![]() And this, in effect, is a sign that we are drifting into illusion and that we are in danger of dying in a state of illusion and a state of delusion. But we start to lose that living connexion with the Imam, and the meaning of Tawhid starts to lose its relevance in our daily life. They can be figures that we understand we that we should respect. We can start to lose the strength of that Iman, and we can start to feel distant from our Imams as well. Our hearts go to sleep, they become hardened, and through that we can even start to lose that inspiration. It is through our immediate, mundane, daily lives that we start to fall asleep to the reality of our existence. Where are we standing on this day? Where are we standing on these nights in our lives and in our existence? And I think one of the amazing things about taking time out to do Ziyarah to the Ahlul Bayt, alayhum assalam, to remember the martyrdom of Imam Husayn, alayhi assalam, is that this act takes us out of our immediate, mundane, daily lives. It is by the intuition that we can perceive what lies beyond the apparent world that we live in.Īnd I want to think about how we are going to go into these nights of mourning for Imam Husayn, alayhi assalam, especially for those who have been brought up with these commemorations and listening to lectures and being familiar with a lot of the poetry and a lot of the practises that go into remembering the martyrdom of Imam Husayn, alayhi assalam, we do not want to be going into this very sacred time feeling that we have seen it all before and we have heard it all before, and that, you know, we cannot find a means of learning any more from this tragedy, but rather, it is a time for making us reflect back on where we are standing in our lives today. We need both our rationality and we need our intuition, also. And according to the teachings, the 'aql, resides both in the mind, in the brain as a rational entity and also in the heart as an intuitive entity. We have lost this ability to intuit the higher realities of existence with our hearts.Īnd according to the teachings of the Ahlul Bayt, alayhum assalam, it is the 'aql, that is the faculty that Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala has blessed us with to be able to perceive His signs and understand that Allah exists. And I would argue that over the centuries, as other scholars have argued as well, we have lost a certain ability to apprehend a higher reality. This is what they stood for on the plains of Karbala, not only for the fact that we we believe that God is one, but also thinking about how that belief in the Oneness of God has an impact on our entire lives. And it is appropriate to start with Tawhid because this is why Imam Husayn, alayhi assalam, and his family gave their lives. I am just going to begin tonight's reflection or tonight's talk by thinking about the foundation of Islam, which is Tawhid testifying to the fact that Islam is one, he is one reality devoid of attributes, absolutely hidden and unknowable, and that our task in this life is to try to apprehend that reality, to try to apprehend and understand and attain Ma'arifa of the Creator of all existence.
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