Journey of a Sufi

‘Think thy neighbor as thy thyself’ is the scriptural saying. Our holy Prophet(pbuh) has again and again emphasized the good relations to be maintained with neighbors; to take them as your own kith and kin. This is possible only when we are friendly, forgiving and compromising in nature, it is not as though our neighbor also is of that nature. It seldom happens and one is placed in a very difficult situation particularly in congested localities and tenements, where the neighbors are required to share the common facilities. The acute shortage of water supply to tenements would be a bone of contention. Like wise the privacy is invaded by neighbors and much of our private affairs come to the knowledge of the neighbors. Like wise their affairs also come to our knowledge. Hence these private affairs should not be disclosed to any one. One should not pry on the affairs of our neighbors and keep our eyes and ears shut on any untoward happenings. It is only then good neighborly relations can be maintained. Creating noise pollution by switching on TV, radio at high pitch. Talking loudly ruins good neighborly relations. Rearing pets should also not cause annoyance and nuisance to neighbors. When you enter a neighbor’s house alert them by ring the bell and saluting and ‘salaaming’ them.

Neighbors can become best of friends or worst of enemies. Maintaining good relationship with humility, tolerance and goodness is a great strength than any weakness. Many an one pick up quarrels, dissentions on very petty and minor issues escalating into quarrels, and long standing misunderstanding ruining relationship and many more neighbors joining issues. Sometimes the matter takes a law and order situation leading to interference of police and courts. This can add up to the mounting tension in the personal life thus ruining health, happiness and joy in life.

Neighbors have rights that is right of way, right of air, water, parking facility besides having right of privacy. These are fundamental rules and its observation is a must for maintaining good and healthy relationship in the neighborhood. Only when good neighborly relationships are maintained, brotherhood and peace is cultivated and nurtured; which is the aim of Islam.

Millions of graces are being bestowed and granted on the humanity from the time of his creation by the Lord Almighty. From the stage of simple cart wheel to the present Nano technology and space age, man has been creative and Lord has bestowed on him innumerable and umpteen Graces and benefits. Man has to be ever eternal grateful and thankful for all the benefits he is reaping in multiple fields. More and more comforts and joys are in store for him. At the same time mankind faces turmoils, sufferings, troubles and pain. For which mankind has to show forbearance and patience. Many millions suffer while millions enjoy all the pleasures and joys. The living of man on this planet appears to be a paradox, a game of chance and chess, dice and of snake and ladder. A feeling of injustice creeps in the mind and man feels desolate, dejected and unhappy. It is during this period of agony, man is commanded by Lord Almighty to exert in patience and be steadfast in his worship to Him with out grouse, grievance and complain for ever and ever. To be submissive and totally surrender than to complain of his woes pain and suffering. Almighty Lord has laid a duty on well to do and fortunate people to show mercy and always be in service of the unfortunates and sufferers. Life for both well to do people and for those who are in suffering and are in pain is a test and examination. The agnostics, atheist and unbelievers find many reasons to complain of injustices but those who are surrendered to the Lord’s will show their patience and work for ever lasting goodness. Their primary concern is faith (iman).Ihsan (gratitude and thankfulness) and Yakeen(certitude). It is the strong reliance (tawakul) on the Lord which is the engine for the ship to sail through the turbulent sea of life; coupled by strong faith (Iman) and Yakeen (certitude) and a feeling that God provides the subsistence at all times and always and totally relies on the Lord with gratitude with out any complains, woes or grievance by total submission to Lord with gratitude (Ihsan) always and for ever. This is the way to achieve “as-sakina’, peace and tranquility to the soul.

Life is not always a bed of roses.

It is a complex, perplexing, complicated and full of riddles. From birth to death one is faced with umpteen rules and regulations, customs, traditions, etiquette’s and manners et all. We are what we are, as we are brought up by our family traditions, environment, schooling and our cultural background. Often we are not aware as to how to conduct in a particular situation or in a new surrounding or in a new place unaware of the mores, rules and traditions of that place. Each day calls for caution, care and presence of mind from morning till evening. A little forgetfulness or negligence may cause harm, annoyance or hurt to another and we may have to face its consequence and pay the fine and penalty. Fines and penalties have been fixed by societal norms to remind us of our duties, obligations and care to be taken by us in our actions. Failure brings us to the doorstep of fines and penalties. There are so many religious rules and laws calling for strict observance. Failure to comply will call for penal action. Forgetfulness and unconsciously not performing or plea of good intention is no excuse. If you forget to perform ‘wazu’ for ‘namaz’ and perform the namaz , it is not accepted, you need to repeat it again by performing ‘wazu’. If you fail to keep the obligatory ‘roza’ – fasting, you need to keep it after the month of ramzan or feed the poor. For every non performance of regular mandatory duties, penal provisions have been carved out, be it forgetting to take your daily bus pass, identity card, tickets or simply not tying up your ferocious dog, which has bitten a stranger. In order to avoid facing severe penal actions due to negligence, forgetfulness, absence of mind, there are several remedies suggested by either law itself or by mantras created by modern management techniques. All & every law enacting agency cautions due care to be taken before performing any action. Sometimes forgetting to wish elders, passer bys, and men in authority brings displeasure and you are sure to be called discourteous and rude. To avoid penalties to enter into your life daily or even once, you need to practice being a stricter with observation of rules and to acquire knowledge. You need to be meditative and conscious all the time. You need to regulate your inner urges, temper, manners and conduct by regular practice and regimentation. Despite every care in our lives yet we pay heavily for our wrong actions performed innocently, unintentionally or by any innocuous action. We need to temper ourselves and adopt a posture of forgiveness, compassion and be kind to others in our daily life than be ‘shylock like” to seek “the pound of flesh”, for we may face another Shylock round the corner who demands from us “his pound of flesh”. Both religious and parliamentary laws calls for compounding and compromising disputes in some circumstances while in may cases punishment, fines and penalties are severely imposed for our wrong action committed intentionally or not.

