The Heart Outthinks the Brain

By Qamar Bashir
For centuries, Muslims have believed with conviction that the heart is more than a biological pump—it is the spiritual and emotional core of the human being. This belief is not derived from myth or metaphor but from the unaltered, timeless verses of the Qur’an and the recorded sayings of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The Qur’an speaks repeatedly of the heart as the center of understanding, faith, remembrance, and moral decision-making. Allah says, “They have hearts with which they do not understand,” (Surah Al-A‘raf 7:179) and “It is not the eyes that are blind, but the hearts within the breasts that are blind” (Surah Al-Hajj 22:46). These declarations are not poetic abstractions. They are statements of physiological, psychological, and spiritual truth, long before such truths were accessible to scientific inquiry.
And yet, for the better part of the modern era, mainstream science reduced the heart to a muscular organ, essential but mechanical, pumping blood throughout the body with no capacity for thought or emotion. This assumption took hold not just in Western medicine but across much of the global intellectual landscape, including the Muslim world, where scientific validation is too often seen as the final authority. The heart, in this reductionist view, was subservient to the brain—a vital servant, yes, but without any autonomous or higher function.
This was the dominant worldview—until science itself began to shift.
In the early 1990s, a groundbreaking discovery by neurocardiologist Dr. J. Andrew Armour challenged the orthodoxy. Armour and his colleagues uncovered a dense network of neurons—more than 40,000—embedded within the walls of the human heart. This complex neural system includes sensory neurons, motor neurons, and interneurons, much like the brain itself, and is capable of processing information, making decisions, and even learning independently of the central nervous system. Armour coined the term “intrinsic cardiac nervous system,” which researchers now refer to as the “heart brain.”
This discovery led to a new field of study: neurocardiology. From this field, a stunning realization has emerged—the heart does not simply obey orders from the brain. It sends more signals to the brain than it receives. Nearly 90% of the fibers in the vagus nerve, the primary communication highway between heart and brain, are afferent—carrying data from the heart to the brain. The heart informs the brain about the body’s physiological state and directly affects the function of brain regions responsible for emotional processing, threat assessment, and decision-making, including the amygdala, hypothalamus, thalamus, and prefrontal cortex. In other words, the heart has a say not only in how we feel but in how we perceive and react to the world around us.
This neural communication is not only functional but influential. Scientific studies by institutions such as the HeartMath Institute have shown that the heart’s rhythmic patterns can synchronize brainwave activity, leading to what researchers call “heart-brain coherence.” When people experience emotions like gratitude, compassion, and love, their heart rhythms become harmonious and wave-like, sending calming, stabilizing signals to the brain. This state is linked with improved cognitive function, emotional balance, and physical well-being. Conversely, negative emotions such as anger, fear, and anxiety create erratic heart rhythms that disrupt communication with the brain and impair mental clarity.
These findings echo the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), who said, “Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh which, if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupted, the whole body is corrupted. Verily, it is the heart.” (Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim). Science is now confirming what revelation articulated long ago: the heart governs the well-being of the entire being—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
But there is more. Modern research also shows that the heart is involved in intuitive processes. In the famous Iowa Gambling Task, participants begin to unconsciously favor better choices before they can articulate why—often guided by subtle physiological cues, such as heart rate variability. The implication is that the heart is involved in real-time decision-making and prediction, well before the rational mind catches up. These “gut feelings,” long dismissed by science, are now understood to be rooted in the body’s neural networks, particularly those of the heart.
Perhaps most striking is the discovery that the heart produces hormones typically associated with the brain. The heart secretes oxytocin, the so-called “love hormone,” which is involved in social bonding, empathy, and trust. Researchers have found that concentrations of oxytocin in the heart can rival those found in the brain. Additionally, the heart plays a role in producing atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), a hormone that regulates blood pressure but also influences stress response in the brain. These chemical pathways further establish the heart not as an emotional bystander but as an endocrine organ with executive capabilities.
All of this—validated in peer-reviewed scientific journals, supported by hard data and lab experimentation—brings us back to the starting point of revelation. The Qur’an told us, “The Day when neither wealth nor children will benefit, except for one who comes to Allah with a sound heart” (Surah Ash-Shu‘arā 26:88–89). That “sound heart” is not just a religious metaphor. It is a literal condition of clarity, balance, coherence, and peace—scientifically measurable and spiritually transformative.
In our time, this truth is being embraced not only by Muslim scholars or imams but by increasing numbers of Western men and women—intellectuals, scientists, teachers, and students—who are turning to Islam after discovering the deep spiritual coherence of the Qur’an. Their conversions are not impulsive. They are the result of searching, studying, reflecting, and feeling. When asked why they accepted Islam, many reply in similar terms: “Because the Qur’an touched my heart.” They speak of the unmatched clarity, authenticity, and spiritual resonance they found in Islam—especially in a world that often seems morally hollow and spiritually exhausted.
These converts are not silent. They are visible, articulate, and engaged, using platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube to explain how Islam changed their lives. They speak of a newfound sense of purpose, inner peace, and connection to the Divine—feelings that did not emerge from intellectual debate alone, but from something deeper and more visceral. The Qur’an did not speak to their minds first; it spoke to their hearts.
And perhaps that is the most important lesson in all of this. For too long, humanity has glorified the mind at the expense of the heart. Nations have rationalized wars, genocides, and exploitation in the name of strategy and logic, while silencing the voice of compassion. The mind, when severed from the moral compass of the heart, becomes a source of endless conflict. It invents problems to feel purposeful, and solves them with tools of control and destruction. The heart, on the other hand, thrives on gratitude, forgiveness, generosity, and love. It does not seek domination; it seeks peace.
If we, as individuals and as a civilization, wish to escape the cycles of tyranny, conflict, and spiritual emptiness, we must shift from the mind to the heart—not to abandon intellect, but to elevate it by reconnecting it to its source. Revelation is that source. Science, when honest, serves it. The Qur’an, preserved in its original form, remains the final and flawless testimony of that truth.
In a time of confusion, let us listen not only with our ears or minds, but with our hearts—for that is where truth resides, and where salvation begins.