{"id":4964,"date":"2021-07-25T07:33:26","date_gmt":"2021-07-25T06:33:26","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2021-07-25T07:33:58","modified_gmt":"2021-07-25T06:33:58","slug":"the-disciplines-of-the-prayer-chapter-1cordial-disciplines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shiastudies.com\/en\/4964\/the-disciplines-of-the-prayer-chapter-1cordial-disciplines\/","title":{"rendered":"The Disciplines of the Prayer- Chapter 1:Cordial Disciplines"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Disciplines of the Prayer- Chapter 1:Cordial Disciplines<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Disciplines of the Prayer- Chapter 1:Cordial Disciplines: <\/strong>One of the cordial disciplines of the worships and the spiritual duties of the traveler along the path to the Hereafter is paying attention to the Might of the Lord and to the humility of servitude. It is one of the important stages for the s\u0101lik (traveler). The strength of everybody\u2019 s sul\u016bk (journey) is in proportion to the strength of this attention, or rather the perfection or the imperfection of humanity is connected to the perfection or imperfection of this matter.<\/p>\n

The more one is overwhelmed by egoism, egotism, self-conceit and selfishness, the farther he will be from the human perfection and from the nearness of the presence of Allah. The veil of self-conceit and egotism is thicker and darker than all other veils. To tear open this veil is more difficult than tearing all other veils, and tearing it is a preparatory step to tearing other veils. In fact, tearing off this veil is the master key for the invisible, the visible and the great door of the ascent to the perfect spirituality.<\/p>\n

As long as man has his eyes on his own self, his imagined beauty and perfection, he will be veiled and discarded from the absolute beauty and pure perfection. The first condition for traveling to Allah is to leave this house. Actually, it is the criterion for the struggle between right and wrong. So, every s\u0101lik, who travels with the steps of selfishness and self-conceit, and is wrapped in the veils of egotism, his sufferings would be in vain and his journey would not be to Allah, it would rather be to his self: \u201cThe mother of the idols is the idol of your self.\u201d 1<\/p>\n

Allah, the Most High, says:<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd whoever leaves his house migrating to Allah and His Messenger, and then death overtakes him, his reward is, indeed, with Allah.\u201d2<\/p>\n

The formal migration, or the form of migration, is the corporeal migration from the formal house to the ka\u2019 bah or to the shrines of the holy men [awliy\u0101\u2019 ] (\u2018 a), but the spiritual migration is the going out of the house of the soul and the house of this world to Allah and His Messenger. To migrate to the Messenger and the guardian [wal\u012b] is also a migration to Allah.<\/p>\n

As long as one\u2019 s soul has an inclination to oneself and to egotism, it is not journeying. And so long as there are residues of Oneness in the s\u0101lik\u2019 s eyes, and as long as the walls of his own town and the adh\u0101n announcing selfishness have not yet disappeared, he is regarded as a staying one, not a traveler or an emigrant.<\/p>\n

It is stated in Misb\u0101h ash-Shar\u012b\u2019 ah that Im\u0101m as-S\u0101diq (\u2018 a) said: \u201cServitude is a gem whose core is Lordship [rub\u016bbiyyat]. Whatever is lost of servitude is found in the Lordship, and whatever is hidden of Lordship is obtained by servitude.\u201d 3<\/p>\n

The one who travels on the foot of servitude, and burns his forehead with the brand of the humility of serfdom, will reach the Glory of (His) Lordship. The way of attaining to the facts of Lordship is journeying along the footsteps of servitude, and what is lost of servitude because of egoism and egotism, can be recovered under the shadow of the Lordship\u2019 s patronage, until he reaches a stage in which the Haqq (Allah), the Most High, will become his ears (hearing), eyes (seeing), hands and legs, as is stated in the true and well-known had\u012bth accepted by the two sects. 4<\/p>\n

