The company of scholars is to the soul what a bath is to the body: cleansing, calming and refreshing. The intelligence of true scholars, their knowledge, gentleness and Allah consciousness dawns an unexplained and infinite happiness.
Fortunately alhamdulillah, yesterday I had the privilege to sit with a Shaykh Moutasem al-Hameed. MashaAllah, he had the most cheerful of faces, the most kindest of speech and the most largest of hearts. His words and gestures dripped with humility and honesty.
I became unwary and ignorant during these past months in university. I painfully missed the company of scholars until yesterday alhamdulillah, the shaykh reawakened me. Many people know Islam only from books and online articles, but the manner in which scholars explain Islam and the extent to which they deeply analyze Islam is impressive and awe-inspiring.
The scholars are to the people, what the stars are to the earth: a source of guidance and direction. Life without frequently sitting and learning from scholars is a calamity; extinction of imaan and negligence of good deeds. They exhort the deviant to the right path and incline the lost to the right way. If you suffer from a void in your life and an emptiness in your routine, then make a habit to visit the scholars habitually.
Shaykh Moutasem talked about "Faith based intelligence".
It was really cool how he explained that "identity" is from "identity". In order for us to form an honest identity, we need to identify who we are. Who and what is "I"? Our identity is our function in life; it is our dreams, passions and our actions. Allah created human beings to worship Him, وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ So our identity as human beings is based on our function, which is worship. Without worship there would be no "I" or "Me" or "Us".
We value things which have a purpose in our lives. A person in South Africa values the Zulu while Mandarin will probably have no meaning for him. But if he goes to China, all of a sudden knowing Mandarin will become a menas for his survival.
We define our life based upon things which we value. If a person is an athlete, he will value sports so his entire life will revolve around training, practicing, competitions. He will love and hate based on his sports. He will live and die for his sport. Just ask ManU fans what they think about Barcelona. They way they dress, the foods that they eat, the holidays that they plan all reflect their fav. players and match schedules. God forbid if some Muslim from the other team should walk in, he/she will never see the end of the harassment. And if a match is during Salah well the Imaam will just have to wait or pray without the muqtadi.
So shaykh Moutasem was saying how وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ أَندَادًا يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَحُبِّ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِّلَّهِ "And [yet], among the people are those who take other than Allāh as equals [to Him]. They love them as they [should] love Allāh. But those who believe are stronger in love for Allāh." [Qur'an, 2:165] Allah created the sky and the earth, He alternates the night and the day, he sails the ships through the seas, He sends the rain and thereby produces provision and directs the winds and controls the clouds. Allah's favours upon us are endless yet we love others more than Allah because we do not value Allah. We are so ignorant of our true Benefactor and Sustainer that we do not see His real relevance in our lives. It's messed up isn't it? Can humans exist without the sun and the moon? Without air and food? We think we need money to live when in fact Allah assigns a portion of wealth to all of His servants. What we earn is not contingent to excellence, it is predestined by Allah.
Passion derives purpose. In your life, you will go after what you are hungry for. So all of our actions can be traced back to a single motive. The place where you sit in class, the people you talk to, the things you speak about reveal your goals in life. So in order to become better (more practicing Muslims) we need to become passionate about Allah. An intense desire to love and worship Allah will only come when we appraise Allah and appreciate His absolute Majesty and Grandeur.
So what we need as Muslims is a paradigm shift. We need to re-identify ourselves; disengage from all material things and people, and relate ourselves to Allah. That is, to Allah I belong and to Allah I shall return. I live because of Allah, my work and worship is for Allah and I will go back to Allah. Once the self is reconstructed to hunger for Allah's love and approval, the person can reach his potential as a human being both psychologically and physically. But if one chooses a wrong defienition of himself, one that does not include Allah as the focus of his existence, his heart will not have a good time, despite his resources, he will be resentful and remorseful all his life. Think of your soul as a seed which is programed to worship Allah. If you nourish your soul with Qur'an it will grow beautiful but if you intoxicate and poison your soul with the perverted populist culture, you will mess up its programing (natural disposition) to a point where it will not recognize Allah and roll with sins.
