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Awakening
The
first of the ranks of the journey of servititude (ubūdiyah) is awakening,
which is alarming and stirring up of the heart from the sleep of
heedlessness. By Allāh, how priceless is that revitalizing alarm! How
valuable and indispensable for the journey! Whoever experiences it, by Allāh,
he has indeed experienced the breeze of success. Without experiencing it,
every one is lost in heedlessness. His hearing is asleep while his eyes
appear awake. It is this blessed alarm that wakes one up and makes him a
seeker of Allāh. The seeker now rolls up his sleeves and musters up his
courage to set out on the journey to Allāh, station by station. Perhaps
it is this rising up from sleep that is mentioned in the following Qur'ānic
verse: The
first realization that illuminates the seeker upon this awakening is the
immensity of gifts of Allāh upon him. The believer's heart glances at the
gifts and bounties of Allāh and is overwhelmed by his own sense of
inability to even count them, let alone thank Allāh for them all. The
second realization is the realization of the inadequacy of his gratitude
and worship to Allāh. These realizations are in fact both the cause and
the effect of the first station of awakening. As the believer
(alternatively, the seeker, for there is no difference between the two,
every believer is indeed a seeker of Allāh tr.) advances on his
journey and as his heart is sharpened by these two realizations, it
becomes incumbent upon him to notice more and more the innumerable inner
and outer, open and hidden gifts of Allāh and recognize his own
shortcoming in thanking the Giver adequately. These two realizations make
the seeker actualize the supplication of the Prophet, may the prayers and
blessings of Allāh be upon him, in which he said: "(O
Allāh), I admit Your bounties upon me, and I admit my sin, so forgive me,
for no one can forgive but You!" (al-Bukhāri) At this point, one realizes
why this supplication is indeed the master of all supplications for
forgiveness (as the Prophet has told us). The believer also realizes at
this point that if Allāh were to punish all the dwellers of Heavens and
the Earth, He would not be in the wrong. If, on the other hand, He were to
exonerate and reward them all, his reward and mercy would far exceed their
deeds. The believer, therefore, realizes that he must be ever mindful of
Allāh's bounties and his own shortcomings. NONE
ENTERS IT EXCEPT THE PURE Once
the seeker is fully cognizant of his offences, he rolls up his sleeves to
compensate for what has been lost. He breaks off the shackles of sins with
the strength of istighfār (seeking forgiveness) and penance. He yearns
for purification, just like the purification of gold and silver from
impurities when they are burnt, so that he may enter the paradise prepared
by his Lord for him, for nothing impure can ever enter the Paradise: This
purification is carried out by four means: (1) repentance by turning away
from sins (tawbah), (2) actively seeking forgiveness (istighfār), (3)
good deeds that erase the bad ones, (4) and calamities that efface the
sins. If one is purified by these four means, he becomes of those who is
greeted and congratulated y the angles upon death, and assured by them of
his abode in the Paradise, and that he shall see grief and fear no more.
Without any of these four, one's repentance is not complete and is not
likely to be enough to counter balance his sins. After
one's death, when he is in the state of Barzakh (the state between death
and the Final Day), his sins may be effaced by the following: (1) funeral
salāh for him performed by the faithful, (2) the trials of the grave (may
Allāh protect us from this), (3) what his brothers from the Muslims
present to him after his death, of virtuous deeds, like charity, Hajj,
fasting, recitation of the Qur'ān and salāh on his behalf. The jurists
agree that the charity and supplications of the living will reach him and
benefit him after his death. Majority include Hajj in this list, while the
Hanābilah include all good deeds in this list; the Hanbalī way being the
most liberal of all in this matter. Those
who are still not purified by these means, may be purified by the
dreadfulness of the Day of Resurrection or by intercession of those whom
Allāh will allow to intercede that Day, and finally and most importantly,
by the pardoning of his Most Forgiving Lord. If
one's sins are still remaining, the Fire or the purgatory then purifies
him, the extent of this punishment being proportional to one's sins. When
one is cleansed of sins and corruption, and all that is left is pure and
good, he is now entered into the Paradise, into which one but the pure may
enter. THREE
PARTS OF THE REALIZATION The
light of intellect is the light that caused one's soul to wake up in the
first place. One is able to appreciate the bounties of Allāh only as much
as the strength of this light allows him. Some may not realize Allāh's
bounties except in ordinary things like food, clothing, safety and their
standing in the society. Such people may not have even a piece of this
light from Allāh, for the real bounty to consider and appreciate is the
bounty of Islām, of Īmān, of Allāh's message, of the opportunity to
remember Him and the honor to obey Him. This faith is the supreme bounty
and gift of Allāh, and one cannot see it expect with the illuminated
inner eye. Sensing
the rays of Allāh's favors through the clouds of mundane life and
darkness of the desiring self is the second part of appreciation. One
observes the unfortunate people who are heedless of Allāh, or lost in
innovations (ibtida') and forgotten the essence of the Dīn of Allāh.
Such disbelievers and innovators are indeed greater in misery and
suffering than those who are dying of starvation and disease. Once the
seeker realizes the misery of the misguided, he realizes the immensity of
Allāh's mercy upon him to have guided him, for things are known through
their opposites. THE
SECOND REALIZATION: OUR SHORTCOMINGS Realizing
His greatness from the core of one's heart is the key to understanding the
enormity of defying Allāh, the Most High. If one contemplates in the
greatness of Allāh and his own infirmity and weakness before Allāh, and
his need for Allāh at every moment of his life, the enormity and
wrongness of his sins becomes glaringly obvious. Knowing the nothingness
of one's own self before Allāh, therefore, is an essential step in
abandoning sins. The
axis of all success is belief in Allāh's promises and admonitions; and if
this belief dwindles or weakens in the heart, so does any hope for
success. Allāh has clearly told us that His verses and signs are of
benefit only to those who believe in His promises and warning and fear the
punishment of the afterlife: Those
deserving of salvation in this world and in the Hereafter are none but
those who believe in and fear the admonition of Allāh: REMORSE
OF THE LOST MOMENTS Three
things enhance the remorse for the lost days and the concern to compensate
for them in the remaining days of one's life; knowledge, responsiveness to
admonition, and company of the righteous. The more one knows the worth of
deeds and enormity of their consequences, the more he realizes the worth
of his loss. Similarly, one's responsiveness to the admonisher of his
heart (according to a hadīth of the Prophet, every believer has an
admonisher in his heart who warns him against possible sins) determines
how much he can improve. The company of people who have great concern for
the condition of their hearts and determination to reach the highest
levels is another great help in the path of the seeker. Thus ends the description of the first station (maqām) of the Madārij (ranks) of the seekers of Allāh. Source:
Printed in Al-Jumu'ah Magazine |