Reflection is Remedy

We often lose sight of transcendent beliefs when our prayers go unanswered, little do we know that calamities only serve to strengthen our character and prevent us from greater trials.

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was the most beloved creature to God in the history of mankind, yet he was also tried with the most calamities and tribulations.  Whenever he got sick, his illness would be three times as worse than that of a regular person (mentioned in a hadith)  Tribulations are meant to make us strong individuals, purify us of our sins, and make us strong warriors in the way of God.  This warrior is not meant in the narrow-minded way of fighting on the field.  It is the warrior of the soul, the capacity to have great morality, great generosity, great manners, and great character towards others.  A true warrior of God doesn’t lose control over his emotions, he never allows his anger to take hold of him.  He never allows his miserliness to prevent him from giving to others.  How do we reach this level?  Certainly not by being pampered and being treated like a prince/princess for the rest of our life.

Thus, tribulations given to us from God are also a mercy from Him.  It is better to undergo tribulations on earth, rather than to endure tribulations in Jahannam (hellfire).  The Prophet (pbuh) had the toughest life on earth but he also had the highest place in Paradise.  Our response to God’s tribulations is what determines our place and worth in Paradise.

Abu Huraira reported that the Prophet (pbuh) said:
“Never a believer is stricken with a discomfort, an illness, an anxiety, a grief or mental worry, or even the pricking of the thorn but that God will expiate his sins on account of his patience.”
Al Bukhari and Muslim

A beautiful reminder:

“Muhammad (pbuh) said: “If somebody reproaches you and makes you feel ashamed of any of your defects, do not make him feel ashamed of any of his defects.” [Abu Dawood]

Usually, when someone points out one of our shortcomings, we immediately become defensive and start finding faults with him/her.  But the advice of our beloved Prophet (pbuh) is that we should listen quietly and evaluate what we are being told.  If there is something we can improve about ourselves, it is only to our own advantage to do so.  If the criticism is unjustified, then we are rewarded for our patience and good behavior in not retaliating.  The angels will take care of defending our honor.  Starting a counter attack opens the door for Satan to come in and take over.

Once Abu Bakr Siddiq (RA) was sitting with the Prophet (pbuh) when a man came and started to abuse Abu Bakr.  Abu Bakr remained silent.  Finally, he started to speak in his defense.  At this point the Prophet (pbuh) got up and left.  Abu Bakr immediately went after him and inquired if he had done something wrong.  The Prophet (pbuh) replied that as long as he had been silent, angels had been speaking on his behalf, but when he started to respond, the devil came and sat down next to him.  As the Prophet (pbuh) could not remain seated where the devil was sitting, he left.”

I honestly did not expect this speech to be that amazing when I first clicked it, but by the time she was done speaking I literally had shivers up my spine.  This was an amazing and touching speech about human suffering and poverty and the role of imagination in escaping it…and by imagination JK Rowling did not mean magic, but the creativity and education needed to benefit the powerless and voiceless.

SubhanAllah:

http://www.ted.com/talks/jk_rowling_the_fringe_benefits_of_failure.html

My friend and I recently went to an event sponsored by CAIR.  Before we entered the room, a bald Caucasian man stopped my friend and I and told us that he was conducting a federal investigation.  I was a bit startled but I thought it was a census so I relaxed a bit.  I smiled at the FBI agent.  However he did not smile back.  He was serious and even somewhat a bit…nervous?  I began to feel extremely uncomfortable.

He asked me for my full name and address, he asked my friend and I why did we come to this event and how did we hear about it?  Meanwhile he was writing all of this down.   He asked us if we ever went to a halaqah.  At this point he began asking my friend more questions because he saw my hesitancy in answering.  I walked away once I saw that his attention was no longer focused on me.  I waited for my friend.  I felt so humiliated and frustrated that I wanted to go home.  I promised my friend that I would get to the bottom of this.  Once we were in the actual event room I expressed my feelings to one of the sisters in the room.  She looked at me and smiled, “They’re actors.”

UNBELIEVABLE.  It was all a part of the event, to keep us aware of this reality and how we should and should not respond.  This was powerful and unforgettable.

Here are some things I learned:

Always ask to see a badge of identification from an FBI agent.

Never open the door and allow them to come into your home.  Just open the door wide enough to step outside your home and speak to them politely outside.  Tell them that you want to cooperate and keep your country safe.  However you will not speak with them until your lawyer is present and that you are willing to set up an appointment for that.

The anti-Semitic literature of the 1920s are very similar to the literature of the far right today.

Gallup poll: Only 7% of all the FBI-documented acts of terror were committed by Muslims…what about the other 93%?

The fifth amendment was created to protect the innocent man who may be ensnared by ambiguous means.

Here is a great poem by Jalaluddin Rumi that my friend Zuhal sent in an email:

Last night
I lost my grip on reality
and welcomed insanity.

Love saw me and said,
I showed up.
Wipe your tears
and be silent.

I said, O Love
I am frightened,
but it’s not you.
Love said to me,
there is nothing that is not me.
be silent.

I will whisper secrets in your ear
just nod yes
and be silent.

