6. Guardianship [wilāyah] over creation!
Among the blessings of prayer and worship is that gradually man acquires dominance over the universe.
First step: The Qur’an says:
﴾ إِنْ تَتَّقُوا اللّهَ يَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ فُرْقانًا ﴿
“If you are wary of Allah, He shall appoint a criterion[1] for you.”[2]
In another place, it states:
﴾ يَجْعَلْ لَكُمْ نُورًا تَمْشُونَ بِهِ ﴿
“And give you a light to walk by.”[3]
So, God-wariness [taqwā]—the most important aspect of which is servitude to God and prayer—is a step toward the acquisition of light [nūr] and insight [baṣīrah].
Second step: Those who accept divine guidance and are within the orbit of truth, God will enhance the guidance they possess:
﴾ وَ الَّذينَ اهْتَدَوْا زادَهُمْ هُدًى ﴿
“As for those who are [rightly] guided, He enhances their guidance.”[4]
Hence, their light and guidance shall not cease; rather, on account of the submission and servitude, they are always in a state of advancement and proximity [qurb] (to God), and the radiance of their existence shines brighter.
Third step: Since these individuals are exerting effort in the way of God, God will show them many paths leading toward perfection:
﴾ وَ الَّذينَ جاهَدُوا فينا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنا ﴿
“As for those who strive in Us, We shall surely guide them in Our ways.”[5]
Fourth step: Whenever Satan makes an insinuation to them, they will immediately be reminded and ask forgiveness from Allah:
﴾ إِذا مَسَّهُمْ طائِفٌ مِنَ الشَّيْطانِ تَذَكَّرُوا ﴿
“When those who are God-wary are touched by a visitation (or insinuation) of Satan, they remember [Allah].”[6]
Fifth step: Prayer is the best means for self-building and keeping aloof from indecency and evil:
﴾ إِنَّ الصَّلاةَ تَنْهى عَنِ الْفَحْشاءِ وَ الْمُنْكَرِ ﴿
“Indeed the prayer prevents indecencies and wrongs.”[7]
After following these steps, man will acquire dominance over his soul. He harnesses it and will not be entangled by insinuations and desires. As a matter of fact, whenever the pressure of inner insinuation [waswasah] and outer ṭāghūt is intensified, he will again seek assistance through prayer and patience:
﴾ وَالصَّلَوٰةِ بِالصَّبْرِ وَاسْتَعِينُوا ﴿
“And take recourse in patience and prayer.”[8]
Sixth step: God-wary [muttaqī] individuals, whose existence is illuminated with the divine light move a step forward with every prayer, for prayer is not repetition; it is an ascension. The stairs of a ladder are all similar, but every stair brings man to a higher stage. It is like someone who digs a well. Apparently, he is doing a repetitive task and is always digging, but in reality, with every strike that he makes, his well is becoming deeper.
The rak‘ahs [cycles] of prayer are apparently repetitive, but in reality, they are stairs in climbing the ladder of perfection and for deepening gnosis [ma‘rifah] and faith [īmān].
The performer of prayer does not allow his life to become a grazing land for Satan or to be dominated by him. In the Du‘ā’ Makārim al-Akhlāq, Imām Zayn al-‘Ābidīn (‘a) asks this from God: “O Lord! If my life is a meadow for Satan, terminate it!”
Satan not only gives illusion and fancy but also crushes the soul of man under his feet and makes man negligent of the truth and the reality.
Yes, the Holy Prophet (ṣ) was awake even when he was asleep whereas we are asleep while awake and even while we are praying our souls are the victims of Satan and the imagination. As Mawlāwī says:
الاَنام ربّ عن القلب ينام لا ينام عَيناىَ كه پيغمبر گفت
باب فتح در دلم خفته، من چشم خواب به رفته دل و بيدار تو چشم
The Prophet said, “My two eyes are asleep while my heart doesn’t sleep and forget the Lord of the creatures.
Your eyes are awake and the heart fell asleep. My eyes are asleep while my heart is looking for the opening door.”
In another place, he says:
است صَرصرى اسير بيابانى در است پرى همچون دل، كه پيغمبر گفت
اختلاف صد با راست گه و چپ گه گزاف رانَد طرف هر را پَر باد،
The Prophet said that the heart is like a feather, which is captured in a desert by a wind.
The wind shoots away the feather to every corner vainly. Sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right with a hundred difference.
