Allegory of the Cave from Plato's Republic

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69F7GhASOdM

this is a short version of it, there is also another animated version 8:19 mins long that is pretty good.

02/25/12 - Saying #2 Part #2

Salaam,

We discussed part 2 of saying 2 last week. The commentary for it is listed below.

----START COMMENTARY----

Amir al-Mu’minīn (alayhis-salām) said:

“Whoever covers (clothes) one’s self with greed, has degraded oneself; and one who discloses one’s difficulties, is satisfied with abasement and one who grants one’s tongue authority over oneself, has devalued oneself”

Why should one who discloses one’s difficulties be satisfied with abasement? Is this form of disclosure always on a par with complaining to other than Allah? Is complaining about x, y and z to Allah alone a form of negative disclosure?Inshallah these are some of the questions we hope to shed more light upon this week.

First of all, the Arabic word for difficulties is ضُرّ (ḍurr) which in contrast to ḍarr (difficulties in the absolute sense – bodily or non-bodily) means difficulties of one’s body (and maybe it can mean difficulties of the soul). Now is disclosing such difficulties always bad? Not necessarily! It depends on a number of parameters the most important of which include: (i) to whom are you disclosing your difficulties? and (ii) are you regarded as complaining?

When defining patience, Ibn Arabi writes in chapter 124 of his ‘al-Fūtūḥāt al-Makkīyyah’:

“In 33:57, it states “verily those who (constantly) harm/torment Allah and His Messenger are distanced by Allah in the world and the Hereafter...”; here, in this verse, Allah is warning these people of their ultimate fate due to their committing harm and so Allah is Ṣabūr (the all-Patient) in relation to such people’s harm and abuse. Even though He is requesting His servants not to harm Him, He is still Ṣabūr [i.e. Allah is eternally all-Patient with respect to all wrongdoings etc. but He is still requesting people  not to harm Him and His Messenger; this latter request does not go against His patience because even were people to sin etc. Allah does not complain in the sense that we do; we complain out of a deficiency whereas Allah has no defect; Allah’s request not to harm Him is based on His guidance over us; He loves His servants!]; in the same manner, when a servant requests Allah to solve his difficulties, this servant is still deemed patient. This is what happened with Prophet Job (Ayyūb) when he had   requested in 21:83 “Indeed distress has befallen me, and You are the most merciful of the merciful” and Allah praised him in saying  “Indeed We found him to be patient” even though Prophet Ayyūb had made a  request (he was still deemed patient).” [square brackets added by me]. 

Explanatory Notes: (before continuing with Ibn Arabi’s passage, a few words may be of help)    

Don’t say Allah is free of defect whereas we request because and out of deficiency; for us who are not mukhlas yes this is correct; but even for us, our complaining to Allah alone does not deny us the right to be called patient; nevertheless this patience will not be a complete manifestation of Allah’s attribute of Ṣabūr. That’s concerning us though! With Prophet Ayyub, he was infallible. He was a complete    manifestation of this attribute of Allah’s. We cannot attribute any sin, mistake or second best option to the Prophets. One should not jump to conclusions by the apparent prima facie meanings of the verses of the Quran. Note that the Quran’s essential, divine and infinite message has been revealed and has been brought to us in a very limited and verbal form, so that we at least understand a minimum and then work ourselves to attain to the esoteric dimensions. Some verses when taken at face value and without a proper base of textual and rational ma’rifah can lead one to the wrong conclusions. Prophets were Prophets and as Prophets, complete manifestations of Allah’s attributes. This is a lengthy debate and outside the scope of this maxim’s commentary; inshallah we shall cover this topic one day. The reason I brought it up was because with Prophet Ayyub’s request from Allah, this request was not made out of any deficiency from his part; after all, he had the capacity to be patient over these burdens but nevertheless requested a solution to it from Allah as a result of his love to guide people. It makes no difference to him on a personal level whether he persists with the bodily illness or copes with/tolerates the people’s needs with a healthy body, but the crux of the matter is that Prophet Ayyūb was merciful, loving, affectionate and cared so much for the people that his request was made so that the people be guided by means of him. This is what religion is all about. The Holy Messenger of Islam’s slogan was الحب اساسي (al-ḥubbu asāsī: Disclosing love is my basis of action). So, in the same way that whether you harm or sin against Allah or not, Allah still makes a request because He is the most merciful of the merciful and no matter what you do He is Ṣabūr (even though He makes a request), the same applies to Prophet Ayyūb too i.e. no matter what the burden is that he is encountering, he bears it and is ṣabūr but he still makes a request; why? because he is loving in relation to the people’s guidance. Now, with your permission, let’s go one step further. Let’s go to Karbala and what happened there with Imam al-Husayn (alayhis-salām). He knew of his fate from before. He knew of his martyrdom from before. He was patient no matter what. But he too made requests! Not to Allah but to the people in the same way that Allah requested people not to harm Him and His Messenger. Imam al-Husayn’s requests include: if you harm us, at least do not harm this 6-month infant; when Shimr was making his final blow to end the Imam’s life, the Imam said: “Oh Shimr, I request you to repent; it’s not too late! I shall guarantee you your shafa’ah” Allahu Akbar! Why all these requests? because the Imam loved everyone and cared for everyone and desired for everyone’s guidance. Ponder carefully over this! So what’s all this cursing (la’nah) that we do in different duas and ziyarats! These la’nats that we make have their origins in love and mercy. Some scholars believe that the concept of la’n has been misrepresented in our religion. There are many concepts in our religion that have slightly mutated and have taken a different outlook. This is just one example. Inshallah we shall speak more about this in a more appropriate time. No one is against expressing la’nah (after all, its essential: ziyarats like ziyarat al-Ashura is essential for one’s spiritual wayfaring; however it must be tasted rather than just read or chanted) but make sure you understand this important article of faith, in its entirety, before expressing it (the more you understand it whilst expressing it, the more you will elevate).  

