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

by A. Helwa

Muslims, we are called to give like the sun gives to the Earth, freely and without conditions. “Even after all this time the sun never says to the Earth, ‘You owe me.’ Look what happens with a love like that. It lights the whole sky.” HAFIZ, 14TH-CENTURY PERSIAN POET

The Prophet Muhammad validates this claim with the narration that Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection, “Oh son of Adam, I was ill and you did not visit Me.” The man will say, “Oh Lord, how could I visit You when You are the Lord of the worlds?” He will say, “Do you not know that My slave so-and-so was ill and you did not visit him? Do you not know that if you had visited him, you would have found Me with him? Oh son of Adam, I asked you for food and you did not feed Me?” He will say, “Oh Lord, how could I feed You when You are the Lord of the worlds?” He will say, “Do you not know that My slave so-and-so asked you for food and you did not feed him? Do you not know that if you had fed him, you would have found that with Me. Oh son of Adam, I asked you for water and you did not give it to Me.” He will say, “Oh Lord, how could I give You water when You are the Lord of the worlds?” He will say, “My slave so-and-so asked you for water and you did not give it to him. Do you not know that if you had given him water, you would have found that with Me?”26 Allah is reminding us that when we serve the creation we are in service of the Creator.

“What actions are most excellent? To gladden the heart of human beings, to feed the hungry, to help the afflicted, to lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful, and to remove the sufferings of the injured.”27 PROPHET MUHAMMAD

Oh Allah, help me step out into this world as a mirror that reflects the faces of Your generous love. My beloved Lord, remind me that I am not the owner of the outcome, but I am responsible for my actions—so help me use my time on Earth to be in service of Your will. “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”28 Lord, help me be a representative of Your kindness in how I worship, in how I speak, in how I love, and in how I live in all the moments of my life. In Your beautiful names I pray. Ameen.

The word Ramadan comes from an Arabic root word ramad, which means “heated by the intensity of the sun” or “burning,” reminding us that the purpose of Ramadan is to burn the sins that veil us from the omnipresence of God.

The word for fasting in Arabic is sawm, which comes from a root word that means “self-restraint.” In essence, fasting is about mastery over the self. When we are asked to restrain the ego, our addictions reveal themselves, giving us the awareness needed to break free from them. When we can no longer dull the pain of our emptiness with outer forms, we are forced to search for the root of our longing.

As Rumi says, “There is a hidden sweetness in the stomach’s emptiness...if the sound box is stuffed full of anything” the music of our souls could not vibrate into the world.

“Fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you might remain God-Conscious.” QUR’AN 2:183

This month is an opportunity Allah gives us, to strengthen our faith and change our negative habits so that we can live from a place of higher consciousness—not for a single month, but for our entire lives. When we fast for the sake of Allah alone, we are showing Him that as much as we love to consume the pleasures of this world, our love for Him is greater. When we fast with full awareness of who we are fasting for, our hunger and thirst become acts of remembrance and worship of Allah.

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.

Through a temporary period of asceticism, fasting helps to weaken the hold of the ego, thus amplifying the whispering guidance of our spirit. The following profound Cherokee parable exemplifies the inner war between the ego and the spirit that fasting seeks to mediate: A Cherokee elder explained to his grandson, “Every person has a war inside their hearts between two wolves. The first wolf is evil and creates conflict by inspiring greed, envy, lust, arrogance, pride, hatred, and fear through overemphasis on the ego. The second wolf is good, fostering peace and unity through a state of God-consciousness.” The wide-eyed grandson replied, “Who will win this battle, Grandfather?” The wise elder replied, “The one you feed.”

Some scholars have described the human body as a country: the heart is the capital, surrounded by the seven gates of the stomach, eyes, ears, mouth, feet, hands, and genitals. Since the heart is the seat of God-consciousness, the believer’s work is to protect these seven entrances by filtering, tuning into, and allowing to enter only that which aligns the heart to Allah.

The 7 gates to hell also

We are created to be in this world, but our work here is striving not to be of this world. Fasting from the lower self begins with resisting the ego’s desire to seek praise and validation from others. Once we are able to fast from our physical desires and the expectations of others, we then have to learn how to break free from the tyranny of the mind.

