Malfuzat - Volume IV — Page 61
61 Malfuzat – Volume IV As such, Allah the Exalted first states: 1 ًا ُر ُْوْ َف َا َكَا ِه ُ ْج َا َّز ِ َم َنَ ٍْسٍ َكَا ا ََك ْ ُن ِ َم َُْوَْن َب ََْشَْر ُي َ ُر َْرَا َب َ ا َ اْلْ َن ِ ا But the virtuous drink of a cup, tempered with camphor. This means that the believers, who are virtuous servants of God, drink from a cup tempered with camphor (kafur). The word kafur has been used because kafara means to cover, and kafur is the superlative form, which means covering to a great degree. Similarly, there is the Arabic word ta’un which is used for plague. In my opinion, the word ta’un is used for the plague because it strikes when the godly are subjected to injury or reproach, which is ta’n in Arabic. When plague and other epidemics such as cholera spread, camphor has proven to be an excellent and beneficial thing. Therefore, the cup tempered with camphor has been men - tioned first. This is to elucidate that in order for one to attain spiritual excellence, one ought to first drink from the cup of camphor so that the love of this world becomes cold, and so that thoughts of sin and transgression which previously sprung from the heart, and the poisonous effects of which ruined the heart, may be subdued. As a result, one can separate themselves from a state of sin. Since it is necessary, before anything else, for impurity to be removed, this is why man is to drink first from the cup of camphor, as it were. The second part relates to ginger (zanjabil). The word zanjabil is a compound of two separate words: zana and jabal. In Arabic, the word zana means to ascend and jabal is a mountain. So, this com - pound would mean ‘he ascended the mountain. ’ It is clearly evident that after a deadly and infectious disease, in order to return to excellent health, one must pass through two states. First comes the stage when dangerous and infectious elements are arrested and the condition improves; one is saved from the poison - ous effects of the disease and these elements are subdued. Despite this, however, various parts of the body remain weak; they do not possess the power or strength that is needed to perform normal tasks. At this point, they remain in a state of slumber, as it were. It is this state which has been likened to a drink from the cup of camphor. It is in this state that the poison of sin is subdued and that passion is cooled which exists when the inner self transgresses being moved by forceful desire. However, at this point, one does not yet have the power to perform virtue. 1 ad-Dahr , 76:6 p. 334