﴾ إِنَّ النَّفْسَ َلأَمّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ إِلاّ ما رَحِمَ رَبّي ﴿
“For the [carnal] soul indeed prompts [men] to evil, except inasmuch as my Lord has mercy.”[1]
For this reason, the Qur’an regards paradise as exclusive for those who have no desire for dominance and corruption not only in words but also in the heart.[2] And for those who prevent their souls from following their desires, paradise shall be their abode.[3]
The saints of God are the rulers [ḥukamā’] over their minds and thoughts and not condemned [maḥkūmīn] by them. As a result of their servitude to God, they have such guardianship [wilāyah] and dominance [sulṭah] over their souls that they do not allow even an insinuation [waswasah] to enter their hearts.
دسترس را مگس من بر بود كى مگس انديشه اوجم، مرغ چو من
I am like a bird, He is like Jamshīd, and the thought over the fly.
When can I have access over the fly?
After man attains light, cognition and awareness; controls the soul through gnostic, zealous and conscious prayers; sets his soul toward the pleasure of God; and acquires guardianship and dominance over his soul, he will also acquire dominance over creation. His supplications will be effective and he can perform divine works.
The miracles of the prophets (‘a) are the same authority over creation and mastery over nature, which they performed with divine permission.
They are thus saying: “.الرّبوبيّة كُنهها جُوهِرة العُبوديّةُ” “Servitude [‘ubūdiyyah] is a gem that brings about lordship [rubūbiyyah].” It refers to the dominance over the creation which results from servitude to God.
It is recorded in the hadīth that God says:
“Through optional and recommended acts, man gets nearer to Me step by step until such a time that he becomes My beloved [maḥbūb] and once he attains this station, I will become his eyes, ears, tongue, and hand, and all his actions will become divine and purposeful. He will reach a point where like Hadrat Ibrāhīm (Abraham) (‘a), he will say:
﴾ إِنَّ صَلاتي وَ نُسُكي وَ مَحْيايَ وَ مَماتي لِلّهِ رَبّ ِ الْعالَمينَ ﴿
“Indeed my prayer and my worship, my life and my death are for the sake of Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.”[4]
[1] Sūrah Yūsuf 12:53.
[2] Sūrah al-Qaṣaṣ 28:83: “This is the abode of the Hereafter which We shall grant to those who do not desire to domineer in the earth nor to cause corruption, and the outcome will be in favor of the God-wary.”
[3] Sūrah an-Nāzi‘āt 79:40-41: “But as for him who is awed to stand before his Lord and forbids the soul from [following] desire, his refuge will indeed be paradise.”
[4] Sūrah al-An‘ām 6:162.
