COSMOLOGY
OF THE SELF
By:
Shaykh
Fadhlalla Haeri
Chapter
Four
The Four
Facets of the Bondsman
Man
is never fully satisfied while he lives in this world because there
is something un-worldly in him. His original self, while contained
within a physical, material body, is inspired by the non-physical
and the unseen. In order to be healthy he needs to maintain a
perfect balance between both these aspects. Most of us in this day
and age, however, are in an imbalanced state. While our material
aspect is well developed, our spiritual aspect is under-nourished.
This is why people endlessly seek outer stimulation.
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The
First Man - Adam
Now
we refer to specific verses from the Qur`an relating to the
creation of the first human form, Adam. The name ‘Adam’ is
derived from the word ‘adim’ (pronounced adeem), which means
‘dust of the earth’, referring to our material body and its
essential link with the earth. Adam is traditionally regarded as the
first awakened being. He is also acknowledged as a prophet in that
he had direct access to the unseen while being active in the visible
world.
Allah
says in the Qur`an that when Adam was created ‘he was
inspired’. God had planned for him and his wife, his
complement, to live in the Garden and take whatever nourishment they
pleased from it. The concept of the Garden appeals to us, because
the human design is based on the desire for the everlasting garden.
We love all that a garden symbolizes; fruits and flowers of
different varieties, beauty and the enhancement of such qualities as
reflection, quietude, inner peace and joy. It is the meaning and
state of the garden for which we yearn.
God
goes on to tell us about Adam. The first created man is given a
covenant by God that he and generations of human beings after him
will come to know their Creator by submission and worship. But Adam
forgot this covenant and was ‘weak in his resolve’ (Qur`an
20:121). This means that in the original blueprint of that
creational start, there is an in-built weakness for our own sake, in
accordance with God’s design. Otherwise nothing would manifest. It
is for this reason that we cannot completely renounce the nafs. If
there was no nafs, we would cease to exist. If we did not exist we
would be unable to come to know our Source. Our fallibility is part
of us, and if we are on a path we become aware of and enjoy our
mistakes, rather than constantly knocking our egos. To purify and
sublimate the lower nafs in order to discover the Higher within us
is a noble process. The nafs, therefore, is a glorious condition of
our existence in this transient zone, just as our bodies are.
Mankind
We
defined man, insan, as a created being who is tame (musta’nas),
companionable, and who is able to attain intimacy (uns) with
God. God tells us that the jinn and the human beings have been
created by God only to love and adore and serve Him. Unless we come
to know our Creator, we will be unable to fulfill our purpose. No
matter how hard we try to arrange the outer world to suit our desire
for harmony, it will continue to be in turmoil. Allah does not wish
to burden us, but this is our reality. This will be the case until
we are able to yield fully to the source of harmony within
ourselves. Then the Divine Harmony and Light will engulf and lead
us. The weakness that Allah has placed within us is to make us
remember our Rabb who is Strong (al-Qawi). We are
created in need so that we may remember the source of all
fulfillment.
God
tells us in the Qur’an that the most honorable trust, that of
knowledge of Allah the Mighty, was offered to the heavens, the earth
and the mountains but they refused it, recognizing that they could
not take up such a weighty truth (Qur’an 33:72). Mankind, however,
boldly took it on, only to forget or cover up this knowledge of La
ilaha illa’llah - there is no reality except God Alone. Insan
forgets or covers up this knowledge because he cannot bear the
incredible weight of his own non-existence. He sees himself at all
times and forgets his source. He looks at the shadow and does not
see the effulgent sun. This is why we are mostly in shirk -
imagining that anything exists beside Allah. As weakness and
forgetfulness are part of the spectrum of insan, we can
remind ourselves in times of weakness that all of us are at a loss,
and that God is all Forgiving. All we need to do is return back to
the path of awareness and remembrance and recognition, because this
is within us. In fact the Arabic word istighfar is wrongly
translated as seeking forgiveness. It means to ask for the effects
of our faults to be covered over. It is more than forgiveness; it is
being rendered whole.
‘Ubudiyya
‘Ubudiyya
is based on the development of the rational self through outer
action. Ultimately this is the recognition that we are of no
significance unless it is because of the divine program that began
before our involvement in it. We are already slaves to this reality.
The use of the word ‘slave’ however, implies oppression and
exploitation, which is not true of the Arabic word ‘abd,
from which comes ‘ubudiyya, servitude or obedience to God.
The meanings encompassed by ‘abd include ‘that which is
smooth’ or ‘that which creates no friction.’ The ‘abd
is content because he knows that he truly belongs to the Rabb
and controlled ultimately by a loving Lord. The relationship is that
of mutual complementarity and symbiosis. The root verb is ‘abada,
to render easy, implying that that to truly submit to the primal
decree is to allow ourselves ease.
