Assalamualaikum,
Peace be with you and Ramadan Mubarak.
Welcome to the University of Sufism's reading of Rosina Fawzia Al-Rawi's book,
The Call of Allah,
A companion to the holy month of Ramadan.
Today I am sharing day number 24,
Qadr,
Destiny.
The Prophet,
Peace and blessings be upon him,
Said,
Paradise is closer to any of you than the soles of his shoes,
And so is hellfire.
From Quran 23,
Ayat 115.
Did you then think that we created you in mere idle play and that you would not have to return to us?
Allah did not send us from paradise to earth to punish us,
But so that we may acknowledge the blessing that he breathed into us and experience our bond with the eternal.
All trials we face are meant to break the secular hull in which we were wrapped and to recognize in our heart of hearts his glory and his all-encompassing compassion for us.
The story of Adam and Eve enables us to gain a deep understanding of our earthly fate.
What is the meaning of Qadr,
Fate?
Qadr is the fact that Allah knows everything in advance that we do not know until it has happened,
And we then have to deal with it.
We have no influence on Qadr.
The things of Qadr have already been written.
However,
There are some things about us for which we are responsible,
Because Qadr goes together with Qadar and indicates that we make out of our fate Qadar.
Qadar is one of the most difficult questions to fathom for us human beings,
And it can only be held in the heart of a believer.
In order to give you an understanding of it,
I would like to start with our origins.
The story of Iblis and Adam and Eve.
Hawa Iblis was a jinn who had been praying to Allah for thousands of years and whom Allah had elevated.
Then came the time when Allah told the angels.
Quran 2,
Ayah 30 Behold,
I am about to establish upon the earth one who shall inherit it.
Qadrfah The word Qadrfah can mean generation or deputy,
But it can also mean that someone else was in the place which you are now taking.
Quran 2,
Ayah 30 They said,
Wilt thou place it on such as will spread corruption thereon and shed blood?
Whereas it is we who extol thy limitless glory,
And praise thee,
And hallow thy name?
But Qadr answered,
Verily I know that which you do not know.
Quran 2,
Ayah 34 And when We told the angels,
Prostrate yourselves before Adam,
They all prostrated themselves,
Save Iblis,
Who refused and gloried in his arrogance,
And thus he became one of those who deny the truth.
Great honors were bestowed upon Adam,
Just as they had been bestowed on Iblis when he was admitted as a jinn to the celestial crowd.
Yet when Allah asked the angels to prostrate themselves in front of Adam,
He refused.
In Paradise,
Allah ordered Adam and Eve not to come close to a certain tree.
Quran 2,
Ayah 35 O Adam,
Dwell thou and thy wife in this garden,
And eat freely thereof,
Both of you,
Whatever you may wish,
But do not approach this one tree,
Lest you become wrongdoers.
Thereupon Satan whispered to them both,
Intending for them to become conscious of their nakedness,
Of which they had been heedless so far,
And said,
Quran 7,
Ayah 20 Your Sustainer has but forbidden you this tree,
Lest you become as angels,
Or lest you live forever.
Qaladun Once Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree,
Allah said,
Down with you,
Quran 7,
Ayah 24 You must now leave Paradise and go to Earth.
There shall you live.
He added,
And there shall you die,
And thence shall you be brought forth on resurrection day.
Quran 7,
Ayah 25 Adam and Eve could have said,
Allah,
You already had that intention.
Before we ate from the tree,
Therefore it was your plan anyway.
Here is exactly what Iblis told them.
You are living in Paradise,
Jannah,
But Allah plans to send you down to the Earth,
Because only the angels are permanent residents here.
But if you eat from this tree,
You will either become angels,
Or you'll be part of those who are constantly in Jannah,
The Qaladun.
That is why he doesn't want you to eat from this tree.
So do it.
If Allah already knows what is going to happen,
Why is it my fault?
But Adam and Eve did not see it this way.
They did not say,
Allah,
You induced us to make this mistake.
Quran 7,
Ayah 23 The two replied,
O our Sustainer,
We have sinned against ourselves,
And unless Thou grant us forgiveness and bestow Thy mercy upon us,
We shall most certainly be lost.
Both Iblis and Adam were honored,
And both failed.
But what happened after the error was quite different.
Iblis did not consider his deed as a mistake,
And he explained,
I am made of fire,
And I have been praying to You for thousands of years.
I have been here much longer,
And he is only made of clay and mud.
Why should I prostrate myself in front of him?
Quran 7,
Ayah 12 I am better than he.
Thou hast created me out of fire,
Whereas him Thou hast created out of clay.
What Iblis said was perfectly logical.
He remained caught in his arrogance and complacency.
Iblis also tried to blame Allah,
Saying,
I have no power or will of my own.
You,
Allah,
Are the one who acts and the one who induces us to do things.
Had you wanted to,
You would have induced me to prostrate.
What Iblis really wanted was recognition and admiration.
We human beings love both,
Too,
And this paves the way for other weaknesses,
Such as comparing and judging.
So often,
We do things to secure recognition.
This is why our heart's intention,
Niyyah,
Is of such paramount importance in our actions.
Quran 16,
Ayat 23 Truly,
God knows all that they keep secret as well as all that they bring into the open.
And behold,
He does not love those who are given to arrogance.
Yet Adam and Eve consciously took the blame.
They stood up and assumed responsibility for their error because they believed in Allah's eternal wisdom and compassion.
Adam assumed responsibility for the mistake and said,
I made the mistake.
I,
Your servant.
This attitude,
This surrender,
Elevated Adam to the rank of a prophet on earth.
