Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

Lesson 17: The Effects of Crying for the Hereafter, the Broadness of a Believer’s Heart and Piousness

Most of the Noble Prophet’s (S) advices which have hitherto been examined have been rotating on three axes:

1. Abstinence from love of the world and obsession with it.

2. Exhortation of invocation of Allah.

3. Humility and modesty and crying as a result of fear of Allah.

In this section of thehadith , the Noble Prophet (S) once again explains the importance of crying as a result of fear of Allah and/or crying due to intense longing to perceive His beatific vision [liqa’ Allah] and he embarks upon elucidating the importance of paying heed to the hereafter, keeping aloof from the world and curing the inner conscience and abstaining from sanctimony.

The Effects of Crying for the Hereafter

“O Abu Dharr! The Lord has given me the news [saying], ‘I swear upon My honor and glory that my slaves will never comprehend the reward of crying and its value. I have established palaces in the highest levels of paradise for those who shed tears and no one will share it with them’.”

As has been mentioned previously, the crying which the Noble Prophet has recommended is shedding tears as a result of fear of Allah and/or weeping due to the intensity of yearning to be admitted in the divine beatific presence of Allah. Even if these two sections of crying are desirable and play a vital role in awakening man and making heedful to Allah but still crying as a result of desiring to be admitted in the divine beatific presence of Allah is higher and calls for deep and profound knowledge which is not attainable save for a small group [among mankind], amongst the Infallibles (‘a).

Perceiving this fact that the saints [awliya’] of Allah (‘a) and the Infallibles are enamored and in love with Allah and there is no pain for them comparable to the ache of separation and remoteness from their Beloved, by examining the supplications of the Imams (‘a), we comprehend how much they used to weep and wail as a result of the pain of separation from their Beloved and how they used to hurt due to their intense longing to be in the divine beatific presence of Allah.

Supplications which have been narrated from Imam ‘Ali (‘a) and Imam al-Sajjad (‘a) are a sign of the endless love of the Infallible and PureAhl al-Bayt (‘a) in regard to Allah. With consideration to these supplications, a section of the unlimited awareness and knowledge of the Infallibles becomes manifest to us.

Knowledge which caused those of pure birth, of pure breastfeeding and the models of mankind not to become heedless of the presence of their Lord even for a single moment and for the reason that they used to perceive Him as higher than everything and believed that all things are under His power, they were only enamored by Him and this inner love-sickness would not for one moment leave them tranquil and calm. Their supplications and invocations are themselves a sign of the pinnacle of this love:

In Du‘a’ al-Kumayl, Imam ‘Ali (‘a) removes the curtain from his yearning to attain the divine beatific presence of Allah and believes that it is harder to bear remoteness from Him than to bear the infernal hell and addresses his Lord thus:

“O Allah! My Lord and Master! I can bear your punishment, but how can I bear being separated from Thee?”

And explaining his anguish in the case that he is separated from his Lord, he continues:

“I swear upon Your glory O my Master! O my Lord! that if you lead me to hell with a speaking tongue, I will wail and weep so loudly and sorrowfully and I will shout very much, and like a person who has lost his beloved, I cry bitterly as a result of remoteness from Thee!”

Imam al-Sajjad (‘a) states in the Du‘a’ Abu Hamzah:

“I ruined my life with procrastinations of deeds and postponements of duties and with protracted hopes and now I have reached a stage where I have completely been driven to despair with regard to edification of character [and purification of the soul]. Therefore, who is in a worse and more ruined state than mine? Woe upon me if in this state I get led to the grave, which I have not made ready for myself and have not made it fine with good works. Why ought I not to cry when I do not know what the consequences of my actions are and now my soul deceives me and my days beguile me regardless that death has cast its shadow on me?”

It is because of the evaluative role of crying in cleansing the inner conscience of ethical vices and shortcomings that the Noble Prophet (S) states that the virtue and reward which is derived from crying is more than what is derived without crying and the people who cry shall attain stations which other people will not attain.

Abu Dharr asks who the most intelligent man is and the Noble Prophet (S) states:

“The most intelligent person is the one who thinks about death and prepares himself for it more than anyone else.”

