Nafs (Self): A Space for concealing
the Divine Love
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The Prophet peace be upon him
arranged
the marriage of
a woman named Zainab to his step-son Zaid, in spite of his love for
her. He hid his love within his Nafs (Self),
for fear of what others
might say. But Allah
revealed this love, ever so in public, in the
verses of Qur’an, for the
1000
years to come, and He ordered
the Prophet not to be ashamed of his love for Zainab; instead be shy,
timid and fearful solely for Allah. The Arab interpreted this is
as yet
another fascinating domestic tale, while it had nothing to do with
marriage or domestic daily affairs of living rather had all to do with
the
revelation that: "All forms and types of love are from Allah and no one
else! And these love-forms are stored, concealed and hidden away
within an impenetrable vault/capsule known as Nafs (Self);
and that is
so whether the individual is a prophet or an ordinary
human being. Terrific amounts of energy and multiple forces, bestowed only by Allah and non-else, are required to pull this love out of the
capsule of Nafs (Self) . 33:37 Behold! You said to
one who had received the grace of Allah and your favor: "Retain (in
wedlock) your wife, and fear Allah." But you did hide in your Nafs
(Self)
that which Allah was about to make manifest: you did fear the
people,
but it is more fitting that you shouldst fear Allah. Then when Zaid had
dissolved (his marriage) with her, with the necessary (formality), We
joined her in marriage to you...
Aziz-e Delam (Dearest to my heart)
Within you there is an extraordinary cavity, an impenetrable capsule
encapsulating the Divine secrets of Love. Azizat (Your Dearest, Allah)
placed this cavity within you for you so that you remember IT;
it was,
is and will be
present within you from the infinite past to the present and to the
endless future.
33:37. you did hide in your heart
وَتُخْفِي فِي نَفْسِكَ
And when you loved someone and you were blamed for that love say: Hu
(IT,
He) was here and this blameworthy love and loving is the signature
of
ITs approach to what is placed within me. Had ITs Presence not roamed
within you, you would not have loved anyone, for better or worse.
33:37.you did fear the people
وَتَخْشَى النَّاسَ
Q: But why are such powerful feelings
and
sensations of love and loving placed within the human being? Why
not
be a mammal like any other primate?
A: The pleasures and throes of love
and loss are the firmly established signature of the Divine
Presence within
each and every one of us. They are the proof, the registration of the
fact
that Allah
came very close to each individual member of the human race,
in
ways never made possible for any other members of the creation. Each
varied
exotic love and infinitely painful loss, a varied blessed way
Allah came close to the servant; each time, each love, each loss and
each
Divine Approach fantastically unique and particularized for that one
servant and non-else, a testament for the validity of Tauhid (Divine
Oneness).
And when your heart broke, it was precisely when IT
offered you the
goblet of Ma’arif (Divine Gnosis), the unlearnt knowledge(s) already
within
you gushing from the fountains of Non-being—The infinite past. When
you took a sip from the sweetest intoxication of temporal loving, the
attestation to the deep flowing eddies of Ma’arif (Divine Gnosis)
within
you, and the consequent loss and heartache—the hangover— were the altar
whereupon you were offered—goblet after goblet—the endowment of Ma’arif
(Divine Gnosis), while the tumults of the denials tumbling upon the
bending submissions were the waves upon which your mast-less vessel
sailed
towards the knowledge that has no learning, no ignorance and can never
be taken away from you; a most unique gnosis infinitely particularized
for you and inaccessible to anyone else in the cosmos. (Not a one size
fit for all knowledge)
مَا أَصَابَ مِنْ
مُصِيبَةٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ
اللَّهِ وَمَنْ يُؤْمِنْ بِاللَّهِ يَهْدِ قَلْبَهُ وَاللَّهُ
بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ
When you love someone or something,
this love is immediately followed by a thousand and one losses and
sorrows that shatter your heart. And there, among the shards of your
broken heart, is the effulgence of Allah’s
closeness, a peculiar form
of closeness
that
offers you new knowledge-forms you have never been taught before and
you
had never thought of before. So that the times of mourning and
sorrowful
loss, are the classrooms for the acquisition of Divine knowledge and
for access
to the unlearnt knowledge within your Self.
No matter what forces there are and no matter what you can do, The
Divine Secrets of love within the cavity of the Self can never be
emancipated from such inexorable encapsulation except by the
intervention of the Divine Presence i.e. when you say: “I love you” it
was not you who said ‘I’ it was Hu all along who confessed ITs
Divine
Love for someone else, and you were nothing more than the entanglement
that recorded such a
Divine Utterance, an honor bestowed upon you, the bestowal of ‘I’.
There is no form of energy, no coercion from any power on your
side that can release the love from within you.
