The Wrappings of Gratitude

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

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

Certainty in Uncertainty

This being true, presents us with one of two choices and which one we choose depends on the level of Yakin (certainty) we possess with regards faith, our level of understanding of the Divine Will, our understanding in general, the state of the heart and the level of our sincerity. In other words, as an outward proof of our internal yakin and emaan, we may undertake something of which we have reached the limit of its external proofs but yet we undertake the action with full conviction. This we do, not because we do possess full conviction, or that we seek to replace the certainty we possess with a certainty we have generated in order to make up the difference. But rather we undertake what we know and have established as being good, with conviction, and without seeking to presuppose its outcome. Hence in our example of a prospective spouse, our yakin, our reliance on Divine Will and guidance determines that we approach the matter with absolute conviction whilst also and always allowing there to exist the uncertainty of the outcome of the process.

In other words the process of becoming acquainted with a prospective must be undertaken with conviction irrespective of what the outcome may be because as we have already established the outcome has been veiled from us and so has knowledge of the absolute goodness of the action. Hence, our reliance is based on what is left over which are the outward signs and our emaan manifest in the sincerity of our full conviction of the process, but with the knowledge of the uncertainty of the outcome.

This is a complex understanding which is often over-simplified through a misrepresentation of ‘khair insha’Allah’, for ‘khair insha’Allah’ actually denotes the understanding presented above as opposed to its use to as a preventative and negative term that prevents us from being fully committed to an act of goodness. In other words, if not applied with sincerity its use is more akin to allowing us not to commit to something, to use the principle that, ‘only Allah knows best’, to prevent oneself from fully engaging in and committing oneself to a particular good action.

Now, here some might say in the case of a prospective spouse, to what extent ought we commit our hearts to the process, knowing the outcome is uncertain and knowing that risking the heart in such a way may be painful and/or detrimental? It is true, that with conviction of heart comes the real possibility of pain. But again we have to think this idea through carefully and ascertain exactly what we are referring to. At the outset of considering a prospective partner we do not begin by giving them our hearts and nor do we do that mid-way through and nor at the end. In fact at no point do we commit to giving our hearts to our prospective partner unless and until in the marriage itself. So, with this being the case what do we mean by giving our heart? Giving our heart means that we do not allow the heart to dictate a matter that first requires serious thought. Secondly, giving our heart also means that we are not led nor dictated by what may seem like a pure conviction, or a sign of our sincerity, but is in fact the nafs’ way of preventing us from thinking clearing by presenting false certainty through strong emotion. Hence, the heart being the repository of certainty cannot simply be given away to every stranger.

What we have said so far it that we are fully engaged and committed, without knowledge of the outcome but without what we may describe as giving our heart. Taking this further what this means is that it is not to the prospective person that we seek to give our heart, but in the process of getting to know them with a view to marriage, our hearts remain with Allah. What this means is that we are fully engaged in the process through Allah, seeking His guidance direction, with clarity and for the right reasons. But what it also translates into is that in order to gain His full guidance and blessing our hearts have to fully engage with Him and hence fully engage in the process of getting to know our prospective spouse.

And once we have as far as practically possible determined the goodness of the person, and goodness contained in the action, according to the proofs given to us by Allah, then we commit to the person with sincerity and most importantly, with a desire for the a union between the two people. This view in no way presupposes Divine Will but rather is an indication to Allah that we place our trust in Him, do not fear His wisdom, but rather we trust in it.

However, if one holds in their mind that they should not fully engage in the process because nothing may come of it, is to an extent being insincere with themselves, their prospective and with Allah – seeking to protect themselves rather than rely on Allah to protect them. Seeking to guide themselves rather than relying on Allah to guide them. Hence, the extent to which such a person may receive, and be aware of the Divine Will and Divine Guidance, the extent to which that guidance will be apparent to them, and the extent to which they see it in others, entirely corresponds to how much of their heart they have committed to and with Allah.

