SERIOUSNESS

We thank Allaah for the bounty of Muhammad (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). We thank Him with each wink of the eye and each movement of the limbs. We thank Him with the passing of each night and day. We thank and praise Him as much as the number of His creation for Muhammad (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) to deliver humanity from error into righteousness.

There is a disturbing lack of seriousness that prevails in most Muslim communities today. We experience a lack of commitment and the excitement that pervaded Madeenah. Gone is the ability to weep at the recitation of the Quran, to stand for long hours in prayer, to feel the pain and suffering of Muslims; gone is the solidarity and the spirit of true brotherhood and sisterhood.

It would seem that hope to overcome today’s challenges and problems is abandoned, that this life has become the playground for Satan and his army, and that the Believers are defeated. The good news is that today you may well feel such defeat and then you must go with us to Madeenah. We will open the windows and see real life there. By Allaah’s mercy, we will come to grips with the true meaning and purpose of life. As long as we can open the windows of Madeenah we shall find the tools to overcome.

WE SEE …

The Beloved (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) advised, ‘Had you known what I know, you would laugh less and weep more. You would go into the streets shouting for repentance and hope that you are saved. Had you known what I know you would have had trouble even to swallow your food or to enjoy sex with your partners.’

Lovers of the Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam), you cannot deny the words of Allaah Himself: ‘So Allaah revealed to His servant, Muhammad, whatever He revealed’. By His words ‘whatever He revealed’ Allaah stressed the profuseness of revelation that goes beyond the perception of the senses. Allaah respectfully and with a love communicated information to Muhammad (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) and thereby removed the screens, or veils, or any obstruction for the Prophet to understand the path to Allaah. The Lover (Allaah) unveiled insights into the inner secrets and the realities of life to the Beloved (Prophet of Allaah) that He concealed from others.

With this knowledge, the Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) intensified his faith in Allaah and adorned and beautified his outer and inner conditions. The Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) adopted an upright character and refrained from despicable actions. Allaah, Most Exalted, placed an army into his heart to guard him against the obstructions on his journey towards Allaah. This world remained either in his hand or in his house, but never in his heart. Meaning, he never allowed attachment to this world to control his life even while he required to eat or to drink or to enjoy sleeping in this world.

He resisted the attractions of this world with his powerful, unshaken faith (Yaqeen); he overpowered Satan by refraining from his invitations. He fought his lust by taking full charge of his destiny and he destroyed his ego (nafs) with sincerity (Ikhlaas).

The Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) understood the intensity of reality and the purpose of his mission, which remained alive in all his experiences. He never regarded his goal of establishing Allaah’s way as an illusion. The radiance (Noor) of Allaah filled his heart. It poured into his limbs and the effects became visible on his face and eyes, in his speech and in his actions. Aallah declares in the Glorious Quran, ‘Those who are deprived of spiritual enlightenment shall be deprived of all enlightenment.”.

Mutrif (Radhiallaahu Anhu) informs us that his father met the Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) while he was praying. His father heard a whistling sound emanating from the Prophet’s (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) chest, which resembled that made by a boiling kettle. The Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) was weeping. Abdullah ibn Mas’ood (Radhiallaahu Anhu) read the chapter on Nisaa in the Quran. As he recited the verse, ‘How will it be then, when we bring from each nation a witness and we bring you (Muhammad (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) as a witness against your people”, tears streamed from the Prophet’s (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) eyes. He derived true pleasure from the spiritual ecstasy that was in his heart. This pleasure was more powerful than the worldly pleasures. He wept in response to the intimate connection between his eye and the radiance (anwaar) of the Divine Essence that was shining from his heart.

In the silence of night, the Beloved prayed. At times he recited the whole of the chapters on Baqara, an-Nisaa and Aali Imraan in four units (rakaat). His recitation was slow and meticulous. He pronounced words clearly and gave due recognition to each letter. When he recited verses calling for the glorification of Allaah, he glorified Allaah. In addition, when he recited verses calling Believers to offer prayers, he prayed to Allaah. He appealed for the protection of Allaah when he came across verses that encouraged Believers to do that. The duration of his bowing and prostration was equal to the period when he stood to recite the Quran.

The beloved Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) wept at news of the martyrdom of his people. ‘It is from the compassion that Allaah placed into my heart and into the hearts of His lovers,’ he said to Sa’d (Radhiallaahu Anhu). He visited Asmaa bint Umais. Her husband, Ja’far (Radhiallaahu Anhu) was martyred. He entered the house after the family granted permission. He clasped the children, and held, hugged and kissed them. Then he called the rest of the family. ‘Are you bringing us news of Jafar?’ asked Asmaa. ‘Yes! He was martyred today,’ the Prophet replied. Everyone started to weep, as did he. He returned to his Companions and said, ‘Prepare food for the family of Ja’far’.

WE LEARN …

that

• our objective should be Allaah

• the path to Allaah is steep and requires a powerful will and determination from Believers 

• obstructions in the path to Allaah are arrogance, or the ego, Satan, the worldly life, and lust

• to walk the path of the Prophet we must destroy the following ten obstructions:

  • denying Allaah’s names and

  • qualities, making Him non-existent and therefore denying ourselves access to Him 

• worshipping other gods

• an incorrect understanding of reality

• having contaminated practices

• committing sins with the heart

• committing sins with the body

• committing minor sins

• being engaged in futile actions

• neglecting the goal

• the sincere Muslim searches for truth, committing a mistake now and then

• the intensity of the Prophet’s (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) veneration emerged from his profound insight into reality

• the Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) moved beyond the worship of forms, structures and institutions; he was uninterested in such superficialities. 

In the Quran, the Name of Allaah (our Objective) is applied many times and Islam (our form) only a few times. Therefore, understanding the deeper meanings of life will surpass the superficial; this understanding operates within the real and the One behind the real Allaah

WE SHOULD …

• understand that life is a gift and that we must live it properly; that we must seek the skills of living a proper life from the way of the Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). We must defy the ways of the enemies of the Prophet and realise that even the imitation of scholars who guide followers astray will not help us. They must account for their own deeds.

• take our lives seriously and spend little time playing or amusing ourselves. We should recite salutations to the Prophet remembering his sacrifices and his unselfish struggle for the benefit of humanity. He passed on this struggle to the Muslims 

• perceive Allaah in full authority, controlling all affairs.

• We should perceive new life being given and other lives being taken away. We should see Him as alive, hearing, seeing, strong, wise, loving, destroying evil, immortal, holder of all, encompassing knowledge, having knowledge of all secrets, knowing the deceiving eye and whatever is concealed in the heart

• realise that all our righteous efforts are inadequate in comparison to the goodness and bounties of Allaah. Thus, we must prefer the life of the hereafter as the real one rather than this fleeting, temporary, passing and short life 

• function socially within the true purpose of life. We should not waste time with idle-talkers and those who are immersed in only amusement.

In conclusion, the spiritual radiance of Allaah is like the radiance of the sun. It will only enter our beings when we welcome it. The sun cannot shine into the house that is covered with a roof. The spiritual radiance can only shine into our hearts if we purify them and rid them of the veils. Through purification of the heart, we shall experience its wonders. This state of purity shall remain with us until we meet Allaah. The more we increase our efforts to improve the quality and the quantity of our worship, the more shall Allaah increase our faith, our taqwaa (consciousness of Allaah) and our khauf (feeling of awe and respect), These splendid qualities shall serve as antidotes, killing all germs in the heart.

Let the dunyaa (this world) remain in your hands and or in the house, but let us take it out of the heart.

In conclusion, we should compare our level of commitment to that of the Prophet. How far from or how close are we to Madeenah?