A person who has selected a course to traverse always sets his eyes on the destination if he is smart thinker and tries to arrive at the goal quicker. If a person becomes inattentive along the way, becomes bewildered and perplexed along the way, he does not arrive at the destination in sound health. He who knows that the world is only a means of attaining the hereafter does not get deceived by the material attractions of the earth and incessantly meditates about death and prepares himself for it.

Therefore, when his death draws nigh, he goes to Allah with full hands and overflowing provisions but people who lose sight of the goal have not prepared produce and provisions for the hereafter setting out on a long journey without provisions and necessities which is a very hard job.

The Broadness of a Believer’s Heart and Its Signs

“O Abu Dharr! If the light shines in the heart, it becomes broad and spacious.”

In the beginning, hearts are dark, then Allah adds His light to them and hearts become apt to receive that light. Once that light settles down, the heart’s capacity to broaden increases. To cite an intelligible example, it is like a dry water-skin which expands when water is poured inside it and/or like a bladder which the more air they pump in it the more it enlarges. Therefore, a heart which has been broadened by the light of Allah has an increased capacity. (The purport of heart is not the piece of flesh beating in our hearts, but heart in this discourse denotes a spiritual essence and a place of perception and the station of faith.)

Perhaps His Holiness’ (S) intention is that the excessiveness of remembering death and preparedness to meet it keeps the light of man’s life burning and as a result of remembrance of death, a light is set in man’s soul which does not let his pure natural disposition get contaminated by the darkness of sin and it is as a result of that same light that, in the words of the Noble Prophet (S), broadens and increases the capacity of man’s soul in this sense that he perceives beyond this narrow world and concentrates on the everlasting afterworld.

For the reason that such a state is not intelligible to Abu Dharr, because this is not a matter susceptible to the senses so as to be felt by the physical senses, he asks the Noble Prophet (S) about the signs of a large heart. In response, His Holiness (S) cites three signs of this state:

1. The first sign of a broad heart is longing for the hereafter, in this sense that man overlooks the transient and perishable world and sets his eyes on the eternal world of the hereafter. In explanation of the meaning of ‘anabah’ (returning from committing sins and going back to Allah), the deceased Raghib Isfahani states, “Returning towards Allah implies going back to Him by means of repentance and good works.”

2. The second sign of a large heart is abstaining from the deceiving world.

Once a believer concentrates on the everlasting world, he becomes vexed by this narrow world, which is why he detaches himself from the world and prepares to depart from it.

The House of Pride [dar al-ghurur] is one of the names by which the world is called in the Glorious Qur’an. Pride denotes deception and trickery and because adornments and ornaments of the world deceive man and make him infatuated with it; that is why it is called the House of Pride.

Explaining the deception of the world, eminent people like ‘Allamah Tabataba’i, may he reside in Allah’s Garden of bliss, used to state that man has a natural object of desire, that is to say man’s natural disposition has a lost treasure it is always trying to find. His primary destination is becoming close to Allah and in other words, attaining absolute perfection.

Even if he himself is not conscious of this but unconsciously he still moves towards absolute perfection. But sometimes he loses his main aim and as a result of this mistake selects the world as his main goal; in reality, he has become seduced by the adornments and ornaments of the world and imagines them to be his lost treasure; that is to say the world presents itself as the real goal and desirable object of desire for man.

As a result of this, he attains the world after a life of struggle and effort only to find out that it was not his natural object of desire and does not satiate his spiritual needs. For this reason, the world can be compared to the nipple of a breast-feeder which once put in the mouth of a hungry child longing for breast milk will make it forget the mother’s breast and finally realizes that the breast-feeder does not satiate his need for his mother’s milk.

Yes, the world is nothing more than a mirage and the real object of man’s desire is life giving water which springs from proximity to Allah and satiates his natural disposition. Even if he imagines the world to be his real object of desire - whether it is worldly ostentation in the form of a house and car or in the form of other earthly pleasures and attractions - but it has to be understood that with all its spaciousness and various gratifications and blessings, all are a means for attaining absolute perfection and the good pleasure of Allah, not the ultimate goal and natural object of desire.

