Why the Suffering?
Many ask the question: Why is the Ummah suffering so much, despite millions making dua throughout the world and millions making dua during Haj and Umrah? Why is there no change? The answer can be understood by way of an analogy: A son is disobedient and rebellious towards his father’s instructions and arrogant in his stance against his father, demanding, swearing, abusing, and adopting bad behaviour as found common in this day and age. The father is deeply hurt, offended and angered, and when he has had enough of the disrespect and arrogance, he finally resorts to breaking off ties with his son and he cuts off all privileges. Now, if the entire family, even the entire community, tells that father: “Forgive him. He is your son…” That father will respond: “I have no problem with forgiving him. All he has to say is, “I’m sorry”, and I will forgive him.” However, on being encouraged to humble himself and ask for forgiveness, the son retorts with arrogance: “Why must I? Why do I need to? I’m independent! I don’t need him!” Will that father forgive that son? Will he grant those privileges of money, car, etc.? Similarly, the Awliya-Allah, the Salihin (the pious), and so many more are making dua for the Ummah. In fact, if all the Auliya Allah were to gather on the Day of Arafat and earnestly pray for the Ummah, Allah Ta’ala would most assuredly be prepared to forgive. However, from our side, there is a step to be taken—and this is what the majority are not ready to do: They are not prepared to take the step of “CHANGE”. Allah Ta’ala’s doors are ever-open. Allah wants us to become His. He wants to forgive us and shower His infinite Mercies and Blessings upon us, but we are not prepared to take the step of obedience —the step that will secure His Forgiveness and Pleasure. Unfortunately, the majority do not even acknowledge their sins, let alone repent. Many justify and reason their sins. Some even dispute and argue regarding Allah Ta’ala’s Commandments as if they have some authority over Allah Ta’ala (Na-uzu billah). So many are brazen in their indulgence as if challenging Allah Ta’ala, like that arrogant son: “What can You do? I do not need You!” (Na-uzu Billah). With this kind of behaviour and attitude, can we expect any favours, privileges or assistance from Allah Ta’ala? We live in a fool’s paradise if we think we can continue sinning and still be a recipient of Allah Ta’ala’s bounties and aid. If we truly want Allah Ta’ala’s assistance, we have to give up our sins. Many are not even fulfilling the Fardh Injunctions – Salah, Zakah, Fasting in the month of Ramadan, etc., and others naively depend on Wazifas to solve their problems; they are just not prepared to give up their sins–this is sheer foolishness. Wazifas and Ta’wiz are no barrier against the Azab of Allah Ta’ala when there is indulgence and persistence in sins. Then we have those Muslims who, in the face of natural disasters, war and genocide, etc., question God’s existence, ask where are Allah Ta’ala’s mercy and compassion, or ask if He is seeing what is happening. (Na-uzu Billah). Allah Ta’ala is not blind or deaf and does not want chaos. Allah Ta’ala wants peace. However, we have to fulfil the conditions of the contract. The first condition is that we become Believers who are ‘Kaamil’ (perfect). If we implement Deen in our lives, adopt Taqwa and follow the noble example of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), then the conditions will change. The Day the Ummah fulfils its duties across the board —making a total change; then our suffering will be replaced with success, prosperity, happiness, and people of other faiths will also accept Islam. Allah Ta’ala explicitly spells out His conditions and His promises: “Allah has promised those of you who believe and do good deeds that He will certainly make them (His) vicegerents in the land, as He made those before them, and will certainly establish for them their religion which He has chosen for them, and will certainly give them peace in place of fear in which they were before; (provided that) they worship Me, ascribing no partner to Me. And those who turn infidel after that are the transgressors.” And Establish Salah and pay Zakah and obey the messenger, so that you may be favoured with mercy. [Surah Nur 24: 55/56] Thus, in order to see the fruit of our duas and receive Allah Ta’ala’s assistance on an individual, national, and international level, we must fulfil our pledge by obeying Allah Ta’ala and His Rasul (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam).
