APM: God’s Distinction, The Road to Authenticity, and Fame

Allah

GOD’S DISTINCTION

In Islam, there are rules of war, even for the oppressed: ‘Do not exceed the limits’ [5:77].

But let’s be clear. Even if the oppressed oversteps the bounds, the oppressor is not like the oppressed: ‘Is he then who is a believer like him who is a transgressor? They are not equal’ [32:18].

We live in a world where liberalism, a doctrine of tolerance, paradoxically uses coercive power to impose its views.

Tolerance has a threshold, a point when it exceeds the pale. Thus, Allah deliberately sets distinctions to create mental and spiritual force fields and markers for the citizens striving for the Kingdom of God.

Tolerance does not mean accepting and advocating worldviews that are antithetical to our own.

Beware, everyone is not the same, is Allah’s message to us: ‘The blind and the seeing are not alike, nor are darkness and light; shade and heat are not alike, nor are the living and the dead’ [35:19-22].

These contrasts distinctly fall into two halves. But it also sets the character for the believer and profiles the rejector of truth: The believer sees the truth of God, inclines to His light, becomes a source of comfort and warmth, and is amongst the living, while the rejector is a resident of the City of Gloom, a dark, dreary and unseeing death world.

The Prophet (s)

THE ROAD TO AUTHENTICITY

The Prophet (s) was human, just like Jesus (as) was. But they were fully human, meaning they were authentic and faithful to their original selves.

To become fully human, we must fully submit to the Divine.

And it begins with that first commandment, Iqra—Read! [96:1]

The Arabs refer to humans as hayawān (animals). But they say we are hayawān nāṭiq, rational animals. Thus, the process of ratiocination, which involves reasoning, rhyme, deciphering, computing, learning, and researching, is best with a dose of the alpha ordinance, making Iqra the departure on the journey to becoming fully authentic and human.

Allah warns us against making desire our God. Societal norms which don’t stem from our nature are especially harmful because of their ubiquity, yet we are lock-step engaged. ‘We follow the ways of our fathers’ was not a valid argument when the pagan Arabs used it against the Prophet (s). Neither is it today.

The constructs driving our behaviour may be normative according to societal standards. But they may be detrimental to our nature and, therefore, to our authenticity. The more we try to fit in, the more we lose our essence until we no longer recognise our reflection in the mirror. The need for attachment is necessary, but ceases to benefit when it overrides our nature. The road to authenticity is to let nature be the cue for attachment.

Everything prostrates to God, whether they like it or not. Even our shadows: ‘All that are in heaven and earth submit to God alone, willingly or unwillingly, as do their shadows in the mornings and in the evenings’ [13:15].

The above verse is proof that our bodies respond to nature. Our natural habitat is God’s Will. Allah fashioned us this way. And that stress would inevitably become our companion when we operate outside our natural range.

Seeking Fame

There are many perils in this world. A grave one is seeking fame. Its countervailing force is humility, gained when practising anonymity.

Until next week, InshaAllah

Zaahied Sallie

Author of The Beloved Prophet – An Illustrated Biography in Rhyme

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