We conclude that a person whose heart is in chaotic darkness and has not been enlightened by the light of faith, heedlessness and darkness get erased from his soul and he clearly discerns the truth and does not fall into error. He only sets his heart on the hereafter and it is not possible, even for a moment, to give his heart to the world because he knows that the world is not the right place to fall in love.

3. The third sign of a large heart is to get ready for death before handing over his soul.

When man is not obsessed with the world and is always meditating about the hereafter, he always has to be ready to go back to the eternal Abode and attain his natural Object of desire. A person who knows that he has not been created for the world and the world is only a bridge of passage to the everlasting Abode zealously looks forward to the moment of gaining proximity to the divine presence of Allah. He impatiently tries to cross the bridge so as to attain his ultimate goal.

A state of impatience and hurriedness to attain the goal also appears for man in the world. Along the way as man is traveling in a car to a city, he wishes to arrive at the destination quicker. When his car overtakes all the other moving objects on the road, he becomes happy that he will arrive earlier than the others at the destination. Even if this is a childish fancy it still has its roots in man’s natural disposition. When he knows that the destination is another place and he has no role to play in choosing the course and path, he tries to traverse the course faster so as to reach the goal which of course is a reasonable matter.

Therefore, a slave whose heart has become enlightened by Allah’s light and whose eyes have become opened to the truth knows that the ultimate goal is the vicinity of the Truth and proximity to the divine presence of Allah and that the world is nothing more than a means; for this reason, he employs this means in order to arrive at the destination and does not become calm as a result of yearning to arrive and longing to meet the Beloved, to the extent that he forgets the world altogether.

Piousness and Fleeing from Sanctimony and Hypocrisy

Warning Abu Dharr against hypocrisy and sanctimony, the Noble Prophet states:

“O Abu Dharr! Fear Allah but do not sanctimoniously manifest your dread of Allah to the people with the intention of attracting their respect while your heart meditates about performing sin.”

Hypocrisy denotes man manifesting his outward better than his inside and making apparent what is contrary to that which is hidden in the inner soul. That is to say:

His appearance resembles Abu Dharr and Salman [Farsi],

His inner soul resembles Abu Sufyan.

Sanctimony is considered as hidden polytheism and a sanctimonious person is called a polytheist.

One of the great graces of Allah concealing man’s sins and faults, as a result of which He has been called ‘the Hider of Faults’ [sattar al-‘uyub]. In truth, life would become unbearable if the vices of people were divulged and they perceived the faults of one another. It is for this reason that Allah’s concealing of defects is a great blessing for which being thankful is incumbent. Imam ‘Ali (‘a) states:

“If you were to perceive the secrets of one another, you would never bury one another.”1

In the same way that Allah Himself conceals the faults of the believers, he does not give permission to the others to reveal the sins of other people; neither does He Himself discredit a believer nor does He allow a believer to disgrace himself. Therefore, man has no right to divulge his sins to other people. It has been recorded in ahadith that Allah has not allowed the believers to demean and debase themselves; naturally there is no meanness worse than sinning and corruption; it is for this reason that as soon as a believer sins, Allah sets a covering over that sin and does not allow the sinner himself to remove the covering from his sin and gives him the opportunity to repent.

Of course, this is not a general rule, because sometimes on the basis of His wisdom and in order to discipline people, Allah, the Exalted, divulges a bit of their sins and removes the covering from their secrets. Revealing their secrets is a means of training them. That is to say, in the case that he does not get corrected no matter how much he is warned and cautioned over his ugly works, the best way to awaken and train him is to disgrace him a bit so as to prevent him from committing further vices. Of course, this is an existential matter and is related to Allah and His control and no man has the right to disgrace others on the pretext of correcting them.

Therefore, from the Islamic perspective no person has the permission to disgrace neither himself nor other people; concealing and hiding personal defects is a duty of all the believers. Sometimes, the punishment of divulging sins is higher than sin itself and revealing sins is considered as one of the delicate instances of spreading corruption:

    إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُحِبُّونَ أَنْ تَشِيعَ الْفَاحِشَةُ فِي الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ فِي الدُّنْيا وَالآخِرَةِ وَاللهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ

“Surely (as for) those who love that scandal should speculate respecting those who believe, they shall have a grievous chastisement in this world and the hereafter, and Allah knows, while you do not know.”2

Like scandal-mongering, sanctimony and outward adornment too is an ugly thing; it is unacceptable for man to portray himself as better than how he actually is. In spite of being a sinner and wrong-doer, he tries to portray himself as a man of piety, faith, fear of Allah and supplication and invocation so that the people may accord him respect.

