A Beautiful Soul Series: Two
Bismillaahir Rahmaanir Raheem.
Assalaamu alaykum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barkaatuh.
Allaahumma sualli 'alaa sayyidinaa Muhammad wa 'alaa aalihii wa ashaabihi wa sallam.
Alhamdulillaah
for everything…in the first series of BSS, we tried to get the understanding
that to be a beautiful soul, we needed to concentrate our energy on our hearts
because Allah azza wa jal and His beloved final Messenger, make it clear to us
that our hearts are all that will matter at the end of this journey called
life.
We
understood that we needed to work on this heart from the time we become
conscious of its importance in our relationship with Allah azza wa jal both in
this world and the Hereafter to our end…death. And of course, with each second,
minute, hour, day, month, year, etc., that passes, we will always have work to
do with our hearts…towards attaining the ‘Qalbun Saleem’ ‘Sound Heart.’ May
Allah azza wa jal grant us ease in this venture. Aameen.
In
this series two of BSS, I would like to look at ‘filling our hearts up with
Allah azza wa jal.’
We
know too well that we must love Allah azza wa jal above all else…and then His
final Messenger, suallallaahu ta’alaa alayhi wa sallam, next. It is also ‘too’
easy to say (being Muslims) that we love them most. However, when we put
ourselves to individual tests, we find ourselves failing at proving this claim
miserably.
Question:
Who
do you think about last before you go to sleep and who do you remember first
when you wake up?
Note:
Whoever
you name could probably be the one you love most…well, that is an experiment an
Islamic Scholar I listened to suggested everyone carried out…I do not agree
that if it isn’t Allah azza wa jal you think about, then you do not love Him
most but to a great extent, it could be so…
Consider this…
The
du’a before sleeping links our hearts to Allah azza wa jal before we close our
eyes and are gone…It says;
‘Bismika
Allaahumma amuutu wa ahyaa’
Meaning: ‘In
Your name, O Allah! I die and I live’
The
du’a when we wake up from sleep does the same…
‘Alhamdulillaahil
lazee ahyaanaa ba’ada maa amaatanaa wa ilayhin nushuur’
Meaning: ‘All
praise is for Allah who gave us life after having taken it from us and unto Him
is the Resurrection.‘
So,
if we are keen adherers of this practice of seeking Allah’s protection before
sleep and thanking Him, azza wa jal, when we wake up, then we might pass this
test, all conditions being equal.
What does your Heart Contain?
The
shahada, among the things that make us Muslims, says;
‘Laa
ilaaha illallaah, Muhammadu Rasuulullaah’
The
two parts of the shahada is;
1.
The emptying part
2.
The filling part
The Emptying Part
For
Allah azza wa jal to reside in our hearts, of course, we should know that we
cannot keep other things that are at par with Him, azza wa jal, in that same
heart. We cannot want absolutely anything else more than we want Him azza wa
jal. We cannot seek the pleasure of absolutely anything else more than we seek
His, azza wa jal’s pleasure. It is as simple as that and He, subhaanahu wa
ta’aalaa puts this requirement beautifully in this ayah;
‘“Say: If it be that your fathers,
your sons, your brothers, your mates, or your kindred; the wealth that you have
gained; the commerce in which you fear a decline: or the dwellings in which you
(seek) delight – are dearer to you than Allah, or His Messenger, or the
striving in His cause; then wait until Allah brings about His decision: and
Allah guides not the rebellious”
Surat At-Taubah, the Repentance,
Chapter 9 ayah 24
Now!
The criteria of His, Gloried be He above all else’s love, is clear enough.
We
empty our hearts by agreeing that indeed there is absolutely no deity, god or
goddess, nothing anywhere that we can possibly think of or not think of that is
God…
We
say; ‘Laa ilaaha…’ ‘There is no god…’ thereby emptying our hearts of any
possibility of putting anyone there that is not God, Allah, azza wa jal.