In other words, each prospective spouse, after a certain initial period of evaluation through intellect, has to be fully committed to and engaged with, with the acceptance, that by doing so, we demonstrate our faith in Allah to guide us to whatever may be good. It removes the self from the picture to a great extent, increases ones emaan, and demonstrates ones yakin. Indeed, there will always be the possibility of pain caused through acting with conviction towards an unknown end, but in the process and in our belief in khair what we have demonstrated above all else is our desire to be truly guided by Allah. Not fearing the outcome, but only fearing Allah. For fear is a creation of Allah, not worth fearing, which free’s us to risk our heart’s, not for dunya, but for the sake of Allah. There is no greater sign of trusting in Allah, than those that entrsu their hearts to Him, fisibilillah, for the sake of Allah. Hence, if there is khair in an action then let Allah be the judge of that and let us only seek to be guided by His will to whatever may be best, but with the full knowledge that we have for His sake, fully committed to Him, to good and to all that is right, without fear of the unknown or hesitation but with love, awe,  fear and hope in Allah – hope contained in the absolute knowledge in the words of the Prophet (s) when he said, “All goodness is with Allah”. Those that truly believe in this, such hearts are with Allah, and what better place do true hearts seek than to be with Allah? “Allah is with those whose hearts are broken for His sake” (hadith).

Insha’Allah I will mention something about hearts that have been broken for the sake Allah in the next post.

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

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

Introduction

What do we mean why we say khair insha’Allah? We say khair whenever we’re undertaking any task or action in which we seek goodness from Allah. It is our declaration and our testifying to Allah that only He possesses knowledge of the unseen, that only He possesses the knowledge and wisdom of where goodness resides, because as the Prophet (s) said, “All goodness comes from Allah and all evil from ourselves”. Hence, in khair we transfer our desire for something, for some outcome, we forego our wants and our will and replace it with the Divine Will. In this action we seek to replace our will in exchange for the Divine Will with the understanding that our sight is limited, His without limit, our understanding limited, His without limit, our knowledge limited, His knowledge without limit. So whenever we make the testifying of khair it is our acknowledgment that all goodness is truly with Allah and from Allah.

Seeking and Understanding Divine Will

Now, given that we have established this as being true what does it mean in relation to how we then go about undertaking an action? One perspective may be that we approach every action tentatively, without certainty because we do not know its outcome and do not seek to presuppose its outcome because we lack the knowledge of what may be good. Hence because of this lack of certainty we do not commit our hearts fully, for in doing so we may consider this as being equated to having knowledge of what is good and then hoping for a particular outcome. However, there is only partial truth in this approach, an approach which does not fully understand the Divine Will or the full nature of conviction, certainty and sincerity. It is true that there is not a legitimate and halal action that we seek to undertake in which we will have complete certainty of its goodness, except that which has already been prescribed by the Prophet (s) and by Allah subhanhu wa ta’ala such as prayer, fasting, charity and zakah. And even then although in the act itself there is no doubt and absolute certainty, there is doubt within the self as to the extent of one’s sincerity and the purity of one’s intention.

In the case of prayer and fasting, they are undertaken in a state of purity, and in the case of charity and zakah with wealth which has been obtained through halal means. There are other prescribed acts such as Hajj and Umrah which are also halal but whose determination is slightly different according to when they are undertaken. Hence, again if undertaken with good intention there is the certainty of goodness in them, but with its complete knowledge only with Allah. However, the unknown component in this case is their timing. If we have the means to perform Hajj with halal wealth and there are no other obligations upon us at that time such as tending to family or debt, and no other pressing legal obligations that may taken precedence then our uncertainty of the goodness in the matter is decreased and our certainty increased. So we are freed to pursue the goodness, and consider this freedom as a sign from Allah of the goodness therein to use that freedom to gain His favour and His closeness. So the critical dimension here is the element of certainty we have about an action that we use to determine whether we should undertake a particular halal action at a particular time.

