The Second Flash

The Second Flash

بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّح۪يمِ ^a

اِذْنَادٰي رَبَّهُٓ اَنّ۪ي مَسَّنِيَ الضُّرُّ وَاَنْتَ اَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِم۪ينَ ^b

This supplication of Prophet Ayyūb (‘alayhi’s-salām), (3) the hero of forbearance (ṣabr), is tried and tested and greatly effective. Yet we should say رَبِّ اِنّ۪ي مَسَّنِيَ الضُّرُّ وَاَنْتَ اَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِم۪ينَ ^c in our supplication deriving this from the verse. 

_____

a In the Name of Allāh, the Merciful, the Compassionate.

b He (Ayyūb) called unto his Lord, 'the harm has truly visited me, and You are the most merciful of the merciful' (Qur’ān: al-Anbiyā', 21:83)

c My Lord, the harm has truly visited me, and You are the most merciful of the merciful. 

3. Prophet Ayyūb (‘alayhi’s-salām) is known as Job in the Biblical tradition. The story of Ayyūb (‘alayhi’s-salām) shows similarities with the Biblical story of Job. Prophet Ayyūb’s name is mentioned in the Qur’ān in these verses: an-Nisā', 4:163, al-An‘am, 6:84, al-Anbiyā' 21:83-84, Ṣād, 38:41-44).

_____

The essence of the famous story of Prophet Ayyūb (‘alayhi’s-salām) is as follows: 

He endured the suffering of wounds and ulcers for a very long period, yet he bore this illness with perfect patience, thinking only of its great reward. Yet when the maggots that had emerged from his wounds started to affect his heart and his tongue, he said - not thinking of his own comfort, but rather [in the hope] that the worship he was engaged in with his heart and tongue, the seats of the remembrance and gnosis of the Divine (al-ma‘rifatu’l-Ilāhiyya), would not be thereby impaired - praying "my Lord, the harm has visited me, and it has impaired the remembrance of my tongue and the worship of my heart." Allāhu Ta‘ālā accepted that sincere, pure and guileless supplication, that is made just for Allāh, in an utterly phenomenal manner. He bestowed complete good health upon him and showered him with all the diversity of His mercy. Here in this flash are `five subtle points`.

The first subtle point: We have inner, spiritual, heart-related illnesses corresponding to outer wounds and illnesses of Prophet Ayyūb (‘alayhi’s-salām). Were our inner to transform into something outer, and our outer to something inner, it would become evident that we are all afflicted by more wounds and illnesses than was Prophet Ayyūb (‘alayhi’s-salām). For every sin we have perpetrated, and every doubt that has ever entered our minds, is continuously breaking open wounds in our hearts and spirits. 

Prophet Ayyūb’s wounds were only threatening his short worldly life. Our spiritual wounds, on the other hand, are threatening our immensely long eternal lives. We are [thus] in a thousand times greater need of these Ayyūban supplications than that noble prophet. Furthermore, just as the maggots that emerged from Prophet Ayyūb’s wounds affected his heart and his tongue, so too do we have the wounds that arise from our sins. And the whispers (wasāwis) and doubts (shubuhāt), that emerge from those wounds, damage our faith - na‘ūdhubi’llāh! ^a - by striking the inner depths of our hearts which is the seat of faith; and they attack the spiritual pleasure of [our] tongue, which is the interpreter of faith, by distancing our tongues from Divine remembrance (dhikr) so hatefully that they silence [dhikr on our tongues]. 

_____

a we seek refuge in Allāh

_____

Yes - sin deeply penetrates the heart, getting right inside it, and perpetually and continually blackens it, and hardens it until it removes all the light of faith from it. There lies a road in every sin that leads to unbelief (kufr). If that sin is not quickly erased by repentance, it turns into a little spiritual maggot, nay a snake, that bites [into the heart]. 

For example, anyone who secretly commits a shameful sin is greatly embarrassed by others finding out about it. The existence of angels (malāika) and spiritual beings (rūḥāniyāt) becomes too burdensome for him. He wishes to deny their existence at the slightest [ostensible] indication. 

