The place of some individuals in altruistic work cannot be denied; however, individuals are not all there is to this work. Personalities are important, on the one hand, for the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is a personality and God commanded us to become bound to him. The most important factor in this is virtue. People become tied to others because of their virtue. For example, if it were not for Abu Hanafi, we would not know the Hanafi school of thought. For this reason we have a heartfelt tie. In the same way, someone from the Shafii school is tied to Imam Shafii, a person from the Maliki school is bound to Imam Malik and someone from the Hanbali school is tied to Ahmad b. Hanbal.

Just as virtue is a means for connection among people, everyone’s applauding it is a sign of appreciation. Yes, as an expression of appreciation, it is necessary to salute those who enlighten humankind. This is our duty. However, if the person who is saluted sees the situation as connected to himself, then he has attributed a partner to God.

In a hadith the Messenger of God says, “Let the person who awaits the salute of others prepare his place in Hell.” For example, you need to stand up when your teacher comes to your side. However, if your teacher wants and expects others to stand up, then he is at a loss. In fact, one day drawing attention to the sensitivity of this matter, the Prophet said to the Companions who stood up for him, “Don’t stand up when I come upon you as others do (who stand up to exalt their master)!” Of course this is the refined manner of a great person or, in other words, the attitude a great person should take. It is our responsibility to behave respectfully to them in spite of this kind of wish.

Another aspect of the matter is that good works, which require full, comprehensive, and strong support, should not be built on personalities. People in service to others should establish agreement and accord among themselves and in view of their successes they should say, “God is bestowing all of this on our collective body.” They should convince their egos of this because the blessings coming to them come as a result of their coming together.

Meanwhile they should cast from their minds the thought, “If such and such a person leaves this circle, it will give harm to our group.” For if a cause is really for God, no one can give harm to His cause by leaving the circle. Consequently, becoming tied to certain individuals and knowing everything to be a result of their efforts within the understanding, “Our group will disintegrate and disperse,” is contrary to Islam’s pure and clear belief. In order for the matter to be better understood, I would like to give one or two individual examples:

It is not possible to imagine a person who could love the Blessed Prophet as much as Abu Bakr. In fact, in one hadith the Messenger of God expresses this truth, “When everyone denied me, he affirmed me.” Ali expressed Abu Bakr’s love and attachment to the Prophet as follows: “When it was time for the Prophet of God to go, no one had the courage to go with him. Abu Kuhafa’s son (i.e. Abu Bakr) stood up. When everyone was making suggestions in the apostasy events, he mounted his horse and said, ‘I will follow the Prophet’s path even if I am alone.’”

We see that although he loved the Messenger of God this much and never left his side for a moment, Abu Bakr was not at Ali’s side during the Prophet’s funeral. For at that moment there was a more important matter; achievements of the Prophet could fall apart, some could sow discord among Muslims and irreparable division could occur.

Just at that moment Abu Bakr immediately appeared and said, “Whoever worships Muhammad should know that he has died. Whoever believes in God should know that He is the All-Living and the Self-Subsisting.” When he recited the verse, “Muhammad is no more than an apostle. Many were the apostles that passed away before him. If he died or were slain, will you then turn back on your heels? If any did turn back on his heels, not the least harm will he do to God. But God, on the other hand, will swiftly reward those who (serve Him) in gratitude,” (Al Imran 3:144) Umar, who reflected the general feeling, would say, “(Upon Abu Bakr’s recitation) I felt like that verse was just revealed. Abu Bakr warned us.” Later, as is known, very conscientious believers who grasped the Messenger’s cause well, like Abu Bakr, Umar, and Abu Ubayda, gathered at Bani Saqifa and resolved the matter of caliphate there.

All Companions loved the Prophet very much and all were bound to him from the heart. Actually there is no harm in such a tie. However, seeing the message he brought as tied to him and thinking that everything is finished when he left is wrong.

We also see this portrait of consciousness that Abu Bakr displayed in Umar’s time as well. Halid was the commander of Caliph Umar’s army. When he rode his horse over Persia, he demolished all of Persia’s forces. When he rode over the Roman Empire, he destroyed its walls as well and showed an unequaled military genius.

Umar discharged this great commander and gave the following reason for it: “Halid! God knows I love you very much. But the people are attributing victories to you. But I know that God is bestowing these victories. For this reason, I am relieving you of your duty.” After Halid was removed from duty, the victories continued and the people understood that the victories were from God, not Halid.

