Tasawwuf and Character Building
SECTION 1
CHAPTER 5
THE FOURTH LATIFA KHAFFI
In the path of Sulook Tasawwuf the title of the fourth chapter is latifa Khaffi. During the training of this latifa it is said, “Under the feet of Hadhrat ‘Esa
. which means that, when ALLAH’s Zikr is being practised on this latifa, the blessings of the Holy Prophet
reach the Ruh of the salik through Hadhrat ‘Esa. After his birth as a Prophet, Hadhrat ‘Esa lived for a very short period amongst his people. During this time, Hadhrat ‘Esa, came across two types of people. Firstly, the enemies who opposed him, and secondly, those who had faith in him and claimed to obey him. Hadhrat ‘Esa had to go through a lot of trials and problems due to both these groups.
First of all, the adversaries questioned the chastity of his mother which also meant accusing him indirectly. As we all know and believe that Hadhrat ‘Esa was born without a father, according to the Will of ALLAH but the enemies whose hearts were ignorant made his mother a target of vulgar accusations. They said: “O, the sister of Harun! Your father was not a bad man and your mother was also not a bad woman. Why have you done such a horrendous thing?” Although Hadhrat Maryam Siddiqa
was being addressed, but actually Hadhrat ‘Esa was also being accused. Hadhrat Maryam knew that all that had taken place was a miracle, that is why instead of answering herself, she gestured towards the child. Naturally a new born baby cannot speak, but ALLAH Almighty gave the young child the power to prove his status as a Prophet. The holy words of Hadhrat ‘Esa were:
I am a servant of ALLAH ( 19:31)
This simple sentence said everything required: ‘I have been born according to ALLAH’s Will and I am a creation of ALLAH. I cannot be referred to as a Divine being and my life shall be spent in ALLAH’s obedience, Who has created me. The fact is that I have been blessed with the status of a Prophet and my duty is to teach the servants of ALLAH to obey their Creator and to acquire His nearness.’ It is an obvious fact that this duty cannot be given to that person whose birth is a matter of suspicion or whose character is not impeccable. He further proved his mother’s innocence by saying:
I have been commanded to worship ALLAH all my life, and to always obey my mother. ( 19:31)
He did not say: ‘I have been commanded to always obey my parents’, and by these words he made it clear, that he had been born without a father, and that he is one of ALLAH’s creations, and his mother is above all accusations. Just imagine who would be so callous that in spite of hearing all these facts from a new born baby, would still not accept the truth?
After these tokens the enemy should have been satisfied. But when Hadhrat ‘Esa grew up arid started inviting people towards ALLAH, the enemies came back to challenge him with renewed energy and opposed him with full force, with the support of the government. The law of the country denounced Hadhrat ‘Esa as a criminal, and the enemies were successful in their scheme. The command for execution was announced and someone resembling him was finally hanged. But the Prophet, who was a miracle of ALLAH, his life was, and still is, a symbol of Divine Power. ALLAH announced the protection of Hadhrat Esa’s life in following words:
Surely they didn‘t kill him. Nay, ALLAH raised him up unto Himself. (4:157-158)
This is a brief account of the enemy’s activity and the story of those who had claimed to love and obey him. They refused to believe Hadhrat Esa’s statement that he was a servant of ALLAH. They went to the extreme and started believing ALLAH’s creation as ALLAH’s son and concocted the belief of trinity in the Unity of ALLAH, that is, the concept of the father, son, and the Holy Ghost. The enmity could have at least subsided as an enemy realises sooner or later that whatever he is doing is out of hatred. Therefore, it is possible that his conscience may prick him someday and finally he may realise his mistake and ask for forgiveness from ALLAH. But extremism in love is such a disease which has no cure, because such a person thinks he is correct, and obviously he will not give up what he thinks is right. He cannot even imagine doing it. ALLAH has given a view on what will happen on the Day of Judgement.
And behold ALLAH will say, “O Esa the son of Maryam! Did you say unto people ‘Take me and my mother as two gods beside ALLAH?” He will reply, “Glory to You! Never could I say what I have no right (to say).Never did I say to them aught except what You did command me to say, ‘Worship ALLAH, my Rabb and your Rabb.’” (5:116)
This proves that although the pains inflicted by the enemy are unbearable no doubt, but the arrogance of friends is no less painful. They should be mentally ready for both dangers, and, in spite of the opposition from enemies one should not turn away from them or suppress desire of being concerned about their welfare. The greatest concern one can have is to keep inviting them towards ALLAH so that the people adopt the right path and save themselves from ALLAH’s annoyance. This is what ALLAH refers to as the great victory:
Only he who is saved far from the Fire and admitted to the Jannah will have succeeded. (3:185)
The greatest danger from friends is one which is not considered as danger. It is rather a treat for the self because one feels very happy when praised and admired. As a result a feeling of self conceit, pride and arrogance is born in a person. If a salik comes across such circumstances that others look up to him then he should feel even more grateful to ALLAH that he has been blessed with so much in spite of his being nothing. This feeling of gratitude to ALLAH and his own humbleness should increase as time goes by. Arrogance and haughtiness are those diseases which cannot be cured and these are weapons of the Satan which had been tried and tested by Satan himself, and he himself earned the wrath of ALLAH because of them. This is why he tries his best to induce the same feelings in humans, so that he can turn them into one of his own kind.
O ALLAH! Please protect us from the mischief of our soul and also protect us from the evil effects of our misdeeds. Ameen!