The Virtues Of Dust.

[Abu Hafsat]

As-Salaam alaikum,

 Allah's Noble Prophet Adam, alaihi Salaam, was created of clay, a mixture of dust and water. Iblis/Satan was a Jinn, created of fire. In the Holy Qur'an, Allah Ta'ala says:--

      ''We created man from an extraction of clay'' (23: 12)  In other words he was extracted from ever region- sweet and brainy, soft and hard. Iven Adam's clay were salty and sweet, coarse and soft- so the mixture of his children have become diverse.

And in the Holy Qur'an we learnt of when Iblis, the accursed one said:-

"I am better than he [Adam]: You created me of fire as You created him of clay (38:76)''   Here, Iblis concluded that fire is better than clay; but this was/is an erroneous conclusion!!

In his work, Sheikh Rashid al-din Maybudi expains that dust (clay) is superior to fire,on his commentary on the verse/ayat that tells people how to make ablution if water is not available:--

     ''If you find no water, have recourse to goodly dust'' (5:6)   Allah Ta'ala connected purification to water or, at the time of necessity, to dust, and not to anyting else.

Dust is better than fire. Fire shows defects, and dust conceals them.  Fire's nature is arrogance, so it seeks to be higher. Dust's nature is humility, so it seeks to be lower. Iblis brought higherness with his words:-  ''I am better...'' (38:76)   Adam brought lowerness, humility with his words:  ''Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves'' (7:23)

So, let us not look at the form of dust. Look at the secret of the nature thereof. When you give a grain to dust, it gives back many times over. Whatever you give to fire, it burns it away. Plant your grains (seeds) into the dust (ground), and it will nurture it after a short time, and she would give it back as a produce many times over...''in every ear a hundred grains'' (2:261)

  For further reading, see Sheikh  Rashid al-Din Maybudi's

'Kashf al-asrar wa 'Uddat al-abrar (Unveiling of the Mysteries)'

[ummtaalib]

Beautifully explained!

The book mentioned at the edn is probably in urdu though

[Abu Hafsat]

There may be an Urdu translation of the book, but I saw and read an English translation of same book by Prof. William C. Chittick, titled:-

"The Unveiling of the Mysteries and the Provision of the Pious", by Rashid al-Din Maybudi. 

[ummtaalib]

14 hours ago, Abu Hafsat said:

There may be an Urdu translation of the book, but I saw and read an English translation of same book by Prof. William C. Chittick, titled:-

"The Unveiling of the Mysteries and the Provision of the Pious", by Rashid al-Din Maybudi. 

jazakallah

[ummtaalib]

Found a PDF

kashf.pdf (altafsir.com)