The Attraction And Repulsion Of Ali (A.S)
The Attraction And Repulsion Of Ali (A.S)
by :
Dr. Murtada Mutahari
If God is introduced to thy soul constantly gaze at Ali
By God I knew Him only through Ali.
It is difficult to talk of Ali-bin-Abi Talib, the legendary hero of Islamic and human history and the ideal personified, in fact he is manifestation of the Truth. The magnanimous and multidimensional personality of Ali is too immense to be comprehensively assimilated by one individual. Ali as an individual is no more but as a school he perpetuates. The school of Ali is the school of wisdom and thought and also the school of movement and revolution. It is the school of charm and beauty and of inspiration and activation. His personality, which is the fountainhead of his school, has two faculties and its impact on men is either attractive or repulsive, hence he attracts some of them to, and repels others from himself. The basic thought of this book is an analytical description of this phenomenon, and of the rule, which enjoins to discern the fact from fallacy.
It quotes Ali, saying that Ali has held the Truth itself to be the criterion of truth and not the individuals, the personalities, the authorities or the gray-hair. We should be aware of the fact and the fallacy and not of the persons and personalities. And this is the spirit of the Shi-ite faith, an enlivening ideology adherence to which lends life. Humanity must seek solace from it as human perfection and perpetual bliss lies in it. Solemnity, sincerity, justice and wisdom adhere to and co-exist with it. The undersigned, in this view of the matter and for his anxious commitment with these views, for popularising the basic ideas of the Islamic Culture, for maintaining profound solidarity between two contiguous and co-believer countries Iran and Pakistan and for the benefit of all concerned, decided to get this analytical and peculiar thesis translated into English.
The translation has been carried out by my friend Ayyoob Bukhari, a scholarly personality and well-known advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He accomplished the task from no motive other than his own anxiety, sincerity and a sense of cultural attachment with the thesis. The translation itself is the evidence of its grace, correctness and the pains taken by Ayyoob Bukhari.
This book is the collection of four lectures delivered in Hussainia Irshad during the four days of 18th to 21st Ramzan 1364 . Hussania Irshad is one of the main Islamic centers in Tehran. In the days prior to accomplishment of revolution it used to be the meeting center of the intelligentsia and the revolutionary minds. They would assemble there to listen to the great philosophers like Dr. Ali Shariati, and others including the author of this book. I have had the privilege of being among most of such gatherings and of having benefited from those discourses. The combatant revolutionary youth of Iran by attending such assemblies learnt to rely on the dauntless Oracle of Ali, his encouraging behest and revolutionary phraseology in Nehjul Balagha whence they were inspired and activated to overthrow the cursed Pehlvi Regime. They frustrated the lethargic and ill-based logic of the tyrannical supporters of the regime of evil with the powerful logic of Ali.
The main theme of the book, that is, attraction and repulsion of Ali and other subjects like Ali's concept of a Government, the uprising and insurgency of the Kharijites, and the necessity of combat against hypocrisy have been deAli with in a very scholarly, philosophic, authentic and sagacious manner. From the viewpoint of arrangement, editing, chapterisation, the manner in which the themes have been explored and deAli with and the selection of topics, the book gives a happy look and lends novelty to the subject.
Its author is the late Murtaza Mutah-hari who devoted his life to the sacred cause of Islam. He was with little match a high-ranking Islamist well versed in various branches of Islamic knowledge and the Holy Quran. He was a philosopher and a writer, aware of Schools of East and West and a research scholar of fortitude. He was an active and pious personality. With this all he was a logician. He has left behind immense and analytical writings. His works as a whole pursue the course advocated by his school. He was a contemporary pious and combatant thinker. His pen, his pace and his eloquence remained always busy in promoting the cause of revolution and in participating in the teamwork of compatriots. On 12 Behman Mah 1298 H.S. i.e. in Jamadi-ul-Awal of 1338 H.Q he was born in a noble radical cleric's family of village Fareeman near the holy city of Mash-had. He received primary instructions from his father and before attaining majority he joined Hoza-i-Ilmiya-i-Mash-had, which was at that lime richly staffed with teachers of renown. After some time he joined Hoza-i-Ilmya-i-Qum. for studying literature, logic at medium and higher level and jurisprudence and fundamentals, thereafter he started basic and research studies from 1322. 1323.
Mutah-hari grasped the lessons of his teachers like Ay-Haj Mirza AH Aqa-i-Sheerazi Asfahani. Ay-Syed Muhammad Taqi Khawn Sari, Ay-Syed Ahmad Khawnsari, Ay-Syed Muhammad Hojjat Koh Kamri,' Ay-Syed Muhammad Damad Ay-Syed Muhammad Raza Gul-pai-Gani and Ay-Haj Syed Sadr-ud-Din Sadr. He has very often and respectfully remembered his. great teachers like Ay-Haairi, Ayat Ulalh Uzma Broojardi Ay-Haaj Syed Muhammad Hussain Taba-Tabaai Tabraizi and Ayat Ullah Uzma Imam Khomeini. It is his peculiar charm that he always mentioned the names of his teachers with respect and gratitude.
After the completion of his research and education he left for Tehran to join the University as a Lecturer. There he developed contacts with Islamic organisations of enlightened combatants. He through lectures and debates with the staff and the students of the University and through literature and platform started political and social activities. His political struggle, shoulder to shoulder with his like-minded clerics, formally started after Imam Khomeinf's revolt and the historic tragedy of 15 Khordad 1342 H.S. and after the materialisation of the revolution in the year 1357 he joined the Revolutionary Council as its permanent member. He was martyred on 24 Jamadi-us-Sani 1399 H.Q equal to 11-Ardi Bahisht 1358 in a terrorist attack. All the world over the Revolutionary and the Liberation organisations and personalities and his own people were deeply afflicted by his martyrdom.
Ustad Mutah-hari has left many published and un-published and even some un-edited works. His un-edited diary dates back to when he was 14 years old. It starts with his notes recording the preliminaries of Jurisprudence Arabic etc. and ends in his mature and sagacious notes pertaining to the last few years of his graceful life. In short they cover numerous subjects in various social, cultural and political fields covering history, languages, nationalities, philosophy. Jurisprudence, Mysticism, morals etc. And his writings whether in form of brief essays or long theses, notebooks, detailed commentaries or short annotations on some books are also available. Their list is available in Journal 'Yad-nama' (Memorial Magazine) Published (under the supervision of Dr. Abdul Karim Sarosh) in the memory of the Martyred Scholar in three decent volumes: Alphabetical Notes, Topical notes, and Diaries. He was a voluminous writer. His published books are more than two scores in number. These books cover Sociological, Historical, Economic, Moral, Philosophic, Literary, Critical, Mystical, Spiritual, and Theological subjects. There are his published speeches discourses and lectures on all such topics, which agitate the modern mind:-
1. The principles of Philosophy and Behaviour of Realism, a commentary on Allama Muhammad Hussain Tabatabaai's Text. It is in 5 Volumes.
