Ramadan Reflections 2016: Day 26 – 30

“And He will admit them to Paradise, which He has made known to them.” [Muhammad 47: 6]

One of the things about Jannah that we don’t realise is the striking familiarity that it will carry. You have never seen Jannah and it will be nothing like the earth but somehow you will know it, and it will feel so comfortable and familiar, like it’s a part of you and your existence – it’s your Home that you’re coming back to. This why Allah calls it Dar al-Salam; the Home of Peace, because a Dar (home) is a place you always return to after some absence.

Some of the scholars said that the verse also has another meaning… the word ‘arrafa which is translated as being ‘known’ can also mean ‘to be fragranced’. Now, if you’re anything like me, your face probably just lit up. I *love* nice smells. If you ever want to gift me, buy me something that smells amazing and I will love you to the moon and back 😀 Now imagine Paradise… wherever you go there’ll be beautiful scents – not the type that annoys you or gives you a headache or sets off your allergies, but the type that hits the right senses and lifts you off your feet. Paradise – it doesn’t just look good, cozy, and familiar, but it smells good too.

The juz then ends by describing the people of Paradise, and Allah says that before entering it, they were Muhsinin – people who made effort to reach a level of righteousness in their faith. But what is that? Well, what unfolds next is a description:

– They used to sleep a little by night, i.e. they devoted some of the night to worship

– In the early morning they were found seeking forgiveness, i.e they weren’t perfect and they recognised that through humble worship

– They dedicated a portion of their wealth to the beggar and the deprived, i.e. they sacrificed and they realised that life was not just about them

– They were attentive to the Signs of Allah on earth, and the Signs within themselves.

And whatever is described in the Qur’an has a purpose. It is our hope to live up to these descriptions insha’Allah! May Allah bless everyone reading this with a beautiful home in Paradise, and may we all meet there, ameen.

I honestly don’t know where to start with this Juz. It’s an absolutely fascinating Juz. But I’ll just take one verse:

“…The Monasticism which they invented for themselves, We did not prescribe it for them, but they sought it only to please Allah. However, they did not observe it properly…” [al-Hadid 57: 27]

The reason I chose this verse is because it deals with a deal-breaker. You see, this entire Juz 27 is a Juz of BALANCE. It mentions the Mizan (scale, balance) numerous times unlike any other Juz in the Qur’an, and there is a heavy call towards it. Incredibly, if you look at the middle of the Juz, you find these verses:

“And the heaven He raised and imposed the balance.
So that you don’t transgress the balance.
And establish weight with justice and fall not short in the balance.”
[al-Rahman 55: 7-9]

Yep. Bang in the middle, at the very *core* of a passage dealing with Balance, you have 3 great verses of balance, subhan’Allah. Allah placed the universe and our existence into harmony and cohesion; the skies have a balance, the earth has one too. So don’t upset this balance. Hence it’s categorically haram (unlawful) to cheat and deceive, to kill or harm, to corrupt or cause corruption, to go off the middle path – all this transgresses the Balance.

Then interestingly, at the end of the passage – towards the *extremity* of the Juz – is the verse I mentioned. Allah tells us of people who also transgressed the balance – but out of love and goodness. Can that happen? Of course, and it has happened many times. The message here is that even within our Islam and our faith, we shouldn’t upset the balance that Allah has set. We ought to be moderate, follow the middle path of the Sunnah, and not go off on a tangent because of our ‘love’ for God, or our ‘black and white’ approach, or our insistence on one aspect of Shari’ah (which throws the rest out of equilibrium), or our obsession with scholars or figures or Imams, or our love/hatred for this or that… Don’t hit the extremities because there’s a fine line located there between being IN or OUT. Allah hasn’t written certain things upon us, so let’s not start scribbling now. The extremities are the boundaries of God, and the faithful have longed feared approaching them.

“O you who believe, fear Allah, and let every soul look to what it has put forth for tomorrow…” [Al-Hashr 59: 18]

This Dunya (worldly life) is said to be an illusion because it’s constantly making you run after something – like a mirage hiding behind the sand dunes. When you’re young you are preoccupied with studies and you just can’t wait to leave school or graduate. Then it makes you chase a job or a marriage. Then it’s children or buying a home. Then it’s something else; another point of the Dunya to run after, until you’ve used up all the numbered days that you were given on earth. Where’s the time to look at what you’ve sent for beyond this world?

