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Ayatoullah As - Sayyid Dr
Fazel H Milani
The world in which we are
living is witness to eternal motion and it is consistently and
persistently moving towards a goal. Contrary to what the ancient
thinkers and philosophers have maintained, motion and change from
one state to another is evident in every thing. However, in the
material world motion necessitates annihilation. The objects that
are confined in the prison of measures and limits, 1 are
in continuous motion, and this motion is all the time creating new
forms. It is this factor that has led the Muslim philosophers to
define motion in the following terms: "Motion is a gradual exit of
potential to action." 2
Material existence is in
motion; it is mutable; but it is not self-aware and self-conscious.
If there were no perception everything would have remained in the
unconscious realm of existence. If there had not existed the tool
of vision, the eyes, there would not have existed any difference
between a wounded opening and the blooming of flowers. There would
have been no difference between an ugly, hateful face and a
beautiful, loving continence.
The smell of a flower is delightful, it
creates joyous reaction. The freshness of a bud gives rise to
happiness. The song of a nightingale makes one's spirit cheerful.
But, neither the flower is aware of delightfulness, nor is the bud
of happiness and freshness. They all are moving in the realm of
unconsciousness and incomprehension. However, when one considers
human being, then, one enters the tumultuous uproar in fixing the
standard of evaluating humanity which is actually to be located in
the region of sensation and perception (intelligence). All the
beauty in nature reflects itself in the mirror of human vision, and
it is he who perceives it. His light of intelligence and will is
manifest in all the particles and motions in the Universe.
Humanity, which
represents a part of the total universe, is moving toward
perfection. In order for humanity to attain perfection it needs to
move, and this movement ought to be in the direction of continuous
accretion and not decoration. This accretion has to be essential
and internalized, and this movement toward development and in order
to attain that development is possible through one particular
growth. This growth is known as self-cognition. 3
The Qur'an has fixed a
definite goal for this movement towards perfection in the following
verse:
O human being! You are in continuous
search towards your Lord, so that you meet Him. (Quran 84:6)
Thus, the collective
purpose of humanity is to move on the path of development and
perfection so as to reach the Lord. And, every step that a human
being takes and every breath that he inhales is a step towards
death. Death, here, ought to be understood as a prelude to the
ultimate meeting with the Lord.
In this connection Imam
'Ali b. Abi Talib has said :
A hidden breath is step towards his
death. 4
It is important to bear
in mind that death in the lexicon of religion is not destruction or
annihilation; rather, it is very accurately described as a passage
from this material world to the eternal world. Imam 'Ali has
explained the difference between the two worlds in a sermon
delivered to the Muslims in seventh century. He says:
Everything in the world
is more audible than visible; whereas, everything in the next world
is more visible than audible. Thus, it is sufficient for you to
hear about that which is visible and to be informed about that which
is invisible. 5
In other words, what
appears to be invisible will become visible and what was only in the
state of audibility will become actualized in the next world. Thus,
it is important to maintain faith in what one 'hears'.
Since, the movement
towards perfection does not end with this life on earth, man's
spiritual journey must continue in the world, more spacious than
this world as Imam 'Ali reminds people in another sermon:
You will be tested [in this world],
but you have been created for other than that [purpose of being
tested]. 6
It is evident that the
purpose of creation is not being afflicted with the hardship of
being tested; on the contrary, it is taking works as a purifying
agent for the higher purpose for which humanity has been created.
This journey towards the higher goal, which is a spiritual journey,
needs provision. This provision in nothing else but the righteous
deeds of a person that accompany the traveler of this journey
faithfully until it reaches the destination. The Qur'an says:
Whosoever does right,
whether male or female, and is a believer, him verily We shall
quicken with good life, and We shall pay them recompense in
proportion to the best of what they used to do. (Quran 16:97)
The religious leaders of
the world attach tremendous significance to the matter of religious
act. Imam Hasan, the second Imam of the Shi'ite Muslims, has
related that whenever he remembered death (the spiritual journey)
he cried out:
Alas! How very little
provision for such a long journey! 8
However, there are among
people those who do not care to remind themselves of this long
journey and who are in the state of heedlessness. Imam 'Ali in
reference to this latter group says thus:
If you have the same
knowledge of things about life after death, things which are hidden
from you and revealed to me, the information would have made you
leave your hearth and home to disperse in the world weeping over
your sins, putting yourselves to torture for the evil deeds
committed by you and, leaving your wealth and property in such a way
that there will be no one to look after it, and none to inherit.