End of Explanatory Note

Ibn Arabi continues:

“Patience (ṣabr) is the process of withholding one’s soul from (a) complaining to other than Allah and (b) finding peace and repose in other than Allah. I have made it clear to you that Allah has requested His servants to eliminate their harm that harms Him even though He has the power to put an end to and  not create that harm which emanates from them. Now focus on the secrets underlying this patience. Verily this is one of the greatest and best secrets. In one tradition, it states: “no-one is more patient than Allah before harm and abuse” 

What are these secrets? Ibn Arabi has not, as far as my limited reading of this book goes, explicitly shed light on these secrets. Maybe (although I doubt it) it is this: the importance of patience is when you have the capacity to eliminate the burden but you do not in the name of manifesting Allah’s attribute of Ṣabūr. This patience has degrees to it. Sometimes you are like Bilal and you are forced to forbear and be patient before the torture etc. However sometimes you see, in history, Amir al-Mu’minīn (alayhis-salām) being patient when Lady Faṭimah (alayhā-salām) is being attacked; here, the Imam had the power and capacity to easily defeat the enemy but there was a greater objective at stake. He knew of this objective because of his faith in Allah. We can also acquire this knowledge from Allah and thus know when to be and not to be patient. In any case, now acknowledge Allah’s patience before us wretched creatures. He is all-Powerful etc. but see how His patience works. 

Going back to the first part in Ibn Arabi’s passage, the pivotal point is where Allah deems and praises His Prophet Ayyūb as one who is patient even though he did complain; the point is however that this form of complaining was made to Allah alone and if this is realised it becomes a praiseworthy form of complaint. Why? because it was made to Allah alone, acknowledging and appreciating that He is the sole independent source of self-sufficiency and that all affairs return to Him. It’s a complaining whose output is nothing but Allah-ness and the colour of Allah; after all, it’s a specific focus and attention one is directing to Him alone.

Is disclosing to other than Allah always bad? This depends on one’s inner states of mind and heart when actually disclosing one’s difficulties. It also depends on the person to whom you are disclosing. Assuming one’s disclosure has no colour of complaint and is complaint-free i.e. one is merely stating facts, this need not be always negative; however this too is negative at times e.g. it may be futile or void and thus a waste of time; it may sadden your friends; it may make your enemies happy by disclosing it; but it may be of benefit too e.g. increasing people’s awareness of something so that they do not fall into the same trap as you. One must therefore sometimes have to weigh the pros and cons and see which is more detrimental or which one is more on a par with salvation. One’s intention here too is essential. Sometimes, however, one is disclosing one’s difficulties to others in a ‘complaining’ manner and this is where one’s soul has the capacity to be most contaminated. Why? because whilst complaining, what happens usually is that one is forgetting that Allah is the self-sufficient sole independent cause. This forgetting is the source of one’s spiritual downfall. However even this last complaining scenario has exceptions i.e. when it is done to one who is truly a mu’min i.e. one who is a manifestation of Allah’s attribute al-Mu’min. Why is this, an exception? because believers, in this sense, are appended to Allah. It’s as if you are complaining to Him. Think about it whilst recalling the tradition where Prophet Jesus (alayhis-salām) advised his followers to be friends with those who remind you and make you recall Allah. Our Infallible Imams were perfect manifestations of the divine attribute al-Mu’min.

