Soldiers of light and soldiers of darkness

Question 28: What are the soldiers of light and darkness mentioned in the hadiths by them?

Answer: Sama’a narrated that he was with Abu Abdullah pbuh, and few of his followers were present, and the intellect and ignorance were mentioned.

So he pbuh said,

“Know the intellect and its soldiers, and know the ignorance and its soldiers, so that you become guided”.
So Sama’a said, “May my soul be in your sacrifice, we only know what you teach us.” Abu Abdullah pbuh said,

“Allah swt created intellect from His light, and he is the first creation of Allah swt from the spirituals on the right of the Throne. He swt said to it, “Come forth,” so it came forth, and He then told it, “Walk away,” so it walked away, so He swt said, “I have created you a great creation, and I favored you over all My creation.” He swt then created the ignorance, from the brine sea, a dark creation. He told it, “Walk away,” so it walked away, and He then told it, “Come forth,” so it did not come forth. He swt said to it, “Have you had too much pride?” so He swt cursed it. He then made seventy-five soldiers for the intellect, so when the ignorance saw what Allah has bestowed upon the intellect from His generosity, and what He has given him, the ignorance hid his animosity for him and said, “O Lord, this is a creation like myself, You created him, favored and strengthened him, and I am his opposite, and I have no strength against him so give me from the soldiers like You have given him, so He swt said, “Yes. So if you disobey after that, I expel you and your soldiers from My mercy.” He [the ignorance] said, “I am satisfied.” So He gave him seventy-five soldiers.

So these were from what He has given the intellect, from the seventy-five soldiers:

• Good which is the minister of the intellect, and He made the evil its opposite, which is the minister of ignorance,
• and faith opposing disbelief,
• belief opposing contempt,
• hope opposing despair,
• justice opposing injustice,
• satisfaction opposing indignation,
• gratitude opposing ingratitude,
• greed [in Allah’s giving] opposing desperation,
• leaning [on Allah] opposing caution,
• compassion opposing cruelty,
• mercy opposing anger,
• knowledge opposing ignorance,
• understanding opposing foolishness,
• chastity opposing promiscuity,
• asceticism opposing desire,
• compassion opposing idiocy,
• fear opposing audacity,
• modesty opposing arrogance,
• diligence opposing haste,
• forbearance opposing inanity,
• silence opposing chatter,
• surrender opposing pride,
• submission opposing doubt,
• patience opposing panic,
• forgiveness opposing revenge,
• richness opposing poverty,
• remembrance opposing distraction,
• memorizing opposing forgetting,
• compassion opposing estrangement,
• contentment opposing caution,
• consolation opposing prevention,
• amiability opposing animosity,
• loyalty opposing treachery,
• obedience opposing disobedience,
• compliance opposing rebellion,
• safety opposing affliction,
• love opposing hatred,
• honesty opposing lying,
• truth opposing falsehood,
• trustworthiness opposing betrayal,
• sincerity opposing insincerity,
• nobility opposing lethargy,
• understanding opposing stupidity,
• practicing knowledge opposing denial,
• politeness opposing impoliteness,
• security in the unseen opposing craftiness,
• concealment opposing disclosure,
• prayer opposing missing [prayer],
• fasting opposing breaching [the fast],
• Jihad1 opposing cowardliness,
• pilgrimage (meaning allegiance) opposing breaching the pledge,
• protective speech opposing gossip,
• kind treatment to parents opposing mistreatment of them,
• truth opposing dissemblance,
• favored actions opposing denied actions,
• decency opposing flaunting,
• secrecy [over the religion] opposing announcement,
• fairness opposing jealousy,
• reformation opposing trespass,
• cleanliness opposing filth,
• shyness opposing pretentiousness,
• equity opposing aggression,
• comfort opposing fatigue,
• ease opposing difficulty,
• blessing opposing the deprivation of blessing,
• and health opposing affliction,
• justice opposing predominance [in number],
• wisdom opposing selfish desires,
• dignity opposing levity,
• happiness opposing misery,
• repentance opposing insistence,
• asking [Allah] for forgiveness opposing pride,
• conservativeness opposing negligence,
• dua opposing repelling,
• vigor opposing laziness,
• joy opposing sadness,
• affinity opposing separation,
• generosity opposing miserliness

So all these attributes from the soldiers of intellect do not gather except within a prophet or a prophet’s successor, or a believer whose heart was tested by Allah for faith. As for our supporters, one of them would not be free from having some of these soldiers within him until he perfects and purifies [himself] from the soldiers of ignorance so then he is at the higher level with the prophets and successors (meaning if his intellect became complete, he would be from the people of the seventh sky, which is the sky of intellect), and he realizes that by recognizing the intellect and his soldiers, and by avoiding the ignorance and his soldiers. May Allah support us and you to His obedience and satisfaction.” [Al-Kafi Vol. 1 page 20, “The book of intellect and ignorance,” narration 14.]

Ahmed Alhasan
The Allegories – volume 2