There are three types of dialogue in my experience. The first is debate, which is when someone wants to win by showing or proving his or her theology’s superiority. In my opinion, this actually is no dialogue at all. It even kills the spirit of dialogue and makes people either scream in anger or be silent. The second is the search for unity. This means that you try to unite all religious doctrines by seeking to eliminate their differences. But by this people also deny their own identities and the distinguishing thoughts, understandings, and behaviours that characterize their lives and communities. Nature, traditions, and social structures are never uniform and cannot pretend to be. The third form of dialogue is intellectual partnership. In this case, we learn from and about each other, and even about ourselves by being shown a mirror from another perspective. This is the only genuine way of dialogue.
Source: Spirit of Islam September 2016
The study of psychology tells us that human beings are by nature egoists. Whenever their ego is hit, a hostile reaction is produced which easily becomes converted into hatred and the urge to do violence. This point has been dealt with very clearly by C.M. Joad in his book: “The Modern Wickedness.” It is this psychological weakness in human beings due to which we find that differences often take the form of animosity, which frequently leads to violence. This shows that violence is in no need of any ideology. Violence flares up or can flare up on its own. But, so far as peace is concerned, it is a course that we adopt by choice. One has to make oneself intentionally peace-loving. That is, while violence occurs on its own, restoring a state of peace requires a positive and peaceful ideology for man to strive toward.
To keep oneself intentionally peaceful, one needs to understand the creation plan of God. The present world has been designed by its Creator as a testing ground for mankind. Man has been granted full freedom of will in this world. But this freedom is not meant to produce anarchy. Its objective is to demonstrate whether man, despite having full freedom, can lead a disciplined life. He has to raise himself from the level of animal amorality to the level of human ethics. In spite of experiencing feelings of hatred and having the urge to be violent, he should become the embodiment of love and peace. When negative sentiments corrode his heart, he should be able to rid himself of them and make himself a positive thinker.
To put it briefly, despite possessing total freedom, he should of his own free will become an example of moral, disciplined behaviour. One who thus conducts himself will pass God’s test. Only those who act in this way will be selected by the Lord, the Creator and Sustainer of this universe, as the beneficiaries of that most wonderful blessing—eternal paradise.
Having understood the meaning of life, one will be willing to keep the peace as a matter of conscious decision-making. For peace, one will curb his anger and be forgiving. He will control his feelings of hatred and project feelings of love for others. He will suppress his negative thinking, and replace it with positive thinking. He will not allow himself to be provoked into violence. And he will do this by his own intention, not under compulsion.
Giving himself a complete moral overhaul, such an individual can play the role of a peace-loving person. This is a comprehensive ideology of peace based on the creation plan of God. Giving the target of Paradise in the Hereafter, it motivates people to adopt peaceful ways.
Source: The Ideology of Peace
Scholars have defined peace thus: “Peace is the absence of war.” This definition is absolutely correct. However, some people hold this definition of peace to be inadequate. They say that justice should accompany peace; that peace devoid of justice is no peace. But setting such a condition for the attainment of peace is impractical. As justice is made a prerequisite for peace, peace remains a distant dream.
In this world of nature, only the laws of nature can prevail, anything that is unnatural cannot be materialised. According to the law of nature, justice is not part of peace; it is the result of your own efforts. The natural formula of peace is based on the principle: Peace for the sake of peace, So, first of all, we have to establish peace at any cost. According to this law of nature, peace will certainly open the doors of opportunity and by making the most of those opportunities, you can achieve justice, peace, or any other goal.
This principle was successfully demonstrated by the Prophet of Islam in the form of Sulh al Hudaybiyyah or the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. In fact Sulh al Hudaybiyyah was a peace agreement between Muslims and their opponents. The Prophet of Islam finalised this peace agreement by accepting injustice. At that time the Prophet and his companions wanted to visit Makkah and perform Umrah, but they were prevented from doing so. The Prophet dropped his Umrah plans and finalised the peace agreement by accepting all the conditions laid down unilaterally by the opponents. As a consequence, the companions of the Prophet were very disheartened: they considered it a degrading treaty. One of the companions said at that time, “Why are we accepting such a humiliating agreement?”
