Fear and hope or expectation are deliberate attitudes, and are a first station for a traveler on the way to God. Contraction and openness are mysterious “bargains” that have been made without the will or intention of the traveler. The first one blocks his or her way; the second one gives him or her wings to fly to the heights. If fear and hope represent anxiety about and the joy of expectations for the future, as well as liked and disliked things, contraction and openness can be regarded as the heart’s contracting with gloom and depression and expanding with joy.

Contraction and openness have the same meaning for travelers on the slopes of knowledge of God as do fear and hope or expectation for the newly initiated. Both are in the hands of God, even if we cannot exclude from them part of one’s free will: God contracts and expands (2:245). As the whole of existence is in His grasp and at His free disposal, it is He Who directs and disposes of all things, from the heavens to the human heart. The Prophetic saying: The heart is between the two ‘Fingers’ of the All-Merciful; He turns it from state to state and gives it whatever form He wills reminds us of this fact. When God wills, He contracts a heart so tightly that only He can provide what will satisfy it. By contrast, He expands and exhilarates it to such an extent that it needs nothing. Contraction is caused by God’s Majesty; openness is caused by His Grace. While the Grandeur and Magnificence relating to the manifestation by God of His Names on the whole of existence are displayed in the former, Mercy and Condescension are manifested in the latter. In the former, there is the frightening, awesome, and majestic nature of the Power that turns all existence from huge systems into particles, while in the latter there are affectionate breezes for those spirits trembling in awe at this infinitely vast, overwhelming Power, this overpowering Majesty.

Not everyone can feel such manifestations of Majesty and Grace at the same level, for the extent of contraction and openness is proportionate to one’s emotional and spiritual capacity. What an ordinary person feels as distress and relief or rejoicing differs markedly from the spiritual joy and anxiety experienced by one awakened to the Divine truths, one who is ever-alert for what will come through the half-opened door from the realms beyond, and who is conscious of God’s continuous and direct supervision.

Like every element of existence, contraction and openness are at the disposal of the Creator, Who alternates them continuously, like night and day. Even if this alternation appears to originate in the deeds performed in accordance with one’s free will, the Divine Will extends or shortens the periods of contraction and openness, and causes one to be consumed with tension or to overflow with delight. Sometimes a lover experiences openness for a long time, feeling as if flying like a bird, without being touched by any form of contraction; other times, contraction is a constant companion that stays so long that the lover feels that he or she is going from one hardship to another (and greater) hardship.

As neglecting the requirements of one’s spiritual position bestowed by God causes contraction, sins usually come together with contraction. For this reason, a believer must always be alert against committing new sins and deviations while suffering contraction, must not be overpowered by heedlessness, and must strive for self-purification through sincere repentance and the performance of good deeds. Then, the believer must wait for what will come from the realms beyond. While contraction is accompanied by fear, perplexity, and feelings of spiritual emptiness, openness manifests itself as joy, rapture, and feelings or utterances of pride. For this reason, openness may be risky for those spiritually less-developed people who have not yet attuned themselves to journeying in “celestial” realms.

Although there are risks associated with contraction, those associated with openness are greater and more numerous. One caught in contraction usually feels in his or her conscience an absolute need of the Almighty, and so turns to Him in sincere acknowledgment of this neediness with the words: Hold me! Hold me, lest I should fall! and, escaping the spiritual waste he or she feels, is favored with the Almighty’s help and reaches those heights that are beyond reach during times of openness.

This is why some people are exposed to heedlessness and loss of spiritual energy during times of openness, and why contraction leads almost every believer to new levels of alertness. In addition, the contraction originating from our sins or neglect usually signals the beginning of a new wave of openness; similarly, an expansion that causes pride and loss of spiritual energy may give rise to a new contraction.

A true believer is one who can judge each state experienced or achieved as it really is, with all of its aspects, and make it fruitful.

Contraction and openness are manifestations from Him for one who knows.
He causes openness so that the servant will thank Him,
and causes contraction so that the servant may become more alert.

O God! Open our breasts for Islam and establish our hearts
on belief. And bestow blessing and peace on our master
Muhammad, and on his Family and Companions, great and illustrious.

Reaction to Sin

One’s reaction to a sin that he or she has committed is closely related to one’s moral and spiritual situation. There may be an instance in which, because of a sin, you prostrate yourself before God and implore Him to forgive you. There may also be a case when such actions do not satisfy you, when your sorrow lights an internal fire in your heart. But we can hope that the sorrow disturbing your heart in the name of repentance may be more acceptable to God.

Repentance is indeed regret and an internal fever. In this respect, one should regard sins as being in the company of serpents and poisonous centipedes. Only such a firm attitude is acceptable from a believer, for any contrary one implies doubts about the outcomes of a sin in the Hereafter. Therefore, it is essential that every sin be confronted in an alert manner and, if committed, be succeeded by regret. 

