By - Alimah Nadia Sadiq Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Alhamdulillah, Allah ta'ala has showered us with a lot of blessings, like our minds, our bodies, our souls our houses, our families, our intellects. One of the amazing blessings we all have is our hearts. Allah ta'ala has blessed all of us with a heart which has emotions, feelings, love, hatred, fears and desires. Being Muslims, our job is to keep a check on all the negative feelings of our hearts and change them to the obedience of Allah ta'ala. The heart is given to us for one purpose, and that is to love Allah ta'ala. I often reflect on the word “Love” in connection to Allah ta'ala, and this word sounds empty and light to me. As Allah ta'ala says in the Quran,
وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِّلَّهِ
“Those who have faith, they have a strong love for Allah.” (2:165)
This “strong love” which I believe a believer should have for Allah ta'ala is his “passion” for Him. Passion is the most powerful emotion which a slave can feel for his Creator; for the one who created him, fashioned him, gave him blessings, showered His mercy on him, and most of all loved him unconditionally. I strongly believe that when we do develop this emotion of passion for Allah ta'ala and for working for His cause, nothing seems difficult anymore. We study in this madrasah (islamic school) and go through a lot of ups and downs in our journey, but once we have this zeal and passion towards it, these slopes and turns do not seem to affect our goal.
As it is said,
“Nothing great in the world has ever been accomplished without passion.”
We being Muslims, should aim for the stars. We should aim for Allah ta'ala, we should have a passion for our final abode. It indeed can be achieved if we are passionate about it.
Being passionate about our work, our studies, the madrasah, the services for it, is actually a part of this passion and zeal towards Allah ta'ala.
The way we can give meaning to our lives is to devote ourselves to Allah ta'ala, drown ourselves in His submission and enslave ourselves to His work. The more intense we feel about it, the deeper it goes in our subconscious and the more easily we are able to direct ourselves to the path to achieve it.
Passion and purpose go hand in hand. When you discover your purpose, you will find yourself being passionate about it. It all starts with having and recognizing a purpose. A strong passion of any object will ensure success and the desire to achieve it, will find the means to it. Hence if we develop a passion of serving Allah ta'ala and His deen, we will never cease to grow. Once we bring the passion of this goal in our heart, a flame burns within. This flames provide us the heat and energy to work for it, and nourishing it with the oil of His love, the flame increases and forms into a fire which breaks all barriers, that might stop us from reaching Him. If we are able to attain this passion, we will not need a master plan to reach Him.
As the Prophet (peace be upon him) said,
“Whoever takes one step towards Allah, Allah comes towards him ten steps.”
As it is said,
“Our passions are the winds that propel our vessel.”
The extreme love for Allah ta'ala makes us need free of everything but Him. We start looking at life with a different angle. Nothing seems important anymore. We eat or stay hungry, we laugh or cry. Our family supports us or not, our focus stays clear and that’s Allah ta'ala.
When one starts drowning in the ocean of love of Allah ta'ala, everything which might take us away from Him is forgotten. Our worries don’t mean anything, as we have just one worry, and that is to drown in this ocean of love.
Dunya main hay ik shor bapa, nafsa nafsee ka alam hay
Hum ishq kay tooofan main gum hain, aur ilm bhee aik sahara hay!
This flood of passion gushing in our heart becomes our destination. People look for safety and we find solace in the flood.
I hope and pray we all can acquire this passion for our Creator, Sustainer, Provider and Helper. I pray that Allah ta'ala picks and choose us to have a worry for His sake. The same worry ignites our hearts which ignited the heart of our beloved Prophet (peace be upon him). The same flame of love and thankfulness burns in our hearts which used to burn in his. When he would cry in the night, it seemed as if the sound of a boiling pot of water was coming from his chest. The same serenity can reside in us, which would enhance his senses when he would utter the name of Allah ta'ala. The same passion could drive us to Allah ta'ala which drove our Prophet (peace be upon him) to his Beloved. When he said,
“If I had to make anyone my friend, it would have been Abu Bakr, but Allah is my friend.”
I wish we are able to find peace and tranquility in all our relationships in just one true friend, Allah!
As Maulana Rumi (may Allah ta'ala have mercy on him) said,
Oh my Beloved,
Take me,
Liberate my soul,
Fill me with your love and Release me from the two worlds.
If I set my heart on anything but you Let fire burn me from inside.
Oh my Beloved,
Take away what I want,
Take away what I do,
Take away what I need,
Take away everything
That takes me away from you.
Poem: Passion of Life
There is no end, there is no beginning,
The passion of my life is to walk a dream.
A dream which makes me whole,
A dream which drives my soul.
My heart desires to find you,
In search of you, it wishes to drown in you.
I take a step towards you, and see you all around me,
I close my eyes and reflect in you, I find you inside me.
The love for you drives my heart,
The passion within ignites a part.
The flame then burns and shows me the way
It makes me feel You, wherever I stay.
My life, my joy, my sorrow and pain,
The flame deep therein always remains.
Nothing matters anymore, nothing remains dear,
The world fades for me, and the dream gets clear,
There is no end, there is no beginning,
The passion of my life is to walk this dream.
May Allah ta'ala accept us all.
Nadia Sadiq
Always in the service of Nur ul Ilm Academy
Tuesday, Mar 18th, 2014 Jamadi Al Awwal 17, 1435
