The Wrappings of Gratitude

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful

The Beautiful Struggle

The beautiful struggle is to believe in the absoluteness of what is absolute,

and the impermenance of what is impermenant.

The beautiful struggle is to see reaity as it truly is.

The beautiful struggle is to respond to the struggle by becoming the pearl in the oyster.

The beautiful struggle is to see gardens where others see deserts.

The beautiful struggle is not to fear falling from flight, but to never fly at all.

The beautiful struggle is to enter paradise before entering paradise.

The beautiful struggle is to love courage and hate fear.

The beautiful struggle is to speak the truth even against oneself.

The beautiful struggle is to possess the honesty to admit ones faults before God.

The beautiful struggle is to see beauty where others see the plains of nothingness.

The beautiful struggle is to see knowledge where others see information, to see wisdom where others see knowledge, to see meaning in images, where others see only images.

The beautiful struggle is to see the indication in creation of principles before laws.

The beautiful struggle is to understand that those principles are guiding towards tolerance, which is not about tolerating difference but about becoming tolerant.

The beautiful struggle is about understanding whilst others are memorising, and about remembering whilst others are forgetting.

The beautiful struggle is to extract knowledge as the bee extracts honey. Sweet thoughts, to sweeten sweet minds. The honey bees of ones mind gather nectar by following the pathways of Divine Command, under Divine Guidance, to the knowledge gardens of His creation.

The beautiful struggle is to believe in the absoluteness of the permenant when all others believe in the absoluteness of the temporary.

The beautiful struggle is to know there is perfection in imperfection, for the admittance of ones flaws and weakness before Allah is a greater sign of perfection than the one that worships devoutly but considers himself perfect because he is reluctant to admit his faults.

The beautiful struggle is to understand that man, a material being, never experiences the material realm directly. He neither tastes, feels, smells, touches or sees what he considers to be real, his mind only tells him what it thinks is real. There is no absoluteness in the material, other than what that material points to, the absoluteness of the One that created it.

The beautiful struggle is to live in a protected oasis of love, when all others are drowning in a sea of hate. Medina was that oasis. The prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was that oasis. His love was an ocean, the drops in the ocean were his companions, who carried his light and built civilisations.

•23 Jumada-al-Awwal 1429•

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
ِ

In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful

In April I wrote two pieces, one titled, “Truly Beautiful” and the other titled “I want to spend my lifetime loving you”. Of the latter I wrote:

“To say ‘I want to spend my lifetime loving you’ says much more than I love you. It says I can only spend my lifetime loving you, if I spend my lifetime fighting for you, and to fight for you means that I am fighting to love you in the purest way, which means fighting for justice, because to love is a form of justice in itself. To love ones family and children, is justice, because you are testifying to the truth, testifying that the only way to live is to spend ones lifetime loving. So true love is the reward for fighting to know what it is, the fight for it begins with ones desire to know what it truly is, and then fighting, come what may, to never let go of it. This is how Allah tests the purity of hearts, by making it dificult to believe in something in order to see how we are going to respond. If we give up easily then it means that it we didn’t possess the requisite seriousness about a very valuable concept, something that Allah is not simply going to grant us until we show Him how serious we are about it.”

In other words the essence of desiring love is contained in the struggle to want to believe in love as well as to believe in it in all its beautiful manifestations. In other words the beautiful struggle is to want to continue to believe in love although ones inclination is to turn and flee in the face of danger. It is much easier to respond to difficulty with despondancy, to respond to pain with grief and dispair, than to continue to believe in those blessings that never alter, nor are altered by time, space or people. No matter how much injustice there is in the world, as sure as day follows night and night follows day, justice will always be justice. Al-Adl (The Just), one of the beautiful attributes of Allah will always continue to be and never diminishes. The test is not to be consumed with injustice through the witnessing of injustice, because the power of the unjust does not exceed the limits placed on it by Allah, when his Lord wills his time to end then there is nothing he can do about it. But the Face of Allah continues to exist, and Al-Adl is never diminished in the least. Consider how the Qur’an mentions the two reposnses of people in the face of adversity and injustice, and this is so that we may recognise those attributes within us:

وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَا فِي هَـذَا الْقُرْآنِ لِيَذَّكَّرُواْ وَمَا يَزِيدُهُمْ إِلاَّ نُفُورًا

“We have explained (things) in various (ways) in this Qur’an, in order that they may receive admonition, but it only increases their flight (from the Truth)!” (Al-Isra 17:41)

