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"Praise be to Allah, Who hath created the heavens and the earth, and hath appointed darkness and light." — Holy Qur'an 6:1

 

Preparation for Golden Noorani and Golden Jubilee Didars
:: Spiritual and Luminous Nazrana Sparks ::

Spark No. 19 :: Interrelationships between Higher Spiritual Enlightenment,
Service (Seva) and Three Types of Nazranas

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

Ya Ali Madad! The ethos of Ismailism can be defined as higher spiritual enlightement and service to humanity starting from one's own family. In his Irshad Mubarak, Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam (a.s.) emphasized service to the Jamat and humanity and open a new door for special service using the mechanism of nazrana of time and knowledge. Therefore, a question arises: what are the interrelationships between higher spiritual enlightenment, service and three types of nazranas? Here are some of my thoughts on this question.

  1. What is our Holy Prophet's teaching on service (seva) to humanity?

    "It is said in a Noble Hadith: "The people are God's household and the most beloved to God is the one who helps His household and makes them happy. And to walk with a Muslim brother in order to fulfill his need is dearer to God than itikaf (consecutive ibadat) for two months in the Holy Kabah. (Daaim Vol. II, p. 318)." [Source: Healing Through Knowledge, p. 89]

  2. Whom does God love?

    "We need to reflect repeatedly on this unique and bright teaching of the Holy Prophet so that we may understand well the hidden secret that, behind the veil, God loves His creation. For those who are the household, as mentioned in this example, are at the level of being loved by God. But those fortunate ones who serve others can progress farther in being loved by God and His friendship." [Source: Healing Through Knowledge, pp. 89-90]

  3. What are the conditions of service in the above-mentioned Hadith?

    "The condition of service (seva) in this luminous teaching is that it should benefit others and make them happy. In this the Holy Prophet has alluded to the great and far-reaching services concerning religion and the world. An example of a small service is given as, when a Muslim goes with another Muslim brother to fulfill his need, God raises it on a higher level of ibadat and itikaf and loves it. From this one can very well estimate the importance and advantageousness of sincere service of people." [Source: Healing Through Knowledge, p. 90]

  4. Who are the ones who excel in the field of service to humanity?

    "In this vast and unbounded field of service to mankind, those who surpass and excel over others are Prophets and Awliya, who on one hand are the chiefs of the community and on the other, servants (used in the sense of humility, sincerity) as is said in the Prophetic Hadith; Sayyidu'l-qawmi khadimuhum (The Chief of the community is its servant)" (Majma'ul-bahrayn, p. 41). This clearly shows that it is only the Prophet and the Imam who can, in the true sense, serve the community universally, and then following their footsteps, other servants (murids) serve according to their status." [Source: Healing Through Knowledge, p. 90]

  5. What is the connection between service (seva) and higher Spiritual enlightenment?

    "In the Prophetic Hadith is mentioned this wisdom-filled universal principle: "Kullu marufin sadaqah (Every good deed is a charity)" (Bukhari, Vol, VIII, p. 30; Daa'im, Vol. II, p. 318). This to serve the country, community and humanity is a good deed and hence it is a great charity. If the benefit of a service continues forever, then God willing, it will be a perpetual charity, and such services can be called "al-baqiyatu's-salihat (ever-abiding good works, 18:46)". Thus, it is evident that if a service is unpretentious and sincere, it is everything. Therefore, God loves every sincere and true servant and His friendship and love is the greatest bounty of religion and spirituality, in fact, it is soul of all bounties." [Source: Healing Through Knowledge, pp. 90-91]

  6. What is unpretentious and sincere service?

    This has been addressed by Noor Mowlana Hazar Imam (a.s.) as follows:

    "In our Jamat, for centuries, there has been the most admirable tradition of service and this tradition has existed in times of happiness, in times of difficulty and it has been a fundamental pillar in our Jamat, that is, that the spirit of Muslim brotherhood should be made evident, not only in treating each man and each woman as a brother but demonstrating that brotherhood by rendering service, service without remuneration, without recognition, without titles, without social status, simply rendering service." [Source: Silver Jubilee Volunteer Workers' Mulaquat, Edmonton, 24th April 1983; p. 47]

  7. How are the links between God's love, service to humanity and higher spiritual enlightenment?

    Question: "Who is the most loved and chosen by God, the Exalted?"
    Answer: "It is the one who serves His household most, namely His creatures."
    Question: "Will not a person who is loved by God be cured of all internal and spiritual and intellectual diseases?"
    Answer: "Why not? Definitely, such a person will attain sound heart (qalb-i salim, 26:89). For since God is Holy, therefore, he whom He wants to befriend and love, He purifies him from spiritual diseases and sins and then loves him."
    [Source: Healing Through Knowledge, p.91]
     

    The status of sound heart (qalb-i salim) is defined in the following diagram:

    Fig. 1. The ascent of the soul and its spiritual and intellectual resurrection.

