| By dawud72,
on 10-09-2004 15:55
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Last weekend a great aunt of mine fell ill and was taken to the ICU of a hospital for a few days. When I visited her, a fleeting image crossed my eyes. I remembered seeing her old photographs, young and fresh, green eyed with a vivacious smile. Right now I could hardly imagine that this shrunken old woman with a sunken eyes and a sagging jaw could be the same woman of the photograph.
It made me shiver a bit, glancing at my own hands and trying to imagine them gnarled and wobbly...
Weve often asked ourselves, "Why?" What is the meaning of the whole game, the whole circle of life, we come and go and have joys and pains, suffering and pleasure, but for what? For thousands of years billions of people have come and gone, made their mark, brought death and destruction or peace and glory. But in the end they all went to their graves and someone else came and took their place.
And me?
I remember recently coming across an ayah from Surah Hadeed: “Know that the life of this world is but play and amusement, pomp and boasting, multiplying in rivalry among yourselves, riches and children…”
Indeed, but what else can we do? Islam is not an ascetic religion where you have to withdraw from ordinary life and live in seclusion and worship. But there must be something else, a meaning behind it rather than just coming and going without feeling that there was any purpose to the whole thing.
Allah in the Quran draws a beautiful picture of the system of His creation.
Man comes into this world, this world of millions and billions of years, for about 80 years. But he falls so much into it’s glamour that he forgets it is all impermanent, or that the world will stay and he will go.
At this point Allah reminds us of His Greatness and Glory and His unquestionable characteristics of being “the First” and “The Last”, as well as the Evident and the Unseen. Then He tells us He holds full knowledge over everything, including the secrets of our heart.
This is to lead us to submit to what He commands and understand what He wants from us. Often we don’t seem to understand something but knowing He has knowledge over things we cannot even fathom should help us put our faith in Him and know that what path he is telling us to take is for our own right. Even something we see everyday, like the movement of the sun and moon there is something beyond our understanding. Everything thus is in the scheme of life; even the changing of a butterflies color affects movements in this world.
According to this scheme, then, all of creation worships Allah and is indulged in His praise. Everything goes according to this scheme and plan and organization of the world; leaves fall, days turn into night, and seasons change.
And man?
Allah describes the stages of life of man: from childhood when we are attracted to toys; then our youth, filled with pursuits of beauty and attraction, and as we grow we compete for children, homes, wealth. This is normal. However, these things are just a means to an end; and not a used as a screen against the bigger picture of life. We look at life and the world through our limited lenses but Allah looks at it through a wider screen. These are just stages in the cycle of life, like rain which brings fertility then dries out, In the end, the money stays, the things stay, but what is left is what you wake to the grave – and only Allah knows that.
During this circle of life, this short lived spring, Allah asks man to worship Him. This life, its likeness to the crop which flourishes and blooms, then turns pale and then finally is reduced to chaff; is transient. The everlasting life is the life hereafter when results of great consequence will be announced. If one has to vie with another for something, one should strive for Paradise.
It is your deeds that will take you to heaven, and Allahs "fazl" in the end. Allah is teaching us to understand His fazl through telling us how day turns into night and night into day. The Allah, who has created the Universe, and created it to unfathomable perfection; as He says in Surah Nabaa, with the earth as expanse and mountains as support, with night and day for rest and work and the sun and the rain and seven skies. Then the system He has created for us, why is it so hard for us to swallow? Surely His guidelines will only bring us to peace and prosperity and happiness? The Allah who Has created the Universe and knows the secrets of our hearts and innermost thoughts, surely the instructions and methods He has sent for us to lead our lives along are nothing short of perfection? And will lead us to the only success that counts?
All these thoughts raced through my head as I looked back at my great aunt dozing peacefully in her bed, and I smiled at my cousin in whose arms was a tiny baby, just opening her eyes and yawning. I felt a surge of peace and relief wash over. Suddenly life didnt stretch out, empty and meaningless in front of me with a seemingly unlit path for me to follow. It seems so easy and simple when you think of it. Islam gives life meaning, sense and worth. It is a gilt-edged present with a set of guidelines, just like a toy set you give to a child with detailed instructions of handling and care. The Allah who Has created us in perfection and give us so many countless blessings (you need to look no further than your own fingertips to understand this); He has not left us alone to stumble and die in futility but is holding us all the way.
Last update : 10-09-2004 15:55
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