Why our hearts have hardened

Reading the Quran often evokes many different emotions: fear, happiness, joy, anticipation, hope, etc. It's not often that a verse evokes a sense of sadness. However, every time I read the following verse in Surah Maryam, I feel an overwhelming sense of sadness.

Surah Maryam, verses 58:

أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ النَّبِيِّينَ مِن ذُرِّيَّةِ آدَمَ وَمِمَّنْ حَمَلْنَا مَعَ نُوحٍ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّةِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْرَائِيلَ وَمِمَّنْ هَدَيْنَا وَاجْتَبَيْنَا إِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُ الرَّحْمَٰنِ خَرُّوا سُجَّدًا وَبُكِيًّا

"Those were whom Allah bestowed His Grace from among the Prophets, of the offspring of Adam, and of those whom We carried with Noah, and of the offspring of Abraham and Israel and from among those whom We guided and chose. When the Verses of the Most Merciful were recited unto them, they fell down prostrating and weeping."

The verse talks about how the righteous and guided, upon hearing the verses of God, fell in prostration and would begin weeping. Hearing the words of God would move them to their core. They couldn't help but be in awe when verses would be recited. 

This saddens me because when I hear this verse, I cannot help but think, "what happened to us"? Why am I often not emotionally moved by the words of God? Perhaps our hearts have hardened to the point where verses of God do not affect us as they affected those before us. 

As I read this verse and kept questioning myself, searching for an answer to why we are not emotionally moved by His words, I came across the very next verse in the chapter. And there lies the answer to my very own question. 

فَخَلَفَ مِن بَعْدِهِمْ خَلْفٌ أَضَاعُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَاتَّبَعُوا الشَّهَوَات

"Then, there a generation came after them who had given up Salah (the prayers) and followed desires..."

God says in the next verse that another generation will come that will neglect their prayers and follow their desires. This verse accurately described problems in our day today. 

I began thinking about my daily routine, my regimen, my prayers, my priorities. Do I pray on time? Do I focus in prayer? What is the status of my relationship with God? Am I in control of my desires? What are my intentions in every action I take? The answer to these questions also answers why we are not moved by the verses of God. We have disconnected from our prayers, our connection to God. We live for life, while our faith is placed on the back burner. Our prayers have become merely an exercise of movements and words we place no thought to. Our prayers are the foundation that puts our life in check. And we have neglected them. 

Reading these verses, comparing the older generation to ours, and contemplating on the state of our affairs, shook me to the core. May God help you and I be in control of our worldly desires, and may He help us build a righteous life with prayers being our priority and center of our daily lives. Perhaps after we do exactly that, we will be able to taste the sweetness of His words as those before us did. 

An Eternal friend

Have you ever had an extremely close friend become a very distant one years later? You may miss the relationship you had with that person so much that you just want to talk to them and pick up where you were last were. Every time you see them, you almost feel guilty for growing so distant from such a great friend. Yet at the same time you know that as time changes, people change, and that person may be someone totally different from who you knew them to be. Therefore, you don't do anything about it but just continuously reminisce about the good friendship you had back in the day.  

Throughout my high school, college and university life, I had built such a strong bond with the Quran. It was literally my best friend. It was the friend that would always be there when times were down. Reading, memorizing and reflecting the Quran would be my only solace for the next few years. 

Unfortunately, things change and as I became busy with moving to a new city, forming new friends and eventually becoming a mother to two girls, I had very little time with the Quran. Our relationship that was once so strong didn't seem that special anymore. Every time I went to open the Quran and read, guilt overcame me. I questioned myself why didn't I know the Quran so well as I once did? I missed the bond we had so much but didn't know where to start. I wanted that best friend back more than ever. 

Today, I'm still working on strengthening my relationship and hope to be where I once was. But I did realize something throughout this process. People may change but the Quran never will. If you have lost touch with the Quran, the good thing is you know it's you who needs to work on your relationship. You are the one with shortcomings. Instead of reminiscing, pick it back up and know that the relationship you once had will undoubtedly come back, only from a little effort from your side. Open its pages, read it daily and prioritize it in your life. You will see the friendship you once had mend back together and flourish once again. 

May Allah help us make the Quran a dear friend for all of us and make it a reason we enter Jannah with flying colors. 

