IECRC (USA & Canada)

August 16, 2003 / Jamad-uth-Thani 1424

Volume 1, Issue 2 (Part 4)

Harmony can be defined as a pleasing or congruent arrangement of parts, which in the human paradigm leads to inner peace.  The corollary would be that lack of congruency creates internal turmoil, and in severe cases leads to chronic depression.  Human beings are consciously or unconsciously in constant search of this harmony.  I have realized through my personal experiences that this harmony can be achieved by finding one’s place in the Court of the Creator, submitting to it, cherishing the relationships bestowed by the King and practicing unconditional love.

In the Muslim worldview, we believe in the reality of creation and design – that everything we see around us has One Creator – Allah Almighty and that He, the Most Exalted, has created a systematic world full of meaning and purpose.  Out of His Infinite Mercy, instead of placing His Message of Guidance directly into our hearts, He created the institution of Prophethood, where He chose special people to administer this awesome task.  It is essential and a matter of gratitude that we pay homage to this institution, primarily to its pinnacle and most perfect exemplar – Prophet Muhammad (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him).  He is the greatest Gift of Allah Almighty to us and it is imperative that not only are we grateful, but are also in constant show of this gratitude. Most people respond to this by emphasizing the importance of obeying His Sunnah (Practices), i.e. we must live our lives in accordance to the way He (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) lived it.  This is absolutely true. However, obedience out of love, as opposed to fear or compulsion, is the only true and lasting obedience.  So loving the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) needs to precede trying to imitate Him.  As a matter of fact, loving the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) is what completes our faith, as corroborated by the following Hadeeth:

Allah’s Apostle  said, “By Him in Whose Hands my life is, none of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father and his children.” (Sahih Bukhari Shareef)

The philosophy of love is a complex one.  To some people like myself, it is missing the Beloved (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him), wanting to see Him, yearning to be with Him and seeking His presence, desiring His approval and pleasure, attempting to make the Beloved (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) happy and making every effort not to displease Him.  This motivates me to try to follow everything He commands us to do.  Allah Almighty says in the Noble Quran:

Whoever obeys the Noble Messenger has indeed obeyed Allah              (Holy Quran, 4:80)

Those who fear that the expression of such emotions borders on shirk (i.e. associating partners with Allah Almighty) need to consider the fact that it is Allah Almighty Himself who chose to include His Beloved’s (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) name in the shahaada (the testimony that “There is no God but Allah and that Muhammad  is His Messenger”).  In addition, the Hadeeth (saying of the Prophet Muhammad, prayers and peace of Allah Almighty be upon Him) says that Allah Gives and His Prophet (prayers and peace be upon Him), distributes.  In other words, Allah Almighty is the Absolute Authority and the Prophet Muhammad (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) is His delegated authority in creation.  Therefore, to bypass Allah Almighty’s delegated authority and claim direct connection with Him is in the best-case naiveté and in the worst case impertinent and disrespectful to Allah Almighty, as one is not submitting to His System (Nizam). As the Persian saying expresses beautifully:

Bades Khuda Buzurg Tuhi Qissa Mukhtasar

After Allah, you are the greatest spiritual personality and that is the end of the matter

Unfortunately, today’s Muslim psyche has become plagued with what can be coined as “shirk-phobia”, due to the lack of understanding of the definition of the word shirk. Some think that praising and loving the Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) should have a limit, after which somehow it can seep into the realm of shirk.  Nothing can be further from the truth. The more we love and praise Allah Almighty’s Beloved (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him), the closer we get to Allah.  These acts increase our love for the Beloved (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) and are highly recommended, such as sending copious salawaat (prayers) upon him, writing and reciting poetry and prose that praise Him, talking about His birth, life, love, message and personality and remembering and celebrating the most awesome day that He was sent to this earth.

The Prophet (prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) epitomized unconditional love, which can be defined as genuinely wanting the best for others, doing something practical about it and wanting nothing in return except Allah Almighty’s love and rida (contentment and pleasure).  To those who make statements that He  was “just” a Messenger, that He  completed his “job” by conveying the message (may Allah protect us from such thoughts), need to consider that He (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) as the Messenger embodies Allah’s Message as reported in the famous Hadeeth by Sayyidatuna Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that He is the walking Quran.  In addition, He (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) is described as “Shaahid” (Witness) in the Quran [48:8] and therefore He is aware of all that we do on a daily basis and He continues to pray for His Ummah (community).

I once heard a speaker at a conference say “It is better to be at the tail of Truth than the head of falsehood”.  At the time, the statement resonated with my heart but its full meaning did not descend upon me until I had the great honor of affiliating myself with the Qadri Tareeqat (Sufi Path) of  Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah be pleased with him).  Allah Almighty says about His awliya (Friends / Saints) that they have no fear of the future and no grief over the past.  I believe this is so because they have surrendered themselves absolutely, not in negative resignation but a conscious willing submission to their Infinitely Merciful, Beneficent, Wise and Loving Lord with the understanding that He Almighty does everything for the good of His creation whether that is immediately obvious to us or not.

In my limited understanding, the Path of Tasawwuf (Sufism) is about self-effacement, taming and eventual annihilation of the ego, considering everyone else as better than oneself, removing all prejudices and biases, breaking stereotypes, becoming completely non-judgmental, recognizing that we don’t know where any human being stands with Allah Most Exalted, that we mustn’t judge by the external as we don’t know what is in someone’s heart. This Path is a path of no claims, just pure and total surrender, longing and love.

The Path is a tough one for anyone who wishes to tread it, but it is the only way for those who yearn for their Lord and seek His and His Beloved’s (prayers and peace of Allah be upon Him) contentment and pleasure.

Syeda Shagufta Ahmad Qadri