The universal law is that until
our thoughts with all their abilities and concentration do not find a focal
point, and do not stay still on that one point, we remain ignorant of the real
meaning and understanding of that point. Whenever we do something with mental
anxiety and the entering of foreign thoughts, the proper result is not
achieved. As a matter of fact it is the attribute and the meaning of the
attribute inside any thing that brings together the result. For example, water
can quench thirst because the attribute of water is to irrigate dry veins. Fire
can cook food because the attribute of fire is to use its heat and intensity to
make food edible and digestible. Until the attribute and meaning of a thing
does not enter our mind we cannot take advantage of that thing.
If we pay attention to the
wisdom and meaning of Salāt (Prayer) we come to conclude that Prayer is
a sure and true method of getting close to and to and getting to know Allah.
But to get close to or to get to know something is not possible until one is
fully focused and attentive towards that thing. Until one does not absorb
himself within the meaning of something he cannot become familiar with the
essence of that thing. To become absorbed within the meaning is only possible
when every angle of the intellect, perception, and thinking is focused upon the
one point. In another words, to get to know the reality of something one should
establish a link with that thing, consciously and subconsciously. In life
whatever movement or whatever thing one may be doing, mentally one's full
attention should stay attentive towards finding the meaning of that thing. This
is the same thinking approach with operates within the holy prophets. They
wilfully and naturally turn their attention towards Allah in every action and
deed. In their minds it is well established that their every action is for
Allah. This is the thinking approach that the holy prophets have preached about
and persuaded the whole of mankind to take on, and the same thinking approach
that they themselves have spent their whole lives with.
A Programme for the
Descendants (Umat)
It is evident from the Holy
Qur‘ān and the other three books which have come to us through revelation that
man has no prestige or status of his own. Allah tells us:-
‗You listen through My hearing,
see through My sight, think through My thought. Your coming is from Us and to
Us you will return. Allah encircles everything. He is the Beginning, and He is
the End. He is the Manifested, and He is the Hidden. Where you are one, the
second is Allah. Where you are two, the third is Allah. It is Allah who gives
birth to you, and provides the sources for your upbringing after birth, and it
is Allah who provides you with food without account‘
Every
prophet devised a programme for his descendants by the order of Allah. All
these programmes have the same fundamental aim which is to establish a link
between man and Allah. The prophets have told us that Allah has created us so
that we get to know Allah and form a mental link with Him that stays firm and
established. May we lay down our life for our beloved Prophet who has
determined a method in the form of Salāt in order to form a link with
Allah. As we have already emphasised previously, by contemplating upon Prayer
it becomes very clear that Prayer contains all life's movements and actions.
Even though these movements and actions are related to the physical body, the
actual purpose of them is to witness Allah and attain intimate knowledge of
Allah.
Adam and Eve
Allah ordered Adam:-
‗O Adam! Reside here in Heaven
with your wife, and eat and drink happily from whereof you like but do not come
near this tree or you shall be amongst the transgressors‘
Until
Adam and Eve did not commit disobedience they enjoyed Allah's blessings in Heaven.
