Reflections

For example, drops of water and fragments of glass possess no brilliance of their own and seem of little importance with regard to light. Yet when those seemingly insignificant drops and fragments sincerely turn toward the sun, they become, in a sense, thrones for its light and begin to shine and glitter before your eyes.

In the same way, atoms and created beings, in proportion to their devotion to the duties assigned to them, become mirrors to the Names of Allah, Whose grandeur and exaltedness are boundless and Who possesses absolute beauty and perfection. Thus, like those drops of water and fragments of glass, inanimate creatures rise from a low and insignificant state to an exceedingly elevated, visible, and radiant one.

For this reason, one may say that, if such inanimate beings are capable of experiencing satisfaction, and if they partake in some degree of universal life, then they perform their duties with the utmost pleasure.

One of the clearest proofs that there is satisfaction in activity may be seen by considering your own organs and faculties. Each experiences a particular satisfaction in the task it performs. The very nature of its function becomes a source of pleasure to it, while being prevented from carrying out that function becomes a kind of torment.

Another clear proof may be found in the courageous conduct of animals such as roosters and hens. Even when a rooster is hungry, he prefers the hens to himself. When he finds food, he calls them together and allows them to eat first. It is plainly evident that he performs this duty with pleasure, pride, and satisfaction, and derives greater enjoyment from fulfilling it than from eating the food himself.

Another example is the behaviour of a hen acting as a guardian to her chicks. She is ready to sacrifice her life to protect them when they are attacked, and she feeds them even when she herself is hungry. This shows that she derives from this duty a satisfaction so great that it outweighs both the pain of hunger and even the fear of death.

Animal mothers protect their young with pleasure while they are small, because at that stage they are charged with this duty. But when the young grow up, both the duty assigned to the mother and the pleasure arising from it come to an end. She may then even attack her offspring and seize their food.

Only in human mothers do these duties continue for a longer period. This is because human beings, owing to their weakness and helplessness, retain in some degree the condition of childhood and remain in constant need of care and compassion.

Now consider the protective males among animal species, such as roosters, and the caring females, such as hens. You will understand that they do not perform these duties on their own account, for their own benefit, or in pursuit of personal gain; for when their duty requires it, they are ready to sacrifice even their lives.

Rather, they fulfil their tasks in the name of the Munim-i Karīm and by the command of the Fātir-i Dhul-Jalāl, Who assigns those duties to them and, through His mercy, places satisfaction within their fulfilment.