Muhammad bin Yaqub al-Kulayni narrated by Hazrat Abu
Abdallah (a.s.) that he (a.s.) said, “Verily, it is mentioned in the “Book of
Ali” that of all mankind, the prophets undergo the severest trials , and after
them the “Awsia”, and after them the elect to the extent of their nobility.
Indeed, the believer undergoes trials in proportion to his good deeds. Because
Allah Almighty did not make this world a place for rewarding the believer and
punishing the unbeliever. And one whose faith is feeble and his (good) deeds
are few, faces fewer tribulations. Surah al-An’fal Ayah 17, “…. that He
might test the faithful with a good test from Himself.” Trial means
“bala” and “ibtila”. Here it means diseases and ailments, poverty, humiliation,
and loss of worldly fortunes.
Human souls exists at a level of ‘potentiality’, their
attachments to the bodies, and their descent to the realm of corporeal existence
(Mulk) in respect of all things, including knowledge, good and evil traits, all
kinds of perceptive and behavioral faculties. Gradually they move from
‘potentiality’ to ‘actuality’ with the Grace of Almighty. At first, weak
impressions related to particulars (as opposed to universal), emerge in the
soul, such as touch and other outward senses, moving from the lower to the
higher. Following that, the inward perceptions also arise in it. However, all
its faculties exist only at a level of ‘potentiality’, and they do not grow
without proper stimulation. For instance, if the base kind of faculties come to
dominate it, it becomes disposed to ugliness and evil, for its inner powers,
such as ‘shahwah (lust), ghadab (anger) etc. impel it towards sin, licentiousness,
aggression and tyrant. After following them for some time, it grows into a strange
monster. However, Allah, out of His Grace and Mercy has bestowed from
eternity two educators and teachers. One is intellect and discernment,
which is the inner teacher and the second, the outer teachers, is represented
by prophets and the divine guides, who shove the path of felicity.
None of these two can singly achieve this end without the
other. Thus, Allah the Beneficent and the Sublime gave them these two educators so that that through them all the ‘potentialities’
and hidden faculties capacities, latent in the human soul, should be realized
and actualized. They enable the human beings to be separated into felicitous
and the wretched ones.
Every event that occurs in
the realm of the body and is related to the soul’s perceptions, leaves a kind
of impression in the self. This is true of good or evil deeds. Every experience
of pleasure derived from food, drink, or sex, leaves an impression upon the soul,
and creates or increases the love and attachment for that kind of pleasure in
the soul. The more one plunges in such
pleasures and lusts the greater becomes the love of this world and greater
negligence towards Allah and Hereafter.
If one faces adversities, pain, and
torments in this world, he will resent it. If he believes in another world, a
vast world free of every kind of pain and grief, he will inevitably want
to migrate to it. It is evident that all the spiritual, moral, and
behavioral evils arise from the love of the world and negligence of Allah and
Hereafter. The love of the world is the source of all sins, in the same
way the love of Allah, the aspiration of the eternal abode of His bounty, are
the source of all the spiritual cures and moral and behavioral reform.
Some say the severity of the tribulations of the ‘elect’
among Allah’s servants is that they are made to remember Allah on account of
these adversities and tribulations and to pray and lament in front of His
Sacred Essence. This makes them accustomed to remembering Him and keep their
thoughts busy with Him. But in reality, the prophets and the perfect Awlia,
through their inward light and spiritual experience ascertained that Almighty
Allah has no regard for this world and everything in it is base and lowly in
the eyes of His Sacred Essence, and for this reason they preferred poverty to
wealth, tribulation to comfort and ease. In a tradition relating to
the martyrdom of the Chief of Martyrs, Imam Husayn (a.s.), it is mentioned that
he (a.s.) saw the Noble Messenger (s.a.w.a.s.) in a dream when he said to Imam
Husayn (a.s.), ‘There is a station for you in the Paradise which you cannot
achieve except through martyrdom.’
In this world the bounties are mixed with torments and pains
while in the Hereafter the bounties and rewards are pure and perfect while punishments
are also pure and not mixed with any comfort. This world is only a farm for
Hereafter!
Source:
Forty Hadith by Ayatullah Ruhullah Khomeini (r.a.)
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