Nightly mighty task The one treasure
The chapter of the Quran entitled Al-Muzammil (The Wrapped One) commences with these verses:“O you who are wrapped up in your mantle, stand up to pray for much of the night. It may be half the night or a little less than that or a little more, but recite the Quran slowly and distinctly. For We are about to send down to you a message of considerable gravity. Surely, getting up at night [for worship] is the most potent means of subduing the self and most suitable for the word [of prayer]. You have by day prolonged occupations [with Dawah work]. Remember the name of your Lord, and devote yourself to Him wholeheartedly.” (73:1-8)
From these verses it is clear that God requires people to be so devoted to the divine service that they rise at night in order to perform their duties to the Lord.
To forsake one’s sleep and spend the night hours in pursuit of a cause indicates the highest level of dedication; it shows that one has associated oneself utterly with the object of one’s dedication and will soon be in a position to represent it in the world. This applies to worldly pursuits also. Almost all the individuals who have reached great heights in any field have been those who were willing to stay awake at nights in order to gain proficiency in it.
To become a true believer is to become a personification of Islam in the eyes of the world; it is to become so associated with Islam that one is fit to carry its message to far corners of the globe.
This requires intense preparation, which must be conducted in a spirit keen enough to fuel one for work through the night hours.
Success does not come in mundane fields without such dedication. www.cpsglobal.org My Teacher told me this Sufi story.
A man had three sons. When the eldest son came of age, he called him aside and said, “You are now of age, and I am giving you a ring as a mark that you are my successor. The ring has great value and beauty, and it has the capacity to open the gates of a vast treasure.”
When the second son, came of age, the father called him aside and gave him another ring and repeated what he had told the eldest son. In time, the third son also came of age, and the father gave him another ring, with the same advice.
In time, the ancient wise man passed away. Soon, each of the ring holders claimed primacy, showing the ring as proof of true succession. As time passed, each of the rings gathered their own adherents, who claimed that their ring was the best.
But all forgot that the rings were actually the keys to a vast treasure, and were only lost in arguing over precedence, and the possession of the ring.
Only a few looked beyond the ring to the treasure. They found that if you contemplated any of the rings without a sense of possession or attachment, you could see the treasure, which they found to be inexhaustible. When these wise men wanted to tell this great discovery to the adherents, they found few listeners. The first group said that the ring itself is the treasure. The second said the way to the treasure was inscribed on the ring, and was known only to its owner. The third said that the owner of the ring will find it in the future. Guru Granth Sahib gives this counsel: The One Name is the treasure, listen to the Teachings. If you read in duality, you shall only continue to suffer
My teacher said that most of us just seek some profit from the Signs, but only the wise know that all signs only point to Him, the real treasure.