March 12, 2015
I am a hungry man, but I have the liveliness of a satiated person.
I am only a fox but I have the name and honor of a lion.
There is a self belonging to me that is terrified by a phantom,
But don’t look at that, since I have a courageous spirit.
(adapted from The Quatrains of Rumi,
translated by Ibrahim Gamard and Rawan Farhadi, p. 36)
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Let’s use the above quatrain to explore courage and fear.
How much would your life be transformed if you lived within the expanse of complete courage? That even when the mind is in a state of fear there is a deeper trust that is not disturbed by the present vulnerabilities. At the essence of such courage is not the absence of a fear of death, from which most fears emanate. When we talk about fear of death being the source of most fears, there are three components in particular we’ll focus on: 1) fear of the potential pain and suffering of death; 2) fear of “loss,” particularly the loss of “I” and not being able to gain what we deem as treasures in this life; and, 3) fear of the unknown, unsure of what happens to “me” after “I” die. Having a courageous spirit doesn’t mean the absence of these fears, but instead a willingness to face them with a doubtless faith and unrelenting trust -- fruits that mature from deepening surrender and obedience to divine guidance. The harvest of such fruits calls for transformation.
Courage and fear are of vital importance when we talk of transformation: not the caterpillar who rearranges or renovates itself, but instead becomes a “new” butterfly. Fear is one of the biggest barriers to transformation and without courage, a “new” becoming is virtually impossible. Fear happens on the level of the mind, and most things we fear seem or are threatening and distressing to the mind. Modern society deems fears to only be problems when they are big. But the saints regard even small fears as great dangers because of the mental dynamics in play.
With fear, there are two main factors to consider. First is the (mental) object feared, which is not always physical and may even be something untouchable (like an experience) or something the mind imagines. The second factor is how the mind reacts to the object. Oftentimes when we are afraid the mind perceives an object as threatening or distressing when in actuality it isn’t; or if it is, the mind usually perceives the object to be more threatening or distressing than it is. In this vein, how the scared mind reacts (or usually overreacts) is more dangerous than the objects themselves. And this impression (pattern) of fear-based reaction is usually ingrained into the mind repeatedly through “small” fears: fears that make us scared but don’t totally overwhelm the mind. But once the field of the mind has been sowed with the conditioning of small fears, we should not be surprised when the mind is thrown into illogic and dysfunction by bigger fears.
To this dynamic of mental conditioning, particularly the mental reactions, the saints say: “Fear nothing but Allaah.” And even this “fear” of Allaah speaks more to stilling and quieting the mind to allow humility and reverence to arise, not mental reactions. Now this doesn’t mean that we won’t encounter objects that are threatening and distressing (let’s call them stressors), such are part of creation. Rather the path of courage faces stressors by restraining and minimizing, if not eliminating, the mental reactions and what these add to these encounters. In other words, courage is not the absence of fear but instead a willingness to deal with the dynamics of fear (particularly the mental reactions) with a steadiness of mind. And most mental reactions disrupt steadiness of mind.
When the mind is steady, one is better able to respond (instead of react) to what the situation calls for: which sometimes means running or walking away, sometimes encountering the stressor, sometimes taking on suffering or enduring the situation. As one’s courage increases, one comes to realize what the Qur’aan declares: that the Beloved doesn’t place on any soul more than it can bear (Surah 23, Verse 62). But if we, through our mental reactions, add to this burden we can make what is bearable overwhelming. Courage prevents this from happening. And, as stated earlier, without courage transformation is virtually impossible because, at any time, the mind can be thrust into mental reactions that undercut our spiritual growth and keep us in bondage.
Many spiritual people in quest of transformation look to “transform” (change) the components of their lives, not the orientation and approach. From a place of fear, this often looks to remove stressors from our lives as opposed to having an orientation and approach that embodies courage. Traditional Islam instead looks to first transform the orientation: to shift from a life of mind-based self-effort and determination to surrender to (reliance on) the Beloved. Within surr