to Be, or not to Be

When one sits to ponder about who this Allah really is, (or, God, higher being, creator - whatever you will - since the word Allah is linguistically just the Arabic word for such a power) plenty of adjectives come to mind. Allah asks us to, after accepting and acknowledging Him, to contemplate on his words.

"(This is) a Book (the Qur'an) which we have sent down to you, full of blessings, that they may ponder over its Verses, and that men of understanding may remember." (Qur'an 38:29)

He speaks to you and me, trusting in our intelligence, that He may appeal to us to save our own souls. Allah, the mighty, the sublime, has all of creation to bow to him. You and I, on the other hand, was born alone, will die alone. Ponder over the query of whether Allah has more need and/or use of us, or us of Him.

Personally, it was when I was at the lowest ebb of my life that I started to contemplate on the message of Islam. Like all of humanity, I was selfish in my quest for knowledge. I would feel pain spearing through my insides, and my need to seek solace would inevitably surface. It is probably one of the hazards of being born into a Muslim family - since Islam is always there in our lives as a background element, we always, always take it for granted. Why learn about something that you've 'known' since you started talking, right?

It is to all of the people who can relate to this former ghost of me that I would like to talk to. The greatest tragedy in life is not to never have something, but to have it and never realise what it is until it is too late. If, like me, you too have fallen in prostration, prayed, fasted, read the Qur'an, raised your hands in dua at all the appropriate moments, but never ever asked yourself for a single moment why you were doing it, you have missed out on the beauty of your faith.

The reward of faith is a multi-layered, complex process. True we are promised this hedonistic Paradise, Jannah "that which no eye has ever seen". True we get to party with all the cool Ahlal-Jannah (people of Paradise) we've only heard about and dreamed about all our lives. I mean, who wouldn't want to meet the dashing Omar ibn Khattab(RA), or the dignified Abu Bakr (RA), or the greatest Prophet Mohammed (SAW) whom words cannot do justice to? Imagine all this being within your reach. Be selfish! Have you ever heard a faith encouraging you to be selfish? Well, here it is; ISLAM - the coolest, most radical concept of faith.

We normally hear about people sacrificing their lives to serve God, to live for the sake of other people alone, to not seek happiness as an ends in itself. Eastern philosophies encourage you to negate the concept of the self; let it dissolve into the universe, be one with the creation. Islam tells you to celebrate the concept of the self, work towards its eternal bliss, and be this hedonistic party animal once the gate-keepers of Jannah open their doors to you.

The path to this Jannah lies in two words - "Be Conscious." If we really, truly love someone, we make an honest effort to be the way the person wants us to be. Some of us even radically alter our lifestyles for that person. We give up our jobs, move to a different city, change our food habits, dress differently - the list could go on. All this for a person whom you met a short time ago, and, if you're lucky, will live with for a short time. And, yet, this relationship will be a mutual relationship - give/take, "I cook / You clean".

However, our relationship with Allah is not an equitable one by any means. We take and take and take; how much do we even think of giving back? Even if we did give something back, it would not be a fair exchange by any means. Yet, Allah being Ar-Raheem (the Merciful), will not hold that against you AS LONG AS you are conscious of Him. Not to forget the fact that even your consciousness of Him will be more beneficial to you in this life first, and then in the Hereafter. It will bring you an unbridled joy that you never deemed possible.

On the authority of Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet Mohammed (SAW) said, "Allah, the Almighty says, 'I am as my servant thinks I am. I am with him when he makes mention of me. If he makes mention of me to himself, I make mention of him to myself. If he makes mention of me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly better than that. And if he draws near to me a hand's span, I draw near to him an arm's length. And if he draws near to me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's length. And if he comes to me walking, I go to him running'."

The next time you feel anger rising within you, and you want to scream at the person in front of you, hold yourself back for one second and ask yourself, "Would Allah want me to do this?" The next time a person asks you to give him some food, ask yourself, "Would Allah be pleased with this?" The next time you look at your mother, smile at her and ask yourself, "Is Allah smiling back at me?"

He doesn't need to say anything for you to know the answer to that. You know.