ALMISKEENAH

 

 

 

CORRELATIONS….

Between the given and the Giver…

Between hardships and mercy.

We are all part of this rich fabric called life….and some of the woven textured threads are called suffering….suffering we all know, either having experienced, or are experiencing, or will experience or vicariously know those who have, or are, or will be experiencing. Wars, conflict, natural disasters, pain, death, accidents, sorrow, family/social dysfunctions, various forms of loss, separation, along with the difficulties many face seeking marriage, seeking divorce, seeking careers, seeking children, seeking shelter, seeking relief from burdens that seem higher than Mount "NEVEREST" ….seeking Him….

Correlations….between the Giver and the given in this thickly embroidered tapestry….

Between…..

"The dawning of inner light and making destiny’s weight light.

The opening of the door of insight and help in bearing divine decree’s might.

The advent of subtle gifts and bearing affliction’s rifts.

The acknowledgement of how wholesome is God’s choice and empowerment to bear divine decree’s force.

The knowing that God knows our condition and giving us patience with His decision.

The unveiling of God’s divine beauty and ease in facing God’s actions and humane duty.

The knowing that patience leads to contentment and allowing us to bear fate without resentment.

The lifting of veils of alienation and help with enduring divine decrees without agitation.

The granting of the secrets of intimacy and the strength to bear obligations gravity.

The knowing of divine goodness’ subtleties hidden in every difficulty and the giving of patience in high degrees to endure all the divine decrees."

(based on the writings of Ibn ‘Ata’Allah al-Iskandari in The Book of Illumination where he has elucidated these ten sayings based on the same thing, a single variegated facet of understanding God from God. )

He writes:

"You should know that if the true One desires to strengthen people to bear what divine decree comes over them, God clothes them in the illuminations of divine attributes and qualities, enrobing them with divine gifts and blessings. Know that God sends down decrees upon them and at the same time conveys to them illuminations [helping them to bear the decrees]. This ability to bear such decrees is from the Lord, not from within the people themselves! Thus people are strengthened under every hardship and are able to endure every difficulty….

God bestows support to those people who can discern, in confronting divine decrees, the subtle divine concern."

Patiently hold firm under the decree of your Lord, for surely you are under the observance of our gaze.  (52:48)

…whoever entrusts to God their every need, surely God is sufficient for them.  (65:3)

Is not God alone sufficient for God’s worshipful servant?   (39:36)

Ibn ‘Ata’Allah offers an illuminating parable:

GROPING IN THE DARK

Anyone who is anxious despite God’s attentive supervision is a like a child traveling with her father in a long caravan. As night falls, the father keeps watch over his child from a distance, out of compassionate concern for her welfare. Yet the child cannot see her father because of the terrible darkness that has descended between them. The child may be wracked by anxiety about her own concerns; how will she ever secure all her needs by herself? Yet when the moon rises luminous in the night sky, the child can see her father’s actual intimacy. Therefore her anxiety settles and her fears subside, since she can sense her father’s comforting proximity.

In this way, children are enriched by the care they receive from another. They are relieved of needing to care for their own needs by their own means. Those who are anxious for their own concerns despite the concern of God for them only plot anxiously because they are engulfed in the dark night of separation. They do not witness the intimate proximity of God to them. If only the luminous moon of bearing witness to God’s unity (tawhid) or the brilliant sun of experiential knowledge (ma’rifa) of divine presence would rise over them, they would see the intimacy of the true One to them. Then they would be ashamed of plotting or planning in competition with God. They would consider themselves enriched by the divine concern that enriches them and would rise above plotting for their own well-being.

Surely there are secret subtle graces hidden in trials, afflictions and poverty. Facing trials trains your ego to serve…facing trials humbles it and keeps it off guard, preventing it from always claiming its share [in the world] Humbling the ego comes through trials; in turn, through humbling yourself comes divine aid to vanquish otherness from the heart.

It may be that you loathe something that is good for you.  (2:216)

And our Noble Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam said: Paradise is surrounded by things you loathe, while Hell is surrounded by things you crave.

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Sheikh Muhammad Al-Yaqoubi addressed this topic, In Need of Allah, reciting the following poem of al-Shushtari

We come to You O Allah, the Rich

The One Who is always Generous

You accustomed us to Your Generosity

We hope it is everlasting.

The Sufis say there is no distance between you and Allah to traverse; there is only your ego. When we journey to Allah, we are going from haram to halal, we are leaving the dunya and going towards the akhirah. Allah is with us wherever we are. We are veiled by our love; our excessive love for our families, children, business, fame, beauty, comfort, luxury, the dunya, it all becomes a distraction. All of these are veils. Sometimes we recognize His bounties, but we don’t recognize Him. Sometimes people look at what is given without looking at the Giver Subhanahu wa ta’ala.

You should come to Allah in a state of poverty. Get rid of your claims. You can have the wealth of the world and still you need Him. You need Allah for every minute, for every second, for every breath.

If your life goes on normally and doesn’t have extremes you don’t feel the Divine Interference. You need to see this Divine Interference in every minute in every occasion. Muslims feel they don’t need Him until they are in difficulty. We are all equal in front of Allah; poverty makes us all equal - fuqara. Make no claims in front of Allah. Come to Him in a state of need.

Ibn ‘Ata’Allah said:  ’If Allah opened the door of dua for you, be sure He will give you’. Just to open your hands and ask is a treasure, and without this we are nothing. Even when we are not given immediately, it doesn’t matter. What matters is He allowed us to make dua, to beseech Him, to cry, to come to Him, to ask Him for help. He is making many others forget, but He picked you up and made you from the elite so that you open your hands and make dua. Never belittle dua. Come to Him with hopes that He will give you. Have Husn al DhanilLah. No one is more generous than Him. When you knock on His Door, have firm belief that He will give you, and you get according to your opinion of Him. Allah looks at hearts not the tongues. Dua is the strongest weapon and the first thing we should turn to. Dua is the means of the most powerful people and the most powerful means.

 Be thankful to Allah when He afflicts a calamity on you. He’s your Lord. Would He let you down? Would He allow you to suffer? For the believer, everything He Gives is sweet because it comes from Him ta’ala. Everything your Beloved does is beloved to you, because you love Him.

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And Sheikh Humza Yusuf deals with the same correlations in The Seventeen Benefits of Tribulation.

The Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam was someone who went through unparalleled hardship, and yet he never allowed any difficulties to perturb him. Learn of this same wisdom that accompanies our suffering. Not only will this lecture completely transform your outlook on calamities, but it will also leave you in total awe of Allah Ta’ala’s magnanimity and infinite mercy.

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In my heart none dwells but my friend.

No one else can enter in the private chamber of a king.

I have a king within the palace of my heart;

If he camped outside, the seas and lands would be too narrow for him….

Mu’in-uddin Chisti

(An aside….related to the three previous posts on Ziyarah: todays article from Arab News related to additional space in Masjid Nabawi for sisters. Maybe there is a correlation between the hardships sisters face in their ardent desire to visit our Beloved Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam and Allah Ta’ala’s bounties on us, Insha’Allah. Sincerest gratitude to the glowing sparkles who knowingly and unknowingly have contributed to this post, JazakumuLlahu khairan.)  

All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.