the Nature of Reality

What is reality? Do the world we see, the objects we own and the events we live through constitute true existence, or only a passing experience?

Every day, we work, we eat, we travel, we meet people and we pursue goals.

We feel joy, sadness, hope and disappointment.

All of this seems perfectly real to us.

Yet, in the fourteenth Door of The Goal of the Wise, Abdullah Hashem Aba Al-Sadiq (From Him is Peace) reports a teaching of Ahmed Al-Hassan (From Him is Peace) that profoundly calls into question our perception of the world.

According to this teaching, our earthly existence resembles a dream.

1. What truly makes us happy?

The chapter begins with a personal conversation.

Ahmed Al-Hassan asks Abdullah Hashem Aba Al-Sadiq about the things that bring him happiness in the earthly world.

The question does not directly concern religion.

It concerns the pleasures and satisfactions of daily life.

The author explains that material goods are not the main source of his joy.

Ahmed Al-Hassan then reveals to him that he considers this world an illusion.

This conversation introduces a reflection on the ephemeral nature of human experiences.

2. Time carries away every moment

Ahmed Al-Hassan then invites the person he is speaking with to reflect on his age and on the years already lived.

How many moments of joy have we known?

How many sorrows have we gone through?

How many meals, journeys, encounters and events have followed one another?

And yet, none of these moments can be brought back into the present.

We can remember them, but we cannot relive them exactly.

The book uses this observation to show the transitory character of earthly existence.

3. The world as a dream

The reflection leads to a particularly striking comparison.

When we dream, the events often seem real to us.

We can feel fear, joy, pain or happiness.

But on waking, we understand that we have lived an experience different from waking reality.

The book reports that Ahmed Al-Hassan compares our earthly existence to this experience.

The world would be comparable to a dream of which the human being is not yet fully aware.

This is a spiritual metaphor and a metaphysical assertion, not a scientific demonstration that the physical world would literally be a dream.

4. Are people asleep?

The chapter connects this teaching with a saying traditionally attributed to Imam Ali, according to which people are asleep and wake up at their death.

This formula expresses a profound idea.

The human being can go through his existence without fully understanding his condition.

He can devote all his energy to provisional goals while forgetting the essential questions.

Who am I?

Why am I here?

What will remain of my actions?

From the book's perspective, true awakening consists in recognizing the passing nature of the world and in seeking a deeper spiritual reality.

5. What remains of our actions?

One of the most important teachings of this Door concerns good deeds.

Pleasures pass.

Possessions change hands.

Circumstances evolve.

But the moral and spiritual consequences of our acts remain at the heart of the reflection.

The book insists on the value of actions accomplished for the good.

It invites us not to measure the success of a life solely by money, reputation or possessions.

The true value of a life would be linked to what the human being accomplishes spiritually and morally.

6. The difference between having and being

We often tend to define our identity by what we own.

A house.

A profession.

A social status.

Material goods.

But if these things disappear, who are we still?

The fourteenth Door invites us to distinguish the human being from his possessions.

It suggests that true identity cannot be reduced to the material circumstances of existence.

This reflection is in line with the previous teachings on the distinction between the soul and the body.

7. The illusion of permanence

A large part of our suffering comes from our desire to hold on to what changes.

We want happy moments to last indefinitely.

We wish to preserve our youth, our relationships and our living conditions.

Yet time continually transforms our existence.

The book presents this impermanence as an invitation to reorient our priorities.

Recognizing that the world is passing does not necessarily mean despising life.

It can also lead to a better understanding of the value of time, of responsibility and of the actions accomplished.

8. Waking up spiritually

In the logic of the chapter, spiritual awakening begins when the human being stops considering material appearances as the totality of reality.

He learns to question the meaning of his existence.

He examines his attachments.

He reflects on the consequences of his choices.

He seeks a knowledge that goes beyond mere daily concerns.

True awakening thus becomes an inner transformation.

Conclusion — Are we ready to wake up?

The fourteenth Door of The Goal of the Wise offers a reflection on time, illusions and the nature of our existence.

Through the teachings attributed to Ahmed Al-Hassan, it presents the world as a passing experience comparable to a dream.

Its central message invites us not to confuse temporary pleasures with the deep meaning of life.

When we look at our existence as a whole, what will remain of all the years gone by?

This question prepares a new reflection on light, darkness and the spiritual dimensions of reality.