Although it is not a sin to eat, sleep, get married and enjoy sports or the company of family members, everything should be placed in it's slot. It shouldn't be that if you are going to eat, your entire day will engulfed in grocery shopping, cooking, setting up the table and dish washing. Same thing when you sleep, it shouldn't be that you are sleeping on hours on end, or your whole life's savings are wasted upon your wedding dress and reception. Muslims who identify themselves as Allah's property, live as Allah as their priority. In everything, Allah is # 1.
MashaAllah Shaykh Moutasem has a wonderful approach on how to take the religion intelligently. Enough with the sheep mentality bakwaas yaara. Do in religion what everyone else is doing, without thinking or reasoning. But split hair over which brand name to buy and which university to go to. Why are so many people leaving Islam? Because we do not know about it enough. We do not value it. So we need to reteach ourselves if we are going to be smart Muslims.
Fortunately alhamdulillah, yesterday I had the privilege to sit with a Shaykh Moutasem al-Hameed. MashaAllah, he had the most cheerful of faces, the most kindest of speech and the most largest of hearts. His words and gestures dripped with humility and honesty.
I became unwary and ignorant during these past months in university. I painfully missed the company of scholars until yesterday alhamdulillah, the shaykh reawakened me. Many people know Islam only from books and online articles, but the manner in which scholars explain Islam and the extent to which they deeply analyze Islam is impressive and awe-inspiring.
The scholars are to the people, what the stars are to the earth: a source of guidance and direction. Life without frequently sitting and learning from scholars is a calamity; extinction of imaan and negligence of good deeds. They exhort the deviant to the right path and incline the lost to the right way. If you suffer from a void in your life and an emptiness in your routine, then make a habit to visit the scholars habitually.
Shaykh Moutasem talked about "Faith based intelligence".
It was really cool how he explained that "identity" is from "identity". In order for us to form an honest identity, we need to identify who we are. Who and what is "I"? Our identity is our function in life; it is our dreams, passions and our actions. Allah created human beings to worship Him, وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ So our identity as human beings is based on our function, which is worship. Without worship there would be no "I" or "Me" or "Us".
We value things which have a purpose in our lives. A person in South Africa values the Zulu while Mandarin will probably have no meaning for him. But if he goes to China, all of a sudden knowing Mandarin will become a menas for his survival.
We define our life based upon things which we value. If a person is an athlete, he will value sports so his entire life will revolve around training, practicing, competitions. He will love and hate based on his sports. He will live and die for his sport. Just ask ManU fans what they think about Barcelona. They way they dress, the foods that they eat, the holidays that they plan all reflect their fav. players and match schedules. God forbid if some Muslim from the other team should walk in, he/she will never see the end of the harassment. And if a match is during Salah well the Imaam will just have to wait or pray without the muqtadi.
So shaykh Moutasem was saying how وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ أَندَادًا يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَحُبِّ اللَّهِ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِّلَّهِ "And [yet], among the people are those who take other than Allāh as equals [to Him]. They love them as they [should] love Allāh. But those who believe are stronger in love for Allāh." [Qur'an, 2:165] Allah created the sky and the earth, He alternates the night and the day, he sails the ships through the seas, He sends the rain and thereby produces provision and directs the winds and controls the clouds. Allah's favours upon us are endless yet we love others more than Allah because we do not value Allah. We are so ignorant of our true Benefactor and Sustainer that we do not see His real relevance in our lives. It's messed up isn't it? Can humans exist without the sun and the moon? Without air and food? We think we need money to live when in fact Allah assigns a portion of wealth to all of His servants. What we earn is not contingent to excellence, it is predestined by Allah.
