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Ayatullah Baqir-al-Sadr, during the final days of his last
Ramadhan, gave a powerful speech to Religious Scholars. This
speech is translated in the book "Trends of History
in the Qur'an" by the same author. Some excerpts
follow:
"One can either love Allah or love the world. But
both the loves cannot be contained in one heart. Let us
submit our hearts to test. Let us examine our hearts to see
whether the love of Allah or the love of this world prevails
over them. If the love of Allah prevails over our hearts,
let us make it deeper. If, Allah forbid, the love of this
world prevails, let us try to save ourselves from this
dreadful malady."
Single Grade Love And Double Grade Love
"Every love which occupies the centre of the heart
of a person is of either of the two kinds. We call the
perfect love the double grade love and the love which is not
so perfect, the single grade love. To begin with, (single
grade) love becomes the basis of man's sentiments, feelings,
emotions and desires. After attending to his job or
immediate need, man soon returns to his object of love,
because love occupies the centre of his thoughts, feelings
and sentiments."
"In the case of double grade love, man's entire
attention is drawn by the object of his love and nothing can
divert his attention from it. He is never inattentive to the
thought of his beloved."
"Both these kinds of love are found in the case of
the noble love of Allah. Single grade love appears in the
hearts of the pious believers whose hearts are free from the
impurities of the base affairs of this world. As soon as
they are free from their immediate engagements, they return
to the question which is the object of their love."
"As for double grade love, it is found in the hearts
of the Prophets and Imams. You all know Imam Ali ibn Abi
Talib, in the vicinity of whose tomb we live (Najaf). This
great man has said "I never saw a thing but I saw Allah
before it, after it and along with it". (Qablahu, wa
ba'dahu wa ma'ahu)."
"In fact, this was because love of Allah occupied
his great heart and conscience in such a way that it
concealed everything else from him. Even when he saw human
beings, he saw Allah. When he looked at Allah's bounties, he
remembered Him. This bond with Allah was always present
before his eyes, for it was Allah alone whom he truly loved
and to whom his hopes and aspirations were directed. He
never allowed anyone to divert his attention from
Allah".
"Love of the world also reaches the stage where man
does not see anything but the world before it, after it and
along with it. Whatever he does, he does it for some worldly
gain. He cannot devote himself to pious deeds for more than
a few days. This is double grade love of the world. Imam
Sadiq has said, "This world is like sea water. The more
one drinks of it, the more one gets thirsty."
"It was love of Allah that was the basis of Imam
Ali's courage and bravery. His courage was not that of a
ferocious beast. It was the courage produced by the faith
and love of Allah. He was over 60 when he fought against the
Khwarij and in a single engagement killed 4000 of them. He
was also at the height of bravery in regard to being patient
and not pressing his rightful claim. He kept quiet when he
was required by Allah to overlook his right. At that time,
he was in the prime of his life. His conscience was aflame
with the fire of youth. But Islam had told him to keep quiet
and be patient, despite the violation of his rights."
"After all what is this world of ours? It is a
collection of imaginary and fictional things.
Harun-al-Rashid's world was very imposing. We curse him day
and night. We say that we are better, more pious and more
God-fearing than Harun was. Has the world of Harun-al-Rashid
been offered to us and have we rejected it? If not, how can
we claim to be more pious than him. The world offered to us
is not that of Harun. It is much less limited and comparably
insignificant. It is transient and shorter and not as vast
and extensive as that of Harun. For the sake of this world,
he imprisoned Imam Musa-e-Kazim. Are we sure that if we get
that world, we would not throw the Imam into prison? Have we
tested ourselves and put this question to ourselves? Has the
world of Harun ever been offered to us so that we know we
are more pious?"
"In our world, there can be no truth except that of
Allah's good pleasure. Had the Imam worked for worldly
gains, he would have been the most miserable person. Yet
when he worked for Allah, he said on his deathbed "By
the God of the Ka'aba, I am a successful person". This
world is not for the students of theology. A student looking
for this world can get neither this world nor the next.
Therefore, it is incumbent upon us, as students, to confine
our efforts to seeking the next world for this world has no
value to us".
"We should think any moment as possible for our
death. At the time of his death, my father was not as old as
I was . My brother died at a younger age than I did. I have
now completed the span of my lifetime."
"We ask Allah to purify our hearts, and to brighten
them with faith. May He turn our mind more towards seeking
His pleasure and fill or hearts with His love, His fear and
belief in Him. May he help us according to the teachings of
his book, Ameen."
Ayatullah Baqir Sadr.
Sayyid Sadr was 47 to 48 years old when he said this and
along with his sister Bint-al-Huda, Sayyid Sadr was executed
a few months later.
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