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Al-Hadid – Iron "57"
5 Levels of Heart
7 Holy Opening Face
Lead to Guidance to the
Divine
The understanding of iron is a
secret and a key to spiritual development, particularly at this time. For
dunya, the world as it is, iron is the bedrock of technology and industry.
Without physical mastery over iron, none would have been able to assert his
will. In essence, iron equals power. However, it’s proper and full
application, use and potential is to be found within spirituality.
Spiritual Power
The 57th Surah of the
Holy Qur’an is entitled “Al-Hadid,” Iron. Correspondingly, the 57th
name of Prophet (S) is al-Mahdi, signifying the
particular relevance of iron to Akhir Zaman, the Last Days.
Mahdi is the
Guide, teaching us that Iron is essential for guidance whether
physical {Global Positioning Satellites} or Spiritual Furthermore, there is
an importance to the understanding of iron for those who are in the line of
and seeking to be of service to Sayyidina al-Mahdi (A).
The word Hadid is spelled in Arabic
by the letters “H”, “D”, “Y”, “D”, and is comprised of two root words, “Had”
and “Yad.” “Had” means “Blade” and “Yad” means “Hand.” Thus, the root of
iron translates to “Blade-Hand.” This signifies the importance of iron with
regards to spiritual and physical power, and it’s relevance as an instrument
to manifest the will of God.
Being a prophetic king, Sayyidina
Daud (A), like Sayyidina Suleiman (A), represented the merging of temporal
and spiritual power, the application of spiritual authority to mundane
reality. Regarding him, the Holy Qur'an states:
“We bestowed grace aforetime on
David from Ourselves. O ye mountains! Sing ye back the praises of Allah
(SWT) with him, and ye birds as well! And we made the iron soft for him.” –
Qur’an As-Saba (34:10)
Sayyidina Zhul-Qarnain (A), another
king, used the power of iron to imprison chaos and evil, Yajuj and Majuj (Gog
and Magog):
“’Give me pieces of iron’ – ‘til
when he had leveled up (the gap) between the cliffs, he said, ‘Blow!’ – ‘til
when he had made it a fire, he said, ‘Bring me molten copper to pour
thereon.’” – Qur’an Al-Kahf (18:96)
Regarding iron and this subject in
general, there is an important hadith of Prophet (S):
Allah’s Messenger (S) said, “When
Allah (SWT) created the Earth it began to oscillate, so He created the
Mountains, ordered them onto it, and it became steady. The angels marveled
at the strength of the Mountains and asked their Lord whether there was
anything in His creation stronger than the Mountains,
to which he replied that Iron was stronger.
They asked if anything in His creation was stronger than Iron, and He
replied that Fire was. They asked if anything
in His creation was stronger than Fire, and He replied that
Water was. They asked if anything in His
creation was stronger than Water, and He replied that
Wind was.” {States of Matter Solid Liquid Gas}
As an aside, this Hadith specifies
the stages of personal progress and spiritual achievement.
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The Mountains
refer to the Awliya, the Saints of God, who through great firmness of faith
reach a station that corresponds with that which stabilizes the Earth, i.e.
they balance the universe with their positive light and energy.
The Mountain
is unshakeable, solid and stable, and perfectly describes the rank of the
Friends of God and of Prophet (S).
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Through their further development and
evolution, and the application of spiritual power, Awliya then become
Iron –
absolutely firm and unbreakable.
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The next stage is Fire, wherein the
Saint’s essence burns and is ignited with the flame of Divine Power from the
Presence of God, a state that may melt even Iron. Afterwards, the Saint’s
being and container becomes Water, a fluid mountain which responds
automatically and instantaneously to the will of the Divine, and which may
douse even Fire.
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This corresponds to a state wherein one is completely
melted and annihilated in Bahr ul-Qudra, the Ocean of Power wherein all
creation swims.
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Lastly, Awliya may
reach the station of Wind, pure Prophetic
Essence, subtle, ethereal, completely without mass – pure Divine Will.
The common individual is far from
these realities and is instead weak, vulnerable and easily breakable. Such
is the result of asserting personal will. However, as a spiritual practice
under the guidance of one’s Shaykh, one may meditate and imagine himself in
these states and filled with their realities depending on his current need.
Magnetism
 All of creation maintains coherence
via magnetism and magnetic fields, of which iron is the essential element.
Significantly, there is no power in the Universe that may create this
element other than the immense power and energy of the Sun. It is a heavenly
element*, and is so stated by Holy Qur’an.
Thus, to maintain control over
oneself and to move towards the human potential, one must acquire control
over his magnetic field and the iron in his system. That control must be
taken from the reigns of the ego, Shaytan, vain desires and dunya, and
handed into the hands of the Divine that a servant may manifest his true
capacity.
In summary, magnetism operates in
the following manner.
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One takes an iron rod and coils a wire around it,
perhaps hundreds or thousands of times.
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Modern magnets are coiled at least
tens of thousands of times.
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The more the iron is coiled, the
more powerful its resultant magnetic attraction.
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Then by simply passing electricity
to the system, the iron rod becomes magnetized and attracts metal.
Similar to Iron in ones blood is charges with energy.
There are many things the spiritual
seeker may learn from this physical reality.