However, soon after this peace agreement was finalised, God Almighty revealed this verse in the Quran: “Truly, we have granted you a clear victory.” (The Quran, 48: 1)
Why does the Quran call it a “clear victory” when it was obviously a setback for the Prophet and his companions? This ‘victory’ was in terms of potential victory rather than immediate actual victory. The Hudaybiyyah Peace Treaty stopped all kinds of hostility between the two sides and opened up the doors of opportunity.
After this, it became possible to conduct a dialogue and, have an intellectual exchange, between the two parties. In other words, peace opened the doors for the Prophet to be able to spread his message throughout Arabia.
This prophetic example shows us the way to peace. It tells us how peace can be established and what actions must be taken in such situations of conflict. It is to detach peace from justice. It is to establish peace at any cost. It is to adopt peace for the sake of peace; to re-plan every strategy concentrating on opportunities and not on justice.
Justice is an indirect result of peace and not the direct outcome, so the formula for peace is to establish peace by accepting injustice for a temporary period. Peace will open the doors of opportunity and by availing the opportunities the goal of justice can be reached. The only formula for achieving justice is to accept injustice at the outset; then you will be able to achieve justice in the future by reaping the benefits of peace.
Source: Spirit of Islam January 2015
Prophet Muhammad has been called the mercy to all mankind by God in the Quran in these words: “We have sent you forth as a mercy to all mankind. (The Quran, 21:107)
The advent of the Prophet was an expression of God’s mercy for the whole of humankind. Through him, God informed us about the principles on the basis of which human beings can come to inhabit what the Quran (10:25) refers to as dar us-salam or ‘the Home of Peace’, an abode of peace and security for its inhabitants. Through the Prophet, God conveyed to us teachings that can make for a peaceful society. The Prophet presented humankind with a complete ideology of peace. He provided us with a formula that can enable us to abstain from hatred and violence and lead a healthy life. He ushered in a revolution that made it possible for humanity to avoid confrontation and war and nurture a peaceful society.
Because of certain compelling circumstances, the Prophet had to fight some battles, but these were so minor that they can be more appropriately called skirmishes, rather than wars. The great revolution that the Prophet wrought can, therefore, definitely be termed a bloodless revolution.
The Prophet gave peace the status of a complete and comprehensive way of life. He taught us that violence leads to destruction, while peace leads to construction. He termed patience as the highest form of worship, which means remaining fully established on the way of peace. He termed strife, the disruption of the peaceful system of Nature, as the biggest crime. He gave complete importance to peace in accordance with the Quranic teaching that equated the killing of a single individual with the slaying of the whole of mankind.
The Prophet termed patience as the highest form of worship, which means remaining fully established on the way of peace. He taught us to greet each other with the greeting Assalamu Alaikum or ‘May peace be upon you!’ This means that our relationships with each other should be based on peace and security. He taught us that success in the Hereafter is the real goal of human activity and struggle in this world. In this way, he uprooted the false belief that the target of our life is worldly progress, which is the basis of all forms of confrontation and violence. He taught us not to consider anyone as our enemy. From him, we learned that if we behave in a good way with our opponents, we will realize that hidden deep within every person we think of as our foe is a potential friend. He gave humanity this beautiful formula: Become someone who benefits others. And if you cannot benefit others, then at least become harmless as far as they are concerned.
Source: Spirit of Islam October 2014
The Quran gives important guidance on how to resolve controversial situations in these words: “for reconciliation is best.” (4:128)
The policy of reconciliation is not only effective for problems relating to family matters but is equally useful for all other problems, both national and international.