Yet there is another group whose response in the face of tribulation is the opposite:

وَيَقُولُونَ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَا إِن كَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّنَا لَمَفْعُولاً

وَيَخِرُّونَ لِلأَذْقَانِ يَبْكُونَ وَيَزِيدُهُمْ خُشُوعًا

“And they say: ‘Glory to our Lord! Truly has the promise of our Lord been fulfilled!’. They fall down on their faces in tears, and it increases their (earnest) humility”. (Al-Isra 17:108:109)

How different are these two responses? One person flees, and he flees not only out of fear and weakness, but is fleeing from Allah Himself, from the inevitable truth. Thus whilst he flees the one other not only continues to believe, but is rewarded with an increase in humility and faith, two immense blessings. To respond to the struggle by saying, “truly the promise of our Lord has been fulfilled”, is to testify that Allah has spoken the truth, what He promised was going to happen did happen, what He said was true, was true. When Allah tells us He is ar-Rahman and ar-Rahim, He is not only telling us these are two of His attributes, but that these are two absolute attributes, they do not ever change, and nor do any of his other attributes. Which means that no matter how much an ignorant or unjust person seeks to erase justice, compassion, care, love, patience, forebearance and so on. They can not even so much as be diminished let alone erased. As Allah says in a very beautiful verse:

يُرِيدُونَ أَن يُطْفِؤُواْ نُورَ اللّهِ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَيَأْبَى اللّهُ إِلاَّ أَن يُتِمَّ نُورَهُ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكَافِرُونَ

Fain would they extinguish Allah’s light with their mouths, but Allah will not allow but that His light should be perfected, even though the Unbelievers may detest (it).(Tauba 9:32)

Our response to the absolute attributes of our Lord, is to respond with absoluteness, its related verb is resoluteness. For one cannot be absolute without being resolute and cannot be resolute without faith, courage and patience. Of the truth Allah, al-Haqq says, so beautifully:

قَالَ فَالْحَقُّ وَالْحَقَّ أَقُولُ

(Allah) said: “Then it is just and fitting, and the Truth I speak” (Saad 38:84)

This verse may be understood both separately as well as in the context in which it was spoken, which does not alter its meaning which is that what Allah says will happen, will happen in that way, and when Allah addresses Himself in the first person so-to-speak, makes this statement very ominous indeed.

The Fire of Adversity

Looking at the idea from another perspective, of absoluteness, of not flinching in the face of adversity, I have heard it said, “how can you believe in love, just look at the world around you and the suffering that’s occuring”? The reply is simple. Can you then afford not to believe in love and goodness? That is the whole point of the test. That the path of higher spirituality passes through the fire of adversity, that fire, just as the one that was cooled for Ibrahim, allais salaam, is also cooled for those believers that see it only as a test of their metal. If the fire is seen as a blessing, if metals that are heated are removed of their impurities, and the most precious metals are measured according to their purity, then the fire of adversity is not really an adversity at all, but as means to greater purity. The purest and best response to our suffering or that of others is not to become distracted or deterred by the suffering. So what is the purest response?

The Journey & The Pain of Purification

Consider a man that sets out on a journey to arrive at a set destination. However, his true resoluteness is tested along the way by Allah, and he suffers various struggles to such an extent that he becomes entirely preoccupied by those struggles, and as a result, entirely forgets his destination and the purpose of his journey. His struggle preoccupies him so much so that that he spends his entire time and energy in trying to combat that struggle which takes him in one direction and another, but no more on the course he set out on. He loses his way, falls into dispair, gives up hope, stops believing in the absolute attributes of Allah, and can only think of his pain.

وَلاَ تَهِنُوا وَلاَ تَحْزَنُوا وَأَنتُمُ الأَعْلَوْنَ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ

“So lose not heart, nor fall into despair: For ye must gain mastery if ye are true in Faith”.(Ale-Imran 3:139)

Whats wrong with this response? The pain of struggle is not for the experience of just the pain itself, which is a form of purification, but to reflect on what that pain is alluding to. So, whilst Mujahada is the purpose of our journey, being the highest form of Jihad, or personal struggle, that struggle is placed in the context of a destination. The struggle does not exist in and of itself, it has a purpose. Thus to be distracted by the struggle is to forget the purpose of ones journey and to eventually forget the destination. The destination can only be remembered if one is not distracted by the struggle. What is the destination? The two Jannah’s. What is the path? The path of the noble prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. What is the struggle? To balance ones desire and anger, and to increase in ones knowledge. What is the distraction? To forget the absoluteness of Allah and His attributes. What is this remembrance? To remember that whilst everything else ends, the attributes of Allah are absolute and never change nor end. They existed before the universe, they will exist after it. For all existence depends on Him.