Summary:

Disclosing one’s difficulties is usually on a par with the negative form of disclosure i.e. complaining to other than Allah. One who does this is acting Allah-lessly; one who acts Allah-lessly is distancing oneself from becoming more and more Allah-like by not incorporating His attributes (such as al-Ṣabūr) within one’s soul and that’s why the Imam states that by disclosing one’s difficulties, one is in effect satisfied with abasement. The more distanced from Allah your behaviour and actions are, the more you are driving your soul towards abasement and to a level which is degrading to you as a human being that has a super-angelic potential. Our potential is that of our ancestor Adam’s (see 2:31) – we are potential ‘divine khalifahs’!

----END COMMENTARY----

NB discussion session tonight 2/4 - Br. Shaida's House

Salaam all,

First of all, I want to apologize for not putting this up sooner this week.
We will be discussing saying # 2 from Nahjul Balagha.
 قَالَ(عليه السلام): أَزْرَى بِنَفْسِهِ مَنِ اسْتَشْعَرَالطَّمَعَ، وَرَضِيَ بِالذُّلِّ مَنْ 
كَشَفَضُرَّهُ، وَهَانَتْ عَلَيْهِ نَفْسُهُ مَنْ أَمَّرَ عَلَيْهَا لِسَانَهُ

“Whoever covers (clothes) one’s self with greed, has degraded oneself; and one who discloses one’s difficulties, is satisfied with abasement and one who grants one’s tongue authority over oneself, has devalued oneself”

"He who is greedy is disgraced; he who discloses his hardship will always be humiliated; he who has no control over his tongue will often have to face discomfort."
We will focus on the first part of the saying that talks about greed.
Format of the session and future sessions will be as follows:
1. Discuss implementation of last week's saying in our day to day lives on a personal basis.
2. Discussion of this week's sermon/saying.
3. Discuss how to implement it on a personal level and plans/strategies to put it into practice in the coming week and thereafter.
The idea is that whatever we learn from the sessions, we do not restrict ourselves to those 2 hours but make it a permanent part of our lives. And iA with the guidance of Allah, we can continue to stay on Serat-al-Mustakeem.
Think about the following areas to discuss for today's discussion:
1. What is greed? Can it be a good thing? Is is always necessarily a bad thing?
2. Who are you greedy from? Who are you asking for whatever you desire?
3. How do you get rid of greed? Is there anything you can do that your desires and your greed is reduced?
IA will see you all tonight.
Jazakallah Khair,
Imran.

NB this Saturday 1/28/12 @ 4pm sharp - Shaida's house

Salaam,

NB session this Saturday (1/28/12) will be at 4pm (PLEASE NOTE THE TIME) sharp. Please be on time. We will try to finish at Maghrib or a little after iA.

We will continue with Saying #1 about the calf of a camel from 2 weeks ago. Below is the email from Maulana Sekaleshfar.

--START COMMENTARY--

As a complement to the last session, two points are to be discussed this week, inshallah. One is the delicate story that demonstrates the significance of ‘breaking’ the self in order to stay away from harm’s way and not to attract the enemy. Before that though, I would like to discuss, very briefly, the fiqhi scenarios involved in voting for non-Muslim – and therefore illegitimate – parties. Since non-Muslims possess a degree of corruption (be it doctrinal, ethical or political – after all, even if they are ethically pure people, the fact that they are not Muslims carries a degree of corruption with it), according to explicit verses, such as 3:149 & 5:51, voting for them would entail you strengthening a certain degree of corruption and this strengthening is not allowed according to the shariah. However, sometimes, there may be a case where the best interests and welfare of Muslims (in that given country and/or throughout the world) would substantially and significantly increase if one non-Muslim party were to be voted in rather than the other(s). Assuming this substantial and significant increase of interests is substantiated before the Muslim, he/she is allowed to vote. So sometimes, there are two non-Muslim candidates to choose from (A and B) and voting A – in contrast to B – will lead, according to you, to a substantial improvement to the welfare of Muslims, here it would be unproblematic to vote. Sometimes, however, irrespective of whether A or B comes into power, neither have a say in how to run the country i.e. it’s the people behind the scenes who pull the strings. Here one has to be careful; in such cases, however beautiful A or B’s words seem, assuming you deem it probable that they will not acquire independent power once in office, voting here will not be justified because it is tantamount to the strengthening of illegitimate authority (but assuming the aforementioned independence is substantiated before you, voting will be unproblematic assuming the best interests of Muslims are taken into consideration) – ponder over this difference carefully!