A soul moon
appeared in the path of my heart.
How precious is this journey.

I said, O Love
what kind of moon is this?

Love said to me,
this is not for you to question.
be silent.

I said, O Love
what kind of face is this,
angelic, or human?

Love said to me,
this is beyond anything that you know.
Be silent.

I said, please reveal this to me
I am dying in anticipation.

Love said to me,
that is where I want you:
Always on the edge,
be silent.

You dwell in this hall of
images and illusions,
leave this house now
and be silent.

I said, O Love,
tell me this:
Does the Lord know you are
treating me this way?

Love said to me,
yes He does,
You, just be silent.

The greater the experience of pain and suffering…the greater the appreciation of happiness and pleasure.

Have you ever had a moment in life when you were completely…entirely…happy? A moment of happiness is so dear to me because I know how rare and special it is.  Every moment in which I experience this flawless happiness I want to capture on video…and replay over and over again in my mind.  When you experience a moment like this…you realize the beauty of life, you thank God that you were giving the blessing of life just to experience this one moment of bliss and ease…and relief.

After every distress is ease…surely after every distress is ease. (Qur’an)

I got this from http://questforthedivine.blogspot.com/.  Love that blog!

The Prophet (pbuh) was sitting with four of his companions (ra) — Abu Bakr, Omar, Othman and Ali.  The topic of discussion was the three things that each loved most in this world.  The Prophet (pbuh) answered first.  His three were perfume, women, and prayer.  Then he asked this same question of each of the companions.  This is what they picked.

Abu Bakr: Looking at the Prophet’s face (pbuh), making salawat on the Prophet (pbuh), and giving money to charity

Omar: Advising people, stopping wrongdoing, and saying the truth even if it’s hard

Othman: Cooking and giving people food, saying salaam to others, and making the night prayer when everyone is asleep

Ali: Fasting in summer, taking care of guests, and using the sword to defend the Prophet (pbuh)

Then Jibril came to the Prophet (pbuh) and revealed the three things that he loved most.  They were coming with the message to the world, coming to the Prophet (pbuh), and saying “alhamdulillah.”

Finally, Jibril told the Prophet this. “God sends you salaams and to the sahaba. God loves these three things: a tongue always in dhikr, a heart that’s grateful, and a body that’s tested but patient.”

This is a huge topic that I could write about.  But I just wanted to post this passage  and reflect on it quickly.  It was written by a Muslim in jail…and he is being thankful for the blessings that he has been given there.  He then expresses his newly appreciated value of the blessings people encounter on a daily basis outside of jail:

“Despite the fact that this is a maximum security facility and the restrictions are at times cumbersome, I really do not have much I can complain about. I have a place to sleep, three meals a day, and I can pray whenever I want in peace. I can think of millions of people around the world who cannot claim the same luxuries. On top of that, one sometimes needs a place like this to achieve clarity of mind. So, as the cliche goes, this has been a blessing in disguise in that I’ve been able to benefit from various aspects of incarceration that would ordinarily seem undesirable. I can only think of the countless imprisoned Muslims in the jails of tyrants around the globe and hope that if it is not Allah’s Decree to free them in the near future, that they taste the sweetness that Allah has placed them in prison to taste.  May Allah free our sisters sooner than later.

I would like to end this letter by reminding all who read it to realize what you have been blessed with before it is taken from you: the warm hug of a loved one, the company of righteous people, the ability to see the sun and moon, a breath of fresh air, praying in a mosque, hearing the Qur’an recited, reading a good book of your choosing, taking a shower with clean water whenever you feel like, even something as simple as being able to open a door and walk out of a room! If there is one lesson that everybody can learn in here  be they Muslim or kafir  that is to take the initiative to appreciate the value of the luxuries you are blessed with before they are taken from under your nose. We hear this in every khutbah but one unfortunately cannot truly appreciate this advice until all these delights of life are out of reach, in actuality. (I highly suggest Cummings The Enormous Room in this regard, if you can find a copy, where he describes, in candid detail, life in a French prison camp stripped of all the material possessions that were once within easy grasp.) Indeed, prison only makes the Muslim stronger”

I have often thought about this.  This idea of experiencing loss (or pain)  in order to understand value (and pleasure) is also a rampant theme in books such as “The Giver” and “Brave New World”.  Rumi, Ibn Ata’illah, and scores of other scholars have written at length about this.  This is why Rumi values pain…and mentions that the epitome of pain is the realization of your separation from God.  Pain is essentially a blessing from God.  However, once you are enduring it, it is definitely NOT the funnest thing in the world.  I had psychosomatic pain for a week–which is a physical pain that manifests from a psychological stress–and now I treasure and value every moment in which I am not experiencing that pain!  I remember during that week that I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t simply think or reason the pain away.  However once the issue was resolved…the pain left.  I can relate to the Muslim in jail above when he said that he values the warmth of a hug…or even the ability to open and leave a room.  Although I can’t relate to those exact blessings, I can relate to his feeling of valuting something that you once had overlooked…such as happiness and peace of mind. :)

“The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do.”
-Samuel P. Huntington