Our journey is to return to Allah in a purified state, it is not to be distracted by either the glitter, or the suffering of this world, nor of the difficulties of our journey. If the mind is focussed on the the destination then what the mind, body and soul suffers becomes almost inconsequential because that suffering is seen as the means by which one progresses on the journey, bringing us each step closer to Allah. But most importantly when a servant sees the struggle as being beautiful, an opportunity to beautify ones character then this itself becomes the key aspect, as truly understood by the servant, by the shakur, who sees the struggle as a mercy, as a sign of ar-Rahman.

“In other words, if our existence was a mercy from our Lord, if His revelation to us, His laws, His attributes, and His messenger were all a mercy from His to guide us to His path, then surely our response to His mercy is also a reflection of that mercy as well as a show of our gratitude for that mercy”.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
ِ

In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful

“Love is not love,
which alters when it alteration finds,
nor bends with the remover to remove,
Nay! it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken”;

This is an extract from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116, which beautifully encapsulates the purpose of this post; a summary of previous posts in which I have written about love, justice and certainty. This is the theme also of the Sonnet which speaks of love, of true love, as an “ever fixed-mark”. A mark that does not alter nor bend, with time or force, with its removal, or with it fastness, it remains fixed and firm, consistent and constant. So I wanted to bring together certain understandings of how I have seen love and its relationship with justice. Of how:

Love does not exist for itself, it must stand for something

Justice

Love needs the companion of justice,
Justice needs the companion of love,
Love gives justice its meaning,
Justice has a purpose for which it exists,
to love, love, to defend love.

Justice purifies love,
for like true love,
justice must also be fought for.

Passion

A beautiful love is not the same as a love of conviction,
Conviction comes from certainty,
and from certainty comes passion,
and without passion there is no conviction,
and without conviction there is no love.

Blessing

To posses the desire for true love is a blessing in itself,
to search for it is a reward,
to find it is paradise.

Struggle

True love will not be granted without struggle,
because true love is justice and justice,
is a struggle that must be fought for.

Absolute

True love is certainty,
certainty is rooted is what is absolute,
true love and justice are absolute,
for both are the Attributes of God,
Ar-Rahman, and Al-Adl.

Read Surah at-Tauba 9:71.
How can believers, men and women,
be protectors one of another,
if their love doesn’t stand for anything?

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
ِ

In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful

What shall I tell you is the story of how I learnt that Islam is Simplicity and Beauty? My story begins in that most venerable and blessed city of Granada in Andalusia, the last remaining part of the once glorious Islamic presence in the Iberian Peninsula. One remarkable fact about Andalusia is that even though Islam became prohibited in Andalusia for almost five centuries the blessings, the barakah in that land granted by Allah subhanhu wa ta’ala is still very much in evidence today. And in a city such as Granada the original spirit of Al-Andalus is still evident and can be felt in the narrow winding streets of the Al-Baicin, which was traditionally the Muslim quarter, inhabited mostly by Muslims during the rule of the Nasrid dynasty. That spirit is not something that can be easily defined but one evident source of that sprit is the way in which The Alhambra Palace casts its majestic and yet austere influence over the city. The whole of Granada is seemingly orientated towards the Alhambra which appears more than just a fortification or a once walled city. It appears most distinctly as a mosque which is brilliantly lit up at night and may be seen from the top of the opposite hill adjacent to a more contemporary mosque, the first one built in the city for almost five-hundred years, seen also from Plaza de San Nicholas. A place where the young and romantic gather to catch the hue from this beautiful palace, which invites them in, and incites their passion to be Andalusians, that is to say, to be different. And that difference is what can be felt all around Andalusia and Granada.