And for example, if he, who commits a mortal sin that would result in the punishment of Hell, does not protect himself against it, by means of repentance every time he hears the threats regarding Hell [in the Qur’ān or other sources], the slightest [ostensible] indication or a doubt would give him the daring of denying the existence of Hell since he wishes with all his soul that it did not exist. 

And for example, the laziness in carrying out obligatory duties [prescribed] by the repeated commands of the King of Beginningless and Endless Eternity (Sulṭān-i Azal wa Abad), would cause great trouble for a person who does not observe his prescribed daily Prayers, nor performs his duty of worship, and who is saddened by the reprimand of his little boss due to his failure in carrying out [even] his little job; and [as a result,] due to that pressing trouble, he wishes and says inwardly: "I wish this duty of worship did not exist". 

Out of this wish awakens a wish of denial that indicates a whiff of spiritual enmity against the Divine. If a doubt concerning the existence of Allāh then appears in his heart, such a person inclines towards holding on to it, as if it were a conclusive proof. [Thus] is a door to terrible destruction opened to him. This wretched fellow does not realise that in denial he is exposing himself to a spiritual distress millions and indeed billions of times more severe than that limited, minute trouble that might arise from the duty of worship. He is fleeing from the bite of a gnat, and agreeing to being bitten by snakes. And likewise, [these examples can be multiplied].

Let then these three examples be a measure so that the secret of بَلْ رَانَ عَلٰي قُلُوبِهِمْ ^a is understood. 

_____

a Nay, but the deeds they have acquired have become like rust upon their hearts (Qur’ān: al-Muṭaffifīn, 83:14)

_____

The second subtle point: As it has been elucidated in the discussion of the secret of Destiny (Qadar) in the Twenty-sixth Word, man does not have the right to complain of tribulations and sicknesses in three aspects: 

The first aspect: Allāhu Ta‘ālā dressed man with the garment called "body" which He blessed with His artistry. That is to say, He made man a model. He cuts out, tailors, amends and makes changes to that body garment on that model; [and by means of this] He reveals the manifestations of His diverse Names. Just as the Name "The Healer" (Ash-Shāfī) wants sickness, so too does the Name "The Provider" (Ar-Razzāq) require hunger. And likewise... مَالِكُ الْمُلْكِ يَتَصَرَّفُ ف۪ي مُلْكِه۪ كَيْفَ يَشَٓاءُ ^a

_____

a the King of the Kingdom, Who has free disposal in His kingdom as He wishes 

_____

The second aspect: Life becomes purified by tribulations and sicknesses, and by means of them attains its perfection, gets stronger, advances, gives fruit, becomes complete, and fulfils its duties. The monotonous life, [on the other hand], spent upon the bed of relaxation is closer to nothingness, which is pure evil, than it is to existence, which is pure good - and [such a life] indeed leads to it [i.e. nothingness]. 

The third aspect: The realm of this world is the domain of testing, and the realm of service; it is not the place for pleasure, nor for taking a wage or being recompensed. Since it is the realm of service and the venue for worship, sicknesses and tribulations therein - on the condition that they be not [related to] religion, and on the condition that one is patient with them - harmonise perfectly with that service and worship, and strengthen them. Thus is it that one should have gratitude for them, and not complain about them, for they make every hour [that one lives] like worshipping for a whole day. 

Yes - there are two types of worship: the first is positive, and the second negative. The positive type is well-known. The negative type is this that the stricken person feels his weakness by means of illnesses and tribulations that he seeks refuge and returns to his Compassionate Lord, thinks of Him, and implores Him; by means of this he fulfils a pure form of worship. This servanthood is pure such that ostentation cannot infiltrate it. Should one have patience with it, anticipate the reward of the tribulation, and thank one's Lord for it, then, every hour [of the tribulation] takes on the value of the worship of a whole day. One's very short lifespan is transformed into a long lifespan. Indeed, there exists a type of tribulation the each minute of which is transformed into a whole day's worship. 

Indeed, I used to be very concerned about the severe illness that one of my brothers in the Hereafter had, namely Muhājir Ḥāfiẓ Aḥmed. My heart was then inspired: “Congratulate him. In fact every minute of his illness is being transformed into the worship of an entire day.” That individual was already extending thanks to Allāh in a state of patience. 