Now, how does this principle translate itself into the sphere of other halal actions undertaken for the good pleasure of Allah but about which its certainty we cannot be sure and nor about its timing? Both these components of certainty and timing have been veiled from us, in which case how should we proceed with something and how do we determine the goodness therein in the absence of possessing certainty about them? One perspective is that being veiled from certainty of the outcome of an action or the goodness therein is a sign for us to use our reasoning and intellect in order to determine the finer properties of the action we wish to undertake. In the case for example of choosing a prospective spouse we may examine their qualities and evaluate them against the character and qualities of the Noble Messenger (s). We may examine a person in relation to what the Prophet (s) has told us in terms of what to seek in a prospective partner. We will also examine them according to their understanding of Islam, their practice, their aspirations and also the degree to which we see the Divine Will manifest in their hearts and desires, which is a sign of their sincerity. Hence a strong criteria is always to seek the signs of Divine Will and Divine Guidance within a person which is an outward manifestation of their inner state, their sincerity, the state of their heart and also a reading of their history. The former are easily understood, but in relation to their history, it is difficult for a person to achieve a state whereby the Divine Will is apparent in their character and actions without such a person having resolved to be guided by Divine Will for a considerable length of time and also without their having been chosen by Allah to be guided by His will. Although all human beings, and more so all believers, have the potential to be guided by Divine Will, and are guided by Divine Will, we distinguish between people in their finer states according to the degree to which the Divine Will is apparent in them.

Certainty and Absolute Certainty

Hence, with the Prophets and Messengers (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon them all) they are closest to Allah because they are guided by His will. But most importantly, and this is the key point they are closest to Allah because they do not allow their lack of knowledge about the certainty of an action, which they know will please Allah, and is good, determine their hearts conviction, or lack thereof, in pursuing it with conviction. In other words, in our example of choosing a prospective partner, will we never be absolutely certain that a particular person is absolutely the right person save that we are blessed with Divine inspiration through dreams which reduce uncertainty and increase our certainty. However, to a large extent this is not the case with people, even when we pray Istikhara which may give us good indications which reduce uncertainty without giving us absolute certainty of the goodness in the action. Hence given the truth about absolute certainty what we are being told by Allah is that it is not necessary to possess certainty to the level of absoluteness in undertaking an action, and to have made known to us the goodness in the action, in order for us to undertake it. Much of this is related to our station with Allah, the state of our hearts and also to the level of our understanding. It may be that where we are with our understanding, that Allah may be teaching us to lean towards a greater dependency on faith with a lessening inclination towards absolute proofs because we may not yet be in a state to possess absolute proofs. In which case, it may be better for us to undertake an action, after an exhaustive use of our intellects to its ability, a consultation of the heart, and seeking guidance through prayer.

Now, given that we have established a degree of truth with regards to what extent we can act without possessing absolute certainty in a matter that we know is good outwardly. How then does this principle relate to our saying ‘khair insha’Allah’? As we have mentioned, this term is our testifying that knowledge of the unseen and knowledge of goodness are only with Allah. Hence unless Allah has provided us with an absolute proof of undertaking a certain action then we are being directed towards undertaking the action with the proofs we possess without necessarily seeking greater proofs beyond what has already been given to us.

(Continued in ‘Seeking Divine Will and its Relationship with Sincerity Part 2′)

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

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

In relation to the previous post about stress and anxiety, quite often this can be related to not understanding the feelings we are experiencing at any one time and not being able to associate those feelings with a cause. In other words, whilst it is true that specific events in our lives do cause us stress, it is also true that there isn’t any pain or anxiety experienced by a believer which is not intended as  source of guidance towards Allah. Fyodor Dostievski once said, “The origin of conscious is suffering”, which entirely reflects our understanding in Islam. That in every suffering there is reward and the greatest reward is to be directed towards Allah. Hence, for the greatest part suffering is a means by which we may begin to think about our condition, about who we are, about we are suffering and what has caused it. And more importantly it causes us to turn to Allah in order to allieviate the suffering. Hence, contained in the suffering is immense blessing and an opportunity to turn to our Lor, seek His guidance, help and aid. It is not an opportunity to turn down or imply seek to remove the suffering from us, but rather try to understand why Allah has placed us in that condition. Suffering is the beginning of the path to knowing Allah, it is the opening and unfolding of the heart, and the heart is the place of cognisance of Allah, about which a well-known Shaykh said something very beautiful and true:

The key to the knowledge Allah made available to man is embedded in OUR divine personality. Specifically, He has implanted in each person one of His divine attributes which is his key to opening his relationship with his Lord…….therefore whoever seeks to approach his Lord must know the attribute in himself, that is the key.

Mercy Oceans of The Heart – Shaykh Nazim the Cypriot.