Sins Must Be Short-Lived

Since every sin engenders a new sin, whenever a person commits a sin, he or she must seek purification without delay. After all, no one knows when he or she will pass away. Those who are conscious of God cannot be at ease until they have cleansed themselves from sin. It is detrimental to a person’s spiritual well-being if he or she allows a sin to survive for even one second. Moreover, such an attitude implies revering something that God does not like. Sins do not have the right to live. They must be ephemeral, because if they are not removed through repentance they become serpents constantly biting one’s heart. And once the heart gets a stain, it is easier to get more. The end result is a vicious circle. Every sin engenders a new sin and, at last, bal rana ‘ala qulubihim (83:14, trans. “Indeed, on their hearts is the stain of the (ill) that they do”) becomes evident on them.

For this reason, it is very important to remind people of these realities and alert them to sins. Moreover, if you can do so, you must reveal the ugly nature of sin to people and make them renounce their sins.

Apparently, sensitive and alert souls can smell the offensive odor that sins exude.

Sins Must Be Regarded as Detestable

When repenting, one of the most important things is to view the particular sin as something detestable and disgusting. If we do not abstain from sins, believing that they are like being with serpents and scorpions and therefore deserve our disgust, we will not have the resolve to struggle against them through repentance. When you break a priceless crystal vase, for example, you feel sorrow. In the same way, every sin you commit cracks and dirties your life lantern. Thus it is necessary to feel regret and sorrow after each sin, at least to the degree of sorrow felt after breaking a crystal vase. Otherwise, you are not taking your sins and your repenta nce seriously. 

The Correspondence between Sin and Repentance

One’s repentance for a given sin must match the sin’s degree of seriousness, for every sin resembles a well filled with pitch. In other words, it is easy to fall into but very hard to get out of (83:14).

Recognizing Sin

If we belittle the outcomes of a sin, we are committing another sin equivalent to the first one. For instance, if one considers fornication or violation of another’s property rights as sins exaggerated by religion and says that “we benefit from them, so why consider them sins?,” he or she is committing an even bigger sin. Thus, we have to resist sins and condition ourselves in this way: “O sins, the doors of my heart are locked, so your zeal to get into my heart is in vain.”

The simile of the great scholar Bediuzzaman Said Nursi is very expressive: “Run away from a sin as if it is a poisonous serpent or a centipede.” Note that he likens sin to a serpent and a centipede, rather than a lion or a tiger. One can take measures before a lion or a tiger attacks, forthey attack bravely, whereas a serpent and a centipede attacks unexpectedly and maliciously. Backstabbing and treachery may be considered examples of such sins.

In short, vigilance against sins must be an attribute of a true believer. We have to keep in mind that vigilance against sins is an indication of our loyalty and fidelity to our Lord, the Almighty.

To realize the true nature of sins, we can look from the point of view of holy saying of Prophet Muhammad: Eznebe ‘abdi zenben…,which is about a servant of God who sins and then repents. In this saying, the words used have a very deep meaning: zenb (sin) and zeneb (tail) come from the same root in Arabic. Thus, a believer who says: “O my Lord, I have committed a sin,” means to say: “O my Lord, I have put on a tail again. In my present state, You may consider me a fox with a furry tail, a scorpion stinging others with its tail, or a serpent whose tail is a long part of its body! And that is me!” In other words, those who confess their sins in reality confess that they have scorned and belittled the humanity granted to them by God and, as a result, have fallen to the level of the animals.

As for the one who sins and is unaware of it, he or she is a mirror of ula’ika ka al- an’am bal hum adallu (7:179, trans. “They are like cattle; no, they are even more astray”) and has fallen to a level below the animals. As a matter of fact, the results of a survey conducted among Western youth prove this point, thus showing that every system and path other than reality and truth takes people to destinations other than truth.

Their need is most dire whose minds have strayed the furthest.

A needy conscience is healthy: its need is faith in Him,

Minds lost in bewildering ways are recovered in search of Him.

Abstract knowledge cannot, nor formal reasoning,

Nor subtle logic, content the human need for faith.

Scholars, scientists, philosophers-disputing, deviant

Voices, so void of meaning while so full of words,

Knowing nothing revealed about the other world,

Ignorant of the beginnings of things-have understood

So little, yet have, by conjectures and frail hypotheses,

Snared and confounded whole nations of human beings.

This is truth: every colour and sound is a message from Him.

The subjection of existence to man is a portion of His wisdom.

Existence originates in or radiates from His Light

Who initiates all things. Only souls who apprehend this

Are contented, and only the contented reach Him.

Though the insightless are blind to Him, His sight reaches,

And His presence is, everywhere. And this is truth:

That man most deeply feels His relatedness to all being.

Those with senses alert to Him know how near He is.

The universe is a fountain overflowing with the meanings

Of His Names, with diverse, prolific harmonies

Of God and man, continually played and resonant.

Realizing this, the human mind is wed to the human heart

And nightly finds a different path to take its way to God.

The spirit that thus leaps over the hurdles of matter,

To enter upon this realm, finds the true identity

At last of man, conjoined fulfillment of self and soul.