The Most Excellent Jihad

Bismillahir-Rahma-nir-Raheem
"The most excellent jihad is that for the conquest of oneself." This
was a saying of Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam), our
most blessed prophet. What does it mean to conquer oneself? It is when
the ruh, the spirit, the soul of the body is in control of the body
and the body is no longer in control. There is a lack of understanding
of the reality of the ruh (soul)and it's position in our lives, as
Muslims.
As Sheikh Riyadh al-Haq of London explained in a lecturedhe delivered:
Allah created the angels and fused in them intelligence and created
them from nur (light) and thus the nature of the angels is such that
they have no needs or desires. No need for food, drink, associates,
and relationships. Each angel is created for a certain purpose and
allthat angel does is whatAllah has appointed him to do. Whatever his
duty is, he will obeyAllah subhanahu wa ta'ala. They do not change at
all.
On the other hand, Allah azzowajal created animals, the beasts. But
Allah did not give them any nur or intelligence like the angels, but
Allah created in them the need as well as the desire for bestial
things--food, drink, relationships, the needand the urge to reproduce,
the need for company. But Allah gave them no intelligence, so the
animals spend life eating, drinking, associating, growing up, and
dying and there's nothing more to their lives.
On this hand, we have the creation, the purpose, and the life ofthe
animals and the beasts. On the other hand, we have the creation, as
well as the purpose and the kind of lives the angels have, the
Malaa'ikah. On the one hand, we have what's created from nur and
intelligence. They're whole life is ibaadah and the obedience of Allah
azzowajal and carrying out the tasks Allah had appointed. On the other
hand, we have the animals, where there is no intelligence, neither
were they created from nur. Because neither of these will change, and
they have been given no choice of change, they will be neither
rewarded nor punished.
In between these two, Allah has created man. And in man, Allah has
given him a bit of both.Although man is made of dust, Allah has
givenhim some intelligence, so man, on the one hand, shares
characteristics with the animals and on theother hand, he shares
characteristics with the angels. Allah has also given man choice and
it is within man's grasp and ability to change himself and because he
can change, Allah has promised him reward for good and righteousness
and punishment for evil and sinfulness. Man, according to his
obedience or lack of obedience to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala isinclined
to either of the two. Either he becomes close to the angels, their
characteristics, and their ways or man can fall so low, he becomeslike
the animals and the beasts. In fact, Allah describes this in the
Qur'an. Allah says:
"Indeed We have created man in the best fashion and mold, then We have
reduced him to the lowest of the low."
When a human being comes into the world in the form of a baby, Allah
makes it beautiful, both physically and in spirit.It is born pure. But
throughout the life, according to the company and according to the
deeds,that same child becomes so evil that Allah describes him as
being the lowest of thelow. Except of course"Illalladhina aamanu wa
amilussalihaat"--thosewho believe and do good deeds. Allah describes
those who have gone far from the path of Allah, "These people are like
animals. Nay! They are even worse."
On the other hand, through his ibaadah (worship), through his
obedience, mankind can rise. Man can rise to such heights that the
angels seek their attention. Man can rise to such heights, that, as
Muhammad (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) explains in a hadith, even the
angelsbecome envious of man's position. But notin a bad way because
angels are incapable ofsin and they will never sin, but in terms of
admiration and respect. Man can rise to such heights that Allah boasts
of man to His angels. In a hadithi qudsi, Allah says, "I am with my
servant as he thinks of Me." The meaning of this hadith is the way a
person sees Allah, how he views Him, the kinds ofexpectations he has
from Allah, Allah azzowajal deals with him accordingly. If man
despairs of Allah'smercy, then Allah azzowajal will deprive him of His
mercy. "I amwith my servant as he thinks of Me and I am with him
whenever he thinks of Me. If he remembers Me in his heart, I remember
him in My heart. If he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in
a better gathering," the gathering of the angels. And the thing that
makes man's temperament and his character flexible, the thing which
gives him the ability to do good and bad is not the body. It is the
ruh. And because there is no ruhin the animals, they will not change
for the worse or the better, but Allah has given man the body, the
flesh, the bones, the blood, his needs, his urges, his desires, and
together with that, Allah has given him intelligence and Allah has
given him the ruh.