Shaddad ibn Aws and ‘Ibadah ibn Samit narrate that in interpretation of the ayat, “Say: I am a mortal like you; it is revealed to me that your god is one God, therefore whoever hopes to meet his Lord, he should do good deeds, and not join anyone in the service of his Lord”3 , the Noble Prophet (S) states:

“A person who prays and fasts out of sanctimony and hypocrisy is a polytheist.”4

The Intention and Its Role in the Evaluation of Works

“O Abu Dharr! Make an intention for every one of your works, even eating and sleeping.”

From the viewpoint of edification of character, mentioning this matter is very important and constructive and in addition, this matter is founded on a very important scientific and philosophical axiom which calls for detailed discussion. The value of every work which man discharges, even worship and adoration of Allah, is related to the intention: the evaluation of one action performed as a result of two differing intentions is not the same.

A person who accepts his friend’s invitation positively does a praiseworthy work, but his action is considered as worship which gives fruit to reward and profit if he accepts the invitation and goes to the house of his friend with the intention to please Allah because Allah is pleased to see the believers accepting the invitations of their fellow believing brothers [and having good relations].

Or, he is fasting a recommendable fast and one of his friends, ignorant of this fact, invites him to partake of food; in the case that he breaks his fast for the sake of pleasing Allah, his action is considered as worship and gives fruit to divine reward and profit; but if he breaks his fast for the reason that he is pleased with the food and longs for it, his action has no reward because it was not done for the good pleasure of Allah. Therefore, this very eating has divine reward and profit if it is done for the sake of pleasing Allah and has an invaluable role in the perfection and spiritual ascendance of man.

Therefore, heed has to be paid to this fact that man can discharge all his daily works, starting from trivial actions such as sleeping, eating, looking, and even joking up to the more important actions such as prayer and fasting for the good pleasure of Allah in the case that they are discharged in the direction of servitude and obedience of Allah.

Some of the great people used to pause a while before doing anything they wanted to do until they got sure that their intention was purely for the good pleasure of Allah and they were certain that the work has been performed for Allah. Or, if a question was asked of them, they never responded with haste and before reflecting a little and purifying the intention in their hearts. Then, they used to give the response for the good pleasure of Allah.

This point is indicative of the fact that a believer can be so smart and sharp that he can make every single moment of his lifespan in the course of Allah and His good pleasure. Therefore, it is as well possible to have a pure and correct intention in regard to pleasures of the flesh, actions which both give pleasure and are acts of worship at the same time.

Man can attain both the pleasures of the world and the gratifications of the hereafter. In such instances a medium between the world and the hereafter is possible. It is in cases that there is incompatibility between two actions that a medium cannot be found, for example between the obligatory [wajib] works and the forbidden [haram] actions for which a medium is impossible. But if man has a divine intention in doing permissible actions, he attains both the pleasure of this world thereby increasing his bodily energy and vigor and brings to hand divine reward and profit. Of course, the divine intention itself has stages and one of its stages is a firm decision to abstain from sin and quit disobedience of Allah’s will.

The deceased ‘Allamah Tabataba’i, may he reside in Allah’s Garden of bliss, used to narrate that whenever Imam ‘Ali (‘a) woke up to pray the optional night prayers [nafilah], he used to take a cold bath in order to increase his physical vigor and preparedness.

It is natural for a person such as Imam ‘Ali (‘a) who from morning to night was at the battlefront or was busy doing some other social duties in addition to performing five hundred and/or one thousand rak‘ats of prayer to be exhausted and not to have enough energy and vigor for waking up at night to pray. It is for this reason that taking a cold bath increases his energy, vigor and liveliness.

Notes

1. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 77, p. 385.