So this story of how I came to know and understand this extraordinary principle that Islam is Simplicity and Beauty, could only have come from being in an extraordinary place which had transported me to an extraordinary state of awareness and contemplation. It was the last morning of my stay in Granada and I wanted to pray Fajr prayer in the mosque near Plaza Nuevu at the foot of the hill opposite the Alhambra. A very intimate part of the city with its close streets, Moroccan shops selling exquisite and sometimes not so exquisite goods and the numerous resturants and cafes. Anyway, I left my hotel early perhaps around 6am, and not knowing exactly what time Fajr prayer was there, I set out a bit early just in case. It was a beautifully serene time as the time for Fajr usually is but this was of course much more because of the location, and I was keen to pray in this mosque in particular because the Imam of the mosque was the son of that most blessed of teachers of Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, with whom he had spent 6 years studying in the desert of Mauritania, Murabit al-Hajj. His son was of course not a young man, but in his late sixties or early seventies, and to pray behind such an Imam would of course be a great blessing, which is why I was keen not to miss this opportunity. My hotel was only a short walk to the mosque, through the plaza and a right turn into the narrow streets, streets not wide enough for any cars.

With a few more turns in the still night, with not a soul in sight, I was stood outside the mosque, whose doors were not yet open. But I didn’t mind at all. Just to be outside this mosque, just to be standing taking in the atmosphere, which was ever so slightly misty, adding to the mystery of the moment, conveyed to me a great sense of blessing. The street lights were on and their light as it diffused through the air made apparent that misty appearance. I did not mind this at all. I thought this, as I stood patiently against the wall opposite the doors to the mosque, and whilst I waited, I thought I would brush up on my Spanish vocabulary, so I took out my well-thumbed English-Spanish dictionary and began learning some new words of this most compelling and beautiful of languages. Lost in my world of Spanish words, narrow cobbled streets, this old mosque, of this revered Imam, under the street lights lit dimly, the atmosphere, the blessing, the specialness, I only just made out the faint footsteps of someone approaching from my right. I paid no heed as I continued to add more useful words to my Spanish vocabulary, just at that moment, and as he passed, this person said something to me in Spanish. My instinctive and well-versed response was, “no hablo espanol”, “sorry, dont speak Spanish”. But then as I saw this person, a young man, perhaps in his mid to late twenties, I saw that he did not look Spanish. And his own inquiry was one of assistance as he thought I may have become lost. But I caught his accent and asked if he spoke English to which he duely and courteously replied that he did. I asked him where he was from, he was from Canada, he said, and had been staying in Granada for a few months. Deciding what to do next with his life, he had come to Granada to seek inspiration, guidance and direction, but running low on money he had been thinking about, albeit reluctantly, going back home. But without any definitive plan emerging he said returning back home would not benefit him and he really wanted to find a job so he could stay in Granada longer, so just that day he had gone to the Alhambra, both on a visit, but to also find some employment.

Something that I have not yet mentioned is that he was slightly inebriated, and ordinarily there is no way that I would have engaged in a conversation with anyone in this state especially whilst standing outside a mosque waiting to pray, and especially at the blessed time of fajr. But this was different, I was different, my response different, my calm, inner-peace and a desire to help, to offer guidance even to someone that was not Muslim, who was even slightly drunk, did nothing to disuade me to help a fellow human being, one that belonged to God. I was exactly where I was meant to be, I understood this immediately. He sensed my state, his curiosity had been stirred, an inquisitive fellow he already was, but intrigued nonetheless to know what I was doing standing in this street at this time of the morning. I explained that I was waiting for the mosque to open so that I could pray the morning prayer. “Waiting to pray”, he thought, while, “I’m staggering home after my night out”? He was impressed with this vision of self-discipline and devotion. His senses became sharper, he began to realise something, and I could see something dawn inside him. He wanted to know more. Knowing I was a Muslim he asked without hesitation, and as though he had been waiting for this opportunity for a long long time, he asked, “tell me about Islam”? Of all those special moments, thoughts visions, impression and smells, it was this moment in particualar that was the most stricking, one that has been imprinted on my mind, locked deep in that place in ones heart reserved for ’special moments’. What answer could I give? I did not have one ready to hand, one that would be applicable the sitauation, to the person. I frantically searched through the archives of my mind, rapidly traversing between ideas, one to the next, not finding what I needed, and all this in a split second. I did not want to convey any sense of hesitation, the answer had to be good but natural. I couldn’t delve into the depths of Islam, it would be of no benefit, I needed something else, something simple and yet something profound, somthing based on what I already knew of him, something that I knew would benefit him. I needed these words, where were they? And then, seemingly in slow-motion, my attention, my mind was drawn towards the beautifully carved door of the mosque, as though that was the inspiration from within, my call to God asking for His help at that moment.

