From the moment they first slap on the handcuffs, you enter into
what's officially known in legal jargon as an 'adversarial
relationship' with your captors. This continues in the courtroom, and
onwards to prison. Here, guards oppose prisoners, prisoners oppose
other prisoners, and guards sometimes oppose other guards.
This extends to societies, to governments, and to the entire
planet. The world is a series of opposing forces against &
amongst one another.
It extends to the sky above the planet, in which darkness &
light incessantly repel one another at any given place & time.
It extends back in time to the moment Iblis first laid envious
eyes on our father Adam.
It extends inwardly, as opposing forces incessantly battle one
another within you. As you read this, just your blood is caught
between opposing forces such as acidic & basic pH, systolic &
diastolic pressure, glucose & insulin, and others - each hanging
in a delicate balance precise enough to prevent disease.
And it extends all the way to your heart, as as-Sa'di wrote that
"the sound heart is free of shirk, doubt, love of evil, and
insistence on bid'ah & sin. Once you free your heart from these,
you'll automatically possess their opposite: sincere devotion,
knowledge, certainty, love & attraction towards good, a love &
longing consistent with the love of Allah, and a desire consistent
with what has come from Allah."
Ibn Muflih wrote that adversarial relationships are "from Allah's wisdom. It's known that when He tests you, He also helps you: He tests you with disease and helps you with the cure; He tests you with sin and helps you with tawbah; He tests you with filthy spirits (shayatin) and helps you with pure ones (Angels); He tests you with prohibitions and helps you by permitting their opposite."
Your heart is constantly caught between these forces of disease &
cure, as the Prophet (saws) said that "Allah
didn't create a disease except that He created its cure along with
it." In one narration, he added: "Whoever knows it knows
it, and whoever doesn't doesn't."
Allah then scattered those cures about, leaving us to discover
them in the most unlikely places: sunlight hits your skin, causing it
to produce the vitamin D that metabolizes calcium; the vitamin K
needed for your blood to properly clot is produced by bacteria in
your intestines; there's even a commercially available diabetes
treatment originally extracted from the venom of a Gila monster.
The ruling on treating the body's diseases has always been
disputed over by scholars: some practically obligated it, some simply
preferred it, some said it doesn't matter either way, and some
preferred avoiding it altogether in favor of patience. But because
"if it's corrupted, the entire body will be corrupted" in
this world, and everyone is ruined {"except those who come to
Allah with a sound heart"} (26:89) in the next, no such dispute
exists regarding the heart.
So when Mu'adh bin Jabal was asked for advice on his deathbed, he
asked to be sat up and then said three times: "Knowledge &
Iman are in their places. Whoever seeks them will find them." He
was teaching them that like all cures, Allah scattered these about
for them to seek. And they went to the ends of the Earth doing so, as
Masruq once travelled to Basrah seeking the meaning of a single ayah
of the Qur'an. When he arrived, he was told: "The one who knows
it has gone to Sham." So he rode from southern Iraq all the way
north to Sham and learned it. And 'Ikrimah said: "I spent
fourteen years seeking the name of the man referred to in the ayah
{"and whoever leaves his home migrating to Allah and His
Messenger..."} (4:100) until I finally found it."
These were the best generations of Islam, who saw jahiliyyah as a
disease to eradicate from the world through the Qur'an, {"a cure
for what is in the hearts..."} (10:57) Explaining this, as-Sa'di
wrote that "the cure of the Qur'an means that it cures the heart
of doubts, ignorance, corrupt ideas, terrible deviance, and
despicable intentions. It contains knowledge that's so certain that
it sweeps away all doubt & ignorance. It contains lessons that
sweep away every desire contradicting Allah's commands. And it
contains a cure for the body's pains & ailments."
Before him, ash-Shawkani wrote that it's a cure "because from
it, you obtain the proper beliefs while seeing how baseless the false
ones are." Elsewhere, he wrote that "the scholars have two
opinions regarding how it cures. Some said that it cures the heart by
sweeping away ignorance & doubt and uncovering the matters that
teach us about Allah. Others said that it cures physical ailments as
a ruqyah, a means of protection, etc. There's no reason why we can't
accept both meanings."
Before him, Ibn Kathir wrote that "it sweeps away the
diseases of the heart such as doubt, nifaq, shirk, confusion, and
inclination towards falsehood. The Qur'an cures all of that. It's
also a mercy from which you obtain Iman & wisdom & a desire
for good. But this only applies to those who believe in & follow
it - only for them is it a cure & mercy. As for the kafir who
wrongs himself, listening to the Qur'an will only distance him and
increase his kufr. The problem lies within the kafir, not the
Qur'an."
Many claimants to Islam today reverse that last sentence, showing
a willingness to abrogate as much of the Qur'an as they think will
satisfy their masters, who until today demand that we {"bring a
Qur'an other than this, or alter it."} (10:15)
Indeed, every cure is opposed by a disease. But despite the forces
coalesced against it, the Qur'an will never be altered, Allah has
scattered it into the most unlikely places, and He's made it easier
than ever to learn. The Salaf would spend years and travel up &
down continents seeking out a single piece of knowledge you can now
instantly access from your smartphone. Even in prison - in a land
'Ikrimah didn't know existed - it took me seconds to find in a book
the answer he'd spent fourteen years seeking: Damrah bin Jundub. He
was an elderly man living in Makkah when he heard the ayah
threatening those who choose to live amongst the enemy. So he told
his sons: "Carry me! I'm not weak, and I can find my way. I
won't spend another night in Makkah!" So they carried him and
headed to Madinah. But on the way, he realized that he was about to
die. So he grabbed one hand with the other while saying: "O
Allah! This bay'ah is to You, and the other is to Your Messenger."
