Secrets of Divine Love: A Spiritual Journey into the Heart of Islam (Studying Qur'an & Hadith Book 2)

by A. Helwa

Our addictions enslave us. Our attachments to our desires enslave us. Allah only calls us to let go of the things that weigh us down and prevent us from being truly free. The following story beautifully demonstrates how learning to let go and detach from our desires leads to freedom: In order to catch monkeys in certain Asian villages, hunters carve a hole in a coconut shell and fill the hole with peanuts. The hole is just big enough for the monkey’s hand to go inside, but small enough that when the monkey makes a fist to grab the peanuts, its hand gets stuck. All the monkey has to do to escape is let go of the peanuts and pull its hand out. However, even as the hunters approach “trapped” monkeys, they do not let go of the peanuts, resulting in being caught. When we let go of the lower desires of the self, we discover that the key to escaping our self-made prison has always been in our hands. Ramadan teaches us that the spiritual path is not so much about doing as it is about non-doing. When we surrender and let go of the desires that do not serve us, we come to see that we’re floating peacefully along the river of God’s decree.