When you truly and sincerely turn towards Almighty Allah after repenting on all your past sins and wrong actions, Allah truly pardons the sins of the repentant sinner. This, Allah assures ‘Momineens’ and ‘Muslemeens’ in the Holy Quran again and again. The ‘Kalima’, ‘Laillaha illah’ – “there is no god but Allah”, when recited, should be with single minded devotion and certainty of faith; that you have turned away truly and sincerely from all that is other than Allah, from the idol worship of every kind and nature, false deities both in the mind, heart and spirit. It is the turning away not only from the myths and mythologies but also from the sins of the heart like worshiping the pleasures of the world, of aggrandizement of wealth, covetousness, lust, greed, jealousy, hatred, suspicion and all other negative feelings and that you have adopted the true worship of Allah with deep devotion by total surrender and submission to His commands and laws. The love of the Lord Almighty for achieving ‘As Sakina’ of the heart and ‘Qalb-e-Saleem’, pure heart, should be with certainty of faith. You should feel that the Lord’s mercy, clemency and compassion has surrounded you and that you have truly become humble, simple and sublime, that you have reached the truth and shunned falsehood. Only then, Holy Quran assures the faithful that Islam has entered your heart and soul.

A true Musalmaan is a gifted person with enormous large heart, always kind, compassionate, loving and forgiving. A true Musalmaan is truly peaceful in all his behaviour, actions and deeds. He does not indulge in bickering, backstabbing, slander, mudslinging, jealousy, hatred and suspicion instead adopts a posture of patience, fortitude and total surrender to the almighty Allah. He believes that he is guided by Allah, by His commands and therefore acquires the knowledge of ‘Sunna’ and perfects himself in terms of the precepts of Holy Prophet (PBUH), his companions and saints. He follows the footsteps of the ‘Saliheens, ‘Sadiqueens’ and ‘Shuheda’, those who are doing good deeds, the truthful and those who bear witness to the unity of God hood. The life of a true follower is indeed a blessed one, as he joins the ranks of ‘Mutaqueens’ , the awe inspired ones, ‘Shakireens’ and ‘Sabireens’, the contented and the patient.

In Chile, Southern America, 33 miners were trapped 2000 feet in the bowels of the earth for about 60 days. Through bored tubes, food and oxygen was supplied. In the poorly-lit dark bowels of the earth, the miners faced untold hardship, hunger and fear which kept them in the jaws of death. But they did not lose hope and looked for divine help.

The entire nation prayed for them, so also the entire humanity. Every moment was a moment of trial and test for the near and dear ones. The human ingenuity worked overtime. The wonders of science and technology were brought to best use. A capsule was designed at jet speed, a separate bore was drilled and the capsule to enclose one single individual was slowly and steadily lowered to the spot where the miners were trapped. One by one, the trapped miners were steadily lifted to face the light of the day. The whole nation erupted in joy and thanksgiving to the Lord. This rescue operation and the miners’ prayers and struggle for survival was possible by sheer grit and determination. This grit and determination to overcome the toughest trials and ordeals is ingrained not only in humans, but in all the living world. Nature places toughest tests to living beings for survival and the living being overcomes the same with grit and determination.

When fish and birds migrate from the coldest arctic regions during the toughest winter seasons to more warmer regions, they swim and fly continuously over a range of thousands of miles without food and water. It is their grit and determination to survive that makes their migration possible.

Human beings from antiquity have been migrating from place to place on the face of the earth in search of pastures, food and to make better homes.

Farmers survive the toughest weather conditions and face nature’s wrath now and then, but they do not lose hope and build again their lives on lost edifice. Natural calamities like floods, tsunami, drought and earthquakes bring untold hardship and suffering to humanity, but they are ingrained with the capacity to survive and fight all the odds of nature and man-made calamities. Extremes of poverty make man live in sub-human conditions. Workers of various hues spend hours and hours to carry out the chores of life. They face enormous heat before burning furnaces, melting ovens, iron and other metals, facing risks in their daily lives. Even a humble coolie lifts heavy weights for hours together for a morsel of food.

Several semi-skilled and skilled workers likewise dedicate their lives to help humanity to survive and the wheels of economy keep moving further and further. Astronauts go on space odyssey all alone for days and months fearlessly. Climbers reach the peak of mountains. Divers go to the depth of oceans. It is all in all the will of man not only for adventure, but to seek knowledge and increase the vistas of learning. Scholars burn the midnight oil to master their subjects. So also, engineers, doctors and men of learning in umpteen fields.

Growth is the order of nature and so also to overcome its ordeals, tests and trials. For all these to conquer, grit, determination, hope, strong will power, abundance of patience and a spirit of camaraderie is required. One can be sure of victory when everlasting goodness is the goal of man. Nature has created all the situations for man and also gives the strength to overcome the same and achieve success in all and any of their endeavours.