‘Allah will not change the circumstances of any people until they changed what is within themselves’


The Muslims on occasion have acted gloriously and occasionally at other times, acted perversely. Soon after the departure of the Prophet (peace be upon him) a lot of unnecessary tension and new ignorance came to the fore, for which we are all paying in a way. We have inherited the entire legacy of the light of Muhammad (peace be upon him) together with the ignorance of many communities and their inadvertent mistakes.

We cannot avoid it. We are the recipients, as human beings, of the entire consciousness of humanity, from the rise of our father, Adam to all the other thousands of prophets until now. We cannot deny its effect upon us.

We as Muslims want to be proud of our heritage and yet we find so much of our previous generation’s conduct and indeed even some of the conduct that goes on presently in the Muslim world and elsewhere as unacceptable. At a human level it is unacceptable, let alone at the spiritual level. As a result, many of us are confused. Many of us act as if we know Islam is the greatest, but then we are also disappointed or get upset by the conduct of the Muslims and evens our own conduct confuses us and leaves a bitter taste in our mouths.

The glory of Islam can only be regained if we adhere to Allah’s ways. Allah’s ways are based on la ilāha illallāh- ‘deny falsehood, acknowledge truth’. We cannot do one without the other. We cannot have in life any experience unless it is based on ‘no’ to that which is not right, ‘yes’ to that which is right. Then we are in balance. So recovery for us will only be regained, and become effulgent if each one of us, as individuals, as families, as communities realise what is to be avoided and what is to be gained.

What we are suffering most of nowadays, as was the case in the past, is ignorance, ‘darkness’. This is the case of human beings;

“By the evening light: Human beings are indeed at a loss.” Q: 103-1-2

The first thing we should say no to is ignorance and being stubborn regarding what we are used to because our fathers did that or somebody else said do it. The Qur’an clearly defines to us the purpose of life. This should be an individual as well as a collective effort.

We are certain that we will come to know the higher meaning and the purpose of this existence. Equally there are many, many others who have no concern other than their short-term pleasures, quick acquisitions, big impositions, immediate power and all the other things that go with the lustre of dunya. The way of this dunya (this world) is that it is attractive, because it has in it good things, beauties, comforts, wonderful rhythms and harmonies though it is short lived.

A person who is reasonably healthy enjoys these pleasures, but we all know that none of them can last. Equally we know that we cannot have enough of it. We become greedy and forgetful, selfish and all the other lower qualities so that the self hardens. Allah reminds us of the truth behind this existence, telling us that “I created mankind from one self, one Fit rah” and Allah also shows us, inspires us and teaches us in the Qur’an: “By the token of time, verily man is at a state of loss.” At all times, in all civilisations, in all eras, and all cultures throughout history mankind is the Adamic pattern or Adamic profile. One of the meanings of the word is that he seeks solace, comfort and reassurance. Another derivative of this word can simply mean or imply forgetfulness, because we forget.

We forget that we may leave this world any minute. We forget that we may leave this house and never return. We forget that we are going after something that we want and it may be our poison. We are forgetful.

The second step is to correct our relationships. Again we Muslims assume that relationships are set in a certain way, that women have to be told what to do and their only role is to be locked behind the kitchen sink or in the nursery. A similar situation exists in relationships with our parents, our friends and at work. But we do not know what relationships at work should be. We do not understand that the people who are working with us are like our younger brothers, sons or daughters (Muslim, Jew, Christian and Hindu etc). We do not treat some one else bad, because he / she is not Muslim. This is the flaw in many of our perceptions and then we think we can run to prayer mats and all will be forgiven, forgotten and buried. It will haunt us as it is with Muslims across the globe and at the hand of those whom we despise. This will continue until we correct ourselves and our perceptions of others.

Act outwardly responsibly while being inwardly in prayer.

So to understand how far we have gone wrong we have to re-examine the relationships of the great ones- how the Prophets (peace be upon him) treated their people, how the great Sahābas ( companions of the Prophets) treated them, how the great Imams (Righteous Leaders) and the Awliyah (Saints) treated their people. We are equal in the eye of Allah, but not equal in our abilities or skills or other worldly or esoteric knowledge. We have to accept that, but as far as Allah is concerned we are all the same. We have come here in order to leave. These are the fundamentals of proper mu ‘amalāt (relationships).

