More on Bondage

Pearl of Wisdom

when 'Abd al-'Azim al-Hasani asked him about Dhul Kifl and his name, and whether he was a messenger, said, 'Allah, exalted be His remembrance, sent one hundred and twenty four thousand prophets, of whom three hundred and thirteen were messengers, and Dhul Kifl was one of them, peace of Allah be upon them all. He was after Solomon, son of David (AS), and he used to judge between people like David did before him. He never became angry other than for Allah, and his name was 'Uwaydiya'. He is the one Allah, Mighty and Exalted, has mentioned in His book, saying remember Ishmael, Elisha and Dhu'l-Kifl each {of whom was} among the elect. '.

Imam Muhammad ibn Ali al-Taqi [as]

asas al-Anbiyd', p. 213, no. 211

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Library » The Lantern of the Path » More on Bondage

More on Bondage

Bondage is an essence, the inner nature of which is lordship (rububiyah). Whatever is missing in bondage is found in lordship, and whatever is veiled from lordship is found in bondage. As Allah said,

We will soon show them Our signs in the universe and in their own souls, until it will become quite clear to them that it is the truth. Is it not sufficient as regards your Lord that He is a witness over all things? (41:53)

This means He exists both in your absence and in your presence. Bondage means ridding oneself of everything, and the way to obtain this is to deny the self what it desires and to make it bear what it dislikes. The key to this is abandoning rest, loving seclusion and following the path of recognition of the need for Allah.

The Holy Prophet [s] said, 'Worship Allah as if you see Him. Even if you do not see Him, He sees you.'

The letters of the Arabic word for 'bondsman' ('abd) are three; 'ayn, ba' and dal. The 'ayn is one's knowledge ('ilm) of Allah. The ba' is one's distance (bawn) from other than Him, and the dal is one's nearness (dunuw) to Allah with the restriction of neither contingent qualities nor veil.

The principles of conduct have four aspects, as we mentioned at the beginning - click here.

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