2. Surat al-Nur 24:19.

3. Surat al-Kahf 18:110.

4. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 84, p. 248.

Lesson 18: Honoring the Divine Majesty and Splendor of Allah

“O Abu Dharr! The majesty and splendor of the Lord of creation ought to increase and do not remember Him lightly as do the ignorant and unenlightened who when they see the dog and pig say, ‘O Allah! Suffocate and choke it to death’.”

The Status of Invocation of Allah in the Qur’an and the Hadiths

The subject of discourse in this section is remembrance of Allah and honoring His majesty. A great deal of importance has been accorded to invocation of Allah in the Glorious Qur’an andhadith s, to the extent that topics like incentives for remembrance of Allah, the worldly and heavenly benefits of invocation of Allah, the quantity and quality of imploration of Allah, the place and time of supplication of Allah have all been examined in detail.

Likewise, explications have been made by theAhl al-Bayt (‘a) and religious scholars with regard to which one between invocation with words and invocation with the heart is more important and higher and/or which one is better between supplication in secret solitude and imploration in a public and populous place.

In onehadith , Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) states:

“There has not been a nation and people who gathered and forsook invoking Allah and remembering us save that they will reap regret on the Day of Resurrection.”

And he also stated:

“Remembrance of us is tantamount to remembrance of Allah.”1

Explicating the importance of invocation and remembrance of Allah, Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) states:

“Holy and glorified is your Lord; Allah who is the Mighty and Matchless and is remote from the ignorant description of creatures, and peace and blessings of Allah be upon the prophets (‘a), and praise is especially reserved for Allah who is the Creator of the world.”2

Therefore, man has to always preserve a state of remembrance of Allah on his tongue and in his heart and this invocation is not confined to a special place, gathering and time. It has been recorded in a sacredly inspiredhadith that Prophet Moses (‘a) asked, “O My Lord! I feel shy to invoke Your name with my tongue in certain places and states and hence to remember You.” Allah stated, “Invoking My Name in every state is good.”

All these emphases and recommendations to remember and invoke the divine name of Allah are in regard to the role which they play in keeping man aloof from ethical vices and shortcomings and propelling him towards prosperity and well-being, because man abstains from issues which are not compatible with the good pleasure of Allah and he withholds the soul from disobedience if he is always preoccupied with the invocation of Allah and perceives himself as being in the divine presence of Allah.

All the problems and errors which occur as a result of seductions of the carnal soul and the Devil are caused by negligence of invocation of Allah and His punishment and requital. In addition to that, forgetfulness of Allah darkens the heart and consequently the Devil and carnal soul overcome man. In contrast, remembrance and recollection of the divine presence of Allah gives rise to the cleansing and purification of the soul from vices and man’s liberation from the shackles of the appetitive soul. In that case, the heart becomes a manifestation of the Beloved and love of the world, which is the fountainhead of all errors and deviations, departs from the soul.

In ahadith , the Noble Prophet (S) states:

“Know that the best and the most proper of your works before Allah and the most sublime of them in your levels and the best thing on which the sun shines is invocation of Allah, because Allah has thus stated with regard to Himself, ‘I am a Companion of one who remembers Me’.”3

In anotherhadith , Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) states:

“The Honored and Glorified Allah states, ‘I grant to whoever lags behind at asking issues in regard to Me because of invocation more than I grant to the one who asks with respect to Me’.”4

Allah told Prophet Jesus (‘a):

“O Jesus! Remember Me in solitude so that I may remember you before Myself, and remember Me in a group of men so that I may remember you in a group better than that of men (ie the angels). O Jesus! Soften your heart for Me and remember Me abundantly in solitude and know that what pleases Me is your submission in respect to Me. Keep your heart alive for this work and do not be dead (i.e. sad and dejected).”5

The emphasis of the Qur’an and its attention to invocation of Allah has reached the extent that prayer in the Qur’an has been introduced as invocation of Allah, with regard to the fact that in Islam prayer has a high status and has been known as a pillar of religion:

    وَأَقِم الصَّلوةَ لِذِکْرِي

“…and keep up prayer for My remembrance.”6

For the reason the aim is more important than the means, it can be inferred from this verse that invocation of Allah is more important than prayer and in truth prayer is a means of remembering Allah; (in reality, from the viewpoint of the Qur’an, invocation of Allah has a purport and reality for which prayer, in spite of all the value it has, is considered as nothing more than a means.) The question is that how possible is it for what embodies all the invocations and even some of the ayats and special works and movements to be a means of remembrance of Allah?