The Only Superpower
The so-called “Superpowers” of this world prove their weakness because they depend on other powers and forces for assistance. They join forces; they require coalitions, alliances, confederations, leagues and unions —which prove their dependency and need. The Only Superpower is Allah Ta’ala, who is entirely independent of His creation. He is not in need of any of us. All are dependent on Him, and He is Independent of all. He is “As-Samad” (The Independent), “Al-Kabir” (The Greatest), and “Al-Qadir” (All-Powerful). Allah Ta’ala’s armies testify to His Infinite Power and Might. We have witnessed the force and power of earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, gale-force winds, fire and volcanoes. Even rain and snow bring a grinding halt to the running of a country: cars, buses, trains, planes, etc., come to an absolute standstill – and nothing can be done for hours and days. Despite the country being a so-called superpower, its army, navy, airforce, etc., become ineffective in overcoming these forces. What we see of the force and power in nature are signs of the Power and Might of Allah Ta’ala. What we see of the force and power in nature, are signs of the great Power and great Might of Allah Ta’ala. The natural disasters which have become so common and which are increasing throughout the world, are a sign of the nearness of Qiyaamah (the final day), as mentioned by Rasulullah Sallallaahu ‘Alayhi WaSallam. These disasters come in the form of punishment and destruction for those who have transgressed all boundaries – indulging in major sins, oppression, extravagance and wastefulness, and they are a warning for those who are heedless and a test and trial for the pious and righteous.
Forgive Others
Forgive Others We should try and keep in mind the many virtues regarding forgiving those who wrong us. Allah Ta’ala will, insha Allah, reward us in different ways. We will become the beneficiaries of great good: 1.) Allah Ta’ala will forgive us: Allah Ta’ala says: “Let them forgive and overlook, do you not wish that Allah should also forgive you? Indeed, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” [Surah An-Noor 24: 22] Abu Hurairah (radhiyallahu ‘anhu) narrated that Rasulullah (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said: “He who forgives the faults of a Muslim, Allah will forgive his faults on the Day of Resurrection.”[1] 2.) Allah Ta’ala will love us: “Those who control their anger and are forgiving towards people; Allah loves those who do good.” [Surah Aal-Imraan 3: 134] 3.) Allah Ta’ala will grant us honour: Nabi (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said: “Charity does not decrease wealth; no one forgives except that Allah increases his honour, and no one humbles himself for the sake of Allah except that Allah raises his status.”[2] It is much easier on the heart to forgive and let the past remain in the past than to hold onto it, carry it with us, and stay unhappy, depressed and miserable. This burden bogs a person down. Many a time, holding onto the past deprives a person of productivity and being able to live life successfully. [1] Ibn Hibban [2] Sahih Muslim
The Tranquillity of the Heart
Like the needle of the compass faces North when at rest, the heart of the Mu’min[1] faces in the direction of Allah Ta’ala’s obedience and pleasure. In the obedience of Allah Ta’ala do we find our peace, contentment and happiness. When a compass is moved or shaken, we observe how the needle is disturbed and begins to move this way and that way restlessly –as if agitated. When it is placed down, it continues to move about until finally; it finds its rest in the direction of North. SubhanAllah! We should take a lesson from this. When the heart of a Mu’min is shaken with sins and disobedience to Allah Ta’ala, then the heart’s Sukoon (tranquillity) is disturbed. The heart is in a state of restlessness and anxiety until the person sincerely repents. Upon sincere Taubah, the heart settles back in Allah Ta’ala’s pleasure and once again enjoys its Sukoon. Our Shaykh, Hazrat Maulana Hakim Muhammad Akhtar Saheb (rahmatullahi ‘alayh), would say that Sukoon is an exclusive bounty and gift for a Muslim. It only descends on the heart of a Believer, with the condition that there is obedience to Allah Ta’ala and abstinence from sins. Not only do sins disturb and disrupt the tranquillity of the heart, but it also blemishes the heart with ugly black marks. Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) explained: “When a Mu’min sins, a black dot appears on his heart. If he repents and seeks Allah’s forgiveness, his heart becomes cleansed and polished. If he continues to commit more and more sins (without repenting), the spot continues to spread and ultimately covers his entire heart.”