Reflections on Quran and Spirituality
Today’s reflection is from Sura Balad where Allah [swt] says: Certainly We have created man to be in distress. [90:4] In this verse, Allah [swt] uses the word kabad for distress. Scholars explain that the word kabad which originally means intensity, also signifies 'a disease in the liver of a person’ and is used for any trouble and misery. This verse spells out a truth about the human experience during this plane of existence: from the time the human embryo is conceived it will go through difficult stages with pain and toil until the time it is born, and even from then on; during his childhood, the period of his adolescence, and through his mature and senior years, he is and will be faced with many kinds of challenges, stresses and distresses. The problem, though is that even though Allah [swt] has explained this to us in the Quran, we human beings expect something different. We LOVE comfort and luxury and are deeply attached to the idea of a life of stability and ease. We feel entitled to such a trouble-free existence, even when we have no proof that it is possible. Even when we may recognize that moments of such comfort and ease move us further away from spirituality and recognizing the purpose for which we are here. And so, when we are experiencing challenges and distresses, instead of reminding ourselves that this is, quite simply, the nature of this world, we tell ourselves that “something has gone wrong” and that “it is not meant to be this way” and a number of such things which actively resist the acceptance of this truth. And then, of course, we look at others. We see the edited versions of their lives which are apparent to us in real life or in the virtual arena. And then we compare our distresses and challenges to the snippets of their apparently-distress-free life, to the abundance of peace and joy that we think they are enjoying, and we think that somehow they have managed to escape this reality. I really love how Phil Stutz explains this truth in a hard-hitting way in his great book: Lessons for Living: What Only Adversity Can Teach You. . Phil starts his book by telling us: "Our culture denies the nature of reality. It holds out a promise that you can live in an ideal world where things come easily, a world in which unpleasant experiences can be avoided, where there is never a lack of immediate gratification. Worse, it suggests that if you do not live in this world, something is wrong with you. This ideal world is a realm of illusion. No matter how promising this world seems, it does not exist." He continues by saying: "Be honest. Your own life experiences have been far from ideal. But what you have experienced is what is reality, not what you would like to experience. In short, the nature of reality is this: 1. "Life includes pain and adversity." 2. "The future is uncertain." 3. "Accomplishment of any kind requires discipline." 4. "You are not special. No matter what you did, you cannot avoid these aspects of life." 5. "This will never change." In short: Life is hard. [or as the Quran puts it, we are created to be in distress] Denying and resisting this simple fact of existence and telling yourself the story that life “shouldn’t” be hard is, arguably, THE greatest obstacle to your enjoyment of life. When we quit arguing with reality and stop thinking something must be wrong with us because we’re experiencing life’s inevitable challenges, we can change our relationship to all the pain and uncertainty and hard work inherent to a meaningful life. In other words, when we stop resisting the truth that God has spelled out for us, we can fundamentally and permanently change our lives. Of course this does NOT mean that there is no joy or happiness or even moments of bliss on this earth. It does mean, as Stutz reminds us: “There is love, joy, surprise, transcendence, and creativity as well, but these never occur separately from the above five points."
In other words, once we accept that life is hard, that we “are created in distress”, we can stop spending all our energy on resisting the reality of our circumstances and carve out a meaningful, and yes even happy, life for ourselves. We can learn to make peace with an imperfect life and focus on making the best of an imperfect life.
May Allah have mercy on you. You should hasten towards (the preparation of) houses which you have been commanded to populate, and towards which you have been called and invited. Seek the completion of Allah’s favors on you by exercising endurance in His obedience and abstention from His disobedience, because tomorrow is close to today. How fast are the hours of the day, how fast are the days in the month, how fast are the months in the years and how fast the years in a life (Nahjul Balāgha, Sermon 188).
To have tawakkul is to have faith that if we have acted with truth, sincerity, wisdom and according to what is pleasing to Him, the outcome will always be good for us, even if it does not immediately appear to be so.
The opposite of tawakkul is to succumb to wrongful action when doing the right thing seems too hard in the moment or when we begin to doubt that doing the right thing will lead us to a good outcome. Or when we do not believe that our actions will amount to anything. Let us remind ourselves at such moments that part of tawakkul in Him is to use what we have at our disposal to make our lives and situations better. And once we have done that, to release our attachment to the outcome [very challenging, this, for some of us!] The verse ends with a reminder that He LOVES those that trust him. Given that Allah (swt) the Most Merciful has the ultimate good for human beings in mind, it makes sense that once we have done our job, He would love those that trust Him to do His job!