In explanation of this point, it ought to be said that prayer is not considered as invocation of Allah because of the shape and form and movements and activities which it has but invocation is a condition of the heart and is an inward attention and is a connection between the heart of man and the divine Essence of Allah. Therefore, man prays so as to give rise to that attention of the heart and inward connection. Therefore, prayer is itself a means and the goal is attention and connection of the heart which is doubtlessly more honorable than prayer itself.

The Quantity and Quality of Invocation of Allah

One of the issues mentioned in the Qur’an and thehadith s is the quality and quantity of Allah. Some verses in the Qur’an lay emphasis on the quantity and abundance of invocation of Allah; like the verse:

    يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اذْکُرُوا اللهَ ذِکْرًا کَثِيرًا

“O you who believe! Remember Allah, remembering frequently…”7

(In this ayat emphasis has been laid on the abundance of invocation.)

It has been recorded in some of thehadith s that there is a determined limit for everything, even for prayer too there is a fixed limit: it has been made incumbent upon every adult person competent to undertake religious duties to pray seventeen rak‘ats in five turns a day and it is recommended to optionally pray twice the number of obligatory rak‘ats per day, or the incumbency of the hajj (pilgrimage to the House of Allah) once in a life time upon every adult and economically able person. Therefore, there is a limit specified for everything, except the invocation and remembrance of Allah for which there is no limit. However, much man invokes the divine name of Allah, it is still insufficient.

In contrast to the first section of the ayats andhadith s, there is a section of the verses of the Qur’an andhadith s which lay stress on the quality of invocation of the divine name of Allah, amongst them the verse:

    فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُمْ مَنَاسِکَکُمْ فَأَذْکُرُوا اللهَ کَذِکْرِکُمْ آبَاءَکُمْ أَوْ أَشَدَّ ذِکْرًا...

“So when you have performed your devotions, then laud Allah as you lauded your fathers, rather a greater lauding…”8

It is not commanded in this ayat to invoke Allah a lot, but it states that invoke Allah greater [or more intensely]. Therefore, the frequency and infrequency of invocation of Allah is not under consideration but rather its weakness and strength and this is related to neither invocation with words nor invocation by the tongue. The purport is not to thicken or weaken the words of invocations, but the attention of the heart.

At the footnote of this verse, the deceased ‘Allamah Tabataba’i states that the custom of the Arabs during the Age of Ignorance was to engage in praising and lauding their fathers after the hajj in the area of Mina. But after the advent of Islam, Allah gave orders that this custom should be brought to an end and invocation of Allah should take its place.

In this verse, invocation has been described as strong; this makes it known that in the same way that the amount of invocation of Allah is capable of increasing, it is also capable of strengthening in regard to quality. In addition, invocation of Allah is not a matter of words, but of the heart and is performed with the presence of heart and words are its explanation.9

All too often, we confine invocation of Allah to the tongue [and words], when invocation of Allah is recommended, we imagine that invocation implies [just] saying ‘al-hamdulillah’ and the Four Praises [tasbihat-i arba‘ah] and others of this kind; in the case that all these words are indicative of invocation and in reality the imploration which has been emphasized and recommended is that which goes with remembrance and attention of the heart.

That is to say, man ought to be mindful of Allah at the time of performing duties and obligations, so that he may discharge his duties along with perceiving His divine presence and also at the time of abstaining from sin, man ought to remember Allah so that the perception of Him may cause his forsaking sin.

The connection between invocation of Allah by words and invocation by the tongue and the relationship between the word and the meaning is like the relationship of the skin of the fruit with its core. In reality, invocation by words is a dress for invocation by the heart and invocation by the heart is the core of the fruit.

