Seeking Something

Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim

In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

Seeking Something

uploaded 25 Oct 2006

The desire to believe



Throughout history humans have revered things. The One, true God (swt) 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 instinct’s 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 (swt)

"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 (swt). This fear affects us by prompting us to obey Allah’s (swt) law. The more aware we are that Allah (swt) 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 (swt). An integral part of salah is the sanctification and the begging of our Lord (swt) for guidance and help. When performed sincerely this should inspire us to be mindful of Allah’s (swt) laws in the periods between the salah. Thus the fruits of the remembering Allah (swt), in this world, should be born out in our behaviour.

"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 (swt) should be harnessed to influence our lives in general. The more aware we are of Allah’s (swt) existence the more mindful we should be of the law. This fear of Allah (swt), 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 energy. Our minds often think clearer, 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 in 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 (swt) 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 the what Rasool-Allah, Sallallahu alayhe wa Sallam informed us of, ‘…one 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’ [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 day. 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 month. 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 don’t 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 Allah’s (swt) will (Qadar) is that He (swt) 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 Qur’an tells us of Ferr‘on. 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 (swt) 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 (swt) to grant us control over His (swt) 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 (swt), 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 du‘a with the most conviction.



J‘afar as-Sadiq once addressed a staunch atheist, saying; "Have you ever travelled on the sea?" He replied "Yes." J‘afar 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," J‘afar 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 J‘afar said, "The Creator is the One on whom you placed your hopes at that time, and He (swt) is the one who delivered you from drowning." After this conversation the atheist was no longer an atheist.



Filling the West’s belief vacuum



Atheism is a blatant form of disbelief. However any non belief in Allah (swt) 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 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.



Humans need guidance to show us how and what to worship. We believe in all that is mentioned in the Qur’an regardless of how difficult it is to perceive based on our limited minds. Muslims accept that; ‘Isa 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 Qur’an. The Qur’an is most agreeable to Muslims. Its commands are compatible with our nature. The Qur’an may be seen as a kind of user’s manual that manufacturers supply with machinery. Our ‘manufacturer’ is Allah (swt). 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.

"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

The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa'sallam said:

"The Muslim is a unique Ummah among the whole of mankind:

Their Land is ONE, their War is ONE, their Peace is ONE,

Their Honour is ONE and their Trust is ONE."

[Ahmad]