Here is today's reflection from the Quran:
In Sura Maida, the Quran whilst talking about whom to take as a Wali, says:
Your Wali is only Allah, His Apsotle, and the faithful of those who keep up prayers and give alms while they bow. [Quran 5:55]
As we commemorate the occasion of the martyrdom of Imam Ali (as), let us reflect on this verse to remind us of his position as various scholars from all schools of Islamic thought concur that this verse was revealed in response to an act of Imam Ali [as]. Before we begin reflecting on the verse, let us examine a key word in this verse which is Wali: The word Walī in Arabic has various meanings in English, a friend, protector, guardian, leader, one whom a follower inclines to, to name a few. Although it can mean friend, in the context of this verse, Scholars argue that it means something more than an ordinary friend. Scholars explain that it is not possible that Allah would tell us to befriend only those who have these two specific qualities. Therefore, they explain, that Walī here means a leader, both in a physical and a spiritual sense, for the guidance of believers. It must also be noted that no Prophetic traditions are reported for this verse which would support the use of Wali for friend in this verse.The verse begins by talking about how the believers should only take 3 entities as one's primary leaders, protectors or guardians:
1. God: One's primary protector (Wali) is God, one of whose Names is Wali
2. His Prophet [saw] and then
3. Other believers as awliya' who are distinguished by two primary and very specific qualities:
a. they establish salaat and
b. they give charity while they bow [that is, in a state of salaat while in the state of ruku]
The verse refers to an incident in the life of the Holy Prophet (saw), which is widely reported by all major schools of Islamic thought.
A companion named Jundub reports: 'Once I performed the noon prayers in a mosque, behind the Prophet (saw) then, a beggar came in but no one attended to him. The beggar extended his hands towards the heaven and said, 'O God, bear witness! Here, in the mosque of the Prophet of God (saw) I asked (to be given something), but no one attended to me.
The Holy Prophet [saw]'s cousin and son in law, Ali (as), who was in the state of ruku', saying his prayers, gestured with his hand, inviting the beggar to take a ring which was on his little finger. The beggar stepped closer and removed the ring from Ali's (as) finger.
This incident took place in the presence of the Prophet (saw)'.
Whilst reflecting on the occasion of revelation of this verse, it is interesting to note that no one heard the man when he called out to the people but when he complained to, and asked God directly, He answered his call through this action of Imam Ali (as)
In the first instance, let us use this verse to remind ourselves to follow worthy leaders, specially those that have been chosen and ratified by God Himself.
Secondly, we can also use this verse to encourage the practice of giving charity whenever it is required and scholars use it to remind believers to emulate Ali's example by giving charity as soon as one recognizes that someone is in need.
On a broader level, this verse also teaches us that worshipping Him cannot be separated from serving humanity.
In fact, the message of Islam can be encapsulated thus:
Believe and Do Good.
Worship Him and serve His creation.
Connect to Divinity and recognize and attend to the needs of humanity.
Imam Ali (as)'s charity during the act of ritual worship combined the essence of Islam in one single unified action.
How cool is that?
The verses we have been considering the last few days lay out the qualities of His special servants or the Ibad ur Rahman, some of which are the following:
They are those who:
Are humble in their demeanour [25:63]
Do not engage with the ignorant [25:63]
Worship at night [25:64]
Seek forgiveness continuously [25:65]
Avoid falsehood and vanity [25:72]
Attend to His communication [27:73]
Adopt balance in your spending [25:67]
Pray for family and future generations [25:74]
Verse 76 of Sura Furqan goes on to say:
It is they who shall be rewarded with the lofty abode for having been patient/constant, and they will be met therein with salutations and [greetings of] peace.
People such as this whose knowledge, speech, thought, power, and writing all function for guiding people to the path of the Truth are paragons and examples of the humane society. They are counted as examples for pious persons. They are like guiding lights and lamps in deserts and seas, which call those who are lost to them and save them from falling down and sinking.
In many narrations we read that this verse is about Imam Ali (as) and family of the Prophet (S) and Imams (as). Imam Sadiq (as) said:
“The purpose of this verse is us.” (Nūr uth-Thaqalayn, following the verse)
Without doubt, the beloveds of The Merciful are the most prominent examples of Ibad ur Rahman and of course this does not limit the concept of the verse nor does it negate the idea that that pious believers can be imams and leaders of others in various degrees, starting within their primary sphere of influence, which is the home.
Because these people are so elevated, their recompense is also elevation, in Heaven, where they will be received in a “lofty abode” with greetings, to an eternal life in peace.
While these verses serve as a checklist of what we can aspire to, we can also remind ourselves that the key is constantly and perseverance. While we may exhibit some of these qualities some of the time [during Ramadan for example], the Ibad ur Rahman are embodiments of these virtues on a constant basis and that is what we pray to aspire to inshallah.
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