Surah al-Balad

Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah have mercy on him—said concerning the words of the Most High:

“Have We not given him two eyes,
a tongue and two lips,
and shown him the two ways?”

Guidance resides in the heart. These three organs are constantly moving and engaged in deeds that count either for a person or against him. This is unlike what moves within the body, to which neither reward nor punishment attaches, and unlike the other outward organs, which are mostly still and move little compared with these three.

These are the three referred to in the saying reported from Jesus son of Mary, peace be upon him:

“One whose silence is reflection, whose speech is remembrance, and whose gaze draws lessons.”

A hadith recorded by Ibn Abī Hātim describes the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as frequently silent, constantly reflective, and continually sorrowful. Silence and reflection pertain to the tongue and the heart, respectively. As for sorrow, what is meant is not the pain caused by missing something desired or experiencing something disliked, for that is prohibited and was not characteristic of him. Rather, what was intended was his concern and alertness regarding the matters that lay ahead of him. This involves both the heart and the eye.