SD Chapters 7-8 Review

Question 1

List and explain 3 outcomes of the spiritual journey (there are 7).

Answer 1

1. Complete support: Allah will listen to us and give us what we want. He will be our ears, eyes and hands.
2. Perfect knowledge: We will be granted knowledge of the realities of the world, including mysteries that can’t be known through ordinary methods.
3. Exclusive devotion to Allah: We will be free from relying on anything other than Him. We can live within society but still remain totally mindful of Allah.
   Unfortunately there are many actions that can negatively affect our devotion, not only bad actions or sins. Good actions can also become corrupted by arrogance and pride. They will then become a barrier between us and Allah.
4. Entrance into the realm of light: In the realm of light, everything is clear and the true reality of everything is known.
5. Immense love for Allah: Once one has tasted this love, there is no substitute. Our love or dislike for anything becomes only for the sake of Allah.
6. Witnessing Allah in everything: Allah constantly shows Himself to us in different ways. If our hearts are pure we can witness Allah through all things.
7. Internal peace: All worldly affairs become insignificant to us. We feel that we are under Allah’s protection and that nothing can harm us.
   We understand that all pain and suffering are for our own benefit and we will be rewarded by Allah.
   Nothing can disturb us because we are not afraid of losing anything

Question 2

The amount of light all creatures hold depends on what?

Answer 2

Their capacity

Question 3

True or False (and explain): Some beings have a fixed amount of light while rational beings with free will do not.

Answer 3

True - they (humans, jinns) can increase their light with faith and good deeds or decrease it with disbelief and transgression

Question 4

Explain how if someone or something brings darkness to our hearts and renders us heedless of Allah, it is not because they are absolutely dark.

Answer 4

It is because they divert our attention away from Allah by drawing our attention to themselves or anything independent from Allah or it is because we have not appreciated them properly.

Question 5

Explain the 3 possible states of light for humans.

Answer 5

1. Inherent state: all humans naturally possess light/ immense brightness; we are all created pure and have been given enough light to find our way to Allah and perfection
2. State reached through faith and purity: increases human brightness and can eventually make him Allah’s vicegerent, allowing him to spread brightness among other creatures
3. State reached through disbelief and impurity: decreases human brightness to the point where one becomes lower than an animal or the lowest of the low

Question 6

True or False (and explain): We need to produce light.

Answer 6

False - at most, we must open our heart to the Divine light so that it shines over our hearts - which is achieved by remembering Allah

Question 7

After faith, what is the other important source of light? Explain with examples.

Answer 7

Doing good deeds - every good deed increases the light of a believer in this world

1. Wudu: by itself it is a kind of worship and causes light
   it is not only performed for prayer or other acts of worship - it is spiritually significant and it is recommended to be in constant state of wudu. Wudu is a kind of remembrance of Allah and a source of proximity; repeating it is beneficial vs physical cleanliness from washing repeatedly may have no use. It has a deep spiritual effect in the real world - water used for other than wudu purifies only the external whereas when used with the intention of wudu, it attains the power of spiritual purification and its drops are actually droplets of spiritual purity - in other words, droplets of light
2. Hajj: hadith by Imam al Sadiq (as) the light of the hajj ritual remains with a pilgrim so long as he does not sin after performing it
3. Looking after orphans: In the Prophet’s will to Imam Ali (as), he said for those who pass their hands on an orphan’s head as a sign of mercy, Allah will give them illumination for every single hair (of that head) on the Day of Resurrection

Question 8

How is remembrance of Allah related to the concept of light?

Answer 8

If you remember Allah, Allah and the angels will send their blessings on you until it drives you from darkness to light. So one of Allah’s favours and mercies for a believer is sending blessings upon him which causes his leaving darkness and moving toward light. So with invocation, one can move toward the source of light and increase his light. Once they think of Allah, humans attain light and tranquility. Since the Prophet constantly remembered Allah, Allah and the angels continually sent salutations to the Prophet and so he always shined like a radiant lamp. This remembrance is not merely the remembrance of the heart - it appears in individual and social behaviours, such as praying and alms-giving. So people who remember Allah not only become illuminated but their homes also become a place of manifestation and radiance of the Divine’s Light (Prophets’ homes, Imam Ali, etc).