33:37. that which Allah
was about to make manifest
مَا اللَّهُ مُبْدِيهِ
But when you drown within the hadal waves of ambiguities, you become
convinced that
‘I’ in reality is you, then you experience the pain of a broken heart…
Adam came too close to Allah and for
that matter could not afford any I-ness and yet the benevolent
endowment of Al-Rahman bestowed the Divine
Personal Pronouns
upon him and upon his progeny,
and thus he could say ‘I’. How
could the waters and minerals of this
earth say ‘I’? How could mud and dust cognize pronouns? You saying “I
love you” is just a sham, a god-like façade the source of all
polytheism, the reason for all distancing(s) and nearing(s) to
Allah. You never said “I love you”, you never could have as
dust cannot:
79:24 Pharaoh, "I am your Lord, Most High"
فَقَالَ أَنَا رَبُّكُمُ الْأَعْلَى
Ey Delnavāz (O solace to the heart)
When Allah
pulls out the Ishq (Unrestrained Love) from within of
the capsule of the Nafs (Self), it
radiates like a sun rising over the
inhabitants of this world. Some could see that dawn clearly:
12:31 When she (Zulaikha) heard of their malicious talk, she sent for
them and prepared a banquet for them: she gave each of them a knife:
and she said (to Joseph), "Come out before them." When they saw him,
they did extol him, and (in their amazement) cut their hands: they
said, "(Allah) preserve us! no mortal is this! this is none other than
a noble angel!"
فَلَمَّا سَمِعَتْ بِمَكْرِهِنَّ أَرْسَلَتْ إِلَيْهِنَّ
وَأَعْتَدَتْ لَهُنَّ مُتَّكَأً وَآَتَتْ كُلَّ وَاحِدَةٍ مِنْهُنَّ
سِكِّينًا وَقَالَتِ اخْرُجْ عَلَيْهِنَّ فَلَمَّا رَأَيْنَهُ أَكْبَرْنَهُ وَقَطَّعْنَ
أَيْدِيَهُنَّ وَقُلْنَ حَاشَ لِلَّهِ مَا هَذَا بَشَرًا إِنْ هَذَا
إِلَّا مَلَكٌ كَرِيمٌ
Some individuals were blocked and could not see:
12: 77. They (Joseph's brothers) said: "If he (Benjamin) steals, there
was a brother of his (Joseph) who did steal before (him)."
قَالُوا إِنْ يَسْرِقْ فَقَدْ سَرَقَ أَخٌ لَهُ مِنْ
قَبْلُ فَأَسَرَّهَا يُوسُفُ فِي نَفْسِهِ وَلَمْ يُبْدِهَا لَهُمْ
Others, like a polished mirror, reflected the rays of the sun:
12:51. Said 'Aziz's wife: "Now is the truth manifest (to all): it
was I who sought to seduce him from his (true) self: He is indeed of
those who are (ever) true (and virtuous).
قَالَتِ امْرَأَةُ الْعَزِيزِ الْآَنَ حَصْحَصَ الْحَقُّ
أَنَا رَاوَدْتُهُ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ وَإِنَّهُ لَمِنَ الصَّادِقِينَ
And some others like a rusted mirror reflected nothing:
21:9. "Slay Joseph or cast him out to some (unknown) land,
اقْتُلُوا يُوسُفَ أَوِ اطْرَحُوهُ أَرْضًا
83:14 By no means! but on their hearts is the stain of the (ill) which
they do!
كَلَّا بَلْ رَانَ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ مَا كَانُوا
يَكْسِبُونَ
Their hearts rustic with caked-rust, layers upon layers.
Shaikha Zulaikha like a polished mirror reflected the beauty of the
Ishq (Unrestrained Love) within Joseph, for she was given no other
choice! Like any other mirror which has imperfections, hers was
the physical attraction to Joseph which tainted her reflection of the
beautiful Ishq (Unrestrained Love) within the Nafs (Self) of
Joseph:
12.6. "Thus will Ka (your)
Lord choose Ka (you) and teach Ka (you)
the
interpretation of narrations (dreams and events) and perfect
Hus/ITs/His
favor to Ka (you)
وَكَذَلِكَ يَجْتَبِيكَ رَبُّكَ وَيُعَلِّمُكَ مِنْ
تَأْوِيلِ الْأَحَادِيثِ وَيُتِمُّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكَ
The unchaining of Ishq (Unrestrained
Love) from the darkling dungeons of Nafs (Self) and
the consequent
sunshine that is released always cause a raucous amongst those close
by. Some love
you back, others fight you; some stay loyal, others betray you
again
and again; some are happy to see you, others are disgusted at your
presence. The
stronger the pull of Ishq (Unrestrained) love out of your Nafs (Self),
the more radiant the sunrise of loving, the harsher the treatment of
those around you whom you love dearly. Examples: The loss of Noah’s
son, the loss of the uncle of the Prophet, Joseph’s brothers’
treachery,
the tribe of Moses and the tribe of Muhammad.
