Nafsiya Reflections: A Beautiful Illusion

Welcome to another episode of Nafsiyah Reflections - A Beautiful Illusion

We live in a world of temptation. From the moment we leave our house, get into our car, we start thinking about how there is no storage space, it just needs a little upgrade, or maybe an entirely new car all together. Passing by our neighbors, we may think “I like their driveway... we should get ours paved”. Getting to work we may start to think, “I really need to step this place up if I want to keep up with the competition”. Then...

“My kids need haircuts and new clothes.” “Maybe I should get them another game for their Xbox.” “We should go for a family vacation, or even better I should get a house on a beach somewhere.”

This does not always mean we are envious of others, but as human as we were created, we want and desire material things at times. That doesn’t make us bad people or bad Muslims.

The question then becomes... when are we taking it too far? When are we intentionally looking over the fence, at what appears to be greener grass on the other side? When is it that our instincts and desires take hold of our life, and all we start to see is material things or things we don’t have? When do we draw the line? Why is it that sometimes we feel imprisoned by these desires?

We are human by nature. We have instincts. We have desires that need to be fulfilled as human beings. We get hungry... we know we need to eat. That is obviously not something we should feel guilty about. As we need food, we also as humans desire a comfortable home or we want to dress nicely. For as the Prophet peace be upon him said,

" لاَ يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ مَنْ كَانَ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالُ ذَرَّةٍ مِنْ كِبْرٍ " . قَالَ رَجُلٌ إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ يُحِبُّ أَنْ يَكُونَ ثَوْبُهُ حَسَنًا وَنَعْلُهُ حَسَنَةً . قَالَ " إِنَّ اللَّهَ جَمِيلٌ يُحِبُّ الْجَمَالَ الْكِبْرُ بَطَرُ الْحَقِّ وَغَمْطُ النَّاسِ

"He who has, in his heart, an ant's weight of arrogance will not enter Jannah." Someone said: "A man likes to wear beautiful clothes and shoes?" The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "Allah is Beautiful, He loves beauty. Arrogance means ridiculing and rejecting the Truth and despising people." [Muslim].

See in this dunya or World of temptations, we are going to want things and Allah SWT wants us to have them. He SWT wants us to strive, wants us to grow, and wants us to enjoy what He SWT has created. For Allah SWT says,

(هُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ ذَلُولًا فَامْشُوا فِي مَنَاكِبِهَا وَكُلُوا مِن رِّزْقِهِ ۖ وَإِلَيْهِ النُّشُورُ)

"It is He who made the earth tame for you - so walk among its slopes and eat of His provision - and to Him is the resurrection." [Al-Mulk:15]

Allah (swt) is telling us to enjoy the earth that He (swt) has created for us. To eat from His provision and to Him is the resurrection. For He SWT is reminding us, that all this if from Him and that to Him is our return. To remind us that He is The Creator of all this beauty. To not get lost in it. To not stray away from His path, from His dawah, from His (swt) Deen. To not forget why we are here to begin with. To not fall into the temptations of what He has forbidden. For Allah (swt) knows where our happiness lies.

When we open our eyes, we can see signs of His Creation, His reminder. That the best is yet to come.

See, we know that there are deadly animals in the forests, yet they are beautiful and enticing to walk through. We know the waves of the ocean can destroy us in mere moments, yet we are mesmerized by its beauty. It’s the reality of Dunya, of this world. It’s a reminder that this beauty is nothing compared to what awaits us InshAllah in the Akhirah, in the Afterlife. Looking at life this way, we are truly happy and content in this world. For we hike, we swim, we love, we laugh... We hike with family and friends, we swim, enjoying Allah’s creation, we love for the sake of Allah, and we laugh bringing joy into the hearts of others. But that’s only part of it. That’s only part of our ibada’, our worship to Allah SWT. For with Allah we never break in this Dunya! That no matter what happens in life, we know it’s khair, that there is good for us in it. Isn’t that true happiness? Isn’t that what people look for their entire lives?

A sense of fulfillment.

So if you ask me... do you enjoy life?

I enjoy every minute I can of it, taking advantage of it, in the good times and the not-so-good times. For Allah (swt) is always there. So in this Dunya... This beautiful illusion... We see beauty in the truth.

Jazakum Allahu Khayran for joining us!

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