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Jâafar
as-Sadiq once addressed a staunch atheist, saying; "Have you ever
travelled on the sea?" He replied "Yes." Jâafar then asked, "Have you
experienced its terrors?" "Yes, indeed! One day while we were out at sea,
a terrible hurricane blew up and smashed our ship. Several sailors
perished. I clung to a rafter of the ship but soon it was soon snatched
away. I was thrown about in the stormy sea but was eventually tossed up on
the shore." "When the storm broke," Jâafar commented, "perhaps you first
relied on the ship and the sailors for your safety and then on the rafter
which saved you for a while. But when all these went, did you resign
yourself to death or did you still hope of safety?" "I hoped for safety,"
the atheist answered. "On whom did you hope for safety?" The man was
silent and Jâafar said, "The Creator is the One on whom you placed your
hopes at that time, and He (Subhanahu wa taâala) is the one who delivered
you from drowning." After this conversation the atheist was no longer an
atheist.
Islam: humanâs
natural way of worship
uploaded 23 Oct
2004
![Man-Reading-Quran]()
Throughout history humans have revered things. The
One, true God (Subhanahu wa taâala) has been worshipped, as well as a
mixture of the weird and wonderful. Innate in us is a desperate desire to
sanctify. This sanctification instinct may seem out of place in the hustle
and bustle of modern life. However sanctification is present in the West
today in many guises. Similar guises appeared within the ideology that
denied this instinctâs very existence; the old Communist bloc. As Muslims
this instinct is a positive energy that we tap into, providing many
practical applications.
The sanctification of Allah (Subhanahu wa
taâala)
ØÙÙÙÙ ÙÙÙ ØÙÙÙÙÙ ØÙØÙÙÙÙØÙÙØØÙ ÙÙØÙØÙØÙØÙ
ÙÙØØÙØÙÙØÙÙÙ ØÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙ ÙÙØÙÙÙÙÙÙØØÙ ÙÙØÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙ ØÙÙÙØÙÙ ØÙØÙØÙÙ ÙÙÙ
ØÙÙØÙØÙØÙ ØÙÙÙØ ÙÙÙÙÙØÙ ØÙÙÙÙØØÙ ÙÙÙÙØ ØÙÙØÙÙÙ ØÙÙÙÙÙ ÙÙÙÙ ØÙØÙÙÙÙØØ ÙÙÙ
ÙÙÙØØ ÙÙØÙØÙÙÙØ ØÙÙÙ ØÙØØÙØÙ ØÙØÙØÙ ÙÙÙÙØÙÙÙØ ÙÙØÙØÙÙ ÙÙÙÙÙØ ÙÙÙ ÙÙÙÙÙ
ØÙØØÙÙØÙ ÙÙØÙØÙØÙÙÙÙ ØÙØÙÙÙÙØØÙ ÙÙØÙØÙÙØÙØØÙ ØÙÙÙÙØÙØÙÙØÙ ØÙÙÙÙÙ ØÙØÙÙÙÙØØ
ÙÙØÙØÙØÙØÙ ÙØÙÙØØÙ ÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙ ÙÙØÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙ
"Behold! in
the creation of the heavens and the earth; in the alternation of the night
and the day; in the sailing of the ships through the ocean for the profit
of mankind; in the rain which Allah sends down from the skies, and the
life which He gives therewith to an earth that is dead; in the beasts of
all kinds that He scatters through the earth; in the change of the winds,
and the clouds which they trail like their slaves between the sky and the
earth;- (Here) indeed are Signs for a people that are wise." [TMQ
2:164]
Muslims derive inspiration from the wonders of the world.
Appreciation of the magnificence of the creation pushes us to have a
greater fear of the Creator (Subhanahu wa taâala). This fear affects us by
prompting us to obey Allahâs (Subhanahu wa taâala) law. The more aware we
are that Allah (Subhanahu wa taâala) is watching us, the more vigilant we
should become of our responsibilities. Sanctification is a central part of
our daily lives. As a minimum of five times a day we turn in prayer to
Allah (Subhanahu wa taâala). An integral part of salah is the
sanctification and the begging of our Lord (Subhanahu wa taâala) for
guidance and help. When performed sincerely this should inspire us to be
mindful of Allahâs (Subhanahu wa taâala) laws in the periods between the
salah. Thus the fruits of the remembering Allah (Subhanahu wa taâala), in
this world, should be born out in our behaviour.