He died before he could reach the Dawlah in Madinah, but while trying
his best to implement the Qur'an.
May Allah be pleased with him & everyone like him... Indeed,
as one hadith states, "for the one who recites & implements
the Qur'an, it's like a pouch filled with musk that spreads its
fragrance everywhere."
Ibn al-Qayyim wrote that "fragrances nourish the soul, which
is the vehicle of your energy. They expand this energy, benefit the
head & internal organs, and bring joy to the heart & soul.
They're the best thing for the spirit and illuminate it more than
anything else." Anatomy & physiology confirm this,
explaining that what you smell is directly connected to how you feel
because olfactory receptors at the top of your nasal cavity absorb
scents, then convert them into nerve impulses that are carried to the
limbic system - the part of the brain governing your emotions.
This effect made fragrances one of few things of the dunya beloved
to the Prophet. And like all cures, Allah scattered them about, such
that musk is obtained from a musk deer's abdomen, 'ambar (ambergris)
from a sperm whale's intestines, 'ud (aloe wood) & kafur
(camphor) from their respective plants, and so on.
And because every cure is opposed by a disease, Ibn al-Qayyim
wrote that "fragrances possess a special quality: they're loved
by the Angels and detested by the shayatin. The shayatin love
repugnant odors more than anything else, as every soul inclines
towards what suits it." This is why prior to their contact with
Muslims, the Crusaders had an aversion to smelling good. In a chapter
on the Crusades in his 'History of the World,' J.M. Roberts wrote
that "wherever they encountered Islam, whether in the crusading
lands, Sicily or Spain, western Europeans found things to admire.
Sometimes they took up luxuries not to be found at home: silk
clothes, the use of perfumes and new dishes. One habit acquired by
some crusaders was that of taking more frequent baths."
Defeating the Crusaders in Sham was itself a cure that served to
{"heal the chests of a believing people and remove the fury in
their hearts..."} (9:14-15) Commenting on this, as-Sa'di wrote
that "this is because their hearts are filled with fury &
sadness from seeing these enemies wage war on Allah & His
Messenger while striving to put out His light, and these are cured
when they're fought & killed. This shows how much Allah loves &
cares for the believers, such that He made healing their hearts and
removing their fury an objective of the Shari'ah."
Just as this objective is met through bara', it's also met through
wala', as Imam Ahmad said that "I never heard anything that
strengthened my heart & reassured me during the Mihnah more than
what a poor, blind man said to me: "O Ahmad! If you die, you die
as a shahid. If you live, you live worthy of praise.""
Allah has scattered such people throughout your life. Like every
cure, you encounter them in the most unlikely of settings. They
somehow float into your orbit, affect you, then vanish, as the
Prophet (saws) said that "souls are conscripted soldiers: the similar
attract one another, and the different repel one another."
And like every cure, this wala' is opposed by a disease that Ibn
al-Jawzi warned about: "If you find yourself repelled by the
righteous or attracted to the wicked, find the cause of this and
remedy it so that you don't end up in the wrong group of souls."
The effects of the bonds you form in this life extend all the way
to the next, as al-Hasan al-Basri said: "Befriend as many
believers as you can, because they'll be able to intercede on the Day
of Resurrection."
Only when you reach the Day of Resurrection will you appreciate
this, as you watch everyone else turn on one another: {"Close
friends will become enemies on that day, except the muttaqin."}
(43:67) Commenting on this, ash-Shawkani wrote that "close
friends who loved each other in this life will become enemies once
the Hour begins. Their bonds will be severed, and each will be
worried about himself. This is because they'll find that their
friendships were based on what have now become causes of punishment,
and this will turn them against one another. Allah then exempted the
muttaqin, who are close friends in this life & the next. They'll
find their friendships to be a cause of good & reward, so these
bonds will remain intact."
Perhaps those who turn on one another in the next life will then
grasp the lesson behind the pattern of opposing forces in this life,
as Ibn al-Qayyim wrote that "when you ponder over the creation
of opposing forces in this world - how they resist & repel &
overpower one another - then Allah's power, wisdom, and perfection in
what He does become perfectly clear to you. You'll realize that He's
unique in His Lordship & Oneness, that He dominates everything,
and that anything can be resisted by an opposing force - except Him."
All the while, those who grasped this from the start will be lined
up to enter Jannah - with no opposition against or amongst them, free
of disease, and displaying the very cures that gave them the sound
hearts to make it to this point, as the Prophet (saws) said that "the
first group to enter Jannah will resemble a full moon (i.e., in
radiance).
They won't spit, blow their noses, or defecate...
They'll be burning 'ud, and their sweat will consist of musk...
No dispute or animosity will exist between them.
Their hearts will be united as if they're a single man.
And they'll be glorifying Allah day & night..."
Written by: Tariq Mehanna
Saturday, the 1st of Ramadan 1438 (28th of May 2017)
Marion CMU
Saturday, the 1st of Ramadan 1438 (28th of May 2017)
Marion CMU
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