When controversy arises, reconciliation is the best course. That is, you have to adopt a conciliatory rather than a confrontational approach. The conciliatory approach always minimizes the problem, while the confrontational approach aggravates matters while leaving the initial problem unsolved.
The fact is that you are not living on an isolated island; you are bound to live in society. You have no option other than to live with others in a family, in a society, in a nation, and in international life. In such a situation, you cannot afford to live on your own. If you become egocentric and ignore other people, you will unnecessarily make others your rivals, so the best policy is to accept others, adopting the policy of adjustment. You have to avoid all kinds of clashes, so that you may save your energy and your time.
Adopting the policy of reconciliation is not just a question of being accommodating toward others. It is much more than that. It allows you to continue your journey of life without any breaks. It saves you from deviation and permits you to dedicate your life more and more to worthy goals.
If you adopt the policy of confrontation, you will very soon discover that there is no end to your difficulties, and this will lead to clashes and clashes will culminate in violence. And, of course, the next stage after violence is conflict, war, and fighting. The best policy, therefore, is to rid oneself of the confrontational mentality at the very outset.
The conciliatory approach seems to be directed against another person, but in fact, the confrontational approach is against the law of nature. It is a man-versus-nature issue rather than a man-versus-man issue. You cannot change the course of nature, so there is no option other than to seek a settlement with nature. This is the only way of success in this world.
Source: Quranic Wisdom
The best policy to adopt vis-à-vis one’s opponents is to save oneself from directly clashing with them, and instead, try to move ahead. Your opponent should not get the opportunity to feel that you are interfering in his domain. If you happen to confront your opponent, you should appear to be inactive, saving yourself from his aggression. Or you should keep yourself carefully confined to your own domain, and in this way, convince your opponent that you will not cause him any harm. Along with this, you should also adopt measures that will enable you to foil your opponent’s aggressive plans in a possible emergency situation. In this way, you will be able to save yourself from clashing with others. This will save you time and energy.
Source: Spirit of Islam July 2017
Life is a series of different kinds of experiences, both good and bad. A good experience, suits us perfectly well, but what how can we ensure that bad experiences do not result in conflict? The Quran gives us a very simple answer: Avoid any unpleasantness by remaining noncommittal. This principle is set forth in one of the chapters of the Quran. When the Prophet of Islam started his mission in Makkah in 610 CE, the situation was highly unfavourable. Often, he faced unwanted situations and at that juncture, the following verse was revealed in the Quran:
“Bear patiently with what they say, and ignore them politely.” (73: 10)
In such a predicament, patience is not a passive attitude; it demonstrates great wisdom. When you keep your patience, you are saving your time and energy. Being patient in a difficult situation means that if you sense that the other person is not in a responsive mood, you should adopt the principle of avoidance, give him an evasive reply and then proceed with your own affairs. It is only if you see that the other person is listening to you in earnest that you should present your point of view to him. This principle is very important in social life. Society is a combination of different kinds of people and the way we live our lives in society is very often determined not by our own choices but by the will of others. If you try to convince all the members of society of your wish to prevail.
Source: Spirit of Islam July 2016
The real means of attaining the ends of tazkiya is for man to reflect on the signs of God, activate his thinking, and through continuous reflection or pondering, discover the deeper realities of things. Tazkiya means preparing oneself with regard to the Hereafter, that is, developing in oneself those qualities which will benefit one in the Hereafter. The way of Tazkiya is to activate one’s thinking. One way to do this is to identify such incidents in one's life when one was going to be plunged into some great trouble but was saved by the special succour of God.
It is a must for the seeker of Tazkiya to recall such incidents repeatedly in order to refresh the mind of how, when he had reached the very brink of destruction, was saved by the special intervention of God. He should keep remembering every graphic detail of these incidents and beseech God thus: “O God, you have repeatedly saved me from the horrible consequences of my actions in the life of this world. In the same way, save me from the horrible punishment of hell in the Hereafter.”