That ruh does not come from the same origin as his body, his needs,
his desires, and urges--these things come from the animals. His ruh
comesfrom the heavens, his ruh comes from another realm all together
and it is this that changes man, thatmakes him better or worse. The
ruh is the essential part of the man's body, not the rest. The essence
of lifeis the ruh. When Allah commanded the angels to prostrate to
Adam (alaiyhis-salam),they were not commanded to only prostrate to the
body. No. Allah says in the Qur'an: "When I have completed the
creationof Adam, when I have fashioned him completely and when I have
blown into him ofmy ruh, then fall down into prostration." So, it's
not the body, the flesh, the bones that the angels were supposed to
respect, it was the ruh of the man. And the life of thearwah (plural
of ruh) began then, not at the moment of birth, nor will it end at the
time of death. That is why it is so important to realize that the ruh
is the essence of life, it is the essence of the human being, the
essence of Allah's creation, and not the body. Allah provides a cage,
a shell, a means of transport for the ruhand that cage, that shell,
that means of transport is none otherthan the body.
But, Subhannallah, we have neglected the ruhand we have devoted our
entire attention to the body, the cage, the shell. If we devote our
entire attention to this body, the cage, the shell, the flesh, the
bones, then there could be none more foolish than ourselves. Just as
the body needs food, drink and nourishment, the ruh needs food, drink,
and nourishment. Allah gives it everything; its food, drink, energy,
and nourishment and it comes from the same origin it was created. The
ruh needs to survive, but its nourishment does not come from the
dunya, the earth, the dust. Because the ruh comesfrom Allah, it is
heavenly, it is celestial,it is elevated. The nourishment all
comesfrom the same source and the nourishment of the ruh is the Qur'an
and the dhikr (remembrance) of Allah. And only that can upkeep the
ruh. It can give it strength, it can suspend it. But imagine how
foolish we would be if we allow the ruh, which has survived and has
journeyed from the moment Allah creatingit in the "Realm of the
Spirits," if we allow this spirit that carried all the way from there
into this short phase inthe dunya because of our neglect, our lack of
attention because we are too preoccupied with the shell, the body, if
we allow the real person, the real essence to die in this dunya and if
the ruh dies now and if we don't allow it to prosper, then indeed we
have destroyed ourselves. (Remember the ruh will not literally die.)
Allah swears by all His creations, the sun, the moon, the day, the
night, the heavens, the canopy of the heavens and Allah who raised the
canopy and the earth and the soul. Allah even swears by the soul and
Allah who created and fashioned the soul and after having created the
soul, Allah inspired it to both good as well asevil. "We sewed and
guided man to both ways of good as well as evil." After swearingupon
all these things, Allah says, "Successful is thee." And the meaning of
true success is the bliss of the akhira, the hereafter. Successful is
thee who allows the soul, the ruh, to grow and prosper, who cleanses
his soul to let it grow and prosper. Indeed, he is successful. And he
whoreduces the growth of the ruh, suppresses it, and prevents it from
expanding and growing, indeed he is the one who is a loser.
If we kill off our ruh merely for the lavishment and enjoyments of the
worldly desires, we aregoing to do it at the expense of our ruh, which
never dies. Our bodies will die, but Allah has made our ruh, so that
it will "live on." Muhammad (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) was lying
on top of a mat. The Sahaba entered; the mat was course; it wasvery
rough. It's the kind of straw mat that we see in hot countries.
Rasoolullah
(sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) stood up. The upper part of his body
was bare. The Sahaba noticed the criss-cross marks of the mat
impressed on the back of the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam)
and they said,"Oh, Prophet of Allah! Why didn't you inform us? Had you
told us, wecould've laid out some bedding for you, so you could rest
in comfort and you wouldnot have those marks on your back." Upon this,
he replied, "What connection do I have with the dunya? I am but a
traveler who takes shade under the tree from the heat of the sun and
when he has rested, he gets up and leaves the tree." So, man is a
traveler in the world. The ruh is a traveler and the Prophet
(sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) teaches us by example and demonstrates
by person that the body does not require the attention we lavish over
it, especially at the expense of the ruh.Why? Because the body is
merely a cage, a shell, a means of transportation and the real
traveler is the ruh. And if we neglect the ruh, we will die, die a
spiritual death even if we live for over a hundred years.