By
nourishing the fitra, making it the guiding principle in our
lives, we will become ‘abd, bondsmen, to the Real. We are
then in a state of ‘ubudiyya, the state in which the
Creator designed us to be. Our fitra, which encompasses all
our human faculties, and our insaniyya, will lead us to
interact properly in the world. Our spiritual faculties, ruhaniyya,
meanwhile, will receive appropriate inspiration from the unseen
world. Thus we encompass the seen and the unseen - the worlds of
form and non-form.
Allah
illustrates the different aspects of ‘ubudiyya in the
Qur`an. Through these ayat, we are given indications of how ‘ubudiyya,
when it is fully evolved, can reflect rububiyya. We contain
the essence of both within ourselves. Indeed, our Ruh is from
the Light of God.
God
reminds humankind that we are created in such a way that we will
continue to strive towards our Lord until we meet Him. In other
words, whatever we strive for, we are in reality trying to attain
knowledge of our Rabb and His ways. In this way, the lowly
bondsman reflects the highest reality, which is Lordship, rububiyya.
There
are three types of ayat relating to the bondsman in the Qur`an.
The first category speaks of the good ‘abd, for example: ‘The
bondsmen who are sincere in their attempts (to please their Lord)
shall have a regular provision’ (Qur`an 65:11). This does
not apply only to our means of livelihood. The ‘provision’
spoken of here is like having access to a tap that we may turn on
when we need to be nourished by the waters of the Garden. It gives
us the ability to enter the inner Garden within ourselves, with its
gifts of joy, tranquility and infinite peace. This is the
‘provision’ to which God refers. If we reach our inner Garden
through awareness, meditation and true submission and achieve total
inner silence, then we stand at the very edge of that zone in which
lie infinite peace and bliss.
The
Qur’an refers to the light of guidance that God provides for the ‘abd
who is sincere and who qualifies for it. By emerging out of the
darkness of past memories and future anxieties we shall begin to see
the light of the present. If we remain in darkness we will get only
what is appropriate for that zone: ignorance, bickering, disputes
and doubt. The Qur’an speaks of those bondsmen who are on the path
of success, those who are grateful, who are constant in their praise
of Allah, and who seek out knowledge of the meaning, purpose and
origin of existence. Each moment is an opportunity to either rise
with knowledge or sink with ignorance. This knowledge is at first
informative but its effect will only become experienced when we are
transformed by action resulting from this knowledge.
Another
type of verse relating to ‘abd describes ‘those who
are at a loss’. They are confused, blindly following tradition
and old patterns, although these are founded on ignorance and
corruption.
The
third category of ayat comprises what Allah expects from His
bondsmen. Here are Allah’s warnings to the bondsmen, of His
prescribed limits and bounds, His purpose and His decree. At the
same time we are told of His gentleness towards His creation. We are
reminded that it is God who gives His bounties and gifts to creation
as He sees fit and according to our needs, and not according to our
whimsical desires.
From
Rabb to ‘Abd
There
is true proximity between the Rabb and the ‘abd, but
never a union as such. It is like coal and fire. When coal is close
to the fire, it takes on the qualities of the fire and exhibits
these to the onlooker. It is all light and brilliance. If the coal
is removed from its proximity to the fire, it becomes just that - a
lump of coal. ‘Ubudiyya faces rububiyya like a
mirror, enhancing it and making it evident. If the ‘abd was
not manifest in this existence, the Rabb would not be
manifest, and vice versa. One needs the other; indeed one cannot
exist without the other.
Real
submission and faith leads to real ‘ubudiyya by grooming
and proper upbringing, tarbiya, in the real sense of
education. True education means learning a few skills to earn
one’s keep, and ultimately about knowing the purpose of our
existence, and preparing for death and beyond.
The
Rabb comes into existence from the One Source, the Essence,
only as an intermediate step to bring about the orchestration of
existence, paving the way for the ‘abd to be brought up to
his or her full potential. ‘Ubudiyya, for its part, makes
us recognize that we have within us the original blueprint that
enables us to develop into true reflectors of the Rabb,
whilst also training us to exercise our faculties and senses to gain
the greatest benefit from them.
Imam
‘Ali says of combining the lower and the higher faculties in this
way: ‘I see two aspects of ‘aql: one that is designed (by
God) and imprinted in you; the other that enables you to hear, see,
and interact.’ The implication is that without the original
blueprint, the sensory faculties are only of superficial use. If the
seed of intellect was not already within us, the ‘aql would
not have the possibility of developing. Indeed, the reason for using
the senses is precisely to enliven and bring our fitra to the
surface, making our dealings with the world as trouble-free as
possible.
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