Returning to chapter 18, before pointing to the exact story there are 1-2 significant points that need to be raised and these points also can be found in chapter 18. In 18:10, there is a supplication that is attributed to the Companions of the Cave. The supplication reads: “Our Lord! Grant us, from Yourself, a mercy (raḥmah) and pave for us, in our affairs, a right course of action”. These people of the Cave were very spiritual; most of them were ministers, judges and men of authority who had given up all their power and status for Allah’s cause. They are requesting to be granted a mercy from Allah (from Himself – deliberate over this subtle point) so that their affairs be aligned with the right course. This verse is speaking to us all; teaching us how to want from Allah at such times! More importantly, to be granted this divine mercy, Allah provides them with the key i.e. detachment from ‘other then Allah’, that is from all else. On acquiring and incorporating this detachment, divine mercy will be their share. See 18:16 where this key is referred to: “when you have detached yourselves from them (i’tazal-tumūhum) and from what they submit to other than Allah, then take refuge in the Cave. Your Lord will unfold His mercy for you and He will pave ease for you in your affairs”. Detachment from ‘other than Allah’ is the key to receiving divine mercy. This is the ultimate foundation and scaffolding to spiritual wayfaring.

And now the story...its part of the encounter between Moses and Khidr (alayhimas-salām). The verses that concern us are 71 and 79:

               

“so they made their way until they boarded the boat; he (Khidr) cracked (broke) it.....” 18:71

               

“concerning the boat, it belonged to some poor people who work on the sea; I wanted to make it   defective because approaching them was a king seizing every ship (that was in good state) usurpingly” 18:79

Ibn Arabi suggests that maybe the boat is esoterically referring to the self/soul (nafs) and that Moses (or us as readers of the Quran) is/are commanded to make it (the self) defective so that the enemy (the king) does not approach us for the wrong reasons i.e. abusing the (material and spiritually) wealthy and healthy self for its illegitimate purposes. Look how delicate the esoteric dimensions can be! It’s not easy to incorporate within our own lives. 18:82 reads: “...this is the interpretation of that over which you could not maintain patience”. It’s difficult! One needs time and needs to practise and endeavour and struggle. Spiritual growth is a function of undergoing burdens (see 90:4 & 84:6). The key to being like the calf, therefore, is patience – patience of a high and lofty degree.

To summarize then, avoid disclosure of yourself to others and next time you purchase a car, house etc. think twice about its consequences one day in the future. Also, recite that supplication continuously during the day to that extent which is feasible (at least after the salats) and try to accomplish its preliminary states i.e. being detached from ‘other than Allah’.     

--END COMMENTARY--

See you guys on Saturday!

Iltemas-e-dua.

JazakAllah Khair.

NB tonight 1/21/2012 - Br. Shaida's house

Salaam all,

IA we will meet tonight for Nahjul Balagha discussion session @ 5 pm - Br. Shaida's house. Today's sermon of discussion will be Sermon #5 delivered when the Holy Prophet died. IA see you all tonight.

Delivered when the Holy Prophet died and `Abbas ibn `Abd al-Muttalib and Abu Sufyan ibn Harb offered to pay allegiance to Amir al-mu'minin for the Caliphate

O' People! [1]

Steer clear through the waves of mischief by boats of deliverance, turn away from the path of dissension and put off the crowns of pride. Prosperous is one who rises with wings (i.e. when he has power) or else he remains peaceful and others enjoy ease. It (i.e. the aspiration for Caliphate) is like turbid water or like a morsel that would suffocate the person who swallows it. One who plucks fruits before ripening is like one who cultivated in another's field.

If I speak out they would call me greedy towards power but if I keep quiet they would say I was afraid of death. It is a pity that after all the ups and downs (I have been through). By Allah the son of Abu Talib [2] is more familiar with death than an infant with the breast of its mother. I have hidden knowledge, if I disclose it you will start trembling like ropes in deep wells.

