Don’t treat your present moment, a gift of Allah in which you can witness His Light, in a way that gives your ego more importance than seeing Allah. Wouldn’t you give it all away for one moment with Him?
Don’t treat your present moment, a gift of Allah in which you can witness His Light, in a way that gives your ego more importance than seeing Allah. Wouldn’t you give it all away for one moment with Him?
Many have not yet learnt how to think for Allah. They think for themselves, and even that is far-fetched. Rather they think they are thinking for themselves, but they are thinking for the devils that lurk between their shoulders.
We live in a world where we are constantly trying to do one better than everyone else – this is a survival instinct, survival of the fittest and the like. This is a function of the mind after all. The mind helps you survive, it gets you from A to B; when you end up at B you end up having benefited somehow – it’s a play and a sport.
The mind, being there to help us survive, does not rest in defending our position, irrespective of the truth. It is adept at supporting its position.
I want to talk about an aspect of the mind’s function – when it is defending a position that we have taken. In this situation we find ourselves thinking of how we were absolutely right to do what we did. However, we find no ease during our deliberations – instead we find a burning in our hearts.
Let me now extract you from your delusions – the reason you find this burning, angry or uncomfortable sensation in your heart, is because your mind at that moment is forcing its thought process on your heart in an unnatural way. You are actually destroying yourself, while you claim to be a standard bearer for the truth.
You see the heart has no interest in claiming truth for itself, it seeks harmony and joy for yourself and all around you. Whereas the mind seeks for you to survive irrespective of the effect it is having on those around you.
You insist on imposing survival instincts, that are there to help you attain worldly means, on a heart that sees Allah and your own purity as primary.
Most of us are brought up to follow the survival instincts of the mind, that is how we attain gains in the external world. But there has to come a time when a person realises that this world is temporary, and so starts to give her/his heart a primary position and makes the mind an understudy of a heart which seeks betterment in the hereafter, or purification of the inner. Afterall it is the inner or hereafter as some refer to it, that remains when we depart this world.
So how should you think? Well you should think with your heart. Yes! Absolutely! Your heart/soul can think! However, it will not defend you. Instead it will bring joy for you and those around you. When you use it, it will increase your humility and open you up to Allah’s special favours – one of which is wisdom.
If you are struggling to understand how you should think with your heart/soul, then try to awaken yourself. Next time you are defending your position with your mind, and you feel that burning of anger or discomfort within, try to imagine how the other person, the person you are trying to prove wrong is thinking about you, try to appreciate their perspective, don’t defend yourself yet, then think of a way by which you can both attain happiness and joy, a way to resolve the situation where you are both winners, and don’t defend yourself yet.
Appreciate that this person is your brother/sister and you are both Allah’s children – is it befitting that you should fight in Allah’s presence? Wouldn’t you rather give up your right and achieve the joy and loving glance of a Creator that has nurtured you?
We want to be like the prophets and the saints, and Muslims claim to follow the sunnah of the prophet. This is where the sunnah of Muhammad came from, from a heart so humble in Allah’s presence that he would rather give up his right than deface the moment with self-absorbed survival instincts.
I am not telling you to behave this way with an oppressor, but is everyone in your life other than you an oppressor?! Don’t treat your present moment, a gift of Allah in which you can witness His Light, in a way that gives your ego more importance than seeing Allah. Wouldn’t you give it all away for one moment with Him? Didn’t the angels ask Allah how man could be His representative when they saw his ego, didn’t Allah defend you and me at that moment saying that He knew better? Is it then befitting that we allow our minds to govern our lives? Allah deserves better than this.
O Allah, help us achieve (our joy through) Your Joy!
