XIII
Fire and Light · Compilations · 907 words
O servants of the one true God! O handmaids of the Merciful! From the outset love was rebellious and bloodthirsty, So as to put every stranger to flight.
One of the requisites of true love is willingness to bear every suffering and tribulation that hath occurred in the past or may occur in the future. Hence a passionate lover is always stained with blood, and he that yearneth to meet the Beloved a constant wanderer. How well is it said: The worldly wise who garner the ears of grain are unaware of Laylí’s secret, For unto none was accorded the great glory but Majnún—he who set the whole harvest afire.
Thus throughout all ages and centuries the righteous have been made a target to the darts of adversity and have fallen victim to the swords of oppression. At one time they quaffed the cup of dire ordeal, at another they tasted the venom of bitter woe. Not for a moment did they enjoy rest and comfort, nor did they repose for a fleeting breath upon the couch of tranquillity. Rather did they endure agonizing torment and patiently carry the burden of hardship that every oppressor was wont to impose upon them. Having been consigned to dungeons and prisons, they severed themselves from the world and all its peoples.
In this way most of the favoured ones of God offered up their lives as martyrs in the field of sacrifice. He Who is the resplendent Morn of divine guidance, the Exalted One,10 sank below the horizon of sacrifice. Quddús sought companionship with the Beloved through glorious martyrdom. Mullá Ḥusayn opened a new gate to the field of martyrdom. Vaḥíd distinguished himself as a peerless figure in the arena of sacrifice. Zanjání11 offered up his life as a martyr upon the plain of tribulation. The King of Martyrs hastened forth to the place of sacrifice. The Beloved of Martyrs was enraptured with ineffable gladness when he offered up his life for the sake of God. Ashraf attained the heights of honour as he unflinchingly set his face towards the arena of sacrifice. Badí‘, as he breathed his last, exclaimed: “Magnified be my Lord, the Most Glorious!” The martyrs of the land of Yá12 drank their fill with relish from the draught of glorious martyrdom, and the martyrs of Shíráz laid down their lives in the arena of ardent love to the tune of sweet and wondrous melodies. Those massacred in the land of Nayríz were inebriated with the brimful cup of sacrifice, and the martyrs of Tabríz were seized with ecstatic joy and unleashed new energies in the field of sacrifice. Those who renounced their lives in Mázindarán exclaimed: “O Lord! Destine for us this cup that brimmeth over with the choice wine”; while the martyrs of Iṣfahán laid down their lives with utmost joy and radiance.
In brief, there is not a spike whose tip is not tinged with the blood of the martyrs, nor is there a place not dyed crimson with the blood of His ardent lovers. The purpose is to enable you to know that one of the tenets of those that thirst after Him, and the highest aspiration of such as long to behold His face, is to endure hardship, to submit to trials and martyrdom in the path of the Lord of grace. Therefore it behoveth you to render thanks unto God for the bounty of having drunk your fill from this draught and for having tasted deadly poison in the path of the Best-Beloved. Indeed, far from being a poison, this is pure honey and sugar; and far from being bitter in taste, this is the essence of sweetness.
O how eager am I to bear affliction in the path of God! O what a great joy to suffer hardship for His love! O how blessed the man who tasteth the bitterness of woe, and how well is it with him who is swept into the ocean of tribulation in his eagerness to attain the presence of God! It behoveth you to offer thanksgiving at every moment, inasmuch as ye became the target of atrocities in the path of divine guidance and were exposed to grievous oppressions for the sake of the love ye cherish for the Almighty.
In truth, those that are guided solely by their reason would be unable to perceive the sweetness of this cup, but the ardent lovers will be overjoyed and enraptured by the holy ecstasy which this wondrous draught doth produce. Every discerning observer who hath gazed upon the countenance of that graceful Beloved was prompted to lay down his life as a martyr, and every receptive ear which had hearkened unto that celestial melody suffered its listener to become so enravished with joy as to offer up himself without hesitation as a sacrifice. The moth which is animated by love will burn its wings as it flitteth round the lamp of God, and the phoenix of tender affection will be set ablaze by the fire of ardent desire. No unfamiliar bird can partake of the heat of this Fire, nor can the fowls that dwell upon the dust plunge forth into this heavenly Ocean. However, praise be unto God, ye are the leviathans of this ocean, the birds of this pasture, the moths of this lamp, the nightingales of this meadow.