Recently, I had a dream that a close friend of ours
was a holding a three month old baby in his arms. He, himself, is, as generally
accepted, past the age of fathering a child.
In the dream, he said to me: “This
baby just cries and cries; all the time!”
I replied: “The baby is teaching us how to cry to Allah
Jalla Jalaaluhu!”
We have many lessons to learn from our beautiful,
beloved babies! …We have had our own children grow up in front of us. We were
babies ourselves! There are so many babies whom we know of – we have our own
grandchildren and great-grandchildren around us. They are teaching us great,
great lessons. …So we should learn from them.
1.
IN THE WOMB
Allah Ta’ala creates the baby in a most beautiful
way, moulding and fashioning in the best of forms. It is in the womb of the
mother, that a baby is fully formed physically. At approximately four months,
the Ruh (soul) enters the baby. After another 5 months or so, the baby is born.
The body will now develop over the years until its maturity.
In this same time of the worldly life, the Ruh must be
developed and perfected for the Aakhirah (Hereafter). The life of this world is made and
fixed for everyone. However, the Aakhirah must be the concern. The Ruh is to be
developed to that level where it returns to Allah Ta’ala in a state of complete
submission.
Allah Ta’ala says:
“O you who believe! Fear Allah as He
should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam (submission).”
[Surah Al-Imran 3 : 102]
2.
BIRTH
When a baby is born, it cries while everyone in
the family is happy and everyone is celebrating. The Aqeeqah is in celebration
and in gratitude for the gift of a child. People visit, especially to see the
baby, and they bring gifts also. Despite all the joy and excitement, the baby
is crying.
…A baby cries for different reasons and perhaps one
is for having left the cosy comfort of the womb of its mother and coming into a
cold, unfamiliar world. The baby is no longer in the safe haven of the womb: It
is now exposed to all kinds of people and all sorts of elements – good and bad.
As adults, we know that this world
cannot be described as a safe haven. It is a life where many tests – big and
small - come our way.
“[He] who created death and life to
test you [as to] which of you is best in deed - and He is the Exalted in Might,
the Forgiving.”
[Surah
Al-Mulk 67 : 2 ]
“We will definitely test you with
some fear, some hunger and some loss in your wealth, in your health and in the
fruits.”
[Surah
Al-Baqarah 2 : 155]
It is the battleground, where we are
constantly waging war against nafs and shaytaan. It is also a big deception
with all its glitter and glamour.
“…The life of this world is nothing but an illusion.”
[Surah
Al-Hadeed 57 : 20]
…We should shed tears in the fear, love and longing for Allah Ta’ala.
Allah Ta’ala has created us for a
purpose and while living in this world, we should not lose focus of the
objective.
If we strive in the direction of
fulfilling the objective of this life, by believing in Allah Ta’ala and His
Rasul (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) and striving in their obedience and in
accumulating the provisions for the journey ahead and the currency of the
Hereafter, then this life will be a successful life and at the time of death, we will be smiling and happy – because
we are going home to Jannah. There will be eagerness and anticipation and great
excitement that we are returning home, Insha-Allah.
“Death is the bridge whereby the lover meets the Beloved”
The whole household, around us, can be crying and lamenting and sorrowful – but we will be finally freed from the
prison and shackles of Dunya, and Insha-Allah, soon enjoying the comforts
promised on obedience and good deeds.
Let
it be, that even though we entered this world crying, we leave smiling – we
leave happy!
May Allah Ta’ala grant us such a life
whereby we can return with the glad-tidings:
“(To the righteous soul will be said)
‘O soul in (complete) rest and satisfaction! Come back to your Lord, well
pleased (yourself) and well-pleasing unto Him. Enter you, then, among My
Devotees! And enter you My Heaven.”
[Surah
Fajr 89 : 27-30]
3.
CRYING
Babies cry on every need they have. This is their
way of communication. When hungry, they cry; when in pain, they cry; etc.
Accordingly, the mother responds to the crying of the baby and feeds the baby
or tries to alleviate the pain or discomfort that is being experienced by the
baby.
Even though we are adults, we still
have many needs. The only One who can fulfil all those needs is Allah Ta’ala.
So we too should cry to Allah Jalla Jalaaluhu and ask of Him! Allah Ta’ala
WILL respond:
“And your
Lord says : Call on Me; I will answer your (Du’aa)…”
[Surah Mu`min 40 : 60]
Allah Ta’ala loves the one who cries
to Him and asks of Him.
Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Ghani
(Rahmatullahi ‘alayh) had said: “When you are able to cry during your Dua,
then realise that your Duas have been accepted. Tears are a receipt of the
acceptance of Dua.”