  8. What traits are developed in servants who serve unpretentiously and sincerely?

    "Those sincere servants whose service God, the Lord of the worlds accepts, grants them all good manners and praiseworthy qualities also, so that He may befriend and love them, such as goodness (7:196); beneficence (3:134), piety (3:76), patience (3:146), reliance on God (3:159), justice (5:42), purity (9:108), obedience and love (3:31), perfect faith and Divine love (= ardent love, 2:165), zeal for external and internal Jihad (61:4), love for the Holy Prophet (3:31; 9:24), repentance and pure-heartedness (2:222) and many more qualities, with which the Friends of God are adorned, as is mentioned in the Hadith: "When God loves a servant, He orders Jibril to love him and he does so, then all those who are in the heavens and the earth, love him (Muslim, Vol. IV, p. 2030)." [Source: Healing Through Knowledge, p. 91]

    Sincere and unpretentious service leads the opening of the inner eye and development of the soul. As the pure and reconciled soul enters the realm of light it becomes enlightened through bandagi (luminous prayers with a luminous word at a luminous time) and reaches the stage of 'Qalb-i salim' (sound heart) as described in Fig. 1. This is a stage where the pure qalb is fully filled with the Light of the Holy Imam.

  9. What are the fruits of unpretentious and sincere service?

    "It is also mentioned in a Noble Hadith: When God will (spiritually) raise a mu'min from his grave (body), he will come out in a state that there will be a luminous figure (a subtle entity - mithalun hasan) with him. When the mu'min will pass through those difficulties, he will tell: Do not be afraid! You will never be harmed. Thus he will continue to set his mind at rest and give him glad tidings until, he will bring him to God, the Exalted. God will take from him an easy account and will command him to go to Paradise. The mu'min will then ask him: Who are you? May God have mercy on you! You not only promised me, but also fulfilled it and turned my fear into peace. He will say: I am a creature, which my Lord created from the (collective) happiness which you used to give to mu'mins (from your services and good deeds). So today I make you happy". (Daa'im, Vol. II, pp. 318-319)." [Source: Healing Through Knowledge, pp. 91-92]

    Service is a pillar for material and spiritual advancement of the our Jamat and humanity. It is also a powerful mechanism to develop our spirituality and luminosity.

  10. How does higher spiritual enlightenment and service to humanity relate to three kinds of Nazranas?

    Higher spiritual enlightenment and service to humanity can enable us to present three kinds of nazranas:

    1. Material Nazrana of time, knowledge and financial resources;

    2. Spiritual Nazrana in the form of a pure golden heart which is in a state of constant dhikr; and

    3. Luminous Nazrana in the form of a sound golden heart (qalb-i salim) which is in a state of constant dhikr and enlightenment. Ameen

The mechanisms of these types of nazranas were presented in posting number 1 and 2 for this project. This may be a good time to review these concepts because they clearly show that higher spiritual enlightenment and service to humanity empowers us to develop our own spirituality and luminosity. This enables us to realize our full human potential as shown in the Fig. 2:

Human Potential

Fig. 2. The three components of the total human potential

Golden Noorani and Golden Jubilee Didar Preparations:
In preparation for Golden Noorani and Golden Jubilee Didars, let us practise our faith with conviction by attending Jamat Khana regularly, submitting dasond, saying three Duas on time, practising bandagi because it is a luminous prayer, reciting angelic salwats, performing abundant dhikr, performing volunteer service, balancing din and duniya, and accumulating material, spiritual and luminous nazranas in our personal worlds. Educational resources for these activities are listed under the knowledge bank link in left side menu.

Dhikr Tasbis for Each Day of the Week:
Please follow these links for dhikr tasbis for each day. These pages contain the text, meaning and mp3 sound tracks. Dhikr tasbis are a magnificient way to reach the stage of constant remembrance and prepare for a spiritual and luminious nazrana in our personal worlds.

Global Prayer:
Ya Ali, Ya NOOR Mowlana Shah Karim Al-Hussaini Hazar Imam, grant us, our families, our Jamats, the worldwide Jamat, the Muslim Ummah, and humanity at large, luminous (noorani) and spiritual (ruhani) tayid (help) to advance materially, spiritually and intellectually.

O Mowla make us One global Jamat with One Sound Heart (Qalb-i Salim), bless us with the Golden Noorani and the Golden Jubilee Didars, and empower us to present Material, Spiritual and Luminous Nazranas. Ameen.

Haizinda — Qayampaya
(Our Present Imam is Living and His NOOR is Eternal)

Peace, Light, Barakat, Tayid and a 'Golden Noorani Didar',
Noorallah Juma
SalmanSpiritual.com
Thursday, August 23, 2007

Spiritual and Luminous Nazrana Sparks: