Dedicated to my late father, who has passed away this last Thursday, February 10th, 2022 (Rajab 9, 1443). Allah has called His servant back to Him; “Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return.” In this returning is the very manifestation of the Divine Statement, the final prostration of created being. To pass away from the world is to declare that in truth there is nothing but Allah [God]. The Divine Statement contains both sadness and joy, beyond both is the final abode. God Bless my father.
The Prophet ﷺ said, "Verily, I know a phrase which no servant utters truthfully from his Heart except that the Fire is made unlawful for him."
`Umar ibn al-Khattab said to the disciples: "I shall tell you what that phrase is. It is the Shahadah of sincerity with which Allah has empowered Muhammad ﷺ.
The Prophet ﷺ said, "On the Day of Rising, it will be said: "O Muhammad ﷺ, raise your head and speak, for you will be heard; ask, for your will shall be unhindered and your request accepted; Intercede! For your intercession will be accepted." I will then say: "O Lord, allow me to intercede for whoever said: La ilaha il Allah." Then Allah will say: By My Power, by My Majesty, by My Supremacy, and by My Greatness, I shall take out of the fire whoever said: La ilaha illallah.
"Whoever witnesses [gnosis] that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah, Allah forbids the Fire from touching him."
- Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim from ʿUbada ibn al-Samit.
The ego is predicated on the sense of being engulfed in darkness. It is a manifestation of a sense of isolation and abandonment, and thus as far as the intellect goes, the ego is a constant projection that is being generated and maintained in order to distract itself away from this existential suffering and dread. And yet, it finds manifestation in this world through the modality of the narcissistic self. Sometimes it is a panic that we ignore, and other times, it becomes so loud that it cannot be ignored. But ultimately, it is a condition of suffering that says that it is unsafe for us to be authentic, honest, and open. We fall into a constant state of worship of contingent things in order to validate our existence, to try to placate our sense of emptiness and lack of value.
It can only disappear when the light of Belief enters the Heart. The only way out of the darkness is the remembrance of Allah, the awakening to the knowledge of Divine Limitless Nearness. This light is the reality of the knowledge that God alone is worthy of worship.
True belief in the Divine, that is an intuitive knowing of God, is like finding a crystal shard, a sliver of light, hidden within the depths of the darkness of our Being. It is absolutely subtle, but from its shimmering presence, there emerges from it, even as it lies buried within us, the very Light of God. It effaces Ignorance, casts out demons, and rejects the fires of Hell. From it emanates a deep sense of being loved inherently, that value is intrinsic to us. It informs us of the inherent nearness of Allah, which sanctifies our very Being.
But we must swim ever so deeply within, exercising the most subtle of meditative focus, awareness, presence, and understanding, in order to not only find that shard, that crystal light of Being, but to also expand its light so totally that the darkness of egoic-Being is effaced. It relaxes us, makes us feel safe enough to be truly vulnerable with others. It is the energy of Divine Love that is our wellspring of abundance and resilience, courage and strength, resolve in the face of all trials. It is what enables us to let go of the world and not cling to its illusory pleasures.
To worship none but Allah is to recognize that there is no authority over your Being except Allah. That is the nobility of your Being. In the absence of this, then all others besides Allah become authorities over you, and your expressed self as a modality of Being merely represents a submissive and debased state.
The one who has died most fully to the world is the one who is most free. The veils of the false self are removed. The Light of God is seen clearly within the Kaaba of the Heart, that mysterious realm of the angels. It is a holy temple in which is prostrated the Holy Prophet ﷺ.
The Prophet ﷺ is the one who most fully reminds us of the hidden reality of God. The message from God is the Messenger of God ﷺ, and everything about the message is itself beautiful. The Messenger of God ﷺ is a manifestation of belief in God, of knowledge of God, a sign that the Beloved is real and near. To reject the message of God is self-destruction, it is to tear up the message from the one you Love.
And thus the Prophet ﷺ spoke:
"Nothing is of any weight with the Name of Allah."
[The hadith begins: innallaha sayukhallisu rajulan min ummati...][5] Narrated from ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAs by Ahmad, Tirmidhi (Iman 17 - hasan gharib), al-Hakim, and Bayhaqi in Shuʿab al-iman.
