Then, from this event Mawlāwī concludes:
دوست بند در نه خويشى بند در تو اوست احسان به چشمت دوست از گر
خدا جز خدا از كنند تمنّا كاولياء بود طريقت خلاف
If you are hoping for the Friend’s grace, you love yourself not the Friend.
It is contrary to the spiritual path [ṭarīqah] of the awliyā’ to beseech God something other than God.
The Qur’an has strongly condemned those who call on God only for their own sakes and remember Him only in times of problems and at other times forget or even deny Him:
فَإِذا رَكِبُوا فِي الْفُلْكِ دَعَوُا اللّهَ مُخْلِصينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ ﴿
﴾ فَلَمّا نَجّاهُمْ إِلَى الْبَرِّ إِذا هُمْ يُشْرِكُونَ
“When they board the ship, they invoke Allah putting exclusive faith in Him, but when He delivers them to land, behold, they ascribe partners [to Him], being ungrateful for what We have given them!.”[1]
At any rate, working for one’s self is egotism; for the sake of the people is idol-worship; and working for the sake of God and His creatures is dualism; and making one’s work and that of the creatures for the sake of God is worship of God.
We thus read in the litanies [munājāt]:
في طَمَعاً لا وَ نارِك مِنْ خَوْفاً عَبَدتُك ما اِلٰهى”
“فَعَبْدتُك لِلْعِبادَة اهْلاً وَجَدْتُك بَلْ جَنَّتِك
“O God! My worship is not out of fear of hell or desire for Your paradise. Rather, it is because I found You worthy of being worshipped and thus I worshipped You.”[2]
Yes, only traders work to earn profits and only slaves work out of fear, but free and noble men worship Him to express their gratitude for the divine graces, just as has been narrated in the words of the Infallibles [ma‘ṣūmīn][3] (‘a):
عَبْدوا قَوماً اِنَّ وَ التُّجارِ عِبادَةُ فَتِلْك رَغْبَةً عَبْدوا اللهَ قَوماً اِنَّ”
“.الاَحْرارِ عِبادَةُ فَتِلكَ شُكْراً عَبْدوا اللهَ قَوماً اِنَّ وَ الْعَبيدِ عِبادَةُ فَتِلك رَهْبَةً اللهَ
“Indeed there is a group that worships Allah for gain; that is the worship of the trader. There is a group that worships Allah out of fear; that is the worship of the slave. And there is a group that worships Allah out of gratitude; that is the worship of the free.”[4]
In the language of Ḥāfiẓ,[5]
كس دوست از بغير نمىگنجد ما ضمير در
بس دوست را ما كه دِه دشمن به را عالم دو هر
There is no one in our hearts (minds) but the Friend. Give the two worlds to the enemy as the Friend suffices for us.
In materialistic love, the person loves his object of love for himself, but in spiritual love the person dedicates himself to the Beloved. In the Supplication of Kumāyl [du‘ā’ kumayl],[6] ‘Alī (‘a) says:
مُتَيِّماً بِحُبِّكَ قَلْبِي وَاجْعَلْ
“O Lord! Make my heart enthralled by Your love!”
[1] Sūrah al-‘Ankabūt 29:65.
[2] Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 70, p. 186.
[3] Ma‘ṣūmīn: those possessing the quality of ‘ismah; i.e., the Prophet, Fātimah, and the Twelve Imāms (‘a). See A Brief History of the Fourteen Infallibles, 3rd ed. (Tehran: WOFIS, 2001). [Trans.]
[4] Biḥār al-Anwār, vol. 41, p. 14.
[5] Khwājah Shams ad-Dīn Muhammad Hāfiz Shīrāzī (ca. 1325-1391) was the fourteenth century Persian lyric bard and panegyrist, and commonly considered as the preeminent master of the ghazal form. [Trans.]
[6] Du‘ā Kumayl [Supplication of Kumayl]: The supplication taught by Imām ‘Alī (‘a) to one of his loyal companions and staunch supporters of Islam, Kumayl ibn Ziyād. Usually offered on every night preceding Friday [Laylat’ul-Jum‘ah] individually or in congregation after Ishā’ prayers, this supplication envisages divine teachings and solid foundations of religion in order to enable everyone to follow the right path for becoming a worthy Muslim. The Arabic text, English translation and commentary of this famous supplication are available online at http://www.al-islam.org/kumayl. [Trans.]
