Posted by admin on Oct 16, 2013 in Reflections | 2 comments

ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (passed in 661 CE, peace be upon him):

Surely Allāh, magnified and exalted, established Islām as the way to the water [of life]: He made its accesses easy for those who arrive at it, and fortified its foundations for the one who wars against it.

He made it an honor for the one who receives its walāyah; a safety for the one who enters it; a guidance for the one who follows it; an adornment for the one who accepts its covering; an apologia for the one who adopts it; a handle for the one who seeks protection through it, and a rope for the one who seeks to hold on to it; a proof for the one who speaks through it, a light for the one who seeks illumination from it, and an aid to the one who seeks succor through it; a witness for the one who debates through it; and a victory for the one who argues through it; a knowledge for the one who learns from it, a tradition for the one who narrates, and a criterion for the one who judges; a forbearance to the one who practices, and a modesty to the one who contemplates; an understanding to the one who reflects, a certainty to the one who exercises consciousness, and an insight to the one who is resolute; a sign to the one who prognosticates, and a warning to the one who takes heed; a salvation for the one who affirms; a gentle deliberateness to the one who sets aright; a high rank to the one who draws near; something reliable for the one who places trust; an ease for one who delegates [his affairs to Allāh]; an aspiration for the one who acts beautifully, and a goodness for the one who races forward; a shield for the one who is patient, and a raiment for the one who is dynamically aware; a support for the one who is guided; a shelter for the one who is dynamically secure, and a security for the one who who surrenders; a hope for the honest, and a richness for the content.

That [way] is the truth: Its path is guidance; its bequeathed trait is glory, and its characteristic is beautiful goodness. So it is the most evident of highways: illuminer of the light, kindler of the lamp; raiser of the end, facilitating in its training ground, gatherer of contestants; fast in [achieving its] aspiration, painful in punishment; complete in provisions, generous in horsemen.

Dynamic belief is its highway; righteous deeds constitute its light, deep understanding constitutes its lamps, this life is its training ground, death is its end, the Resurrection is its gathering, the Garden is its aspiration, the Fire is its punishment, dynamic awareness is its provisions, and the ones who act beautifully are its horsemen.

So through dynamic belief one is guided to righteous acts; through righteous acts understanding is made to thrive; through understanding death is taken seriously; through death this life is sealed; through this life the Resurrection is grounded; through the Resurrection the Garden is brought nigh. The Garden is the regret of the people of the Fire; the Fire is an admonition to the dynamically aware; and dynamic awareness is the root of dynamic belief.