2. The stories about the Virtuous (Declared to be the Best Book of the year 1366 by UNESCO. Its first of the two volumes has been published in English as well. It consists of 125 stories of Islamic history).
3. Lyrical Discourses Twenty lectures broad-cast by Radio Tehran from 1338 to 40.
4. The legal Rights of Women in Islam, comprising 32 articles.
5. Man and Destiny (Published in Arabic as well. Its Urdu Edition is under print). 6. Un-seen Supports in Human life.
7. Contributions of Islam and Iran.
8. The Scandal of book Burning in Iran and Egypt, (its Urdu Edition has been published).
9. The Finality of Prophet-Hood.
10. The Issue of (Female) Seclusion.
11. The Unlettered Prophet.
12. Sexual Morality (Urdu Edition has been published).
13. Divine Justice.
14. Ali's Attractions and Repulsions (its English version is the present book).
15. Vilas and Vilayats.
16. The causes of Materialistic Tendencies (its Arabic translation has been published in Beirut).
17. Rambles in Nehj-ul-Balagha (it has been translated in Arabic as well).
18. Logic and Philosophy (Towards Under-standing Islamic sciences).
19. The Letter and the Spirit.
20. The Fundamentals of Jurisprudence.
21. The Revolution of Mehdi.
22. Ten Discourses.
23. Islamic Movements in the last century, (its English translation has been published).
24. Man and Faith (Translated and published in Urdu) (Preface to World view of Islam).
25. The world view.
26. Revolution and Prophet-The Preface to World view.
27. Man as in the Quran.
28. The Eternal Life or the Life Hereafter.
29. About Islamic Revolution.
30. The History and the Society (preface to World view of Islam).
31. Jihad and Justification of its objects in the Quran.
32. Understanding the Quran.
33. The First Hamad and the Second Baqara chapters of the Quran.
34. "Tasheh-wa-tahliq al-tehsil" by Bin Almarzban, the student of Bu Ali Sina. (The correction and annotation of al-tehsil with a preface).
The above is the chronological order of the publication of the books. The books like the following are in manuscript form and have not so far been published.
i) Irfan-i-Hafiz.
ii) Magalat-i-Philosophy.
iii) Man's Social Perfection.
iv) Towards understanding the Quran.
v) Visage of Man in Marxism and Islam.
vi) Economy of Islam.
vii) Human Nature and its Beauties.
viii) Philosophy of History.
ix) Islam and the Challenges of Time.
x) The Issue of Slavery.
xi) The Biography of the Holy Prophet.
xii) The Perfect man.
xiii) Philosophic lectures on Marx and Marxism.
xiv) Lectures about Asfar.
xv) Lectures about Manzooma.
xvi) The Collection of Lectures on Understanding.
xvii) The Chivalry of Hussain.
Likewise numerous articles by him on different subjects have been published, in form of books, and pamphlets for students.
Besides this numerous cassettes containing his speeches in different centers on different topics are left in legacy. The number of those cassettes preserving his unpublished speeches and lectures exceeds 1068.
FOREWORD
The excellent and magnanimous personality of Amir-ul-Momineen Ali (A.S) is too immense and multidimensional to be conceived in all its aspects and dimensions by a man, let his fancy fly. What, in maximum, is possible for a man is to select for his study and research one or a few specific and defined aspects of personality of Ali and feel contented with the same.
One of this illustrious personality's aspects and dimensions is the positive or negative influence which he had exerted on different classes of humanity, in other words, his active attraction and repulsion which up till now continue to exert their influence. In this book we will deal with this aspect.
For producing reactions on minds and souls, human personalities are not identical. The more pygmean personality the lesser it engages people's mind and produces still lesser excitement and anxiety in their hearts. Whoever is a greater stalwart and more forceful invokes minds more and produces greater reaction, whether the reaction is positive or negative.
The personalities, invoking minds and producing reactions, who are often talked about, become subjects of confrontations and controversies. They become the pride of poetry, painting and other fine arts. They emerge as heroes of stories and legends. In case of Ali, he dominates with excellence all these media and venues of expression. In this respect too he is peerless or has few rivals. It is reported that Muhammad bin Shahr Ashob Mazindrani, who has been amongst the stalwarts of Imamite scholars, while in the seventh century, undertook writing his famous book "Manaqib", had in his library one thousand books with the name of "Manaqib" eulogising Ali. This single instance leads us to observe that in the whole span of history, immense multitudes of minds have been engaged by the inspiring personality of our Master. The basic distinction of Ali and also of all men enlightened by the beam of Truth is that besides engaging the minds and stirring up the thoughts, they illuminate hearts and souls and bless them with faith, satisfaction and determination. Philosophers like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Bu Ali Sina and Descartes are also heroes of conquests of thoughts and agitation of minds. Leaders of social revolutions in the last two centuries, besides this have generated prejudices in their followers' minds. The mystic divines lead their followers to such a stage of submission that if so indicated by peer-i-mughan (the spiritual guide) they may soak the prayer mat of liquor. But in none amongst them we see warmth and fervour twin with humility, chastity, purity and tenderness as history reveals amongst Ali's followers. If the Safavides organised an effective combatant force out of dervishes, it was in the name of Ali and not in their own name.
Abstract beauty and charm, which produce love, are from one category. Leadership, advantage and welfare of life, which are the stuff of social reformers, and wisdom and philosophy, which are the stuff of philosophers, are from another category. It is well known that one of Bu Ali Sina's pupils said to him, "With this exceptional wisdom and sagacity, which you have, if you proclaim to be a prophet people will rally round you". Bu Ali kept silent till when they were together in a winter journey. During the matutinal hours, Bu Ali got up and waking up the pupil he said, "I am feeling thirsty, bring me some water". The pupil became reluctant and started coining excuses. The more Bu Ali insisted the more he was evasive to leave the cosy bed in that cold winter. In the meantime the call of mo'azzin rose from the booster tower (of the mosque): "Allah is Great, I bear testimony, there is no God but Allah, I bear testimony, there is no God but Allah, I bear testimony Muhammad is his Prophet". Bu Ali availed himself of the opportunity to give a retort to the student, "You were claiming that if I proclaim to be a Prophet people will start believing in me. Now look at this, you who have been my student for years together and have learnt from my lectures, my orders and that also in my immediate presence, do not command so much of the obedience from you so that you may leave the cosy bed for a while to bring me water. But this moazzin four hundred years after the Holy Prophet, submits to his commands, gets out of his cosy bed, climbs the tower and proclaims (at the top of his voice) testimony to Oneness of God and Apostle's Prophethood. See, whence and whereto the roads depart".
