“What the Great Learning teaches, is
– to illustrate illustrious virtue; … and to rest in the highest excellence”
- Confucius
“Human must
struggle if they are to become the true masters they are destined to be. With
every new struggle, a new achievement is also waiting.”
– Michelle Ziebel
“Honourable
men do not behave dishonestly even to dogs”
– Bernard
Shaw
“A man of
intellect without energy added to it is a failure.”- Chamfort
The nature
of man at any given era dictates the level of law and guidance that God sends
to the world. When the nature of man matured and ripped for perfection, Allah
the Almighty sent the perfect man1- Hadhrat Muhammad Mustaphasaw
to give the most perfect teaching to the world. The Holy Qur’an says:
This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed my favour
upon you and have chosen for you Islam as religion.2
In view of
the above, becoming a perfect human being materially and spiritually requires
living a perfect life. However, one cannot attain perfect life without
struggling to follow the perfect teaching- Islam referred to above. This
therefore calls for the topic of our discussion- Moving Towards
Perfection: Material And Spiritual.
At the
beginning of creation, man is placed on perfect footing. Allah the Almighty
says in the Holy Quran:
Surely, We have created man in the best make.3
It is this
way of perfection that every individual has been commanded in the same Glorious
Book to follow and pursue. There is no shortcut to it, as there is no altering
in the law of Allah. He says:
So set your face towards religion ever inclined to truth- and follow the
nature of Allah after which He fashioned all mankind. There is no altering the
creation of Allah. That indeed is the religion which is firmly upright and
supports others to be upright.4
What is perfection?
Several
books of definition have given diverse meanings to the word ‘perfection’. Among
them are:
2.
The highest degree of proficiency, skill, or excellence, as in
some art.6
5.
Freedom from fault or defect or
flawlessness.9
6.
The quality or state of being saintly.10
7. An exemplification of supreme excellence.11
8.
An unsurpassable degree of accuracy or excellence.12
From the foregoing definitions of the term ‘perfection’, our
topic is suggesting moving towards the state of material and spiritual quality;
struggling as much as possible to attain flawless and faultless state of being
with unsurpassable degree of accuracy and excellence.
MATERIAL PERFECTION
There is no
aspect of man’s life that Islam does not touch; and there is no problem for
which it has not proffer solution(s). Material imperfection can lead to
spiritual imperfection. Hence the following prayer in the Holy Qur’an:
Our Lord, let not our hearts become perverse after Thou hast guided us;
and bestow on us mercy from Thyself; surely, Thou art the Bestower.13
There is no doubt that the second phrase
of the prayer is to have material blessing from God Almighty. If in any case,
material condition is straitened, may be
because of faith or bad leadership, either of one’s community, state or employment;
the Holy Quran has suggested some measures to take. Allah the Almighty says:
Verily, those whom the angels cause to die while they are wronging their
own souls, they (the angels) will say to
them: ‘What were you after?’ They will reply: ‘We were treated as weak in
the land.’ They will say, ‘Was not Allah’s earth vast enough for you to
emigrate therein?’ It is these whose abode shall be hell, and an evil
destination it is; except such weak ones among men, women and children, as are
incapable of adopting any plan or of finding any way. As to these, maybe Allah
will efface their sins; for Allah is the Effacer of sins, and is Most Forgiving. And whoso emigrates from his country in the
cause of Allah will find in the earth an abundant place of refuge and
plentifulness. And whoso goes forth from his home, emigrating in the cause of
Allah and His Messenger, and death overtakes him, his reward lies on Allah, and
Allah is Most Forgiving, Merciful.14
From the foregoing verses, the
following can be inferred:
o
Muslims are not expected to be complacent;
o
Change of environment is recommended if the current
environment is not in any way
favourable, especially in terms of material and spiritual, like it happened to
the Holy Prophet of Islamsaw;
o
Better change
of attitude to life is required;
o
Positive change of ways and approaches to issues and
so are also recommended.
