How Can We Avoid Being a Fasiq by Maintaining Balance Among Our Beloveds?
You have probably heard the word fasiq, but you may not have thought about the possibility that we could be a fasiq too! If this is a possibility for everyone, then another question arises: How can we avoid being a fasiq? Life is full of ups and downs that can lead us astray from the normal path and cause us to lose our balance. Sometimes this imbalance is related to our body and can be easily seen and treated. However, sometimes our soul loses its balance and normal state, which we refer to it as fisq.
For example, we may lose our intestinal balance after eating a certain food, or we may strike a stone while walking and lose our balance, but the imbalance in the soul is not as obvious. Because we have grown accustomed to the world and its conditions, we often become attached to the beloveds of the lower dimensions of our being. We may become so preoccupied with acquiring material and worldly perfections—such as acquiring a home, vehicle, enhancing our appearance, improving relationships, career advancement, and furthering education—that we fail to notice the fisq and imbalance in the arrangement of our beloveds. However, we never think about finding a way to avoid being a fasiq or how to cure our fisq, while our harmony and balance as humans are dependent on the arrangement of our beloveds and the absence of fisq.
As we mentioned in previous lessons, fisq and imbalance in our soul occur when we, as human beings, ignore the human dimension of our existence and do not seek the deity and beloved of this dimension, that is Allah. In other words, Allah and love for Him are no longer at the center of our lives, relationships, decisions, thoughts, or behaviors, and our love for Him does not have the power to guide, regulate, and control other dimensions of our being. In this lesson, we intend to examine the factors that are necessary for the empowerment of our super-rational faculty to reach its fullest potential. Based on this, we will find a way to cure fisq and restore our balance, in other words, to avoid being a fasiq.
The Maturity of the Supra-Rational Dimension
Balance or imbalance (fisq) has a direct relationship with the dominance of our supra-rational dimension. We already stated that we have balance when all the dimensions of our existence recognize the rule of our supra-rational dimension and act under its control. However, the supra-rational dimension can only overcome our ego if it possesses the required power and capacity; in other words, when it is mature.
Of course, the maturity of the supra-rational dimension, or the human part of our existence, differs significantly from that of other dimensions. In the inanimate, vegetative, animal, and intellective dimensions of our existence, we seek our beloved as soon as we reach maturity. This means that we do not need mental imagery[1] to fulfill the desires and needs of the lower dimensions of our being. Since childhood, when a toy or a shiny thing attracts our eye, we try to grab it. When we are hungry, we look for food without other stimulations. When we reach sexual maturity, we feel the desire to marry and establish a relationship with the opposite sex without anyone reminding us, and when we reach intellectual maturity, we are interested in learning, studying, and understanding the secrets of nature.
However, the case is different for our supra-rational dimension. Our human dimension does not reach maturity on its own and without mental imagery. We must try to make our human dimension dominant and push back its inanimate, vegetative, animal, and intellective rivals. In other words, it is easy to become a fasiq and fall out of balance, and we must try to avoid being a fasiq. In fact, remembering God, which is a sign of the awakening of our supra-rational dimension, is never a random or accidental act, but follows a mathematical structure of cause-and-effect. We can only claim to have attained supra-rational maturity and balance in our human dimension when we feel impatient for the Beloved of the human dimension of our existence, Allah, and feel longing for him without needing any external encouragement. Of course, it is important to know that the maturity of the human dimension in our being is not dependent on our age, but rather on the quantity and quality of its nourishment.
Deviation from Balance
No balanced person would prefer a finite and perishable perfection to an infinite and unlimited perfection. When we prefer the insignificant perfections of the world to the Beloved of our supra-rational dimension, which is Absolute Perfection, it indicates that we have suffered a deviation of desire due to improper nourishment. Imbalance in each dimension of our existence manifests itself in some way. For example, if we neglect our inanimate and sensory dimension, we will have a weak and lethargic body that is constantly unwell. If we neglect our vegetative dimension, we do not seek healthy nutrition and exercise, and we are unconcerned about our growth and physical ability. If we are imbalanced in our animal dimension, we have no desire to marry and do not devote enough time and energy to the demands of our family and children. Also, we are indifferent to our professional, social, or political responsibilities. Similarly, when we neglect our intellective dimension, we are no longer interested in acquiring knowledge and learning.
Although imbalance in any of these parts is bothersome and impedes the rapid growth and overall soundness of our heart, none is as harmful as an imbalance in the supra-rational dimension. Because we are the noblest of creations and hold the position of divine caliphate (deputyship of God), we can only find balance by connecting with Allah. However, we can only feel the need to reach Allah and achieve Infinite Perfection if we make our human dimension the ruler of our being, in other words, if we avoid being a fasiq. A person who is out of balance and has no understanding of the supra-rational dimension of his being does not feel the need to become like Allah and achieve the purpose of his creation. As a result, in order to cure fisq, we need to value each dimension and faculty of our existence as much as necessary with proper and appropriate nutrition and prevent the excessive growth of the lower dimensions of our being. We also need to strengthen our supra-rational dimension through practice and mental imagery and make this dimension dominant in our soul.
By becoming preoccupied with and accustomed to something and constantly being exposed to it, we create the ground for its love in our hearts. If we arrange our jobs, lives, relationships, friendships, or pleasures in such a way that we constantly prioritize the world and its manifestations in our hearts, we naturally lead our soul toward fisq and imbalance. However, if we maintain balance in our relationships with the beloveds of the lower dimensions of our existence and revive the remembrance of God and His manifestations in our hearts through mental imagery and education, we will progress towards the dominion of the supra-rational dimension over our being. In fact, we can only avoid fisq when we do not sacrifice the desire for Infinite Perfection and reaching Him for the limited perfections of the world.
In this lesson, we explored the ways to cure fisq and how to avoid being a fasiq. We stated that if we become too focused on worldly pursuits and the beloveds of the lower dimensions of our existence, we may even have trouble recognizing our fisq. To avoid being a fasiq, we must cultivate our supra-rational dimension and control the lower dimensions of our existence according to the will of Allah, that is, its Infinite Beloved. Of course, the maturation of the supra-rational dimension is different from that of other dimensions of our existence and requires education and mental imagery.
Is achieving human balance and harmony important to you? Do you believe that the first step to reaching the purpose of creation and becoming like God is to prioritize our beloveds and avoid being a fasiq?
[1]. Talqin