Rightly, the philosophers make pupils but not the followers; the social reformers make prejudiced followers but not civilized men. The saints, the mystics and the virtuous people make disciples but no active crusaders.
In Ali the qualities of a philosopher, of a revolutionary leader, of a saint and qualities peculiar to Prophets exist in simultaneous harmony. His school is a school of thought and ideology, a school of revolution and progress, a school of faith and discipline, a school of beauty and a school of emotions and activation too!
Prior to his being a judicious Imam for others, and prior to his having administered justice among the people, he himself was personally a judicious and harmonious personality. He had mustered in himself all the glories of humanity. His thought was deep and penetrating and he had tender and profound tendencies. The physical and spiritual perfection coexisted in him. During his nocturnal prayers, he totally disassociated from all others (except Allah) and in the daytime he was in the thick of the society. The human eyes saw in him in the broad day light fraternity and selflessness and their ears heard his advice, his behest and his wise oracle. During nights, the stars saw his devotional eyes showering tears and the heavens heard his devotional supplications. He was a judge and a sage, he was a saint and a social leader, he was a devout and a soldier, he was an arbiter and an architect, he was an orator and a writer; in short he was a perfect man with all human grace.
. This book is a compilation of four discourses made within 18 to 21 Ramazan 1388 in Hosainiyah Irshad. This book consists of one preface and two parts. In the preface the rules of attraction and repulsion in general and human attractions and repulsions, in particular, have been discussed. In the first part Ali's attraction, which has perpetually been attracting and continues to attract the souls, its philosophy its advantages and its influences have been made subject matter of discussion. In the second part his forceful repulsion, and what elements it forcefully repelled and ousted, have been described and explained. It is confirmed that Ali has been a personality with two faculties and whosoever wants to take discipline in his school must be a person with two faculties. It should always be kept in view that to be of two faculties alone will not be sufficient to establish identity with Ali's school. In this part an attempt has been made to indicate to a possible extent the types of people who were attracted by Ali's attraction and to point out the sort of people his repulsion, repelled.
Pity on some of us! who claim to be followers of Ali's school but repel those whom Ali attracts and attract those whom Ali repels. In the part concerning Ali's repulsion, the discussion has been confined only to the Kharijites, while the fact remains that there are other classes too, which fall to Ali's repulsion. May be at another occasion or at least by the publication of the second edition of this book this defect like others may be remedied.
The great scholar Aga-e-Fath Ullah has under-taken the pains to vet and correct my speeches. Half of the book is in his hand. After transcribing from the recorded cassettes, he has occasionally either corrected them or completed them. The other half of it is either my oral version or an occasional addition in his script.
I hope it will have a wholesome and informing effect. We pray that Allah may make us from amongst the true followers of Ali.
It is a general law, the entire system of creation is subject to it. All modem human sciences conclusively assert that not a single atom from amongst the atoms of the cosmos lies beyond the jurisdiction of universal attraction, rather all happen to be subservient to it. From the largest organism and bodies of the universe to its smallest atoms, all possess this intrinsic force called attraction, and simultaneously (somehow or the other) they happen to be under its influence.
Man of earlier ages was not cognizant of this all-pervading faculty of attraction. Nonetheless, they did discover it in some of the bodies, and recognized them as symbol of this faculty, e.g. magnet and amber. Till late man did not know that these bodies have relative attraction for everything else also, he had rather presumed a specific co-relation about them, i.e., a co-relation between magnet and iron and grass and amber:
Every atom which is in this atmosphere For its own genus is a petal as well as amber
But for these (two) we find no mention (in their volumes) of existence of faculty of attraction in the rest of the solid bodies. They have only discussed as to why the earth had hAlied amidst the heavens. They believed that the earth was held in suspension in the middle of the sky and was 3 pulled by the celestial attraction from all its sides They thought that as the attraction was comprehensive, so the sphere had to stay where it was, without leaning on any side. Some of them believed that the sky did not attract the earth, it rather repelled the sphere, and as the repulsion was equally comprehensive, so it had to stay on, at a specific point and could not change place.
They believed in the existence of the faculties of attraction and repulsion in plants and animals, in as much as they held them to possess the faculties of nutrition, growth and procreation. In the context of the faculty of nutrition they acknowledged the existence of secondary faculties of (i) attraction (ii) repulsion (iii) digestion and (iv) retention, and said that the stomach had the faculty of attraction, and because of that it pulled the food to itself and, in the same course, it excreted the diet whence it was found improper. In the same stance, they said that liver had the faculty of attraction because it attracted water to itself:
"Stomach pulls food to the point. Liver pulls water to itself".
ATTRACTION AND REPULSION IN THE HUMAN WORLD
In the present context, by "attraction" and "repulsion" we do not mean to talk of sexual "attraction" and "repulsion", which being a special subject is not relevant here, it is rather a subject independent in itself. In fact, here we mean those attractions and repulsions which operate among human beings in sociological life. In human society, co-operation also plays a part which is based on community of interests, but that too is beyond our venue of discussion.
Finer instances of friendships and fraternities, and feuds and animosities are expressions of faculties of attraction and repulsion peculiar to man. These attractions and repulsions may be based either on compatibility and resemblance or on spite and antagonism In fact we must try to find out the basic cause of attraction and repulsion in homogeneity and contrariety, as the philosopher's debate finally evolved the dictum "homogeneity is a cause of integration". Sometimes two persons attract each other with a desire to make friends and companion; and they do so impulsively. This impulse emanates from some sort of homogeneity. But for similitude and homogeneity, they would not have attracted each other and would not have been keen to make friends. As a general rule, intimacy between two individuals is evidence of existence of some homogeneity and similitude between them.