The third subtle point: As has been elucidated in certain of the "Words": the heart and tongue of anyone who reflects upon his past life will [inevitably] say [either] "Alas!" or “Oh!” That is, one will either feel regret, or say “Alḥamdulillāh!” (Praise be to Allāh).

It is the spiritual pains arising from the passing away of and separation from the pleasures of past time that cause one to feel regretful. It is because the passing away of pleasure is pain. Sometimes a temporary pleasure causes perpetual pain. Reflecting [upon the passing away of pleasures], on the other hand, twists the knife in the wounds of that pain, and makes regret drip down. 

The spiritual and continual pleasure, that arises from the passing away of the temporary pains that had afflicted one in one's past life, makes one say “Alḥamdulillāh!” (Praise be to Allāh). Should he reflect - after all, it is his nature to do so - on the reward and recompense in the Hereafter which is the [real] outcome of those tribulations, and [reflects] on the transformation of his short lifespan to a lifespan that is, by means of those tribulations, long, [during a tribulation] he will be more grateful than he is patient. For all this requires him to say اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ عَلٰي كُلِّ حَالٍ سِوَي الْكُفْرِ وَ الضَّلَالِ ^a. There is a famous saying that states "the time of tribulations is long." 

Yes, the time of tribulation is long, however it is long not because it is filled with troubles [and pains] as customarily imagined by people but it is long because it yields vital fruits just like a long lifespan.

_____

a Praise be to Allāh in every state, other than disbelief and misguidance. 

_____

The fourth subtle point: As has been elucidated in “the First Station” of “the Twenty-first Word,” if man does not, by going down the road of delusions (awhām), dissipate the power of patience conferred upon him by Allāh, that power is sufficient for him to be able to face every tribulation; yet if man dissipates his power of patience and causes them to scatter towards the past and the future as a result of the domination of delusion, and of heedlessness, and by imagining an evanescent life to be eternal, his patience becomes insufficient to face tribulations present and actual, and man starts to complain, as if complaining to people of Allāh, Ḥāshā, far be it from Him! Such a person becomes impatient by way of complaining with no right to do so, and [in fact] quite insanely.

And regarding the tribulation of every past day, its hardship has departed and its comfort has remained, its pains have gone away and its pleasure stayed back in its ending, its troubles have flown away and its rewards have remained with you. Since this is so, one must not complain [of tribulation] rather one should give thanks [to Allāh] for it, in a state of pleasure. One should not be resentful about any of it, on the contrary one should instead love those days, [because], by means of tribulations, one's evanescent life, [some of which] has already passed, is transformed into a type of blissful and eternal life. It is thus a type of insanity to think about the pains in them [in a way embellished] by imagination, and to dissipate some degree of one's patience by directing it towards them.

Given that the coming days have not yet arrived, thinking now about one's future suffering, illnesses and tribulations, and exhausting one's power of patience and complaining of them is utter stupidity. 

Just as it would be imbecilic for one to eat bread and drink water continually all day for the fear of the hunger and thirst of tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, so too is thinking about the tribulations and illnesses that will occur in the coming days, which are all non--existent for now, and being pained with them and exhausting one's power of patience now, and oppressing one's own self when nothing is forcing him to do so, a form of stupidity that takes away his right to pity and mercy.

The upshot: Just as gratitude gives increase in blessings, so too does complaining give increase in tribulations, and take away [the complainers'] right to mercy.

During the first year of the First World War, a blessed individual from Erzurum was afflicted with a severe illness - I made the visit to him, and he complained most painfully to me, saying "I have not been able to lay my head on the pillow and sleep for a hundred nights." I felt much pity for him. A thought suddenly occurred to me then, and I said: 

"My brother, your most troublesome past one hundred days you spent unwell are now like unto a hundred days of happiness for you. Do not complain by thinking [of those hundred days], rather give thanks for them every time you look at them. Since the coming days have not yet arrived, rely upon the mercy of your Lord, the Merciful and Compassionate (Ar-Raḥmānu’r-Raḥīm). Do not cry before you are hit. Do not be afraid of something that does not even exist. Do not [try to] colour nothingness with the dye of existence. Think only of the present moment. Your power of patience suffice for this moment. Do not act like the insane commander of the right wing of whose enemy [changed sides and] joined the right wing of his own army. Although he has received a fresh force for his army, he [foolishly] sends a great force to his right wing. He then sends another great force to his left wing - despite the fact that the enemy had no soldiers there and they had not yet arrived - and thereby totally weakens his position in the centre. The enemy realises what happened and attacks the centre, and shatters [his army] completely.”

