December 19, 2010
COPING WITH FEAR AND GRIEF: An Islamic Approach [Part Two]
Section: WRITINGS | 250 reads
(41)
Freedom from the Self
To be dead to oneself!
To slough off one’s old self and to rise again as a totally new person!
It is the final stage of liberation from the yoke of oppression that life itself imposes on a human being.
It is the last hurdle on the march to freedom from fear and grief – the individual himself or herself.
People in general are willing to sacrifice and overlook a lot of things in this world. But where most people draw the line is themselves.
This is particularly true of those who have been blessed by God with some special gifts, powers, talents or achievements of some kind.
Those who have any self respect or individuality or thinking capacity in them and are not entirely of the kind of deaf, dumb and blind that the Qur’an talks about (2:171).
Yet, often, they choose to end up that way by putting themselves above God Almighty.
In many ways, and frequently, it is they vs. the world. That means, in most instances it is what they think is what really matters.
Right is what they say is right and wrong is what they choose to call wrong.
In a sense, such people are their own gods. They listen to no one but themselves.
It is these kind of self-willed, self-centered, arrogant and self-righteous people about whom the Qur’an s says:
A-Fa-Ra-Ayta Manit-Takhadha Ilaahahoo
Hawaah, wa A-Dallahullahu Alaa Ilmin wa
Khatama Ala Sam-i-hee wa Qalbihee wa
Ja’ala Alaa Basarihee Ghishaawah? (Soorah Al-Jaathiyah).
Don’t you know of the person who set up
his own whim and fancy as his God, and
Allah misled him despite his knowledge and
sealed his ears and heart and placed a
covering on his sight? (45:23)
Yet, the problem is quite a common one. All of us are in that same predicament in one way or another and to one degree or another.
Self-worship in some form is a common human ailment. Which one of us does not crave power, position, wealth, name, fame, personal glory, status? For, that is how the human self makes its stand in this world.
Therefore at this stage, the only way for people out of a quagmire of fear and grief is to die yet another death.
Those who seek real peace and security at this stage, and real freedom from fear and grief, must cross this last hurdle and say goodbye to themselves – to their own self – and go through yet another level of dying.
Death from self is the last stage of death for those who know the secret of not only life but also of death.
It is also the hardest one to attain.
Human hearts cannot contain two masters – oneself and Allah.
It is like putting two swords in a scabbard. One of them must go.
A person must realize that he in himself is the biggest obstacle in his effort to get to Allah; in his effort to be free from fear and grief.
The livelier and more robust his self, and the more passionate and aggressive his commitment to meeting the needs of his self and ego, the more difficult and arduous his journey is to Allah.
Therefore, he must be dead to himself before he has any hope of reaching Allah.
Such a person should not see himself as the one in existence or as the one at the center of any action or event.
Such a person cannot claim any credit for any good deeds, accomplishments and gains.
Nor should he break his heart and become hopeless over any losses and hurts, injuries and deprivations.
He must be dead to all of them.
Nor can such a person do anything for personal gain or glory; nor should he run from doing anything for fear of personal loss or dishonor.
He must do what he must, and avoid what he must, only because it is purely and completely for Allah’s sake and not for his own.
He must subdue and slaughter his self and trample on it, till he is left in a state of complete selflessness.
He must annihilate and obliterate his self and rise to live in Allah.
These are the stages of Fanaa and Baqaa – annihilation and survival, death and life, respectively – and they both must happen in and through and for Allah.
When a person has died these four deaths successfully, he is put on the way to finding life – true and eternal life, which is an entirely different story.
Such a person is dead to himself and is alive in and through and for Allah. That person now is nothing but an instrument of Allah on earth.
In such life, there is no room for fear or grief.
All that is left for him is eternal friendship with Allah and a life of rejoicing in Allah’s glory.
In such a state of perfect bliss and felicity – the final fulfillment of which is paradise and nearness to God – the greeting of those who have made it is Salam and their last assertion is all glory be to Allah the master of the worlds (10:10).
Tahiyyatuhum Feehaa Salaam wa Aakhiru
Da’waahum Feeha Anil-Hamdulillahi
Rabbil Aalameen (Soorah Yoonus).
These are people with whom Allah is pleased and in turn they are pleased with Allah. And that indeed is the great success (5:119).
Radiyallahu Anhum wa Radoo Anhu.
Dhaalikal Fauzul ‘Azeem (Soorah Al-
Maa-i-dah).
These are the people who have mastered fear and grief in all their forms.
(42)
Testimony of a Believer
Now hear a Muslim, from several hundred years ago, speak about his own state of fearlessness and freedom from grief!
See how his words capture and reflect this state of true liberation of the mind and perfect equilibrium of the soul in his life!
This is what he said to his friends, students and admirers, when he was faced with all kinds of adversities, when both his life and liberty were at stake.
Ana Jannatee.
Bustaanee Fee Sadree …
Maa dhaa Yaf’aloona Bee?
Sijnee Khalwah,
Jalaa-ee Siyaahah,
Wa Qatlee Shahadah!
Maa dhaa Yaf’aloona Bee?
Which in paraphrase means:
I am my own paradise!
My garden of joy is in my breast.
What can anyone do to me?
Prison to me is solitude.
Exile is nothing but sightseeing.
It is pure martyrdom!
How can anyone hurt me?
This is what that wonderful believer had to say, right when he was faced by all kinds of challenges that threatened his life and liberty.
That, finally, is the mother’s milk of freedom from fear and grief that believers thrive on: a firm and unshakable belief in God and a steady mindfulness of his presence and power (10:63).
Al-Ladheena Aamanoo wa Kaanoo Yattaqoon
(Soorah Yoonus).
That is how they conquer fear and grief.
Carrying your paradise in your own pocket? If this is not conquering fear, grief and sorrow, what is?
And if this is not the soaring of the human spirit to a state of true liberation and perfect equilibrium, what is?
What indeed can anyone do to anyone like that?
That person is untouchable!
END
© 2003 Syed Husain Pasha
2003
No part of this book may be reproduced or duplicated for
commercial purposes without the author’s express permission.
Dr. Pasha is an educator and scholar of exceptional
talent, training and experience. He can be reached at DrSyedPasha [at]
AOL [dot] com or www.IslamicSolutions.com.
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