Message #19109

[Zainab_M]

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Btw, I've heard that in Sufism qalb or heart refers to the spiritual heart not the physical one.   Any opinions on that?

I've heard that too but I don't understand what the Sufi connotation is.  It's surely not compatible with the mainstream Islamic perspective.  The spiritual entity is the soul.  The nafs is the abstract entity which can be good or bad or mediocre.  The nafs influences the soul intangibly into spiritual obedience or disobedience or neglect.  The nafs can influence the qalb (heart) physically e.g. if nafs is stiring up the emotion of worries in a person, it can effect the physical health of the heart or qalb.   If the ruh or soul is well guided and at peace, it will often lead to a tranquil heart.   The heart is always viewed as a physical organ which gets influenced by the nafs and soul in different ways. 

Qalb and nafs are also intrinsically connected just as the nafs and soul interact.  

If a person suffers a heart attack, in due course of time they also often develop depression, sleep disorders and cognitive problems which ensue from the nafs.   Similarly, if a person is depressed and anxious for a long period of time, they often develop cardiovascular issues.   Also for instance, problems with the blood vessels of the physical heart supplying blood to the physical brain can affect that particular sphere of the brain that controls our memory causing the development of dementia which is an abstract aspect of the mind that can be described as nafs.   

Thus, while heart health is largely dependent on the nafs and ruh, it's the ruh that is spiritual not the heart.    And only Allah knows best.