To him I said, “my brother, do not act like that person. Gather rather all of your strength for this hour alone. Reflect upon the Divine mercy and the recompense in the Hereafter, and [contemplate that] it transforms your evanescent and short lifespan into an eternal and long one. Give thanks in a state of joyfulness, instead of engaging in this deep-seated complaint.” 

He was perfectly relieved, and said, “Alḥamdulillāh, [the difficulty of] my illness has dropped to one from ten degrees.” 

The fifth subtle point: It comprises ‘three matters’. 

The first matter: The real and harmful tribulation is the one that affects one's religion. One must continually seek refuge in Allāh from tribulation in religion, and plea to Him. The tribulations, on the other hand, that do not affect religion are not, from the perspective of reality, counted as tribulations. Some of them are wake-up calls from the Merciful. Just as the shepherd might throw a stone at sheep of his that have gone into a farm belonging to someone else, such that the sheep feel that this [act] is a warning to save them from danger, and return in all happiness and compliance, so too are there a great many outward tribulations each of which is [in reality] a Divine wake-up call and a warning for us. Some of them constitute an expiation of sins (kaffāratu’dh-dhunūb). And some others drive away heedlessness and remind one of his weakness and powerlessness both of which are human [qualities], and bestow on him a type of mindful awareness that he is in the presence of Allāh (al-ḥuḍūru’l-ilāhī). 

Illness, one type of tribulations, as discussed earlier, is in fact not [really] a tribulation, but a Divine bounty and purification. It is narrated in the [ḥadīth] tradition the meaning of which is as follows: “Just as ripe fruits fall as a tree shakes, every time a feverish patient shivers, his sins fall [i.e. are cancelled].” (Ṣaḥīḥu’l-Bukhārī, v 5, 2138)

Prophet Ayyūb (‘alayhi’s-salām) did not pray to Allāh in his supplications for the sake of the repose of his own self, but he asked to be healed for the sake of worship, when the tribulations [threatened] to come between him and Divine remembrance on the tongue, and contemplation in the heart. 

First of all [and before all else] we should intend, by those supplications, the healing of our immaterial (ma‘nawī) and spiritual (rūḥī) wounds that emanate from our sins. With respect to physical illnesses: we may beseech Allāh [to remove them] when they prevent us from carrying out our worship. One must beseech Allāh not in the form of an objection [to the tribulation] nor a complaint about it, but in humility and seeking the help of Allāh Most High.

Since we are content with His Lordship (rubūbiyyah), we must also be content with everything that He has decreed for us, in that Lordship. Grumbling and huffing and puffing in a way that might hint an objection to Divine decree and determining (al-qaḍa' wa’l-qadar) is a type of criticism of Divine determining (qadar) and an accusation against Divine mercy. Whoever criticises the Divine determining hits his head against an anvil, and cracks it open. Whoever makes an accusation against the Divine mercy gets deprived of mercy. Just as using a broken hand to take revenge and retaliate only worsens the break, similarly, if the one stricken by a tribulation meets it grumbling and worrying in an objecting manner, he would make his tribulation into two tribulations. 

The second matter: In so far as one regards tribulations relating to the material dimension as immense, they become immense, and insofar as one regards them as being small, they become small. 

For example: a person sees a shadow at night; the more he becomes preoccupied with it, the more blown up and bigger it gets, and if he forgets about it and cares not about it, it diminishes and goes away. 

