SPIRITUALITY & GRATITUDE
Strongly Connected
THERE is nothing mysterious about spirituality in Islam. It is the direct result of the kind of intellectual development that takes place when a believer ponders over the Creator and His creation: he gains something in the process that may be termed spirituality. The source, therefore, of Islamic spirituality is perusal and reflection rather than any sort of mysterious exercise.
That is why the Quran rejects monasticism, referring to it as an innovation in religion, which God did not prescribe for people. (57: 27) From the Quran we learn that, in the very creation of the universe, the signs of God lie hidden all around us. A person who is in a state of keen awareness when he reflects upon the things of the world, comes to see the Creator in the creation. The meaning of the creation of the universe is laid bare before him. Ultimately, the universe becomes a permanent source of spiritual inspiration. He is continuously nourished by it during his worldly experience, and his observation of the universe awakens in him latent divine qualities.
This observation and contemplation of the universe does not result in his shunning normal life. Far from withdrawing from the world, he lives in it, participating in all its activities; yet despite his involvement, remaining aloof. That is to say, although he fulfills all his duties and responsibilities, his heart is not attached to worldly affairs.
He appears to live in the world, but he stands apart from it. Thanks to this state of his heart, he acquires tremendous spiritual gains. The Prophet Muhammad says of such individuals:
“God plants wisdom in the heart of one who shows disinclination for the world.”
It is important to note that the concept of spirituality in Islam is based on the principle of God-realization. God is the treasure house of all virtues. And when man’s contact with God is established in the world of his feelings, at the psychological level, an unseen, inner revolution is brought about, which is called spirituality. In this matter the relationship between God and man can be likened to an electric wire and the powerhouse. When the wire is connected to the powerhouse, electricity is produced, and the place is lit up. In this way, spirituality is the result of the connection to the power house of God.
Human nature is like an inflammable element. When an inflammable substance like petrol comes near a fire, it is ignited. Similarly, human nature is awakened when it comes in contact with God. This finds expression in the Quran in these words:
God is the light of the heavens and the earth. His light containing a lamp, the lamp inside a crystal of star-like brilliance lit from a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west. The [luminous] oil is as if ready to burn without even touching it. Light upon light; God guides to His light whom He will. God draws such comparisons for mankind; God has full knowledge of everything. (24: 35)
This is a compound simile. ‘Light’ here means the guidance of Almighty, ‘niche’ means the human heart and ‘lamp’ denotes the capability to receive divine inspiration. Glass and oil elaborate upon this receptivity. ‘Glass’ shows that this receptivity has been lodged in the human heart; protected from outside influences, and clear oil indicates that this receptivity is very strong and is eagerly waiting to receive inspiration.
When it comes to interactions with people a spiritual person will render service to alleviate the sufferings of humankind.
This verse makes it clear that, on the one hand, is God, the source of inspiration, and on the other, is the consciousness of spirituality (God-consciousness) with which man is born. In this way when these two things come together, Islamic spirituality comes into existence. This is indeed another name for the awakening of Godconsciousness. When it reaches its highest stage, the believer’s realization of God comes to that point where he begins to feel consciously in his worship that he is seeing God and if he is unable to come to this stage then he consciously feels that God is seeing him. If the first type of experience is called direct spiritual experience, the second type may be termed indirect spiritual experience.
As the Quran tells us, “Prostrate yourself and come closer to God” (96: 19). For God is always close to us—closer than our jugular vein (50: 16). By total surrender to God, the soul can realize nearness to God. These spiritual experiences cannot be explained in words. Everything in the universe seems to convey a divine message. The leaves of the tree become a thrilling experience. A waft of air gives a message of truth. Divine music can be heard in the burbling of the river and the chirping of the birds.
Due to this high state of receptivity, he is enabled, in the words of the Prophet: “to see with God’s eye, to speak with God’s tongue, to walk with God’s foot, to hear with the ear of God.” Then all limitations vanish and his day and night are spent in God’s neighbourhood. All this can be felt, not described in words. This can be explained with the example of a child who has limitless love for his mother. He knows it himself in the full sense but he cannot fully describe it in words. The same is true of spirituality.
When a person is linked with the source of spirituality, he undergoes such spiritual experiences as he himself fully understands, but has difficulty in conveying to others. He may describe some external signs but he cannot describe inner reality.
Although it is difficult to describe the inner reality of spirituality, its method of attainment can be described to a certain extent and followed by others. To attain spirituality, first of all man has to free his mind from confusion. It is difficult for a confused mind to undergo spiritual experiences. The basic reason for confused thinking is that man is not able to differentiate between the real and the superficial, the relevant and the irrelevant, rational thinking and superstition, logical and illogical statements. One who thinks thus will always remain in a state of mental confusion. He will never be able to find the straight path. As a result, his spiritual journey will never start.
The Prophet Muhammad has said that, “One who does not express his gratitude to other human beings will never be thankful to God.”
On the path of spirituality, a believer cannot be his own guide. And one certainly needs a guide. This guide is the Quran. It is an authentic and carefully preserved book of God. That is why the Quran can be trusted as a guide by the spiritual traveller. After making the Quran one’s guide, one can set one’s spiritual journey on the right track.
The spiritual journey demands a change in lifestyle. The lifestyle for a spiritual traveller may be put briefly in these words: ‘Simple living and high thinking.’
Simple living means limiting one’s worldly requirements to the minimum and assiduously avoiding comfort and luxury. That is why the Sufis used to wear coarse clothes as a symbol of the simple life. It helps the traveller in his spiritual journey. High thinking means that one's thoughts are not embroiled in material things. By engaging one’s mind in higher realities, one becomes a recipient of divine inspiration. This inspiration of divine light comes to his mind uninterruptedly, igniting his whole existence.
