ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Attributes of the Noble Chapter 3 : On Wayfaring in the Quest of Perfection, and the States of the Wayfarer This chapter consists of six sections: Section one: on solitude (khalwah) Section two: on contemplation (tafakkur) Section three: on fear (khawf) Section four: on-hope (raja') Section five: on patience (sabr) Section six: on thankfulness (shukr) Section One: On Solitude God, the Exalted, says: And leave alone those who take their religion for a pastime and a jest, and whom the life of the world has deceived ....

(6:70) In the sciences of reality it has been established that every being that has the preparedness to receive Divine effusion (fayd-e ilahi) cannot be deprived of it when the preparedness exists and any obstacles are absent. However, one can seek the benefit of Divine effusion only when one knows two things. First, one should have convinced belief and a faith free of doubt in the existence of that effusion.

Secondly, he should know that the existence of this effusion in every being will lead to its perfection. The knowledge of these two matters is at all times an essential part of preparedness for receiving that effusion. Now that this preliminary fact is known, it may be stated that the seeker of perfection, after acquiring preparedness, is now obliged to remove the obstacles.

The biggest of these obstacles are the unnecessary engagements that direct the soul's attention toward other-than-God and keep it from attending fully to its real goal. These preoccupations pertain either to the external senses, or the inner perceptual faculties, or some of the vital faculties, or illusory thoughts (afkar-e majazi, as opposed to waridat-e haqiqi, mentioned hereafter).

As to the outer senses, their preoccupation lies in infatuation with viewing attractive forms and shapes, listening to harmonious sounds and [pursuing] other objects of smelt, taste and touch. As to the inner perceptual faculties, their preoccupation lies in imagining forms and states that absorb attention.

It may be an imaginary love, or enmity, an exaggerated delight or an underscored loss, an imagined order or disorder, or some memory of a past condition, or the thought of some object of desire, such as wealth and status. As to the vital faculties their preoccupation may be caused by grief, fear, jealousy, or shame, anger or lust, or some treachery, an expected pleasure, or the hope of overpowering some enemy or avoiding something painful.