| 20 - Jamal and Jalal - Part Two |
There is a Sufi story
apropos to the present discussion. According to this story, an insincere, hypocritical,
spiritually rebellious individual is praying and asking for something to be given to the
individual by Divinity. God calls upon an angel to satisfy the individual’s request
so that the person will be of the opinion that God is happy with him or her.
The story goes on to
describe another individual who is praying for some need to be met. This person, unlike
the first one, is a sincere, committed, servant of Divinity. Upon listening to this
individual’s prayer, God summons an angel to see to the fulfillment of the prayer so
that this person will know that God is happy with her or him.
Two people ... two
prayers ... two wishes granted ... but two, totally different relationships between the
respective individuals and Divinity. The Qur’an states: "And when My servants
question thee concerning Me, then, surely I am near. I answer the prayer of the supplicant
who cries unto Me. So, let them hear My call and let them trust Me in order that they may
be led aright." (2:186)
If we ask of Divinity and
we are given what we ask for, we do not necessarily know what the significance of this
‘gift’ is. God answers the prayer of the supplicant, but if the supplicant is
someone who is heedless of God’s Call and does not, in essence, trust God with his or
her life (but only with what the individual desires), and, ultimately, really does not
wish to be led aright, then, the granting of such a person’s prayer may not mean what
that supplicant supposes is the case - that is, there could be an expression of Divine
displeasure hidden beneath the exterior of the Divine ‘favor’ - but Allah knows
best.
What we do know is the
following: on the one hand, all of life is an opportunity and a challenge; on the other
hand, all accounts will be settled on the Last Day. God alone knows how this all will come
together in resolution with respect to the original Divine intent - for "the Command
belongs to God entirely" (3:182), and "He shall not be questioned as to what He
does." (21:23)
The author of Sufism
- A Short Introduction contends that: "In general, things pertaining to the
external and material realms tend to manifest wrath, whereas the closer we move to the
spiritual world, the closer we approach pure mercy." The foregoing perspective is
completely arbitrary, speculative, and without spiritual authority.
There is absolutely no
warrant in either the Qur’an or the Hadith for maintaining that "the external
and material realms tend to manifest wrath". The external and material realms are the
doorways of spiritual opportunity. The external and material realms are the points of
entry through which we approach spiritual development and maturity.
To be sure, the Prophet
is reported to have said things like: "this world is accursed and everything in this
world is accursed, except the remembrance of God", or, "this world is maintained
in existence by illusion", or, "the root of all prayers is the renunciation of
the world, and the love of the world is the root of all mischief". Similarly, the
Qur’an expresses considerations for reflection such as ‘the commerce of this
world does not profit them’ (2:16), or, "the life of this world is but a pastime and a
game" (29:64), or, "what is there after the Real, save error?" (10:32).
Nonetheless, these sort
of statements do not serve to confirm the author’s previous contention that "the
external and material realms tend to manifest wrath". Instead, in each instance
(whether from the Prophet or the Qur’an), the nature of ‘the external and
material realms’ are being put into proper perspective.
For example, in order to
understand what the Prophet means by "this world is accursed", one must first
understand how our being in the world affords us the opportunity to remember God.
Moreover, in order to come to understand how the ‘world is maintained in existence by
illusion’, one needs to experience the world, and it is this experience which, with
spiritual guidance, can lead to the insights concerning the illusory nature of that world.
Or, if, as the Prophet says, ‘the root of all prayers is the renunciation of the
world’, then, one must have exposure to that which is to be renounced (i.e., the
world) in order to find one’s way to the root of such prayers.
Alternatively, when the
Qur’an warns us about how the commerce of this world does not profit us, the
implication on the horizons of this warning is there is something of the world, beside
commerce, which can be of benefit. Furthermore, when we are told that the life of this
world is a pastime and a game, then, we need to find out, to some degree, about ‘the
life of this world’ in order to see how, and in what way, it is a ‘pastime and a
game’, as well as how one might spend one’s time in the world so that one’s
life will not succumb to a fate of being merely a pastime and a game. And, finally, if, as
the Qur’an informs us rhetorically, there is nothing after the Real, save error,
then, surely we must try to learn the secrets which permit us to differentiate between the
Real and error, and the only opportunity we have to do this is in this world in which we
currently find ourselves.
If it were not for the
problems, difficulties, frustrations, challenges, constraints, questions, and
opportunities generated through our engagement of the external and material realms, there
would be nothing to push against to bring forth the potential of ‘fitra’, our
primordial, spiritual nature. The external and material realms are so many catalytic
agents for engendering alchemical transformations of the soul.
To reduce, ‘in
general’, as the author does, the external and material realms to being expressions
of ‘wrath’ does a terrible disservice to the beauty, majesty, generosity, love,
subtlety, and compassion of the Divine Himma which sought for the ‘Hidden
Treasure’ to be known through Creation. To reduce, for the most part, everything in
the external and material realms to being a function of wrath totally distorts the true
nature of tawhid or Divine Unity.
To support his claim that
"things pertaining to the external and material realms tend to manifest wrath,
whereas the closer we move to the spiritual world, the closer we approach pure
mercy", the author quotes a line from Rumi - namely, "this world is the house of
God’s severity," - and, then, proceeds to maintain that the implication here is
"the other world is the house of God’s gentleness and mercy".
While the excerpt from
Rumi may be correct as far as it goes, it also takes Rumi out of context. On occasion,
this world may be "the house of God’s severity", but on other occasions,
this world is ‘the house of God’s mercy, blessings, beauty, guidance, support,
love, as well as spiritual realization’, and Rumi would not have disagreed with any
of the characterizations.