Passion derives purpose. In your life, you will go after what you are hungry for. So all of our actions can be traced back to a single motive. The place where you sit in class, the people you talk to, the things you speak about reveal your goals in life. So in order to become better (more practicing Muslims) we need to become passionate about Allah. An intense desire to love and worship Allah will only come when we appraise Allah and appreciate His absolute Majesty and Grandeur.
So what we need as Muslims is a paradigm shift. We need to re-identify ourselves; disengage from all material things and people, and relate ourselves to Allah. That is, to Allah I belong and to Allah I shall return. I live because of Allah, my work and worship is for Allah and I will go back to Allah. Once the self is reconstructed to hunger for Allah's love and approval, the person can reach his potential as a human being both psychologically and physically. But if one chooses a wrong defienition of himself, one that does not include Allah as the focus of his existence, his heart will not have a good time, despite his resources, he will be resentful and remorseful all his life. Think of your soul as a seed which is programed to worship Allah. If you nourish your soul with Qur'an it will grow beautiful but if you intoxicate and poison your soul with the perverted populist culture, you will mess up its programing (natural disposition) to a point where it will not recognize Allah and roll with sins.
Although it is not a sin to eat, sleep, get married and enjoy sports or the company of family members, everything should be placed in it's slot. It shouldn't be that if you are going to eat, your entire day will engulfed in grocery shopping, cooking, setting up the table and dish washing. Same thing when you sleep, it shouldn't be that you are sleeping on hours on end, or your whole life's savings are wasted upon your wedding dress and reception. Muslims who identify themselves as Allah's property, live as Allah as their priority. In everything, Allah is # 1.
MashaAllah Shaykh Moutasem has a wonderful approach on how to take the religion intelligently. Enough with the sheep mentality bakwaas yaara. Do in religion what everyone else is doing, without thinking or reasoning. But split hair over which brand name to buy and which university to go to. Why are so many people leaving Islam? Because we do not know about it enough. We do not value it. So we need to reteach ourselves if we are going to be smart Muslims.
I have also had the pleasure to study with Islamic scholars. It is a wondrous joy and a treat. Their explanations are, as you say, have much more depth than any book.
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying your blog! Keep updating often inshallah <3
Ashley C.
Assalamu alaikum :) Such a pleasant surprise to see your comment on my blog. Thank you for reading and posting :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, I find the approach of true scholars, when it comes to teaching Islam, very original and natural. No political jargon or excuses. Just simple and soul-stirring insight to the Qur'an and ahadith. A moment of discussion with them is equivalent to reading ten books.
And I don't mean to exaggerate their praise. Allah says in chapter 3, verse 79وَلَـٰكِن كُونُوا رَبَّانِيِّينَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تُعَلِّمُونَ الْكِتَابَ وَبِمَا كُنتُمْ تَدْرُسُونَ The single, most crucial responsibility of all Prophets and Scholars after them, was to help people come closer to Allah, through studying and learning of the Divine Book. So if any scholar today reminds one of Allah and increase one's to worship Allah and equips one with the Qur'an and teaches one to connect to Allah through the Qur'an, then he is an authentic scholar inshaAllah.
Assalam o Alikum ,
ReplyDeleteMashallah Such a nice work, your post portraits feelings of every knowledge seeker.
May Allah preserver our scholars and May He help us towards His pleasure.
Ameen
Aaisha.
salamunalaikum.
ReplyDeleteIm touched by the truth beaming from your posts.
I Agree with your thoughts and views.The impact and effect of their words coming from deep heart is more, than when we read the same from the book.
Audio/visual means has greater positive impacts on our learning capabilities.
The Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w) said, "....The superiority of the learned man over the devout worshiper is like that of the full moon to the rest of the stars (in brightness). The learned are the heirs of the Prophets who bequeath neither dinar nor dirham but only knowledge; and he who acquires it, has in fact acquired an abundant portion." Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi.
ReplyDelete