In Dua we are taught that if we
cannot cry, then we should make the face of a crying person! That will also be
sufficient to draw the special attention of Allah Jalla Jalaaluhu (Who knows
everything and knows that we are not crying for real). However, this too will
draw His Rahmah and Kindness!
When babies want attention or they
want something, they sometimes throw tantrums, or their crying is just
“crocodile tears”. Many times, the mother knows fully well that that behaviour
is just a pretence, and she ignores the child - but Allah Jalla Jalaaluhu appreciates even when we pretend, because He loves our crying to Him and He wants to give
what we asking! …He does not ignore us!
Babies also cry when they soil themselves ...
because they are dirty and uncomfortable. In the love for her baby, the mother
removes the soiled nappy or diaper, cleans and washes away all the filth, baths
the baby and then dresses the baby in clean clothes.
Similarly, when we soil our hearts
and souls with sins - which is by far worse than a baby soiled by urine or
faeces, then we should cry in great shame and deep regret and remorse. This regret and
Taubah will invite Allah Ta'ala's loving attention and will be a means of our
hearts and souls being washed clean, Insha-Allah.
4.
SLEEP
Great lessons are taken from sleep generally and
particularly, the deep sweet sleep of babies.
We have learnt that, “Sleep is the sister of death.”
Rasulullah (Sallallaahu
‘alaihi wasallam) taught us to read before sleeping:
‘In Your name O Allah, I live and
die.’
and
‘In Your name my Lord, I lie down and
in Your name I rise, so if You should take my soul then have mercy upon it, and
if You should return my soul then protect it in the manner You do so with Your
righteous servants.’
And at the time of awakening,
Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) taught us the Dua:
‘All praise is for Allah who gave us
life after having taken it from us and unto Him is the Resurrection.’
Sleep is a time where the physical
body takes full rest without being conscious of the world.
It is said that during sleep, the
soul leaves the body, though the Ruh is still present in its inward form, and
the person continues to breathe. This is the “minor” death of the person. When
the soul returns to the body, the person awakens.
From this phenomenon, we see the
great Qudrat of Allah Jalla Jalaaluhu. The soul is in the complete control of
Allah Ta’ala and a day will arrive when the Ruh will be taken away fully and
life in this world will come to an end. There will be no return to this worldly
life; rather return is to the Hereafter.
The first lesson is of Allah Ta’ala’s
Qudrat : How He takes life and returns it – here as well as in the hereafter.
Another lesson is the reality of
Qiyamah : We will be resurrected in the
Aakhirah and there will be the establishment of justice in the Court of Allah
Ta’ala; together with reward and punishment. This is no dream or imaginary experience!
Allah Ta’ala mentions in Surah Az-Zumar :
“Allah takes the souls at the time of
their death, and those that do not die [He takes] during their sleep. Then He
keeps those for which He has decreed death and releases the others for a
specified term. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought.”
[Surah
Az-Zumar 39 : 42]
5.
HELPLESSNESS
In the initial stages after birth, a baby is
completely helpless. He is entirely dependent on his mother or those around him
to take care of him. His trust is in his mother.
SubhanAllah! As Saalikeen, we should
adopt the same helplessness and dependency before Allah Ta’ala. He is the One
Who is Rabb (The One Who Nourishes and Sustains) and this is His
responsibility. We should learn to trust explicitly, that the One who has brought
us in this world, has also arranged for all our needs to be taken cared for –
more than any mother could do.
Hadhrat Moulana Jalaluddeen Rumi
(Rahmatullahi ‘alayh) had said:
“Is He who is capable of creating a
head, not able to don a hat upon it?
Is He who created the stomach, not
capable of filling it?
We are living in a world of means so
some effort needs to be made in earning one’s sustenance. However, our sustenance is provided by Allah Ta’ala and this sustenance
will be obtained with great ease when we are obedient to Allah Ta’ala:
“Enjoin prayer on your family and be
constant therein.
We ask thee not to provide sustenance
: We provide it for thee.
But the (fruit of) the Hereafter is
for Righteousness ”
[Surah
TaHa 20 : 132]
In all matters of life, there should
be trust in Allah Ta’ala – with the understanding and conviction that Allah
Ta’ala makes the best of decisions in regards to His Servants. It is only for
us to resign ourselves to and accept the decisions of Allah Ta’ala, believing
that there is great Khayr (goodness) and Hikmah (wisdom) in whatever Allah
Ta’ala decides.
6.
RECOGNITION
The baby spends generally 9 months in its mother’s
womb. It hears her voice, and senses her emotions. When brought into the world,
it is drawn to its mother because there is recognition. As the baby grows, it
is then able to distinguish between family members and strangers.
