At a time I wrote the poem called 'Mujahid,' with the ebullient inspiration I received from the great Iqbal's poetry, some readers suggested that the following lines went too far in their poetic extravagance. However, anyone who reads the masterpiece for which I am writing this introduction, will understand some of God Almighty's servants can do anything and everything if their belief reaches the point of perfection!
If resolve enters a believing heart,
And a person reaches the final point of belief,
The bloodiest death will not restrain him,
A volcano's molten lava will not halt him.
The inspiration from his Lord strengthens his resolve,
Every night the Prophet appears to him in dreams.
Light is the constant mihrab of his believing heart,
Worldly light cannot illumine his horizon.
Neither blizzard nor storm nor pain disconcerts him;
All his life he passes in the cool summer shade.
While here he beholds the worlds of Paradise,
Like a mountain chain, unbending under ruinous blows.
Even iftoioering cliffs press in on him,
The moon sets, the sun dies, the sty darkens,
And the skies fall — still he does not abdicate his way,
The torch of belief in his spirit never flickers.
How sacred his belief, surging up in his heart!
A voice ever calling out to his conscience:
Traveller, hasten on! The dawn's breaking, don't tarry!
Grasp the torch! Streak the darkness with crimson and ochre!
Step up to the stars, rise to lofty worlds!
A hand's stretched down from Paradise to save humanity.
These lines were as though written for Bediuzzaman, the hero of belief and supreme mujahid. For these are his attributes. See what Almighty God promises the mujahids in this verse:
And those who strive in Our [cause] — We will certainly guide them to Our paths; for indeed, God is with those who do right; |29:69] that is, with those strivers who worship God as though they were seeing Him.
Thus, Almighty God promises that He will point out the ways of truth and guidance to those who strive to their utmost for the sake of the Qur'an and belief, renouncing the world and their own selves. Almighty God never breaks his promise; however, the conditions have to be met so that the promise can be fulfilled.
The verse illuminates us as to how we should understand Ustad's character and personality; in its shining light, we can perceive its finest, most subtle points. Because a person who receives the bounty of Almighty God's protection no longer feels such things as fear, anxiety, sorrow, distress, boredom, and so on.
What clouds can darken the skies of a heart illumined with God's light? What fleeting hopes and desires, what wretched favours and bounties, what vulgar goals and ambitions can satisfy the spirits of God's servants who attain to a constant sense of His presence?
Allah is his friend, preceptor, and protector;
All his senses and feelings turn into light on recalling Him!