LOVE MISDIRECTED
The purest love is love directed to God.
If love’s compass points elsewhere, our hearts’ desires will remain unsated. The resulting void that occupies the heart may lead to a love that is contorted, perverted or misdirected: ‘Even so, there are some who choose to worship others besides God as rivals to Him, loving them with love due to God … ‘ [2:165].
Only a heart connected to God can generate true love towards His creation.
One of Allah’s titles is The Joiner of Hearts. He joins hearts to goodness. If the heart is bound to anything other than al-Wadud, The All-Loving, it will be incapable of pointing to love’s true north.
It will be as if we were in a jungle with a faulty GPS that leads us everywhere but our destination and resigns us to bad judgments: ‘Do not take My enemies as your allies, showing them your love when they have rejected the truth …’ [60:1].
The love between God and servant is the pure primordial love from which hearts become full: ‘He (God) loves them, and they love Him’ [5:54].
STRUGGLE
The intelligent person understands the weakness of human nature and does not pit their strength against the assault of the world’s vices and calamities but humbly takes refuge in God, the only true haven in this world.
Prophets are tested the most and thus are closest to God.
The Prophet Muhammad (s) experienced incredible hardship. He was born an orphan and became a complete orphan when he was six after losing his mother. His grandfather and guardian died two years later. His uncle, Abu Talib, who was struggling financially, took up his guardianship. With an added mouth amongst many to feed, Muhammad decided to assist his uncle by earning a wage. He became a shepherd. He was but a child.
As a Prophet, he (s) endured hate speech, persecution, starvation, ridicule, multiple attempts on his life and the murder of his friends and family.
His wife and the love of his life, Khadijah (ra), who was physically diminished by the two-year man-made famine, died. The starved and persecuted Muslims ate leaves and tied stones to their stomachs to relieve their hunger.
Then Abu Talib died. Without any protector, the Prophet (s) was fair game.
Seeking immunity, the Prophet (s) journeyed to Taif in search of it. The chiefs set the community, including the children, to stone him (s) and chase him from their town. It was a dark and bitter day. The Prophet (s) would later relate that it was the most painful day of his life.
Fleeing his city became imminent. The Prophet (s) and his followers secretly fled from Makkah to find a haven in Madinah. The 400 km journey was fraught with danger. With a bounty on his head, the Prophet (s) had to evade many swords during the migration
In Madinah, he had to deal with conspiracies and treason and unite the warring tribes. Maintaining the societal balance was a struggle of heart, spirit and mind.
The threats against the Prophet (s) and his Muslim community in Madinah grew, which resulted in many campaigns with the Muslims vastly outnumbered on the battlefields. The Prophet (s) suffered battle scars and lost many disciples, family and friends during these defensive wars.
Another of the Prophet’s great tests was the false charge of adultery brought against his wife, A’isha (s). It was a turbulent time for them, but Allah exonerated and restored her dignity through revelation.
The grief of losing a child must be a profoundly painful experience, and not only did the Prophet (s) have to endure this pain once, but six times. He lost three sons and three daughters during his lifetime. Only Fatima (ra), his daughter and her line survived him.
This brief record of the Prophet’s hardships will exponentially exceed the challenges we will ever face.
So, how did he (s) overcome life’s adversity and maintain his humanity?
The Prophet (s) understood that only God could cradle his human frailties and thus always remained in communion with Allah. He did this while observing shukr and sabr—gratitude and patience, and seeking God’s forgiveness at every turn.
‘The toxicity in the culture is designed not to meet the needs of the people but those in control.’ Gabor Mate
‘Justice is what love looks like in public.’ Cornel West
‘Indifference to evil is more insidious than evil itself. It is a silent justification affording evil acceptability in society.’ Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
Until next week, InshaAllah
Zaahied Sallie
Author of The Beloved Prophet – An Illustrated Biography in Rhyme
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