The 52nd Syarah of Wisdom – Syarah al-Hikam

52nd WISDOM OF WISDOM, AL - HIKAM

 

1] Allah has given you a gift (read warid) so that you can come closer and enter into His presence.

2] Allah gave you warid so that you are safe and free from being enslaved by something other than Him.

3] Allah gave you warid so that you get out of the prison of your form to enter the shuhud (witness) of His presence. 

Scholars interpret the word warid with a divine whisper that reaches one's heart about knowledge etc. If so then what is the difference between the knowledge obtained through the warid and the knowledge achieved through the learning process?

Of course there is a difference between the knowledge that is whispered directly by the All-Knowing Essence and knowledge through learning from an ustadz/teacher. How is it different? Aren't both of them said to be warids that reach the human mind and mind, yet both of them come from God?

You see, warid with the meaning of divine intuition must contain the content of rabbinic whispers which of course are valid and good. While what comes to mind through the learning process sometimes contains something good, sometimes it is not good. Even if it is good, the knowledge is sometimes learned to the extent of looking for cognitive values, rarely until it is imprinted and becomes a principle in oneself.

Then how should we respond to warids who come from God after we know the essence in them? Here Ibn Athaillah has explained that there are 3 roles of the descent of warid into one's heart. Each of the 3 roles is interlinked. This is the essence of the discussion of wisdom 52, according to the 3 points contained in the title above.

Point 1] Allah gives you grace so that you can draw near and enter into His presence. Of course, to arrive at God's presence is not a long journey that can be exhausting. Getting to the presence of Allah can only be done by conditioning the heart to always be filled with mahabbah and ta'zim to Allah. Of course, in order for the heart to reach the state of mahabbah, one must first break free from the shackles of lust. How to not be captive of lust how? That is to make this divine warid (intuition) a counterweight to the potential of reason.

So if this warid occupies most of the corners of a person's heart, then from the smallest crevice of the heart he will also come to His presence. If Allah has willed someone to be good, then there comes a warid who can tear the barrier that causes him to be negligent.

Point 2] Allah gave you warid so that you are safe and not enslaved by anything other than Him. Check out the following explanation!

If the heart is invited to face Allah with full of shame and the thickness of perfect piety will have an effect on the occurrence of a war of desires. Yes, the war of desire between the ferocity of lust that invites sin against the desire for totality in worship. So this is the role of warid as stated in point two of the wisdom this time, regarding its function as a counterweight to the strong influence of lust.

So a person who acquires this heir, will gradually let go of dependence on the world, after he is so fond of it. The heart, as the softest piece of software in the human body, will receive any directives directed at it. So it is the duty of man not to direct his heart but only to Allah, with the help of other tools at his disposal: reason and guidance.

Because, as explained earlier, if God has good will towards someone, God will include warid in his heart. This warid acts as a counterweight so that the heart that was originally always subject to the trap of lust, is helped by this counterweight.

The following dialogue between the Apostle and Haris bin Malik al-Ansari presents a few examples of the influence of warid.

The Prophet asked Haris, "How are you this morning, Haris?"

Haris replied, "This morning I am in true faith".

 "Know what you have said, everything has a substance then what is the essence of your faith?" asked the Prophet.

 "I know this world (only a mirage), so I wake up at night, I spend the day in thirst (fasting), I see the Throne of Allah, as if I see the people of heaven passing by in it, as if I see the people of hell jealous of each other."

This is Haris, someone who has sown warid in his heart, he reached the peak of Allah's purification from anything that hinders.

Point 3] Allah gave you warid so that you get out of the prison of your form to enter shuhud (witness) . What does it mean for a person to be in prison of his form, so that he must break free?

A person who is busy with his own business, does not care about his surroundings and forgets where the end of his life is anchored, then he is imprisoned in his form. So we need to contemplate... that the distance to God is not as far as the distance traveled through the world. Because the essence of approaching Allah is to prepare the heart to be fully ready to accept all His greatness and majesty.

We should be surprised at someone who is willing to travel long distances for the pilgrimage, but does not take a short trip to the heart. In fact, for the pilgrimage he spent time, energy and even a burdensome cost, while the heart was not having any difficulties at all.