The Filling Part
When
we are done agreeing on the fact that there is no god…then now we come to fill
our hearts up with the one who owns the heart…Allah azza wa jal and His beloved
Messenger through whom we know Him, the Prophet Muhammad, suallallaahu alayhi
wa sallam.
We
say; ‘illallaah, Muhammadu Rasuulullaah…’ ‘Except Allah and Muhammad is the
Messenger of Allah’ thereby admitting that He, Allah, azza wa jal is the only
God we know and will ever know.
May
Allah, subhaanahu wa ta’aalaa grant us the understanding of His Oneness and Supremacy
over every other thing in detail. Aameen.
Both Parts are a Process
Now,
what I am saying is not that by just believing in and uttering the shahada, one
achieves a status of having emptied the heart of anything that is not Allah
azza wa jal and filled it up with Him, jalla jalaaluhu, alone right away. No!
And that is because the whole emptying and filling aspects of the shahada is a
‘process,’ a ‘means’ that is towards the achievement of only Allah azza wa jal
in the heart.
We
must also note that this ‘process’ is not a one day agenda; it is a matter of a
lifetime.
The
people who believe in Allah azza wa jal and who seek to please Him solely
struggle within and without themselves every day in order to impress Allah
subhaanahu wa ta’aalaa. May Allah, Al-Ghaniyyul Hameed, make us among them.
Aameen.
Humans, we are Insatiable
Yes,
whatever we are given, we want more. When Allah azza wa jal grants us one
desire, then another desire crops up. We want more of wealth, good health,
children, fame, power, more, more, more…etc.
That
is the situation that the human being who does not work against his or her
natural inclination to these worldly desires finds him or herself in…wanting
more always. Never content with little! Never content with enough! Never
content even with so much! At any given time, we just really want more.
Once
I listened to a lecture by one of my favourite humans in this life, Imam Hassan
Cisse (he lived a beautiful life…smiles), who said something profound. He said;
‘May Allah give us Allah!’
I
was caught in the air. He said that after explaining in detail how no matter
what Allah azza wa jal gives us, we would want more but if we have Allah azza
wa jal Himself, then in Him, there is sufficiency.
This
du’a was like everything I have ever believed in which I could not put into
words. Being someone who cared so much the state of being of my heart, I
thought that the only thing that will really give that true satisfaction and
calm that the heart needed to be stable in this Dunya was Allah azza wa jal
Himself. So I prayed;
‘May Allah, Al-Mujeeb, give us Allah
for in Him, there is sufficiency.’ Aameen.
When Allah gives us Allah
I
understood this simply as when everything that we surround ourselves with
remind us of our Creator, the fact that we live for the purpose of solely
worshiping Him and the fact that we will stand before Him to give account of
our every act in this life. The people who connect with us because of Him, azza
wa jal, and who help us to draw closer to Him.
We
have Allah azza wa jal when we are able to remember Him always whether in our
happy moments or sad ones. We have Allah azza wa jal when we are content with
everything that He gives us. We have Him when we recognise the uncountable
blessings He puts in our lives. We have Allah azza wa jal when we love and hate
that which He loves and hates. We have Allah azza wa jal when we strive to do
good to others and help them against harm for His sake…e.t.c. The list is
endless…
And
we must also know and understand that just as the emptying and filling of the
heart with Allah azza wa jal is a process, so is ‘having Allah.’
So,
the whole of life and living it is a ‘process,’ a ‘struggle’ to take all that
He, azza wa jal, doesn’t want out of our hearts, fill it up with Him (all that
He wants) and then pray that He, subhaanahu wa ta’aalaa, gives us Himself.
Then, our contentment level grows higher and higher as we go further into this
‘process’ ‘struggle’ of focusing on just Him until we reach the peak of
contentment.
May
Allah azza wa jal cleanse our hearts of all that He detests and fill it up with
all that He loves and then give us Himself for in that there is sufficiency
in…contentment…happiness…calmness…sereneness…peacefulness…of our hearts.
Aameen.
Towards
achieving a Qalbun Saleem…may Allah azza wa jal grant us that in ease. Aameen.
Jazaakumullaahu khairan always.
