Itminaan – Pure bliss.

Itminaan- Pure bliss(My understanding of the lecture delivered by Sheikh Kamaluddin at the IBA City Campus on 13th Feb 2010 )In today’s age of fitna and fasaad, our lives lack what you call itminaan. Being Muslims, it does not make sense if we say there’s no itminan in our lives because our religion is an epitome of peace – it is a perfect religion.
Since there’s nothing wrong with our God…. nor our religion….. something’s wrong with us if we aren’t content. We have to keep everything constant (ceteris paribus) and focus on changing our approach to life. We have to understand that we are the slaves and abd of Allah and live our lives accordingly. We need to realize what is it that we are actually supposed to do and understand what are the primary and secondary purposes of our life.Muslim’s are supposed to have itminan in their lives because they offer Salaah five times a day. We take Salaah as an obligation and go through it as a mere exercise. While offering namaz, we our lost in thoughts of wordly affairs and gair-Allah (Na-uzubillah). This is haraam ( in the literal sense). Consequently, the purpose of Salaah is not achieved.We are supposed to ‘enjoy’ our namaz. Enjoy every takbir, every sajdah, every ruku and every ayat that we recite. Just like we enjoy eating ice-cream. We enjoy every spoonful that melts on our taste-buds. And you never say give me one spoon of ice-cream. It doesn’t make sense. It wont give you the satisfaction. You want a scoop atleast…. Same is the case with salaah.Having itminan in your life doesn’t mean facing no hardships. Everybody is tested. But people who have itminaan… come out unharmed and as steadfast as ever. It is analogous to eating spicy food in our culture. Your eyes are watering….. apparently… you’re in pain… but actually…. You’re loving it!

We often resort to listening to music, watching movies or surfing randomly to gain some peace of mind… to gain some itminaan. But this itminaan is Itminaan-e-Majaazi. Its an illusion. An escape from reality. It’s not a cure. The sadness will return the moment the movie ends. The minute you switch it off.

It is ziqr-e-Allah that gives a person Itminaan-e-Haqeeqi. Pure Bliss. You offer nafl when you’re depressed and see the magic it creates. But there’s a condition to it. Enjoy every part of it…. from the wuzu to the sajdah. Drown yourself in the feeling of conversing to the Almighty.

When you pass time idly….. you aren’t killing time. Time is killing you. You’re send to this world with a purpose. Spend time thinking about your Creator and His attributes. Remembering him. Praising Him. You turn towards Him. He will turn towards to you and the secondary things in life will follow.

Today there’s lack of Barakaah in our lives. Lack of barkat in our sleep, in our food in the time etc. We wakeup tired after six hours of sleep, eat ten times a day and are always running out of time.
Just like we have to eat everyday, work everyday, check our email ten times a day, text friends etc…. we also need a DAILY DOSE OF ALLAH. We need to spend time doing his zikr every morning and evening. Just like good food and good scenery are pleasures to our sense of taste and sight, a daily dose of Allah is needed for our heart and soul’s health.

Unfortunately, we’re spiritually sick today. It’s when Allah lovingly calls us ‘Ya ayi yu hal lazeena amanu’ (O you who believe) and it has no effect on us. The Jews were called ‘Ya ayi yu hal lazeena amanu’ twice and they celebrated like anything. We Muslims are called ‘Ya ayi yu hal lazeena amanu’ 70 times in the Quran! Forget celebration… we even fail to say ‘Labaik’. We don’t understand the true essence of Allah’s words. Learning Arabic or reading the translation is not the solution. You have to read tafseer and understand the context. Its only then that you will see the pearls. Another way is to attend gatherings of the Wali’s of Allah. Company. People who know more than you. Allah knows we need teachers and that is why He sent the Holy Prophet SAWS.

Allah has promised He and all the Malaika (including Hazra Jibrael) will shower Salawaat on the believers. But… we fail to receive them. Because we have switched our hearts off just like a cell phone is switched off and it fails to receive signals. Its amazing how our heart stops and we panic as the signals in our phone drop to the last bar but we don’t realize we have swiched off hearts.

So, What should we do now?

1. Before you start doing anything (starting a class, eating, working on anything etc), think about Allah. Connect your heart to Him.

2. While in the middle of the activity… REFRESH. Think about Allah and reconnect to him.

3.  whenever you’re free for two minutes or more (waiting for a friend or a teacher for eg)…. Think about Him. Instead of of doing zikr of your work schedule and the same old depressing things and events of the day, think about Allah.

What we have to understand is that there are Master’s of every Discipline who teach you how to excel in that discipline. Similarly, just so that we don’t become what we have become today, the Prophet PBUH recited his masnoon dua’s and wanted us to recite them too. It was his way to connect and reconnect to Allah.

When you eat….. feel as if every luqma is being fed by Allah.

Considering the number of activities you do in a day and the number of times you are free for two or more minutes! One thing is for sure…. Time toh umaray paas buhat hota hai. Its just how you include Allah in your life.

Once you remember Allah outside Salaah, you will automatically start remembering Him inside Salaah.

Once you remember Him inside Salaah, you will enjoy your Salaah. Once you enjoy Salaah, you get Itminaan in life. Pure Bliss. All is set then.