While giving further explanation on
the blessed scheme of Tahrik-e-Jadid15 on November 23, 30, and
December 7, 1934 and then in December, 1937, Hadhrat Mirza Bashiruddeen Mahmud
Ahmad, Muslih Maoud and Khalifatul Masih IIra, enumerated the
demands of Tahrik-e-Jadid. These demands are keys to a standard of living that
can give a human being rest and peace of mind; and material perfection would be
achieved, if they are adopted, especially by a believer. Some of these demands
are:
o Lead a
simple life;
o Develop
the habit of working with your own hands (Instead of depending on others);
o The
unemployed, if possible, may proceed abroad. There they can make a living…;
o Jobless
persons should not hesitate to take up even petty jobs;
o Promote Islamic culture. [Like the recently
introduced Islamic Banking or Interest Free Banking];
o Promote
honesty in the society;
o
Offer special prayers in order to succeed in these
undertakings.16
Furthermore, while addressing his
people, Hadhrat Nuhas was reported to have told his people to be
busy with istighfaar for the
betterment of their lives. The Holy Quran says Hadhrat Nuhas
declared:
“And I said, ‘Seek
forgiveness of your Lord; for He is the Great Forgiver. He will send down rain
for you in abundance; He will strengthen you with wealth and with children; He will give you gardens
and He will give you rivers.”17
Above
all, what Hadhrat Imam Mahdias the Holy Founder of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community put us through in Our Teaching
should be remembered. He says:
If you really become God's then
rest assured that God is your very own. While you will sleep, He will keep
watch over you; while you neglect your vigil against the enemy, He will keep an
eye on him [the enemy] and disrupt his plans. Even now you have no idea what
wondrous powers your God has. If you had known, then no day could have dawned
on you for you to grieve over for lack of things of this world. A man who has a
treasure in his possession, does he weep and cry over the loss of a penny, as
though he were about to perish? Had you been aware of this treasure that God
would suffice for all your needs, what reason was there for you to be so wholly
absorbed in things of this world? God is most precious treasure; realize its
proper value. Without Him you are nothing; neither you nor your material means
and plans. Do not follow in the footsteps of other nations which have come to
depend wholly on material means. As a snake eats earth, they subsist on the
basis of the lower and inferior material means. Like vultures and dogs eat
carrion, they too have sunk their teeth in carcass. Indeed, they have drifted
very far from God… Since they depend too much on material means, and seek no
help from God, they are dead; and the heavenly spirit has flown out of them as
a dove flies away from its nest. The leprosy of the worship of Mammon has taken
a hold on the inside of their hearts and cut to pieces the organs of their
inner spiritual life. Beware ye of this leprosy. I do not forbid you to think
of material means within proper limits. What I forbid is that like other
nations you become wholly the slaves of material means, altogether forgetting
God who controls material means as well. Only if you had the eyes to see, you
would find there is only God and God alone, everything else being worthless.
You can neither stretch out your arm nor fold it except with His permission. A
person spiritually dead would laugh at this; but it would be better for him if
he died before he indulged in this laughter.18
SPIRITUAL PERFECTION
During the blessed period of Holy Prophet Islamsaw,
Muslims were upright. Each of them knew who God is. They understood, obeyed and
followed all the commandments of Allah both at personal and interpersonal
levels. Hence, they were angels in human garments. Reason for all these was the
perfect teaching they were blessed with in form of the Holy Qur’an and the
blessed practice of the Prophet saw. After the Prophet saw
has gone back to his Beloved swt, the state of the perfection
started dwindling. But fortunate indeed is the world, as the Prophetsaw
himself has foretold of the continuity of his perfect teaching when he
declared:
ﻛﻴﻒ
ﺗﻫﻠﻛﻮ ﺃﻣﺗﻲ ﺃﻧﺍ ﺍﻮﻠﻬﺁ ﻮﻋﻴﺴﻰ ﺍﺒﻦ ﻤﺮﻴﻢ ﺁﺨﺮﻫﺁ
How would my community be destroyed? I am her first Guide, Jesus son of
Mary is her last Guide.19
Fulfillment of this glad tiding was the advent of the
Imam of the Age and the Promised Messiah, Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmadas.
When some 5-7%20 of around two billion Muslims in the world at this time accepted the
Imam of Age, they confessed21 their sins and promised to attain
perfection in their lives. We Ahmadis are the fortunate percentage that has
recognized and accepted the Imam of the Ageas. We have promised to
struggle to attain spiritual perfection as we have initiated ourselves into the
system of perfection.
HOW IS THE SPIRITUAL PERFECTION ATTAINED?
