Welcome to the University of Sufism's Ramadan reading of Rosina Fawzia al-Rawi's book,
The Call of Allah,
A companion to the holy month of Ramadan.
Today I will be sharing day 17 about contentment,
Also known as rida.
Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim O thou human being that hast attained to inner peace,
Return thou unto thy sustainer,
Well pleased,
Radia,
And pleasing,
Mardia,
Him.
Enter then together with my other true servants.
Yea,
Enter thou my paradise.
Quran 89 27 to 30.
Allah knows that we are forgetful beings and this is why he has given us a whole month to practice introspection and through that give up those patterns and methods that we have adopted but which do not or no longer serve us in order to open up new possibilities.
Ramadan is like a time during which I empty my glass in order to fill it consciously with the essential.
Indeed this month should be the time for a new departure to a deeper bond with Allah and with our true nature.
Inshallah,
God willing,
And provided he grants us the required strength and himmah,
Namely magnanimity and striving towards magnanimity.
During Ramadan we spend more time doing that for which we were created to worship God,
To serve the poor,
To restrain our ego,
To improve our human qualities,
To reflect more of God's qualities of love and to be in community,
All of which leads us to be more fulfilled and content.
For despite all the difficulties endured by many Muslims,
The month of Ramadan is one of the most precious and joyful periods of the year.
Contentment,
Rida,
Is precious.
Rida means not to show any anger or indignation or feel offended in the face of adversity but to peacefully accept one's fate.
In other words,
Rida means not to fear or reject those things and events usually associated with fright and dismay.
It means to accept all the events which Allah gives us be they pleasant or not.
But there is also a kind of man who would willingly sell his own self in order to please Mardat God and God is most compassionate towards his servants.
Quran 2,
207.
To sell one's own self means to strive to give up one's own notions and expectations as well as one's personal interest if following God's will demands it.
Oh Allah,
Are you satisfied with me?
A man prayed and behind him someone asked,
Are you satisfied with him so that he may be satisfied with you?
Surprised,
The man replied,
How can I be satisfied with him when I am seeking his satisfaction?
And the answer came,
If you are equally happy with misfortune and good fortune then you are satisfied with him.
So practice gratefulness,
Shukr,
Because it will remove the burden of dissatisfaction from your heart.
Practice faith in God,
Tawwakul,
Because it will give a direction to your soul and help you in the balancing act between times of effort and self-control and times of relaxation and leniency.
Practice contentment,
Rida,
Because it will bring peace to your soul.
At every stage of our life we find ourselves confronted with various challenges or problems.
They reoccur time and again until the solution matures within ourselves and we receive a hint for the next stage.
So embed yourself into the thought that the gentlest hand of eternity invariably lies behind the harshest hand of the moment,
The sweet healing hand behind the bitter medicine.
The bitter and the sweet are generous gifts from Allah,
Sometimes to test us,
Sometimes as fair punishment or consequence,
Yet invariably as a real possibility,
A cure on our way to maturity,
Freedom,
And perfection.
The day when the veils are lifted and the wisdom underlying our difficulties is revealed,
We will dissolve,
Overwhelmed with our love for Allah.
The deep mercy which lives in contentment opens our heart to the one who grants it and expands the spirit with a touch of knowledge about his divine plan.
Oh Allah,
Overlook and absolve me from the humiliations I have brought upon myself and teach me to love.
Whoever wishes to taste the sweetness of faith must bring together love and surrender.
He created you so that you awaken the divine in you,
So do not be low.
He created you so that you be free,
So do not be a prisoner of your desires.
Free yourself from everything low and return it to the place where it will be cured of its homesickness.
Give the fragrance back to yourself and let yourself soak in the fragrance.
Enter then together with my other true servants and yeah,
Enter thou my paradise.
Quran 89 30.
Praised be Allah,
He gives us presence in the form of conflicts,
Problems,
Crises,
Challenges,
And limitations so that we may develop inside,
Uncover our true being,
And find a knowledge which is essential for us.
As our ego suffers,
Our personal hollows open to the waters of boundlessness and we mysteriously partake of the infinite in our finite form.
The water of the ocean begins to flow into the isolated basin through its cracks and breaks.
The basin starts tasting the ocean and can bravely surrender to the great water.
By discovering his rhythm,
By hearing the sound of his love calling,
The basin becomes whole and a part of the whole.
Let yourself be touched every day by the water of the ocean through your prayers and your dhikr.
Practice suggested for today.
Allah is constantly with me.
He bestows upon me the longing for him.
Allah sees me in everything,
In all that I do,
In all that I do not do.
He makes me mindful and careful in everything I do.
My whole being lies in Allah's almightiness.
He grants me surrender and contentment with everything that is.
Keep three things in your heart.
If you cannot help someone,
Beware of harming him.
If you cannot bring him joy,
Beware of bringing him heaviness.
And if you cannot praise him,
Beware of letting your tongue utter words that might harm him.
Thank you for listening and may you have a beautiful day.
