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Thursday, May 20, 2010

[shia_strength] Silence – the mark of a believer

 

Silence – the mark of a believer




There are numerous authentic traditions attributed to the holy household of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) on the importance of silence.

In fact, silence was one of the very characteristic qualities of the Prophets and Imams and their companions. We are taught that it is one of the many important qualities one must acquire in his or her quest for the Divine. It is a sign of many virtues such as a strong intellect ('aql) and wisdom. Therefore, we should strive to make silence one of the defining qualities of our personality.

But why did the Ahlul Bayt (as) stress the importance of silence to the faithful? Among friends silence is avoided, even feared. So much so that when there is a period of silence during a conversation, someone will say something nonsensical just to escape the unbearable void of awkwardness.

Despite popular disdain for silence, from personal experience I have found that silence cultivates one's spirituality and feeling of nearness to Allah. The more I have adopted the practice of silence in my life, the more beautiful I have found it to be. I will elaborate on some of its benefits:

Tranquillity

Even a quarter of an hour of silence every morning before going to work or school will result in a changed attitude which  helps one face the challenges of the day ahead in a positive manner. Silence must permeate every single part of the body for feelings of anxiety and stress to disappear. Similarly, after a hard day's work, or ten minutes before prayer time, a few minutes devoted to silence will make concentration during worship far easier.

Reflection

When the mouth is closed, the mind opens up. Try this: Wherever you go, whatever you do, don't say a word. Just observe what you're doing and what others are doing. Don't judge, just watch quietly and absorb everything around you. Eventually, if you do this for long enough, you will find yourself organising and sifting through all those thoughts in your head. You will discard the rubbish and you will save the jewels. You will think about your experiences and the experiences of others, and you will extract valuable lessons that will help you in life. You will begin to see Allah's beauty in every single thing, be it your fingers on the keyboard or the waves in the sea. You begin — I don't how else to put this — to understand.

Wisdom

Imam Ali (as) says that the wiser a man is, the less he will speak. Wisdom comes with reflection on the nature of the world. To be silent is to be smart — it guards secrets, controls the tongue, removes nonsense from the mind and in speech, sharpens the wit and increases the value of words. Imam Ja'far Sadiq (as) said that one who knows the value of his speech will also know the value of silence. In fact, if one adopts silence, he will value his speech and therefore guard it like he guards his wealth.

Intellect

Finally, silence strengthens one's intellect. The carnal self (nafs) thrives on foolishness. It feeds on impulsive and thoughtless actions, and therefore, most speech. Realise, as our holy Imam says, that your speech is a part of your action. If you think before you act, you will think before you speak. If you think before you speak, you will stop saying foolish things accidentally. You will stop unintentionally revealing your secrets (and the secrets of others). Furthermore, silence gives one control over emotions, especially anger. It is said that anger is a type of madness. Subdue that anger with silence and you will put an end to a great many detrimental things in your life.

Some ways to adopt silence in your life

  1. Ten minutes before beginning your prayer, sit on the mihrab and just be silent whilst fixing your eyes on one spot.
  2. Before you say anything, plan exactly what you are going to say.
  3. Be quiet during "discussions" devoid of knowledge and facts. Also, if you see a discussion heading towards an argument, be silent.
  4. If you don't know, say you don't know.
  5. If you're getting angry, be silent. If someone else is getting angry at you, be silent. Imam Khomeini mentioned this piece of advice to his daughter and son in-law.

InshAllah, if you decide to adopt the way of silence, you will find yourself tearing one more veil that separates you from your Creator. Allah (swt) knows best.



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