ØØÙÙÙ ÙÙØ ØÙÙØÙÙÙ ØÙÙÙÙÙÙÙ ÙÙÙÙ ØÙÙÙÙØÙØØÙ ÙÙØÙÙÙÙÙ
ØÙØÙÙÙÙØØÙ ØÙÙÙÙ ØÙØÙÙÙÙØØÙ ØÙÙÙÙÙÙ ØÙÙÙ ØÙÙÙÙØÙØÙØØ ÙÙØÙÙÙÙÙÙÙØÙ
ÙÙÙÙØÙÙÙØÙ ØÙÙÙÙÙÙ ØÙÙÙØÙØÙ ÙÙØÙÙÙÙÙÙ ÙÙØÙÙÙÙÙ ÙÙØ
ØÙØÙÙÙØÙÙÙÙ
"Prayer restrains from shameful and
unjust deeds; and remembrance of Allah is the greatest without doubt."
[TMQ 29:45]
The power that is released when sanctifying Allah
(Subhanahu wa taâala) should be harnessed to influence our lives in
general. The more aware we are of Allahâs (Subhanahu wa taâala) existence
the more mindful we should be of the law. This fear of Allah (Subhanahu wa
taâala), and the submission that follows, is what characterises the
Islamic society.
The desire for sanctification
The
strength that is to be harnessed from worship really comes to the
forefront during this month. This is a month were we reduce our food, we
reduce our sleep, we increase our prayers and all other forms of ritual
worship. With all these changes in our life patterns we still feel
animated and full of energy. Our minds often think clearer, and our bodies
are refreshed. Many of us, as individuals, may look back through the years
and see that some of our best personal achievements happened in Ramadhan.
Similarly, we as an Ummah through history have attained success in this
month. That is success both in this world and the next. Ramadhan
demonstrates a unique thing within Islam. That is, how the individual and
collective rituals (Sadaqah, Tarawih prayer, communal iftar etc) channel
the energies of the Ummah for good. However, more importantly this is the
month in which Allah (Subhanahu wa taâala) has given us the opportunity to
better ourselves, in taqwwa, and to gain multiple rewards for minimal
efforts. The believer experiences a particular indescribable joy at the
time of iftar. We all experience this reality, but it is also in
concordance with what Rasool-Allah, Sallallahu alayhe wa Sallam informed
us of, ââone who fasts experiences two joys; he is joyful when he breaks
his fast, and he is joyful, by virtue of his fast, when he meets his
Raab.â [Bukari and Muslim] Obviously none of us have experienced the joy
of meeting Allah, so there is no point in discussing this. However the joy
of eating a simple date is something that all of us recognise, but yet
none of us can really quantify. None of us can articulate in writing or
speech in any language the nature of the experience of breaking fast after
a long hot days fast. It is this type of pleasure, of this world, that is
so unique and specific to Islam and Muslims.
So let us, within
ourselves, think deeply about the joys of this months. Now let us contrast
these sentiments about this month, our families, our communities, our acts
of worship with the current state of affairs in the West. The world is
dominated by disbelief, kufr. This is characterised by ignorance in belief
and actions. G.K. Chesterton the English writer and satirist has been
attributed with the saying, "when people stop believing in god they donât
start believing in nothing. They start to believe in anything." This is
not merely an accurate description of the West, but a description of the
nature of human beings. Humans have certain needs and instincts. We all
need of food, water and air to breath etc. As Muslims we believe that it
was Allahâs (Subhanahu wa taâala) will (Qadar) is that He (Subhanahu wa
taâala) created us with the need for food and water. Similarly it is Qadar
that we experience certain discomforts when aspects of our lives are
lacking. If we do not fulfil an instinct it results in anxiety. The root
instincts are few; but the way they manifest themselves in our behaviour
are many. The sanctification instinct stems from the fact that we are all
subordinate to various things. We are all very much aware of our
inferiority to many phenomena. Past people have been worshipped or have
commanded others to worship them. The Qurâan tells us of Ferrâon.
Communities that lived by the sea have recognised how their whole
existence relied upon the sea, as a result they would worship the sea.
This is paralleled in communities that lived on the banks of the Nile or
within the shadow of a volcano. Similar examples can be seen in
communities that acknowledged the importance of the sun, fire, the moon
and the stars etc. The method of worshipping these things was disparate.
