The Sixth Word

After a short time, the first person reached such a position that everyone admired his condition. He received the favour of the sultan and lived happily in his palace. The other fell into such a state that everyone pitied him, while at the same time they considered it his deserved punishment. For through his own mistake, he had lost his happiness and possessions and experienced punishment and torment.

Now then, O my pleasure-seeking nafsThe aspect of the soul associated with lower desires and negative traits.! Behold the truth through the telescope of this parable. The sultan symbolizes your Lord and Creator, who is Sultān-i Azal wa AbadAllah, the Sovereign of all things and all times, whose existence has neither beginning nor end.. The estates, machines, tools, and measuring instruments are the physical and spiritual faculties such as the eyes, the tongue, the intellect, and the imagination of your body, soul, and heart. The honoured envoy refers to the Revered Messenger (saw)Sallallāhu alayhi wa sallam (Peace and blessings be upon him). And the decree is the Qur’an, in which the profitable trade mentioned above is proclaimed through the following verse:

اِنَّ اللّٰهَ اشْتَرٰى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنٖينَ اَنْفُسَهُمْ وَاَمْوَالَهُمْ بِاَنَّ لَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَIndeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their wealth in exchange for Paradise. — The Quran 9:11

And the chaotic battlefield is this stormy worldly life, which does not remain stable and is constantly undergoing change. It awakens the following thought within the human being: “Since everything will slip from our hands and perish into transience, is there no way to preserve it by making it eternal?” At this, he hears the heavenly voice of the Qur’an as follows: “Indeed, there is a pleasant and easy way that is profitable in five respects.”

The Question: “What is that way?”

The Answer: “To sell your possessions, which are entrusted to you, to their True Owner. Indeed, selling them brings five profits.”

The first profit: transient possessions become eternal. For the transient life that is dedicated to Dhāt-i Dhu’l-JalālAllah, the Majestic Lord Whose greatness and majesty are boundless., who is Qayyūm-i BāqīAllah, the Eternal Sustainer of all creation., and spent for His sake, will be made eternal and bear everlasting fruits. Thus, the minutes of your life, like seeds, will seemingly perish and decay, but in the eternal world they will sprout and blossom as flowers of happiness. In ālam-i barzakhThe realm where the souls of the deceased await the Resurrection., they will have illuminating and pleasant forms.

The second profit: Paradise is granted as the price.

The third profit: the value of every physical and spiritual faculty increases a thousandfold.

For example, the intellect is an instrument. If you do not sell it to Allah but make it work in the interest of your nafsThe aspect of the soul associated with lower desires and negative traits., it will become such an ominous, disturbing, and tormenting instrument that it will burden you with the sorrowful events of the past and the frightening conditions of the future. It will become an inauspicious and harmful instrument.

Indeed, it is for this reason that a sinner usually seeks refuge in intoxication or pleasures in order to escape the distress and agitation caused by the intellect. However, if you sell the intellect to its True Owner and make it work in His name, the intellect will become such a mysterious key that it will unlock the doors to the infinite treasures of mercy and wisdom in this universe. In this way, the intellect will serve as a guide leading its owner to eternal happiness.