The door was reminicent of so many beautifully crafted doors in Islamic buildings because of their symbolic meaning. And this door, even though it was to somewhere sacred was beautiful on the outside, thus inviting those that recognised its beauty, but was closed. There was a metaphor here that I realised, that ones invitation is sent by God, but simply to be invited to the door of a great blessing, a noble virtue, is as good as recieving it, for the invitaion has be granted by God Himself. Thus to simply stand outside a closed door, is not to stand outside a closed door, but to find oneself with an open invitation to journey beyond that door, behind which something extraordinary resides. One has to wait, to be patient, and in that patience is learning of the value of what resides beyond that door. And that if a person truly wants that blessing then he will wait, and whilst he is doing so he will continue to act in the best manner, to do those deeds that may be part of the acceptance to enter into that other realm. My sincere desire at that moment of realisation was to find the words, for the sake of Allah, for the sake of guiding His servant towards Him with no other desire or intention other than what was best for him. And so it transpired, came to mind an extraordinary blessing in the form of these words that had never crossed my mind before. A most exquisitely brilliant formula that said “Islam is simplicity and beauty”.

The Beauty of Symmetry

My own words, words inspired from within, came as a surprise to my ears, which were trying to understand these words as though someone else had spoken them. And they appeared even more profound for this formula was not only deep, but so simple and elegant. Perfect for the wayferer as well as the scholar. But having never heard these words before, I had to, whilst speaking to him, also provide an explanation to this formula, again without pause and hesitation, I needed the words as I spoke them, and so they emerged as I spoke them. So knowing that he had already visited the Alhambra and had been overwhelmingly impressed by the Nasiri Palace, I said to him that this principle is found throughout Islam, which allows this religion and its beauty to be understood by anyone. By both the student and the scholar of deep learning, or by an ordinary person if he chooses to, wants to delve beneath the surface. So I said, consider the art and architecture of the Nasiri Palace and take for example its beautiful geometric patterns found in its intricate plaster work and the thousands of tiles that cover its walls. Each design in its entirity is based on the same simple geometric pattern, which is then replicated over and over again. This repetition is a sign of continuity, of the idea that complexity has at its heart, simplicity, and simplicity is beauty when a simple core principle, design or idea is expanded, replicated over and over. The whole may appears infinate, and eternal, which it is because the same design may be continued for infinity, and yet at its heart is a very simple message, a very simple design, a very simple pattern. God is One, He is eternal and absolute. And in response to one of the companions of the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, asking “who is God”. God revealed the following beautiful verse:

قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ

اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ
لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ

وَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُ كُفُوًاأَحَدٌ

“Say: He is Allah, the One!

Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;

He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;

And there is none like unto Him”. (Ikhlas 112:1-4)

This is Islam. Its core pinciple is simple and yet profoundly beautiful. There is no god but God. And it is when this idea is repeated over and over, connected to its heart and expanded, that everything it touches is also imbibed by the same essence, the same beauty. Everything becomes a reflection of that simple idea, becomes very beautiful, very fine, cultured, sophisticated, and well-crafted. This, I said to him, is Islam. His response was immediate, he was evidently impressed, taken aback by such a beautiful description, deep yet so simple to understand. He was ever so pleased that he had met this person patiently waiting outside the mosque who had been willing to offer this meaningful response to his enquiry. I asked him whether he believed in God and he said he did believe in something, but that he was never convinced of what he was taught in Christianity back home. He wanted more and said Christianity just didn’t have all the answers to his questions. He was searching for more, a better explanation to his existence, of who he was and what he should do. I said to him that to find God is not that difficult, all you have to do is to desire to want to know the truth and He will make that truth appear, to find you, wherever you are. To which he replied and acknowledged that his being here at six something in the morning, was in itself for him a sign, a sign that God had answered his prayer, that He was with Him. At this realisation, this moment, everything was still, we were both somewhere else in another presence. Two people sharing a deep and intimate conversation, ones desire to help another, to guide another under the guidance of his Lord, and the other’s desire to make sense of the world, to find guidance. Both had come together at this time and place by the power, the One, under whose guidance had arranged this conveyance of a sign of His existence.