If not for this world,
Rumi might never have benefitted from what Shams had to teach him. If not for this world,
Rumi might never have fallen madly in love with that which was being transmitted, by God,
through Shams, and, therefore, might never have abandoned the cul-de-sac of his books on
theology. If not for this world, Rumi might never have been transported to states of
mystical ecstasy out of which the Mathnawi and sacred turning arose.
For Rumi, the world can
be "the house of God’s severity". However, if one looks at all of
Rumi’s writings, one also will find considerable evidence to indicate the many ways -
through both poetry and prose - in which Rumi acknowledged that the world is also the
locus of manifestation for many of God’s other attributes - both ‘jamali’,
as well as ‘jalali’.
Moreover, and in concert
with something pointed out earlier in this current Commentary, even if one were to grant
that the world is "the house of God’s severity", severity is not
necessarily an expression of Divine Wrath. The attributes of ‘jalal’ may be
difficult to bear, and in this respect may appear to be the opposite of the ease
associated with many ‘jamali’ attributes (more on this in a moment),
nevertheless, the attributes of ‘jalal’ are not in opposition to the purpose of
Creation, nor are they obstacles to the goal of individual spiritual realization.
To be spiritually
balanced, an individual must have elements of both ‘jamali’ and
‘jalali’ attributes in one’s life. In other words, there must be expansion,
as well as contraction. There must be compassion, as well as justice. There must be ease
as well as rigor. There must be peace, as well as struggle. There must be forgiveness, as
well as accountability. There must be love, as well as logic. There must be ecstasy as
well as sobriety.
The Qur’an states:
"God contracts and expands." (2:245) To live in balance with both jamali and
jalali qualities requires one to come to an intimate realization concerning the Truth
being given expression through this Quranic ayat.
The Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) is reported to have said: "O Allah! I seek refuge from your
punishment, by your mercy. I seek refuge from your wrath by your contentment, and I seek
refuge from You by You." This is a prayer of recognition that "God contracts and
expands" (2:245).
The same Truth is being
addressed - albeit in slightly different ways - when Bayazid al-Bistami said: "The
contraction of the heart lies in the expansion of the ego (nafsi-amaara), while the
expansion of the heart lies in the ego’s contraction", as well as when
al-Hujwiri stated that: "Contraction is the contraction of the heart in the state of
being veiled, while expansion is the expansion of the heart in the state of
unveiling." Contraction and expansion - whether of the ego or the heart are both
expressions of God’s Purpose in action within Creation.
We learn through the
influence of ‘jamali’ experiences. We learn through the impact of
‘jalali’ influences. Each set of attributes has the capacity to leave its
indelible mark upon us and, therefore, each set has the potential to help induce spiritual
transformation and, God willing, thereby, lead to a deep, abiding realization concerning
the truth of the ways in which Divinity, or the ‘Real’, is present in our lives.
Just as
‘jalali’ attributes give expression to dimensions of spiritual assistance,
despite their quality of rigor, severity, majesty, and so on, so too, ‘jamali’
attributes can have an intensity about them which is overwhelming, and, under certain
circumstances, the spiritual development of an individual may be stalled if the individual
gets ‘hung up’, so to speak, in one, or another, state of ecstasy. For example,
some people on the Sufi Path have entered into states of ecstasy and, then, passed away
from this world permanently - either physically or psychologically.
The latter individuals
(i.e., those who have passed away from the ‘normal’ world in a
psychological/spiritual way) are known as ‘majthub’, or the spiritually
intoxicated. In certain cases involving someone who is majthub, if spiritual development
is to continue, such an individual may need to be brought out of his or her condition of
intoxication, and, yet, because the condition is mesmerizing and expansive in character,
the individual may resist or resent attempts to remove them from such a state. Therefore,
although states of ecstasy tend to be expressive of ‘jamali’ attributes - which
often are associated, in the minds of many people, with qualities of ease, nonetheless,
they can have an intensity which is reminiscent, in some ways, of jalali attributes, and,
as well, they can have a negative impact on spiritual development, despite the fact many
people associate ‘jamali’ attributes with mercy, compassion, beneficence, and so
on.
Within the extended
quote, which the current Commentary is exploring, the author states:
"Given that God’s wrath is associated with the world’s distance from God,
it is also closely associated with the Sharia - which concerns itself with the outermost
human domain, that of bodily activity. However, the wrath that shows its face in the
Sharia derives from God’s mercy and leads back to it." This quote is problematic
in so many ways.
To begin with, the author
contradicts himself. Even if one were to assume that God’s wrath is present,
vis-a-vis the world, nonetheless, in point of fact, the very presence of the attribute of
wrath proves that the world is not distant from God. Rather, the world is close to
Divinity manifested in the form of wrath.
The nature of Creation -
both in terms of how it came into being, as well as in terms of the manner in which
Creation is sustained and passes away, is rooted in the Presence of Divinity. The former
(i.e. Creation) depends totally on the latter (i.e., Divinity) and cannot, even for a
picosecond, exist independently of, or distant from, Divinity.
Even the inhabitants of
one, or another, of the levels of Hell are not distant from God. God is very close to
them, but this closeness is in the form of manifestations which are very difficult to
bear.
On the other hand, the
Qur’an clearly indicates that the quality of mercy is near at hand for some of the
inhabitants of Hell. More specifically, the Qur’an describes how there will be some
individuals who will, as a result of their own misdeeds, fall into Hell. Yet, at some
point, these individuals will be forgiven by Divinity and raised up to a heavenly
condition.
At the same time, after
being removed from Hell and given a place in Paradise, the aforementioned individuals will
bear a sign upon them indicating how they have been removed from Hell through the mercy of
God. So, God is not distant from the inhabitants of Hell but, rather, chooses to interact
with them through attributes which are appropriate to the situation.
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