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Question No. 2842 31 August 2022 Official answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) verified Content level: Intermediate

Can the limbs be under Satan’s sway while the heart remains sound?

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Verified answer Documented and evidence-based
Dear questioner, Master Ali Saei
Tracking code: #Q-2842

Is it possible for all the limbs and faculties to be under Satan’s sway while the heart remains sound and able to protect itself?

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

The heart is regarded as the ruler of the body. If it has sufficient authority, it can keep the limbs and faculties under control. But when the heart is weak, it loses control over them. Each limb has its own identity and distinct capacities, and may fall under Satan’s sway.

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

In light of the noble verse:

الإسراء : 36 و لا تقف ما لیس لک به علم إن السمع و البصر و الفؤاد کل أولئک کان عنه مسؤلا

“Do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Surely the hearing, the sight and the heart—each of these will be called to account.”

Each bodily faculty has its own distinct identity and sphere of agency. Each has individual duties and obligations, as well as duties and obligations relating to its connection with the others.

The heart is the sovereign of the body. If it has sufficient authority, it can bring the limbs and faculties under its control, whether willingly or by force. But when it is weak and feeble, control of the limbs and faculties slips from its grasp.

Every bodily faculty is a living entity, with its own agency, awareness and particular duties.

اتخذوا الشیطان لأمرهم ملاکا و اتخذهم له أشراکا فباض و فرخ فی صدورهم و دب و درج فی حجورهم فنظر بأعینهم و نطق بألسنتهم فرکب بهم الزلل و زین لهم الخطل فعل من قد شرکه الشیطان فی سلطانه و نطق بالباطل على لسانه‏

Nahj al-Balāghah (ed. Ṣubḥī Ṣāliḥ), p. 53

The misguided took Satan as the measure of their affairs, and Satan made them his snares. He laid his eggs in their hearts and hatched his brood in their bosoms. He looked through their eyes and spoke with their tongues. With their help, he mounted the steed of error and made their evil deeds seem fair to them—like one who appears to share in Satan’s dominion and speaks falsehood through his tongue.

Nahj al-Balāghah, trans. Dashti, p. 55

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