The Wrappings of Gratitude

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
ِ

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

The only thing to know, to understand in life, is about dunya and akhira, and to decide which one we want. This is it, the whole question in its entirety from begining to end. Many of us have considered life to be a test, as the purpose for which we have been created and the purpose for which we have been placed on this earth. Indeed this is true. And yet again we may consider the most part of that test as comprising whether we believe in God or not. But to whom does this question apply? It applies to both an-Nas, as well as the believers. But specifically dealing with believers - the test is related to the degree to which we want to know Allah, the degree to which we want to see Him, and only then does He reveal the signs of His existence to us. Of course those signs are a mercy to the whole of mankind, and are evident to all, but once when we believe, when we choose to commit ourselves to this path, then it becomes a question of the degree to which we believe. In essence from that point on it becomes a test of our conviction, the sincerity of which we hope will be revealed to us through the course of our lives. But that revealing of our true natures, of His revealing the signs of His existence to us - the extent to which He does this, and to whom - depends entirely on how much we want to be known by Him. For those that are known by Him, become close to Him. Who He chooses to be close to Him depends entirely three things:

• On His mercy in our creation,

• The path for which He chose us, and,

• Most importantly how hard we are willing to work for what we truy believe in.

The closest of the servants of Allah was our own prophet, peace be upon him, the perfect human being. And just like the prophet, peace be upon him, we do not have a choice over either the mercy of Allah or the path for which we have been chosen, but we do have a choice over how hard we are prepared to work towards what we truly and sincerly believe in. And thus so that we may follow in the footsteps of our prophet, and attain a measure of his perfection, His vast mercy to us is in showing us what that path is, and what we need to do to become His beloved.

The writing is not set,

and the ink most definately is not dry,

we are chosen not because of our wealth or beauty ,

but because, with all of our might, did we try.

Although the journey was long and arduous,

never were the difficulties too great,

we bore the burdens we were given,

for what inspired us along the way,

was what we always knew to be true,

a heart pure and true,

would,by the mercy of our Lord,

see us through.

“But only he (will prosper) that brings to Allah a sound heart”

(Ash-Shuara 26:89)

Conviction

The test of our conviction is to see beyond what our senses are telling us. This is the first test. The other is to see beyond the material world. However, related to this test is the decision posed to us to choose, to choose between dunya and akhira. It is towards this question that all our experiences are orientated. This is the question to which we must find our own answers, the answers have been careful crafted by our experiences, which have been perfectly tailored for us by Allah. He has already given us all the answers, by telling us where those answers may be found, and what they mean. But the test is not simply knowing what they are, but whether we can accept them to be true. And even if we were to accept them as true, to what extent do our hearts believe in them, is the most difficult of life’s test. What makes this test much easier is however, not only knowing the answers but more importantly to know what they mean. As one of the Morrocan scholars once said, “the cosmos is meanings set up as signs”. Signs, like signposts direct us and allude to something else. A signpost cannot take you to your destination but can direct you to it. Thus each of the verses of the Quran referred to as ’signs’ are directing us towards meanings, and those meanings are found in images, which are the visions that are a sign of the existence of God, which take us closer to Him through mediating on their meaning. Where did love come from? What is tolerance? Why do we have compassion? Why are we able to think about these ideas? Who gave us the capacity to do so?

Reflection

Mediating on these signs has the effect of making the test easier in that their understanding begins to put the dunya more and more out of our reach and brings closer to us the akhira. How does this happen? It happens because we begin to learn and understand that a material life has no meaning and will fade whereas a life based on seeking knowledge and meaning will benefit us until the day of judgement. Thus through numerous signs and examples does Allah show us, that not even the greatest of our achievements will remain on earth. That, no matter how hard we work for material gain, it will, just like us, and just like the countless powerful civilisations before us, all turn to dust. So what is the purpose of all that we live and strive for in life? What this points to is that the test is not about how much good we can do. To even begin with this question is to neglect the true question - our soul’s yearning - who are we, why are we here? Yes, it is to establish the truths of the Quran, yes it is to know Allah, to love Him and be loved by Him. But ultimately none of these questions can be asked, and nor are we worthy to ask them, until we have resolved the greatest of these questions, which is, dunya or akhira? The answer to this question provides the path we take for the rest of our lives. But to arrive at a decision is not as simple as we may think, and although we may like to consider ourselves with high estimation, the truth is that unless and until we reflect on which one of these we truly want we are unable to answer any other question in our life with any degree of certainty or truthfulness.

Sincerity

But yet again does Allah makes it easier for us, for we are not asked to achieve perfection before being told what perfection means. He tells us, it is not the performing of great deeds of charity, or great acts of worship, instead it is the acknowledgment of our weakness, flaws, and our humility before Him. No one is precluded from this, and hence Islam presents the same opportunity for everyone, young or old, rich or poor. But most importantly, what we are ultimately tested on is trying and not fearing to fail. For the servant that tries with all his strength to suceed, that follows not people but the sunnah, that fears no one except Allah, he is, in the sight of Allah, one that has suceeded even though he may not have acheived his noble ambitions.

Finally, consider that there was no such doubt about the sincerity of the Sahaba, who without hesitation believed, with all of their heart, and spent the rest of the lives serving the One to whom they owed everything. The question is can we be like them, perfect in our imperfections?