Khutbah; Islamic Psychology IV; May 25, 2001
The Importance of Community
Ahmad Yahya Parks
Assalamu Alaikum
****************************
In the Name of Allah the Compassionate and the
Merciful
All praise be to Allah !
We
praise him and we rely totally on Him !
We
continually ask forgiveness from Him !
We
seek Allah’s protection from the misguided aspects of ourselves
And
from any wrong actions we are in danger of making !
Who
ever is guided by Allah is most truly guided !
When
you are being misguided you are totally bereft of His benevolent guidance.
We
bare witness that there is no god except Allah !
He
is One, without an equal !
Without partners of any kind !
We
bare witness that Muhammad is his slave-servant and his Messenger
!!
Brothers and Sisters of
Islam;
Today
I want to continue discussing spiritual psychology. Earlier we discussed The
Creation of Man. How Allah
(SEA) created Adam (human being) from clay and spirit (ruuh). Iblis, after being given respite, replied to Allah
that “ I shall try to lead all humans astray, except for
your sincere servants. I shall approach humans from their front, and their
back, their right and their left, so that you will not find most of them
grateful to you”. Allah
created both the Jinn and Human Beings with free will. Man is Allah’s Khalifa on earth with a mind able to think, concentrate,
and discern the difference between the voice of Allah and the voice of the
Shaytan.
We
looked at the fact that all human beings have two selves, a Natural Higher
Self which responds to the voice of Allah (SEA); and a Lower Animal Self
which responds to the voice of the Shaytan. With weak faith, we are the blind
that are lead by the blind. As Surat Al Asr tells us; Wal Asr! Innal insana
la fii husran. We are one of
those unfortunate human beings who is lost. We do not take the time or care to
discriminate between the voice of the Saytan and the voice of Allah (SEA).
We saw that What is needed was repentance (Tawba). Al Ghazali tells us that “ Tawba means repentance for a sin, promising not to do the same sin again. It means return to Allah (SEA).
Tawba is the being in the life of the person who makes the firm intention,
to walk in the path of religion. It is the root of the fortunate , of those
that are successful, the first step of the disciple, the key to guidance to the
straight path, the weapon of purification of those who wish to come close to
Allah (SEA), and is a dear thing to all the prophets.
Tawba
is not a one time affair, but need to be experienced over and over again. The
Arabic word for human being is insan ( the one who forgets). Let us remember the example
of the prophet Mohammad SAWS. Although a truly moral man, respected by all the
Quraysh, called al Amin
(the reliable one), the prophet was continually dissatisfied with himself. He
made regular retreats, going into seclusion, with a firm desire for Tawba, wanting to return his destiny, laid down by Allah.
You all know the story; Mohammad cooperated and Allah responded with the
revelation. Ikra-Bismirabbikallathi Khalaq. (Recite- in the name of your Lord ). This
revelation was to continue 23 years. Written down in the form of a book it
became the Quran, a mercy
to the human race, a criteria, a guide-book to help humanity remember Allah (dhikrullah). Ayat 177 of Surah Bakara summarizes the way for
us to succeed in remembering Allah, brushing aside for good the whisperings of
the Shaytan who continually tries to distract us.
“It
is not righteousness that ye turn your faces towards the 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 your substance out of love for Him, for your kin, for
orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those that ask. And for the ransom
of slaves; To be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity. To fulfill
the contracts which ye have made.
And to be firm and patient in pain and adversity and throughout all
periods of panic. Those practicing in this manner have true Taqwa. They remember Allah. always”.
Allah SEA, Let us consider
the marvelous occurrence of Nature, the natural growth of a giant oak tree from
a small seed, the acorn. For the acorn to sprout it need to have a good
environment. It need the right soil, the right amount of sun and rain, and its
needs to be protected from smothering by other plants and trampling by animals.
Human gardeners can provide this protection by placing a fence around the small
oak plant and destroying weeds that would hinder its growth.
We
are all small seeds, acorns, created by Allah SEA. We have a divine core and a
basic goodness. However we need the right environment in which to grow into a
giant oak. Without such an environment we dry up, wither, and die. What is that
environment that humans need? PARENTS,
SPOUSES, TEACHERS, BOOKS, SPIRITUAL TEACHERS, SPIRITUAL FRIENDS, AND SPIRITUAL
COMMUNITY.
In my own family, my father was given an imperfect environment. He was orphaned by age twelve, and was living with two aunts who wanted him to drop out of high school and run their farm. Through the guidance of Allah, my father prevailed upon a Presbyterian minister to take him in, and allow him to go to high school. The minister acted as a spiritual teacher, encouraged him to study, finish high school, and attend medical school. At the same time he lead a moral life guided by the Gospels and the Prophet Isa ( alaikum salam). This my father was guided by Allah to acquire a spiritual man as a substitute father, he acquired excellent teachers in college and grad school, he married my mother, a spiritual women who came from a family of educators and protestant clergymen. My father, using Allah’s gifts of free will and discernment, was able to select a more spiritual and more educational environment, to take the place of a less perfect original environment.
Let us go back to the story of the Prophet SAWS to see the importance of the environment for a Muslim. Remember the prophet was severely shaken by the Revelation. Trembling, shaking, fearful that he was becoming a poet or insane, he went home to his wife Khadija. Acting as a mother would act with a child, she cared for him, put him to bed, covered him, nutured him and reaasured him. The Quran tells us “ Your spouses are your garments and you are their garments” and “among his signs he created for your kind, spouses, that you may find repose in them”; “ He has put between you love and mercy”.
