Misguidance of the Unholy Scribe
Before Hazrat Usman (ra) there was a “Katib” scribe for holy Revelation, named Abdallah b.
Saad b. Abi Sarah who was a devout recorder of the Revelation. He kept himself
enthusiastically busy in noting down the “Revelation”. When Hazrat Muhammad (saw)
would relate and explain the Revelation, he would immediately note it down on a
page. Soon he realized he was enlightened by the Divine light of Revelation. His ego
had elated and he no more had regarded himself an ordinary person, just a scribe but
he assumed that he could receive the Revelation as well. It happened while he was
recording the Ayah from Surah Al-Mominun. He had guessed the last half of a verse. He was
so overpowered by the idea that he declared himself a prophet and stood in opposition of
Hazrat Muhammad (saw). He was led astray by his skill of writing. Thus, he was disgraced and
deprived of the honor of being a scribe to Hazrat Muhammad (saw).
Reading and writing are just tools to acquire knowledge. Wisdom is gained through cognition
when one acquires full understanding and application of rules and concepts governing various
phenomena and discovering the inter-relationship of cause and effect among various
phenomenon and not through mere listening to some words and noting them down. To
acquire Divine knowledge one needs a status totally different from that of worldly knowledge
and skill.
If thou have been of Divine Light’s true reflector
Would not stream out of thee such a black water
Though kept burning about the issue has been his heart
Unable to free from Ajab forgiveness he never asked
His self-respect would not be injured any more
His feelings of remorse had blocked at the core
Though sad at heart but that was no good
Death approached and his head was slewed
God hath made self-respect strength for the believer
Strongly tied to this knot at heart are many a leader
Pride and insolence doth block the way tightly
He is unable to show remorse or repent nicely
Yokes round their necks force up their heads
Not external though are these neck collars (1)
A bar in front, up and behind covered them all
One can’t see blocking his way are these walls (2)
The wall is huge like a desert spread to infinity (3)
Wall has been raised to follow Divine Decree
Thy beloved is in between thee and beloved’s “Face”(4)
Thy teacher is in between thee and his lecture, amaze!
There are so many believers who are attracted to truth
Egos and pride remain as chain in their feet uncouth (5)
These bonds are hidden but worse than that of iron (6)
‘Cause with one strike of spade iron cuffs are broken
Iron cuffs have the key, can be unlocked anytime
The hidden locks have no key; the shackles chime
here are so many believers who are attracted to truth
Egos and pride remain as chain in their feet uncouth (5)
These bonds are hidden but worse than that of iron (6)
‘Cause with one strike of spade iron cuffs are broken
Iron cuffs have the key, can be unlocked anytime
The hidden locks have no key; the shackles chime
A person stung by bee though in pain severe
All prepared to treat the wound he is here
But when by self-pride one has been bitten
Remorse subsists and pain does not lessen
I am going in too much detail of the issue
May it not cause a public depression, I woo
O listener! Keep thyself happy and busy
And keep pleading before the Almighty
Thou Who cherishes forgiveness; forgive us
O The Physician of worst and chronic cancers
O brother the wisdom thou are gaining yonder
Belongs to Abdal; thou art a casual beholder
The house may be well illumined all inside
Borrowed from the shining neighbor is light
Be thankful! Thy should neither be proud nor deny
Listen carefully and don’t allow insolence to come by
Sad, sad, sad but it is that a casual faculty reason
Restrains the proud from mixing with the common
A window to Mathnavi Maulvi Ma’nvi
Translation and Commentary Seema Arif
Further Links for Rumi
NOTES
(1) Rumi has quoted Quran – Surah Yasin (36:8-9) “We have put yokes round their necks right up to their chins, so that their heads are forced up (and they cannot see). And We have put a bar in front of them and a bar behind them, and further, We have covered them up; so that they cannot see.”
(2) Pride & insolence keep human reason enslaved, tightly knotted to lower soul and unable to escape.
(3) Desert a symbol of death and desolation may enact as a wall between two living towns.
(4) “Face” here means real self. Working of two or more perceptual organs at a time may create conflict, because one perception may get dominance over the other. Sometimes, we concentrate on seeing and ears are blocked. We may get carried away with the apparent manner and style of the teacher that we forget to listen to what he was saying. The attractive aspects of a personality or a situation may captivate our attention such as a beloved’s face and we may overlook her temper, or other aspects of personality-the real self.
(5) Dr. A.H. Almaas explains: Narcissism is not simply alienation from being, but
more specifically it is the loss of the Essential Identity. Given our discussion of the
function of the Essential Identity to allow identification with one’s true nature, it is clear
that this loss is the central factor in our incapacity to know ourselves as Being, and thus,
in our narcissism. (The Point of Existence, p.148). In narcissism, the experience of the
self is disconnected from its core, from the depths of what it is. It is estranged from its
true nature, exiled from its primordial home. (The Point of Existence, pg 26)
To know more about narcissism Click for Detail
(6) It is always difficult to challenge the social order prevalent in a society. Man is too
much afraid of aloofness. All he cares is to belong to a group; this group serves as a
whole for him, its whims are his ideals, its character his model and its behavior his habits.
At heart when he feels his way as misleading or wrong, he may not acknowledge it openly
because all life is believed to be connected with the body. The exoteric self always seeking
dominance, as if ‘Life of heart has no existence.
Read “Zahir” by Paulo Coelho.
According to Imam Ghazali (ra) Ajab is a state of knowledge when a person ascribes every cause unto himself regarding himself as the source of intellect and denies the existence of Divine Presence and its benevolence. It is more of the “I” feeling and according to Deepak Chopra involve strong preoccupation with oneself and “rejection” of others except few acceptable bits that make through iron gates of “Ego”,
(8) Human knowledge is so little as compared to Divine, and then its constantly changing and improving itself. It is not a permanent belonging but a temporary keepsake. It is a” trust” which is entrusted with people who can rightly disseminate it to the needy one – the public, i.e., the common human beings. Those who want to withhold it within themselves or try to own it, they are turned bigots. They want to seek power and fame through it, but soon they themselves be imploded with absolute power of it.
True reality is different from appearances. So, one way of knowing the true reality is to know that everything you see and experience,
everything you think about, is not true. Just eliminate one thing after
another: not this, not that. Everything goes. everything
you have experienced, everything you can experience, everything you can think, anything that can enter your mind. When all that goes, that, then, is the true reality. You cannot think of it, you cannot
conceptualize it (Diamond Heart Book 4, p. 176).
( Copyright 2024 ) Dr. Seema Arif All rights reserved.
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