Source: Spirit of Islam July 2016
Tazkiyah or purification, is a Quranic term. The Quran tells us that tazkiya is the means for human salvation (91: 9-10). According to the Quran (20: 76), only those people will be admitted to the world of Paradise who have purified themselves in this world.
The literal meaning of tazkiya is ‘purification’. Just as iron ore passes through various difficult stages and finally acquires the shape and form of a useful machine, a human being’s character passes through difficult stages and emerges as a purified soul.
What are these difficult stages? These stages are when we are faced with unwanted conditions. These unpleasant conditions are the situations that we need to pass through in order to develop our character. When our ego gets a beating and yet we remain firmly established in justice, when we feel angry but control our anger, when we get some position of honour but still remain modest, when we feel the fire of revenge burn within us but douse out the flames inside, when we experience hatred towards someone but still retain concern for his wellbeing, when we acknowledge others even though we are not compelled to, are a few examples of situations that serve to purify us. These are opportunities for our tazkiya. They build within us a lofty character.
Unpleasant conditions are the situations that we need to pass through in order to develop our character. Such opportunities cannot arise in normal conditions. They arise only in abnormal situations. According to the Quran (41: 35), in this examination, only those people succeed who are patient.
Source: Spirit of Islam June 2016
Tazkiyah literally means growth, one example of which can be seen in the tree. A tree is the result of the growth of a seed. When a seed finds a favourable environment, it starts growing until it becomes a green, verdant tree. The same is true of the purification of a human being. In this sense, Tazkiyah also covers intellectual development.
God has created a person with great potential, and this potential of the human personality is actualized by Tazkiyah. In this sense, it would be right to call it the building of the human personality on a divine foundation.
When a person discovers and realizes faith, he has in actual fact, started the journey of Tazkiyah. Gradually, he becomes a purified soul or an intellectually and spiritually developed personality. This is the person who will gain entrance into the eternal Paradise of the Hereafter.
There is nothing mysterious about Tazkiyah. Tazkiyah can be attained, not through meditation but through contemplation and reflection. This entails pondering over or thinking about oneself and the universe, and receiving intellectual sustenance for God-realization. This is the process which results in a purified personality. There is nothing abstract about Tazkiyah. It is a known reality. Tazkiyah is the result of a struggle on the part of the individual. It is not at all related to any mysterious inspiration from some supposedly saintly person.
Source: Discovering God
The British writer Walter de la Mare (1873-1956) wrote a poem called ‘Miss T’. A few lines of the poem are presented here: “It's a very odd thing - As odd as can be - That whatever Miss T eats Turns into Miss T.” The poet suggests that as long as food is on the table it has an identity as an edible item. But once Miss T eats them, they become a part of her. This is a form of conversion, through which a material substance is changed to become a part of the human body. But there is another aspect of this change. This aspect relates to the human consciousness.
Pondering over material experiences can transform them into a means for the development of our consciousness. When we see various material things around us, they are just objects. But when they enter our minds, they can be transformed into a source for the development of our consciousness.
A conscious person might wonder on the creation and existence of various materials on this earth. Their compatibility with humans go to form a fascinating life support system. Exploring further, one begins to discover the meaningfulness of God's creation and can see the Creator through His creation. This experience is a means to develop intellectually and spiritually.
Source: Spirit of Islam July 2015
The believer, according to the Quran, must be a traveler (al-saihoon) (9:112). This is not just in the sense of one who goes on journeys: it actually means one who learns spiritual lessons through tawassum (15:75), i.e. through reflection on material experiences. Guidance to this effect is set forth in the chapter Al-An‘am (The Cattle) of the Quran. The translation of the relevant verse is as follows:
“Say, ‘Travel about the land and see what was the end of the deniers.” (6:11)
A believer is one who is always in a state of contemplation. When a believer is on his travels, his mind is always in the contemplative mode. Whatever a believer sees around him turns into a spiritual experience. A true believer’s mind is like a spiritual industry. He sees everything with a divine eye and learns spiritual lessons through tawassum. His travelling thus becomes ibadat, or worship, in that it serves to remind him of God.
