A154
Surah: 003 - Ayah: 154
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3:154
The answers to all such questions which can arise on the requirements of corporeality and humanity are found in the virtuous behaviour of the Prophet and the Imam. The example provided by their behaviour is found both in the Qur'an and in spirituality. In the Holy Qur'an God speaks about the praiseworthy character of the Holy Prophet and it is revealed there that he was the leader of mu 'mins and righteous people, and in his physical life he stood where human nature ends and the angelic begins. This is with respect only to his practical leadership and his guidance of the people, for otherwise, personally he was ahead of even the angels. His true successor (Imam) is also in the same position as him. This means that a great deal can be achieved by following in the footsteps of the Perfect Man. Thus sleep is not something which a mu 'min cannot overcome. According to the Qur'an, sleep is subat (repose, 78:9), but it must be known that this does not allude to the sleep of negligence, but means the miraculous sleep which is mentioned in other places in the Qur'an as nu'as (3:154; 8:11), which befalls a dhakir during successful dhikr. This kind of sleep causes effacement and annihilation, in which the mumin forgets the world and all it contains and he forgets even his own self and only Divine remembrance remains.
You know that from the world of wakefulness is created the world of imagination. A bright proof of this is that those things which he had seen in his wakeful state are seen in the imagination of man. This means that things, being stripped of the material attire, fly into the world of imagination. The world of dream is created when the imagination, due to inactivity of the senses, becomes frozen for a while. Spirituality is created if the dream is dissolved by enough `ibadat and spiritual exercise. For, the initial spirituality is like a peaceful, pleasant dream, one of whose Qur'anic names is nu`as (slumber) (3:154; 8:11). Finally, from the essence of spirituality is created the world of intellect or the world of command. But, here this point should be remembered forever that, what is the last is also the first and what is in the azal is also in the abad.
This verse has been referred 5 times.