Just as in the past, today there are those who fall into this mistake and attribute matters to individuals. Whereas, just as conquests in Islam continued after the Prophet’s death, conquest in the spiritual field always continued. For example, Abd al-Qadir Gilani and Shah Naqshiband have died, but their followers have continued until today.

Bediuzzaman, the great thinker of our time, died, some viewed things as if everything was over. However that great man said, “While I am an individual in this life, when I am under the ground I will be like an ear of corn. In comparison to service to the faith appearing in one place, after my death it will appear in perhaps one hundred places.”

Again this same great man gave us this yardstick on this subject. He once said that his students confused the real cause with the apparent cause when they said, “If our teacher had not come here, we would not be learned.” Bediuzzaman continued that he would do the same confusion, “I once was saying that if there had been no one holding a pencil like these brothers, how could a half-literate person like me serve this cause (and produce books)? Later I understood that after giving you the sacred blessing by means of a pencil, God bestowed success in this service upon me. Two things that have conjoined one another cannot be the cause of one another. I do not thank you, I congratulate you. As the price of your gratitude to me, you, too, pray and give congratulations.”

Actually every believer should think like this. For God’s grace comes to all of us commonly. There is a conjunction everywhere from the doorkeeper who opens the door to an institution to the director who manages the institution. May God give us success in showing effort in this comprehension and association!

When we have been sitting or lying for a long time we can suffer from orthostatic hypotension due to an insufficient operation of the sympathetic nerves.

When we are lying down, the blood pressure in our arteries is pretty much equal throughout the body. When we stand up, the blood pressure is affected by the gravity and increases in the vessels under the heart, while decreasing in the brain. If we lie down again, the blood pressure in the arteries balances once again. If these changes cannot be naturally controlled, then we may suffer an increase or decrease in blood pressure, which could result in a fatal injury.

There are baroreceptors in the walls of main arteries whose tasks are to measure constantly the blood pressure and to send data (electrical signals) to the brain, informing it about the blood pressure in the body. These baroreceptors are located in the aorta as it leaves the heart and in the carotid artery as it enters the brain. With the onset of hypertension, the frequency of the signals that are sent to the brain increases and this drops in case of hypotension. The center of vessel movement in the brain, with regard to the frequency of electrical signals it receives, perceives a low or high blood pressure.

In the brain is a vasomotor center; this continuously controls the blood pressure and regulates it. This center constantly receives data about blood pressure. If the pressure decreases, the signals of the sympathetic nerve increase. If the pressure increases, the signals to the parasympathetic nerves are suppressed. As a result of sympathetic irritability, the heart begins to beat faster and stronger. It pumps much more blood in a unit of time, and thus the blood pressure increases. The arteries and veins also constrict and owing to this constriction in the arteries, the blood pressure increases further. As a consequence of constriction in the veins, the extra blood that is stored inside the veins is pumped into the heart. Now, as the heart is receiving greater volumes of blood, it works faster and contributes to the increase in the pressure. In the meantime, as a result of the suppression of parasympathetic nerve signals, the heart contracts faster and stronger, thus pumping much more blood.

As the blood pressure rises, the mechanism which is in charge of reducing the pressure via vasomotor center is triggered. While pressure is applied to the sympathetic nerves, the signals that are being sent to the heart and vessels decrease. Thus, the rate of systole and the amount of blood which is being pumped decreases. As the arteries receive less blood the volume of blood in the system falls off and as the arteries and veins expand, the blood pressure falls. Due to the dilatation in the veins, the volume of blood which is sent to the heart also decreases and as a result the heart pumps less blood and the blood pressure drops.

However, by triggering the parasympathetic nerves, the signals that are sent to the heart increase. This helps to slow the heart down and ensures that there is less blood pumping through the system. As a result, the blood pressure which has been reduced via the sympathetic system is reduced even further with the parasympathetic system. At this point, it is necessary for there to be a rapid drop in blood pressure, which is provided by the simultaneous functioning of different mechanisms.

