Chapter I: Acquisition of Knowledge
conjecture or doubt. For instance, it is said that so and so has got weak faith about death, although there is no doubt in it. Another instance is that so and so has firm faith in earning wealth, although a time comes when he cannot even earn his livelihood.
Thus whenever anything prevails over the mind and enjoins one to do and prohibits him not to do is called Yeqin or certain faith.
All people believe firmly about death and it is free from doubt, but there are men who don't turn their attention to it and there are men who engage all their thoughts towards preparation foT death. Such men are called men of strong faith. For this reason, some one said: I have seen nothing so certain and at the same time completely unheeded as death. According to this, faith may be described either with strength or with weakness. What I wish to impress is that the object of the learned man of the hereafter is to make his faith strong, certain and firm as it is a medicine of doubt, so that it becomes so strong in his mind that it can rule over him.
Thus it is clear from what has been described above., that Yeqin can be described in there meanings - as to strength and weakness, increase and decrease and clearness and vagueness.
What the Prophets said from the first to the last is a subject of certain faith. Yeqin is a work of special Mar fat. These matters appertain to Shariat and I am mentioning some of these matters which are the roots of certain faith.
(1) TAUHID: This is to Relieve firmly that all things come from the Cause of all causes, with no attention to the secondary causes but to the First Cause. It is not to look to the means or intermediaries but to the original and primary cause. It is that all causes come from Him and that everything is within His control and power. It is that everything is subject to His will and nothing has got any will of its own. If one has got sure faith in this Tauhid, his wrath on others, hatred for others and jealousy for others vanish away and His will remains supreme in his mind. Then to him, the means or intermediaries become like hand and pen. He does not express gratefulness to hand and pen as he considers them as weapons and means. This certain faith is highest in rank.
Then he understands that the sun, moon, stars, animals, plants and all creatures are subject to His order, that the pen moves under the control of the Writer who moves them. (2) From this, his faith that God provides every man with subsistence grows
84 THE BOOK OF WORSHIP Vol-I