Al Ihsaan Islamic Spirituality The Forgotten Path

Islamic Spirituality - The Forgotten Path

 

A lecture delivered by Maulana Imran Nazar Hosein

at the Maulana Abd al-Aleem  Siddiqui Masjid, Singapore

Al-Ihsaan:

The Holy Prophet ε   replied and he said of al-ihsaan: ‘An tahbudallaha ka annaka tara.’ [That  you should worship Allah ﷻ: That you should serve Allah ﷻ as though you are seeing Him]. Fa illam takun tara  [For if you cannot see Him] fa innahu yara [surely He is seeing you].  When Musa pbuh went up the mountain, Mount Sinai, did he not ask?  I told you last night, the test of true love in the heart; if you say you have love in your heart, then you would long, with a great, great,  great  longing to see the face  of the one you love.  If you had to wait a thousand years, you will wait even for a glimpse of the one you love. If you had to walk a thousand miles, you would do it gladly just even for a glimpse of the face of the one you love. This is love. So Musa pbuh, says: [the 7th Sura, al-Araaf, Verse 143]

Show me your face, I want to see You

This is love.

Allah ﷻ replies and says:

No Musa! You can’t see Me.

Meaning: ‘Not with these eyes! You can’t see Me.’

But the companions of the Holy Prophet ﷺ they asked, ‘O Messenger! Will we be able to see Allah ﷻ on the last day, the Day of Judgment?’ He responded and he asked, ‘Do you have  any difficulty in seeing the sun when it is mid-day?’  They said, ‘No problem we can see it.’ He asked, ‘Do you have any difficulty in seeing the moon when it is full moon?’   They said, ‘No!’  He said, ‘that’s how you are going to see your Lord on the Last Day.’   

Allah ﷻ says, ‘You can’t see Me’ and the Holy Prophet ﷺ says you will see Him. Now we can understand that there is no contradiction here. The meaning is, ‘You can’t see Me with these (physical)  eyes.’ Do we have any other eyes besides these eyes? The Holy Qur’aan says, ‘Yes! The heart can see’ So it is with the heart that we will see Allah ﷻ on the last day. How can the heart see? In order for the heart to see it must first embrace Islam, the truth. Only the truth will deliver  internal sight. After  you have  embraced  the truth; the truth must travel from your lips and enter the heart. Then it is called Imaan. In order for it to enter  into the heart,  we have  to live  the truth with sincerity.   

We will be tested,  we must pass the test.  The only way  I can buy a house, or flat is to take a bank loan on interest. There is no other way. You lie. You should be ashamed of yourself for lying, when you say there is no other way. When the angels are taking such people into the hell-fire and the angels ask [4th Sura, an-Nisaa,  verse  97],  ‘Fi ma kuntum.’  ‘What went wrong?  How come you landed in this mess? We are taking you into the hell-fire.’ Then you reply, ‘There was no other choice for us. There was no other way we could buy a flat except with a bank loan on interest.’ Then the angels ask as mentioned in the 4th  Sura, an-Nisaa in verse 97:

Was Allah's earth not wide?

Was Allah ﷻ's earth not wide that you could have searched somewhere on Allah ﷻ’s earth where you could live without disgracing Him and betraying Him? Into the hell-fire! So you will be tested. Only when you pass the test will Allah ﷻ put the truth in the heart.

Source:  Islamic Spirituality - TheForgotten Path

 to be continued  . . . .