Baqli
'Abharul 'Ashiqin (The Daffodil of the
Lovers)
In which arena could such a regal horseman gallop within this
constricted universe? And upon which mirror could this Azali
(Sempiternal) sun-face shine? Since
7:198 And You (the Prophet) see them looking at Ka (you),
but they see
not.
وَتَرَاهُمْ يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَيْكَ وَهُمْ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ
(The Prophet) was like a face facing the (mirror of this) tumultuous
world (like a beautiful effulgent face facing a half polished mirror,
with
some parts of it reflecting, others with absolutely no reflection and
some other yet only partially so)
Del- Barā (O heart throbbing beloved)
Ka (you) is not the same reference as ‘hey you’ between you and I; it
is the Residual Prophetic Presence a Divine Alphabet, the ever glowing
Prophet Present which radiates and presents on every patch of this
earth, for every second of our time and for each and every human
being. Some feel Ka (you)
more than others and some do not at all.
It is not that the Quraish cold not see the Prophet’s body standing a
few
meters away, they could not see Ka (you) the Residual Prophetic
Presence, while today a 1000 years later the sky-blue of the pupils can
see Ka (you).
The love of a prophet is not the same as my love or yours. Noah’s
Ishq (Unrestrained Love) for his son brought him close to Allah’s
wrath:
11:45. And Noah called upon his Lord, and said: "O my Lord! surely my
son is of my family! and Thy promise is true, and You are the justest
of Judges!"
وَنَادَى نُوحٌ رَبَّهُ فَقَالَ رَبِّ إِنَّ ابْنِي مِنْ
أَهْلِي وَإِنَّ وَعْدَكَ الْحَقُّ وَأَنْتَ أَحْكَمُ الْحَاكِمِينَ
11:46. Hu/He said: "O Noah! He is not of Ka (your)
family: For his
conduct is
unrighteous. So ask not of Me that of which you has no knowledge! I
give you counsel, lest you act like the ignorant!"
قَالَ يَا نُوحُ إِنَّهُ لَيْسَ مِنْ أَهْلِكَ إِنَّهُ
عَمَلٌ غَيْرُ صَالِحٍ فَلَا تَسْأَلْنِ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ
إِنِّي أَعِظُكَ أَنْ تَكُونَ مِنَ الْجَاهِلِينَ
And his son drowned not into the sea of waters, but was lost to the
resistless waves of the depth of his own Nafs (Self)
deep wherein his
Ishq
(Unrestrained Love) for Noah was trapped for eternity:
Ey Mah-Rukh (O moon-faced beauty)
‘he is not of Ka (your)
family” it was not that the boy was not the
child of the Noah, rather the lost boy did not belong to the people or
the
family of Ka (your)
i.e. the Residual Prophetic Presence, he saw the
biological presence of his father Noah but was unable to see the Ka or
the prophetic presence of the father.
11.43. The son replied: "I will betake myself to some mountain: it will
save me from the water." Noah said: "This day nothing can save, from
the command of Allah,
any but those on whom Hu/He has mercy! "And the
waves came between them, and the son was among those overwhelmed in the
Flood.
قَالَ سَآَوِي إِلَى جَبَلٍ يَعْصِمُنِي مِنَ الْمَاءِ
قَالَ لَا عَاصِمَ الْيَوْمَ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا مَنْ رَحِمَ
وَحَالَ بَيْنَهُمَا الْمَوْجُ فَكَانَ مِنَ الْمُغْرَقِينَ
Every bit of the Ishq (Unrestrained Love) of a prophet is pulled
out by Allah
with no part of it left unloved, but your love and mine
might be pulled out by Allah from within our Nafs (Self)
only sometimes
and only to a certain degree, and not at all:
81.8. When the female (infant), buried alive (by her own father), is
questioned -
وَإِذَا الْمَوْءُودَةُ سُئِلَتْ
81.9. For what crime she was killed?
بِأَيِّ ذَنْبٍ قُتِلَتْ
Q: How can a loving father bury a beautiful newborn daughter alive?
A: His Ishq (Unrestrained Love) for her remained trapped within his
Nafs
(Self)
and was never released.
Wāy Gul-Bargam (Alas! My flower petal):
And we all are:
This emotionally exhausted heart, like a bird upon the earth of
Ishtiyaq (Yearning) ceaselessly pecking to devour the seeds of sorrow,
and through the eye of Ishq (Unrestrained love) glaring at the beloved…
(Source: Baqli
'Abharul 'Ashiqin (The Daffodil of the Lovers))
©
2009-2002, Dara O. Shayda, Dr. Hind Rifai