In the Second Volume of "Masnavi", we find a sweet story about a crow and a mill-hopper: A sage saw a crow having befriended a mill-hopper. Both of them would sit and fly together. The two birds were from two different feathers: the crow having neither the complexion nor the physique of the mill-hopper, it had rather no resemblance with the latter. The sage was astonished to see a crow in the company of a mill-hopper. He went close to them and on scrutiny found that both of them were lame:-
The sage said I have seen,In dialogue a crow with a mill-hopper,I was astonished to observe their conduct,I tried to find a common value between them,I was all the more stunned and astonished when I reached them I saw for myself that both of them were lame.
Their being single-footed brought the two birds, each from a different feather, to flock together. Men also, in the same manner, as they do not offend each other at random, do not befriend each other without a common reason. Some believe that the root of attraction and repulsion lies in necessity and succor. Man is born deficient and dependent; therefore, he perpetually strives to make up his deficiencies and cater for his lacking. These objectives can be achieved only when he enters into alliance with a group and permanently merges in a society. With this contrivance, man benefits from one formation and avoids harm from another, and we find no rebellion or recalcitrance in him except that ripened in the warmth of instinct of self-preservation. In this view of the matter, the biological elements and natural structure have blessed man both with attraction and repulsion, so as to invigorate him to struggle for what he feels is beneficial to himself and to avoid what he finds opposed to his cherished objects, and to be indifferent to whatever is neither harmful nor advantageous to him. In reality, attraction and repulsion are two fundamental pillars of human life. And if these faculties are impaired, the whole life is disturbed, and the disturbance will be proportionate to the degree of damage caused to the faculties; the result would be that he who had the potential to fill up the vacuums would absorb others, and not only will fail to fill up the vacuums but will also aggravate them. He would earn peoples' apathy and would be reckoned just as a stone beside.
DIFFERENCE IN MEN QUA ATTRACTION AND REPULSION:
For the individual attraction and repulsion, all men are not equal to one another; they are rather divisible in various groups: -
Individuals who neither have attraction nor repulsion: They are no body's friends and no body's foes. They do neither excite any body's love, devotion or friendship, nor do they instigate anybody to animosity, hatred, jealousy and vindictiveness; without being acknowledged they move about amidst men as if a stone happens to be afoot.
He is a good-for-nothing and is an infructuous being. A man without any positive point (positive herein is not confined only to virtues, it also covers wretchedness) virtue-wise or vice-wise, is an animal, feeds himself goes to sleep, and moves about amidst men. Like a sheep, he is no body's friend and no body's foe. If men care about a sheep or serve water and fodder to it, it is just as a measure preparatory to its slaughter, as and when so required. He blows neither trade wind nor otherwise. They are a group rightly called: Cheap individuals, vain and shallow. Man needs friends and needs to befriend and vice-versa, we say man needs foes and needs to be offended.
MEN WHO HAVE ATTRACTION BUT NOT REPULSION:
They are fond of every one and warm to all; they make their fans from amongst all classes of people. In their lifetime everyone is their friend and no one disowns them. When they die, the Muslims give them funeral wash with waters of Zamzam and the Hindus bum their cadavers to ashes:
"Urfi so behave with virtuous and vicious both that after your death the Muslims give you wash with Zamzam and the Hindus burn your cadaver to ashes."
As desired by this poet, if you happen to live in a bi-national society, half of which are Muslims and dispose of the dead bodies of the co-believers by respectfully washing the same and as a token of greater respect give them funeral wash with the holy waters of Zamzam, preceeding the ante-burial prayers; and the other half of this society are Hindus who put their dead a-pyre to be burnt to ashes; then in such a society, you should so conduct yourself that after your death the Muslims take you as their co-believer and give you ante-burial wash with waters of Zamzam and Hindus take you to be theirs and burn your dead body on pyre.
Probably they believe that by sweet manners and smooth co-existence or, in today's parlance, by "being social" they can befriend the whole mankind. But from the perspective of a man with principles and conviction, who wants to selflessly pursue the ideas and thoughts in multitude of humanity, it is inevitable to be one-sided, curt and out-spoken; albeit a dual personality is possessed only by a hypocrite.
As all men neither think alike nor feel alike, nor their likes and dislikes are identical, e.g. among men are avengers and offenders, good and bad, society has judges and also aggressors, it has arbiters and criminals; all of them cannot simultaneously be friendly to a man who is pursuing definite goals, because his pursuits are unavoidably detrimental to the interests of one class. Only a liar and a mendacious person can afford to carry on friendship with people of divergent classes and flirt with people of different ideas. He expresses himself in parlance and exhibits in fashion suited to the moment. A straightforward man or a man with principles has to befriend some and to offend others. Those who follow his course rush to him and those who go contrary to his way reject and oppose him.
Some of the Christians, who show themselves of and their religion as the herald of love, contend that a perfect man must he nothing but loving, and that is all. Hence man to have attraction alone. Probably some Hindus have also identical belief
In Christian and Hindu philosophies lot has been devoted to love. They say, "We should be loving to everything and when we love all, nothing will obstruct them from reciprocating with the same to us. The vicious will also love us when they have seen love from us".
Let these gentlemen know! it does not suffice to be lover alone, one must have principles as well, as Gandhi has said, "Our religion lies in love coupled with reality; and if love is blended with reality, it becomes a commitment to principles". Commitment by a man to principles inevitably generates enmity, this, in fact, is repulsion, which instigates some to confrontation and rejects others.
Islam no doubt is a religion of love and affinity. The Quran introduces the Prophet as a blessing for the universe: "and We commissioned you but as a blessing for all the worlds", i.e. for the worst of your enemies also you should be a blessing and affectionate.
However, the love preached by the Quran does not mean that we should so behave as to please everyone and to act according to every one's likes and delight, so that everyone is allured by us. To let everyone loose in his own choice or to ditto his likes is of no love with him, it is in fact hypocrisy and deception. Love must be blended with reality; such a love imparts virtue and Lo! the virtue so imparted has not been adulterated with the love of the adversary. Very often, while pursuing his course, such a man comes in contact with many persons, and when they find his likes opposed to their objects, they give him an affront instead of an appreciation. Besides this, the wise and the logical love and friendship embraces the welfare and is in the interest of the whole mankind and not of an individual or a special class. There are many makings of love and deliveries of goods to individuals, which are in effect harmful and antagonistic to the society.
In the annals among reformers, we find many stalwarts who struggled for eradication of evils from society and suffered pains during their struggle, but men rewarded them with injury and vengeance. Hence love is not always an attraction, rather at times it displays the most forceful repulsion and antagonizes hosts of men against such a stalwart.