Let each *soul* look to the Hereafter. A person may not always recognise or even appreciate the world to come, but every soul within each of us knows it, because souls are not from this world. So allow yourself to pause briefly at least once a day and consider for just one moment, the stores that you have in the Hereafter. What are they, and what are they filled with? Give yourself the courage to fill it just as you fill your worldly life here. The last thing we want is to be taken in by the constant bombardment of the world, leaving our stores in the Hereafter bereft and neglected.

“And be not like those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves (their Akhirah)…” [59: 19]

“Except those who pray…” [al-Ma’arij 70: 22]

There’s something so special about the Salah (prayer), so powerful about its effects. It’s spread throughout the day for a reason, and one of those reasons is to bring you back to a state of balance and goodness – a state where you can develop control and strength.

Allah `azza wa jall tells us that Man was created restless and anxious [70: 19]. We are worrisome beings, our emotions get the better of us almost on a daily basis, and we can find it difficult to be fully in control. When hard times come, we’re sad and impatient, and when good times come, we’re niggardly and proud. But Allah says, ‘Except those who pray’. Subhan’Allah, what is it about the prayer that has this effect?

It’s a connection to Allah which moves the human being into a realm and a state other than the unstable one mentioned above – five times a day, until it becomes easy for us to adopt the gifts of Salah. It elevates a person and helps him or her control the base emotions that we are all created with. It gives us focus, forces us to adopt patience, allows our soul to progress to higher levels, and cleanses us from the bad effects of our surroundings. Most of all, it slowly gives us control over ourselves and our actions. This is why Allah said elsewhere in the Qur’an, “Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing…” [al-‘Ankabut 29: 45] It doesn’t just stop evil from reaching us, but it gives us the tools and the frame of mind, heart, and soul to say ‘No’ to evil or sins and take a different path in life.

No matter what happens to you in life, and no matter where you go in life, never let go of your prayers. Keep them up – all 5 of them. You have no idea what it’s doing for you, your soul, your character, your life in this world and the Next to come.

“A soul will then know what it has put forth and kept back.” [Al-Infitar 82: 5]

The style of the Qur’an and its language never fails to amaze me, subhan’Allah. Before this verse, there is a series of events that we’re told of – all to do with the explosive scenes of the Day of resurrection. But look carefully at how Allah describes these scenes, because they tell a secret of how the Judgement will be on that Day…

‘When the sky is split open
And the stars are scattered apart
And the seas are erupted
And the graves are turned inside out’

…It is then that every soul will know its true actions. Did you notice how the above descriptions are all focused on bringing out the core and extracting what is within? The sky splits open because to get to a core you must split the outer. The stars scatter apart to unveil what lies behind them. The seas erupt to force out their contents. The graves overturn to throw out their hidden burials. The Day of Judgement is all about extraction – bringing out truths, getting to the core of what’s real, and removing all ambiguity, lies, and excuses. It is about everything you’ve ever hidden coming to the surface – unless Allah, the Sitteer, covers them for you.

This theme is repeated in this last Juz of the Qur’an, and Allah says that it is; “The Day when secrets will be put on trial.” [al-Tariq 86: 9] and it’s a Day when Man will remember all that he strove for [79: 35] – because it’s the things we mostly hide that we end up suddenly ‘remembering’ at the point of desperation.

But for the gentle, kind, and righteous soul, this unveiling of the heart and our hidden affairs can bring a smile. See, I know many of you have healed silently from a wound to the heart caused by betrayals or hurt or oppression; you bore patience over a tragedy. I know many of you have hidden fears that no-one knew of and you overcame them. I know some of you have battled yourselves to overcome desires or the temptation to sin, and I know some of you have taken the painstaking journey to forgive someone, or to stay calm amidst your anger, or to bite your tongue when you wanted to lash back. The skies of your inner self will split open to reveal these sacrifices of yours, and the seas of your heart will erupt to tell this news to the Lord of the Worlds.