Allah Ta’ala
relates the story of the covenant, which was taken from every soul in ‘Aalame Arwah’ (The World of the Souls).
After creating all the souls, Allah Ta’ala asked :
‘Am I not
your Rabb?
(The One who cherishes and sustains)
Each and
every soul responded:
‘Verily You
are (our Rabb).’
Allah Ta’ala
then said:
‘(This), lest
you should say on the Day of Judgment:
‘Of this we were never mindful.’’
[Surah Al-A’raaf 7 : 172]
It has been
mentioned, that in this dialogue, there were no veils between the souls and
Allah Ta’ala. Each soul saw and recognized Allah Ta’ala. So every person knows
that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, because each and every soul
testified to this.
Since there
was recognition of Allah Ta’ala as Rabb in Aalame Arwah, so now, in this
worldly life, that Ma’rifat of Allah Ta’ala should be enhanced by striving in
the love and obedience of Allah Ta’ala, to earn the pleasure of Rabbul
Aalameen.
Unfortunately,
like a child which has been influenced by bad friends and by the violent and
immoral television programmes and video games – and then grows up rebelling
against the parents, inappreciative of the sacrifices and the love of the
parents – so man, influenced by the temptations of this worldly life, the
demands of nafs and the false promises of shaytaan, many a time, becomes an
open rebel against Allah Ta’ala – rejecting Allah Ta’ala, disobeying Allah
Ta’ala and being ungrateful for the infinite favours and bounties of Allah
Ta’ala.
7.
RESTLESSNESS
Babies
become uneasy and restless on being separated from their mothers.This is
because there is a very strong bond of love between the mother and child.
Our Sheikh, Hadhrat Moulana Hakeem Muhammad Akhtar
Saheb (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh) had related to us an incident of a little African
baby who got separated from its mother in the Haram Sharief. Different women,
from different countries - Egypt Syria, etc. – tried to console the child but
to no avail. The child continued crying despite these women trying to pacify
her. However, when the mother made her appearance, the child immediately calmed
down – finding consolation, comfort and happiness in the arms of her mother.
The lesson we take is that when we
are estranged from Allah Jalla Jalaaluhu, then no matter what Dunya offers us –
whether the latest fashions, brand names, night clubs, casinos, sports, films,
TVs, raves, etc. we do not find any contentment and solace in any of these things. It is only in Allah
Ta’ala’s obedience do we find our comfort and safety!
As Saalikeen, we should become uneasy
and restless when nafs and shaytaan try to separate us from our Beloved Allah
Ta’ala – by tempting us towards sin.
We should not be able to tolerate
separation from the One who loves us so much and who has nurtured us in every
way, all the time.
If at any time, we become negligent
or fall into sin, we should be quick in Rujoo’ilallaah (Returning to Allah
Ta’ala). We should flee to Allah Ta’ala (Fafirroo ilallaah).
8.
PERSEVERANCE
Generally, babies first learn to crawl. Thereafter,
they try to stand on their feet, and in their efforts, they also fall. They take
a step and fall, take another step and fall again. However, they persevere.
They never give up. Babies are
strong-willed, positive and motivated in their nature. SubhanAllah, so much
to learn from a baby!
In this is a great lesson for us who
are adults: To make our Islaah and correct our Dieni and religious condition,
we should also be strong-willed, motivated and positive! As adults, how can we
be any less than a baby in such qualities!
In this path to Allah Ta’ala, we
crawl, we learn to take steps, and on perseverence, we start walking and then start running …
We should not be hasty in this path
and we should not become despondent in this path. We see that a baby is
developed over nine months in the mother’s womb. It is not formed overnight. It
learns to crawl, walk and run over a period of time.
Similarly for progress and spiritual
advancement on this journey to Allah Ta’ala, we should not expect miracles at
every turn. Of course, for Allah Ta’ala to do is very easy – and if Allah
Ta’ala draws with His Power of Jazb, then the most sinful one becomes the
beloved in a moment, on His Will. However, the path to Allah Ta’ala generally
requires effort and striving. Stage by
stage, a person advances in his relationship with Allah Ta’ala.
So just like the child starts
running, jumping and climbing and doing some daring things – which even
frighten us adults – we will also reach success and great heights in
spirituality and Dien – Insha-Allah, in due time. Despite falling and
faltering, just continue. A time will come where the person will be running,
Insha-Allah.
Hadhrat Moulana Shah Wasiullaah (Rahmatullahi 'alayh) said:
اس Ø·Ø±Ø Ø³Û’ Ø·Û’ Ú©ÛŒ منزلیں ،
چلے گرے اٹهے چلے
“We journeyed to Allah Jalla Jalaaluhu in this way:
We walked, fell, got up, walked!”
