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Towards the Inner Vision of the Truth

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"Praise be to Allah, Who hath created the heavens and the earth, and hath appointed darkness and light." — Holy Qur'an 6:1

 

Candle Posts :: Motivational Gems for Higher Spiritual Enlightenment

:: Candle Post #79 :: What is the Source of and the Cure for Waswasâh? ::

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

Ya Ali Madad! In this post, I would like to address the topic of waswasâh (insinuation). Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam (a.s.) raised this term when he asked the students of Religious Night School on 9th November, 1967 in Mumbai the meaning of the word "waswâss" from Surah Nâs (Surah 114). A spiritual child answered in Gujrati "waswasâh". Mowlana Hazar Imam was pleased with the answer and encouraged the students to learn more about other Surahs of the Holy Qur'an.

Islamic as well as esoteric Ismaili spirituality is based of the grades and states of the soul. In this respect, it is important to examine the concept of waswasâh in a greater detail. Let use begin this process by studying the following questions and answers:

Part 1: What is waswasâh (insinuation)?

"Waswasâh in Arabic mean the jingle of an ornament; a light footfall; to speak softly; to speak nonsense due to insanity; an evil suggestion which occurs in the heart; a bad or useless thought which occurs in the heart. In technical language of the Shariat, it means the seduction, temptation, dissuasion from good and persuasion to bad by the devil. From this, it is certainly clear that the waswasâh or insinuation of the devil as the root of all diseases, therefore, to cure it means to prevent all physical and spiritual diseases."
Source: Healing Through Knowledge, p.74

Part 2: What is the main cause of waswasâh?

"There is no doubt that it is the sneaking devil (khannas) who is among the jinn and mankind (114:4-6), who instills waswasâh in the hearts of people. But this matter does not end here, for it is a background and also a main cause, which is nafs-i ammarah or the carnal soul. It is the carnal soul, which in reality, creates waswasâh and always commands to do evil (50:16; 12:53). In this carnal soul, there is hidden power, which acts as the personal devil of each individual. This is alluded to in the verse (43:36), which has been explained in a Noble Hadith (Mishkat, Vol. I, p.42). The gist of the explanation is that, every individual has a personal devil, whose reformation is possible and necessary to do."
Source: Healing Through Knowledge, p. 74

Part 3: How can the commanding soul be cured?

"The Wise Qur'an has not only warned man of the waswasâh and the deception of the carnal soul and the devil, but has also taught the method, through which a mu'min can obtain a cure from this disease, as it is said: "He indeed is successful who purified it (soul) and he indeed failed who buried it in debauchery (wickedness)." (91:9-10). You can understand that so many deeds of religion are enjoined for the sake of the purification of the soul, because without it, there is no success for a mu'min. It is clear in the Noble Qur'an that spiritual and intellectual (at the level of Light) purification of mu'mins is possible through knowledge and wisdom (2:129, 151; 3:164) and in order to attain this exalted place, the true obedience of God and the Prophet is indispensable, without which nobody can conceive of true knowledge and wisdom."
Source: Healing Through Knowledge, pp. 74-75

Part 4: What are the ranks of soul?

"There are many stages of the soul, with respect to its ethical and spiritual reformation, refinement, progress and elevation. According to the law of comprehensiveness, the Holy Qur'an has mentioned three great ranks which comprise all these stages. Thus, in first few stages, the human soul is called ammarah or commanding (12:53), which means the one which persistently commands for the gratification of his (material) desires. Fortunately, if enough progress is made in the reformation and purification of it (nafs-i ammarah), then it becomes transformed in the nafs-i lawwamah, or the censuring soul (75:2), which comprises the intermediary stages. By nafs-i lawwamah is meant that soul which accuses itself again and again. That is to say that, in view of subtleties, niceties and intricacies of the path of God, this perfect awareness, complete realization, ardent yearning, strenuous struggle and constant endeavour for His proximity is highly pleasing, therefore, He swears by this soul (nafs-i lawwamah) in the verse (75:2)."
Source: Healing Through Knowledge, p.75

Part 5: What is nafs-i mutama'innah (satisfied soul)?

