Word 50: The one who thinks about his inner and outer will realize that the inner self never neglects the outer, whether sleeping asleep or awake…
Word 50: The one who thinks about his inner and outer will realize that the inner self never neglects the outer, whether sleeping asleep or awake. Therefore, it becomes aware of the least harm and pain. As a result, He finds the soul as the manifestation of the verse of the Holy Quran, which says, “Neither slumber overtakes Him, nor sleep” (Al-Baqara:255). This gives him further insight into the inner of the world, which is the same as living, knowledge, and consciousness. The inner of the world never neglects the external, but the outer of the world is negligent to the inner of the world due to preoccupation with other things.
The first paragraph is very clear and says, “The one who thinks about his inner and outer will realize that the inner self never neglects the outer, whether sleeping asleep or awake. Therefore, it becomes aware of the least harm and pain”. The human world resembles the whole world. Just as your inner self never neglects your outer, the world’s inner never neglects its outer. Because the inner world is absolute living, pure knowledge and power. Ignorance, neglect, and forgetfulness are related to appearance.
Earlier, we discussed that knowledge is the presence of an immaterial object for an immaterial object. We also explained that we do not have immaterial objects in the material world, so there is no knowledge in the material world or outer of the world. Knowledge is related to the supernatural or immaterial world.
The supernatural is complete knowledge without ignorant. It is a brightness in which there is no darkness, as the Quranic verse says, “The life of this world is nothing but diversion and play, and the Home of the Hereafter is the Life, if they only knew” (Al-Ankabut:64). Regarding the Hereafter, some traditions say that everything in heaven is alive, including the fruits, earth, water.
Since our soul is from the immaterial world, free from matter, and it has presence, therefore, sleeping and neglect are not for the soul but for the body. The verse of the Holy Quran says, “Neither slumber overtakes Him (Allah), nor sleep” (Al-Baqara:255). We know that the human being can be the manifestation of all God’s Names, and then our Nafs can be a manifestation of the above verse. So, Neither slumber overtakes human Nafs, nor sleep. Negligence belongs to the body. As angles are immaterial in essence, then, angels do not sleep.
People questioned one of our infallible Imams, “Sir, does sleeping exist in heaven?” Imam said, “Sleep is the brother of death.” There is no death in paradise; thus, there is no sleep. People asked Imam Javad what death is. The Imam replied, “It is the same sleep that comes to you every night, but it is longer”. We die every night and come back to life in the morning, meaning God gives us life again. The verse of the Holy Quran says, “Until, when death comes to one of them, he says, “My Lord, send me back. (99) That I may do right in what I have neglected” (Al-Mu’minun:99-100). We must make the most of our time and act every day as if it were our last. When we wake up, we should think about this verse and thank God for giving us life anew.
A person indeed forgets his appearance in a dream, but it is not as some people think that the soul separates from the body completely. Because if the soul is separated from the body, the body becomes an inanimate object. They asked the Imam the same question, and he responded, “No.” The soul is not totally detached from the body; otherwise, death would occur. Rather, the soul is like the sun’s rays that shine on the body.
It implies that because the soul’s attention to the body is decreased, the spirit can sometimes travel to other locations and see things in dreams. If a person has the same lack of preoccupation in the waking state, they will see the same things in their dreams but at a higher level while awake. Of course, this occures when the attention to the material world in the waking state becomes minimal.
The people of Prophet Moses (A) asked, “How is it that God does not sleep?” The Most High instructed Prophet Moses (A) to take two plates in his hands and stand someplace. Bani Israel also arrived and saw Prophet Moses (A) holding two containers in his hand while standing. He fell sleepy but tried to stay awake as long as possible. Finally, he fell asleep for a second, and the plates dropped out of his grasp. God answered, “If I take a nap or sleep, who will protect the sky and the earth? You had just slept for a time and were unable to safeguard these two plates; who will protect the vast system of creation if I sleep?”.
Most people believe that God is similar to them, although He is far greater and more powerful. As Imam Sadiq (A) put it, “The little ant thinks that its God is something like itself but with bigger tentacles and more power”.
We know that God does not sleep, but we must also understand that sleeping is impossible in the immaterial world. “God! There is no god except He, the Living, the Everlasting. Neither slumber overtakes Him, nor sleep. To Him belongs everything in the heavens and everything on earth. Who is he that can intercede with Him except with His permission? He knows what is before them, and what is behind them; and they cannot grasp any of His knowledge, except as He wills. His Throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation does not burden Him. He is the Most High, the Great” (Al-Baqara:255).
As a result, the inner world never neglects the outward, although we frequently disregard the inner. God does not abandon us; rather, we neglect God. God does not have cover; the cover and obstacles are from our side. Imam Musa (A) was asked what the people’s cover from God is. The Imam replied that it is their many sins. Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali (A) said, “These eyes do not become tearless except because of the cruelty of the heart; the heart does not become cruel except with many sins”.
Mystics say that God is always present, so why should we not be present in God’s presence? God always pays attention to us, so why don’t we pay attention to the Most High? If God’s attention is diverted from the beings for even a second, they will cease to exist. We are as long as God pays attention to us and extends grace. As a result, God is not negligent; rather, we are ignoring God.
O My Lord, So far, I said, “Neither slumber overtakes Him, nor sleep”. Now I realize that His manifestation (Nafs) also is “Neither slumber overtakes Him, nor sleep”. It means we can be a manifestation of the above verse of the Holy Quran. Prophet Muhammad (S) said, “My eyes sleep, but my heart is awake”. Awlyia’s sleep is different from other people’s sleep; they are also awake in their sleep.
