The goal of Surrender is to know and live in the Reality of God– that we may know and perceive the Divinity of life with our every breath and action. To live in our reality as it truly is - guided, knowing and surrendered to Divine Will - and to carry none of the illusions of separation and independent self-hood any more at all. Total Surrender to God is the true Spiritual Liberation. It is to be free of the compulsions of our comparative, competitive egoic delusion, and surrendered completely to the reality of our true existence in Al-llah! It is to walk through the veils, to be oblivious to ourselves and aware only of our life in God.
This Realization begins with envisionment, or ideation. `Ibn al-`Arabi wrote a whole treatise on the use of our imaginations as a means of approach to reality. We really do have to see it, and we really can. It is reported that Imam Ali, when asked if he could see God, replied: “Would I worship a God I could not see?”
So how do we go about seeing the reality of God? We do that through the exercise of our belief. Yes. Exercise - Practice Believing. After all - we are commanded to believe. Belief is not an accident as most people seem to think. It is a conscious choice. What we believe, we will see.
Islam is a reality on so many different levels. Firstly, it exists. Whether we like it or not, believe it or not, want it or not, love it or not, whatever. It’s there, and it is not going away! Secondly, it’s an enigma to some and a revelation to others.
Thirdly, since every word is an indicator, a summary definition of some reality, we might well ask, what is the reality behind this word, Islam? Its ultimate practice is surrender. And what is the goal of surrender, and by extension, the reality of Islam? Here is the meat of the matter.
As stated previously, the goal of Surrender is to know and live in the Reality of God. So Surrender is the key to the gates of God’s own Heaven. This is a reality that can only be realized through practice. And practice consist – as defined in Qur`an – of belief and doing good works.
And concerning that, Imam `Ali has said about Islam: “Have you fully realized what Islam is? It is indeed a religion founded on truth. It is such a fountainhead of learning that several streams of wisdom and knowledge flow from it. It is such a lamp that several lamps will be lighted from it. It is a lofty beacon illuminating the path of Allah. It is such a set of principles and beliefs that will satisfy every seeker of truth and reality. Know you all that Allah has made Islam the most sublime path for the attainment of His supreme pleasure and the highest standard of His obedience. He has favored it with noble precepts, exalted principles, undeniable wisdom, undoubtable arguments and unchallengeable supremacy. It is up to you to maintain the eminence and dignity granted to it by the Lord, to follow it sincerely, to do justice to its articles of faith and beliefs, to obey implicitly its tenets and orders and to give it the proper place in your lives.''
Amir al-mu'mineen, peace be upon him, said: “This world is a place for transit, not a place to stay. The people herein are of two categories. One is the man who sold away his soul for the sake of his passions and thus became ruined, and the other is the man who redeemed himself by control of his passions and thus became free.
“There are two kinds of workers in the world. One is a person who works in this world for this world and his work of this world keeps him unmindful of the next world. He is afraid of destitution for those he will leave behind but feels himself safe about it. So, he spends his life after the good of others. The other is one who works in this world for what is to come hereafter, and he secures his share of the world without effort. Thus, he gets both the benefits together and becomes the owner of both the houses together. In this way, he is prestigious before Allah. If he asks of Allah anything it is not denied him.
“I wonder at the miser who is speeding toward the very destitution from which he wants to run away and misses the very ease of life which he covets. Consequently, he passes his life in this world like a destitute, but will have to render an account for it in the next world like the rich.”
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