It is well known that everything has a heart,an essence to life. If
theheart is not healthy, if the essence is rotting, then it is only a
question of time before everything else suffers and similarly, if our
ruh suffers, if our ruh dies a spiritual death, if the growth of our
ruh is prevented and if it is suppressed, then it does not matterhow
beautiful our a'mal may seem, how beautiful our outward life may seem,
our obedience may seem, no matter how religious we say seem to
ourselves and to others, it is only a question of time before the
internal rot takes over. It is only a question of time that the
corruption within takes over and destroys everything.
The following examplewill show how essential the physical heart is to
the physical body and how, despite the outward strength and stamina of
the body, if the physical heart is not stronger, then the rest has no
impact. It's a reverse. The heart will determine the life and strength
of that individual. For example, a few years ago, in America, there
was a famous fitness fanatic, so famous for being fit himself, as well
as teaching it to others, that he was given the title "Fitness Guru."
He was extremely healthy, but one day he went out for a jog at a young
age, fell down flat, and died. How? The heart. Despite being a fitness
guru and instructor, despite the outward strength of the body, the
heart was weak. The physical heart is what determines the health and
life of the person. Likewise, how beautiful our a'mal may seem to
ourselves and others, no matter how religious we and others consider
us, or how spiritual and holy we may seem, the health of our spiritual
life is not so much so determined by our religiousness and deeds as by
the health of the ruh. If the ruh is healthy, it will be in the
highest of the high.But if the ruh is ill--prevented from growing and
prospering, even though we may be beautiful and attractive from the
outside, as the munafiqeen (hypocrites) were, we've lost ourselves and
not only have we lost ourselves, we havedestroyed ourselves.
The reality is that though we may be attractive and loved to be viewed
by others, if the ruh is neglected and suppressed and has no
nourishment, Allah says they are hollow planks, as the munafiqeen
were. Hollow planks that were made to lean against a wall because they
cannot stand by themselves. The Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam)
said, "Indeed, Allah will not view your bodies or your wealth, Allah
will see your hearts and youre a'maland even more important than that
is the state of the ruh."
Now, the ruh can rise. It can rise to the heights of the angels. It
can become so powerful that it could take over the whole body because
it's attached to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Then the body becomes
obedient and subservient to the ruh. If the ruh engages in the dhikr
and remembrance of Allah, then the body will do the same. If the ruh
does not wish to disobey Allah azzowajal, then despite the cravings of
the nafs, despite the desires and passions ofthe rest of the body, the
ruh will prevent it. But if the ruh is weak and the body craves the
worldly desires of the nafs, the ruh will succumb, it will submit, and
it will giveup. And that means theruh is dead and the entire body is
corrupt. The Prophet (sallallahualaiyhi wa sallam) said, "Indeed there
is apiece of flesh in the body and if pure, the whole body will be
pure and if corrupt, thewhole body will be corrupt. It is the
heart."The heart that the Prophet (sallallahu alaiyhi wa sallam) is
referring to is the ruh, the essence of life.
We can rise, but what prevents us? The bestial passions, urges,and
desires--these things that we share with the animals. This animal-like
behavior prevents us from risingto the heights of the angels and keeps
us down to the level of the beasts.
(End of part of lecture that was delivered by Sheikh Riyadh al-Haq.)
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has given us the opportunity to shake off
this restriction and to rise from that low level. How? He gives usthe
month of Ramadan, a month in which He chains the Shayateen in order to
let us rise about our desires and urges and he gives the ruh a chance
to survive, grow, and prosper. Instead of eating, drinking, and
indulging in our passions during our fasting periods, we should take
advantage of the time Allah gives us to rise to the heights of the
angels by indulging in His dhikr, His remembrance, and in reciting the
Holy Qur'an, the soother of pains, the healer of thedeepest wounds,
the spring that nourishes the soul when sick, the well that bathes the
body when tired, the passionate companion in the grave, the interceder
on the Day of Judgement, the nur of the straight path, the shield and
protection against the Hellfire. The miracle and blessing of the
Qur'an is the cure for reviving the ruh. The holy month of Ramadan has
passed before our eyes, but that does not mean wemust wait till then
to nourish our souls, our arwah, our real persons, our real qualities,
our real characteristics. We canstart now, this very moment. It is up
to us to take that first step.