Abdur Rahman Ibne Moljum was from worst of Ali's enemies. Ali knew well that Ibn Moljum's deep animosity against him was fatal for him. People also often tried to convince Ali to do away with Ibn Moljum as he was a dangerous man. Ali would always refute them by saying: "He is my assassin. I am not his. How could I kill my own killer?" It was about him, that Ali said." I wish him life and virtue while he intends to take my life. I have tender feelings for him while he has become my enemy and nourishes grudge against me".
Finally, love alone is not a panacea for ailments of humanity. For some tastes and temperaments roughness is also needed and so is required a combat, a repulsion and an aversion. Islam too is religion of love and attraction and of hatred and repulsion.
MEN WHO HAVE REPULSION BUT NOT ATTRACTION
They make enemies but do not make friends, they are deficient individuals; and this assertion is based on the fact that they lack positive human qualities, because if they would have possessed such qualities they must have made a group of friends or at least a few ones; needless to say that may be, though, very small in number yet men with virtue do live among the masses. Had all men at a time on globe, been mendacious and tyrannical, all feuds would have been evaluated as truth and justice. However, at a time all men are not vicious, in the same manner, as all men are not virtuous at a time. Naturally, fault lies somewhere with him to whom all are foes, otherwise how is it possible that a man having merits could not win a single friend? Such persons do not have any positive point in themselves and their negative points are also totally bitter, and bitter for all; they do not have such a single point as might be cherished by any one person.
Ali says, "The weakest of men is he who is too weak to attract a friend; and still weaker is the one who loses friends and gets isolated".
Men who have attraction and repulsion both are men of principle, who struggle for the glory of their own faith and conviction; they attract groups to themselves, they are held in esteem and are loved by many a soul, and along with this they ward off and drive away many from their vicinity. They befriend and offend; they are benevolent friends and noble foes.
Attractions and repulsions have a few categories, in some case attraction .and repulsion both are forceful, in others both are weak, while in the rest of the cases the degrees of the strength of attraction and repulsion are at variance interse. The dignified are those whose attraction and repulsion both are forceful, and this is relative to the strength of positive and negative values in their nature. Of course, the force also has degrees, so that it should reach the point that captivates friends who lay down their lives for his sake and may sacrifice themselves at his pleasure; on the other hand, their enemies are also headstrong and heedless about themselves while acting in their opposition. Their power of attraction and repulsion becomes so predominant that it permeates the vast canvas of the generations for centuries to come and this three dimensional attraction and repulsion is among the special charms of the saints, as to be a three-dimensional mission is the special distinction of the Apostolic missions.
Yet another aspect for us to see is what types they attract and what types they repel, e.g., sometimes the wise are attracted and the fool arc repelled and sometimes vice versa. Sometimes the noble and the virtuous are attracted and the ignoble and the vicious are repelled and sometimes vice versa. Hence the friends and the adversaries of and those attracted and repelled by a man form the irrefutable evidence of his intrinsic faculty Only a person's having attraction and repulsion, or even his faculties being forceful, will not suffice it to say that he has a commendable personality; it is rather an index of the origin of his personality, and nobody's personality alone is evidence of his virtue. All great men and leaders of the world, including the cunning criminals like Changaiz, Hajjaj and Mo'aviyha, were men having both attraction and repulsion. Without some "positive" points, no one can oblige thousands of warriors to submit to him and be subdued to his designs, unless one has the quality of leadership, one in one's time cannot muster the people around oneself.
Nadir Shah is one of such figures. How many men were beheaded and how many eyes were extracted by him from the sockets, but he had an exceptionally powerful personality. From amongst the relics of a defeated and outraged Iran of the last days of Safavide dynasty he raised an army and like magnet attracting fragments of iron, he rallied warriors around him and not only liberated Iran from the foreigners but also conquered the extremes of India. He annexed new territories to Iranian sovereignty.
Hence every person has attraction for his homogeneous and repulsion for the divergent. A personality with grace and righteousness would attract the benevolent and the righteous, to him and would repel the selfish, the mercenary and the hypocrite. A criminal personality would rally the sinners around him and would repel the virtuous. As alluded to above, another difference lies in the proportion of force of attraction. It is said about Newton's Theory of Gravitation, "Increase in force of gravitation is proportionate to the mass of the bodies and lessening of the distance between them". Likewise, amongst men also attraction and repulsion vary proportionately to their proximity.
ALI, A PERSONALITY WITH TWO FACULTIES
Ali is from among those who have both the faculties of attraction and repulsion, and both these faculties in him are extremely forceful.
Probably, throughout the bygone centuries and during all the times to come, we may fail to trace an attraction and repulsion as forceful as that of Ali. He has marvelous and historic, devoted and forbearing friends, who in his love aflame like a pyre burn and enlighten. They are fond and proud of laying down their lives for his cause; they in his love have ignored everyone else. Though years, rather centuries, have passed since his demise yet Ali's attraction perpetually intensifies, and bewilders the onlookers.
In his lifetime of his contemporaries who were God loving, devoted and selfless, kind and forbearing, just and philanthropist rallied around him. Everyone of them has left in legacy an inspiring piece of history. After his death, particularly during the rule of Mo'awiyah and the Omayyed dynasty, hosts of such people were put to the worst of victimization, but they never fell short of love and devotion for Ali and stood fast till their last, though invariably they had to lose their lives.
With the death of worldly personalities, all their belongings diminish and their merits are buried along with their dead, but the personalities of the faith, though themselves may die yet their faith and love, which they enkindled, becomes brighter and sublime by afflux of time;We read in history that after Ali's demise, for years, rather for centuries, men have been abreast against the darts of his enemies. Twenty years after our Master's assassination, from amongst his devotees and those attracted to him, we see Maisam-i-Teemar reciting atop the gallows hymns of Ali's merit and superiority. Those were the days when whole of the Muslim world was gagged in suffocation, all liberties had been forfeited, souls were stifled in the bosom, dreadful silence like the dust of death had shrouded the faces, but Maisam from the top of the altar cries "Here! Here! For you I say what Ali was" people thronged around him to listen to what he might be allowed to say. The iron-fisted Omayyed government apprehending jeopardy to its interests ordered to rein his mouth and thus within a few days his life was brought to an end. History has abundant instances of suchlike devotees of Ali. These peculiar sentiments have not worn out by the passage of time. In all the times, these forceful sentiments have been ever more effective.
