Why is Striving the Door to Paradise?

Footnotes

5. ↩ Translator’s Note: Jihad literally means striving or exerting oneself toward a noble or difficult goal. In Islam, it refers to striving in the path of God to uphold His guidance and establish justice. This striving may take various forms, including self-discipline, the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge, and, under the appropriate conditions, armed struggle.
6. ↩ Imam Abu Abdullah narrated that the Prophet dispatched a military expedition. When they returned, he said: “Welcome to a people who have completed the lesser striving while the greater striving remains.” They asked, “O Messenger of God, what is the greater striving?” He replied, “The striving of the self.” Muhammad ibn Yaqub al-Kulayni, Al-Kafi [The Sufficient], vol. 5, 12.
7. ↩ Jabir ibn Abdullah said: “I said, ‘O Messenger of God, what was the first thing God created?’ He said: ‘The light of your Prophet, O Jabir. God created it, and from it He created every good thing. Then He placed it before Him in the station of nearness for as long as God willed. He then divided it into portions. From one portion He created the Throne, from another the Chair (Kursi), and from another the bearers of the Throne and the keepers of the Chair. He placed the fourth portion in the station of love for as long as God willed. He then divided it into portions. From one portion He created the Pen, from another the Tablet, and from another Paradise. Then He placed the fourth portion in the station of fear for as long as God willed. He then divided it into portions. From one portion He created the angels, from another the sun, the moon, and the stars, and from another the intellect. He placed the fourth portion in the station of hope for as long as God willed. He then divided it into portions. From one portion He created knowledge and forbearance, from another protection and success, and from another the rest of creation. Then He placed the fourth portion in the station of modesty for as long as God willed. He [God] then looked upon it with the gaze of majesty, and that light exuded drops. From it fell one hundred and twenty-four thousand drops. From each drop, God created the spirit of a prophet and a messenger. Then the spirits of the prophets breathed, and from their breaths God created the spirits of the guardians, the martyrs, and the righteous.” Muhammad Baqir al-Majlisi, Bihar al-Anwar [Oceans of Lights], vol. 25, 21.
8. ↩ Abu Abdullah said: “God has decreed that things occur only through causes. So He assigned a cause to everything, an explanation to every cause, a key to every explanation, knowledge to every key, and a speaking door to every [portion of] knowledge. Whoever knows it knows God, and whoever denies it denies God. That speaking door is the Messenger of God and us [the Prophet’s Household].” Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Saffar al-Qummi, Basair al-Darajat [Insights into the Degrees], 26. Abdul Rahman ibn Kathir narrates: “I heard Abu Abdullah say: ‘We are the guardians of God’s command, the treasurers of God’s knowledge, the keepers of God’s revelation, and the people of God’s religion. God’s Book was sent down to us, God is worshiped through us, and were it not for us, God would not be known. We are the heirs of the Prophet of God and his Family.’” Al-Qummi, Basair al-Darajat [Insights into the Degrees], 81. Burayd al-Ijli said: “I heard Abu Jafar say: ‘Through us God is worshiped, known, and declared One, and Muhammad is the veil of God.’” Al-Kulayni, Al-Kafi [The Sufficient], vol. 1, 125. He also relates other narrations that point to this reality.