When they committed disobedience the atmosphere of Heaven could not tolerate
them anymore and refused them. They got thrown into the ‗lowest of the low‘
(Earth):
‗And We created man of the best
stature and then We reduced him to the lowest of the low‘ (Sūrah Tīn, 4)
There are two minds operating
within man. One is the heavenly mind; that status of Adam before he committed
disobedience and the other mind is the one that came into existence after
disobedience. Adam, who was given authority by Allah to exercise his free will,
had only one mind operative in him whose characteristic was to spend life in
obedience. When Adam using his choice of free will committed disobedience, a
second mind came into existence which was based upon disobedience. Until Adam
and Eve spent their life within the sphere of the heavenly mind they were free
of time and space restrictions. When they acted against the order of Allah,
time and space restrictions were imposed upon them and the free mind became
imprisoned and confined within difficulties and hardship. To spend life after
becoming restricted in time and space Adam had to devise new methods. For
example, in order to fulfil the demand of hunger and thirst he had to set up a
cultivation system and carry out hard labour. As well as this he had to undergo
a lot of wait, whereas in Heaven there was no such thing as wait. Adam admitted
his mistake to Allah and pleaded for forgiveness. Allah said to Adam:
‗We will be sending our chosen
people who will guide you to the straight path and those who act upon the
guidance of those prophets will be permitted back in their home; Heaven once
again‘
When Adam disobeyed Allah the
lin Adam and Eve
Allah ordered Adam:-
‗O Adam! Reside here in Heaven
with your wife, and eat and drink happily from whereof you like but do not come
near this tree or you shall be amongst the transgressors‘
Until Adam and Eve did not
commit disobedience they enjoyed Allah's blessings in Heaven. When they
committed disobedience the atmosphere of Heaven could not tolerate them anymore
and refused them. They got thrown into the ‗lowest of the low‘ (Earth):
‗And We created man of the best
stature and then We reduced him to the lowest of the low‘ (Sūrah Tīn, 4)
There are two minds operating
within man. One is the heavenly mind; that status of Adam before he committed
disobedience and the other mind is the one that came into existence after
disobedience. Adam, who was given authority by Allah to exercise his free will,
had only one mind operative in him whose characteristic was to spend life in
obedience. When Adam using his choice of free will committed disobedience, a
second mind came into existence which was based upon disobedience. Until Adam
and Eve spent their life within the sphere of the heavenly mind they were free
of time and space restrictions. When they acted against the order of Allah,
time and space restrictions were imposed upon them and the free mind became
imprisoned and confined within difficulties and hardship. To spend life after
becoming restricted in time and space Adam had to devise new methods. For
example, in order to fulfil the demand of hunger and thirst he had to set up a
cultivation system and carry out hard labour. As well as this he had to undergo
a lot of wait, whereas in Heaven there was no such thing as wait. Adam admitted
his mistake to Allah and pleaded for forgiveness. Allah said to Adam:
‗We will be sending our chosen
people who will guide you to the straight path and those who act upon the
guidance of those prophets will be permitted back in their home; Heaven once
again‘
When Adam disobeyed Allah the
link between him and Allah was broken. Because this link was temporarily broken
the heavenly mind refused them. There is an Arabic proverb that says,
‗Everything yearns to return to its source‘. Therefore, to achieve the mind
that is free of time and space restrictions we will have to employ the same
method that we used to lose it. Using our choice of free will we will have to
reject this mind in which we are enclosed within, the mind that caused us to
move away from our liberated mind and lose the link which we had with Allah in
Heaven. To search for this connection and to retain this connection has been
termed as ‗Qiydm Saldt‘ (establishment of Prayer) in the language of the
Qur‘ān. Allah orders us to ‗establish Prayer‘ in other words, to establish a
link and relationship with Allah - such a relationship that stays firm and
established in every state and situation in life.
When we want to achieve
something we usually have to negate ourselves, in other words, give less
importance to ourselves. We also have to sacrifice our time and our mental and
physical health. Success in our mission will be in proportion to this sacrifice
or negation. The more we sacrifice or negate the more success we will achieve.k
between him and Allah was broken. Because this link was temporarily broken the
heavenly mind refused them. There is an Arabic proverb that says, ‗Everything
yearns to return to its source‘. Therefore, to achieve the mind that is free of
time and space restrictions we will have to employ the same method that we used
to lose it. Using our choice of free will we will have to reject this mind in
which we are enclosed within, the mind that caused us to move away from our
liberated mind and lose the link which we had with Allah in Heaven. To search
for this connection and to retain this connection has been termed as ‗Qiydm
Saldt‘ (establishment of Prayer) in the language of the Qur‘ān. Allah
orders us to ‗establish Prayer‘ in other words, to establish a link and
relationship with Allah - such a relationship that stays firm and established
in every state and situation in life.
When we want
to achieve something we usually have to negate ourselves, in other words, give
less importance to ourselves. We also have to sacrifice our time and our mental
and physical health. Success in our mission will be in proportion to this
sacrifice or negation. The more we sacrifice or negate the more success we will
achieve.