The dauntless Ibn Sokayyat is from the galaxy of scholars and the stalwarts of Arabic literature and those having literary taste count him never lesser to Saiboya and the likes. He lived in the times of Motawakkil Abbassi, i.e., two centuries after the martyrdom of Ali. Sokayyat was brandished as a Shiah by Motawakkil's spying network, but as he was a distinguished and well-versed scholar, Motawakkil appointed him as tutor of his sons. One day the children came to Motawakkil's court when the tutor was also there. They had fared well in a test held earlier on the same day. Mutwakkil, either on the pretext of appreciation of Sokayyat's services or to fathom his known commitment to Shiah faith, inquired from the tutor as to whether he liked those two (his two sons) more or Hassan and Hussain, the two sons of Ali.
Ibn Sokayyat, on hearing this sentence and formulation of such a comparison, flew into rage; his blood boiled and he said to himself, "This pigmy has inflated himself so much that he compares his sons with Hassan and Hussain! It is my fault that I have undertaken to educate them". He said to Mutwakkil, "By God! I hold Qamber, the slave of Ali, in a far higher esteem than in which I find both of your sons and their father".
Mutwakkil forthwith ordered that Ibn Sikayyat's tongue be extracted through the back of his neck.
History knows many enchanted who spontaneously laid down their lives in course of Ali's love. Wherefrom to find such a forceful attraction. I doubt if the world will ever have a match to it. Likewise, Ali has obstinate enemies: Enemies who bite themselves when they hear Ali's name being mentioned. No doubt, as an individual Ali has left, but as a school he perpetuates. He in the very same manner continues to pull one group to himself and push away the other. Oh! Ali is the personality with Two Faculties.
In preface to the first volume of "Khatam-e-Payambran " about the Missions", we read as under-All the missions emerging amidst mankind, have neither been identical, nor their sphere of influence has been uniform.
One of these missions and systems may be mono-dimensional and might have proceeded only in one direction; at the time of its introduction it might have covered extensive surface, and might have allured millions as its followers, but subsequently we find its life span having been almost rolled off and itself put to oblivion. Yet another may be bi-dimensional, i.e. spreading in two directions, viz. covering a vast surface and also proceeding in future, its impact being not only "spacious" but also "enduring".
While others have marched ahead multi-dimensionally. They have commanded immense multitudes of humanity over vast lands and brought them under their influence, we find their imprints in every continent of the globe. They held the reins of time too, i.e. they could not be confined to one time or age. They have been at the climax of temporal authority for centuries together, they have also spread their roots in the depths of human souls, controlled the very pulse of humanity and have ruled the inmost of human hearts. Such tri-dimensional missions are peculiar to the Apostolical line alone.
Which school of thought or philosophy can be cited in comparison to the world's major religions who have been ruling for thirty centuries, for twenty centuries or at least for fourteen centuries and their believers' conscience have been cleaving fast to them? Attractions are, likewise, sometimes mono-dimensional, sometimes bi-dimensional and at others tri-dimensional.
Ali's attraction is of the last category, it attracts immense multitude of men, is not confined to one century or two; it has rather been perpetuating in time and progressing in expansion. The fact of the matter is that it has been in luster throughout the centuries and ages, and has penetrated from surface to the depths of human minds and hearts so that even after centuries when man is put to reminiscence about Ali and listens to hymns of his glories, tears of joy come out of his eyes; and when they weep about his sufferings, the cries they wail would move the worst of Ali's enemies to tears. This is the most forceful attraction.
From here we deduce that men's attachment to religion is not shallow like the one's to matter. It is rather different attachment like which nothing else attaches to human soul.
Had Ali not had the complexion of God and had he not been a man of Allah, he must have been forgotten.
Human history bears traces of many a hero:-
Heroes of Oracles, heroes of learning and philosophy, heroes of power and dominion and heroes of battlefields; but man has either forgotten them all or has not taken notice of them. But to Ali, assassination could not render death; he rather emerged livelier. He himself says: "The accumulators of wealth are dead though breathing. The learned (scholars '-of divinity) would live as long as the time runs; their bodies have disappeared but their impressions survive on pages of human minds".
About himself, Ali says; "Look to my time in future when my merits, so far not recognised, will become manifest, and you will recognise me when you miss me and find another in my place".
My age is ignorant of worth My Yousaf is not for this market;I am disappointed of my old friends;My love is ablaze for a Moses;The Ocean of friends is silent like dew;My dew like a tide bears a storm;My hymns are from another world;This clarion-call is from another caravan;Many poets emerge after their deaths;They shut their eyes to open ours;They derived beauty from nothingness;From their graves they blossom like flowers;My Uman will not be contained by drain;Ocean beds are required for my storm;I have lightening hidden in my heart;The hill sand deserts are gateways to my exhibition;They have blessed me with the "spring of life";They have made me aware of "secret of life";The secret which I divulge has been divulged by none;Like my thought none has arranged even pearls;Old heaven told me this secret, from friends keep nothing concealed".
In fact Ali is like laws of nature which operate to infinity. He is source of generosity that never exhausts, rather becomes voluminous with the passage of every day. To quote Jabran Khalil Jabran: "He came in a time much earlier to his own". Some people are leaders for their own time, a few give lead to future also but gradually their leadership goes to oblivion. But Ali and a few others are guides and the leaders till eternity.
SHI'ITE FAITH. SCHOOL OF LOVE AND AFFECTION
Of all the great distinctions, which the Shi'ite faith enjoys among all the religions of the world, one is that its very basis and foundation lay in love. Since the lifetime of the Prophet himself when this religion was founded, it has been a source of love and fraternity; along with the Holy Prophet having said "Ali and his shi'ites are exultant", we find hosts of 13 men rallying around Ali -- fond, warm and devoted to him. Hence shi'ite faith, a religion of devotion and dedication. Alliance with him is the school of love and devotion. Element of love operates with full vigor in Shiaism. History of Shiaism is the other name of biography of a ceaseless line of dedicated, selfless and venturesome devotees.
Ali is that very person from whom men never resiled even if he enforced Hadd (Punishment Prescribed by the Quran) on them and lashed them. Virtually in accordance with the rule of Shariat he cut off the hand of one of them, but nothing could impair their love with Ali. He himself says:
"Even if you find me striking a faithful with this sword so as to offend him, he will never show enmity towards me, and if I bestow the whole world on a hypocrite, so that he may become my friend, he will not accept me as his friend, because the Prophet has said: "Oh! Ali faithful will not become your enemy and the hypocrite will not make friends with you".
