Zakir Naik stopped using this claim. 

2nd argument: Zakir Naik claimed that the Quran was only using a Figurative Speech

After 20 years, when Zakir Naik was asked about it again, then he didn't make the same claim of “heart being Intelligent” again.

But this time he claimed that the Quran was only talking figuratively, as all languages use such figurative speech as we say in English: “Learning a poem by heart.” (Video link at 4:20), and Allah is using the same concept to convey a message figuratively to humans.

Firstly:

The writer of the Quran is still himself refuting this claim of figurative speech when he himself claimed: “Hearts, which are in the Breasts” [Verse  22:46].

You don't say: “Learning a poem by heart, which is in the breasts.”

Secondly:

The tradition of Muhammad is enough to see that it was not a figurative speech, but he was talking about the heart in a literal sense.

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.”

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)

Thirdly:

Moreover, 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?

Dr Zaker Naik and other Muslim apologists, who claim that God is using figurative speech in these verses, simply ignore more than 2000 years of human history.

It is very clear to the naked eye, that the God of the Quran didn’t know any better than the humans who lived at the time of the Quran!

3rd argument: Muslim preachers claim that even science accepts that the heart is responsible for thinking, understanding, reasoning and cognitive behaviour

Unbelievable!

Unfortunately, Muslim preachers have become totally blind in their faith. Instead of simply accepting the simple fact that the Quran is wrong, and indeed it is the brain which is responsible for thinking and reasoning, they still come up with a totally wrong scientific claim. They still keep on propagating this falsehood that science is indeed proving that the heart is responsible in humans for thinking, understanding, and reasoning. 

Muslim preachers present this proof (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 Muslim Preachers

A person survived off a pig heart for 2 months (link). 

While people survive on 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)

And these people are fully able of thinking, understanding, reason and cognitive behaviour, without any human heart. 

Dear Muslim friends! 

Please think about it:

• Should we now believe that the pig's heart is responsible for thinking and understanding and reasoning?
• Or should we now believe that artificial hearts (machines) are responsible for love and emotions and reasoning?

4th argument: Changes in heart transplant recipients that parallel the personalities of their donors

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)" 

Answer:

How many cases? There were only 10 participants in that small study. That may be a coincidence, while this study stays SINGULAR. This means, since 2000, no other study came which found any such similar results. Although a professor wrote a book on it in 2020, but it was only a book, based upon a hypothesis of the author, and not even a study. 

On one hand, there is the Theory of Evolution, which is based upon thousands of studies and perhaps has millions of more proofs than this singular study. But the Muslim Preachers still deny the Theory of Evolution. But on the other hand, they fully accept this singular hypothesis, which failed in the next 22 years to bring even a single more proof to support itself. Please see for yourself if these are Double Standards or not.

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. 

Actually, it is a shame that Muslim preachers still think that Quran is telling the Truth about hearts. 

Actually, it is a shame that these Muslim preachers have such a huge power of propaganda, that they still confuse and deceive millions of people on this issue. 

Actually, it is a shame that we have still to waste time in order to refute such ridiculous Quranic claims in this 21st century.