Strengthening our spiritual lives

Muslims seeking spirituality and a proper bond with Allah, subhanahu wa-Ta`ala, the Almighty and the Creator, should strive to build and improve this connection by fully embracing their religious obligations and by striving to follow the guiding path of Islam in the most earnest manner.

With this in mind, the Prophet Muhammad, Peace and mercy of Allah be upon him,  chose to train the most suitable of his companions in certain teachings, so that they might convey those teachings in the most effective way to the future generations of the Muslim Ummah. Those who learned from those specific teachings would effectively be strengthening their own spiritual life and discover the means of becoming closer to their Lord.

In one of the most affectionate acts of teaching the prophet, peace and mercy of Allah be upon him, approached one of his closest companions, Muath bin Jabal, May Allah be pleased with him, and said to him holding his hand into his own: ‘O Muath! I surely love you and I would like to give you a (special) advice. Then he said to him: ‘do not miss saying after each obligatory salaah (Prayers) the following’: ‘O Allah! Assist me in my remembering You; in being grateful to You; and in offering my worship to You in the best way possible’.

Such a wonderful legacy of advice, and the beautiful manner in which it was delivered, shows us all the way by which we can ensure it becomes a part of the lives of all believing men and women seeking to strengthen their faith and their relationship with the Almighty.

The Prophet guided us through this special saying, in seeking Allah’s help and assistance, in the following three aspects:

1-                  In the remembrance of Allah

2-                  In showing gratitude to Him

3-                  In seeking to offer our religious and spiritual obligations in the most correct and beautiful way.

People take their lives and all the blessings and opportunities, great or small, for granted. But, when things are taken for granted rarely is any appreciation shown for them. Islamic teachings create a mindset of gratitude for God’s favours upon people, so that people may arrive at a different outlook on life's privileges and opportunities.

The bond of creation and the realities of existence bind us with the creator. However, the ultimate goal of this life is to return us to Allah involuntarily so that we are seen to be consciously choosing our path to Allah and so earning our privileges from Allah.  This is not any easy task. Keeping up with God’s way is an incredibly difficult task, as we are constantly diverted by the opposite ungodly forces of Satan and other evil desires.

Remembrance of Allah

In this context, the Prophet is guiding us to seek out Allah’s help. A person has to invoke Allah’s assistance in order to gain the privilege of remembering Him often. Most people are heedless of this and so become incapable of realising what they are deprived of. How many unnecessary and unwanted things are on our ‘to-do-list’ of daily chores, but still we continue to fail to remember God. No wonder our hearts are so empty, when we fail in this, the most noble of tasks.

The Quranic guidelines are as follows:

  ‘          1- 'O believers! Remember Allah as often as you could (in abundance) S33/V41

              2- ‘and do not obey those whose hearts We have caused to become heedless from our remembrance,         and he had followed his vain desires and all his affairs were in excess’. S18/V28

All Islamic obligations, consciousness of Allah in life, and the seeking out of Allah’s pleasure in our deeds, contribute to His remembrance. Avoiding evil, acts of falsehood and slander, resisting the influence of false human characters and all that is ungodly, while remembering that they displease Allah, also make up part of Allah’s remembrance.

This is the reason why we are guided to seek out Allah’s help in remembering Him.

Allah says: ‘Those who believe and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah. Behold! Through the remembrance of Allah alone, do hearts find satisfaction (blessings of true happiness)’ S13/V28

Being grateful   

The Prophet then said: ‘(seek Allah’s help) in showing gratitude to Him’. The question is, how many of us are really and truly grateful to Allah for what we have in our lives. It is easy to become heedless, or go into ‘negligence mode’, when we don’t appreciate the little or the abundance of what we have. Do we appreciate the little that we have and show gratitude for that before we ask and wish for more? Or we find ourselves resentful and unappreciative?

What do we do when we have plenty and life is full of privilege when compared with others? Don’t we all think it is our extraordinary background and marvellous qualifications that make us stand out above all the others? Do we think it is all because of our hard work, long working hours and privileged background? Or do some of us think we possess a privileged genetic superiority, and that make us what we are?

If we could only realise that God has shown us extra favour and made us privileged above many others, and we express our gratefulness to Him, then, and only then, will our existence become happier and more meaningful.

Being grateful to God is part of one's Islamic religious character that turns it into an act of Ibadah.

Allah says: ‘indeed We have shown him (man) the path, which is either the path of being grateful or being ungrateful’.

Being grateful is regarded as ‘wisdom’ in the Quran. In the Sura Luqman, Allah says: ‘Indeed we had bestowed wisdom on Luqman: show your gratitude to Allah. And whosoever show gratitude then his gratitude is for the benefit of his own soul, and whosoever is ungrateful then Allah is free of all wants and Worthy of all praise’. S31/V12

Ibadah in the most correct and beautiful way

The third thing the Prophet guided us towards, in seeking Allah’s assistance, is to ensure that all our acts of worship and religious obligations are completed in accordance with the best of guidance in Islamic teachings and manners. We should not offer our obligations half-heartedly or with little enthusiasm and warmth, neither should we regard them merely as rituals.

On the other hand, we must ensure human hands have not diluted those original divine teachings, and that no religious innovation has taken place in our practices, and that they remain as pure as they were in the Sunnah of the Prophet himself.

Combining all the above three aspects will transform the spiritual life of a believing man or woman and strengthen their bonds with Allah and with Allah’s Deen (the body of Allah guidance and teachings).