The apprehension about the future and the remorse over the past
would have so affected every one of you that no body would have had
time to think of anything besides his own future. But you have
forgotten what has been taught to you and [wrongly] believe
yourselves to be well protected from the things of which you were
warned. The result is that your plans are upset and your affairs
are confused.9
From what has been said
above it becomes evident that a man like Imam 'Ali had reached the
highest peak in his spiritual journey, and had made it clear to
everyone the level that humanity is capable of attaining in the
realm of spirituality by continuously striving. He informed others
of the potential in each individual to attain the level of
development in its entirety.
Now we should ask the
following question:
Where should we begin our
spiritual journey from?
The answer to the
question is two-fold:
First part deals with the
subject of "self-cognition"; and the second part deals with
"self-reckoning" or "self-accounting".
As for the first part, I
will cite several authentic statements that have been preserved in
Islamic sources on the authority of the Prophet Muhammad and his
successors. These citations will give us an idea of the cruciality
of "self-cognition" in our spiritual journey. The Prophet Muhammad
has declared:
The one who knows himself
knows his Lord. 9
Imam 'Ali has declared
that knowing oneself is the most beneficial of sciences. 10
In another context he
says:
A person who has
succeeded in self-cognition has attained the highest form of
success. 11
And, that the one who
knows himself has reached the end of all knowledge and all sciences.
12
As for the second part
which deals with "self-reckoning", Imam 'Ali reports a communication
on the subject on the authority of the Prophet Muhammad, who said:
The cleverest person is
the one who takes account of himself and who strives and struggles
for the life after death.
A person asked Imam ‘Ali as to how does a
person takes an account of himself. The Imam replied:
From the time he is up
until he retires at night he asks: "O my soul this day has passed on
you and will never return, and Cod will ask you to account for the
day as to how you passed it. What did you do on that day? Did you
remember your Lord and praise Him? Did you attend to the needs of
other believers? Did you help them out? Did you take care to treat
their family well in their absence? Did you take care of their
loved ones after any one of them died? Did you engage is backbiting
a brother in faith, or did you stop someone from doing so? Did you
help fellow human being? What did you do on this day?"
At that time he recalls
what he has done on that day. If he has done good he praises Cod
and asks Him to help him further in this direction. If he has
disobeyed Him or has acted wrongly he asks God to forgive him and
make a decision not to repeat that again. 13
The Prophet has also said
that a person will not become a believer in God until he begins to
reckon his own deeds just as a partner in a business seeks accounts
from another partner. 14
Conclusion:
Islam gives the message
that in order to attain perfection it is necessary for all human
beings to strive in the following direction:
1.
To prepare oneself for the spiritual journey for the
perfection.
2.
To visualize death as a passage to that perfection.
3.
To gather the provision for this long journey. This provision
is righteous deeds which alone can sustain the hardship of the
journey towards the Lord.
4.
To begin the spiritual quest first, by self-cognition which
is most beneficial of all human endeavors in order to acquire
knowledge; and, second, by engaging in self-accounting which is the
important tool for furthering spiritual development.
5.
To recognize the need for a leader at all levels in the
movement toward the ultimate goal, namely, the Lord.
In my own personal quest
I have come to acknowledge a guide and a leader who, I believe, has
contributed tremendously toward my spiritual development.
This leader is Imam 'Ali
b. Abi Talib, who, through his personal example has shown the
posterity the way in which one can reach the path of perfection.
End Notes:
1.
In the Holy Qur'an it has been noted: "Lo, We have created
everything by measure." (54:49)
2.
Sadr, Muhammad Baqir al-, Falsafatuna (Our Philosophy)
(Beirut, 1980), p.231.
3.
Nubashshiri, Asad Allah, Muqaddima Ta'rikh Falsafa-i Islami,
by Henri Corbin (Tehran, 1356 Sh.), p. 11.
4.
Nahj al-balagha, sermons, letters and maxims of Imam 'Ali
b. Abi Talib (Tehran, n.d.), p. 673.
5.
Ibid., Muhammad 'Abduh's commentary (Beirut, n.d.), Vol. 1,
p. 225.
6.
Ibid., p. 471
7.
The Qur'an, Chapter 16, verse # 97.
8.
Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir al-, Bihar al-Anwar (Beirut, 1981)
Vol. 43, p.228.
9.
Nahj al-balagha, Vol.1, p. 329.
10.
Majlisi, Bihar, Vol. 2, p. 23.
11.
Amidi, al-, Ghurar al-hikam we durar al-kalim (Najaf,
1965), p. 319.
12.
Ibid., p. 322.
13.
Ibid., p. 293.
14.
Hurr al-'Amili, Muhammad b. al-Hasan, al-, Wasa1il al-shi'a
(Beirut, 1382 AH) Vol. 11, 379-380.
15.
Ibid., Vol. 11, p. 380.
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