Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem
By Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Hamid Is`haq
Saheb (Daamat Barakaatuhum)
We know that a bubble is a thin
liquid film containing air. It is amazingly fragile. …And it does not last long. It bursts very soon and is then nothing. So
it has no value.
...Despite this, its different
colours captivate children and we see how they enjoy blowing bubbles, running
after them and they even try to catch them. Even as adults, we, ourselves, are
fascinated seeing the beautiful, shimmering colours of bubbles – the yellow,
blue, crimson, green and other colours.
In everything, there is some lesson,
and we find even in a bubble, a Muslim can take beautiful lesson.
Alhamdulillah.
When a person considers a bubble, then a similarity and resemblance can be drawn to the worldly life.
Dunya is an Arabic word which
literally means lower or inferior. ...In comparison to the real and
everlasting life of the Hereafter, this world is inferior, superficial and
contemptible. And Allah Ta’ala describes the worldly
life as an illusion and deception:
“…The life of this world is nothing but an illusion.”
[Surah
Al-Hadeed 57 : 20]
…Like a bubble, dunya has no
value. On the outside, there is colour, there is glitter and glamour – and we
are charmed by it. The gold and silver, the palatial homes, the luxury cars, and
other commodities of Dunya look beautiful and striking. It not only appeals to
us; it captivates us. It sometimes steals our hearts.
Allah Ta’ala informs us:
“Beautified for people is the love of that which they desire - of women
and sons, heaped-up sums of gold and silver, fine branded horses, and cattle
and tilled land. That is the enjoyment of worldly life, but Allah has with Him
the best return.”
[Surah
Aal-Imraan 3 : 14]
When Hubbud dunya (love for the
world) settles in the heart, it diverts the attention away from Allah Ta’ala,
away from the objective of this
worldly life – which is to recognize Allah Ta’ala, love Allah Ta’ala and
worship Allah Ta’ala, in the footsteps of our Beloved Rasul (Sallallaahu
‘alaihi wasallam).
Unfortunately, we become so
enamoured, we forget there is another life which is yet to come, and which we
have to prepare for. We become obsessed with all the artificial and superficial
enjoyments of this world. However, the enjoyment is short lived - and like
bubbles, the things of Dunya also dissipate and disappear.
Like little children who try to catch
the colourful bubbles - to no avail, we run after material commodities, trying to acquire
them – but for how long do we enjoy them? …The bubble of Dunya is fragile
and temporal like a soap bubble and it too, inevitably bursts and is no more.
We become so blinded by our love for
material things that we, ourselves, end up living in bubbles.
Sometimes the bubble bursts in our
lifetime, right before our eyes: The wife or husband is involved in an
extra-marital relationship, gambling or other vices which inevitably cause the
bubble to burst. Or the son is caught up in drugs or drink, or the daughter
eloped with some disreputable character, etc. …May Allah Ta’ala protect
us all; but these are frequent incidents and happenings.
…In English, a very well-known idiom
is used: ‘(I don’t want to) burst your
bubble.’ – that is to say that like how quickly a bubble bursts, so too,
our enjoyments can abruptly come to an end, our hopes can suddenly be dashed
and our “dreams” and plans can be shattered. This is sometimes the consequences
of our own heedlessness and even indulgences in sins.
If not, then the bubble bursts in the form of death and a person
realises at this point that this world was just a dream. The world has disappeared like a bubble which is no more. It was there
and now it is not. We were in the world, but now there is no world. We have
entered into the realm of the Aakhirah.
This reminds me of a verse of poetry
by our Sheikh, Hadhrat Moulana Hakeem Muhammad Akhtar Saheb (Rahmatullahi
'alayh):
"The world appeared to be so glamorous.
Its reality dawned upon me only when I went to the grave;
That what I had seen all along was but a dream,
What I had heard all along was but a tale."
How beautifully Allah Ta’ala reminds
and cautions us:
“You prefer the worldly life (to the Hereafter), whereas the hereafter
is best and ever-lasting.”
[Surah
al-A'la : 16-17]
“O mankind, indeed the promise of Allah is truth, so let not the worldly
life delude you and be not deceived about Allah by the Deceiver.”
[Surah Faatir 35 :5]
The easiest way to remedy the heart
of the sickness of “Hubbud-Dunya” and the Ghaflat which follows hubbud-Dunya is
to keep the company of the Ahlullah. Their hearts have been purified of the
vestiges of this lowly world and it is only the Love of Allah Ta’ala and His
Rasul (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) which occupy their hearts. Their
connection is with the heavens, even though they are on earth.
Their condition has been beautifully
encapsulated in the following words:
"In this World they
resided - yet devoid of worldly ties.
In its Oceans they have been
submerged - yet no wetness touched their clothes."
It is in their Suhbat, that our
connection with Dunya will wane and our connection with Aakhirah will be
established, Insha-Allah. We will then understand the beautiful Hadith of
Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam): “Verily,
the world has been created for you and you have been created for the
Hereafter.”
We will then make use of the worldly
commodities, but will not give our hearts to them; rather we will use them to
acquire the best of the Hereafter.
May Allah Ta’ala grant us the
understanding of this worldly life and the Taufeeq of preparing for the
Hereafter.
