Purification of the Soul

I’ll never forget the first day of Tazkiyeh class. Our teacher brother Imran Salha said something that stuck with me throughout all the classes to come. He said, “Don’t make your goal of this class to simply share what you learn or to impress others—focus on yourself”. Focus on yourself. These three words I believe, are the core of Tazkiyeh which rely on self-awareness, self-observation, and self-criticism. In this way, tazkiyeh is purification of the soul for the sake of Allah (swt) alone. There is beauty that is felt when things are done for Allah (swt) alone, for what better audience is there for a good deed than the Master of the Universe, the Creator of all creation? When the action is done for Allah (swt) alone, it’s benefits can be infinite. Not only will you be rewarded from the Most High, but you will take off the shackles that chain you to the dunya. When you make Allah your main concern and you chase His pleasure, you will find the dunya chasing YOU. You will become rich, not in money, not in praise, but rich in the tranquility of your soul. For this is the true richness. And when you are rich, you are the one that gives because your supply is the infinite blessing of Allah (swt).

One of these blessings given to us is the gift of prayer: where our hearts are higher than our minds in elevation and our intentions are to please the One who’s in control of all our affairs. The way brother Iman taught this portion of the class on prayer really touched me and inspired me to look at prayer in a different way. He explained to us that salah removes the external and shows us our true relationship with Allah. Prayer was instructed to our Prophet in the heavens and for this reason it is divine and its essence is so lofty that it could not merely be given in this world. It’s establishment breaks arrogance, breaks rebellion, and when perfectly executed, it will break loving of the self and replace it with loving the Creator of the self. A practical application to our concentration in prayer is like that of a litmus test. The amount of concentration you put into prayer is a testament and an indicator for your love of Allah (swt). Do you rush to prayer? Do you pray during the most favored times? Do you imagine it to be your last prayer, with the Angel of Death behind your back? These are things I learned to ask myself. Remembrance of Allah is the polish for the heart. It is no doubt that our hearts may get rusty and our trials may make us forgetful, but the answer to all our worries lies in remembrance of our true purpose here on Earth: to know Allah. To know Allah during ease and to know Allah during hardship. Indeed knowing Him is the guidance from darkness into light—a paradise in this world and the next.

Light upon Light

No corner of the cosmos existing except with His light that illuminates

Closer to man than his jugular vein

Guiding him to a path away from the darkness and away from the pain

Light Upon Light

Our Creator exists eternally

His illumination, from the Infinite, perpetually flowing

His Essence infuses the universe with guidance

Showing man the correct path, living a life of true balance

Light Upon Light

Like nothing in all the universe

Allah’s guidance reaches the hearts of true believers

His eternal radiance polishing the mind and the soul

promising mankind a Paradise of bliss and much much more

To guide us along the way

He gave us the Quran here to stay

Purifying our souls and cleansing them

like a plant that grows from seed to stem

Blossoming out of the soil, widening the heart

Splitting darkness and light, far apart.

A gift from the Creator, up above

Showing Mercy, forgiveness, and beautiful love

A healer of pain, a book to cheer hearts

The book that feels the tears in your eyes

and testifies of your readings to the Most High

Food for the mind

its words so intelligent and so wise

A jewel and a treasure brought down from the skies

Revealed to our Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him

A sacred treasure, a luminating jem.

Our source of guidance to the only source of Light

Our friend until the end, when no one else is in sight.

Except our Beloved Creator, may we be worthy of this sight.

Nuroun 3ala Nour.

Light Upon Light.

“O Allah we ask You from You of Your most illuminating Light, to grant us this most beautiful delight”

Ameen.

All you got is N:0W

An Arab poet once said, “The past is lost forever, and that which is hoped for is from the unseen, so all that you have is the present hour.” The past is never to return, the future is yet to come, and so we are left with the present day—this present moment. Time is something so often discussed and so often checked. Time is the first thing that pops up on your phone screen, it’s the one that hangs on almost every wall, the one that some even tie to their wrists. Time controls our nights and days; without time the day would not turn into night and the night would not turn into day. We know how time is counted and we know what time brings, yet why do we often find ourselves “running out of time” or feeling like there “ aren't enough hours in the day”? These questions can only be answered when we realize what time really is, how we should perceive it, and how we should manage it. What is time to a Muslim? In today’s society we often hear the phrase “time is money”, but is that really what it is? For when our time is done, will money be there to save us? Truly for a Muslim, time is not money, time is Allah. Abu Hurayra reported: I heard Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) saying: "Allah the exalted and Glorious said: The son of Adam abuses Time, whereas I am The Time. In my hand are the days and the nights”. This means that whatever occurs during the night or during the day-throughout time in general-happens only by Allah’s will and His design; according to His knowledge and by His decree in which no one else has any share. Whatever Allah wills to be will happen and whatever He wills not to, shall never be. For this reason, we should never curse time, we should never be angered by the way that things turn out, and we should always be conscious that Allah is the one who disposes of the affairs that unfold in time. This should be our mindset when we deal with time.

                Now that we know what time really is, we must perceive it in the correct manner; this is through looking at the lenses of solely the present day, the present hour, and the present moment. Being preoccupied with the past and dragging past woes into the present will only bring an unstable and unsound mind. At the same time, being anxious over events in the future only adds worry and stress. Rest assured that your Lord who provided you with solutions to yesterday can similarly provide for what is to come tomorrow.  And so, look to the present moment. Let events flow in their predestined path and have faith in Allah’s timings. “Do not cross the bridge until you reach it”—tomorrow has yet to arrive and you have the present moment to prepare for it.

                In knowing what time is and with what lenses to look at it, we still have to realize that we are “managers “of our time. It will run its predestined path, but it is the requirement of each of us to put in effort at every moment. Every day should be seen as one goal. The Prophet (pbuh) said, “When the morning comes upon you, then do not expect to see the evening, and when you see the night, do not expect to see the morning.” Do not have lofty and long term goals but rather short term appropriate goals that you can accomplish and surpass within the day. Expect death at any moment and do your best in doing good deeds. With this mindset, you will be able to concentrate and spend all of your energies on being productive each day. If I told you today was your last day to live, how would you spend the day? This should be our mindset every day. Pray like it is your last prayer every time. Respect your parents as if you will not be seeing them tomorrow. Live for the present moment and find comfort in the fact that what has been planned for you has been planned by the Best of Planners. Avoid fretting about the future, forget about the pains of the past, and embrace this present moment. In the remembrance of Allah you will find joy in your time and in His obedience you will find reassurance. Don’t think about when you can start to make changes, the time is N:OW.