Footnotes by translator:

[1].When the Holy Prophet died Abu Sufyan was not in Medina. He was coming back when on his way he got the news of this tragedy. At once he enquired who had become the leader and Chief. He was told that people had paid allegiance to Abu Bakr. On hearing this the acknowledged mischief-monger of Arabia went into deep thought and eventually went to `Abbas ibn `Abd al-Muttalib with a proposal. He said to him, "Look, these people have by contrivance made over the Caliphate to the Taym and deprived Banu Hashim of it for good, and after himself this man would place over our heads a haughty man of Banu `Adi. Let us go to `Ali ibn `Abi Talib and ask him to get out of his house and take to arms to secure his right." So taking `Abbas with him he came to `Ali and said: "Let me your hand; I pay allegiance to you and if anyone rises in opposition I would fill the streets of Medina with men of cavalry and infantry." This was the most delicate moment for Amir al-mu'minin. He regarded himself as the true head and successor of the Prophet while a man with the backing of his tribe and party like Abu Sufyan was ready to support him. Just a signal was enough to ignite the flames of war. But Amir al-mu'minin's foresight and right judgement saved the Muslims from civil war as his piercing eyes perceived that this man wanted to start civil war by rousing the passions of tribal partisanship and distinction of birth, so that Islam should be struck with a convulsion that would shake it to its roots. Amir al-mu'minin therefore rejected his counsel and admonished him severely and spoke forth the words, whereby he has stopped people from mischief mongering, and undue conceit, and declared his stand to be that for him there were only two courses - either to take up arms or to sit quietly at home. If he rose for war there was no supporter so that he could suppress these rising insurgencies. The only course left was quietly to wait for the opportunity till circumstances were favourable.

Amir al-mu'minin's quietness at this stage was indicative of his high policy and far-sightedness, because if in those circumstances Medina had become the centre of war its fire would have engulfed the whole of Arabia in its flames. The discord and scuffle that had already begun among muhajirun(those who came from Mecca) and ansar (the locals of Medina) would have increased to maximum, the wire-pullings of the hypocrites would have had full play, and Islam's ship would have been caught in such a whirlpool that its balancing would have been difficult; Amir al-mu'minin suffered trouble and tribulations but did not raise his hands. History is witness that during his life at Mecca the Prophet suffered all sorts of troubles but he was not prepared to clash or struggle by abandoning patience and endurance, because he realised that if war took place at that stage the way for Islam's growth and fruition would be closed. Of course, when he had collected supporters and helpers enough to suppress the flood of unbelief and curb the disturbances, he rose to face the enemy. Similarly, Amir al-mu'minin, treating the life of the Prophet as a torch for his guidance refrained from exhibiting the power of his arm because he was realising that rising against the enemy without helpers and supporters would become a source of revolt and defeat instead of success and victory. Therefore, on this occasion Amir al-mu'minin has likened the desire for Caliphate to turbid water or a morsel suffocating the throat. Thus, even where people had forcibly snatched this morsel and wanted to swallow it by forcible thrusting, it got stuck up in their throat. They could neither swallow it nor vomit it out. That is, they could neither manage it as is apparent from the blunders they committed in connection with Islamic injunctions, nor were they ready to cast off the knot from their neck.

He reiterated the same ideas in different words thus: "If had I attempted to pluck the unripe fruit of Caliphate then by this the orchard would have been desolated and I too would have achieved nothing, like these people who cultivate on other's land but can neither guard it, nor water it at proper time, nor reap any crop from it. The position of these people is that if I ask them to vacate it so that the owner should cultivate it himself and protect it, they say how greedy I am, while if I keep quiet they think I am afraid of death. They should tell me on what occasion did I ever feel afraid, or flew from battle-field for life, whereas every small or big encounter is proof of my bravery and a witness to my daring and courage. He who plays with swords and strikes against hillocks is not afraid of death. I am so familiar with death that even an infant is not so familiar with the breast of its mother. Hark! The reason for my silence is the knowledge that the Prophet has put in my bosom. If I divulge it you would get perplexed and bewildered. Let some days pass and you would know the reason of my inaction, and perceive with your own eyes what sorts of people would appear on this scene under the name of Islam, and what destruction they would bring about. My silence is because this would happen, otherwise it is not silence without reason."

A Persian hemistch says:

"Silence has meaning which cannot be couched in words."

