Discovery of God’s Majesty

Muslim ibn Bashair says that Abu Hurayra wept during his illness. When asked as to what was making him weep he replied:

“I don’t weep for this world of yours. I weep rather for when I think that my journey is long and my provision is inadequate. And I feel I am on a hill top which is going to heaven and hell and I don’t know which way I will be led.” (Al-Tabaqat al-Kubra, Ibn Sa’d, vol. 4, p. 253)

These words of the Companion of the Prophet were an expression of a high level of realization of God. When man’s realization intensifies, his state becomes like that of the above-mentioned Companion of the Prophet.

What is meant by a high realization of God? It is that state in which a person discovers God in all His Glory and Majesty. When a person so discovers God, in his eyes his own existence becomes insignificant in comparison to that of Paradise. He comes to regard his actions as valueless. He starts feeling that when he is presented before his Lord he will have nothing to offer. It is this feeling which makes him feel what is expressed by the words of Abu Hurayra. On the one hand, God being the most merciful, produces a feeling of hope in him but, on the other hand, when he sees how valueless his actions are, he starts feeling that he does not deserve to be rewarded. An insensitive person sees only his plus points while a sensitive person sees only his minus points. This is what separates the awakened soul from the unawakened soul.