Khadija
told the prophet SAWS, “ you are kind and considerate towards your kin.
You help the poor and the forlorn and bear their burdens. You are striving to
restore the high moral qualities your people have lost. You go to the
assistance of the distressed. Surely he would not reward you with something
evil”.
The
prophet was going through a radical return (Tawba), a rebith to become the
Seal, the final prophet of Allah. He required the love, mercy, and care of his
spouse to care for the tremendous upheaval in his body and mind.
More
was needed, the wisdom of a spiritual teacher who understood the spirit of the
scriptures, the Torah and the Gospels; A scholar of the scriptures who could
read and write the scriptural language. This need of the prophet was met in the
person of Waraqa Nafal, Khadija’s cousin. Waraqa, after hearing from
Khadija what the prophet was going through, said to her: “Holy! Holy; If
you have spoken the truh to me, O Khadija, there has come to Mohammad the
greatest NAMUS who came to Moses aforetime, and lo, he is the prophet of his
people”. Waraqa later said to Mohammad: “ I am an old man and will
not live much longer. I wish I could be alive to help you when your people cast
you out, as a prophet is always without honor in his own country”.
Even
more was needed; a final book where in Allah could teach mankind by the pen, that which they knew not.
The prophet who could not read or write,could not produce such a Book himself.
He needed the help of Jibril who gave him the word of Allah and indicated the
proper order of the ayats or verses. Hhe needed the help of his mind that
allowed him to memorize the words of Allah. He needed the help of a spiritual
community, with spiritual friends and companions who could write down the
Arabic ayats revealed to the prophet, and he needed the help of his companion,
Othman, the third caliph, to assemble the final Quran and get rid of partial
copies. So the spiritual community was essential in the preparation of the new
scripture, the Quran.
So
Allah blessed the Prophet with an excellent environment; the help of Abu Talib,
who provided him paternal protection, his wife Khadija, a spiritual teacher
Waraqa Nafal, spiritual friends and companions, and a spiritual community to
help him deliver his message, the words of the Quran. This Quran was to become
the final scripture, the guidance , the criteria, to help men remember Allah
and fulfill their purpose on earth.
PAUSE
This
summer members of the Bilal Masjid are meeting regularly each Sunday, after
Dhur prayer to discuss the future of the community. How can our masjid support
each of its members to develop their native gifts and aptitudes? How can our
masjid support each of its members to develop deep faith and taqwa? How can our
masjid support each of its members to become to become a Master Khalifa, able
to show excellence through his/her career and making a unique contribution to
humanity and the planet earth. How can our masjid provide a spiritual home-base
that will support the growth of marriage relationships, parent-child relationships,
teacher-student relationships, spiritual teacher-student relationships, and
Muslim-non-Muslim relationships?
What are those character
traits that each of our Muslim children need to learn as early as possible in
their lives, so that as adults they will express maximun taqwa? They need to learn and practice love and respect
towards their parents, their teachers and their spiritual elders. This will
eventually lead to a love and respect towards all other human beings.
Politeness, humility, submission, trust, gratitude and eventually taqwa are all part of this love and respect. They need to
love and respect the learning process, scriptures, and scholarly writings.
The Quran (46:15) says:
“ We have enjoined on man kindness to his parents: In pain did his mother
bear him, and in pain did she give him birth and the carrying of the child to
his weaning. When he reaches the age of full strength, 40 years, he says:
‘ O my Lord! Grant that I may be grateful for thy favor which thou hast
bestowed on me. And upon my parents, and that I may work righteousness such as
thou mayest approve. And be gracious to me through my children. Truly have I
turned to thee (Tawba) and truly do I bow and surrender (Taslim)”.
Allah has created each of
us with a unique DNA pattern that is unlike the DNA of any other person on
earth. We each have unique aptitudes, innate skills, and talents. With the
correct environment the acorn can grow to the mighty oak. With the correct
environment, each child becomes aware of the unique gifts Allah has bestowed
upon him. He can actualize and develop these gifts through parents, teachers,
and books. Over time, with patience, by the age of maturity (40 years), he can
become a Master Khalifa showing excellence (ihsan) in his career and a full development of Taqwa as a Muslim.
Through Allah’s
compassion and beneficence, each of us has been given a mind which can reflect,
discern, and choose a better environment, if we are dissatisfied with our
present environment. My father, early in life, chose a different family and a
different spiritual community than he had been given initially. We can choose
our spiritual elders, the books we read, the schools and groups to which we
belong.
Our future masjid
community should assist all its members in reflection, in discerning, in
choosing an environment which
encourages the fulfillment of their deepest needs and aptitudes.
Counseling, mentors, surrogate parents, special tutors, individual spiritual
guides, special assemblies, groups, and instruction classes of all kinds, should be made available
by the community outside traditional channels. The wider non-Mulim community
has important resources to which members of our Masjid can contribute, and from
which our members can receive crucial help.
We hope and pray all
members of the Masjid, men, women, and youth can come regularly to our planning
discussions every Sunday. Make Duah every day for the success of this planning.
On no soul doth Allah
place a burden greater than it can bear
It gets every good that it
earns, and it suffers every ill that it earns.
Our Lord; Condemn us not,
if we forget or fall into error.
Lay not on us a burden
like that which Thou didst lay on those before us.
Our Lord; Lay not on us a
burden greater than we have strength to bear.
Blot out our sins and give
us forgiveness.
Have mercy on us. Thou art
our Protector.
Help us against those who
stand against the Faith.