Man is a selfish being and he needs to gratify his senses every now and then. Man's motivation is thus self gratification, self protection and self preservation. Islam's main teaching is to surrender fully in total obedience to the will of Allah and to achieve As Sakina, peace and tranquility. Allah has purchased the life and property of the believers, in exchange of the Heaven. Therefore the act of surrender implies total submission and every action of a Muslim is to please the Lord Almighty and His prophet, Muhammad (Pbuh). Every action is performed with purity of mind and heart and the sublime soul does not feel satisfied till it rests in the feeling that the Lord Almighty has been pleased with his actions and has accepted the same. Thus the motivation of the Muslim is not selfish interest to perform his duties at the instance and will of Almighty Allah and His Prophet. He is prepared to accept any worldly loss or injury while performing his actions willingly. A Muslim does not grudge for his worldly or heavenly action as there is no motive or self gratification involved in his actions. A person who has fallen in love does all that is required to be done to please his beloved and any hardship or pain is accepted joyfully, willingly and in good humour. Lovers are two personalities with a single soul. The fragrance of love is so enormous and pleasing that every act of a lover to the other is solely for each other's pleasure. They share their joys and sorrows and do all that is required to be done to keep each other happy and pleasing. So also, a Muslim who is in total surrender and submission is not at all bothered about any hardship he encounters while performing his duties to his Lord Almighty in terms of the holy scriptures and the pleasure of Allah's Prophet. The aspect of fear and its consequences are all eliminated in a Muslim's actions as it is the pleasure of Allah and His Prophet that actually matters. A Muslim has no grievances, grouse or complaint for anything of that which he is not in possession of, for his needs and pleasure are in Allah's blessings and acceptance.
A Muslim has to adopt the virtues of simplicity and humility. He therefore places full reliance (tawakal) on Allah. He praises Lord Almighty by reciting His greatness and praises Allah a million times by repeating constantly His name and virtues.
(The author is editor of Sufi World. He can be reached at internationalsuficentre@gmail.com
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May 2010 |