"If by Divine providence, this (Divine) help and guidance continues, then comes the third stage, which consists of the final stages of spiritual progress, in which the soul of a mu'min, who walks on the path of spirituality, becomes transformed into the satisfied soul (89:27). Such a soul has attained satisfaction according to the standard of God (3:126; 5:113; 8:10; 13:28; 2:260; 17:95), as God says: "O the satisfied soul! return to your Lord, well pleased (with Him), well-pleasing (Him), so enter My (chosen) servants, enter My paradise (87:27-30). This final and supreme bliss is attainable by the Friend of God, not only after death in the next world, but can be perfectly experienced in this world."
Source: Qur'anic Healing, pp. 75-76

All the above ranks of the soul are presented in Fig. 1 shown below:


 
Fig. 1. The ascent of the soul and its spiritual and intellectual resurrection.

Part 6: How does the devil work?

"The Holy Qur'an has also said that false fear is a ruse (trick) of Satan, for God says: "It is only Satan who frightens you with his friends" (3:175). Regarding false fear, the question whether such fear arises in the animal (carnal or commanding) soul or whether it is from Satan is answered by the fact that the Satan works through the carnal soul, or in other words, another guise of Satan is the animal soul."
Source: Fruit of Paradise, p.28

Part 7: What is the cure of false fear?

"One of the Qur'anic medicines for the disease of false fear is abundant remembrance of God and another is the light of true knowledge by which it is cured permanently. This means that jinni (invisible) Satan is chased away by the remembrance of God and the human Satan is defeated by true knowledge. It is taught that, in order to protect oneself from the stoning of Satan, one should seek the presence and proximity of God, the ta'wil of which is protect oneself in the luminous knowledge of the Imam of the time."
Source: Fruit of Paradise, pp. 28-29

Part 8: How does one obtain the Holy Imam's luminous knowledge?

"God says: "And he who is blind to the remembrance of God, We assign unto him a Satan who becomes his comrade." (43:36). The pure Imam is the living Supreme Name (ism-i azam) of God and His luminous remembrance, because it is from him that mu'mins obtain the light of Divine remembrance (through bandagi), which rescues them from the clutches of Satan. For the Imam of the time is in the position of Ali and is the gate to the city of knowledge and wisdom."
Source: Fruit of Paradise, p.29

The above concept is beautifully captured in the following verse of ginan from Pir Hasan Kabirdin's Moti Venti:

Eji Sâmi tamârâ nâmnê partapê kari
jâu saragaj mâ(n)hê
tyâ(n) ketlâk chor âdâ bêthâ
tê tamârâ nâmthi aragâ thâya
 
mahêr karo morâ sâ(n)hiyâ
abarâ sharan tamâri
36
0 Lord, With the blessings of your (sacred) name (ism-e azam),
I can reach paradise.
However, I am ambushed by thieves (satans)
(who steal my concentration).
On hearing your (sacred) name (ism-e azam), they will flee.
 
Have mercy on me, my Lord.
I am helpless and dependent on you.
36

May Noor Mowlana Shah Karim Al-Hussaini Hazar Imam (a.s.) grant all members of the global Jamat the inner vision of the truth through ism-i azam. Ameen.

Links:
Surah Falaq (The Daybreak) & Surah Naas (Mankind) text, translation and audio
Surah Falaq (The Daybreak) & Surah Naas (Mankind) Prayer Card

Ardent Supplications:

Ya Ali, Ya NOOR Mowlana Shah Karim Al-Hussaini Hazar Imam, create Sunshine in our hearts, light in our foreheads, and bless us all with the inner vision of the Truth!

Ya Ali, Ya NOOR Mowlana Shah Karim Al-Hussaini Hazar Imam, grant the global Jamat luminous (noorani) and spiritual (ruhani) tayid (help) to advance materially, spiritually and intellectually. Ameen.

Haizinda — Qayampaya
(Our Present Imam is Living and His NOOR is Eternal)

Rakh Mowla je Noor te Yaqeen (Certainly, we trust in Mowla's Light only),
Noorallah Juma
SalmanSpiritual.com
Thursday, April 15, 2010

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