Moulana Rumi (R.A.) states: "It is a well known fact that the fox isnoted for its cowardice." However the fox which has a lion as a supportbehind its back saying to him: "Fear not, my hand is upon your back",in spite of lacking courage, becomes very brave indeed. His new foundbravery is of such a nature that he will not hesitate to attack aleopard. He now has the support of a lion at his side, he will show nofear for a leopard.
Similarly is the case of the chosen servants of Allah. In spite oftheir apparent weakness and distressed position, they show no fear of amultitude of evil forces. These saintly ones do experience some naturalfear, of physical hurt or injury but at heart they have no fear ofanyone besides Allah.
A Sufi says: "O people look not upon my weakly countenance for I havelegs of iron. Do you know that within my heart I am connected to theKing of kings."
In this regard Moulana Rumi (R.A.) tells a story of Hazrat Jaafar .Once Hazrat Jaafar attacked a fortress, all by himself. His attack wasso fierce that it seemed that the fortress would soon become prey tothe hooves of his horse. The inmates of the fortress were so struck byawe that they closed the gates of the fortress and not one dared tocome out and engage him in battle.
The King discussed with his Wazir as to what line of action was to beadopted. The Wazir advised him: "The best line of action is to cancelall plans of making war against the man. It is best to take your Kafanand your sword and meet him and then to throw down your weapon." TheKing replied: "But this man is all by himself. How is it that you giveme such advice?"
The Wazir informed him: "Do not underestimate his being one manonly. Open your eyes and look at the fortress and see how it trembleslike quick silver. Look at the inmates of the fortress, and see howtheir heads are bent downwards like sheep. Even though the man isalone, the heart which he has in his breast is not like the hearts ofordinary men. Look at his brave courage, that in the face of a vastmultitude of opponents, he challenges them into battle with a nakedsword in his hand and in a confident victorious manner, calls them outto fight. It seems that all the battle forces of the East and the Westare with him. One man alone, but he appears like hundreds of thousands.Do you not see that whichever soldiers are sent out to fight him aresoon seen lying under the hooves of his horse? When I had seen thegreat individuality of this man, O King, I realised that his multitudeof soldiers which are with you, will not be able to do anything againsthim. Do not rely upon numbers. The main thing is the unity of the heartand this is actually what is so striking about the heart of this man.In this respect he has been endowed endlessly with it. This is a giftfrom Allah, which is attained through the acquisition of contact withHim and through rigorous spiritual exercises. This connection you willnot be able to attain while you are in the state of Kufr. Hence, it isbest for you to throw down our weapons in defeat before the courageousbeliever and to open the gates of the fortress, because your largenumber of soldiers are no use."
Then Moulana Rumi (R.A.) gave examples of where in the face of a minority, the majority becomes useless:
Example One:
Millions of starts are shining and produce light, but at the rising of the sun, their light becomes non-existent.
Example Two:
If one thousand mice should attack a weak and sickly cat, it wouldappear that they would be victorious in their endeavor. A few of themcan grab him by the neck. One or two of them can then take his eyesout. One or two of them can tear off his ears with their teeth. One ortwo of them can make an opening in his side, enter and begin chewingthe internal organs.
That would appear to be reasonable to accept. However, experiencehas shown otherwise. As soon as the weak and sickly cat utters one"miau" the whole multitude of mice become awestruck and one by one theyflee to safety. The moment they hear the "miau" they become convincedof their being vanquished and visualising the actions of the cat'steeth and paws makes them flee.
The main reason for this is the major difference between the heartsin the breast of the mice and the heart in the breast of the cat. Theunity of the heart in the cat and the courage lying in it, is not foundin the mice. Hence the mice becoming confounded and defeated in thepresence of the cat, is proof thereof that the cat possesses unity ofthe heart and courage. Otherwise it would appear that if a large numberof mice should attack the cat, it will be impossible for the cat toescape.
Hence we conclude that even if the number of mice were a hundredthousand, still, seeing a weak and sickly cat, will cause all of themto run away. This proves that numbers mean nothing. The main thing isunity of the heart and courage.
Example Three:
The sheep and goats may be numerous in number but in the face of the knife of the slaughterer, that number is of no consequence.
Example Four:
Sleep comes along and causes many thoughts and imaginations to be put out of the mind.
Example Five:
The lion in the forest courageously attacks a multitude if animals withhorns and one alone gets the upper hand over them. Furthermorewhichever animal he chooses from among them, he eats.
LESSON
Allah, the King of Kings, is the One who grants this unity of heartand such courage. This unity of the heart is of two kinds. One isnatural, or commonly possessed by the non-believers, polytheists andeven animals. The other form which is granted by Allah and comes aboutthrough the blessings of close contact with Allah. This is what theSufis term as "Nisbat", for which one has to strive.
It is a great favor from Allah to have contact with Him. And thereis only one way of attaining this contact and that is through followingthe Shariat.
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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