The Imam of the Ageas declares in his teaching as
enunciated in his book, Ark of Noah that:
Let it be absolutely clear
that a mere verbal pledge has no value if it is not supported by a genuine and
firm resolve to live up to it in every way. Therefore, whoever fully lives up
to my teaching, he alone enters that house of mine with reference to which God
Almighty has promised انّى أحافظ كل من فى الدّار.i.e.
"I shall Myself protect all those who are in this house."22
To be able to have a firm resolve in pursuing spiritual perfection
through the Bai’at, it is important to understand the essence of the Bai’at. The
Promised Messiahas says: 23
By joining this Jama‘at, you
should bring about a complete transformation in your former life so that you
have true faith in Allah, and He becomes your Helper in all calamities. You
should not take His ordinances lightly, but should rather honour every one of
His commandments and prove such honour in your actions...
All of you who have taken bai‘at and have made a commitment, listen! To utter these words is easy, but to
do justice to them is hard because Satan is always busy trying to make man
careless about his faith. Satan shows the world and its benefits to be within
reach, and faith to be distant. In this way, the heart is hardened and each
subsequent condition is worse than the previous one. If you want to please
Allah, put your entire strength and effort to abide faithfully to this
commitment of freeing yourself from sins.
Utter no words of mischief, spread no evil, bear the rebukes with
patience, do not confront anyone, even if someone confronts you, deal with him
with kindness and goodness. Demonstrate a good example of sweetness of
conversation. Abide by all commandments with a true heart so that Allah be
pleased with you and even the enemy may recognise the change in you after bai‘at. Give true evidence in court cases.
All those who join this Movement should establish themselves on truthfulness
with full heart, full endeavour, and the entirety of life. (Dhikr-e-Habib, pp. 436–438)
In March
1903, on the day of ‘Eid, some Companionsra were sitting
together and the Promised Messiahas said:
Listen all of you who have taken bai‘at today and those who have taken bai‘at before, I would like to say a few words
by way of advice. Listen to them carefully. Bai‘at that you have taken today is bai‘at of repentance. Repentance is of two
types. One from the previous sins. That is, to reform oneself from the mistakes
committed before and to make recompense as far as possible to set right the
damage done by them. The second is to safeguard oneself from sins thereafter
and to save oneself from the fire. Almighty Allah has promised that with
repentance all prior sins are forgiven provided that the repentance is made
with a true heart and pure intent and does not contain any secret mischief in
any corner of the heart. Allah knows the hidden secrets of the hearts; He
cannot be misled by anyone. Do not try to mislead Him. Make repentance in His
presence with truthfulness, not hypocrisy. The repentance is not something
extra or useless for man. Its impact is not limited to the Day of Judgement;
rather, it straightens both worldly affairs and the faith. The repentant
achieves peace and prosperity, both in this life and in the life to come. (Malfuzat, vol. 5. pp. 187–188)
In the struggle of moving towards
spiritual perfection, Falsehood and her siblings like: Worry, Revenge, Rebellion, Irritability, Pride, Vulgarity, Excitement, Jealousy, Dishonesty, Depression, Resentment, Ridicule, Despair, Mockery, Lust, Despondency, Envy, Maliciousness, Irreverence, Deceit, Intolerance, Obstinacy, Falsehood, Slander, Selfishness, Cruelty, Backbiting, Scorn, Suspicion, Impatience24 etc should be totally shunned in their entirety.
In the course of moving towards
spiritual perfection, if the above spiritual enemies are removed from the
hearts and minds, they [hearts and minds] will remain empty; if care is not
taken Satan may re-lunch his attack and refill the affected minds and hearts
with the traits. Hence, the following advice of the Worldwide Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community should be taken as a food for thought in this regard:
If we try to break away from the habit of arrogance, but do not fill in the emptiness with humility and meekness, then arrogance would attack us again. Therefore, adopt humbleness!25
Keeping the above instructions in mind, the following qualities are needed to be adopted and fill the empty hearts and minds with them: Kindness, Sympathy, Tact, Honesty, Simplicity, Cleanliness, Sincerity, Refinement, Forgiveness, Gentleness, Love, Nobility, Patience, Steadfastness, Charity, Justice, Dignity, Politeness, Hospitality, Mercy, Optimism, Self-control, Earnestness, Contentment, Cheerfulness, Helpfulness, Courage, Perseverance, Gratitude, Selflessness.26
The
following exhortations of the Promised Messiahas regarding one’s
attitude and behavior towards other people are necessary to be absorbed in the
struggle of moving towards spiritual perfection:
Fling aside your resentment and malice which spring from worldly and
selfish desire.
