The Nature and Position of Heart in Islamic Mysticism

According to the expression of Islamic mysticism, heart is the rational soul and the reality of human being. Epistemologically, mysticism is intuitive. A mystic believes knowledge and real understanding is pre-eminent to rational understanding and heartly intuition; and it is for this reason that in their anthropology they believe that the reality and essence of human is his heart and that his reason, sense and all his organs are the surface and are servers of his heart and subordinate to it. Teleologically, the goal of mysticism is to educate a perfect person and since the reality of human being is his heart, therefore his perfection and imperfection is the perfection and imperfection of his heart. The main base of understanding and justifying expressions, in the methodology of mysticism, is heartly intuition which is achieved through practical conduct; and if rational justification is used as well, it is just to translate the intuitional findings to the public rational language and acquirable knowledge. Reason plays the main role in mystical steps in both aspects: being active or passive.