Painting Heaven: Polishing the Mirror of the Heart

Product Description A story beautifully told and illustrated by the acclaimed artist, Demi. Included also is a poem by the renowned poet, Coleman Barks. Both draw on the same account found in Ghazali’s Marvels of the Heart, Book XXI, of his magnum opus, the Revival of Religious Sciences. This enchanting tale introduces both parents and children to the wondrous teachings from the world’s beloved al-Ghazali (1058-1111CE). He tells us that the human heart is like a rusty mirror which, when polished through beautiful doings, is able to reflect the Real Essence of all things which are normally hidden behind veils. Book XXI, The Marvels of the Heart, includes a story which helps to illustrate the “polishing of the Heart”. Adults may appreciate Coleman Bark’s poem on the subject as well as selections of Book XXI, while the illustrated tale may introduce a younger audience to this key teaching of al-Ghazali. Reviews "If the Quran tells us that the heart is the essence of man, so that the Prophet on his Ascension saw the highest perfection with his heart (53:11), and if revelation itself descended 'on his heart', then the heart is the unique interface of the eternal and the finite realms..." T.J. Winter, University of Cambridge