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1400 years ago, it was common to associate emotions like fear with the brain, but the Quran makes a powerful connection between fear and the heart. Skeptics might argue that whoever wrote the Quran was mistaken, as fear is linked to the brain, not the heart. However, modern research has demonstrated that fear is indeed influenced by both the brain and the heart, confirming the Quranic description.
Recent scientific studies have shown that the heart plays a significant role in how we experience fear. For instance, one study revealed that fear stimuli were detected more easily when the individual was at the "systole" phase of their heartbeat, where blood is ejected from the heart, compared to the "diastole" phase, when the heart is relaxed. This timing of the heartbeat can affect how the brain responds to fear-related stimuli, particularly through the amygdala, the brain's fear center. These findings suggest that emotional processing, especially fear, is not solely a brain function, but also influenced by the heart's rhythm The Quran makes a striking connection between fear and the heart in Surah 3:151:
We will cast horror into the hearts of the disbelievers for associating ˹false gods˺ with Allah—a practice He has never authorized. The Fire will be their home—what an evil place for the wrongdoers to stay!3:151
The phrase "We will throw fear into the hearts of those who disbelieve" aligns with modern findings that fear is processed not only by the brain but also in conjunction with the heart. This connection between fear and the heart was described long before it was scientifically recognized.
At the time the Quran was revealed, the understanding of the physiological processes behind fear and its connection to the heart was not available. The idea that fear is linked to the heart, as confirmed by modern science, raises the question: how could an unlettered man living 1400 years ago have known this? The alignment between the Quranic description and contemporary scientific findings is a testament to the profound knowledge contained in the Quran, most definitely from The Divine.