I cannot fully describe to you how happy this fellow was, and how happy I was to have met him, and nor how much he sought to praise my efforts. He asked if I would pray for him, and I said I would but asked for what would he like me to pray? He said for himself, for his family, for him to find the truth, and also for me and my own family. I agreed, and thanked him, but said on condition that he did something in return. He asked what that was. I said, “promise me that you will be open to the truth whatever it might be, that you will keep your heart open”. He agreed, and out of such genuine happiness continued to thank me saying that only once before in his life had he found someone that had genuinely helped him with such guidance, and that Muslims were wonderful people, peaceful, helpful, enlightened. Alhamdulillah, I was happy to hear these words, to hear that without any bias, without any prejudice, this young man had his eyes open when he was at the Nasiri Palace and now his ears where open to explain what his eyes had witnessed. This conversation was a confirmation of what he had seen, felt and heard, he knew it to be true.

Some moments earlier he had been joined by his friend who was not as intuitively sharp or seeking guidance in the same way as he was. But still, he acted to draw another important principle. When I had asked his friend to keep his heart open, this other fellows immediate response was to say, “well you have to keep your mind open”. But I said, “no, not just the mind, but more importantly the heart, because when we speak toeach other, when we engage in deep conversation we speak from our hearts and not from our mind”. His friend agreed, but moreso it was yet another confirmation that what he was hearing were not ordinary words, words which he had heard so many times before which he wanted to get away from, but words that were coming from an altogether different source.

Perhaps, and insha’Allah this brief but inspired meeting gave him the direction he needed, was searching for. But even moreso, it taught me many valuable lessons, one especially that if one sincerely and with all of ones heart seeks the guidance of Allah, that Allah guides that person with understandings directly into the heart. A light that is able to find its way to anyone and everyone that desires it even with as little as a grain’s worth of desire. That guidance not only directs us in our understandings but teaches us the most important of life’s lesson, who we really are.

•18 Jumada al-Awwal 1429•

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
ِ

In the Name of Allah Most-Compassionate, Most-Merciful

Ghadab (anger), Sha’wah (desire), Ilm (knowledge)

Taken from the book ‘Alchemy of happiness’, is a remarkable understanding of Imam Al-Ghazali’s, which is of considerable benefit to us all, especially if we are able to remember this wisdom in our every day activities.

Ghadab

Imam Al-Ghazali said that there are three sources of felicity, of happiness related to the next life. Which means three things that, of we can perfect in this life, will be our source of happiness in the next, insha’Allah. These are anger, desire and knowledge. Now ordinarily one may not understand this idea without further explantion because, whilst knowledge is self-explanitory, anger and desire are not. The prophet has commanded, and there are several hadith that reiterate the need to not get angry and the need to control ones anger. The course of action is not to supress ones anger but to use it:

- at the right time,

- for the right cause,

- to the right extent, and

- for the right duration.

Furthermore, and more importantly Allah subhanhu wa ta’ala has granted anger as a means of protecting honour, that is ones own honour as well as that of ones family, beloved and community. Thus Islam presents two concepts that could be understood together, anger and honour, as being bound together. Another good aspect of anger is that its use enables a person to defend justice, to be just and hence to be an ambassador for Al-Adl (The Just), which is one of the important attributes of Allah. The kind of anger being referred to here is not an uncontrollable loss of control in which a person is not in control of ones senses and intellect, for this is haraam in Islam. But instead anger is positive when used only for just means, and when its used through ones rationality, and intellect.

Sha’wah

Again, similar to anger one may superficially consider desire to be something bad, and it is, but it is only so when that desire consumes a person, when it removes a person from the remembrance of Allah, and which may also and more fatally lead to the disobedience of Allah. But in the positive context of desire Imam Al-Ghazali states that it is a force, a power that must be used for the service of the individual and not the other way around where the individual is used at the service of the desire. The necessity of desire is that is compels a person to achieve his aims and goals in the world, to strive for his benefit, to travel the earth and all those activities that propel a human being. Without the desire to, for example work, a person would remain at home. Without the desire to eat a person would remain hungry, as happens when a person falls ill. And in this is a sign that desire is very much a blessing from Allah. There are numerour other blessings that we may find in desire, but it also has very strict limits as ordained by Allah, which must not be transgressed.

In summary, both anger and desire are necessary and beneficial, which then allow the third component to become more effective, which cannot be unless one has brought under complete control ones desires and anger. The key adjective in which to think about anger and desire is balance, which are the terms in which Imam Al-Ghazali presents it. That the two must be balanced which allows greater ease in the acquisition of knowledge.