Here is a short article I wrote a few years ago about why the Quran should be a best friend: http://myquranicreflections.blogspot.com/2014/03/quran-friend.html?m=1

Mom: A universal language

(1) O people, be conscious of your Lord. The quaking of the Hour is a tremendous thing.

(2) On the Day when you will see it: every nursing mother will pay no attention to her infant, and every pregnant woman will abort her load, and you will see the people drunk, even though they are not drunk, but the punishment of God is severe.

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمْ إِنَّ زَلْزَلَةَ السَّاعَةِ شَيْءٌ عَظِيمٌ

يَوْمَ تَرَوْنَهَا تَذْهَلُ كُلُّ مُرْضِعَةٍ عَمَّا أَرْضَعَتْ وَتَضَعُ كُلُّ ذَاتِ حَمْلٍ حَمْلَهَا وَتَرَى النَّاسَ سُكَارَىٰ وَمَا هُم بِسُكَارَىٰ وَلَٰكِنَّ عَذَابَ اللَّهِ شَدِيدٌ

You know what amazes me about these first two verses of Surah Alhajj? The fact that Allah is talking about the severity and the craziness of the day of judgement and in order for us to grasp how crazy that day will be He uses no other scenario than the scenario of a nursing mother leaving her baby and of a pregnant woman not caring for what she is carrying inside. To show us what that day will look like or just to give us even a glimpse, Allah uses the scene of that mom and that baby. Imagine all the different scenarios that could have been used here. What does that say about the immense amount of love, care and mercy a mom has for her child? To focus all our attention to these two scenes, what does that say to a woman's unwavering compassion to her child?! In order for us to even slightly understand what that day will be like, we are forced to think of a nursing mom neglecting her baby. The immense love moms have is a universal fact and how appropriate that Allah proves that in these 2 verses. May Allah help us on that day and may we be from those who enter Paradise with the prophets and the righteous. Ameen.

When it rains it pours

I wrote about this verse a year and a half ago not knowing that I would need to hear those very same words exactly 1 year later. 

وَهُوَ الَّذِي يُنَزِّلُ الْغَيْثَ مِن بَعْدِ مَا قَنَطُوا وَيَنشُرُ رَحْمَتَهُ وَهُوَ الْوَلِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ

And it is He Who sends down the rain after they have despaired, and spreads abroad His Mercy. And He is the Supporter, Worthy of all Praise

This past June, I was on the verge of losing hope. I was pregnant with Maryam, who at the time, doctors didn't know if she would survive based on her special condition. I thought it would take a miracle to get me off the boat I was slowly sinking in. 

It turns out that miracle did happen, but didn't come in the fashion I expected. The miracle was in fact having Maryam the way she is. I lost hope for a second at one point, but without that feeling of loss, I believe I would not have appreciated what God has gifted me with after. 

The verse says that Allah sends rain down after people had lost all hope for it even coming. And at that point, Allah spreads His mercy far and wide. Looking at Maryam today and hearing this verse makes me smile, because to me, she is the definition of Allah spreading His mercy far and wide. Alhamdulillah, all thanks and praise to Him. 

When it rains it pours. To read more about this verse when I first wrote about it in June 2014, check it out here in "There is always hope":

http://myquranicreflections.blogspot.com/2014/06/there-is-always-hope.html?m=1

Hearts Greater than Mountains

Looking at these 2 verses together creates a very interesting notion:

Verse 1:

لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنَ عَلَىٰ جَبَلٍ لَّرَأَيْتَهُ خَاشِعًا مُّتَصَدِّعًا مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ وَتِلْكَ الْأَمْثَالُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

"Had We sent down this Quran on a mountain, you would certainly have seen it falling down, splitting into pieces because of the fear of Allah, and We set forth these parables to men that they may reflect." (Surah 59, verse 21). 

Verse 2:

...فَإِنَّهُ نَزَّلَهُ عَلَىٰ قَلْبِكَ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَهُدًى وَبُشْرَىٰ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

"...for surely he revealed it(the Quran) to your heart by Allah's command, verifying that which is before it and guidance and good news for the believers."(Surah 2: verse 97). 

In the first verse, the Quran is being sent down to a mountain, the mountain that symbolizes strength, might, and durability. This mountain that we perceive as unshakable is crumbling upon receiving the words of God. It's an unimaginable sight. 

