With consideration to these supplications...

With consideration to these supplications, a section of the unlimited awareness and knowledge of the Infallibles becomes manifest to us.

Knowledge which caused those of pure birth, of pure breastfeeding and the models of mankind not to become heedless of the presence of their Lord even for a single moment and for the reason that they used to perceive Him as higher than everything and believed that all things are under His power, they were only enamored by Him and this inner love-sickness would not for one moment leave them tranquil and calm.

Their supplications and invocations are themselves a sign of the pinnacle of this love: In Du‘a’ al-Kumayl , Imam ‘Ali ( ‘a ) removes the curtain from his yearning to attain the divine beatific presence of Allah and believes that it is harder to bear remoteness from Him than to bear the infernal hell and addresses his Lord thus: “O Allah! My Lord and Master!

I can bear your punishment, but how can I bear being separated from Thee?” And explaining his anguish in the case that he is separated from his Lord, he continues: “I swear upon Your glory O my Master! O my Lord!

that if you lead me to hell with a speaking tongue, I will wail and weep so loudly and sorrowfully and I will shout very much, and like a person who has lost his beloved, I cry bitterly as a result of remoteness from Thee!” Imam al-Sajjad ( ‘a ) states in the Du‘a’ Abu Hamzah : “I ruined my life with procrastinations of deeds and postponements of duties and with protracted hopes and now I have reached a stage where I have completely been driven to despair with regard to edification of character [and purification of the soul].

Therefore, who is in a worse and more ruined state than mine? Woe upon me if in this state I get led to the grave, which I have not made ready for myself and have not made it fine with good works.

Why ought I not to cry when I do not know what the consequences of my actions are and now my soul deceives me and my days beguile me regardless that death has cast its shadow on me?” It is because of the evaluative role of crying in cleansing the inner conscience of ethical vices and shortcomings that the Noble Prophet (S) states that the virtue and reward which is derived from crying is more than what is derived without crying and the people who cry shall attain stations which other people will not attain.