Assalaam alaikum, I have read the difference among scholars regarding the place of intellect,whether it is the heart or brain, but we see In quraan and hadeeth that heart is described as a place for intellect Beware! There is a piece of flesh in the body, if it is reformed, the whole body becomes good, but if it gets spoilt the whole body gets spoilt; indeed it is the heart Sayings of Prophet peace be upon him As we see we cannot take it in a metaphoric sense as the term flesh is used. How do we understand this situtation when a persons heart can be replaced by an *artificial heart(machine). and second case what happens when some other persons(kafir) heart is transplanted with respect to iman, as we understand that it is the heart which are blinded. please help me understand this issue especially the case of artificial heart,which is just a machine. jazakAllaah khair salaam alaikum

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

Shaykh ‘Atiyyah Muhammad Saalim was asked a similar question which reads: “In heart transplant, what is the case if a heart of a non-Muslim is transplanted into a Muslim?" In his answer, he quote his Shaykh Muhammad Ameen Ash-Shinqeeti  the author of the book (about the interpretation of the Quran) entitled Tafseer Adhwaa’ Al-Bayaan, as he said: “Our father Shaykh Al-Ameen, may Allaah have mercy upon us and upon him, was asked this question when the performance of such operations started and he said: “The saying of Allaah (which means): {No! Rather, the stain has covered their hearts of that which they were earning.}[Quran 83:14], clarifies this issue. He added: “The heart is a container in which the light of Eemaan (faith) or the sin of disbelief is put, the proof about this is the saying of Allaah (which means): {Allaah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp; the lamp is within glass, the glass as if it were a pearly [white] star lit from [the oil of] a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire.}[Quran 24:35] The lamp lights up because of the oil that is in it, for this reason we say: Eemaan is like the pure oil; so if righteous deeds and certainty [of belief] enter it, this oil lights up and enlightens the heart, whereas disobedience makes a black spot on the heart to the extent that it covers the inside light. It is like the lantern bulb when there is too much smoke on it [or around it], it covers the light that is inside it. Based on this, if the heart of a believer is transplanted, it is the piece of flesh that is transplanted, and the flesh and blood are transplanted, but the reality of the light and the reality of Eemaan remain with the original person. Likewise is the heart of a disbeliever, it is only the lantern that is replaced but the oil stays in its original place, so there is no effect for transplanting the heart of a Muslim into a disbeliever or vice-versa.” [End quote]

The same applies when an artificial heart is implanted into a person, so the person although part of his body was changed –even though it is an important part – he remains the same person upon whom the religious obligation applies. It is known that the misguidance of the heart of a disbeliever or a hypocrite are so by the items that feed it and affect it, it is like the car engine whose breaking down is due to putting bad materials in it, so if these bad materials that cause the breaking down of that engine change to materials that are good for the engine, then the engine becomes good.

As regards the mind, whether it is located in the heart or in the brain, then Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah studied this issue and his conclusion was that both the heart and the brain are related to the mind, as he said: “The origin of thinking and pondering is in the brain, and the origin of will [intention] is in the heart….a person does not want something except after imagining what he wants; so the heart must have an imagination (of the matter), and thus it has both imagination and will, i.e. the beginning of the matter is in the brain, and its effects also go up to the brain, where it originates and it ends. Both statements are correct.”

For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 28023.

Allaah Knows best.