[2].About death Amir al-mu'minin says that it is so dear to him that even an infant does not so love to leap towards the source of its nourishment while in its mother's lap. An infant's attachment with the breast of its mother is under the effect of a natural impulse but the dictates of natural impulses change with the advance of age. When the limited period of infancy ends and the infant's temperament changes, he does not like even to look at what was so familiar to him but rather turns his face from it in disgust. But the love of prophets and saints for union with Allah is mental and spiritual, and mental and spiritual feelings do not change, nor does weakness or decay occur in them. Since death is the means and first rung towards this goal their love for death increases to such an extent that its rigours become the cause of pleasure for them and its bitterness proves to be the source of delight for their taste. Their love for it is the same as that of the thirsty for the well or that of a lost passenger for his goal. Thus when Amir al-mu'minin was wounded by `Abd ar-Rahman ibn Muljam's fatal attack, he said, " I was but like the walker who has reached (the goal) or like the seeker who has found (his object) and whatever is with Allah is good for the pious." The Prophet also said that there is no pleasure for a believer other than union with Allah.

NB Saturday night 1/14/2012 - Br. Shaida's house

Salaam all,


We will have be having our Nahjul Balagha session this coming Saturday 14th of January 2012 @ Br. Shaida's house where we normally have it. Time is 5 pm sharp. Please try to make it.


We are going back to Saying # 1. Maulana Sekaleshfar has sent me the commentary and his assessment of the saying which is followed in the post. IA we will benefit immensely from these commentaries.


Here is the original Arabic text of the saying:

 قَال(عليه السلام): كُنْ فِي الْفِتْنَةِ كَابْنِ  اللَّبُونِ ، لاَ ظَهْرٌ فَيُرْكَبَ، وَلاَ ضَرْعٌ فَيُحْلَبَ.

Translated as "During civil disturbance adopt such an attitude that people do not attach any importance to you - they neither burden you with complicated affairs, nor try to derive any advantage out of you" in our applications and our English NB books.

However, the literal translation of this saying is quite difference as you will be able to tell from Maulana's essay about this saying. (The rest of the post is the email that Maulana sent me).

Amīr al-Mu’minīn (alayhis-salām) said:

“During times of adversity, be like the calf of a camel (ibn ul-labūn), which has no (strong) back (hump) to be ridden upon and has no (fully developed) udders to be milked from”

The term labūn is referring to camels that can be milked. Ibn ul-labūn is the calf whose parent – after two years – starts feeding the next offspring. Hence, the ibn ul-labūn (calf) starts becoming independent after two years i.e. the time when its parent goes and nurtures the succeeding calf. Even after two years, though, the calf can neither be milked nor carry goods/people on its back.

Adversity can either arise between two camps or parties of evil (two hizb al-shaytāns i.e. where the governing authority is illegitimate in nature) or between two parties, groups or camps where one is ahl al-haqq (legitimate) whilst the other is ahl al-bāṭil (illegitimate). For reasons that will be mentioned below, the tradition here is referring to adversities of the former genre (see later).

Ibn Maytham Bahrānī (b. 679 AH) states that during such times of difficulty and adversity – between two camps of evil – one must (i) weaken oneself (one’s physical dimension) so that one’s life does not be of any use for either camp for purposes of war (i.e. not to be used as a soldier or combatant by either side) and (ii) compromise one’s wealth or afflict oneself with poverty so that one’s wealth not be abused by either side. Being physically weak is on a par with the calf having no back and being materially poor is on a par with not being a source of ‘nutrition’ to others (hence ‘...has no back...and...no udders’). As a result, on seeing such persons, the camps of evil will not have or acquire any expectation from such a weak and poor person during times of adversity and so they will not and cannot abuse them in any way; after all, they are of no use to them and for their objectives. They have no back, esoterically referring to having no physical power and they have no udder, esoterically referring to them not being able to benefit the evil side materialistically. In this way, one will not be attracted or deemed competent to assist the cause of wrongness and falsity. “Be weak and poor!” is the slogan for such eras of difficulty.

This is one way of understanding Bahrānī’s commentary. The late Lebanese scholar Sheikh Maghniyyah (d.1980) has an interpretation which can also be applied to Bahrānī’s commentary. Maghniyyah’s idea is that there is no need to actively make yourself physically weak or materialistically poor. “NO!” why should you? Rather it means that you can have your physical power and material wealth BUT just don’t give it away or spend it in the line of injustice i.e. be like (i.e. act as) the ibn ul-labūn (camel’s calf) who cannot contribute vis-à-vis carrying freight or providing milk. Act as if you can’t but there’s no need to actively harm yourself in such a manner.

