Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
The Tide Within
A few days ago I was sitting on a beach, simply watching the sea. As I looked closer, it felt as if the sea wanted to say something to me.
I watched the waves rise and fall. Again and again they brought water up to the shore, and that same water would rush back, almost impatiently, to the sea.
Science tells us this happens because of gravity and pressure. But when we look through the lens of Ismaili philosophy, we begin to see a batin, an inner meaning, in everything.
The sea rises at high tide and pulls back at low tide. The waves strike the shore and return to the deep.
“He released the two seas, meeting [side by side]; Between them is a barrier [so] neither of them transgresses.”
Qur’an 55:19–20 (Sahih International)
On this, I’m reminded of the verse attributed to Mawla Ali (a.s.): “You think you are a small body, yet within you the greater world is folded.”
“We will show them Our signs in the horizons and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that it is the truth.”
Qur’an 41:53 (Sahih International)
So even without going too deep, if we look at the batin on its surface, we can see that our own mind is also a sea, a sea of thoughts.
As I understand from the teachings of Allama Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai, the universe is like a sea of air, the desert a sea of earth, and what we see before us a sea of water. Science also accepts that where there is nothing else, there is air. Our thoughts work in much the same way: they fill every empty space.
We often go through swings of mood. Whenever the Imam-e Zaman graces us with his deedar, a flame of ishq rises within us. Our thoughts hold only his image and his presence, and it feels as though we are beholding paradise. It is like high tide, when the whole sea is full and every shore is adorned with water.
But our mind has its own gravity too, and so it also has its dry spells. Just as the shore turns dry after the tide goes out, our thoughts drift away from the Imam and attach themselves to the things of this world.
It has now been nearly two months since the deedar, and already it feels like a dream, as if I saw it years ago. Life has pulled us back into work, jobs and material concerns, and the tide of ishq in our thoughts has gone out. At such a time, if we come across a post on social media that speaks against the Imam, it is not surprising if a little doubt creeps in.
Perhaps this is why Hazir Imam blessed us with the tasbih: so that whenever our eyes fall upon it, our dried-up shore is soaked once again.
“Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured.”
Qur’an 13:28 (Sahih International)
Whenever outside forces, the things of this world, pull at us the way gravity does, spiritual matters and the inner life become very hard. Today, when materialism dominates, this gravity has grown even stronger. Sometimes it is people’s expectations of us, sometimes our own desires, our compulsions, the pressure of our jobs and of modern life itself. Together they make our spiritual journey harder and harder.
But the Imam-e Zaman is merciful. Seeing our efforts, he blesses us with spiritual knowledge, and an occasion like the deedar works like a boost, or like healing.
“Say, ‘If the sea were ink for [writing] the words of my Lord, the sea would be exhausted before the words of my Lord were exhausted, even if We brought the like of it as a supplement.’”
Qur’an 18:109 (Sahih International)
The coming and going of the waves on the shore may also hold a sign about our own soul, and a whole article could be written on that alone. InshaAllah, we will try to explore it in upcoming podcasts.
May Hazir Imam help our spiritual state to grow. Ameen.
Sources
• Diwan attributed to Imam Ali, “Wa tahsabu annaka jirmun saghir…” (attribution to Imam Ali is traditional; the verse has no chain of transmission and appears mainly in later literary and mystical works). Arabic text and discussion: https://islamquest.net/en/archive/en22122
• Allama Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai, Hundred Questions Answered, p. 29 (”no vessel should remain empty… air takes their place automatically”): https://www.ismaililiterature.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Hundred-Questions-Answered.pdf
• Allama Nasir al-Din Nasir Hunzai, Caskets of Pearls, Part 1, p. 199 (”the ocean of air”): https://www.ismaililiterature.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Caskets-of-Pearls-part-1-.pdf
• Qur’an, Sahih International translation: 55:19–20 https://quran.com/55/19-20 · 41:53 https://quran.com/41/53 · 13:28 https://quran.com/13/28 · 18:109 https://quran.com/18/109
