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My respected brothers and sisters, Bayazid
had learned of a way to serve two masters. First, he served Allah, and
then he served his mother. While it could be argued that he could have
tried to do both at the same time, he knew he wouldn't have been able to
with his own unique understanding of his abilities. So he found a way to
do both. It was his mission. Indeed, Allah has given us all the same
mission to perform. We must be thankful to Allah and be thankful to our
parents. We show our thanks to Allah when we surrender our wills to His
perfect will. By doing that we elevate our spiritual, physical and mental
abilities to the highest level we can imagine.
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The
same is true of the heart. We all look for something to fill it. We all
want love, certainty and satisfaction, but if we're not careful, we may
wind up in the hospital of broken hearts and dreams. Sincerity.
This is a word we hear all the time. We repeat it. We say, "Yeah,
sincerity is good." But
who could ever imagine that we are not sincere? We
say we're Muslims, but our conviction was never formed. The Blessed
Prophet speaks about the "Joy of Eman" and the
"Satisfaction of the Heart." These you find through Islam.
However, if we're not feeling it, then we're not following the program correctly.
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In
this journey we call life there are many twists and turns which can make
us feel lost or confused. When a person is close to Allah, their hearts
and minds are easy. The farther away from Allah a person is, the more
their life is filled with depression, sadness, worry and uncertainty.
Have
you considered that there is no difference between your life and a
mosquito's life. We all look for something to feed us, and if we're not
careful, we get swatted into nothingness.
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What would you say if I was a race car driver who never drove. What if I
told you I was a student who never studied? What if I said I was a happy
man who never smiled? You might say I wasn't being sincere. Who we
are is not determined by a label placed upon us by accident of birth or
opportunity, but by what we feel and know inside. The Islamic program can
only cure those who are willing to take the medicine.
The beginning of the cure is the realization that Allah is the source of
all joy. As the famous Muslim poet, Sadi Shirazi, once said, "I'm
happy in the world because the world is happy in Allah."
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Allah
is only One Who can bring healing to our hearts. Meditating and
concentrating upon the miracles of Allah and upon His signs is the key
that opens the door to self-awareness. |
As
our Lord states,
"Allah! There is no god but He, the Living, Who
needs no other but Whom all others need. He is never drowsy nor does He
rest. To Him belongs space and the Earth; who can intercede without His
consent?
He
knows everything people have done and will do, and no one can grasp the
least of His knowledge, without His review. His throne extends over space
and the Earth and He doesn't get tired in guarding them. He alone is the
Most High, the Lord Sovereign Supreme." |
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further to Allah's call: |
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"Isn't
it time for the believer's hearts to melt with the remembrance of Allah?
Shouldn't they recognize the truth bestowed on them by Him, lest they
become like those who received revelation in the past, and whose hearts
have hardened with time, so much so that many of them are now hopelessly
sinful? Indeed, Allah reawakens life in the Earth after it was dead, and
We have made Our revelations clear to you, so you can use your
reason." |
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"Know
all of you that the life of this world is fleeting and vain; an alluring
show of boasting and rivalry in wealth and children. Its example is like
the green Earth after a gentle rain: a delight to the gardener! But it
soon withers and turns brown, then it crumbles to dust. Indeed, the
enduring reality is only in the life to come, where there is either
punishment or forgiveness from Allah and His good pleasure." |
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"You
who believe! Be conscious (of Allah) and believe in His Messenger, because
He will grant you a double portion of grace, and will light for you a
light wherein you can walk. And He will
forgive you your sins, because He
is the Forgiving, the Source of All Mercy." Indeed, Allah has
spoken the truth. |
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Abu
Nuwas once wrote, "Stunned by the great amount of my sins, I saw
hope, O Lord, and laid it side by side, with that great mercy that is only
yours, and measured both with a ruler up and down. My sin is great but now
I know, O Lord, that Your forgiveness is even greater!"
Now
the path to forgiveness and faith is sometimes filled with twists and
turns, as we mentioned before. Life is an illusion with sharp teeth and a
nasty bite, and many are those who don't make it through safely, rather
falling prey to all the forces of temptation which tear at their soul.
In
part two of this article, to appear in the next issue, we will offer the
solution to the torturous path of life and lay out the firm plan for
salvation and dealing with life's trials, according to the Islamic Way. In
the mean time, think well on the lessons you have learned here and raise
your awareness of the details of this life and your place within it. |
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