Thirdly, the most important thing that we have to remove or work on in terms of falsehood is the poor quality of leadership. Who are those who are qualified to lead us? If a person himself is not healthy, how can he give you some advice about your health? If a person himself is completely confused in his mind, how can he help you to sort out your confusion? Leadership implies those who are able to lead themselves and at times be lead by others.

In other words, the best and the most qualified leaders are those who have recognised the predominance, the dominance, the omnipotence, the omnipresence of the Universal One and then they can take counsel in terms of worldly matters. Our glorious Prophet (peace be upon him) always took counsel on worldly matters, but then he made the decision.

So removal of all misleading perceptions / falsehood brings us alongside the establishment of the truth. The two go together. We begin this process by looking at the following foundations.

The Qur’anic Foundation

The first foundation for us is knowledge of Qur’an and the Qur’anic fundamentals- how to approach the Qur’an.

If we come to the Qur’an with a presumption or assumption, we will only see it through the veil of presumption and assumption and misconception. If we come to it free of any energy, or possibility that we attribute to ourselves or our cause, we should ask Allah’s guidance, and say: “Oh Allah, I am the most wretched and you are the most Glorious. Cover my wretchedness by Your Glory.” We will see wonder upon wonder. “Oh Allah, show me things as they are and not as I perceive things to be” (prophetic tradition)

That is why most of our young people do not have a clue about their Dīn, because we do not have the foundations of the Qur’an firmly embedded in our lives, only aspects of it. I will deal with it at a later stage.

The Prophetic Model

The second foundation, which goes hand in hand with it (the Qur’anic foundation), is the way of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and that is not only the Sunnah (the prophetic practice). It is the Sunnah and the Seerah (The Life of the Prophet), the way he acted, based not only on his authority and the verbal and linguistic injunctions of Hadith Prophetic Traditions), but also how he acted, what he said, how he said it, to whom he said it, and whether it was only on that special occasion that he said it or whether it referred to all times. I will deal with it at a later stage.

The Knowledge of the Self

The third most important foundation that is important for the young people of today is self-knowledge- who are we? Why do we constantly look for this, that and the other? Who are we that we can be relied upon? One moment we are in a good mood and the next we are in a bad mood. Which is the good part of us? You will discover that each one of us will reach a conclusion that there is in us a dimension that never ever changes and that is called ruh (The Soul). We are a ruh caught in the prison of the body and it has a nafs (A Self / Ego). And the nafs is ammāratun bis-sū (It always takes us hither and thither and nowhere and confuses us). But then we have a Qalb (a heart) and within the Qalb there is a witnesser, there is a Shāahid, there is a Raqib (the monitoring Self) and there is a Qarin (The Recording Companion). We must understand the cosmology that is within us so that we transcend it. So we say to ourselves: “I know you bring me down all the time. I know you want to pounce on others all the time and you want to take another pound of flesh off them, but look back at the last twenty years”.

How many times have you pounced on other people and what did you get out of it? Nothing, but disappointment. So knowledge of ‘the self’ is vital. Then if we know ourselves- the lower self and the higher self- and have transcended it, then we are living the Dīn and that is called ‘living Islam’. This is when we do not talk about it, but experience it through living it. That is acting appropriately in the moment.

We have not locked Islam up in a museum or in a madresa. It is alive. Even though we may make mistakes, if we are able to remain on the carpet of humility in our mihrab, which is the place for war against the Self (the Nafs) - it is from the verb harb, to wage war against ignorance, against arrogance and assumption and to wage war against the lower tendencies in us- then we are living with our full-fledged, dynamic inter-active potential to waking up to the nur(divine light within us all), which is potentially in every heart. Then we will be living Muslims, living beings.

If we are living Muslims, then for us Iman (Faith and Trust) is a foundation and for us Ihsān (perfection) is none other than the doctrine and the Highway Code by which we are living, because we are aware that at any second we may leave this world. First we should ask ourselves:” Are we leaving it contentedly or do we still have accounts to be rendered?”

Islam is none other than the essence of victory in this life and total eternal joy in the next life, provided we are up to it. This is something we cannot inherit. We have to take it by determination, by perseverance, by abandonment and by willingness to surrender to it.