Respect the evil desires within
September 18, 2014
This is why commanders and cavalry want their king to have an opponent and an enemy. How else can they show their bravery and love for the king? The king would never muster them, having no need. But they do not approve of the king’s enemy, or they would not fight. Therefore, we should respect the evil desires within ourselves, because Allaah loves those who are grateful and obedient to Its Law, and this means nothing without the existence of those desires within us. Yet, we should not approve of those evil tendencies, but struggle hard to overcome their influence.
(adapted from Fihi Ma Fihi,
translated by A.J. Arberry, p. 321)
***
Discussions of evil can be tricky in this day and age since evil is often addressed in very judgmental ways. Yet such discussions are important for those on the spiritual path, particularly those on the path of the heart. Definitions of evil vary, even within Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi’s words, but for the sake of this post let’s use a basic and broad definition: anything that turns one’s attention away from the Beloved is evil, despite its intent and worldly outcome. Often this involves desires, especially selfish / ego-based desires. To this point, most of the prohibitions against evil revolve around restraining or resisting the pull of the ego and its attachments. These attachments include pursuit of what is pleasurable and aversion of what is unpleasant. But evil can include even seemingly “positive” things. Note these translated words from the Qur’aan:
And know that your possessions and your children
are a test, and that with Allaah is immense reward.
(Surah 8, Verse 28)
O ye who are faithful! Let not your wealth nor your
children distract you from remembrance of Allaah.
Those who do so, they are the losers. (Surah 63,
Verse 9)
It’s not that wealth and children are necessarily evil, since these can be attained through righteous means and be a fruitful component of a spiritual life. But even when these are attained righteously, the joy and wonder of these can turn a person’s attention away from the Beloved; in this regard, how a person engages wealth and children is evil. Often these subtle evils are more dangerous and pervading than more obvious and explicit evils. And these evils are pervasive even among “spiritual” and “religious” people.
In Fihi Ma Fihi, preceding the opening quote of this post Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi states:
Allaah wills both good and evil, but only blesses the
good. Its Law both commands and prohibits, but
commandment is only valid when it is opposed to
natural [innate] desires. ( Fihi p. 320)
When we view evil within this context, we see that the Beloved has a clear and intended place for evil in this world. That within the human the Beloved has not only placed evil suggestions and desires but also the capability to withstand these. Therefore, we should not be disturbed by the presence of evil desires within us, even as we should not succumb to them. Neither should we be judgmental of evil desires placed within us by the Beloved, even as we should be careful to not cultivate and increase the presence of evil in our lives.
It is no coincidence that Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi addresses this dynamic of evil in the context of war. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was repeatedly explicit in stating there is a greater and lesser jihaad, holy war -- which can also be translated as struggle. The greater jihaad is to restrain and conquer one’s own ego. In this war, it can be helpful to understand the purpose of why the Beloved places evil within us. This is never done for us to succumb to evil or ignore it. Instead we should respect the evil desires within ourselves as great and capable enemies, exercising great care in how battle them. When we struggle against these and realize victory over them, we are granted certain spoils of war.
The battle plan for how to fight evil desires has already been provided: to be grateful and obedient to Its [Divine] Law. This strategy remains the same throughout human existence, proclaimed by so many spiritual traditions; although the weapons may change, this successful approach to waging this battle remains consistent. I remember a speech by a war historian (I don’t remember his name) who spoke in similar veins: the way to win military battles and war has not changed over time, only the weapons and tactical use of these weapons have changed. But the approach remains simple: adhering to certain time-tested principles of war and carrying these out is a proven recipe for success.
Part of the recipe as relayed by Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi is gratitude and obedience to Divine Law. Divine Law begins with a code of ethics; in many spiritual traditions these are provided from the Beloved through prophets and saints. In this age, obedience is stressed and is essential: that what a code of ethics says we follow -- without change or revision. In ancient days, emphasis was placed on perfectly following these edicts -- allowing no room for compromise because if you give the ego a millimeter it may take the entire universe. What is sometimes lacking today in the emphasis to uphold moral excellence is a genuine gratitude for the Divine Law.
Imagine being a soldier on a battlefield without a weapon. You may be extremely skilled but without a weapon, your fight is limited to avoiding attacks from the enemy. With a weapon, you can utilize your skill to subdue the enemy: when value of the weapon is realized (beyond just an idea), you will have a great appreciation and deepening gratitude for the weapon. Divine Law is such a weapon. And let me be clear: it is not a weapon designed to attack others, but instead the evil within one’s self. It is not a weapon of force, where you inflict harm upon the ego. Instead, it is a weapon of restraint and focus: restraining selfish desires, which makes one spiritually strong, and then turning one’s focus to the Beloved, which removes obstacles that veil the presence of the Beloved within you. And it is certainly not a weapon of judgment, whether to be used to judge others or one’s self. With gratitude for Divine Law, we come to understand why commanders and cavalry want their king to have an opponent and an enemy. The battles literally become opportunities to realize spiritual strength and remove obstacles that veil the Beloved. As much as training and practice can be helpful in preparing one for battle, there is no substitute for battle. In battle, many who profess bravery and love are proved to be otherwise. When this happens in the greater jihaad, such experiences can become golden lessons that expose where and why we are not using the weapon of the Divine Law (our obedience and appreciation of it) to its fullness. Now this doesn’t mean that we should go out looking for a fight -- absolutely not! Remember, the Beloved places goodness and evil within you, so it’s only a matter of time before the tension between these arise into conflict. But in every battle of the greater jihaad, where we strive to rest in goodness over evil, we also come to see the value of goodness. It is not the final destination, but from the peacefulness of goodness we can more easily realize the (fullness of) Peace that exists beyond the duality of good and evil. Within evil, this great treasure is blinded by our desires and attachments, and the consequences of suffering and conflict that follow these.
It is only when one has victory in the greater jihaad that one is fit to wage lesser jihaad, which is war against others -- not just military war but all the other political and social components connected with such. A victor of greater jihaad does not engage war for worldly or ego-based reasons, and approaches use of force as a last resort. This is the standard Muhammad upheld regarding war. He exercised great care in choosing leaders who had conquered their egos, since they might have to lead others into battle who were not yet victors in the greater jihaad. Without such care, lesser jihaad can become a seed that sprouts into unending conflicts and evil.
Jalaal ud-Diin Rumi doesn’t encourage us to run from evil within, but instead to withstand and overcome it by adhering to Divine Law. He cautions: we should not approve of those evil tendencies, but struggle hard to overcome their influence. The word struggle is worth noting. Even the prophets struggled with evil after reaching the station of prophethood. Even Jalaal ud-Diin himself, who surrendered to be an empty vessel through which the Beloved sung through, struggled with evil after realizing such emptiness. Struggle is part of spiritual life in this world -- every spiritual tradition I’ve studied affirms this. This doesn’t mean the struggles last forever, but when we are wise in our struggles, we come to realize the fulfillment of the following promise:
And those who strive hard for Us, We will most
certainly guide them in Our ways; and Allah is most
surely with those who do good.
(translation of Surah 29, Verse 69)
Few treasures are greater than the treasure of being directly guided by the Beloved, a treasure promised to each of us if we struggle against the evil within...
