Question No. 3278 31 August 2022 Official answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat) verified Content level: Intermediate

What Does It Mean to Hear Unfamiliar Voices at Home?

Primary reference: See the answer text 52 views 23 explanatory notes and annotations

Verified answer Documented and evidence-based

Dear questioner, Master Ali Saei

Tracking code: #Q-3278

Dear teacher, sometimes we hear someone calling out, using the same faculty of hearing with which we hear ordinary sounds, even though no one but us is at home. It has even happened that people around me have heard someone call them by name. What do these calls mean? Could they be hallucinations? There have also been times when danger was near and someone called me by name, and I came to no harm. Please explain these unfamiliar voices. If they are not a good thing, what do you recommend to prevent them from happening again?

Subject category: Ethics and Spirituality Miscellaneous

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

Hearing unfamiliar voices at home, even when no one else is there, may be connected to the heart and the brain. The brain may generate memories or patterns of neural activity, or thoughts may come to dominate the faculty of hearing without passing through the ears. It is also possible to perceive the nonmaterial dimensions of sound. To purify the faculty of hearing from idle or harmful speech, reference is made to verse 62 of Surah Maryam.

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

It may be connected to your heart and mind. The mind may produce sounds through memories and particular patterns of neural activity; your thoughts may act directly upon your ears and faculty of hearing; or, through your spiritual dimensions, you may receive hidden waves and the nonmaterial dimensions of sounds.

Your heart, too, may receive sounds beyond the dimensions of time and space.1

It is worth noting that the reality of hearing—and even the sound that is heard—is entirely nonmaterial, distinct from the waves that carry sound. To purify your faculty of hearing from idle talk, draw upon the light of this verse:

مریم : 62 لا یسمعون فیها لغوا إلا سلاما و لهم رزقهم فیها بکره و عشیا

Did you find this answer illuminating? Your feedback helps us refine our responses and organize future sessions.

Audio attachment: This question currently has no audio file; the answer is provided in written form, with supporting arguments.

What Does It Mean to Hear Unfamiliar Voices at Home?

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

Answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat)

Related questions