Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem
By Hazrat Maulana Yunus
Patel (Rahmatullahi ‘Alayh)
AFTER BIRDS ARE HATCHED, they raise their
heads up – often with their beaks wide open, waiting for their food. As
nestlings and fledglings, their gazes are constantly upward. From another
angle, their Taqdeer (destiny) is to fly. They were born to fly. So very
possibly their gazes are also towards the sky anticipating that they will soon
fly high.
When these fledglings have their new
feathers, they emerge from their nest so that they can learn to fly. For some,
their parents or the other adult birds give them flying lessons, teaching them
how to glide in the air, how to land, etc. سُبْحَانَ
الله We see Allah Ta’ala’s Qudrat in all of His creation.
On the other hand, we find that animals such
as cows, donkeys, mules, horses, zebras and others are created in such a way
that they pass most of their lives with their gazes downward, towards the
earth. This is their Taqdeer – to remain on the earth; to graze off the earth.
They will not be flying.
The Muslim who is desirous of gaining the closeness of Allah Ta’ala and
His Rasul ﷺ has the gaze of his heart upward, towards the heavens.
His thoughts and his aspiration are: I
want to reach Allah Ta’ala. I want to reach Jannah.
So his efforts are channeled in the direction
of Allah Ta’ala’s obedience, nurturing Allah Ta’ala’s Love in his heart and
following the beautiful Sunnah of Rasulullah ﷺ. With the guidance and
direction of a Shaykh-e-Kaamil, he learns to fly spiritually. With the wings of
Taqwa, he takes flight from any venue of sin, flying far away from everything
displeasing to his Beloved Allah Ta’ala! By so doing, he gains Allah Ta’ala’s
Qurb (nearness) and Allah Ta’ala’s Pleasure.
As for the one who is only absorbed and
infatuated with this material world, his or her gaze and attention is
constantly directed downward, towards the commodities of this world – on
clothes, shoes, jewellery, cellphones, cars, palatial homes and other material
items. All of which have their origin in sand and all of which will return to
sand. Nothing of Dunya is made to last.
Hazrat Maulana Jalaluddeen Rumi رَحْمَةُ
اللهِ عَلَيْهِ had
explained: “Your hearts are attached to
the things of the world, which have their origin in sand. The women of the
world are created from sand, the homes are of sand and the food is of sand. Everything is of sand. They only appear in
different forms and colours. The end result is also sand.”
Anyone who gives his or her heart to this
world fills the heart with the ‘sand’ of this world. Sand upon sand! Life is
wasted on sand. The mind becomes clouded and blinded by the sand of Dunya and
forgetful of the objective of living in this world.
A person who is deceived by the outward
glitter and glamour passes through life ‘grazing’ upon the things of Dunya,
depriving himself or herself of the wonderful enjoyment of flying high in the
obedience of Allah Ta’ala and striving to earn His Pleasure and Jannah.
We should understand that “Dunya” is that
which makes a person forget Allah Ta’ala – the Giver of all the unlimited
bounties and gifts that we are blessed with. The love of the world
(Hubbud-Dunya) makes a person neglect and even reject the Commandments of Allah
Ta’ala; makes a person distance himself from his Creator and paves the path to
Jahannum. This worldly life was for us to accumulate the provisions for the
Hereafter. The worldly life was not to amass the commodities of Dunya and not
for us to give our hearts and souls to it.
If the heart turns to Allah Ta’ala, we will
find that what is with Allah Ta’ala is best and everlasting!
فَمَآ
أُوْتِيْتُمْ مِّنْ شَيْءٍ فَمَتَاعُ الْحَيٰوةِ الدُّنْيَا ج وَمَا
عِنْدَ اللهِ خَيْرٌ وَّ أَبْقٰى لِلَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا وَعَلٰى رَبِّهِمْ
يَتَوَكَّلُوْنَ ۚ
“Whatever you have been
given, is merely a provision for the transitory life of this world, and
that which is with Allah is better as well as more lasting. That is for
those who have believed and put their trust in their Lord.”
[Surah Ash-Shura 42:36]
بَلْ تُؤْثِرُوْنَ
الْحَيٰوةَ الدُّنْيَا ۖ وَالْاٰخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ
وَّأَبْقٰى ◌
“You prefer the worldly life (to the
Hereafter), whereas the hereafter is best and ever-lasting.”
[Surah al-A'la : 16-17]
The bird eats and drinks and with the strength
that is gained, it flies high. Similarly, the Muslim who wants to fly, who
wants to soar spiritually, eats and drinks and makes use of the material things
of this world so that he may fly. He lives in this world and utilizes the
worldly means. However, despite his apparent association with the earth, he
keeps in mind that he is created for the Aakhirah – which is superior. He
understands that this world is not home. Home is Jannah - Insha-Allah.
Rasulullah ﷺ said: ‘Verily, the world has been created for you and you have been created
for the Hereafter.[1]
From amongst the diversity of birds, let us be
like the falcon which flies high and flies at great speed. And if we become the
royal falcon, we will find a place in the court of the King of kings – Allah
Ta’ala. Let us not be like the vulture that scavenges and feasts off carcasses.
…And, indeed, the world is even more insignificant to Allah Ta’ala than a
carcass is to us.
It has been related that once Rasulullah ﷺ passed by the
market place and came across a dead kid goat (i.e. a baby goat) which had very
short ears. Rasulullah ﷺ held it by its ears and
said: "Who amongst you would like to have this for a Dirham[2]?"
The Sahabah رَضِىَ الله عَنْهُمْ said: “We
would not want it even for less than that! What can we do with it?”
He ﷺ said: "Do you wish
to have it for any price?"
They said: “By Allah, even if it
were alive it, we would not want it, as it has very short ears, let alone now
when it is also dead!”
Rasulullah ﷺ said: "By Allah,
this world is more insignificant to Allah than this (dead goat) is to
you."[3]
In another Hadīth,
Rasulullah ﷺ said: “If
this world was worth the wing of a mosquito in the sight of Allah, He would not
have given a disbeliever a single sip of water.”[4]
May Allah Ta’ala grant us the reality and
insignificance of this worldly life, remove the love of Dunya from our hearts,
and fill our hearts with His Pure Love.
[1] Shu’abul Imaan 10581
[2] Dirham : Silver coin
[3] Sahih Muslim
[4] Tirmidhi