‘As water drops make a river, thoughts make character and faith.” IMAM ALI

The following story beautifully captures how when we fast from all other than Allah, our hearts naturally open to being more compassionate and loving to all of creation. A mystic by the name of Mansur, who was fasting the month before Ramadan, was walking to the mosque when he passed a group of lepers who were eating leftovers from the trash. One of them invited the well-known mystic over to eat lunch with him. The mystic said, “Are you sure? I don’t want to be an inconvenience to you.” The man assured him that he would be honored to eat with such a famous scholar. Mansur accepted the offer and sat down with the old leper on the floor as he prepared the meal. The leper turned to his guest and said sadly, “Are you not afraid of us? We often invite the imams we see going to the mosque to break bread with us, but none of them ever do.” The sweet mystic smiled softly at the man and said, “That is because they are most likely fasting.” The leper replied, “But aren’t you a religious man? Aren’t you God-fearing? Why then are you not fasting extra fasts before Ramadan?” The mystic smiled and said, “Yes, surely I love God, and today I have the good pleasure to eat with you.” The leper smiled and together they enjoyed a few bites of food. When the call to prayer rang, Mansur got up, lovingly embraced the leper in gratitude, and headed to the mosque for afternoon prayers. After the sun set, Mansur prayed, “Thank you Allah, for the opportunity to serve you, may you accept my fast toda...

My beloved Lord, help me fast from all that does not serve me, from all that is in the way of my heart’s witnessing of You. Oh Allah, as I abstain from food and water, allow my heart to fast from all hatred, jealousy, greed, and harshness. Oh Allah, I come to You prostrating, seeking Your light to guide me and Your mercy to embrace me. My Lord, help me give up every desire that prevents me from experiencing Your truth. My beloved Lord, help me fast from the lower qualities of my ego until the sun of my life sets. As Your beloved Prophet prayed, “Allahumma innaka aafuwon tuhibu al aaffwa fa afu aanni —Allah, You are the Forgiver. You love to forgive. So forgive me.”25 Oh Allah, help me be steadfast on the spiritual path, help me be mindful of You, and help me to never lose sight of Your love, generosity, and endless mercy that encompasses every atom of existence. In Your compassionate names I pray, Ameen.

In Islamic spirituality, muraqaba is the practice of mindfulness, “observing” or “watching over” the fleeting and constantly changing projections of the mind. Just as food and water do not disappear when we fast, but rather it is we who choose not to consume them, when we are in a state of meditation our thoughts do not disappear, we just choose to observe, rather than engage with them.

“Do you want to become a pilgrim on the road of love? The first condition is that you make yourself humble as dust and ashes.” RUMI

The Bait-ul Ma’mur is said to be located outside the human realm, in the seventh heaven above the Kaaba. Some have suggested that it was here, directly beneath the center of celestial worship, that Adam and Eve were guided to build the Kaaba, which was the first human-made altar of worship in the name of a singular God on Earth.5 “Indeed, the first House [of worship] established for human kind was that at Becca [another name for Mecca]—blessed and a guidance for the worlds.” QUR’AN

Its about the human body. See Ancient Egypt Ka and Ba.

The Kaaba is metaphorically known by Muslims as the “House of God.” It is architecturally very simple, but contains a lot of rich symbolism. The structure of the Kaaba is cube-shaped, so it points to north, south, east, west, below, and above while not facing in any one particular direction, reminding us that God faces all directions simultaneously.

Today, the Kaaba is covered in a black cloth, which wonderfully represents the endless and transcendent nature of God. Black is not the absence of color, but rather the outcome when all color is absorbed without reflection. Similarly, God unites all diversity within His singularity. The Kaaba is empty inside, signifying that God cannot be captured or contained in any finite form. The importance of not being too literal when conceptualizing the Kaaba is perfectly illustrated in a story of Mullah Nasruddin, who traveled to the holy city of Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage.

The Prophet Muhammad suggests that the following is one of the best supplications to make on the day of Arafat: La ilaha illa Allahu, wahda-hu laa shareeka lah, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamdu, wa huwa alaa kulli shay’in qadeer. Meaning, “None has the right to be worshipped except Allah, alone, without partner. To Him belongs sovereignty and all praise and He is over all things omnipotent.”8

Symbolically, the number three is seen as a representation of the continuous and repetitive nature of temptation. As tradition holds, the pilgrim must stone each of the three pillars symbolizing the devil seven times. This practice represents consistently turning our worldly and spiritual affairs over to Allah. We are not called to fight the darkness on our own, but to seek out the light of God and call upon Him to illuminate our path to peace. The throwing of the stones also can be seen as mirroring the station of Prophet David, who was able to kill the giant of oppression with the casting of a single stone of faith.

There is a hilarious story of the comical Mullah Nasruddin that perfectly depicts our inclination to hold onto patterns that stifle our spiritual progress. One day, the Mullah opened his lunch bag at work and complained, “Another cheese sandwich! I am so sick of these cheese sandwiches!” Then the next day again he opened his lunch and said, “Cheese sandwich again! I am going to die from these cheese sandwiches!” Then the following day yet again the Mullah opened his bag and, lo and behold, he said, “Cheese sandwich! I hate cheese sandwiches! Oh, why, God?! Why is it always a cheese sandwich!” Finally one of his co-workers said, “Mullah, why don’t you tell your wife you don’t like cheese sandwiches?” The Mullah replied, “But I don’t have a wife.” His co-worker confusingly asked, “Well, then, who makes these cheese sandwiches?” The Mullah then said, “Well, I do!”

