One with a vision suffers, even when it is not the truth. From the Islamic perspective, most people's visions and worldviews are false. Most people do not know (40:57), most people do not believe (17:89), most people hate the truth (43:78), etc.

Most people were against the Prophets (a) of God. It is why those who denied the call of Nū'h (a) were drowned (7:64), those who denied the call of Hūd (a) were eliminated (7:72), and those who disobeyed Sāleh and Shu'ayb (a) were seized by the earthquake (7:78, 91).

And the stories go on and on. Later, the infallible Ahl al-Bayt (a) suffered the same pressures as the divine missionaries before them - and more. They faced security pressure, were usurped of their rights, and eventually, were all martyred (thus far). Truth always kills.

While always being the minority; while constantly being in harm's way; while being mistreated and misunderstood, the Imams (a) did not give into the harassment of ignorance or the temptations of arrogance. They remained steadfast, even when there were easy ways out.

For instance, it is narrated in Al-Ghadeer, v.7, p.359, that Prophet Muhammad (s) said: "By God, if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand to leave this cause, I would not abandon it until God accomplishes it or until I am martyred in the process.."

But then on the contrary, the Muslim who does not struggle is clearly on a different channel. The Muslim whose thoughts, emotions, speech and actions do not draw any pressure has lost the way somehow, somewhere down the line. This is a Qur'anic rule and historical pattern.

The vision of life that most people embrace is false, even when they are Muslims. A Muslim is simply someone who testifies there is no Lord but Allah (swt) and that Muhammad (s) is His messenger - and does not knowingly deny essentials of the Islamic message. But then what?

How Islamic is this person's view of the world? How Islamic is their vision of culture? How Islamic is their behavior in society? How Islamic are their positions in real-life politics? Ultimately, these are what make a worldview a 'worldview' and this is the scale of true faith.

The stress, the fatigue, the loneliness, the lack of support, the financial and political pressure, the urge to make a positive change, the constancy in sincerity, the demonstrated willingness to sacrifice, the accomplishment of selflessness, etc. are the scale of true faith.

Peace be upon those who know the storm; those who write with words of action and sign with pens of blood; those whose hands are scarred with reality and faces are marked with the tan of truth - "My Lord, have mercy upon those faces the sun has changed.." Peace and blessings.

Those are the bearers of the true secrets, keepers of the gates of love and strangers in this world of false echoes - those whom, the best of the humankind, Muhammad (s) addresses: "Blessedness to the strangers.." Blessedness, for they do not yield their way nor waste their say.

Blessedness, for they are walking messages and breathing legacies - 'proofs', as our theology teaches; 'towers' in a world of nearsightedness; constants when change is disastrous, symbols when change is revolutionary. Neither are they fooled nor tempted. Only tired, you see them.

Because the truth is that this magnificent Islam, like promises, many pledge but do not keep. It is like a dream many claim they saw, but never did. Or perhaps, it is a fight that some live off of, many watch, and some have the baseness to walk - and sometimes run - away from.

But brothers and sisters, rise and realize that the only Islam is the Islam of the headache and the broken back; the Islam of the heartache and awaited hope; the Islam of utilized leisure and sacrificed opportunities. I say: either Islam of the vision, or no Islam at all.

So, what then is the suffering for falsity but a loss in both lives? And what then is the suffering for truth but a victory in any form or phase of existence? Choose your vision wisely and seek its fruit ardently. Nothing else in the world matters. By God, nothing else at all.