Al-Hasan al-Basri (1) said, “Faith is not gained by outward display or by wishful thinking; it is what becomes firmly rooted in the hearts and is confirmed by action.” (2)

He also said, “The scholars have always reinforced remembrance with reflection and reflection with remembrance, (3) addressing the hearts until they begin to speak. Once they do, those hearts acquire ears and eyes, speak with wisdom, and dispense knowledge.” (4)

Twenty-Third Response:
One may say: There is no doubt that the self—that is, the heart—is described as speaking and uttering just as the tongue is, even though, when used without qualification, the terms “speech” and “utterance” include them both together. Consequently, whoever limits speech and utterance to what comes only from the tongue is in the same position as one who restricts them (5) to what is only in the heart; and whoever considers the wording to apply to both has joined two disparate matters—indeed, he has affirmed two opposites—for he turns a term that encompasses them both into something that excludes each of them. For when he says, “By it I mean only this,” or “only that,” while the wording was intended for both, he ends up negating each of them in turn.