Thursday, March 12, 2009

Mastering Yourself.

Small heroes master their enemies. Big heroes master themselves – Rumi

Life is an opportunity to courageously take up Jihad, or struggle to master ourselves so that we comply with the will of Allah. This is the route to fulfillment wherein we may lift up our hands in order to worship Allah, receiving His blessings and eternal mercy. Those of us who choose to master ourselves while trusting in Allah have nothing within this world or beyond it to fear.
As Muslims we tend to forget what the title entails, that of “Muslim” – what does it mean? And why is the definition so important to remember?
A Muslim is one who peacefully submits his or her will, his or her ‘self’ to God. We surrender ourselves to God, giving up attachments that take away from loving and worshipping Him as best as we can.
What better Jihad is there than that against what detaches you from Allah?

We all say we love Allah, but are we showing Him – are we truly struggling to free ourselves from selfish attachments?

Prophet Muhammad (saw.waw) teaches that, “For everything there is an appropriate way of polishing. The heart is polished through zikr-the remembrance of Allah.”

Allah has declared that He is, “close to the thought that My servant has of Me. I am with him whenever he recollects Me. If he remembers Me in himself, I remember him in Myself. If he approaches Me by as much as on hand’s length, I approach him by a mile. If he stumbles towards Me, I run toward him.”
Wherever you find yourself, whether in worship or in an ordinary moment of your daily life, remember Allah.
Our hearts shall only find complete peace in the remembrance of Allah, so we should seek Him not just during our most trying moments, but even in our most happiest.

There is nothing greater than the struggle to stay close to Allah in worship and devotion – we all commit ourselves to an array of unimportant things during our daily lives, yet when was the last time we devoted time to remember Allah?
Prayer is a given for any Muslim who prays, but what else have we done to remember Allah?; to master ourselves against what separates us from Him.
Embarking on Jihad does not always involve a weapon of manmade qualities but ones of a more spiritual nature – replacing a glistening bullet with the sword of Tawheed and an ear shattering cannon with the volcanic eruption of Zikr.
We must learn to transform our everyday lives into adventures of spiritual awakening – the greater Jihad “against the lower self”.

Waste no time in struggling against what detaches you from Allah,
Waste no time in fighting off the toxins of the world – money,greed,envy,lust
Waste no time in striking the enemies of worship who consume you for even brief moments

Do it now, while you are still able,
While you are blessed with your sight – by which you can read His perfected revelation
Before your eyes grown dim and barren.
While you are blessed with your strength – by which you may defeat the enemies of worship
Before your body grows weak.

Do it now, while you are still able
Because sleep is a silent death each and every night,
And when your eyes are blessed with the ability to flutter in the early morning
Rise with the awareness that you will not live long.

Question of the week:
How do you gain awareness of Allah during your daily routines?/What actions (physically or mentally) have you committed to doing that will help you struggle against your ‘nafs’ (self)

1 comment:

  1. Jazakallah. Nice thoughts. I have few question.

    What is zikr?
    Where does Prophet Mohammad peace be upon him stand in the path of Love towards Allah?

    ReplyDelete