Qalb قلب

Qalb (قلب) — Doctrinally load-bearing. In Akbarian anthropology the qalb is the contemplative organ that receives the Real’s self-disclosure; it “turns” (root q-l-b) between two ontological poles. Distinguish from fu’ad (innermost heart; sense of perceptive certainty) and from nafs (lower self, ego). “Mind” is forbidden because it imports a cognitive- Cartesian register; “soul” is forbidden because it collides with nafs. Pair contrastively with fu’ad in passages where both terms appear (Tarjumān Ode I lines 1-2; Quran 53:11 contexts).

Etymology

[STUB: editor to author etymology, root, and morphological notes.]

Cross-tradition resonance

Related terms across traditions (each relation is a stub the editor expands):

• Lev (jewish-mysticism) — [STUB: editor to expand — shared-contemplative-organ]
• Kardia (christian-mysticism) — [STUB: editor to expand — shared-contemplative-organ]

Primary sources

• Qur’an 50:37 — “a reminder for whoever has a heart” (qalb), or listens while present.
• Qur’an 26:89 — only one who comes to God “with a sound heart”, qalb salim.
• Qur’an 22:46 — “it is not eyes that are blinded, but blinded are the hearts which are within the breasts”.
• Abd al-Karim al-Jili, al-Insan al-Kamil, Bab 52 — the chapter on the heart, opening with a poem that names it “the Throne of God”.

Scholarly literature

[STUB: editor to list standard secondary scholarship.]

Hekhal Editorial. "Qalb." Hekhal: An Open Reference for Esoteric Tradition. Last modified October 24, 2026. https://hekhal.org/lexicon/qalb.

Hekhal Editorial. 2026. "Qalb." Hekhal: An Open Reference for Esoteric Tradition. https://hekhal.org/lexicon/qalb.

Hekhal Editorial. "Qalb." Hekhal: An Open Reference for Esoteric Tradition, Oct 24, 2026, hekhal.org/lexicon/qalb.

Hekhal Editorial. (2026). Qalb. Hekhal: An Open Reference for Esoteric Tradition. https://hekhal.org/lexicon/qalb

@misc{hekhal-lexicon-qalb-2026,
  author       = {{Hekhal Editorial}},
  title        = {{Qalb}},
  year         = {2026},
  publisher    = {{Hekhal: An Open Reference for Esoteric Tradition}},
  url          = {https://hekhal.org/lexicon/qalb},
  urldate      = {[date accessed]}
}