Surrender and Submission To Divine Will (Tasleem o Raza)

What one gains on reaching station of Tasleem o Raza?

The state of Tasleem o Raza is one of the greatest among the several waystations of Faqr. Only after this station of Faqr, one gains access to the two very important and the highest stations of Divine vision and presence in the Mohammadan Assembly. Before these two, Tasleem o Raza is among the last stations and it is the one at which innerself is at peace.

Allah says:

یٰۤاَیَّتُہَا النَّفۡسُ الۡمُطۡمَئِنَّۃُ ﴿٭ۖ۲۷﴾
ارۡجِعِیۡۤ اِلٰی رَبِّکِ رَاضِیَۃً مَّرۡضِیَّۃً ﴿ۚ۲۸﴾

Meaning: O innerself at peace! Return to your Lord in such a state that you are both the aspirant to, and the aspired of, His pleasure (i.e. you seek His pleasure and He seeks yours) (Al- Fajr 27-28)

Tasleem o Raza in Quran

Allah says in the Quran that only those people are destined to have His vision who surrender before His will.

وَ مَنۡ اَحۡسَنُ دِیۡنًا مِّمَّنۡ اَسۡلَمَ وَجۡہَہٗ لِلّٰہِ وَ ہُوَ مُحۡسِنٌ 

Meaning: And with regard to adopting religion, who can be better than the one who submits his whole being entirely to Allah, whilst he also holds spiritual excellence (because he sees Allah). (An-Nisa-125)

بَلٰی ٭ مَنۡ اَسۡلَمَ وَجۡہَہٗ لِلّٰہِ وَ ہُوَ مُحۡسِنٌ فَلَہٗۤ اَجۡرُہٗ عِنۡدَ رَبِّہٖ ۪ وَ لَا خَوۡفٌ عَلَیۡہِمۡ وَ لَا ہُمۡ یَحۡزَنُوۡنَ ﴿۱۱۲﴾

Meaning: Yes, of course, he who submits his face to Allah (i.e. consigns himself to Allah) and becomes a man of excellence (by beholding Him) in piety will find his reward with his Lord. Such people will neither fear anything nor grieve. (Al-Baqarah-112)

It is proved from the above verses that the most desirable and favourite act is to completely submit to Divine will and to always be grateful to Him for His blessings and be patient during the adverse circumstances.

Whose faith is acceptable in Allah’s court?

In Allah’s court, the faith of only that person is accepted and approved who submits to His will with complete sincerity, withdraws from all his own wishes and desires for Allah’s pleasure and consent. As this makes it easier for him to accept and face the troubles and calamities which befall on him. In every phase and aspect of his life he adopts Tasleem o Raza by sacrificing his own wishes for Allah.

• The Holy Prophet says:

لَا تَتَحَرَّکُ ذَرَّۃٌ اِلَّا بِاِذْنِ اللّٰہِ  ۔

Meaning: A single particle cannot move without Allah’s will.

Mystics are never aggrieved or sad even in the worst of circumstances

The Divine will overcomes the Mystics to such an extent that they never become sad and aggrieved during the worst circumstances. Rather, they always remain happy and utter:

  سرتسلیمِ خم ہے جو مزاجِ یار میں آئے

Meaning: I surrender to my Beloved’s wish.

On this station, Allah blesses them with His unique light and the Divine union and grants them a new spiritual life every moment from the hidden world, as Sultan Bahoo said:

کشتگانِ خنجرِ تسلیم را

ہر زمان ازغیب مانِ دیگر است

Explanation: Those who adopt Tasleem o Raza and submit their lives before Divine will are blessed with a new life every moment from the invisible. (Ain-ul-Faqr)

Remain pleased with the will of Allah

The Mystics whose purpose of life is solely to acquire Divine will, remain pleased with the will of Allah in every condition. Fariduddin Attar relates that for thirty years Fazeel Ayyaz did not smile but when his son died, people saw him smiling unexpectedly. Somebody asked him, why is he smiling at such an occasion? Then he replied, “I am sure that my son’s death is Allah’s will. Therefore, I smiled for the sake of Allah’s pleasure. Whatever He likes, I like too.”

Junaid Baghdadi’s saying

• According to Junaid Baghdadi, “Tasleem o Raza means to give up one’s choice and to embrace calamity as a blessing.”

Bayazid Bastami’s saying

• Bayazid Bastami states that I have reached that level of Tasleem o Raza that if Allah replaces me with a person in the highest paradise forever and throws me in the lowermost hell, I would be more pleased with Allah than that person.

Yahya Maaz Razi’s saying

• Someone asked Yahya Maaz Razi that how one could know that Allah is pleased with him or her. He replied, “Your being pleased with Allah is the sign of Allah’s pleasure”.

Rabia of Basra’s saying

• It is in book Asrar al-Fatihathat one day Hasan of Basra, Malik bin Deenar, Shafiq Balkhi and Rabia of Basra were discussing about truthfulness in a meeting.

Hasan of Basra said, “One who does not adopt patience upon the pain inflicted by Allah is not truthful to his claim of love with Allah.” Surprisingly Rabia said, “This seems to be an egoistic statement, truthfulness can be defined in a better way.”

Then Shafiq Balkhi said, “That person is not truthful to his claim of love with Allah who does not enjoy the pain given by Allah.” Now Rabia said, “This statement also reflects pride, one must define truthfulness more appropriately.”

Malik bin Deenar said, “One who is not thankful to Allah upon the pain given by Him is not truthful to his claim of love with Allah.”

Rabia proceeded, “One must be so much engrossed in the observation of his Beloved Allah that he forgets all his pains, otherwise he is not truthful to his claim of love with Allah.” (Ain-ul-Faqr)

Allama Iqbal

• Allama Iqbal expressed:

فقر ذوق و شوق و تسلیم و رضا ست

ما امینیم این متاعِ مصطفٰیؐ ست

Explanation: Faqr is the path of spiritual taste, passion, submission and the Divine will. This is the treasured possession of the Holy Prophet which we have inherited from him and now we are its custodians.