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
PARADISE: A KNOWN ENTITY
THE QURAN states that the joys which God’s true servants will experience in Paradise will be a materialization of the joys they experienced in their worship in the world. In this world, God does not come out into the open; the joy that comes from realization of His existence and faith in Him is, accordingly, an abstract one. But in the next world, God will manifest Himself in all His glory; the joy that will come from beholding Him will become apparent for all to see. It is this realization that is the true aim of the Islamic life. All the actions of Islam are just a means towards conscious discovery of God; they are ways of establishing contact with the Creator.
There is more to our relationship with God than performing some good deeds and God in Heaven being pleased with us in return. It is not a superficial and supposed relationship of this nature; it is a deep and direct one. The actions of God’s servant are, in their outward form, obedience to His commandments; but in reality, they are a means of conveyance to a place of communion with the Lord. There, one calls upon Him in secret; one implores and beseeches Him for help; one attaches oneself to Him with arduous devotion; one really feels as if one has thrown oneself at God’s feet. Discovery of God in this manner is the supreme objective of religion, and all its commandments and injunctions are aimed at achieving this discovery. Whoever discovers God in this world will discover Him in the next world also; but whoever fails to discover God in this world will also fail to discover Him in the next world. This experience of communion with God is indeed a wealth unrivalled.
This wealth is God’s provision to His believing servants (20: 131). Outwardly, fulfilling God’s commandments is in one’s own power; one can do so or not as one feels inclined. But the inner states that one experiences while performing the will of God are not in one’s own power; one cannot create them. Where, then, do they come from? They are the provisions of God without which one’s believing personality cannot survive. When the Prophet Zakaria saw this provision in the person of Virgin Mary, which enabled her to realize God and do His will, he exclaimed: “Where is this from?” “It is from God,” she answered (3: 37)
Discovery of God is the supreme objective of religion, and all its commandments and injunctions are aimed at achieving this discovery
One’s actions are the result of one’s own efforts, and these states are God’s reward for good deeds. God does not keep His supreme blessings in reserve; He grants them to us unstintingly here and now. They descend upon us as soon as we show ourselves to be worthy of them. The sublime spiritual experiences one feels when God accepts some action are an introduction to the Heaven that God has promised those who believe in Him and do good deeds. They are a fragrance of the garden of Paradise which one scents in this world. Though they cause one to tremble, they are the greatest joy that one can feel. No worldly enjoyment can be compared to them. This in itself is intuitive proof of the fact that these states are a reflection of that supreme divine gift known as Paradise. That is why the Quran says that the Paradise which believers will enter in the next world will be for them a “known provision” (37: 41). It will not be strange to them; it will be something familiar with which they had become acquainted in the world. “God will admit them to the Paradise He has made known to them,” or, as the Prophet put it: “The people of Paradise will know their dwellings even better than anyone of you knows his dwelling in the world.”