There is one problem though! Things can be too late sometimes! i.e. after being known amongst the people as one who has physical might and a lot of wealth, it may be too late to act as the calf; after all, they all know you are lying. Allahu Akbar! What is one’s duty here? Maybe Amir al-Mu’minīn is, in fact, referring to a deeper reality (see later). In any case, once everyone knows your physical and material status quo, it’s almost impossible to act as the camel’s calf; you will, for sure, be brought into the battlefield and it’s nearly impossible to refuse. Your interests will be at stake! It needs a strong divine soul to say no to the camps of evil! After all, one’s interests will fall down the drain in the absence of one’s assistance. They will show no mercy to you, your life and your property. Moreover, your soul will help the oppressors under the pretence of “well I have no choice, I have to help”; didn’t you have a responsibility to avoid this situation in the first place? Assisting with evil is evil; look how one can easily justify polluting one’s soul, day after day after day. The Imam, however, has provided us with a protocol. “Be like a (camel) calf!”

To avoid such situations, two methods are possible; either you refrain from acquiring physical strength and material wealth (appreciating that you are a weak person and one day these will bring about your downfall) or you can acquire them but never disclose these powers to the public. Don’t let others ever get to know! Acquire strength and wealth but do not disclose it. “Be like the calf” from the beginning i.e. even before times of adversity so that when adversity does arise, you will be safe and you will be able to abide by the Imam’s protocol. Most people will fall though! It’s like the famous discussion that one can have a big house, big car, etc. whilst being ascetic and recalling Allah constantly i.e. by not occupying one’s heart with other than Allah. The practical truth of the matter is, that most of those with big x’s and big y’s DO fall. It requires a strong resolution; a strong sense of determination. The key to this determination is highlighted in 3:159 i.e. tawakkul is the key. Assuming one cannot acquire this determination, maybe it’s best to avoid such endeavours; it’s not for you! If you are sure you will not fall, then that’s okay! But be sure not to disclose it! Because if you do, you will most probably fall rather than survive!

The reason that scholars suggest that the adversity is in relation to two camps or candidates of evil, is because if one camp is evil and the other just or legitimate, here according to the explicit logic of the verses of the Quran and traditions of the Ahl al-bayt, one must endeavour and fight against injustice and support the holy camp (inshallah if necessary, I shall bring the verses and traditions for next time).

Another point is this: the key to spiritual wayfaring is one; the underlying rationale to spiritual wayfaring is one i.e. recalling Allah. During times of adversity, how can one manage to preserve that ‘recalling’ whilst in the middle of all this bedlam? The Imam says “be like the calf!” and in this way, one continues recalling Allah as one should do. Otherwise, acting differently will lead one to forget Allah and thus fall. Think over this carefully!

As American Muslims, is this maxim relevant to you today? Elections are approaching! Can one help one party over the other? Do we have two camps of evil or not? Can we assist one of them in general terms? If not, are there any exceptions? If there are exceptions, what are they and how do they apply here? This was added just for you to deliberate and understand the potential applications of the maxim. Inshallah more on this will be said in future sessions (after all, this is primarily a fiqhi discussion).

Finally, is there any Quranic reference of this weakening of the self from a physical and non-physical perspective in order to distance one’s truth and competency from the enemy? Ibn Arabi says yes; he refers to a delicate story which has many esoteric dimensions, one of which is in reference to breaking the self to the extent that the enemy does not approach you. This is one of those incredible stories in the Quran. It’s in chapter no.18! Inshallah we shall cover this for the next session.  

Jazakallah and see you all on Saturday iA!!

NB tonight - Br. Adil Zaidi's House 5.00pm 1/7/2012

Salaam all,

Nahjul Balagha tonight at 5.00pm 1/7/2012 at Br. Adil Zaidi's house. Please try to attend. We will be discussing the following saying by Imam Ali (A.S.)

"Unfortunate is he who cannot gain a few sincere friends during his life and more unfortunate is the one who has gained them and then lost them (through his deeds)."

This is #11 in my phone app. It might be #10 or #12 based on the book that you have.

Please come ready with some input to discuss this saying. Let us keep our comments to this saying to this particular post rather than creating new posts.

Jazakallah,
Imran.