FROM THE SPIRITUAL TREE
There is a tree beside my house. I call
it the 'Spiritual Tree'. I derive spiritual
inspiration from it. A tree is an evergrowing
being that was initially a seed
possessing the potential of becoming a
full-grown tree. A seed takes food from the
universe around it and then grows into a
tree. The same is true with spirituality,
the desire for which is intrinsic to, and an
integral part of, the very nature of, every
human being. To realize this spirituality,
Man must derive spiritual food from the
universe around him. A tree converts
carbon-dioxide into oxygen; a spiritual person is one who can take positive lessons
from negative situations. From this perspective, a tree is an embodiment of a
spiritual personality.
—Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BELIEVER AND AN UNBELIEVER
THE Quran says that on Judgement-day, when mankind is gathered before God, man will look upon his deeds. Those who denied God, and rebelled against Him, will behold the doom that awaits them. In anguish they will cry out:
“Would that I were dust!” (78: 40)
When Umar, the second Caliph of Islam, lay on his death-bed, stricken by the dagger of Abu Lulu Firoz, his son, Abdullah Ibn Umar was resting his father’s head in his lap. “Rub my cheek in the dust, Abdullah,” Umar said to him. Abdullah Ibn Umar did so. Then, with his head resting on the ground, Umar addressed these words to himself:
“Woe betide you, Umar, and woe betide the one who gave birth to you, if God does not forgive you.” (Tabqat lbn Saad)
If one compares both these events, one will find that the very words uttered by unbelievers in the next world, are those uttered by believers in this world. In the life after death, unbelievers will wish they were dust. But here we have a believer saying, before he dies, in this life on earth: “Join me with the dust.”
Who dare rebel against God when He appears before man? Everyone will submit to Him then. But the only creditable submission of God is that which comes before He makes Himself manifest. Unbelievers will bow to God when He reveals Himself before them. But a believer bows to Him while He is still invisible.
Unbelievers will bow to God when He reveals Himself before them. But a believer bows to God while He is still invisible
The only reason that people rebel against God is that He is not now cpresent before them. But how can one rebel against Him when He manifests Himself in all His might? Man is cowed into submission before a lion. How then can he dare otherwise when he comes face to face with God, the Creator of the lion? The truth is that a believer experiences in this world what an unbeliever will experience in the next world. An unbeliever will humble himself on seeing God: a believer does so without seeing Him.
Patience
The benefit of patience and tolerance
is that even after suffering losses, the
bereft one does not lose his balance.
Inspite of temporary defeat, he
never loses the ability to think cool
mindedly and by making a realistic
assessment of his situation, plans his
life anew. By forgetting what is lost,
he reorganizes his work.