What is the thing that pulls you toward it with the strongest attraction, that you think about when your soul returns to your body in the morning? What is the thing that orbits your mind when your eyelids kiss you into sleep every night? What do you long for more than anything else? What is the center of your life? Whatever the answer is, that is your Kaaba. We do not have to fall head-over-heels for something for it to become an idol before God. Whatever we place our focus on more than Allah becomes a false god, because as it occupies more of our mind it influences more of our decisions. If your world revolves around something mortal—a person that will one day die, a thing that will one day break, or a desire that will pass away—you will never find true peace, because you have attached yourself to something that is fleeting. This is why the Buddha said, “The root of all suffering is attachment.” This is also why the path to God begins with detaching from all fleeting idols with La ilaha (there is no god), before affirming belief in the singular eternal reality of God with illa Allah (but God).

My beloved Lord, please open the doors of Your abundant mercy so that I may visit Your Holy House. Oh Allah, make my entire life a Hajj, a pilgrimage from all that I am to all that You are. Forgive me for my shortcomings and purify me with Your grace, so that I can become a pilgrim on the path of Your love. In the words of my beloved Prophet , “Oh Allah, distance me from my sins just as You have distanced the east from the west. Oh Allah, purify me of my sins as a white robe is purified of filth. Oh Allah, cleanse me of my sins with snow, water, and ice.”10 Oh Allah, I lovingly await Your invitation to come visit You, both in this life and the next. I place my hope in Your mercy and place my trust in Your perfect timing. In Your generous names I pray, Ameen.

“The life of this world is but comfort of illusion.” QUR’AN 3:185 “Our death is our wedding with eternity.” RUMI

The following is one of the most insightful and metaphorical stories regarding Heaven and Hell: One day a man was praying to God and sincerely asked, “God, what’s the difference between Heaven and Hell?” That night, God came to the worshipper in his dream and said, “Come with Me, I am going to show you why Heaven is different from Hell.” God first took the man to Hell, showing him a table with an incredible feast with aromas so pleasing to the scent that the man couldn’t help but salivate at the sight of it. The man saw that the people around the table had spoons attached to their hands that had handles longer than their arms. The people were both thin and angry, because the spoon handle was too long for anyone to be able to feed themselves. The man watching turned to God and said, “Hell must be the place where we witness the bounties of Your glory, but we are unable to take part in it.” God said, “Now let me take you to Heaven.” When God opened the second door, the man was shocked to see the exact same table, the exact same feast of food, the same delicious aromas, and the same long spoons. The confused man looked at God and said, “How can Heaven and Hell be the same?” God said, “Keep watching.” The man returned his gaze to the table and noticed that the people of Heaven looked full, healthy, and happy. He watched as each person in Heaven filled their spoon with all the things they longed to eat and fed the ones next to them. One after another, spoon after spoon, the peop...

“Don’t search for Heaven and Hell in the future. Both are now present. Whenever we manage to love without expectations, calculations, negotiations, we are indeed in Heaven. Whenever we fight and hate, we are in Hell.” SHAMS TABRIZI, RUMI’S SPIRITUAL GUIDE

Interestingly, the word for “Devil” in Arabic is Shaytan, which comes from the root word shatana, which in one context can mean “to take people away from or distance people.” In other words, the Devil’s goal is to create isolation, separation, and arrogance by watering the weeds of the ego.

Hell, on the other hand, is a place made for those who seek a life independent of God, submitting to their own will, living and dying for their own desires, turning away from a God-centered life in exchange for an ego-conscious one. If you want to be independent from God in this world, the next life will also mirror that separation from the Divine. God does not wrong you in the Hereafter, rather as the Qur’an says, “You will only be recompensed for what you did” (66:7).

My beloved Lord, turn my seedling heart toward Your light, nourish the soil of my soul with the water of Your mercy, and help me grow toward Your presence in all that I do, both in this life and beyond. “Our Lord, give us the best of this life and the best of the Hereafter and guard us from the torment of the Fire” (2:201). My Lord, quench the fires of separation between us and embrace me with Your love. Oh Allah, sow the seeds of Your beauty within me and help foster the garden of My faith, until I become a reflection of Heaven on Earth. “My Lord! Build for me near You a house in the Garden” (66:11). Oh Allah, show me how to soften my heart, so that Your light can reach the hidden corners of my soul. Oh Allah, be the dawn of hope in my darkest moments. My Lord, unveil me of myself and help me see who I truly am. Allah, help me transcend my ego, polish my heart, and become a pure mirror for You on this Earth. “Our Lord! In You we put our trust, and to You we turn in repentance, and to You is the final Return” (60:4). In Your forgiving names I pray, Ameen.

“Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.” RUMI

YOU ARE LOVED The Creator of the cosmos blew His spirit into you, planting His secrets of divine love in the depths of your soul. The God of existence chose you, over all of His creation, to be a representative of His loving grace. You were created by Allah for Allah. You were neither created to please others nor to fit the mold shaped by your culture and society. You were made to know yourself, to know God, to love God, and to worship Him with your whole heart. You were created to seek and praise Allah, to swim in His ocean of mercy, and to discover the spiritual gems hidden in the depths of your soul. While God does not need us to praise Him, our worship of God unveils the truth of who we are and who we were created to become. Like a bud that turns to the sun as it blooms, unveiling its hidden fragrance, it is through turning to the light of Allah that your true essence blossoms.

You Matter The Creator of the universe has intentionally chosen to create you from the light of His eternal love and mercy. Your value is based on the One whose breath gave you life. You are not this body that will one day break; you are the soul that is everlasting. As Rumi says, “You think of yourself as a citizen of the universe. You think you belong to this world of dust and matter. Out of this dust you have created a personal image, and have forgotten about the essence of your true origin.” Why do you allow people to dictate your worth, when the eternal origin of all of existence —Allah—has declared that your life is more sacred than language can grasp? Allah loves you infinitely more than you can calculate. You are worthy. You matter. This entire world was created for you to unveil the treasure you already carry inside and it is through worship and submission to Allah that you may actualize this.

God Loves You Unconditionally Do not forget that since God is independent of His creations, His qualities of love and mercy are unaffected by our actions. When we sin, God does not love us less; rather, it is our sins that veil us from being receptive to Allah’s eternal and infinite love. God’s love for us never changes—it is our experience of His love that changes. The pillars and principles within Islam are like polishing cloths that wipe away the dirt of sin, forgetfulness, and temptations, to unveil the pricelessness of your tr...

You Already Have Everything You Need You are a microcosm of the macrocosm. You are a reflection of the entire universe, held in the embrace of clay. God is not in some faraway Heaven, He is with you in this very moment, no matter who you are or what you have done. Nothing is void of Him. Everything that has life is a reflection of His life. Everything that has an existence is a reflection of His oneness. As the fifteenth-century Indian poet Kabir said, “I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty.” You already contain the very thing you are seeking. The path of Islam provides the framework to remove your limiting beliefs so that you are able to receive the love of God. The names of Allah are already planted in the soil of your heart. Our work is to get out of the way of ourselves, by surrendering to Allah and allowing the light of His love and the rains of revelation and mercy to water our spirits. Heaven is not just a place we reach through death; it is a place we water inside ourselves. To live a life that is inspired is to live a life in spirit, in connection with your true essence and purpose in life. We are not called to only serve God for the sake of attaining a future Heaven—we are called to become a reflection of Heaven on Earth, by becoming a pure vessel of God’s loving qualities.

You Have a Divine Purpose God purposely created you to know, love, and worship Him. This entire visible world is a reflection of His infinite faces. God is not hiding in the Kaaba, a church, or a temple. God is reflected everywhere and in everything. He has created you as a reflection of His qualities of beauty and majesty. He has sent you to this Earth to worship Him, to know yourself, to protect the sacredness of life, to serve the helpless, to take care of this holy land, and to love all people with your whole soul. God fills the pitcher of your life with the water of blessings, so that you may generously water the thirsty hearts you encounter. Through Him, you are called to be a hand to the fallen, a crutch for the broken, a healing presence for the sick. You are not called to share the good news of God’s unconditional love and mercy only to the faithful. You are called to step out of your comfort zone and into the valleys of the hopeless, like a lighthouse illuminating the dark corners of the Earth. The Qur’an says, “Struggle in the way of God with your wealth and your souls” (61:11). But do not share your faith with the singular goal of convincing people to believe what you believe. Become an embodiment of your faith, to remind people that God loves them. Call people to divine love, and let God decide what path they are meant to walk. We all cry the same tears, bleed the same blood, feel the same grief, so why should you discriminate based on faith whom you comfort i...

Prayer of Light Oh Allah! Place light in my heart And light in my tongue And light in my hearing And light in my seeing And light from above me And light from below me And light on my right And light on my left And light ahead of me And light behind me Place light in my soul Magnify for me light And amplify for me light Make for me light And make me light Oh Allah! Grant me light And place light in my nerves And light in my body And light in my blood And light in my hair And light in my skin Increase me in light Increase me in light Increase me in light Grant me light upon light!1 PROPHET MUHAMMAD