This process is integral to the workings of the mind of a true believer—a spiritually hungry person, who is constantly trying to derive spiritual lessons from everything. Naturally, this process continues during his travels. There is a formula for this which can be summarized thus: siahat plus tawassum is equal to maarefat.
Source: Leading a Spiritual Life
The universe has been fashioned by God in a way that it may become a source of spiritual inspiration for man. According to the Quran, it is the quality of ‘tawassum’ that enables one to find inspiration in the universe. Tawassum is the ability to understand the signs of nature. That is, to observe the phenomena of the universe in order to draw lessons from them and receive spiritual nourishment from physical events. God is so generous that He has created the whole universe to be at our service, day and night. Spirituality is based on taking lessons from God’s signs spread in the universe (Tawassum) (15: 75) which means converting every material event into a spiritual lesson. Tawassum is, in a sense, a matter of conversion, on a parallel with grass entering the body of the cow and through a natural process being transformed into milk. Similarly, the truly religious person is like a divine industry. He is able to convert physical events into spiritual lessons. He extracts spiritual nourishment from material things. True spirituality is that which leads man to intellectual development.
Source: Spirit of Islam April 2013
Tafakkur (contemplation) aims at bringing man closer to God. The Quran states: “In the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the succession of night and day, there are signs for men of understanding; those that remember God when standing, sitting, and lying down, and reflect on the creation of the heavens and the earth (saying): ‘Lord, You have not created these in vain. Glory be to You! Save us from the torment of the fire, Lord.” (3: 190-191)
Man established a rapport with God when he thinks of Him, worships and remembers Him, when his heart is turned towards Him with full concentration, and when he makes a request or a plea. In the words of the Hadith, at that particular moment he comes to whisper with his Lord. He has the tangible feeling that he is pouring his heart out to God and that God in turn is answering his call.
Spirituality in Islam is the direct result of the kind of intellectual development that takes place when a believer ponders over the Creator and His creation. The source of Islamic spirituality is observation and reflection and contemplation.
When this communion is established between God and man, man can feel himself becoming imbued with a special kind of peace. His eyes are moist with tears. He starts receiving inspiration from God.
According to a Hadith the Prophet Muhammad said the highest form of worship is to pray as if you were seeing God. We learn from this Hadith the true sign of a superior form of worship. The true sign is for man to sense the presence of God during worship, and feel that he has come close to God. That is when he can experience the refreshing, cooling effect of God’s love and blessings for man. It is this feeling of closeness to God that is the highest form of spiritual experience. In chapter 96, the Quran says:
“Do Sajdah (prostration) and come nearer to God.” (96: 19)
This Sajdah is the highest form of meditation. Sajdah is a form of unification of soul and body. According to this Quranic verse, Sajdah is the meeting point between God and man.
Sajdah is the sign of submission or surrender, for it is only in a state of submission or surrender that we can meet God Almighty. Sajdah is the final position of submission for acquiring a place very close to God.
Source: Spirit of Islam October 2018
Jesus Christ once said: “Man does not live by bread alone.” (Matthew 4:4) This is an important teaching of all religions. This means that all men and women need two kinds of nourishment: the physical and the spiritual. Everyone knows the importance of physical nourishment but, where spiritual nourishment is concerned, people remain in ignorance of how vital it is.
Man cannot afford to live in a state of physical starvation, for physical starvation brings on weakness and disease. Everyone, being aware of how debilitating this can be, makes sure that he or she has proper sustenance.
The same is true of spiritual starvation. Spiritual starvation makes you a weak personality. It erodes the faculty of wisdom. It deprives you of moral values. Spiritual starvation may go to such an extreme that one may face spiritual death.