[2] I have given the following analogy many a time: The person who is wearing a white kurta and is always conscious of his cleanliness will be very uneasy and uncomfortable if a drop of black ink falls onto his kurta or if food stains his kurta. He will haste to wash it off immediately –because the sink stain spoils his kurta’s whiteness. This is the condition of the Mu’min who is obedient to Allah Ta’ala. His heart is like a white garment or a white sheet. The moment he falls into any sin mistakenly, he senses the dark, black spot of sin on his white heart. He is uneasy and unhappy and immediately seeks to clean his heart with sincere Taubah. We find that those who work in garages generally wear dark overalls. This is because they handle oil and grease, and their work requires clothing which is practical. Because the clothing is dark, if more oil and grease soils and stains the overall, the person will not really be aware of it and will not be bothered because his garments are dark in colour anyway. So, any amount of oil, grease and dirt may soil his clothing, but it is not really apparent and does not worry him. Similar is the condition of the person whose heart is already soiled and dirtied with sins for which no Taubah has been made. More sins do not affect him because the heart is already dark and black. This does not mean that a person sits content with such a heart. It is necessary that he quickly begins a total scrub and wash of his heart with Taubah and Istighfaar. Sincere Taubah, Zikrullah and the effort in the direction of obedience to Allah Ta’ala will most certainly remove all the blackness and dirt of sins from the heart. The heart will then be in its original state of whiteness and cleanliness, insha Allah. Nabi (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) taught us a Dua that facilitates this washing and purification of the heart: “O Allah, wash off my sins with the (melted) water of ice and snow, and purify my heart of sins, as white clothes are cleansed of filth.” Nabi (sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam) used the word ‘white’ cloth because black cloth does not make the stains or marks of dirt apparent. White clothes reveal the slightest trace of dirt. Maulana Shah Abdul Ghani Saheb (rahmatullahi ‘alayh) explained that the quality of ice is its coolness, and the outward characteristic of snow is its whiteness. Thus, the whiteness removes the darkness of sins, and the coolness eliminates the heat of sins, SubhanAllah! Together with sincere Taubah, it is essential to dissociate oneself from bad company and environments and to seek out good and pious companions who will encourage and inspire us in the direction of obedience to Allah Ta’ala and Rasulullah (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam), as well as find and keep to those environments which make easy practising on Deen. Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi (rahmatullahi ‘alayh) had related an incident of a tanner who was one day passing by some perfume shops. Since most of his time was occupied with tanning animal skins, he was used to strong bad smells. While passing the perfume shops, the pleasant fragrances did not agree with him, and he fell unconscious. The people around him made every effort to revive him, but no one was successful. When his brother was informed, he went to where the tanner lay unconscious, and on smelling the fragrances wafting in the air, he understood the cause of his brother’s condition. He immediately went away and returned after a while, bringing in his sleeve some faeces of a dog. He held his sleeve near his brother, who was instantly revived. All were astounded and bewildered as to what was so effective and helpful in reviving the tanner when there were so many perfume shops in the vicinity, and all sorts of fragrances were used to revive the tanner. This is just a story but with a great lesson. That person who spends his life in sin becomes accustomed to dirty environments and deeds. Good deeds are unfamiliar and foreign to the person. The person can even reach a stage where there is an aversion to good, and thus, he stays far away from those places and gatherings where the
Overcoming Jealousy
Allah Ta’ala, in His Infinite Wisdom, which we —with our limited intelligence, cannot comprehend, distributes amongst mankind of His bounties. Allah Ta’ala gives wealth, intelligence, health, beauty, and all other goodness. There is no need to burn the heart over someone else’s gifts, fortunes, and possessions. Harbouring jealousy in the heart only harms the jealous one, ruins his peace of mind, torments his heart, and destroys his own good deeds. It narrated in a Hadith that Nabi (sallallahu’ alayhi wa sallam) said: “Beware of jealousy, for verily it destroys good deeds the way fire destroys wood.”[1] Maulana Shah Muhammad Ahmad Saheb (rahmatullah ‘alayh) aptly conveyed the reality of jealousy in his poetry: “Why are you burning yourself in the fire of jealousy? Why are you walking towards the Fire of Hell? Are you unhappy with the distribution made by Allah, Himself? Why are you rubbing the palms of your hands in deep regret?” Expel the evil of jealousy from the heart. Seek goodness from Allah Ta’ala and make the correct effort by using the Halaal means to acquire what is permissible. Be satisfied and content with whatever is achieved. [1] Abu Dawud