We cannot control this system and it acts extremely rapidly and with great elegance. Even in the systole period, when the heart is pumping the blood and there is a short and sudden increase in pressure and in the diastole period, when the heart relaxes and there is a short and sudden decrease in pressure, the system is in charge and functioning at every second, operating to increase the hypotension and to decrease the hypertension. The average healthy human heart beats 70 times per minute. Consequently, there are 70 systole and 70 diastole stages every minute; thus a normal balance can be maintained by decreasing the pressure, which increases 70 times every minute, and by increasing the pressure, which decreases 70 times every minute; this is how the body maintains a normal balance. In other words, this system functions 140 times every minute. Is it possible that this system, which operates throughout our life, a system that we are not aware of, a system that is so sensitive and vital to our lives, a system the details of which have only recently been understood after centuries of observation could be nothing more than a coincidence?

The pressure regulating system mentioned above carries out other important tasks while we are sitting and standing as well. The amount of blood going to the brain is related to the maintenance of a difference in blood pressure between the arteries and veins and to the recirculation of blood. In connection with hypotension, the pressure in the veins to the brain decreases, in order to partially compensate for the decrease in the arteries. By preventing a decrease in the difference of pressure (perfusion pressure) between the two systems, the continuity of blood going to the brain can be maintained.

In addition, a small decrease in the blood going to the brain can lead to an increase in acidity and carbondioxide in the brain tissues and to a decrease in oxygen; this results in the dilatation of the blood vessels in the brain. When these systems go into action anyone who is not suffering from orthostatic hypotension will have a stable amount of oxygen consumption in the brain when they stand up, and thus not experience dizziness.

In fact, scenes from karate movies are wonderful displays of the perfect functioning of this system. In such scenes, the fighter will jump up, and then suddenly fall to the ground; he will then suddenly spring up and performs different moves. Certainly with every movement, the blood pressure changes suddenly, but as a sign of the Creator’s mercy and grace, the body is able to maintain a balance. Should not the person watching these scenes stand in amazement, thinking: “Oh my God, what an incredible order! How great is Your knowledge, power, wisdom and art!”

As mentioned at the beginning of the article with reference to an actual sad incident, when a person whose sympathetic system is not functioning normally suddenly stands up, they can suffer from dizziness and perhaps even faint due to irregular blood pressure.

For patients suffering from orthostatic hypotension patients, it is important that they do not stand up rapidly. In addition, exercises that encourage the use of leg muscles before standing up will help pump blood towards the brain.

Pause for a minute… What would happen if this miraculous system did not exist? Consider how much time it would take you to merely get out of bed every day!

The words khalq (creation) and khuluq (nature) are derived from the same root word. Khalq relates to the external form or appearance, the visible, material, and experienced dimension of existence; khuluq is concerned with the spiritual dimension, meaning, or content. An individual cannot be judged or known by his or her outer appearance, for one’s real identity lies in one’s character, temperament, and natural disposition. However many different images one may project; one’s true character or temperament eventually will reveal itself. How meaningful are the following words of an Arab poet of the pre-Islamic Age of Ignorance:

If a man has a bad quality, sooner or later it will reveal itself;

Let him continue to think that it can remain hidden.

In other words, the outer appearance is deceiving, for one’s natural disposition removes or corrects all deceptions and thereby reveals one’s true nature. Since one may acquire a second nature through education and habituation, moralists divide nature into good and bad. In the present context, we use “nature” to mean “good nature.”

The most correct standard of a good spiritual life, one that Sufism uses to describe or qualify a person, is good nature. One who has taken a few steps forward in good nature may be regarded as advanced in the spiritual life. Although miracles, dazzling stations, and superhuman actions may be acceptable when they issue from good nature, they are worthless if not combined with good nature.

When asked which believer was better on account of his or her belief, the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, answered: “The one who is better in conduct or nature.” This is natural, because God praises and consoles His most distinguished servant the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, not with His extraordinary favors but with his laudable virtues and praiseworthy qualities, declaring: You stand on an exalted standard of character (68:4). His nature was the aim and fruit of his creation. Since the Prophet’s conduct embodied Islam and the Quran, when his wife Aisha, may God be pleased with her, was asked about his conduct by Sa’id ibn Hisham, she answered: “Do you not read the Quran? His conduct is (the embodiment of) the Quran.”

The verse: You stand on an exalted standard of character (68:4) shows that the incomparable conduct of the Prophet was based on the Quran. In addition to his outer and inner faculties and senses, and the material and immaterial aspects of his creation and character, the Prophet was endowed with all potentialities needed to be the most forward and greatest representative of human virtue. Developing these potentials to the highest degree possible, he attained the highest degree of human perfection.

