IB_21

Page 11

The Islamic Bulletin

Issue 21

He (SAW) told them to be sure that this concept was un-

derstood first before teaching anything else pertaining to the

religion. We have a hint of how important this is from the Qur’an

itself. Out of 114 surahs (chapters) of the Qur’an, 86 of them

were revealed in Makkah. These Surahs primarily deal with the

concept of God and man’s relationship with Him. The Proph-

et spent thirteen of the twenty-three years that the Qur’an was

revealed, removing the false concepts concerning Allah, and re-

placing them with correct ones. It is the corrupt ways of thinking

that have to be changed first.

With regards to Muslims, the first stage for purifying/cultivat-

ing the soul is the “Shahaadah” (Declaration of Faith). The

“Shahaadah” is in two parts. One is a statement of nega-

tion. We say, “Laa ilaaha...” Literally meaning, “There is no

god...” It is more commonly translated and understood as

meaning, “There is absolutely nothing worthy or deserving of

worship...” This statement removes the “weeds”. It includes

all false gods, false concepts and anything that we may give

excessive devotion to. It is in this stage where we truly suc-

ceed or fail with regards to our spiritual evolution. Many of

us, when beginning our spiritual journey, don’t quite purge

ourselves of old concepts. If we don’t remove the “weeds”

and debris, there will be no successful outcome.

After removing the harmful substances/concepts, we move

to stage two. We break up the soil/earth (materialistic, world-

ly concepts we held as being sacred). We must break up the

bad habits of the soul. We remove from our lives customs

that are not conducive to proper spiritual evolution. Many of

us still have problems because we hold on to old habits and

customs; habits and customs that have already proven to be

detrimental to our physical, mental, and most importantly,

our spiritual well-being.

The breaking of the soil is the stage before sowing the seed.

You can’t plant seeds without first breaking the soil. Your

soil is your soul. Your soul is your soil. Notice the letters that

make these words different: “u” and “i”; and it is you and

“I” that makes the difference in our cultivation of our souls.

But we must follow the stages of cultivation if we are to suc-

ceed. There are no shortcuts.

After breaking up the soil/soul we “fertilize” it with the sec-

ond part of the “Shahaadah”. After saying, “Laa

ilaahâ€¦”

“There is nothing worthy of worship...” or “There is no

god...”, we say “...illallah”, which means, “...except the one

God, Allah”. We remove false concepts with the negating

statement and we replace them with true concepts. With

the proper concepts of God in place, we can now move on

to stage three, sowing/planting seeds.

The seed is that which is the source of development or

growth. It has within it the means or stimulus for grow-

ing and developing. The “seeds” that are planted in the

now fertile soil/soul are the seeds of: Revelation (God’s

Word), Truth, God consciousness (Taqwa), sincerity,

honesty, etc. These seeds are the sources of growth and

development for our spiritual lives. In stage three we

sow/plant the seeds, and we must understand that we

will “reap what we sow” whether positive or negative.

Once the seeds are sown we move to stage four which

is nurturing. This includes providing plenty of sunlight

and water.

“Sun” in scriptural language represents or symbolizes: the

light of understanding, the mind, the light of scripture (re-

vealed knowledge). Just as the material seed needs the light

of the sun to foster its growth in the soil, the seeds of Revela-

tion, Truth, God consciousness, sincerity, honesty, etc. needs

the “light” of understanding, they need the mind to reflect

and ponder over. They also need the “light” of scripture.

It is worth mentioning here that although God’s Word is a

“seed” for the soul; a source of growth and development, it

also provides nourishment. It is the ongoing study and con-

templation of the Word of God that nourishes the “seeds”

implanted in the soul.

For Muslims our “light” of scripture, the revealed word from

God, is the Qur’an. It is called, “Kitaabun Nur”, the “Book of

Light”. It leads us from the darkness of “the earth” - materialism,

worldliness - to light; spirituality (disciplined life.) Allah says:

“A Book which We have revealed unto you, in order that

you might lead mankind out of the depth of darkness into

light - by the leave of their Lord - to the Way of (Him) the

Exalted in Power worthy of all Praise!” (Quran 14:1)

Without light the plant dies. Without the “light” of scrip-

ture the “seeds” within the soul dies. They also need water/

rain. “Water” in scriptural language represents or symboliz-

es: scriptural doctrine/teaching, knowledge, moral strength,

and moral nature. It is the source of all life. The source of

spiritual life is “scripture”. “Rain” in scriptural language rep-

resents or symbolizes: inspiration, purity/purification, and

moral purity. We must bring these to the seeds of Revelation,

etc. in order to have success. God sends down rain/water to

nourish the earth and foster growth. Allah says:

“It is He Who sends the Winds like heralds of glad tid-

ings, going before His Mercy when they have carried the

heavy-laden clouds. We drive them to a land that is dead,

make rain to descend thereon, and produce every kind of

harvest therewith. Thus shall we raise up the dead. Per-

chance you may remember. From the land that is clean

and good, by the Will of its Cherisher, springs up pro-

duce, (rich) after its kind. But from the land that is bad,

springs up nothing but that which is scanty. Thus do We

explain the Signs by various (symbols) to those Who are

grateful.” (Quran 7:57-58)

It is the scriptural doctrine/teaching (Qur’an), morality,

knowledge, etc. that fosters the growth of our spiritual lives;

that cultivates our souls. If you went through the first three

stages and your soul/soil is clean and pure, you will benefit.

If not and your soul is still full of “weeds” and old concepts

and habits you will not benefit. The nourishing is of no ben-

efit to the soul that is still “corrupted” and impure. Allah

says:

“Indeed this is a Qur’an most honorable, in a Book

well-guarded, which none shall touch except those who

are clean.” (Quran 56:77-79)

Only the pure/clean soul can derive benefit. You cannot

grow/develop plants in soil that is not properly cultivated.

The same is true for our soul. We must cultivate it proper-

ly. We must remove the “weeds” (garbage), break up the

bad and evil habits that we seem to keep holding on to,

sow/plant “seeds” (concepts), and nourish it with prayer,

charity, fasting, scripture, morality, etc. In the end we will

succeed. We will have a beautiful garden, “The Garden” -

Jannah!