Therefore, invocations by words are a pre-requisite to the remembrance of Allah by the heart and inner soul and have to certainly be an object of attention. It is for this reason that the numbers and instances of invocations have been specified, like the supplications which have been specified as the invocations after prayer.

The Relationship between Invocation with Words and Invocation with the Heart

It is necessary here to give more explanations in regard to the relationship between invocation with words and invocation with the heart and also to demonstrate why so much emphasis has been laid on imploration of Allah, to the extent that it has been put forward as the goal of prayer. Basically, what role does invocation of Allah have in the life, prosperity and perfection of man? Do those who do not invoke Allah in their lives and are not attentive to Him earn less in life and fail?

When we speak and utter words on the tongue, we have imagined a meaning for that word previously and our aim of speaking is to make known and comprehensible to the others that meaning. Usually, speaking is for the reason of presenting the purport and intention even if sometimes the meaning of words and speaking is not to show a purport but to suggest special psychological issues and offer private spiritual instruction.

One of the recommendations which psychologists and psychotherapists have emphasized in connection with their work is private spiritual instruction, for which, of course, they have selected special words and phrases, so that private instruction may produce effects; like when they say that you ought to sit in solitude and raise your voice to a specified level and repeat a particular sentence [for a stipulated number of times] so as to be effective in the soul. These instances are exceptional and usually man conceives a meaning when he speaks and then after presents it to the other people. A reasonable person does not say anything without visualizing the meaning and intention of their words, because words are indicative of meanings.

At the time of pronouncing invocations with words, like the Four Praises [tasbihat-i arba‘ah], for which we imagine the meaning and this word is indicative and suggestive of that intention, the intention is not to inculcate that meaning to Allah, the Exalted, and/or the angels and other people, because we have no intention of conversation and dialogue but we want that meaning to have an effect in our hearts. Therefore, the effect is derived from the meaning and the words are nothing more than just a means.

When we say Allah-u Akbar (Allah is Great), and we take it as a divine work, our intention is the effects of the meaning of that invocation in the soul of man and his prosperity, otherwise words and letters devoid of meaning are nothing but sounds which emerge out of the tongue, it is for this reason that meaningful words have to be used in invocation of Allah.

We conclude that before uttering invocation with words, a preparatory level of remembrance of Allah appears in man, thereafter a higher level of invocation of the divine name of Allah appears. When man is reciting invocations of Allah, he initially is reminded of Allah; (otherwise, if he completely becomes negligent of Allah, he does not undertake to invoke the divine name of Allah); no matter how weak man’s attention might be, he becomes aware of Allah before invocation of the name of Allah and thereafter recites an invocation which is indicative of the remembrance of Allah. Therefore, before invocation of Allah a level of the remembrance of Allah appears.

Two Benefits of Invocation with Words

The first benefit and goal of invocation of Allah with words is to strengthen that weak stage of remembrance of Allah so that man’s attention may be fixed on Allah. In the beginning, he had an obscure attention or his attention was scattered but with the help of invocation with words, especially prayer, that attention becomes strong, concentrated and directed at Allah; this is one of the benefits which can be cited for invocation.

The second benefit of invocation with words is that if that weak level of invocation of Allah with words does not become strong, at least it becomes permanent and does not disappear. Man’s states and attentions, amongst them the remembrance of Allah, are always in a state of change and transformation and in the danger of disappearing. It is for this reason that the help of invocation with words has to be sought for the permanence and continuity of that attention of the heart, so that they do not forget the remembrance of Allah. Therefore, two benefits and aims can be cited for invocation of the divine name of Allah and of course the first benefit and goal is higher and better.

Sometimes, it happens that invocation of Allah with words produces no benefits and that occurs in the case that it becomes and idle habit and futile utterances of the tongue to which man pays no attention, like the rest of the habits of the tongue and actions which people exude without the least attention to that habit. Some people continually turn the prayer beads without paying the least attention to the praises they are reciting and their benefit. Or some people who have become accustomed to playing with their fingers and/or beards and moustaches. In regard to habits of the tongue, some children get accustomed to making certain words involuntarily flow on their tongues without paying the least attention to them.

