The capital given to man is his lifetime. Had there been no illness, good health and  well-being  would  have  caused  heedlessness,  for  they show  the  world  to  be pleasant and make the hereafter forgotten. They do not want death and the grave to be thought of; they  cause  the capital of life to  be wasted on trifles. Whereas illness suddenly opens the eyes, it says to the body: “You are not immortal. You have not been left to your own devices. You have a duty. Give up your pride, think of the One who created you. Know that you will enter  the grave, so prepare yourself for it!” From  this  point of view,  illness  is  an admonishing  guide and  adviser that  never deceives. It should not be complained about in this respect, indeed, should be thanked for. And if it is not too severe, patience should be sought to endure it.

FOURTH REMEDY

Plaintive ill person! You have no right to complain; what is due to you is to offer thanks  and  be  patient.  For  your  body  and  members  and  faculties  are  not  your property. You did not make them, nor did you  buy them from other workshops. That means they are someone else’s property, and their owner has disposal over his property as he wishes.

As  is  related  in  the  Twenty-Sixth  Word,  an  extremely  wealthy  and  skilful craftsman, for example, employs a poor man as a model in order to show off his fine art and considerable wealth. In return for a wage, for a brief hour he clothes the poor man in a bejewelled and skilfully wrought garment. He works it on him and gives it various states. In  order to display the extraordinary varieties of his art, he cuts the garment, alters it, and lengthens and shortens it. Does the poor wage-earner have the right to say to that person: “You are causing me trouble, you are causing me distress with the form you have given it,  making me bow down and stand up?” Has he the right to tell him that he is spoiling his fine appearance by trimming and shortening the garment which makes him beautiful? Can he tell him he is being unkind and unfair?

O sick person! Just like in this comparison, in order to display the garment of

your body with which He has clothed you, bejewelled with luminous faculties like the eye, the  ear, the reason, and the heart, and the embroideries of His most beautiful names, the All-Glorious Maker makes you revolve amid numerous states and changes you in many situations. Just as you learn of His name of Provider through hunger, so come to know His name of Healer through your illness. Since suffering and calamities show the decrees of some of His names, many instances of good are to be found within those flashes of wisdom and rays of mercy. If the veil of illness, which you fear and loathe, were to be lifted, behind it you would find many agreeable and beautiful meanings.

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