Searching within Our Inner Being | Ali Reza Panahian

Searching within Our Inner Being

In a tradition, we have been told to purify our internal being before the reappearance. Because, at the time of the reappearance there will be some tests, which many don’t expect, and they therefore fall to the ground. Before the reappearance, everyone should purify his or her internal being as much as they can from some flaws, which even wine drinkers may not have. They might become corrected when the Imam (‘a.j.) comes. But me, a believer and Muslim, I go to the mosque and am very sacred, but I stand up to the Imam.

Basically, a human being’s life from the beginning to end is spent to uncover the hidden parts of his existence. Our life on the path to perfection is nothing but finding the hidden parts of our existence. Religiosity is nothing but finding the hidden parts of a person! The only philosophy behind the divine tests is uncovering the hidden parts of a human being.

God said, “I created you to test you.” This means that He created us for us to look inside ourselves and see what is going on there. A tradition explains that the Imam’s (‘a) followers look inside themselves very much. The Imam (‘a) said, “A person who doesn’t evaluate himself every day, is not from us.” They evaluate themselves every day.

The ‘Friends of God’ weep and cry in the middle of the night! The Commander of the Faithful, Ali (‘a), was born inside the Ka’ba! He was worried until the end of his life that there may be some hidden bad points within himself to cause him to die as an unbeliever! He was worried! When struck, he said, “I’ve become prosperous.” Now he felt comfortable that he would die as a Muslim. The Commander of the Faithful (‘a)!

What is going on inside a person that he must evaluate himself so much? The Commander of the Faithful (‘a) wasn’t joking. During the Sha’baniyah sermon, when the Prophet (s) saw him, he cried. The Imam (‘a) asked, “O Prophet of God, why did you cry when you saw me?” The Prophet (‘a) replied, “I saw that your beard will become colored with your blood in the month of Ramadan.” The Imam (‘a) asked, “Am I a believer at that time?!” O Allah! Where are you Imam?! He is busy with himself to make sure there aren’t any bad points hidden in the corner of his heart.

Find your hidden self. Each one of us should spend some time. Make your faith firm deep inside your heart before the reappearance. Whoever has some hypocrisy in his heart, will fall down due to the tests before the reappearance. And, they will fall to the ground.