Pride is the worst impurity of all.
Forget all mutual resentment and unpleasantness.
You should have no ill feeling for anyone whosever.
I say that you should forgive and overlook the faults of others.
Forsake all kinds of low and mean hostilities and jealousies.
Develop more and more power of forbearance.
A true Muslim never harbours malice for anyone.
Take utmost care lest your emotional reaction should overwhelm you.
Take every hardship and injury with a proper degree of forbearance!
Spit out all the turmoil of low emotions, anger and resentment.
Do not speak in terms of ridicule. There should be nothing low or vulgar
in your speech.
Never return evil for evil.27
The movement requires steady and constant self-examination.
It also requires prayer and offering of istighfaar (Seeking Forgiveness of God).
The war against spiritual decline cannot be waged alone. It requires God’s
support and assistance. Satan is always around to incite towards spiritual
imperfection. Allah says in the Holy Qur’an:
And I do not hold myself to be free from weakness; for, the soul is surely prone to enjoin evil, save that whereon my Lord has mercy. Surely, my Lord is Most Forgiving, Merciful.28
A prophet
of God without blemish is reported to have made the above statement. It is only
the mercy of Allah that enables one to reap the fruits of his struggle. May we
all be able to pursue the right course.
Ogunmupe,
B. (2011) says in his piece titled ‘How To Change Your Life’29:
Exceptional men and women look up to … people of character and
accomplishment. They strive to and live up to the ideals of people whose
respect is of the great value to them. In a study of successful men,
researchers found that these people had almost all been avid readers of
biographies and autobiographies when they were young. Reading the stories of
these famous men, they imagined themselves having the same qualities of the
people they were studying.
He had said
earlier:
There is a law in psychology that if you form a picture in your mind of
what you would like to be, and you keep and hold that picture there long
enough, you will soon become exactly as you have been thinking.30
Allah the Almighty says in the Holy Qur’an:
Verily you have in the Prophet of Allah an excellent model, for him who
fears Allah and the Last Day and who remembers Allah much.31
Attaining spiritual perfection,
therefore, requires that a believer should always think of how to become the
like of the Holy Prophetsaw. Picture of his ideal character should
be painted, kept and held for life in one’s minds so as to continue to be like
him for the entire life. These, however, cannot be achieve if one does not read
and study the books that present the golden history and story of the Prophetsaw
and his early and latter pious companions.
God willing, such shall also be eulogized by God and His angels that:
And
thou dost surely possess high moral excellencies.32
If the measures summarized above are
adopted, we believe, material and spiritual perfection will be achieved because
Allah’s blessing will be coming down on such persons. For they have taken to
the ways recommended by their Lord. May Allah help us to adopt His ways. Aameen
thumma aameen.
Endnotes:
1. The Holy Qur’an – Maulawi Sher ‘Ali -Chapter 20 Verse 2
2. ibid - Chapter 5
verse 4
3. ibid - Chapter
95 verse 5
4. ibid – Chapter
30 verse 31
6. ibid
7. ibid
9. ibid
10. ibid
11. ibid
12. ibid
13. The Holy
Qur’an – Maulawi Sher ‘Ali – chapter 3 verse 9
14. ibid – Chapter 4
verse 98-101
15. The scheme was launched on 23/11/1934
16. Welcome to Ahmadiyya, the True Islam,
pp. 405-406
17. The Holy
Qur’an – Maulawi Sher ‘Ali- Chapter 71 verse 11-13
18. Our Teaching, pp. 12-13
19. Hadith- Ibn Majah/ Kazul Ammal
20. Hadhrat Khalifatul Masih V, Friday
Sermon 17/6/2011 as translated by www.alislam.org
21. Declaration of
Initiation as announced in Ishtehar
Takmeel-e-Tabligh on 12th January 1889
22. Our
Teaching, pp. 1
23. Conditions of Bai’at and Responsibilities of an Ahmadi
[UK 2006], pp. 12-14
24. Life
Supreme, pp. 31,
25. Op.cit., pp.122
26. Op.cit, pp. 34
27. ibid. pp. 33-34
29. The Guardian,
Saturday, July 2, 2011, pp. 16
30. ibid
31. The Holy Qur’an – Maulawi Sher ‘Ali - Chapter 33 verse 22
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