Ali is the scale and yardstick to measure the natures and temperaments. He who has a pious nature and sound temperament is never annoyed with him, let Ali's sword fall on him; and he who has a polluted nature will not associate with Ali, let Ali be kind towards him, because Ali is nothing but the Truth personified. There was a gentleman of distinction and faith from amongst the friends of Amir-ul-Momineen. Unfortunately he defaulted and the default involved corporeal punishment. Amir-ul-Momineen got his right palm cut off. Holding it in his left hand the convict went ahead bleeding, Ibn Kawa, a Kharijite rebel wanted to capitalize the situation for the benefit of his own band and to the detriment of Ali. Pretending pity, he approached the convict and said, "Who has chopped off your hand?" He said, "My hand has been cut off by the foremost of Prophet's successors, the leader of the brilliant of the doomsday, the nearest to Truth among the faithful, Ali-Ibn-Abi Talib, the Imam of guidance, the first to reach the beneficence of the heavens, the champion of the intrepid, revengeful against followers of the evil, the munificent in alms, the leader to the path of virtue and perfection, the oracle of truth and magnificence, the gallant Meccan and the magnanimous of the believers". Ibn Kawa said, "You be cursed, he chops your hand off and you praise him like this?" He said "Why should I not praise him while the fact is that his affinity is blended in my flesh and blood. By God, he did not remove my hand except as 'ordained by Allah". Such devotion and alliance as we find in the history of Ali and his friends, invite our attention to the phenomenon of love and devotion and its effects.
THE ALCHEMY OF LOVE
The poets of Persian describe devotion( Ishque ) as alchemy: Alchemists believed that there is a matter in the universe with the name ' Ikseer ' or 'Kimia' which has the capacity to transmute the matters. They exhausted centuries to discover it. The poets borrowed this term and said that the real Alchemy, which has the potential to cause a change, is love and devotion, because devotion can change the nature. Devotion is absolute "Ikseer" and has the quality of alchemy, i.e., it transmutes one metal into another. Men are also of different metals like gold and silver. It is devotion which makes a cardiological organ the heart; if there is no love there is no heart, it is only a piece of mud and water that each heart which lacks pangs is not a heart, The melancholic heart is nothing but a handful of mud:
Oh! God give me a warm, enkindling bosom.
In that bosom a heart which should be all affectionate.
The vigor and strength are from the by-products of devotion; love generates vigor and makes a brave out of a coward.
A domestic hen, as long as it is all alone, collects the plumage on its back, walks leisurely, becomes restive for finding an insect to eat, flees away on a slight alarm and shows little resistance even against a child; but when this very fowl, has a brood, love and devotion get entered into its living figure and its habits are changed: It. drops down the plumage, collected on its back as an indication of preparedness and self-defense, assumes the warring position, so much so that its echo becomes more forceful and braver. Earlier, it would flee on apprehending a danger but now it would assault in case of such an apprehension and would lead a bold aggression; this is love that has made a daring animal out of a timid hen.
Love and devotion transforms the ugly and sluggish into handsome and smart. So much so that it makes a brilliant out of a stupid. The boy and the girl who in their single life never worried themselves about anything, unless it directly concerned them, but as soon as they enter into mutual attachment and organize a matrimonial life, each of them for the first time finds concerned with the fate of the other. At that time the canvas of their desires expands. And when they have become parents of a son, their whole nature is completely changed. That boy who was lazy and sluggish has now become smart and active, and that girl who would never rise from her bed even per force would now leap like lightning on hearing the cry of her cradle-rider. What is that power which has made both of them so sensitive? That is nothing but love and devotion. Devotion makes a generous out of a miser, a powerful and forbearing out of a weak and impatient.
This is because of devotion, that a selfish hen, which was always worried to collect grain for self preservation, as soon as it became of brood on finding a single grain it calls the chickens to feast. Or to that mother, who till yesterday was a listless daughter always slumbering and eating, weak and irritant, love has now given her the strength to resist hunger, to forbear toil, to resign indolence, to be patient and forbearing and to withstand all the labours of being a mother.
In the parlance of poetry and literature, in chapters about the effects of love, we often enjoy one phenomenon and that is the intuition as bounty of love.
The nightingale has learnt to sing from bounty of flowers, otherwise All this eloquence and lyric were never arranged in her beak.Although prima facie the bounty of flower is a factor external to the figure of nightingale yet in fact it is nothing but the power of love itself.
Do not think that Majnoon became Majnoon himself.
It was Laila's attraction which pulled him from the fish to the star.
Devotion awakens the latent potentialities and liberates the stifled and suppressed faculties, like splitting of an atom and discharge of atomic energy. Devotion is intuitive and emboldening. Many poets, philosophers and men of art are people of love and devotion hence powerful. Love gives perfection to soul and reveals marvelous latent potentialities. From the viewpoint of perception it is intuitive, and from the view point of qualities of sentiments it enhances the will power; and when it ascends to the climax, it performs wonders and miracles.
It purifies the soul from contamination and pollution, in other words, love is a purifier. Love, by washing away the beastly qualities arising out of selfishness, apathy and indifference like miserliness, parsimony, cowardice lethargy, arrogance and self-conceit; destroys and annihilates hatred and vindictiveness. No doubt, failure and deprivation may happen in love and it may generate problems and animosities.
Love makes bitterness sweet.
Love transmutes copper to gold.
If the love is relatable to spirit, it enlightens and enriches the soul; but if it is relatable to body, it would result in its deterioration and degeneration. The effect of spiritual love is just the converse of material love. Material love brings about pessimism, pale face, feeble limbs and defect in digestion and indisposition in muscles. Perhaps the consequences of material love are all destructive but this is not so in the case of spiritual love. Then what should the object of love be? and how should one benefit from it? Leaving aside its social effects, the effect of spiritual love on individual is perhaps complimentary because it generates vigor, tenderness, unification and determination, and eliminates weakness, impurity, dissension and stupidity. It removes deviations that are called "intrigue" by the Quran, eradicates fraud and transmutes impostor to virtuous:- The master soul annihilates the body, thereafter reconstructs it,Virtuous is the soul who for the sake of love and happiness, Gave away his home and hearth, property and wealth,He robbed his house of the precious treasure, and filled it with wealth more,He sucked away the water from the riverbed,Thereafter he inundated it with water and benefited from it,He pierced the skin with the spear, thereafter he spread a new layer,The perfect, who know the secret of quest,Are perplexed, intoxicated and enamored,Not so much perplexed as to turn back on him (beloved),Rather so perplexed as (to be) absorbed and lost in the loved one.
