The University of Pain and Healing

A Taste of the Du‘a of the Fifteenth Supplication in al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya
(Secrets of Well-Being series, Book 1)

Golden passages from the book

Pain: a wise teacher of humility and a breaker of pride
“Human beings are the noblest of God’s creations, among the strongest and most intelligent beings in the world. Yet illness can bring even the mightiest of them low before the weakest creature. Pain and illness teach us humility and modesty, and help cleanse us of pride, arrogance and vanity. Illness and pain are a great school of knowledge, a university of spiritual insight and a gymnasium for self-cultivation and renewal.” (p. 70)

A jewel in the crown of servitude to God
“God’s greatest blessing is the dignity and honour of serving Him. From time to time, the Lord offers special blessings in different forms—ones that may at first taste bitter. In truth, they are gifts with bitter shells, transformed into pure honey in the hive of servitude to God. Sincere devotion is not distinguished amid comfort and plenty; rather, the true servant is revealed in the thick of hardship and tribulation.” (p. 90)

Health: the fairest garment fashioned by the Tailor of Beauty
“The Tailor of Beauty has clothed our bodies and souls in a beautiful garment, one that adorns us. Health is the fairest garment a person can wear, and, like an enduring delight, it enfolds the spirit and soul. Let us wear this beautiful robe only in service to its beautiful Creator. As our master, the Commander of the Faithful, said: «لَا لِبَاسَ أَجْمَلُ مِنَ السَّلَامَةِ»; no garment is more splendid or beautiful than health.” (p. 27)

The sanctuary of devotion and the autumn of sin
“The sick person is a worshipper engaged in intimate prayer to the Lord in the sanctuary of pain and illness. For the believer, illness is autumn—a season in which sins fall away—and a herald of the springtime of purity. Minor ailments atone for small lapses, while profound trials scour away the great rust of the soul. Through pain, the believer is polished and the inner self made radiant.” (p. 106)

Pain and reflection, companions on the threshold of nearness to God
“Pain and reflection are close companions and allies, shortening the path by which a person ascends to the threshold of nearness to God. A narrator asked Imam al-Sadiq (AS), ‘Is an hour of reflection better than a night of worship?’ He replied, ‘Yes—reflection that opens the eye of the heart to the world’s transience and the truth of existence.’ Pain breaks through the torpor of heedlessness and sets the spring of thought flowing.” (p. 139)

The truth about healing: the physician is a means; God is the healer
“Let us not mistake the conditions of healing for healing itself, or confuse the means of recovery with the true Healer! When we turn to doctors and pharmacies, we are in fact setting out on the path of healing ordained by God. Yet medicine and physicians are only bearers of the divine command; the decisive decree of healing issues solely from the sacred presence of the Lord.” (p. 196)

The believer: an investor and trader in the rewards of illness
“The Noble Prophet (PBUH) said that illness brings the believer four blessings: the pen that records their missteps is lifted from them; God commands that all the acts of worship they performed while healthy be recorded for them; and wherever illness strikes the body, it draws sin out of that part. The believer turns the sorrow of suffering into everlasting capital for drawing near to God.” (p. 109)

Sacred soil and the alchemy of healing
“By the Lord’s sovereign will, the pure soil of Karbala is a source of medicine and healing, for whatever is in the company of, and beloved to, God brings healing to body and soul. If soil that carries the fragrance of Imam al-Husayn (AS) can work such wonders, what might the breeze of his guardianship and the compassionate gaze of those pure lights do for yearning hearts?” (p. 203)