When the s\u0101lik forsook his conducts [tasarruf\u0101t] and completely submitted the kingdom of his existence to Allah, leaving the house to its Owner, and perishing in the Glory of (His) Lordship, the Owner of the house would Himself manage the affairs. Thus his conducts [tasarruf\u0101t] would become divine, and his eyes would be divine and he would see with the Haqq\u2019 s (Allah\u2019 s) eyes, his ears would become divine and he would hear with the Haqq\u2019 s (Allah\u2019 s) ears.<\/p>\n

The more complete the lordship of the soul and the more its glory be cherished, the more, in the same proportion, the Glory of the (divine) Lordship decreases and becomes incomplete (in the s\u0101lik\u2019 s kingdom of existence), because these two stand face to face: \u201cThis world and the next are like the two wives of a man.\u201d 5<\/p>\n

Thus, the s\u0101lik to Allah has to recognize his state of humility, and to place the humility of servitude and the Glory of the Lordship before his eyes. The stronger this viewpoint, the more spiritual his worship and the stronger the spirit of his worship, until, if, with the help of Allah and the perfect holy men [awliy\u0101\u2019 ] (\u2018 a), he reaches the truth of servitude and its core; he will catch a glimpse of the secret of worship.<\/p>\n

In all the worships especially (in) the Salat which has a position of comprehensiveness [j\u0101mi\u2019 \u012byyat], and is, among the worships, like the Perfect Man, and like the Greatest Name (of Allah), or rather it is the very Greatest Name these two positions, i.e. the position of the Glory of Lordship, which is a fact, and the position of the humility of servitude, which accompanies it, are occult. Among the recommended acts the qun\u016bt, and among the obligatory acts the suj\u016bd, have particular peculiarities to which we shall refer later insh\u0101\u2019 All\u0101h.<\/p>\n

It should be noted, however, that absolute servitude is of the highest degrees of perfection and of the loftiest positions of humanity, of which no one has any share except the most perfect of the creatures of Allah, Muhammad (s) at the top, followed by the perfect wal\u012bs (the Guardians). The others are limping in servitude, and their worshipping and servitude are endued with causes, only with the steps of servitude one can reach the real absolute mi\u2019 r\u0101j.<\/p>\n

That is why the noble \u0101yah says:<\/p>\n

\u201cGlorified is He who carried his servant by night\u2026\u201d 6<\/p>\n

It was the step of servitude and the attraction of (His) Lordship that carried that holy person to the mi\u2019 r\u0101j of proximity [qurb] and union [wus\u016bl]. In the tashahhud of the Salat which is a return from an absolute \u201cannihilation\u201d [fan\u0101\u2019 ] that was achieved in the suj\u016bd there is once again a tendency to servitude, before paying attention to the Messengership. It may also be a reference to the position of Messengership as a result of the essence of servitude. This is a lengthy subject, which is out of the scope of these papers.<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u201cThe Mother of the idols is your self\u2019 s idol,
    \nAs those are snakes, and this is a dragon-idol!\u201d
    \nMawl\u0101w\u012b
    \n2. S\u016brah an-Nis\u0101\u2019 4:100
    \n3. Misb\u0101h ash-Shar\u012b\u2019 ah, \u201cOn the Reality of Servitude,\u201d ch. 100.
    \n4. This is a reference to a narrative about \u201cThe Approximation by Naw\u0101fil\u201d, which reads: \u201d\u2026He (Allah\u2019 s servant) keeps trying to get closer to Me by means of the n\u0101filah until I love him. Loving him, I will become his ears with which he hears, his eyes with which he sees, his tongue with which he speaks and his hand with which he strikes. When he asks Me I answer him, and if he demands from Me I will give him\u2026\u201d Us\u016bl al-K\u0101f\u012b, vol. 4, \u201cBook of Faith and Infidelity,\u201d ch. on \u201cOne who Hurts and Despises the Muslims,\u201d had\u012bths 7-8, p. 53.
    \n5. \u2018 Aw\u0101liy ul-La\u2019 \u0101l\u012b, vol. 1, p. 277 and vol. 4, p. 115; Nahj al-Bal\u0101ghah, edited by Fayd al-Isl\u0101m, maxim 100.
    \n6. S\u016brah al-Isr\u0101\u2019 17:1.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The Effects of Sins<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n