.*.·*:·- In the name of GOD, the MOST BENEFICENT, the Most MERCIFUL -·:*·.*.
Know that the life of this world is merely a game and a diversion and
ostentation and a cause of boasting among yourselves and trying to outdo
one another in wealth and children: like the plant-growth after rain which
delights the cultivators, but then it withers and you see it turning yellow,
and then it becomes broken stubble. In the hereafter there is terrible
punishment but also forgiveness from Allah and His good pleasure. The
life of this world is nothing but the enjoyment of delusion. (Holy Qur'an 57:20)One of the greatest shortcomings in man is his forgetfullness. We are so easily taken by the world and all its pleasures that we forget about the most simple things in life. We begin to do things for the sake of doing them and lose sight of the Purpose and reason behind why we are even doing them in the first place. Once man loses sight of his purpose of existence and the goal for which he was created to strive towards, his life becomes nothing but a chaotic series of events that bring no fruition to him, but rather the more he accomplishes, the more discomfort he feels. It is for this reason why God sent us Prophets and Messengers to constantly reawaken the deadened heart of man and to bring him back to the path that forgetfullness led him astray from. It is only through following the path of the Prophets that a person can return to his pure nature and achieve the highest levels of humanity for which he was created for.
Despite the Prophets and the many divine books that God has blessed mankind with, many humans still remain aloof from the Truth and choose to dwell in misguidance and darkness. Thus through the mercy of God, he sends within every persons life many signs in hope to reawaken his spirit and reenlighten him to change his ways and return to the path God had created for him. Often these come in the form of tragedies and events of apparent sorrow and misfortune, which make man hopeless in the world and make him realize that truly this world is nothing but a source of misery for him if he is to take it as his ultimate hope. Everything, no matter how absolute it may seem, is limited and temporary in the world. At any moment we may lose the things that we cherish most. It is by this means, taking from us that which our hearts feel attatched towards, that God makes us realize how transitory this world truly is and that nothing within it absolute. Even if one were to have all the power, money, material possessions that he could desire, he would still live in anxiety whether that will remain the next day or even the next moment.
Once a person has the most beautiful rose in his hand, it begins wilting and soon is nothing more than dust, returning into the earth from which it arose. That is the reality of everything that we possess, soon it all shall be taken from us and we will be left with nothing but our own soul and the deeds that we committed. It is only through loss and despair of the world that a person whose ensnared within the tangle of the world will realize the worthlessness of the world and return to the Absolute source of Power, Wealth, Beauty, Mercy. If man were to taste only a single taste of the love of the Absolute, his heart would see the pleasures of this world as poison for itself and would be in constant longing for the Absolute. Each and every event that occurs in ourlives is a Mercy from God, yet when we look at it through our ungrateful eye, we see it in the form of a disaster or a sorrow. But if we were to look at our lives through the scope of the All-Merciful, the Most Compassionate, we would see them as nothing but blessings for our own good. As Imam Ali (AS) beautifully depicted this in a parable: Imagine yourself as if you are being hung by a rope deep within a well. Beneath you, there are dragons waiting for you to fall and eat you. Above you, rats are eating away the rope. On the wall there is some honey. You, ignorant of both the rats and dragon, push yourself towards the honey trying to get a lick. The rats represent time that is quickly running out. The dragons are death. The honey on the wall is the pleasure of this world.
Such an understanding is not given to everyone, but only whose hearts are opened in love towards God and towards those who God wants people to love, namely the Mercy of the worlds, Prophet Muhammad (SAW), and his Infallible Progeny, the Ahlul-bait (AS).
It is only through deep understanding of these personalities, conceiving each moment of their lives as a thousand lessons for our own life, that can we even come near of becoming the slaves of the dust beneath the feet of the slaves of them. It is through complete abandonment of our selfish and deceptive thinking, one that our nafs tries to paint before our eyes as being the truth, that can we make our heart ready to plant the seeds of their teachings. A fruit cannot be grown in polluted soil. Thus before we dwelve within the
teachings of the Quran and Ahlul-bait (AS) we must purify ourselves and make ourselves ready to become their servants and humble slaves.
Imam Ali (AS):
Sober up, O listener, from your inebriety, wake up from your
inadvertence, slow down your haste, and ponder over God’s words that
are not reneged and that are inescapable and unavoidable. Then forsake
your pride, leave your arrogance, take heed, and remember your grave
and abode, because it will be your passage and destiny. You will be
treated as you treat and you will harvest only what you sowed, and
whatever you did will be done to you. Tomorrow, you will indisputably
find only (the results of) what you did. Benefit by considering the
admonition that has been provided to you. Understand what you have
listened to and what you have been promised, because, through this, you
will be undoubtedly engaged in one of two matters—either to obey God
and follow what you have heard, or to have God’s claim instituted
against you and you should submit to it according to your knowledge.
Peace be with you,
Zohair
Comments (2)
anyways, i hope u have a great nite!
<3 lisa