More on this book
Community
Kindle Notes & Highlights
Read between
April 22 - May 10, 2022
Tawakkul is having full faith that Allah will take care of you—even when things look impossible.
Allah says in the Qur’an: "The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, their hearts become fearful, and when His verses are recited to them, it increases them in faith; and upon their Lord they rely (have tawakkul)". (Qur’an, 8:2)
And although Hajar had complete tawakkul (trust and reliance) in Allah, she did not remain sitting, waiting for the water to fall down from the sky.
Rather than realizing this heightened ‘religious state’ is a gift from God, the worshiper feels a sense of hidden pride and may look down on others who don’t share similar zeal.
And had we always remained in the high, we wouldn’t be human.
The determining aspect for success is not so much what we do when we’re up. The question is what we do when were down—when we’re not feeling it. The key to succeeding on this path is that once you do reach your ‘low’, you keep going, knowing that it’s normal.
Remember that Allah loves a small consistent action more than a huge inconsistent one.
You see, the moment you or I allow anything, other than our Creator, to define our success, our failure, our happiness, or our worth, we have entered into a silent, but destructive form of slavery.
Like Sleeping Beauty, we were told that our life doesn’t fully begin, until Prince Charming kisses us.
I ask you to tell the world that you’re not here to please men with your body; You’re here to please God. So to those who mean well and wish to ‘liberate’ you, just smile and say: "Thanks, but no thanks."
I find myself led back to the realization that true liberation and empowerment lies only in freeing oneself from all other masters, all other definitions. All other standards.
The one who leads prayer is not spiritually superior in any way.
Had the image of the ‘knight in shining armor’ really been replaced by visions of macho, catcalling boys in the street?
Today, a man is expected to be stoic, unemotional, inexpressive, tough, and unbending. Physical aggression is glorified and emotional expressiveness ridiculed.
And yet the Prophet Muhammad said: "Allah is gentle and loves gentleness. He gives for gentleness what He does not give for harshness, nor for anything else."
And it is when you are at this lowest point, that you are faced with a choice. You can stay there at the bottom, until you drown. Or you can gather pearls and rise back up—stronger from the swim, and richer from the jewels.
God tells us: "And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not become divided." (Qur’an, 3:103)
Someone asked, "O Messenger of Allah, what is al-wahn?" He replied, "Love of this dunya and hatred of death."
Why would something that happened thousands of years ago be relevant today? The reason is that it is not just a story. Nor is it ancient. It is an everlasting sign and a lesson for all time.
"And We divided them throughout the earth into different groups. Of them some were righteous, and of them some were otherwise. And We tested them with good [times] and bad that perhaps they would return [to obedience]." (Qur’an, 7:168)
We were conditioned to believe that our enemy was outside of ourselves. That he had power over us. This is also an illusion. The enemy is inside of us. All external enemies are only manifestations of our own diseases. And so if we want to conquer those enemies, we must first conquer the enemy inside ourselves.
But liberation from what? Who is truly oppressed? Are you and I free? What is true oppression? Ibn Taymiyyah (ra) answers this question when he says: "The one who is (truly) imprisoned is the one whose heart is imprisoned from Allah and the captivated one is the one whose desires have enslaved him."
That is why the formula for true success given to us in the Qur’an consists of two elements: Sabr (patience, perseverance) and Taqwa (fear of God alone):
When you fall in love with a work of art, you’d die to meet the artist. I am a student of the galleries of Pacific sunsets, full moon rises on the ocean, the clouds from an airplane, autumn forests in Raleigh, and first fallen snows. And I’m dying to meet the artist.
This is dunya. Dunya. Not a place of ease. Only glitter. The place where you have to feel cold and hungry. The place where you have to worry and feel scared. The place where it gets cold. So cold, sometimes.
I think we all want the same thing: A quiet peace. Maybe just even a single moment of it, to close our eyes and just be okay.
But then I thought how I wish I could die before my death: Have a soul that is no longer in this life—even while the body must remain. A heart that is freed from the shackles of dunya—even while the legs must walk its streets.
Like a vaccine, it sickens, to make you stronger. The stab is temporary. The freedom, eternal.
Who else could know my name? It is only through His kindness That the heart can speak When the mind and body are numb,
