The focus of this article is a reflection on the nature of the human heart (al-qalb), human mind (al-‘aql) and human hand (al-yad). The heart is the place of emotion - love or hate; the mind is the place of thought - right or wrong; the hand is the tool of power – justice or injustice. So, the question may be asked, what is the tipping scale for the heart from love to hate; what makes the mind to think right or wrong; and what causes the hand to do justice or injustice?
Then, what is the role of faith/religion in harmonizing the human heart, mind and hand? How can the Sīrah, the way of the life of the messenger of God, teach the human heart to love, the human mind to thing right and the human hand to act justly? What can man learn from the parallel lives and trials of the early aṣḥāb, the Prophet’s companions, and their immediate tābi’ūn, the followers? Here, the article introduces the way of life of two aṣḥāb: ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbās and Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal and one tābi‘un: Al-Qāḍī Shuraikh ibn Al-Ḥārith Al-Kindī, to show that the heart is not a pump that drives the blood, but it is the blood of love that drives the heart to love; that the mind is not a vessel to be filled, but the light to be kindled; and that the hand is not a tool to be abused, but a means to be used for justice. The author aims to open the way for a critique of the pure faith of Muslims. Indeed, the Muslims need to examine their faith in a serious way to find out the right exit from the current crisis of the relationship between their heart, mind and hand. Where is the pure faith of Muslims? Is it in their heart only? Is it in their mind only? Is it in their hand only? How can the Muslims connect these three into a coherent whole for the good of humanity? The good examples from the Sīrah might provide us with the right answer to these questions provided that the Muslims open their hearts, employ their minds and educate their hands. This article is trying to guide them to that direction.
Key words: heart (al-qalb), mind (al-‘aql), hand (al-yad), sīrah, taqwā, maʿrūf, aṣḥāb, tābi‘ūn, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbās, Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal, Al-Qāḍī Shuraikh ibn Al-Ḥārith Al-Kindī.