What is your opinion regarding what I heard seven years ago, which is that scientifically, when the index finger is moved, there is a nerve connected from the hand to the finger to the heart, and the heartbeats move?

The questioner : I also heard a scientific matter, my Shaykh, a long time ago, seven years ago. When a person moves the index finger, there is a nerve connected from the hand to the finger to the heart. When he moves his finger, the heartbeats move in a way that means they seem to alert the person to something.

The Shaykh : No, this has no connection. But every movement that a person makes with awareness has an effect on the heart, whether for good or for bad. It has no connection to the nerve. I mean, when a person says "La ilaha illa Allah" (There is no god but Allah) now...

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : If he says it with his tongue and with awareness, it has an effect in strengthening his faith in his heart. But let us say he said it in his sleep; it has no effect. If he said it in a state of wakefulness that is like sleep, it has no effect. So there is no connection to the idea that there is actually a nerve connected to the tasbih (prayer beads) or the finger to the heart. Absolutely, there is no connection.