“But if you look for a companion, be careful in choosing!
And be careful of what you say, even to your closest friends!
The enemy has many spies and many ways of hearing.”
- Gandalf to Frodo
These days, self-help books, courses, seminars are all the rage. People seem unable to control themselves, probably because of all the prevalent materialism abound. We seek all the help we can to lose weight, tackle procrastination, exercise, quit smoking, alcohol or whatever vice you can imagine, yet we are as terrible as achieving our goals as perhaps ever.
The battle against the nafs…
‘ There was once a sultan who had a skilled hunting dog which he dearly loved. The sultan would give much importance to this dog and admire it greatly. He would never leave on a hunting expedition except he would bring it with him. It even had a collar encrusted with jewels and anklets of gold and silver on its legs while its back was covered with a garment of woven silk.
One day, the king proceeded on a hunting trip with the men from his fort and took with him this hunting dog as was his custom. The king…
- A sticking point for atheist evolutionists — Dhikr.
As human knowledge evolves and varied thoughts, knowledge and ideas becoming more widely available, it can become increasingly difficult to remain on top of our thinking and ideas to ensure they are consistent. Our thoughts must have a logical consistency, otherwise we can’t be sure if we are following truth and fact or if our thoughts are being affected by emotions, faith-based conclusions, whims, peer-pressure or any other of the myriad factors that affect our thinking on a day-to-day basis. …
‘ Truly the heart does not intertwine its love with more than one thing. So long as it is entangled with the love of any one thing, it will not love another. Even if it is seen to have many desires and its love relates to many things around it such as wealth, children, leadership, praise, glory and status with people — in fact, its love is still only one and that is love for one’s own self (nafs)! For what is the love of all these things except branches and manifestations of one’s own love for one’s own self…
“Know that the recitation of a surah from the Quran or a verse, revealed regarding a particular issue, brings about a benefit to its reader in that affair. For example, reading a verse connected with purification of the self leaves a great impression on people on the matter of cleansing and purification from the evil and repugnant characteristics of the self. It is likewise in relation to other issues.”
– Letters (Maktubat) of Imam Rabbani, Ahmed al Sirhindi (r)
In this age of unbridled consumption and slobbering after desires and lusts, getting in control of your life can seem like…