Not content with this state, as is declared in the verse: Surely, in the Messenger of God you have a good example for him who hopes for God and the Last Day, and remembers God much (33:21), he established the most excellent example for his followers and thereby gradually transformed them into the most virtuous community of all time. With such sayings as: “The most perfect in belief among the believers are the most perfect in conduct” ; “A man can cross with good conduct the distances which he cannot with acts of worship and adoration” ; and: “The first virtue to be weighed in the Balance (in the other world) is good conduct,” and by employing the perfect, fruitful principles he brought to perfect humanity, he guided his followers to the realms where angels move.

The signs of good nature have been summarized as follows: a person possessing this quality does not hurt anybody by either word or deed, overlooks those who hurt him or her and forgets the evils done, and returns evil with good. The Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, who is praised with the verse: You stand on an exalted standard of character (68:4), is the most excellent example of these virtues. He was not offended by the one who stood before him and told him to be just, by the one who pulled his robe from the back and hurt him, by the one who threw dust on his head and insulted him, or by the one who slandered his innocent and beloved wife Aisha. In fact, he visited each of these individuals when they became ill and followed their funeral processions. He did so because good nature was a dimension of his blessed existence.

Many people seem to be good natured, mild-mannered, and humanitarian, although good conduct and mildness are no more than affectations. When they experience a little irritation, anger, or harsh treatment, their true nature will be revealed. One who has good nature does not change his or her manners even when in a hellish state, but remains mild and shows no harshness. A heart open to good nature is like a very broad space in which one can bury one’s anger and rage. As for those intolerant and impatient ones who display bad conduct, they are, like Cain, more stupid than the raven, and can find no place to bury their anger, hatred, and ill feelings.

Let us conclude this discussion with the following couplet:

It is by good nature that a man can be perfected;

It is by good nature that the order of the world is maintained.

Notes

1. Sulayman ibn Ash’as al-Sijistani Abu Dawud, Sunan Abi Dawud, 4 vols. (Beirut, n.d.), 14; Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 2:250.
2. Muslim, “Musafirin,” 139.
3. Abu Dawud, Sunan, 14; Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, 2:250.
4. Al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawa’id, 8:24.
5. ‘Ala al-Din ‘Ali al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Kanz al-’Ummal fi Sunan al-Aqwal wa al-Af ‘al, 8 vols. (Beirut: 1985), hadith no. 5160.
6. Al-Bukhari, “Adab,” 95; Muslim, “Zakat,” 142.
7. Al-Bukhari, “Khumus,” 19; Muslim, “Zakat,” 142.
8. Al-Bukhari, “Shahada,” 15; Muslim, “Tawba,” 56.
9. Abu Dawud, “Jana’iz,” 1.

By virtue of the light that faith and trust in the Absolute Truth emits within us, we are neither shaken by the noise and clamor that is being intentionally made around us, nor do we panic in the face of the dust that envelopes us. Instead, with this strength from the inner light, we are resolute in the face of the tyrant and any of the cruelties that befall upon us without cessation. For we are of those who hold trust in God and arm ourselves with wisdom; we are of those whose endeavor it is to aspire to spiritual zeal and God’s superior pleasure in every place while living up to our unique cultural values.

At the present time, with the dawn of every new day and the fresh blessings that are within-may the Hand of Power behind them be glorified-we, together with all believers, seem to be elevated to a realm that in its beauty contains pavilions of heaven, exquisiteness, and great beauty; this occurs after we have been cleansed from innumerable centuries of ancient fog and smoke that cover the entire world. The seething animosity, hatred, and raging wrath on our right or on our left does not concern us. So prevalent are these perpetual breezes within those most terrifying of blizzards, typhoons, and thunder storms, which are part of the commonplace events that go unnoticed, that they cause the weak at heart to despair; yet we march resolutely on. We stride towards those peaks of ideals that gleam with the radiant days dreamed of in our souls. Unswervingly we tread in the direction of our ancestors’ spiritual ambiance.

Gripping tightly with faith and active hope, we live with the belief that one day we will be revived as ourselves and we will stand on our own two feet. This hope to which we cling at all times has, in fact, left the windows for a new resurrection open. Even during merciless times and ruthless events, we have reserved our faith for those imminent and promised heavenly days. Lying behind our submission, surrender, and trust is the fact that we have given ourselves over to the Hand of Blessing, for He will transform both this world and the beyond into flawless abodes for us. We have arrived at the conviction that all good done in this world will flow into the vineyards and gardens in the realm that is beyond. In the face of the abundant favors which are bestowed upon believers, we always discern the divine messages and humbly rejoice at the indications of such Divine attention. We rejoice and are almost completely unaware of such severe dolor.

