BY REFLECTIONS THINK REFLECT
This life, this journey on earth which we take for granted, is a huge blessing which should be cherished. It is not some random occurrence, life didn’t just happen, it is a carefully designed and perfect creation by the Creator of the heavens and the earth, our Lord and Master the one and only Rabb al Aalameen.
Our greatest and only purpose in this life is to find the purest of connection, of sincere worship that exists between humans and Allah (SWT). Without this relationship the equation of life could never be balanced. Life would be meaningless without this spiritual connection. In order to live a productive and fruitful life, we require the guidance taught to us, by Allah SWT. We must realise that Allah is our guide, teacher and protector. Without Allah’s help and mercy, it is impossible to know Allah. Allah SWT says:
وَمَن يَهْدِاللهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَد
And whoever Allah guides so he is rightly guided (Sura Isra:97)
Whilst living our lives, our engrossment and fascination with life, and our never-ending desires and experiences affect us, both positively and negatively. We take in huge numbers of stimuli into our hearts and store this information. This repertoire of truths, half-truths, lies, desires etc become our source from which we draw inferences. We begin to rely too much on our worldly learnt knowledge which takes us away from the true source of knowledge and guidance from Allah SWT.
Many of us blindly live our lives on autopilot, in our comfort zones which we fear to step out of. We become habituated to the multitude of blessings around us, and we are lost within the lies of the self and fail to attribute these blessings to Allah SWT.
We even undervalue and minify the blessing of being a Muslim. Being a Muslim becomes a label devoid of the understanding that belief could never just be on the tongue alone. If we believe hen that belief must be acted upon.
For example, if we believe drinking water is good for our health, but we keep drinking soft drinks everyday then it shows weakness in the certainty of this belief. The conviction that water is beneficial should enter the heart and take firm root there to blossom into a consistent action.
Similarly, most people would say that they want to know Allah, they would even proclaim intense love for Allah, yet they fail to follow the guidance provided by Allah which is the best guidance for us.
I know we are weak, so weak. we falter, we fail, we forget and get distracted by the allure of life. Allah SWT tells us in (Sura Nisa:28)
يريد الله ان يخفف عنكم وخلق الانسان ضعيفا
And Allah wants to lighten for you (your difficulties); and mankind was created weak.
If you truly want to know Allah then know that the path to Allah is straight not crooked (Sura Kahf), but it is not flat either, it is an upwards and uphill climb through the rough terrain of trials and tribulations. Falling endlessly, getting up courageously, then striving again and again despite skinned knees and a broken, exhausted, shattered heart, healed and repaired several times by Allah’s mercy, until it reaches its destination by Allah’s permission at its appointed time.
We must never ever give up in the face of this adversity, these tests enhance us, help us learn and understand more about ourselves and what surrounds us and make us turn repeatedly to Allah (SWT). Till our last breath we must hold firmly onto the rope of Allah. We must crave our return to Allah Ar-Rahman and Ar-Raheem.
As stated above there are many learnt biases in life which we need to navigate and undo. The Information we continuously take in through our senses skews our perspective. Not all that we read, see or hear is true or beneficial. The only truth is that Allah is the One and Only, ever living the ever remaining. We must strip back the biases to see the ultimate truth that we belong to Allah and worshipping, and obeying Allah is His right over mankind and in His mercy is our salvation.
So, in our quest to know Allah, we must take, a closer look within our own soul first. Most people claim that they know themselves but to truly know oneself and develop deep awareness we must go on an inward journey into our heart and be brutally honest with ourselves. We must re-ask simple existential questions like who am I? where have I come from, whom do I belong to and then search further Am I an honest person? Am I sincere? Am I trustworthy, do I fear Allah, is my conviction in my faith sincere, do I obey Allah?
This inward journey is not for the faint hearted, it is a challenge, it is a painful, deep soul-searching journey that requires courage and steadfastness. It is difficult because over the years we have convinced ourselves that all the problems we experience are external to us and someone else’s fault. This external projection is less painful and absolves a person from arduous self -reflection and accountability.
Initially, experientially, it may come as a shock to the system, when we realise that we have many faults. However, this is the first step towards taking responsibility for our actions, known as ‘Muhasba’ in Arabic, which means taking account of oneself. It is also an essential step in turning towards Allah SWT, in seeking forgiveness and becoming a sincere worshipper.
Often, we make the mistake of trying to find this connection outside of our heart first. Not realising that it is a process of purification, when we purify our heart, it becomes soft, palpable, humble and highly receptive to goodness. Our heart becomes a land ready for ploughing and growth. A soft heart becomes an aware heart, conscious of Allah SWT, that wishes to turn to Allah in humility and submits in awe of the Mercy of Allah to which it was heedless of. Before. The heart having found this new enlightenment and joy desires to be in prostration to Allah and submits.
