and the service of Islam. When, on the other hand, they gave up worldly rule, they brilliantly and most successfully served Islam and the Qur’an.

Now see: of the poles of sainthood descended from Hasan, especially the Four Poles(28) and above all ‘Abd al-Qadir Gilani, and the Imams of Husayn’s line, especially Zayn al-‘Abidin and Ja‘far al-Sadiq, each became like a spiritual Mahdi, dispelled wrongdoing and spiritual darkness, and spread the light of the Qur’an and the truths of belief. And in so doing each showed he was a true heir of his noble forefather.

I t m a y t h e n b e a s k e d : “What was the wisdom in the awesome and bloody dissension that was visited on blessed Islam and the luminous Age of Bliss, and what aspect of mercy was there in it, for they did not deserve such distress?

T h e A n s w e r : Just as a heavy spring rainstorm stirs into action the potentialities of all the varieties of plants, seeds, and trees, and causes them to develop, so each blossoms in its particular way and performs the duties inherent in its nature, so too, the dissension visited on the Companions and their successors stirred their potentialities into action, which were all different and like seeds; it spurred them on. Exclaiming, “Islam is in danger! Fire! Fire!”, it put fear into all the groups and made them hasten to protect Islam. According to its abilities, each of the groups

-------------------------------
(28) The Four Poles of sainthood, namely, ‘Abd al-Qadir Gilani, Ahmad Rufa’i, Ahmad Badawi, and Ibrahim Dasuqi. (Tr.)