What is more, and this is not an overstatement, in the tasks in which we are employed and on the path on which we walk almost every one of us can hear the rhymes of the Hereafter, like beautiful poetry, echoing within the depths of our hearts. Although such sensations arise in proportion to the expanse of one’s inner world, nonetheless every believing soul can intuit these elevated ideals and esteemed reminiscences that were once a remarkable poem.

However, at times and under particular conditions such elation and literacy in the meaning of events may not be perceived. On occasion, due to our immaturity, we may even view our surroundings in a fog. Particular states of affairs may cause such murkiness, however, none of this is permanent; given that faith, surrender, and submission have penetrated our souls, then all of these shall come to pass; as they do, they will impart within us a renewed spirit of endurance. In fact, for people of this caliber of insight, life is experienced afresh every day-this is a kind of life which occasions as many unexpected events as it does ordinary ones, and each day presents laughter interspersing the laments, ecstasy follows upon agony, and permanent pleasures come with suffering.

On the horizon of the believer, the summer heralds revival in the same way that spring does, while autumn and winter paint sunsets with the color of dawn and deliver the glad tidings of resurrection. Thus is the course of these four seasons, which follow one another with unique promises of bliss in the ambiance of pure delight, enchantment, and relief. Each morning delivers the exhilaration of the revival, the days give rise to a different enjoyment to all, the evenings unwrap shutters of the realms beyond, and the nights swathe all things with such charm that the language of the soul can be decoded in the heart with each blessed hour. Every minute and each second sparks a light and holiness that melts even the coldest of hearts with the warmth of mercy.

In this spiritual atmosphere, who knows what ingenious reflections people contemplate in proportion to their capacity, what inarticulate things they murmur about realms unknown by many, in what profound visions they immerse themselves, and on what horizons of the beyond their sights are set. The moment these reflections take wing toward the heavenliness of the past, they roam in the sweetest dreams of the future and they garner a variety of things from the virgin garden of considerations that is connected to the realms beyond this world.

Yes, due to the two wings of faith and hope we are able to fly through infinity with our insight and affection. As we continue to strengthen our relationship with Him, time and again we are so aware of matters that exceed our imagination that it is as if we are being embraced by compassion from all four directions. Our ambience shimmers with otherworldliness and we regard our abode as the corridor to the Hereafter. This particular world, constructed in accordance and perception of our inner universe, transforms itself into an enchanted world that announces the luminosities that lie beyond. It is because of this boundless inner sight that our horizon never truly darkens in its entirety; even though the darkness may fall, layer upon layer, most of the time our spiritual sight shines powerfully with the gleams of the Hereafter. So long as we pay due diligence to where we are, making the best of the conditions in which we find ourselves, and set focus on our permanent horizon, we will never be destitute.

Dwelling with the marvels of His blessings, we can assuredly rely on “strong support” (Qur’an 11:80) and with such a point of recourse we can unwaveringly challenge the most gigantic waves that can confront us. On occasions though, certain times which appear to have veered off course and which are saturated with ruthless events may appear to impede our path and they can potentially dishearten some. Yet the storms or typhoons that come and clash with our bosoms will strengthen our immunity; they go as they come and leave behind numerous gifts that are manifest in the qualities that make us who we are. This is the way through which worries vanish and concerns are truly transformed into pleasures; “all praise belongs to God” replaces the moans and the events that occur around us start to shimmer with promises of imminent bliss.

Thus far, in accordance with such light, sparked by the faith and emitting from within, and the resulting hope that rests all its security upon the Absolute Truth, we have been able to perceive and evaluate everything in a manner of beauty and elation. Henceforth, with the same fervor of hope, we stand firm in our position and remain intact; our insight will discern everything through the same light. Hence now, O you unreceptive wind of hate and bitterness! Go and blow from any corner you please! Soon the Irresistible Power will surely pronounce to you “enough is enough O arrogant one, cease your snarling … cease now!”

Note

1. With the phrase “ominous days” the author is referring to the phrase “days of disaster,” found in the Qur’an, 41:16.