The Blessing of Contraction
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ How many times have we been so beaten that we have danced on the edges of eternity? How many times have we looked into the depths of despair, and thought of nothing but oblivion? How many times did we think death was sweet? To remember that the warm glow is the Fire and the cool blanket is the facade of the howling winds of Pandemonium. A shaykh once mentioned that this is a Gift. It keeps the self in check by a state of contraction so severe that the need for Him overwhelms the attraction of the world.