The reciting of the Qur'an has dynamic powers. If we could only
observe it properly. The Qur'an was not send down to only read when
one passes away, but today, it seems that this is a ritual when it
comes to reading this most auspicious Book. It was sent down as a
guidance to mankind, an answer to all questions, the solutionto all
problems, the cure to all things. And it was sent down for usto apply
in our daily lives, to apply to every single aspect of our lives. What
is the Qur'an? It is the channel of communication between the servant
and his Lord. It is the very words spoken by our Lord, Himself, which
He has promised to protect until the Day of Resurrection; the one
revelation which has remained unchanged since it was revealed. It is
most powerful in its eternal mission of enlightening the hearts of the
believers.
We must divert our attention from the body, the bones, the flesh, the
cage, the shell, the means of transportation to the real essence of
life, the real traveler in the world, the ruh.
We must do our best toprevent ourselves fromindulging in the needs and
desires of the body: unnecessary consuming of food anddrink,
un-Islamic association, un-Islamicgatherings, which holdno benefit,
movies, music, TV, sleeping, and the list goes on and on.
Unless by this lecture you were affected tremendously, can you let go
of all these worldly bestial things all at once. Most of us can't do
it, but we can do it, gradually. For example, by reducing the amount
of music one listens to or the amount of TV one watches, then
gradually quitting TV and music and substituting them withother more
Islamically beneficial things.
If we sincerely want to give our ruh a chance to live, if we sincerely
want to be successful in the akhirah, if we sincerely want to receive
the love and pleasure of Allah, Most Exalted, the Compassionate, the
Merciful, if we sincerely want to learnto love Him and devoteand
submit ourselves to Him fully, and Him alone, we must repent.We must
repent sincerely and meaningfully to Allah and ask for His forgiveness
for our sins, our ignorance in neglecting the ruh, Islam, His ibadah,
His remembrance, after all the kindness He shows us in keeping us
alive and healthy and of course in many, many other ways. When one
repents sincerely, he is so taken by remorse that tears gush from his
eyes as water gushes from a cliff in the form of a waterfall.If we
can't seem to cry, we must concentrate and force ourselves to cry, for
even this will help in more ways than one.
Insha Allah, if we repent, we must not only ask for Allah's
forgiveness, but His guidance to the Siraatul Mustaqeem forus and our
families and all Muslims. We must ask for His help innourishing our
souls. We must ask Him to help us become such servants who love Him
more than our family and our wealth. Subhannallah, by Allah's will, a
message of truth has been submitted and only by His will, will it
enter our hearts and only by His divine will, will we take heed and
may Allah allow our hearts to soften up to His message, the Holy
Qur'an and that we willallow it to prosper ourselves without giving it
a second thought.
Whether you at work, school, or home reading this, you can start
nourishing your ruh now. If at work or school, start doing tasbih with
concentration on your glorification of Allah. Try to abstain from
mixing freely with the opposite sex. Wherever there is free mixing of
men and women, Shaytaan is there to arouse in them evil thoughts
anddesires. If you are able,pray your required salah at work or
schoolif there is no nearby mosque. Who cares what the non-Muslims
think? Why? On the Day of Judgement, theywill not be your protectors
or your helpers or the forgivers of your sins. The Only Protector,
Helper, Forgiver of sinsis Allah and only He will help us on the Day
when we will need help the most, if we deserve such kindness and
mercy.
If you are at home reading this, make wudu, pray your required salah,
plus 2 nafl salah of Salaatut-Towbah (prayer of repentance) after the
required salah. After offering salah, pick up the Qur'an, kiss it,
openit, and beginning in the name of Allah, startreading with the pure
intention of gaining guidance and the pure intention of pleasing Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala. If you cannot read Arabic, please learn how.
Until then, read the translation of the Qur'an in English orwhatever
language you understand best. Keep up with the habit of refraining
from sins,reciting the Qur'an, doing dhikr, offering prayers, and
making supplications (du'a) and Insha Allah, you will be successful.
None of us is perfect. Infact, we are far from it, but with a firm
intention and with the help of Allah, we can rise to the heights of
the angels, the highest of the high.
May Allah include us among those who are successful in His eyes,
successful in this worldas Muslims (who submit fully to Allah) and
more importantly, successful in the akhirah (hereafter). May Allah
give us the towfique to better ourselves and may He include us among
those of whom He has favored, not those whoearn His anger, nor those
who go stray. Ameen.