THE CAVE OF HIRRA

Material world is such a place where one cultivates flowers or thorns for life hereafter. If someone under the influence of evil apprehensions has sown the seeds of thorns in this land then harvesting thorns, reaping thorns and consuming thorns is the appointed fate for him. And, if someone in the light of the teaching of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and the practical examples of the lives of saints and sages has cultivated in such manner that results in gardens, orchards and farms of fruits and flowers then after death he would be enjoying this remarkable asset. Straight forward thing's that whether we deserve a rewarded life or we earn a life of destitute hereafter, all this depends on what we do here in this life.

The holy statement of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), "See the death before you are actually dead" is an explanation of this thing that we should learn and understand in this life of material senses that life hereafter depends upon our own deeds performed by our own choice and free will. It has been reiterated in the Holy Quran that we are required to ponder, contemplate and think sensibly to explore the Signs of God scattered all over the earth. Let us take our own creation into consideration, how did we come into existence, how have we been carefully reared up by God, the most exalted. In exuberance of youth God granted you the strength that enabled you to move around on the earth using your own will and choice and by using the same free will and power you searched for resources so much so you were able to ride in sailing boats on the rivers. Man kept on asking for more strength and God granted it to man so that he could harness the forces of nature and tame them according to his will. All the resources scattered on the earth are now within his reach. The man who was powerless, unable to move after his birth, unable even to sit if he wanted, was granted so much ability that by using his hidden potentialities he invented and discovered so many things of comfort and luxury.

When man discovered the phenomenon of electricity his quest enabled him to explore various methods to harness this powerful force and to put it to work for him. Electricity is one creation of the Lord Creator, man using this creation produced by-products in uncountable ways. God, the most High stated that he is the Best of All creators, that is, He is the Best Creator of all those who can create. All the inventions that require electric energy for their operation are created and produced by man. The electricity can be used in so many ways and styles and all these would have remained in obscurity if man had not used his creative abilities. It was the quest in man which caused him to be attentive for electricity and his pursuit enabled him to explore almost every possible use of electricity resulting in creation of various products by man; one of the creators.

When man thinks deeply about matter he discovers ways to make use of energy hidden in matter constructively or destructively. In the background of man's material advancement one hidden force known as 'soul' is operative. Exploration of energy possessed by matter, in fact, is just a vague reflection of the abilities of the soul. It has been stated earlier that man reaps what he sows in this life. His reward is always according to his deeds. He earns as much as he invests. If contemplation can lead him to explore the mighty force of electric energy then, by every rule of logic, he can also discover within himself that remarkable eye which sees beyond the veils drawn between man and the unseen realm after rising above the limiting spatio-temporal restrictions. The eye which has no difficulty in observing the life hereafter after penetrating the material screens existing between the life here and hereafter. The eye which is the actual source of observations for the sages and the saints. When this eye starts functioning one can see the spirits, souls of deceased and angels. One can, not only see them but can converse and communicate with them as one does in this phenomenal world.

The very same eye enables the friends of God, the Great, to behold the Beatific Vision of God, the most sublime on the High Throne. The first thing that comes before this eye, when it starts functioning, is that realm which is known as Purgatory (Alam-e-Aaraf) or the life after death, that is, the realm where one goes after leaving this body of flesh and bones. It becomes an ordinary thing, for this inner eye, to witness Paradise, to see the activities of the life hereafter before he actually enters there.

If one is failed to open this inner eye in this worldly life deprivation would set over him for ever. His vision would remain limited even in hereafter. Just as one cannot see beyond a wall similarly one would not be able to see beyond a limited range. Now the question is that how can this inner eye be put to work after getting it open, how the cataract causing blindness and opacity be operated upon to remove the short-sightedness. The answer is not very difficult. For this purpose, people with the legacy of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) have designed lessons. All these lessons are based upon the example of meditation, set by the Holy Prophet, in the cave of Hirra, now known as Muraqbah.