Allah SWT says in surah Fussilat:53
سَنُرِيهِمْ ءَايَـٰتِنَا فِى ٱلْـَٔافَاقِ وَفِىٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَهُمْ أَنَّهُ ٱلْحَقُّ ۗ أَوَلَمْ يَكْفِ بِرَبِّكَ أَنَّهُۥ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ شَهِيدٌ ٥٣
We will show them our signs in the universe and within themselves until it becomes clear to them that this Quran is the truth, is it not enough that your Lord is a witness over all things?
Allah SWT tells us that in creations are Ayat (signs) for people of understanding. Our creation as a human being itself is a sign. After the heart becomes aware how do we further enhance this awareness?
Let me share an example with you.
Growing up you may have heard of a famous story ‘called ‘Alice in wonderland’, a story about a girl that enters another realm, an enchanted forest and has many interesting experiences.
Think of yourself, as Alice, put yourself in her shoes, and enter the world you lived in all your life with new eyes, and an awakened pure heart. Observe everything with fresh eyes as if you are seeing it for the first time. It could be something as mundane as picking up an orange and observing it from all angles. Whereas you may have eaten an orange several times before and be fully familiar with its taste, try and focus on it differently.
For example , oranges are orange in colour, they have a thick peel, they contain seeds, some are seedless , they have another white skin under the orange peel, it tastes sour or sweet, then take this further and think who created it, take in the fine details, the fact that it is a provision that grows from a seed in soil, the minerals and nutrients required to grow it, the role of sunshine , a fruit that has vitamins and is good for the human body. Now think of the beauty of the One who created it, feel the awe of Allah who creates with such subtlety, and from the heart comes praise automatically without effort Ya-Lateef. This is the state of a sincere Abd (worshipper) where the Abd is never unaware of His Lord’s magnificence and is in a constant state of remembrance of his Lord, in everything he does in life.
From a standpoint, where eating the orange was something you never probably gave much thought to it has become a new conscious experience of understanding and appreciation. This is a heightened sense of awareness, which could be extended to everything around us. First to our physical inner existence, which is multi layered and then physical things that we could see and observe externally that surround us.
Once we live like this, we then understand that just like a fruit could have many layers, our heart could have many layers of understanding too. The Al-ghayb, the unseen, also has many layers and Allah tells us about all that the eye could not see. We cannot see Allah, the angels, heaven, hell, the akhirah. We cannot see it, but we could sense the Glory and magnificence of Allah in Everything that surrounds us, by actively engaging all our senses in seeking to understand the visible Ayat
(signs) around us in this world.
First the heart was closed or partially awake and then it opened fully. It was a small opening at first that let the light in slowly until it spread, and the heart was flooded with the light of Mercy, in full bloom.
We must eagerly seek guidance and become curious about our lives. We are in this world only temporarily. We have very limited time on this planet, and we must avail this time. Allah loves those who return to Him, often and He loves to shower us with His blessings
وَٱللَّهُ يَدۡعُوٓاْإِلَىٰ دَارِ ٱلسَّلَٰمِ وَيَهۡدِي مَن يَشَآءُ إِلَىٰ صِرَٰطٖ مُّسۡتَقِيمٖ
٢And Allah invites ˹all˺ to the Home of Peace and guides whoever He wills to the Straight Path. (Sura Yunus)
There is no greater blessing than faith that has become firmly anchored in the heart in constant remembrance (dhikr). A heart that submits wholeheartedly is a wholesome heart, a heart in submission, a heart in prostration and in awe of Allah SWT the Lord of the heavens and the earth.
Jabir reported: The messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily among the people who recite the Quran with the best voice are those who, when you hear them, you consider them in awe of Allah” (Source: Sunan Ibn Mājah 1339)
Such a heart is walking in the gardens of bliss and peace, glorifying Allah day and night in all states, standing, sitting, lying down, and is in gratitude for having the most honourable title of being an Abd of Allah …… servant, slave and worshipper of Allah. This title surpasses all titles of this world. What could be more humbling and honourable than being a slave of Allah. Allah SWT says:
إِنَّمَا ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ ٱللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـٰتُهُۥ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَـٰنًۭا وَعَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ ٢
The true believers are only those whose hearts tremble at the remembrance of Allah, whose faith increases when His revelations are recited to them, and who put their trust in their Lord.(Sura Al-Anfaal: 2)
May Allah draw us all near as His Abd under His mercy and forgiveness ameen. To Allah we belong and to Allah is our return.