Channelling sanctification correctly
Muslims
acknowledge the brilliance of many things. However, all our worship is
channelled to Allah (Subhanahu wa taâala) and not the created things. We
recognise the power of a riding beast. There are many dangers involved in
riding a camel or a horse. This may be extrapolated to the dangers of
driving a car. Rather than resign ourselves to thinking that our well
being lies in the handing of the car or the beast only, we ask Allah
(Subhanahu wa taâala) to grant us control over His (Subhanahu wa taâala)
creation, "Glory be to him who has subjected these to our (use), for we
could never have accomplished this (by ourselves). And to our Lord, surely
must we turn back." This is often recited with real conviction and trust
in Allah (Subhanahu wa taâala), not only by habit. After seeing or hearing
of a terrible road accident we appreciate the horrors that the car can
inflict on the human. It is at that time when we recite this duâa with the
most conviction. Jâafar as-Sadiq once addressed a staunch atheist, saying;
"Have you ever travelled on the sea?" He replied "Yes." Jâafar then asked,
"Have you experienced its terrors?" "Yes, indeed! One day while we were
out at sea, a terrible hurricane blew up and smashed our ship. Several
sailors perished. I clung to a rafter of the ship but soon it was soon
snatched away. I was thrown about in the stormy sea but was eventually
tossed up on the shore." "When the storm broke," Jâafar commented,
"perhaps you first relied on the ship and the sailors for your safety and
then on the rafter which saved you for a while. But when all these went,
did you resign yourself to death or did you still hope of safety?" "I
hoped for safety," the atheist answered. "On whom did you hope for
safety?" The man was silent and Jâafar said, "The Creator is the One on
whom you placed your hopes at that time, and He (Subhanahu wa taâala) is
the one who delivered you from drowning." After this conversation the
atheist was no longer an atheist.
Filling the Westâs belief
vacuum
Atheism is a blatant form of disbelief. However any non
belief in Allah (Subhanahu wa taâala) and His messenger is kufr. In
Britain many are leaving traditional Christianity in favour of new fan
dangled ways. Less than 10 percent of the population go to church
regularly and the numbers are declining rapidly. But Britain has not
suddenly become a nation of sceptic rationalists. Seventy-one percent
(1990 survey) still profess to believe in a god of some form. If popular
culture is to be taken as a gauge, superstition and the paranormal seem to
be the new creed. The entertainment industry has capitalised on the
interest in the weird and wonderful. This is reflected in an array of
Hollywood films and TV shows that have dealt with the weird and wonderful.
For example the films such as Lord of The Rings and Harry Potter etc and
TV shows such as X files, Buffy the Vampire and Millennium. These are not
clever nor thought provoking, rather they are moronic. One of the best
selling books of the 1990s was "The Bible Code", which discusses the
events of world history as described in a type of Morse code running
through the text of the Bible. The numbers of Catholics attending mass has
declined, but the number of request for priests to perform exorcisms has
increased. A report published in the British Journal of Psychology (1997)
found that 59 percent of those surveyed believed in the paranormal. While
senior Anglican doctors of theology brand the virgin birth of Christ as
far fetched, the masses, it seems, believe in alien abduction. All this
demonstrate that the belief vacuum must always be filled.
Humans
need guidance to show us how and what to worship. This guidance can not be
left to Matthew, Mark, Luke and Mystic Meg. We believe in all that is
mentioned in the Qurâan regardless of how difficult it is to perceive
based on our limited minds. Muslims accept that; âIsa ibn Mariam (as) was
born of a virgin and spoke from the cradle and that Ibrahim (as) was put
into the fire without harm. We are comfortable with these beliefs because
we first believe in the authority and authenticity of the Qurâan. The
Qurâan is most agreeable to Muslims. Its commands are compatible with our
nature. The Qurâan may be seen as a kind of userâs manual that
manufacturers supply with machinery. Our âmanufacturerâ is Allah
(Subhanahu wa taâala). Who is therefore best qualified to provide us with
a manual for life? A code for us to satisfy our inner desires to revere
something is clearly described for us in the texts of Islam.
ØÙÙ â ØÙÙÙÙÙ ØÙÙÙÙØÙØØÙ ÙØÙ ØÙÙÙØÙ ÙÙÙÙÙ ÙÙØÙÙ
ÙÙÙÙÙÙÙØÙÙÙÙÙÙÙ â ØÙÙÙØÙÙÙÙ ÙÙØÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙ ØÙØÙÙØÙÙÙØÙ ÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙ ØÙØÙÙÙØØÙ
ÙÙÙÙÙÙÙØ ØÙØÙÙÙÙÙØÙÙÙÙ ÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙÙ
"Alif, Lam Meem. This is the Book; in it is guidance sure,
without doubt, to those who fear Allah, believe in the Unseen, establish
the prayer, and pay the zakah" [TMQ 2:1-3]
Source: KCom
Journal |