Just as paying attention to attacking wasps increases the severity of their attack, and paying no attention to them makes them go away, so too is it so with material tribulations that insofar as one regards them as being immense, they become immense. Due to [unnecessary] anxiety about it, the tribulation now passes unto the heart from the body, and settles therein, becoming deeply rooted in the heart, it results in even a spiritual tribulation, which relies upon [the material tribulation], and [thus] continues. Whenever man removes that anxiety by being contented with the Divine decree and by relying upon Him Most High, the material tribulation becomes as nothing, and step by step dries up, just as a tree that has been uprooted dries up. 

I once said, in order to elucidate this reality: 

“Leave, o wretched one, your crying and wailing about the tribulation, come now and in Him have trust.

For crying and wailing is itself a tribulation within tribulation and error within error. Know this!

If you have found the One Who has sent you the tribulation, this is itself a joy within joy and blessing within the blessing. Know this! 

If you don't find the One Who has sent you the tribulation, the entire world becomes suffering within suffering and transience within transience. Know this! 

Why do you cry out about a little trial, when you are [already] stricken with a trial of the magnitude of this world, so come, and have trust! 

Smile in the face of the trial by having trust, until it too smiles. Everytime it smiles, it diminishes, and changes.”

Just as hostility transforms into reconciliation and a dispute into a joke by smiling in the face of a mortal enemy during a fight, such that the enmity dwindles and disappears, similarly, meeting the tribulation by means of complete trust in Allāh (tawakkul) is like this. 

The third matter: Every age has its own ruling [attached to it]. Tribulations have changed shape in this age of heedlessness. 

At certain times and for certain people, tribulation is not a calamity rather a Divine favour. In my eyes, those tested with illnesses at this time - in so far as they do not affect [one's ability to practice] religion, are fortunate and happy - [seeing them] does not put me into opposition to [such] illnesses and tribulations, nor fill me with feelings of pity towards them. This is because no youth has come to me suffering from an illness but that I have seen him as being, in comparison to his peers, more connected to the religious vocation, that of the Hereafter.

This makes me realise that for these people, the illnesses with which they are stricken are not really tribulations at all, but a type of Divine blessing, for despite the hardship such illnesses cause to their evanescent, pretty short lives in this world, they give benefit to their eternal lives, and are transformed into a type of worship. 

If they were to find their health, they would certainly be unable to preserve the states of illness [i.e. remember their Lord as much and stay away from sins] because of the drunkenness of youth, and because of the shamelessness so prevalent in this time; indeed, perhaps they would plunge right into shamelessness (safāhah). 

Conclusion: In order to reveal His illimitable power and endless mercy, Allāh has incorporated illimitable powerlessness and endless neediness into man. Moreover, in order to reveal the limitless inscriptions of His Names, He has created him [from a certain aspect] like unto [a type of] machine that is able to feel pains from illimitable angles and feel pleasures from illimitable angles. And are there, in this human machine, hundreds of instruments, each of which has a pain particular to it, a specific pleasure, a different vocation, and a special recompense. It is as if all of the Divine Names that are made manifest in the world - which is the Great Man (al-insānu’l-akbar) - are also made manifest in man, who is the Little World (al-‘ālamu’l-asghar) - and the manifestations of all of these Names become revealed in man.

Just as the beneficial things in man’s [life] like health, well-being and pleasures drive him towards thankfulness, and push that machine to fulfil its duties in many ways, and man turns into a factory of gratitude, so too do [the Divine Names] animate and activate the other cogwheels in that machine, by means of tribulations, illnesses and pains, and other troubles [that serve] as an activator and stimulator. The Divine Names cause all the mines operate - the mines of inability (‘ajz), and weakness (ḍa‘af) and neediness (faqr) that has been incorporated into the quiddity of man. They drive man into a state [whereby] he takes refuge with Allāh and seeks His help not in a single language but in the languages of all of his organs. Such that it is as if by means of those troubles man becomes a moving pen made up of thousands of diverse pens. He writes in the scroll of his life or on the imaginal tablet (al-lawḥu'l-mithāli) all that have been destined for him, and makes the scroll of his life into a presentation board wherein the Divine Names are exhibited. Such that he becomes a Divine-glorifying poem in verse, and thereby fulfils the duty of his innate disposition.