The Secret of Success and Deprivation
It is possible that one can ask: How is it that the late Sheikh Ansari, whenever he was given permission, could go to the Imam of the Age's (as) house, read the Ziyarat Jami’a and again with permission enter that house and speak to his beloved Imam?
How did he attain such a status but his student who also saw the Imam's (as) house did not have such a privilege and the late Sheikh said to him; You will not find that house again.
This is an important question requiring a convincing answer. Unfortunately, some have ready and quick answers for such questions, and in the face of such questions they quickly answer, Allah wanted it to be so, or Allah (God forbid) has a special relationship with some people and this has no relation to the action or desires of the person involved.
Such answers, which are frequently given to remove the burden of responsibility, are incorrect. Because they are neither convincing nor do they guide anyone to the path. Considering the sayings of the household of revelation, we will seek to answer this question.
Allah, the compassionate, calls all people towards spiritual and mental perfection and in His general invitation, rewards all who take steps towards this path. In the same way that the host invites the guests and if they accept the invitation and participate in the gathering, he is hospitable to them, Allah also creates the foundation for man's advancement and perfection within all of mankind and invites them to that path. In the Qur’an, it is clearly stated in Surah Ankabut Verse 69.
وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ
“And those who strive in Our Course We will certainly guide them to Our path...”
It is the responsibility of the guests to answer Allah's call and move forward in the path of spiritual perfection.
Therefore, within mankind there exists the base for advancement and perfection and they benefit from such blessings but they store it away and do not utilize it. Like the shortsighted wealthy who are at their happiest when they store away as much of their money as possible in the banks and never find the good grace to use such wealth. To be successful, one must use all existent grounds and capabilities and make up for one's deficiencies so that one can attain one's desired goals.
Many people benefit from many natural capabilities and the ability to attain spiritual perfection but since they show no interest in such matters they make no use of such capabilities, leave this world and thus their capabilities are also buried deep in the earth. This is like the wealthy of yesteryear where they saved their money by hiding it deep in the earth, where neither these nor their families could benefit from it.
To make clear how some people have greater mental capacities and better understanding and how they attained them, we will mention some words from the Sheikh Hur Amili, one of the great Shi'a scholars.
He says, “It is clear that seeing and hearing and the like, are not independent of the eye the ear, etc., but rather, they are just means for the spirit by which it sees and hears etc. and because man's spirit is not strong, his seeing and hearing are limited to these types of physical apparatus.”
Therefore, he only sees the material and is incapable of grasping the spiritual. But if man's spirit is strengthened and by means of worship, performance of the obligatory acts and abandoning the prohibited, draws close to Allah, his spirit will become strong. When the spirit becomes strong, his power of utilizing the material and what is natural will become stronger.
Therefore, with his eyes he sees things and with his ears he hears things that others do not have the power to. This authority and power exists in various people at various degrees. Whoever draws near to Allah by means of worship and struggle, strengthens his spiritual state, he gets greater power in perceiving the things, which others by using their eyes and ears do not have the power to do
.”
By this, it is clear why persons such as the late Sheikh Ansari can receive that great blessing but others do not have this power and capacity and those looking on are incapable of seeing matters as they do.
The state of Anticipation in its complete sense brings you the gift of understanding of such matters. Those who are on the path of Anticipation and have developed themselves, with release from their carnal desires and with flight and elevation of spirit, are released from the domination of their (Nafs) selves and the attraction of the self loses its power, and they are drawn to Allah. In the same way that spacecraft’s which leave the earth's orbit are no longer drawn by the earth's gravity, with the passage of time, you also can release yourself from the pull of carnal desires, the attraction of the self and satanic temptations will no longer affect you.
The companions of the Ahlul Bayt (as) e.g. Salman were like this. They had been released from the orbit of the self and from the limitations of materialism and thus formed a relationship with the unseen world. Wilayat and the power that Salman benefited from were because he had moved outside of the orbit of the self and destroyed his desires. He placed the desires and will of Amir al Mu'minin (as) above those of his own and consequently benefited from and used unseen powers.
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Author: Sayyid Murtadha Mujtahidi Sistani