Just like our intention,
How we act and react is in our hands.
Quran 2,
Ayat 37 Then comes Allah's mercy.
Thereupon,
Adam received words of guidance from his sustainer,
And he accepted his repentance.
For verily,
He alone is the acceptor of repentance,
The dispenser of grace.
The intellect alone cannot grasp the meaning of Allah's commands.
In order to do so,
It must be held and nurtured by the heart.
Together,
They stimulate truthful behavior,
Adab,
In us.
In its essence,
Adab indicates the ability to recognize in everything the divine influence and the divine meaning.
Life is beautiful but not easy.
It is a place of test and a place of efforts,
Decisions,
And choices.
But Allah has also given us great help and support on our journey through life.
He has given us nature.
He has given us his revelations.
He has given us pure human beings,
The prophets,
Peace be upon them all,
To show us the immense potential and the beauty we carry and how we can live it in our life,
In and with the creation.
He has given us his divine names so that we may color ourselves with them,
Deepen our knowledge of him,
And experience his love.
Remember who you really are,
Why you are here,
And where you will be heading.
Home.
Back to paradise.
And be alert.
Quran 7,
Ayat 201 Verily,
They who are conscious of God bethink themselves of him whenever any dark suggestion from Satan touches them,
Whereupon,
Lo,
They begin to see things clearly.
If we heed the temptation,
If our lower nafs goes into cooperation with the shaitan's whispers,
Then we are deciding to act badly.
Allah does not hold us responsible for our fate,
But for the way we deal with it.
Deciding to act well is called and Allah will reward us for that decision,
Inshallah,
If he wills.
In conclusion,
We can say that is in Allah's hand,
But is in ours.
In this respect,
We are with Allah in a deep dialogue of destiny.
Now we can understand somewhat better the following fundamental of faith.
I believe in written destiny and in its unfolding through good and bad alike.
I believe in written destiny and in its unfolding through good and bad alike.
May then become,
As thou had always been close unto thee,
A true friend.
We all make mistakes.
We all do and say things we should not have said and done.
When we make a mistake,
Iblis comes to us and whispers,
I know you made a mistake,
But the other one didn't act right either.
You got angry,
But the other one was mean too.
You were under pressure.
It's quite understandable.
Indeed,
Logical for you to react in that way.
Everything's okay.
Don't feel bad.
The nafs starts justifying our mistakes and weaknesses,
Leaving the world of truthfulness and entering the world of compromise.
If we steal,
The nafs starts rationalizing.
What was I supposed to do?
I couldn't pay the bills.
What should I do?
I've got to survive.
Iblis whispers,
You shouldn't feel so bad.
Stay proud and strong.
And if we want to change,
Then the shaitan might come to us and say,
You are not good enough.
You'll always get a raw deal,
And you'll never overcome this addiction.
You're too sinful for God.
Or,
What you're doing,
There is no big deal.
If you don't do it,
Someone else will.
Just do it once,
And then you can give it up.
God doesn't care what you do.
In any case,
God will never accept someone as bad as you,
So you might as well do what feels good.
The devil lives on hopelessness and despair.
He will use your weaknesses and shortcomings to frighten and shame you,
And to give you the feeling that you are not worthy of having a relationship with God.
We free ourselves from Iblis and the lower nafs by seeking forgiveness.
Istaghfir,
Which takes us closer to our natural beauty and goodness,
Our fitrah,
Our true,
Primordial nature.
I shall not hide behind my anger,
My temptation to make compromises,
My pride or my arrogance,
My forgetfulness,
My weaknesses,
And my justifications.
I shall not find excuses and forget my conscience.
Quran 75,
Ayats 13-15 Men will be apprised on that day of what he has done and what he has left undone.
Nay,
But man shall against himself be an eyewitness,
Even though he may veil himself in excuses.
We human beings need guidance in this world,
And the first guidance for humankind was to seek Allah's forgiveness.
Asking for forgiveness is more than asking to be guided.
It is also showing that we are ready to assume responsibility for our life,
For the duties and challenges that Allah gives us.
The great beauty of surrender lies in Istaghfir,
And surrender is deep trust,
Presence,
And awareness.
It is God-consciousness,
Taqwa.
It is goodness.
It is gratefulness.
Istaghfir also covers the imperfections of our good deeds.
To hold our mistakes up to Allah is a step towards freedom.
It is embarrassing to own up to our mistakes,
But it honors and elevates us in front of Allah.
On the Day of Judgment,
Our last supplication,
Du'a,
On the path to God,
When we stretch out our hand to find the way,
Will be,
رَبَّنَا آتْ مِنْ نُرَانَ وَالْغَفِرَانَ Strengthen the light of our breast,
The heart,
And forgive us.
Give us light so that we may reach the door of Paradise,
Jannah.
Give us light so that we may reach the door of Paradise,
Jannah.
In His endless love,
Allah tells us,
Quran 7,
Ayat 156,
My grace overspreads everything.
May this blessed month grant us support,
And help us call more and more on Allah to guide and forgive us.
Quran 16,
Ayat 18,
For should you try to count God's blessings,
You could never compute them.
Practice suggestive for today.
Repeat 100 times,
اَلَا هُمَا اِسْتَغْفِرُكَ وَاَتُبَىٰ اِلَيْكَ O Allah,
I seek refuge and forgiveness in You,
And I turn to You so that You may forgive me.
Thank you for joining us for a reading of The Call of Allah,
A companion to the holy month of Ramadan,
With permission of Ruzina Fauzia Al-Rawi.
Ramadan Mubarak.
