Have you ever wondered what it
feels like to be real? To be true? A thing that we could admit is good, a thing
where the intention is just “right”? Something that is of pure nature, with
good intentions and good motives, something honorable and presentable? Like an
action that you would never have any problems in justifying? A truth? A moral
and right thing to do. You’ve probably heard in your life the importance of
being true to yourself. But what exactly does that mean? Are we always true to
ourselves? Do we not have feelings and motives? Do we not have fears and
desires? What does it mean to be good? To be the right thing? To be true? To be real? And what enables us to
reach this state? It is a state that we cannot obtain being by ourselves, or in
a company of others. Being by ourselves we are prone to listen to our selfish
motives, passions and desires, and yet being in a company causes us to present
certain parts of ourselves while hiding other parts. To be absolutely true to
yourself seems to require an audience that has the ability to question your
actions and motives and yet know every grain and detail about you. it is a
state in which we have to be brought to
light. A state of God-consciousness, or in Arabic you would call taqwa. It
is to stand before your creator with all due sincerity, to stand before Allah
swt. Allah, the one God of the whole universe, the All-Seeing, the All-Hearing
and the All Knowing. To be held accountable for all your actions. To be conscience
of his presence at all times, that is to be sincere. To be first sincere to God
is to truly be sincere to yourself down to the depths of your soul.
This is
sincerity, that you can search the world for and yet never be able to obtain
anywhere else except for in prayer before Allah swt. The knowledge that He is
closer to you than your jugular vein, that He has known you since the moment of
your existence. He knows your worries, your feelings, and your fears. He knows
your joys, your pains and your tears, and he knows your successes and your
failures, your strengths and your weaknesses, and yet he always wants the best
for you and accepts you and is oft forgiving, most merciful. It is as though
you are being held in light and nothing veils you before your creator, your
soul delicately being held before a supreme light and force that exposes your
every detail, your soul before the All-Knowing. It is a most vulnerable
feeling, and yet the greatest confession to acknowledge and stand before your
creator. Knowing that there is nothing to hide, and that you will be judged by
Him who owns and rules the universe causes you to be more careful in your
actions and always seek forgiveness and reward from the creator alone.
This
truth is a thing that you can only obtain through being sincere and to be
sincere is a thing you can only obtain through having taqwa, God-consciousness.
An internal condition that leads to goodness and righteousness being its
external reflection.
Allah
swt tells us what this external reflection is: “It
is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards East or West; but it is
righteousness to believe in Allah, and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the
Book, and the Messengers, to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for
your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and
for the ransom of slaves, to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular
charity, to fulfill the contracts which you have made; and to be firm and
patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity and throughout all periods of
panic. Such are the people of truth, those who fear Allah.” (Baqarah Ayah 177)
The
external reflection of this sincere internal condition is reflected. A person who materializes goodness. Nouman
Ali Khan further defines these ayah stating that “Faith is like a foundation of
a building. First you see the person is very giving, a good charitable giving,
benevolent person but that is not an accomplishment. Good means to go beyond
the law. Salah means they prayed, they established it, and that their life revolves around the prayer
(like furniture has to go around pillars) meaning schedules and appointments should
revolve around the prayer. Salah doesn’t have to fit with everything else,
everything else has to fit with salah. What he consumes must be pure and how he
earns it has to be pure. These people always fulfill their words if and when
they get into a promise/agreement. These are the people of goodness. Agreements
include being a student, employing, jobs, neighborhoods, your lives are in
other people’s hands when you have a license, it is an agreement to abide by
certain laws. Employers give many jobs and than watching Islamic movies is not
righteousness. Goodness it to fulfill promises when they get into them. These
are patient and persistent people in difficult times and when times become hard
(economically) and in the middle of the battlefield/war, no matter what they
don’t let go of their faith. Those are the ones that are really good. Those are
the people of goodness, the people of taqwa. Now goodness is defined, you can
fit injunctions properly, and everything has its place”.
This
includes excelling academically when you are in a contract, being punctual,
honest and persistent. Goodness is manifested in the person that has true iman.
This is a message that I hope will reach all brothers and sisters. Be true to
Allah swt. Do you not fear the creator? Do you not know that He is watching,
that He is well-aware and that you will be held accountable for everything you
do? Do not take this matter lightly, let your heart soften before your creator,
and let it fill with iman. Let your actions be to seek His pleasure and
practice his good and right will. Let yourselves be mindful of Him, He is here,
close to you and there is nothing to hide from Him. Yes, you are being judged.
Constantly with your every breath and moment, you are being judged so know
yourself. There is nothing to conceal before Allah and fear none at all except
for Him. Be sincere before Him, fulfill
everyone’s rights, fulfill all your promises. Do not make promises that you
have no intention of keeping, be good, want good and be sincere before Allah swt
and excel in everything. To be true to
yourself is in fact to be true to Allah swt. That is the way to success in both
this life and the hereafter.
An external reflection of an internal
condition.
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