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THE
MEANING OF THE WORLDLY
LIFE AND REMEDIES
FOR WORLDLY MISFORTUNES
In
the Name of God, the
Merciful, the
Compassionate.
We
have made all that
is on earth an
ornament thereof
that we may test
them: which of
them is best in
conduct. Verily,
We shall make all
that is thereon a
barren mound.
(18:7-8)
Naught
is the light of
the world save a
pastime, a sport.
(6:32)
God
has made this world in
the form of a festival
The
All-Compassionate
Creator, the
All-Munificent Provider,
the All-Wise Maker, has
made this world in the
form of a festival, a
place of celebration for
the world of spirits and
spirit beings, and
decorated it with most
wonderful inscriptions
of His Names. Clothing
each spirit, great or
small, exalted or lowly,
in a corporeal form, a
body equipped with
senses suitable to it
and appropriate for it
to benefit from the
innumerable, various
good things and bounties
in the festival. He
sends each to this
spectacle once. He
divides the festival,
which is very extensive
in regard to both time
and space, into
centuries, years,
seasons and days, and
into certain parts, and
makes each an exalted
festival during which
all groups of His animal
creatures and plants
promenade. Especially in
spring and summer, the
surface of the earth
constitutes a vast arena
of festivals one after
another for the
multitudes of small
creatures, an arena so
glittering and
attractive that it draws
the gaze of angels and
other inhabitants of the
heavens, and spirit
beings in the higher
abodes. Also, for the
people who think and
reflect, it is an arena
for reflection so
wonderful that the mind
is unable to describe
it.
How
can The Divine universal
mercy be reconciled with
instances
of death and decay?
However,
the manifestations of
the Divine Names, the
Most Merciful and Giver
of Life, in this Divine
feast and festival, are
counterbalanced by the
Names, the
All-Overwhelming, the
All-Crushing and the One
Who Causes to Die
through death and
separation. This is, in
appearance, not in
conformity with the
all-embracing Mercy
expressed in
My
Mercy encompasses all
things. (7:156)
Nevertheless,
in reality it is
conformable with it in
several ways, one of
which is as follows:
After
each group of creatures
has completed its turn
in the promenade and the
desired results have
been obtained from it,
the All-Munificent
Maker, the
All-Compassionate
Creator, causes most of
them, by His Compassion,
to feel weariness and
distaste with the world,
and grants to them a
desire for rest and a
longing to emigrate to
another world. Thus,
when they are to be
discharged from their
duties of life, He
arouses in them an
enthusiastic inclination
to return to their
original home.
The
Most Merciful One
bestows the rank of
martyrdom on a soldier
who perishes for the
sake of performing his
duty (in defense of his
sacred values), and
rewards a sheep
slaughtered as a
sacrifice in His way by
giving it an eternal
corporeal existence in
the Hereafter and the
rank of being a mount
for its owner on the
Bridge-like Buraq. It
is, therefore, not far
from His infinite Mercy
that, for other animate
beings who perish and
suffer severe distress
while performing their
duties, the Lord has
assigned in accordance
with the nature of each
and with their obedience
to the Divine
commands-it is not
unlikely that there
should be for them in
the inexhaustible
treasuries of His Mercy
a sort of spiritual
reward and a kind of
wage according to their
capacities, so that they
should not be much
troubled at departing
from the world, rather
that they should be
pleased. None but God
knows the Unseen.
God
gives man a longing to
go to the eternal world
As
for man, who is the
noblest of living beings
and the one who benefits
most from the festivals
both in quantity and
quality, although he is
most captivated by the
world and immersed in
it, God gives him out of
His Mercy a kind of mood
whereby he feels
distaste with the world
and a longing to go to
the eternal world.
Whoever is not lost in
misguidance profits from
that mood and goes with
a tranquil heart. Out of
many reasons that lead
to this mood in man, I
will explain five by way
of examples:
By showing,
according to the
season of old age,
the stamp of
transience and
decline on the
beautiful and
tempting things of
the world, and
their bitter
meaning, the Most
Merciful One makes
man feel distaste
with the world and
causes him to seek
a permanent
beloved in place
of a transient
one.
Ninety-nine per
cent of the
friends to whom a
man is attached
have departed from
the world and
settled in
another; by
enabling in him,
through that
heart-felt
attachment, a
longing for the
place his friends
have gone to, He
makes him meet
death with joy.
By means of
certain things, He
makes man feel the
infinite weakness
and impotence
intrinsic to his
nature, and
understand how
heavy are the
burden and
responsibilities
of life, and
grants to him a
great wish for
rest and a sincere
longing to go to
another world.
Through the light
of belief, He
shows a believer
that death is not
total
annihilation,
rather, a change
of abode; the
grave is not the
mouth of a dark
pit, it is the
door to
illuminated
worlds; and the
world, despite all
its glitter, is
like a dungeon in
comparison with
the Hereafter. So,
certainly, to be
transferred from
the dungeon of
this world to the
gardens of
Paradise, and pass
from the
troublesome
turmoil of bodily
life to the world
of rest and the
realm where
spirits soar, and
to slip free from
the distressing
noise of creatures
and go to the
Presence of the
Most Merciful is a
journey, indeed, a
happiness, to be
desired most
earnestly.
By making known
the knowledge of
truth in the Quran
and the true
nature of the
world through the
light of truth, He
explains to the
one who listens to
the Quran that
love for the world
and attachment to
it are quite
meaningless. That
is, He says the
following to man,
and proves it:
The
nature of the world
The world is a
book of the
Eternally-Besought-of-All.
Its letters and
words point not to
themselves but to
the Essence, Names
and Attributes of
Another. This
being so, learn
its meaning and
adopt it, and
abandon its
decorations, and
go!
The world is also
a tillage; sow it
and harvest your
crop, and preserve
it. Throw away the
chaff, and attach
to it no
importance!
The world is also
a collection of
mirrors which
continuously pass
on one after the
other. Therefore,
know the One Who
is manifest in
them, see His
lights, understand
the manifestations
of the Names which
appear in them,
and love the One
they signify.
Cease your
attachment for
those fragments of
glass which are
doomed to be
broken and perish!
The world is also
a moving place of
trade. So do your
business and come;
do not weary
yourself in
useless pursuit of
the caravans that
leave you behind,
paying you no
attention!
The world is also
a temporary place
of recreation. So
study it to take
lessons and
warnings, and pay
attention not to
its apparent, ugly
face, but to its
hidden, beautiful
face which looks
to the Eternal
All-Gracious One.
Go for a pleasant
and beneficial
recreation, then
come back, and at
the disappearance
of the scenes
displaying those
fine views and
showing the
beautiful things,
do not weep like a
silly child, and
do not be anxious!
·
The world is also
a guest-house.
Therefore, eat and
drink within the
limits established
by the Munificent
Host Who has built
it, and offer
thanks. Act and
behave in
accordance with
His Law. Then
leave it and go
away without
looking back. Do
not interfere in
it in a foolish
and officious
manner. Do not
busy yourself in
vain with things
which part from
you and do not
concern you!’
Through
such plain truths, He
shows the real character
of the world and makes
death less painful.
Rather, to those who
have awakened to truth
He makes death
desirable, and shows
that there is a trace of
His Mercy in every thing
and act of His.
So,
as well as these five
reasons, the verses of
the Quran also point
to some other particular
reasons. Woe to him who
has no share in the
truths contained in
these five reasons!
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