In the book “The Single Soul,” Allameh Tehrani (may God bless him and grant him peace) writes, “We were in the room where our master, Mr. Sayyed Hashim Haddad, was sleeping”. There was a gentleman I wished to invite to the path of God. I started talking to him, but he remarked, “How can I be certain that he is a true divine master?”. How can I know whether this person is one of God’s Awlyia (Saints)? I informed him that God’s Awlyia are awake in their slumber. I asked: Would you want to ask him a question? The guy then asked the master a question while he was asleep, and he replied. When he awoke, he said, “What does this prove If I talk and answer in my sleep?”. When a human becomes a manifestation of “Neither slumber overtakes Him, nor sleep” (Al-Baqarah/255), he is always awake and answers whenever he is called. It is true for our Imam of Time, “Imam Mahdi (AJ).
During the time of I’tikaf in the mosque, someone said that the Imam of our time couldn’t visit our gathering because wherever he is, he’s now in I’tikaf time, and he’s in another mosque, and he can’t come out from there. They limit the Imam to the place and time that they know. The Imam is not limited to time and place. The Imam is the manifestation of the divine attribute of “Neither slumber overtakes Him, nor sleep” (Al-Baqarah/255).
Rafae was unwell, and he told himself that I should attend Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali (A) gathering and listen to his speech. He said, “When I arrived at the mosque, and Imam Ali’s lecture was over, he asked how I was, then he continued, “Know that we get sick when our Shiites are sick, happy when they are happy, sad when they are sad. When they pray, we say Amen, and when they are silent, we pray for them”. Then Rafae responds, “Well, sir, you are right for those who are next to you, but what about those who are not next to you?” The Imam replied, “Absent and present are the same before us. There is no believer in the east or west of the planet unless he is present before us”. It indicates that Imam is not unaware even if his pals are in different places.
Parveen Etsami relates an amazing story of a person who was really impoverished and had borrowed so much from others that no one would lend to him longer. His wife was also ill and had nothing to eat. After much pleading, he finally borrowed a sack of wheat from someone to crush into flour and bake bread to eat. As he carried the sack of wheat on his back and walked to the mill, he prayed to God, saying, “O God, untie my work; I pray to You; I have a severe problem”. He prayed: “God, after all these years of lordship, don’t you recognize the knot of the wheat bag from the knot of my work?” I said, Untie my work, not the wheat bag! He continued: “Let it go; there is no point in me shouting since I am not strong enough to be against God. So, he started to collect the wheat from the ground”. As soon as he began collecting wheat, he noticed a sack full of gold lying on the ground. He confessed, “God, I was hasty to judge. “If this bag had not been opened, I would not have discovered this gold bag”.
“Neither slumber overtakes Him, nor sleep” (Al-Baqarah/255). If the Almighty God hears you, He does not neglect others because neglecting is impossible for God. There is pure life and pure wisdom. Defects do not exist in the Hereafter. It is impossible for God to make mistakes and feel regret. Someone stated, “Imam Musa bin Jafar was extremely oppressed. He was imprisoned for 14 years.” I responded, “Yes, but he wanted to be in jail himself. He had the power to leave if he wanted to”. He responded, “No, if he could, he would have come out”. What do people think of their Imam? What is their concept of God? These are 21st-century Muslims. Consider how Arabs thought about Imam 1400 years ago.
The Prophet Muhammad (S)said, “May God help the man who hears a word from us and remembers it so that he can convey that knowledge to a wise person. That person is the bearer of knowledge, but he is not a scholar”. Imam Sajjad (A) remarked, “God Almighty knew that at the end of time, there will be people who are deeply committed to monotheism. As a result, he revealed the verses of Surah Tawheed, the end of Surah Hashr, and the beginning of Surah Hadid”. This suggests that they grasp the truth and significance of these verses of the Holy Quran.
We have a hadith that says you should salute (Salam) Hazrat Khidr (A) whenever his name is spoken, as he will be present there. “O Harith Hamdani, every person who dies, whether he is a believer or a hypocrite, sees me,” said Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali (A).
Given that millions of individuals pass away every minute, one could wonder which of them Imam Ali (A) visits. These individuals believe that a heavenly being is just like them with limited ability. They are unaware of the superiority of the ethereal world over the material one. Ignorance and flaws are part of the material world, not the immaterial world.
The verse of the Holy Quran says, “Does he not know that God sees?” (Alaq:14). We must be very careful about what we are saying, doing, or even thinking. I have said this point many times; it is a valuable point when you want to sleep: First, be sure to perform ablution. Pray two rakats before going to sleep if possible. Recite Ayat al-Kursi before sleep. Recite surah Tawhid, Nas, Falaq, and Kafiroon before sleep if you can. Tasbihat of Bibi Zahra (A). Salawat and reciting Tawheed three times. If you can utter it with your lips and tongue, that’s wonderful; if not, recite it in your heart until you fall asleep. Sleep facing the Qiblah if possible.
Muhammad Mahdi Me’marian
All praise is to God to the extent that He deserves it.
Tags: Allah, God, Quran, Prophet Muhammad (S), Amir Al-Mu’minin Ali (A), Imam Sadiq (A), Existence, Self-Knowledge, Nafs, Soul, Material world, Tasrruf, Possession, Miracle, Keramat, Prophets, Nafs, Soul.
