ভূমিকা

Through my continuous chain of transmitters reaching up to the shaykh of the traditionists and the best of them, Muhammad ibn Ya’qub al-Kulayni (M) who reports from Muhammad ibn Yahya, from Ahmad ibn Muhammad, from Ibn Mahbub, from ‘Abd Allah ibn Sinan, who said: I mentioned to Abu ‘Abd Allah (A) a man who was troubled by waswas in his wudu, and salat, adding that he is a man of intelligence.

Thereupon Abu ‘Abd Allah (A) said, “What kind of intelligence has he when he obeys Satan?” I said, “How does he obey Satan?” The Imam replied, “Ask him regarding its cause and he will tell you that it is a work of Satan.”[^1] Exposition You should know that waswasah (or waswas , pl. wasawis ; means satanic insinuations, obsessions and suggestions), doubt, lapse of faith, shirk and the like pertain to satanic insinuation and devilish promptings, which Satan puts into the hearts of people.

So also, certainty, conviction, tranquility, steadiness, and sincerity of the heart and the like are caused by divine inspiration ( ifadat al-rahmaniyyah ) and angelic suggestions ( ilqa’at al-malakiyyah ). To explain this with brevity, the human heart is a subtle reality that is interjacent to the realms of mulk and malakut , the realms of the world ( dunya ) and the Hereafter.

One of its aspects faces the realm of mulk and the (mundane) world, and it is with this aspect that it pursues the corporeal aspect of life. The other aspect faces the realm of Hereafter, malakut and ghayb , and with that it pursues its spiritual ( malakuti ) life. Hence, the heart is like a two-faced mirror. One of its sides is turned toward the world of ghayb , and in it the ghaybi forms are reflected.

The other side faces the world of shahadah , and in it the mulki and worldly (mundane) forms are reflected.