Question No. 3545 10 September 2026 Official answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) verified Content level: Intermediate

What Is the Faculty of Imagination, and How Can We Control It?

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Dear questioner, Master Ali Saei

Tracking code: #Q-3545

Peace be upon you.
Respected teacher, would you please explain what the “faculty of imagination” is?
And, more importantly, what practical steps can we take to discipline this faculty and bring it under our control, so that we do not let it jump from one thing to another—especially toward corrupt and false imaginings?

To add some context: much of the day, we are occupied with our everyday and personal tasks. Focusing on our work may keep us absorbed for hours, heedless of the remembrance of God, while also engaging our imagination. It seems to me that even a moment of neglecting the remembrance of God hardens the heart, and so on. How can we remain occupied with remembering and invoking God in every situation?

Many thanks.
َّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحيمِ

Subject category: Ethics and Spirituality Epistemology

The essence and first answer at a glance (60-word summary)

The faculty of imagination is like a screen that reflects the heart: it displays whatever is on the network to which the heart is connected. When the heart is guided by reason, it connects to the realm of the unseen and becomes receptive to divine inspiration. This connection gives rise to true imaginings and thoughts, both in sleep and while awake. The stronger one’s reason and noble character, the clearer and truer one’s imaginings become.

Answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat)

Teacher and researcher in the intellectual tradition of wisdom and the Ahl al-Bayt | Soroush Bamdadān Cultural Center

Imagination is the screen on which the heart displays its contents. The human heart is a screen for the human soul: it will broadcast whatever network it is connected to. The faculty of imagination is the power that sets this display in motion.

Just as a computer broadcasts the content of whatever network it is connected to, the human heart, too, is subject to the influences of whatever centre it is connected to. The thoughts and promptings of the lower self, and those of Satan and the devils, will be broadcast through it as auditory, visual, tactile, gustatory, olfactory and other sensory impressions.

If the heart is guided by the centre of intellect, it will be connected to the realm of the unseen and receive divine inspirations and promptings. The human intellect’s network will then connect it to the supreme network of *taqlīn*, and its thoughts and imaginings will be true—whether they take the form of true dreams and visions, truthful thoughts, true perceptions or other states.

Thus, the more a person is endowed with intellect and noble character, the more their clear, pure and truthful imaginings and perceptions of *taqlīn* will be displayed in the heart, both as knowledge and in practice.

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What Is the Faculty of Imagination, and How Can We Control It?

The essence and first answer at a glance (60-word summary)

Answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat)

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