BREAKING THE BARRIER
Regardless of its kind, whether carnal (animal) biological (animal) or human, and regardless of the charms and qualities of the beloved, may be he is brave, gallant, efficient, scholarly or has moral values, and any other special merits or qualifications, love and devotion takes one out of selfishness. Selfishness is a limitation and a barrier, and loving another virtually breaks this barrier. Man remains weakling, timid, miser, jealous, malicious, intolerant, selfish and arrogant as long as he does not step out of himself. His soul has no spark and no brilliance, it lacks charm and anxiety, it is always cold and slumbering, but instantly he steps out of himself and breaks the barrier of "self", these evil characteristics also vanish away. Whosoever has torn off his garb while in love, becomes purged of greed and blemish!
Breaking the barrier of selfishness does not mean that one should sever all relations with one's personality, nor does it mean that man should so strive as to detach relations with his own person.
It does not mean that in order to get rid of selfishness man should sever the relations, which he has with himself. It does not mean that man should endeavour to dislike himself. The relation with oneself, which is named as "Love of Self" has not been misplaced as to be removed. The reformation and perfection of man does not presuppose that a tissue of redundance has been planted in man, and that these weeds and harmful elements should be removed from him. In other words the reformation of man does not lie in impairing him. It rather lies in complementing and supplementing him. The function assigned to man by nature is towards propagation, i.e. it lies in perfection and augmentation and not in reduction and elimination.
Combat with selfishness is combat with ego-centricism. The self should get expansion. This hedge drawn about ego, which wards off everything as alien, foreign and extraneous, which does not concern him as exclusively personal, must be removed. Personality should so expand as to embrace the whole mankind, rather the whole of nature. Hence combat with selfishness, combat with ego-centricism. As such, selfishness is nothing but limitation of aims and objects. Love rouses man's feelings and tendencies to advert to something external. It expands his personality and changes his outlook towards life. For this reason, love and affection is a great moral and instructive factor provided it is well guided and properly exploited.
CONSTRUCTIVE OR DESTRUCTIVE
When alliance with a person or a thing develops to extreme intensity so much so that it dominates man and becomes his absolute ruler, is called (Ishque). Love is climax of feelings and alliance.
However, it should not be understood that what has been so named is of one kind. It has got two absolutely different kinds. That which is said to bear good consequences is of one kind, but the other kind leads to absolutely harmful and negative consequences.
Human feelings have kinds and degrees. A part of them is for category of lust, particularly sexual lust. It is, for reasons, common to men and all animals. With this difference that, for peculiar and inexplicable reasons, it is found in incalculable proportion and intensity in man, whence it is called love. In animals it is not found to this extent. However, for its nature and kind it is nothing but fury. Reversion and turmoil of sex originates from sexual sources and ends therein. Its intensity and dissipation are concomitants, on the one end is indulgence in sexual intercourse particularly in youthful years, and on the other, i.e. with advance in years, is the diminution of satisfaction and potency or may be their total dissipation. A young man who, on seeing a pretty face and a curly hair, spontaneously shudders, and on touch of a soft hand instantly twists, must know that it is nothing but a material animal phenomenon. Such loves are quick to erupt and still quicker to fade away. It is not dependable or commendable. It is dangerous and humiliating. It yields benefits to man only when it is reinforced with virtue, continence and non-submission i.e., of itself the stimulant leads to no virtue. However, if it penetrates in a man, and is co-existent with virtue and continence and also the soul has withstood its pressure without submitting to it, it would invigorate and augment the soul.
Man has other feelings also which for their kind and nature are different to lust. It is better to call them affection or in the parlance of the Quran to describe them as 'respect' and 'compassion' Man, as long as he remains under the influence of his lust, does not step out of himself. He wants with intensity the person or the object of his attraction for himself. If he thinks of his beloved, he does so for finding opportunity for cohabitation and maximum satisfaction. It is obvious that conditions like this are neither complementary to nor reformative of human world nor do they purify man's soul. But when man submits to the influence of superior human affection, his beloved enjoys respect and prestige in his view and he wishes the beloved prosperity. He is ready to sacrifice himself for the beloved's object. Such affections bring about purity, rectitude, benevolence, tenderness and selflessness; contrary to this is the first category which gives rise to fury, savagery and debauchery. The love and affection of mother to the son are from this category. The love with and dedication to the saints, the divines, the country, and the ideologies are also from this category.
When the sentiments of this category reach the climax and perfection, they yield all those virtuous consequences that we have detailed above. This is the category, which lends grandeur, individuality and sublimity to the soul as against the first category, which is humiliating. Moreover, this category of love is durable and becomes more forceful and warmer by reunion, as against the first category which is short lived, and fruition is considered to be its grave.
In the Holy Quran alliance between wife and husband has been described as (respect) and (compassion). It has great significance, it gives indication towards human conjugal life's being superior to animals. It means that the factor of sex is not the only natural relationship between spouses. The real tie is to be found in virtue, rectitude and the unity of two souls: In other words, what unify the spouses are the love, respect, virtue and rectitude and not the lust which exists in animals as well.
Maulvi, in his own beautiful style, by creating distinction between lust and respect calls the former to be animal and latter to be human:
Fury and lust are attributes of animals,Love and tenderness are human qualities;Such merits are (found) in man;Love is lacking in animals and it is for their deficiency.
Even the Philosophers of materialism could not deny this abstract condition in man, which for its being metaphysical is not consistent with their theory of man's being only a superior material animate.
Bertrand Russell in his Book "Marriage and Morals" says:-"Work of which the motive is solely pecuniary cannot have this value, but only work which embodies some kind of devotion, whether to persons, to things, or merely to a vision. And love itself is worthless when it is merely possessive; it is then on a level with work, which is merely pecuniary. In order to have the kind of value of which we are speaking, love must feel the ego of the beloved person as important as one's own ego, and must realize the other's feelings and wishes as though they were one's own".
Another point, which may be dealt with, and which does invite our attention, lies in our assertion that even sensual love may be beneficial when continence and virtue are its attendants, i.e., once inaccessibility and parting and then continence, virtue and piety bring such poignant grief and anguish, pressure and hardship to soul as yield good and beneficial results. It is in this context that the mystics say that "even carnal love may get transformed into spiritual love, i.e. love with God". This tradition has also been narrated in the same context: Whosoever fell in love, became reticent and practised cont