For most of us reciting supplications and invocations has become a dry habit and we do not pay the least attention to the purport of what we recite. It is for this reason that they do not give rise to any effect and transformation in our hearts. It is possible that we initially begin an action and start reciting an invocation with attention, as we have heard in ahadith that for example that reciting the invocations of Fatimah (‘a) or a certain other invocation brings to hand a certain amount of reward, for this reason we begin reciting this invocation with attention of the heart initially but gradually our attention decreases to the extent that those words become uttered out of habit and without any attention to it. Of course, saying invocations like ‘Allah-u Akbar (Allah is Great)’, ‘La ilaha illa Allah (There is no god save Allah)’, even without attention, is better than pronouncing vain and ugly words but they still do not give rise to a desirable spiritual effect.

There have been people who did not have the least belief in God but used to mention the name of God out of habit and this action has become a form of custom among them. There were communists here in Iran who did not have the least belief in Allah and the transcendental cosmos but at the time of separating, according to habit and custom, and out of respect for one another, used to say, ‘khuda-hafiz (may God be your protector)’ without paying the least attention to its meaning. In the same way that pronouncing the name of Allah has become a habit and custom for some of us the Muslims, and we do not pay the least attention to its meaning and purport.

Among the Ignorant Arabs and likewise the Arabs who lived at the advent of Islam and had recently reverted to Islam, it was a very prevalent custom among them to pronounce the name of Allah. Whenever they saw a dog or pig, they used to say, “May Allah suffocate or choke it” without having the least attention to the meaning and purport of the words. This was just a habit which was devoid of conviction of the heart. Certainly, these words do not leave any impression in man and are not considered as remembrance of Allah.

In thishadith , the Noble Prophet advises Abu Dharr that when you want to praise and glorify Allah, first imagine His greatness and majesty. Remember that the name of Allah, who is the Creator of the whole world and in whose powerful Hands lie everything, has unlimited greatness and glory in the same way that He himself has boundless greatness and glory. It is for this reason that He ought to be remembered with greatness and glory. This occurs in the case that your heart and soul perceives the greatness of Allah, as a result of which you pronounce His name with humility and submissiveness. You ought not to be like those Ignorant people who used to pronounce the name of Allah without paying the least attention to the meaning.

Invocation leaves an effect in the heart and soul of man, becomes the cause of tranquility and the goal of performing the prayers, the cause of man’s spiritual ascendance and growth of the soul, and becomes the cause of forsaking vain materialistic thoughts and looking forward to the eternal world and the encompassing blessings of Allah, becomes the cause of a strong connection between man and Allah which is pronounced with attention to the meaning and purport of the invocation and keeping in mind the divine presence of Allah. This is that same invocation in praise of which Allah says:

    إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُکِرَ اللهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ...

“Those only are believers whose hearts become full of fear when Allah is mentioned…”10

At the end there is room for us to quote the words of Imam ‘Ali’s (‘a) description in regard to the standard of the invocation and remembrance of Allah:

“I have seen the companions of the Prophet (S) but I do not find anyone resembling them. They begun the day with dust on the hair and face (in hardships of life) and passed the night in prostration and standing in prayers. Sometimes, they put down their forehead and sometimes their cheeks. With the recollection of their resurrection it seemed as though they stood on live coal. It seemed that in between their eyes there were signs like knees of goats, resulting from long prostrations. When Allah was mentioned, their eyes flowed freely till their shirt collars were drenched. They trembled for fear of punishment and hope of reward as the tree trembles on a stormy day.”11

Notes

1. Bihar al-Anwar, vol. 72, p. 468, Beirut print.

2. Usul al-Kafi (with Farsi translation), vol. 4, p. 254, hadith 3.

3. ‘Iddah al-Wa‘i, p. 238.

4. Usul al-Kafi (with Farsi translation), vol. 4, p. 261, hadith 1.

5. Ibid., p. 264, hadith 3.

6. Surat Ta Ha 20:14.

7. Surat al-Ahzab 33:41.

8. Surat al-Baqarah 2:200.

9. Tafsir al-Mizan, vol. 2, p. 81.

10. Surat al-Anfal 8:2.

11. Nahj al-Balaghah, p. 286, sermon [khutbah] 96, trans. Fayd al-Islam.