WHAT man does in this life is therefore reaped by him in what the Qur’an calls the ‘Akhirah’ that is in the phase of life, that is to come or the ‘hereafter.’
According to the Qur’an, it is life in the ‘hereafter’ that is the real life, but in reality it can also be experienced in this life. The Qur’an is full of admonitions to the believers to treat this life seriously for they will be questioned and their accounts will be audited rigorously, but impartially. We are constantly reminded that this world has not been created in vain. The Qur’an says, “And we created not the heavens and earth and all that is in between them for sport.” (Surah Al-Anbia 21: 16).
There is a serious purpose and design for which this universe and humanity are created. If men are to give a worthwhile account of the way in which they have spent their lives, they must allow the commandments of God to become the decisive norms for regulating their conduct and they must accept the values that have been stressed in the Qur’an for determining the great divide between good and evil. It is this life, which according to the Qur’an is spiritual, for it eventually leads to the realization of the highest state of being of which a man is capable. No wonder it has been said, “By their fruits shall you find it out.”
It is what men do consciously to serve the Lord that counts more than anything else does. Indeed this implies commitment of one, who is a Muslim according to the Qur’an and stands for advancing God’s Law and that of His Prophet (PBUH). “Religion fosters consciousness which functionally aims at inducing believers to transcend their animal nature to reach or acquire a higher kind of life, which the Qur’an puts it as ‘kharun wa abqa’ better and eternal. No wonder then Qur’an calls itself by yet another name ‘al Furqan’ literally meaning discernment for the good reason that here revelation is geared to the master purpose of showing the difference between good and evil, so that the correct choices can be made,” writes K. Brohi
“To die to the ego is about a divine exchange,” says Jamal ur -Rahman. We give up attachment to our little self in exchange for the Higher Self. We make a commitment to be attentive to the desire of the Beloved and not the ego. To die to one’s ego is not just a struggle on one level, but an opening to a higher level. This commitment to the Beloved was already made by our souls in the pre-eternal realms. The Qur’an talks about ‘Alast ‘the primordial covenant between God and mankind as yet unborn, i.e. before souls descended to earth in the form of humans. Thus, we had surrendered our soul to the Beloved before our earthly existence. Our work on earth is to bring this state of surrender into consciousness and to live by it. Finally, we reach a stage in our life, where the following words of the Qur’an resonate deep inside of us-
Allah asked, “Am I not your Lord?“ Our souls responded. “Yes! Yes! We testify…We testify.” (Sıırah Al-A’raf 7:172).” So encoded in us is a yearning to know our Sustainer. Our work on earth is to bring this state of surrender into consciousness and to live according to the Commandments of ‘Allah Subhanahu wa Taala’ so that we can feel the glow of His presence and we reach a stage in our life, where the words of the Qur’an resonate deep inside of us. “Indeed, my prayer, my sacrifice, my life and my death are for God, who hath no comparison, this I have been commanded to accept and submit to and this I do and so I am the first to submit.” (Surah Al-Anam: 162,163).
Rumi says, “What an amazing exchange this surrender is, who indeed should be so fortunate, an Ocean wooing a drop. In God’s name sell and buy at once. Give a drop and take this sea full of pearls. Can you find another market like this? Where for one rose, you can buy hundreds of rose gardens? For one weak breath, the divine wind?” In the process of this divine exchange comes a deep knowing that God is lovingly mindful of our minutest needs and that we are the obstacles in the way. Less and less, we feel the need for control as we relax into the embrace of God and feel a peace that cannot be described in words. In a Hadith Qudsi Allah says of His servant in this state of submission: – “When I love him, I am the hearing by which he hears, the sight by which he sees, the hand with which he grasps and the foot with which he walks. Were he to ask (something) of Me, I would surely give it to him. And were he to ask Me for refuge, I would grant it. Hadith Qudsi
The Qur’an says believers will experience a relationship of love with God. They will turn to God in love and God will turn to them in love. Qur’an talks of mercy, compassion, forgiveness, kindness, beneficence, warmth and generosity normally associated with God are freely given to all mankind. To receive it, we must open ourselves to receive all these things. It is always there, but unless we open ourselves and have a relationship of love with God, we will not receive it. Bayazid says, “At his insistence I asked Him from Him and prayed to Him that He might keep me near Him and away from the persons and things of the world and everything non-God and alien from Him. Thereupon, He conceded His Grace and I entered the place of Divine Unity ‘Tauhid’ where I was told that thenceforward my will shall be His. I have entered a life that knows no death and my existence is eternal.” —To be continued
—The writer is author of six books including “Islamic Spirituality and Mysticism, the Path and destination’ & ‘The Philosophy of Rumi and its relevance in the Present Times.