To keep spirituality alive, spiritual food is at all times a necessity. The source of that spiritual food is thinking or contemplation. Moreover, one should develop the habit of not taking things at face value. The deeper aspect of things must be gone into so that their inner meaning may be discovered. This requires an uninterrupted intellectual process.
Source: Spirit of Islam October 2018
One of the major concerns of the Quran is to inculcate in every man and woman the spirit of contemplation. A verse of the Quran states:
“There are certainly signs in that for those who can learn a lesson.” (15:75)
Natural phenomena as well as historical events have great lessons for those who go deeply into them and contemplate to learn lessons from them. The Quran, in referring to them, attempts to develop the thinking habit, so that readers may gain from them intellectually.
The individual must keep his mind alive every day and every night. When he studies a book and contemplates its verses, when he observes a scene, and when he is confronted by a historical event, he must properly activate his mental faculties in order to learn some spiritual lesson from it. He must endeavour to turn his experiences into meaningful lessons.
Source: Quranic Wisdom
Who is a deserving candidate for the eternal world of Paradise? According to the Quran, only a muzakka (20:76) person will be selected for being settled into Paradise. Muzakka means a purified soul. The hearts of the people of Paradise will be filled with the glory of God. (39:75) This is the first quality of a muzakka person. That is, he must discover the glory of God in the present world and acknowledge it from deep within his heart. Glorifying God is always a result of discovery. It means that a person should adopt the culture of contemplation (tadabbur), and through thinking and reflection, discover God as the Lord of the Universe. This discovery must be intellectually so deep that it should bring about a revolutionary change in his personality. In this way, he becomes a rabbani (3:79) person, as defined in the Quran.
Source: Spirit of Islam October 2018
The Quran is the Book of God, revealed to the Prophet of Islam in the first quarter of the seventh century. In the chapter Sad (Sad), the Quran says of itself:
“This is a blessed Book which We sent down to you [Muhammad], for people to ponder over its messages, and for those with understanding to take heed.” (38:29)
The Quran is, indeed, a book of wisdom, which gives us knowledge about the divine scheme along with all those principles that are required for successful living in this world. In short, the Quran is a book of guidance for mankind. It is, moreover, a simple book, which is easily understandable to anyone who has even the most rudimentary knowledge of Arabic. But all the things it has to offer can be discovered only through contemplation, called tadabbur. Contemplation opens the doors of the Quranic treasure of knowledge.
Source: Quranic Wisdom
The source of the realization of God is, in the words of the Quran, reflection (tafakkur and tadabbur). (The Quran, 3:191) The attainment of God-realization by contemplation is entirely a function of the mind. In the human body, the act of thinking is done only by the brain. What is achieved by this process of thinking has been defined as God-realization.
In ancient times, there were groups of spiritual persons who held that the source of realization of God was the heart, and it was due to this concept that the method of meditation, by focusing on the heart became prevalent. But this concept does not relate to divine religion. With reference to the heart, the Quran uses the word “understanding” (fiqh) (7:179), but this word “heart” is used only as a metaphor to refer to the “mind”. It is only through thinking and contemplation that one can achieve God-realization.
Source: Discovering God
The formula for Quranic spirituality is very simple—simple living and high thinking. Simple living prevents you from succumbing to distractions, thus allowing you to find more time to engage your mind in meaningful arenas. Simple living and high thinking are interdependent. Simple living gives you more time for high thinking, and high thinking makes you a man capable of simple living.
Islamic spirituality is, in essence, God-centred and not self-centred. Activating one’s minds, when you discover your Creator, you instantly establish communication between yourself and your Creator. It is like establishing a connection between the electric bulb in your room and the powerhouse situated outside your room. Just as the electric connection illuminates your room, so also does the divine connection illuminate your whole personality. Then you become a ‘rabanni’, or a man of God.
Quranic spirituality or God-oriented spirituality is the essence of divine life. Such spirituality leads to a life where there is no tension, no negative thought. In other words, spirituality makes us positive human beings.
Source: Quranic Wisdom