9.
LANGUAGE
Babies do not know how to speak. They learn. They
are keen leaners. In the initial years, they observe and pay attention to
sounds and to those around, who talk to them. As time passes, they begin to
imitate certain sounds, and then begin to say one or two words, and before we
know it, they are talking; and they are talking so much, that we have to tell them
to keep quiet also.
Saalikeen learn the language of love.
They learn this from the Suhbat (Company) of the Ahlullah, in the form of
Zikrullah – remembering Allah Ta’ala. Slowly but surely, if there is
perseverance, this becomes the spiritual nourishment of the Saalik – and a day
does not pass, except that it is spent communicating and talking to the Beloved – Allah
Ta’ala.
Of course, Salaah is Fardh, five
times a day – and this is our greatest access to the Court of Allah Ta’ala,
whereby we have the special attention of Allah Ta’ala and whereby we converse
with Allah Ta’ala with Hamd (Praise), Zikr, Tilawah, etc. Over and above the
five daily Salaah, Saalikeen will seek opportunities for Khalwat (solitude),
just to remember their Beloved – Allah Ta’ala.
A Saalik then finds so much of
enjoyment that he prefers this conversation and talking to Allah Ta’ala over
conversation and talking with people.
10.
PERSISTENCE
When little children want something, they are
persistent. They have very good psychology also – and use every way known to
them, to get what they want.
They flatter, they beg, they cry, they make
promises of being good, etc. and they will not rest until they get what they
want. They will follow their mother everywhere; they will go around and around
her, pleading – until finally they get what they want. And when they do, then
we see how wide and broad their smiles are.
We learn that we also should praise
Allah Jalla Jalaaluhu, beg and cry of Him for what we want. Indeed, praising
Allah Ta’ala and calling upon Him, by His beautiful names, invites His Grace
and acceptance of our requests.
“The Most Beautiful
names belong to Allah:
So call on
Him by them…”
[Surah Al A’raaf 7 : 180]
We should also keep asking, knowing
that Allah Ta’ala will give to us. And the greatest commodity we should be
begging and pleading for is His Love! We should be seeking His Love; His
Nearness, His Forgiveness, His Mercy and the Great Privilege and Honour of seeing Him in Jannah.
Just as a baby goes around and around
its mother, crying and pleading for what it wants, when we are in Makkah
Sharief and making Tawaaf, so we should also beg of Allah Ta’ala in this way.
We walk around and around Baitullah, seven times, praising Allah Ta’ala,
begging and making Dua to Allah Ta’ala. …We are after all babies in the court
of Allaah Jalla Jalaaluhu!
Just as the baby smiles and shows its
extreme happiness on getting what it wants, we should also show our appreciation
to Allaah Jalla Jalaalluhu! We should express our Shukr as much as possible.
11.
WELL TAUGHT AND TRAINED
When a stranger gives something - a sweet,
chocolate, etc. - to a baby, it looks up to its father, mother (abbaa/ammaa),
with a questioning look : Should I take
it?
On one occasion, a little child was brought to our
Sheikh, Hadhrat Moulana Hakeem Muhammad Akhtar Saheb (Rahmatullahi ‘alayh).
Hadhrat offered the child a sweet. However, the child did not accept. He first
turned and looked at his father, waiting for permission. The father said: “Take the sweet.” - so the little boy
took it.
Hadhrat then said: “What a beautiful lesson! These little children are trained not to
accept anything from strangers. This is precisely how a Believer should be responding
when there are any temptations. There are many coloured ‘sweets’ (ghair mahareem) walking on the streets, in the bazaars, colleges, etc. The nafs says:
“Take a lustful glance.” …The one who knows Allah Ta’ala and understands
that he will be accountable to Allah Ta’ala, turns to his ‘Rabba’ (Allah
Ta’ala) and asks: “Must I accept this ‘sweet’ or not?”
The child looks up to ‘Abba’ but the Believer looks
up to his ‘Rabba’. Must I do this or not? Must I take this or not?
When
we are confronted with any temptation, then we first look at the Command of
Allah Ta’ala and we give precedence to His Command and His Pleasure over our
nafs.
SubhanAllah! Children are amazing! They become
teachers for Saalikeen. They teach us how to connect with Allah Ta’ala on
different levels, until our attachment to Allah Ta’ala supersedes our
attachment to everyone else – even one’s mother.
May Allah Ta’ala grant us the Taufeeq of taking
lesson and making ‘Aml.
by Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Hamid Is`haq Saheb (Daamat Barakaatuhum)
