Preparing Our Souls II

That is because you took the verses of Allah in ridicule, and worldly life deluded you." So that Day they will not be removed from it, nor will they be asked to appease [Allah]. — [Qu’ran 45:35]

Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem

In the first part of this series of articles, we put Qu’ran as the main theme, while talking about subjects that are directly or indirectly linked to spiritual evolution and the merits of Qu’ran recitation.

So, now we are going to cover a little more of the same topic, but in a different way, let’s highlight the superiority of Qu’ran and to start, I would like to show the hadith below:

Imam Taqi Jawad (peace be upon him) said: A servant of Allah would never find the truth of faith until he preferred the rulings of his religion over his desires, and he would never be succumb until he preferred his desires to the rulings of his religion.
[al-Bihar]

If a servant will never find the truth of faith until he chooses his religion’s rules over his desires, that implies (all) the religious rules and recommendations that lead us to the right path, and one of those recommendations is to read and recite the Qu’ran, 'our first tool of spiritual evolution’.

Read! In the name of your lord who created.
[Qu’ran 96:1]

But do the servants (us) really understand how miraculous, splendid and profound the Qu’ran really is?

A light in Surah al-Fatiha, in the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family):

Imam Ali al Ridha (peace be upon him) narrates through his forefathers from Amiral al-mu’minin (peace be upon him) that he said: "I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him and his family) saying:
‘Allah, Mighty and Great is He, has said: "I have divided the Opening of the Book between Myself and My servant; so, half is for Me and the (other) half is for My servant. And My servant shall get what he asks for.

"When the servant says: In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, Allah, Great is His Glory, says: "My servant has started with My name, an it is incumbent upon Me that I should complete his works him and bless him in his affairs."

And when he says: All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, Allah, Great is His Glory says: "My servant has Praised Me, and he knows that the bounties that are with him are from Me, and that the misfortunate that have been averted from him were so averted by My grace; (O My angels!) I appoint You as My witnesses that I shall add for him the favors of the next world to those of this world, and will avert from him the calamities of the next world as I have averted from him the calamities of this world."

And when he says, The Beneficent, the Merciful, Allah, Great is His Glory, says: "My servant bore witness for Me that I am the Beneficent, the MercifuI; I make you My witness that I will most surely augment his share in My mercy, and I will most certainly increase his portion My bounties."

And when he says, The Master of the Day of Judgment, Allah, the High, says: "I make you My witness that, as he has acknowledged that I am the Master of the Day of Judgment I will most certainly make his reckoning easier (for him) on the Day of Reckoning, and I will most certainly accept his good deed and look over his sins."

And when he says: Thee do we worship, Allah, Mighty and Great is He, says: "My servant is telling truth, He worships Me only. Be My witness that I will most surely give him for his worship a reward that will be the (object of) envy to all who opposed him when he worshipped Me."

And when he says, and Thee do we beseech for help, Allah, the High, says: "From Me has My servant sought help, and in Me has he taken refuge. Be My witness that I will most certainly help him in his affairs, and will aid him in his difficulties, and will take his hand in his calamities."

And when he says, Guide us to the straight path…, Allah, Mighty and Great is He, says: "This (part) is for My servant, and My servant shall have what he asks for; and I have answered (the prayer of) My servant, and have given him what he hopes for and have protected him from what he is afraid of."
[Uyun Akhbar al-Ridha]

As soon as we open the holy book, we come across the opening (al-Fatiha), we always recite it in our prayers and for the souls of those who are gone, we read its verses and in its simplest meaning we already admire, and when we discover one of the deep meanings (as mentioned in the hadith above), we admire even more and in just a few verses that stand in the position of a greater meaning, we behold the immense and infinite mercy and beneficence of our Lord, the one who is al-Rahman, al-Raheem.

Having in mind what was said in the first hadith of this article, that the truth of faith is only found when we overcome our desires and follow the rules of our religion, we can reflect on these verses from the holy book and come to the conclusion that obedience is the better for us, when we obey the Imams, we obey the Prophet, when we obey the Prophet, we obey God.
And it’s always good to remember that each of us lives a different reality and we are different so that we are unique in essence, individually, but as a community we must help each other and of course, our path as Shias and Ahlul Bayt lovers it’s a difficult path, but the goal of our lives is exactly that, to be tested and to go through adversity, because only with total submission to God, we find truth and blessings.

Amirul Mu'minin (peace be upon him): Even if a mountain loved me, it would have crumbled down.

Sayyid Razi (r.a): The meaning of this is that since the trial of the man who loves Amirul Mumineen, would be that severe troubles would leap towards him and this is not the case except with the God-fearing, the virtuous and the selected good persons.
[Nahjul Balagha, comment on Hadith #110]

“Even if one receives a lot of hate from the people for being a Shi’a, one must still strive to remain firm upon the religion and be an adornment for the Imams of the Ahlulbayt. God willing, we aim to gain the satisfaction of Allah and His Messenger, and the family of the Messenger, and receive their blessings in this small endeavor.” [Abu Ja’far al-Karbalaei]
God willing, this series of articles will continue and I will be bringing other topics that will be good for our community.

All praise is to Allah, the Mighty and Majestic and May Allah bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad.

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