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Specifically, one may gain a
valuable understanding of the secret of Haqiqat Jazba, the Reality of
Attraction, one of the six powers conferred and realized by the Naqshbandi
Murid, one who has totally and completely surrendered his will to that of
his Shaykh and Murshid.
Spiritual attraction or magnetism is
based in the secret of the Light of the Prophet (S), for it is his Holy
Light that is the essence of the unity of creation. When that pure Light is
veiled by the density of dunya, veils of separation from reality and the
imprisonment and confinement of the soul within the cage of the body is the
result. Awliya are they who through having overcome all density by
completely abandoning dunya and embracing zuhd, ascetism, shine brilliantly
with and as the Light of Prophet (S). Having not been deceived by illusory
freedom, their souls have been freed through denial of the body and
physicality, which in reality exist only through the insistence and belief
of mankind. Because the essence of the Light of Prophet (S) is based in
unity, it is naturally attractive, i.e. it seeks unity. Thus, when one is in
the presence of a Saint who has completely manifested the Light of Prophet
(S), he feels naturally attracted towards him. This is because his soul is
seeking unity, and clearly sees and recognizes the ocean from where it came.
It is for this reason that the
spiritual practice of Muraqabah, meditation and annihilation in the presence
of the Shaykh, is so important for seekers of truth and reality. For during
muraqaba, the Murid is but melting in the reality and light of the perfected
Shaykh, who manifests completely the Light of Prophet (S). In muraqaba, the
Murid is overcoming the barriers of his physicality to return to his source
and the essence of his soul, which is the Soul and Light of Prophet (S).
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Being dressed with the Light of the Shaykh then becomes analogous to
wrapping a copper wire around an iron rod. When wrapped thus hundreds,
thousands, or even countlessly through perpetual presence, the Murid then
harnesses a powerful potential that simply needs to be ignited by the
spiritual power of the Shaykh “passing electricity” or permission, ijaza, to
the sincere and humble Murid, and so opening for him the reality of the
power of attraction for the purpose of guiding lost souls towards their
realities and towards unity.
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The actual physical process
described above is particularly relevant with regards to iron because it is
iron within the system that binds energy, spiritual light.
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It is the iron within one’s system
that must become purified and perfected through muraqaba and through
cleanliness (see below).
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The state of the iron in one’s
system reflects the state of his resultant electromagnetic energy field, or
aura.
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They who have developed a powerful
spiritual connection to the Presence of Prophet (S) and their Shaykh will
exhibit a brilliant and attractive aura, clearly visible in the spectrum
beyond the range of the physical eyes, but within the range of the vision of
the heart and soul.
In summary, by being coiled by the
light and presence of the Shaykh and Grandshaykhs, of Prophet (S), angels
and positive spiritual beings, one becomes powerfully charged and magnetized
with divine light and energy, in essence wearing the spiritual jubbah of his
lineage, inheriting their specific honors, manifestations and secrets. All
of this is related to the iron within one’s system and it is thus critical
to physically purify and to keep pure that element within oneself.
Purification
The primary vehicle and repository
for iron within the human system is the blood, and so it is critical to
purify and keep pure the blood.
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Women have a natural cycle through
loss of blood monthly that eliminates negative iron from their system.
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Because men do not have an automatic
system for this process, they tend suffer more so from the effects of iron
overload as well as negatively charged iron.
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By age 40, a man will typically have
twice the iron load of a woman, and will consequently experience twice the
rate of diabetes, cancer, heart disease and infections.
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Bacteria, viruses and fungi all
utilize iron as a primary growth factor, so lower iron levels in females
protect them from infection.
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Blood loss is a method for
controlling stored iron levels, and so full grown men, or women who no
longer control iron via monthly blood loss, who regularly donate blood are
healthier.
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It is for this reason that for men,
Prophet (S) recommended cupping, blood-letting, “al-hijjama.”
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The negative and sickly iron within
men is deposited at certain points on the back of the shoulder blades, the
back of the head, and the coccyx.
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Prophet (S) and his Companions would
carry out cupping at least twice per year, and it has its own Prophetic
methodology and interior dimensions.
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Interestingly, this practice is now
returning even to conventional medicine to treat Alzheimer’s disease,
Parkinson’s disease, cancer and diabetes.
Suffice it to say that once one
spends so much effort purifying and enlightening his system, he must pay
equal attention to maintaining and building upon his purity.
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It is for this reason that seekers
and spiritual aspirants pay attention to their food intake, taking great
care and precaution to not allow anything negative to enter their system.
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It becomes pointless to debate
regarding Halaal (permitted) and haram (prohibited) for that route but
serves to obscure the purpose and intent of the matter, which is to purify
oneself to the best of one’s ability.
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The Sahaba said that they refrained
from seven-eighths of what is Halaal out of fear of coming near to what is
haram. They did this because they realized the reality of their actions and
they were not interested in conforming to the letter of the law, but rather
they sought only to arrive at their divine destinations.
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The Shaykhs of the Naqshbandi order
are at least as stringent, sometimes eating almost nothing through the
perfection and purification of their selves, and even then saying BismiAllah
with each bite so that only light may enter their system. One must become
finely attuned to his system and develop an awareness of how all things
affect him. Upon realizing the negative effect of a certain action, he must
then move towards a higher and more disciplined approach that he may quickly
progress towards perfection and freedom.
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