The Quran attaches great importance to contemplation, reflection and serious thought. There are a number of verses in the Quran that indicate that innumerable signs of God are extant in the heavens and the earth. The observance of God’s signs is the greatest source of spirituality.
According to a Hadith, ‘Worship God as if you are seeing him’, (Sahih-al Bukhari). When man engages himself in true devotion; he is linked with God at a sensory or psychological level.
He comes close to God. Through an invisible cord he comes in contact with God; God’s light passes through him. His entire existence comes to be pervaded by this indescribable feeling, which is called spiritual experience.
This is called rabbaniat in the Quran (Be devoted servants of the Lord) (3: 79). Rabbani means one whose thinking, and whose actions are Godoriented, who has placed God at the centre of his attention. When an individual attains spirituality, his state becomes like a lamp lit all of a sudden. He undergoes spiritual experiences. His heart becomes an ocean of spiritual waves. He appears to live in this world, but he has found another far superior world for himself.
The spiritual journey demands a change in lifestyle. The lifestyle for a spiritual traveller may be put briefly in these words: ‘Simple living and high thinking.
When it comes to interactions with people, he will render service to alleviate the sufferings of humankind. The following incident brings out the concept of service to others in a very profound way. During the British monarchy, one of the British Emperors disguised himself as an ordinary person to inspect his military establishments. During an interaction when one military officer admonished him in a very stern and harsh manner, the disguised king asked, “Do you know who I am?”
Taken aback at such a question and doubting himself the officer said, “Are you a military officer just as I am?” The king replied, “I am of a greater position than that”. The officer said, “Then you must be a Captain.” Again to this the king replied, “I am greater than that.” “Are you a colonel?” asked the officer. “No, I am greater than that”, was the reply. The officer said, “Then you must be a General”. “No, I am even greater than a general”, said the king.
Then the officer who was by now in total shock said, “Then you must be the Emperor”. He said, “Yes, I am the king”. The officer handed his gun to the king and said, “You may shoot me for my crime, I have failed to recognize my king”. The king said, “No, you are a good military officer but I have an advice for you. Whenever you interact with any common man think of him as your king and of yourself as an ordinary soldier then you will treat every individual in the best manner and will consider the common man’s affairs as the affairs of the king”.
To understand the above more clearly the following Hadith is very important. On Doomsday, God says to a person, “I was ill, but you did not come to nurse Me.” The man will reply, “God, You being the Lord of the universe, how can You be ill”? God will answer, “Such and such servant of Mine was ill. Had you gone there, you would have found Me there with him.” Then God says to another person, “I was hungry but you did not feed Me.” The person will reply, “God, You are the Lord of the worlds, how could You go hungry?” God says, “Such and such of My servants came to you, but you did not feed him. Had you done so, you would have found Me with him.” Then God says to yet another man, “I was thirsty, and you did not give Me water to drink.” That person will also say, “God, You are the Lord of the worlds, how could You be thirsty?” God says, “Such and such servant of Mine came to you, but you did not give him water to drink. Had you offered him water, you would have found Me there with him.”
In this Hadith the teaching is that you consider every interaction with others as an interaction with God. The words used in the Hadith are symbolic and this Hadith guides us towards the character of a believer. A person who treats every human interaction as an interaction with God will not commit any excesses in his behaviour.
The Islamic principle highlighted here is that if a person wants to find God, he shall first have to make himself deserving of this by serving others. This paves the way to spiritual progress. Only those who have elevated themselves spiritually will find God.
Now what is the connection between spirituality and gratitude?
If we realize the Unseen God in the above sense then it is impossible that
we will be ungrateful to our fellow beings as we are all interdependent
to live our life on earth. With this understanding we will move on to the
aspect of gratitude which highlights this point with more clarity.
The Prophet Muhammad has said that, “One who does not express his gratitude to other human beings will never be thankful to God.”
Thankfulness is a state of mind which cannot be compartmentalized. If it manifests itself in one place, the chances are that it will do so in other places too. If a man shows gratitude to one person, he will surely show it to others likewise. When a man does someone a good turn, it is something quite obvious—a tangible direct experience. On the contrary, God’s kindness, being an indirect experience, is not at all obvious. One has to be perceptive, and reflective to be able to realize the favours granted to man by God. While the favours a man does are observable, God’s favours can be realized only by thinking about them.
If a person wants to find God, he shall first have to make himself deserving of this by serving others. This paves his way to spiritual progress. Only those who have elevated themselves spiritually will find God.
One who fails to perceive an event which is directly observable cannot be expected to grasp something which can be apprehended only after a great deal of cogitation.
If the recipient of a favour fails to acknowledge it for fear of belittling himself in the eyes of his benefactor, he does himself nothing but harm. It is more a question of being belittled in the eyes of his own conscience than falling down in others’ eyes—a course by far the more injurious.
An even greater disadvantage of an ungrateful attitude is that it produces a mentality of non-acknowledgement. Failing at first to acknowledge the favours of one’s fellow men leads on to failure to give wholehearted credence to the Lord of the universe. There is no greater loss in this world than one who has failed to acknowledge his Creator. Thus, Islam inculcates the spirit of gratitude towards one’s fellow beings and towards God.
True spirituality is the elevation of the human condition to a plane on which the mind is focused on the higher, non-material realities of a Godly existence. The sign of a person being spiritual for sure is that he will contribute positively towards humanity, will be compassionate, kind to the animals as well and will not harm the environment. He will be self-motivated in doing this.