In the work of Henri Corbin, the French philosopher, Iranist and mysticism researcher, the heart (qalb) plays a central role. His interpretation is not based on his own speculative philosophy, but on decades of research into Islamic mysticism, in particular the Persian Shiite-Sufi tradition. His main sources are the works of Suhrawardi (12th century)the founder of the philosophy of light (Ishrāq), and Ibn ʿArabī (1165-1240)the great Andalusian Sufi mystic. Later Shiite theosophists such as Mullā Ṣadrā and Qāḍī Saʿīd Qummī characterise his point of view.
Corbin describes the heart as the organ that provides access to the ʿālam al-mithāl the imaginary world. This term comes from Islamic philosophy, particularly from Suhrawardi, and refers to an intermediate reality that is neither purely physical nor purely spiritual. It is ontologically realbut can only be experienced through inner, purified vision. This world is the home of Angelic beings, archetypal images, figures of light and spiritual visions.
According to Corbin, the heart is not a mere emotional centre, but a spiritual organ of cognitionwhich is able to receive divine revelations - so-called Theophanies. These theophanies are Shaping the lightthrough which the divine reveals itself, personalises itself and appears as a dialogue partner. The heart is not passive: it must purified, sensitised and awake be made in order to be able to perceive these revelations.
In many Sufi texts, the heart is described as Mirror described. Ibn ʿArabī states that the heart is the only organ in which the divine names can be reflected. However, this mirror is susceptible to "rust" - i.e. spiritual ambiguity, ego entanglement and emotional turbulence. The practice of Sufism consists of transforming this mirror through devotion (islām), memory (dhikr) and contemplative vision (mushāhada) until the heart becomes transparent again for the divine light.
For Corbin, the heart is not only a mirror, but also a the place of divine love. This love (maḥabba) is not emotional in the modern sense, but a transcendent force that Recognising and being recognised between man and God in the first place. In this he follows Ibn ʿArabī, for whom love is "the reason for the creation of the world". The heart thus becomes a resonance chamber in which Love, realisation and light encounter.
For Corbin, the heart is the mystical place where the separation between subject and object, this world and the next, the visible and the invisible is cancelled. It is:
"The heart is the organ through which man receives the reality of the spiritual world - and itself becomes a place where this reality can be revealed." - Henri Corbin
This view of the heart is not mere symbolism, but a concrete space of experience - and at the same time a call to inner training, to purification of the heart so that it can be Abode of the divine presence can be realised.
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