THE UNWELCOMED GUEST
Adversity is the great cultivator of human development. But most of us don’t see it that way. We would much rather prefer that adversity not visit us.
We have a tenuous relationship with adversity because we see it as an enemy. But this is faulty reasoning. Partly because we are creatures of comfort, and crisis disrupts it: ‘Perhaps you dislike something which is good for you and like something which is bad for you. Allah knows, and you do not know’ [2:216].. But this is faulty reasoning. Partly because we are creatures of comfort, and crisis disrupts it: ‘Perhaps you dislike something which is good for you and like something which is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not know’ [2:216].
What do we know about our lives? No year sweeps through it without sprinkling some crisis, hardship or calamity.
Recognising this inevitability of life should make us understand that embracing rather than resisting, our perennial guest would serve us better. And that numbing, fleeing or ignoring the discomfort it brings proves our inability to respond to the truth and challenges of life. Responding like an ostrich, with our heads buried deep in the sand, is not the way.
We must practice becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable. Feelings don’t kill, so sitting with them is an excellent starting point. If you do, you will harvest the secrets, wisdom and treasures within you and the world.
And so, I imagine the Prophet Muhammad (s) welcoming adversity with the hospitality the Arabs are renowned for: Marhaba, ahlan wa sahlan, have a seat, how can I help you, do you have a message for me?
The Prophet (s) would have accepted the news from his guest, allowed himself to be informed by it, and responded appropriately. And he would have done so with his congenial smile, humility, patience, and a thank you.
CHANGE THROUGH LOVE
Love moves us in ways many other things can’t.
To reorder the intended flow of love so that it moves us rightly, we must direct it towards the proper relational hierarchy: God and His final Prophet (s).
The best way to change what you do is to change who you believe you are, and in the Prophet (s), we have the best paragon.
Setting your identity as a lover of the Prophet (s), and making him number two in our lives, after God, is identity craft’s ‘Golden Formula’.
We love the Prophet Muhammad (s) and thus follow him. Hence, we love dawnings because that’s what he loved. And we know what he loves because we study his incredible life.
Instead of saying, ‘I’m a morning person,’ I pivot my thinking to, I’m a lover of the Prophet Muhammad (s) and his Sunnah. This is not just some life hack; it’s an article of faith, as outlined in the following Prophetic statement: ‘None of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father, his children and all mankind’ [Bukhari 15].
To belong is innate to human nature. Hence, Allah encourages us to be among the righteous, indicating that change through community is better than going at it alone. However, the desire for change flows from our love of God: ‘For men and women who are devoted to God—believing men and women, obedient men and women, truthful men and women, steadfast men and women, humble men and women, charitable men and women, fasting men and women, chaste men and women, men and women who remember God often—God has prepared forgiveness and a rich reward’ [33:35].
The above verse from Surah Al-Ahzab offers the code for accessing, strengthening and confirming the ‘Golden Formula’.
We cultivate these character assets because we love God, and in doing so, we prove our love to Him. But we are also proving it to the Prophet (s) because we recognise that the taxonomy outlined in the verse also points to his character, thus desiring to hone the attributes of love even more. Through this process, our love for Allah and His Prophet (s) will become dearer than everything this temporary world contains, and our sights will fix on life’s higher purpose.
For example.
Women are sacred. Mothers even more so. And Grandmothers, well, they are the most sacrosanct.
To see aged Palestinian women suffer obscene oppression at the hands of Israeli evil is an ignominy.
Once upon a time, during Islam’s Golden Age, when chivalrous men led the faithful, they would seize oppression by its forelock. And Muslim armies would march forth to defend the honour of even just one persecuted woman.
But the Arab and Muslim world has since grown fat, passive and impotent from colonial scraps. Not even a genocide can move them now.
In an interview titled, Arab Regimes and the Betrayal of Palestine, Dr Farah el-Sharif, a scholar of Islamic intellectual history and a visiting scholar at Stanford’s Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies, told Chris Hedges: “The companions of the Prophet Muhammad (s) asked him about the Prophet Abraham (as) and what he stood for, and to tell them about the Abrahamic Scrolls. The Prophet (s) reportedly said, ‘Abraham (as) used to speak like this: ‘O you, wretched, insolent, conceited king. I did not send you to this world to collect worldly benefits. Rather, I sent you to respond to the supplication of the oppressed on my behalf*.'”
Since the Arab and Muslim leadership are deaf to the plea of the Palestinians, a people suffering unconscionably from the worst oppression, a genocide, and kings fail to heed the King of kings, I pray that you and I will.
Written by Professors Aslam Fataar and Imraan Buccus for the Mail & Guardian
Until next week, InshaAllah
P.S. Remember to write weekly to the President
Zaahied Sallie
Author of The Beloved Prophet – An Illustrated Biography in Rhyme
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