In the second verse on the other hand, the Quran is being sent to our beloved Prophet, but not just to him but directly to his heart. The heart we perceive as fragile and small is grasping the meaning of the Quran entirely, and through that providing guidance for the rest of mankind. 

Today, you and I can read the Quran. We can grasp it. It can touch our hearts and effect us in ways that give us the strength to move on with our lives peacefully after hardship. Compare your heart to a mountain. The mountain would crumble upon receiving the Quran, but your tiny fragile heart absorbs it fully and is able to grasp it's beautiful meanings. The Quran was meant for your heart. Humans are honored to be created with hearts that can understand God's words without crumbling, unlike vast mountains. Your heart is a home for the Quran. Welcome it with open arms and don't let it feel abandoned. Remember, your heart is greater than a mountain. 

Yusuf- an amazing character

The story of prophet Yusuf(Joseph) is amazing. He gets abandoned and thrown in a well by his own brothers as a child. He's found by strangers who sell him as slave for cheap. He is bought by the king, where soon after the king's wife tries to seduce him. She fails so she puts him in prison, where he stays for years! When he's finally out and his innocence is known, and his brothers come to know who he is at the end of story, he tells the same brothers who caused all of this and threw him in the well to begin with: 

" لَا تَثْرِيبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْيَوْمَ يَغْفِرُ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ وَهُوَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ

"There is no blame on you this day, may Allah forgive you, and He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy!"

Seriously! After all they did. "There is no blame on you". Wow. What a character and prophetic role model!

Mary and Moses: shaking a tree and striking a sea

What was said to Maryam after experiencing the excruciating pains of childbirth and giving birth to a baby in isolation never ceases to amaze me. Allah(swt) tells her in Surah Maryam: "And shake the trunk of the palm-tree towards you, and fresh ripe dates will drop upon you." Keep in mind Maryam just went through labor. She's all alone. She's exhausted and scared. Now God is ordering her to shake a tree. Why? Can't He provide her with food miraculously as He did before when Prophet Zakariah came to check up on her earlier in the story? (Surah 3, verse 37). Why did she have to shake a tree for dates to fall, when Allah could have made the dates come to her without any effort from her side? Something about this scenario is quite striking. 

But then there is the story of Prophet Moses, who God also orders to strike the sea with a stick in order for it to split and save him and his people from the tyrannic Pharoah. Why did Moses have to strike the sea with his stick when God could have opened it for him miraculously without any effort from Moses himself? The scenario here is no different than Mary shaking the date-tree. 

Perhaps Allah is teaching us a valuable lesson in these two famous stories of honorable people. No matter who you are to God, you have to do your own labor in order to receive the fruit. You have to give up something from your own self in order to see the change ahead. We cannot rely on "God's magic" when we have not put our own effort in that which we want. 

We see communities that need change and ask for a miracle to occur. What can one person do? Not much, but it may be that little effort from one that brings change and brings God's help, as Maryam's shake and Moses's strike brought God's help from above. 

A prime example in today's society is Deah Barakat, may Allah have mercy on him, his wife and sister in law. Deah was a dental student that knew of the disheartening situation in Syria, just as we all know of it. We all know it hurts to be in the place of these refugees who have very little and who have lost so much. Yet what do we physically do about it? Deah was one person. What could he do for these refugees? He did what he could. One person wanted to give from what he could, his dental experience. It was a rather small gesture, yet how far has it stretched today? Deah didn't wait for the miracle to come from God. He shook the tree. He struck the sea. And now we see the fruit. His simple goal of $20,000 has now surpassed half a million dollars! Mashallah. This is what it means to put your own effort rather than idly wait for intervention. Put your own sweat into it, and God will be there with you till the end of the journey. 

We as Muslims are taught to be the change we want to see around us. God says repeatedly in the Quran that He will not change a nation until the individuals themselves change on the inside. We cannot sit on the sideline waiting. We need to plant the seed in order to see the harvest. 

Belief is important. Yet what follows belief is action, which is just as necessary. In the Quran, Allah numerously pairs the verbs "believe" and "do good actions" together as one. We cannot believe in God's assistance without trying to physically assist the situation ourselves. Believing is doing. 

There are so many lessons that can be derived from the orders Allah gave Maryam and Prophet Musa. Yet the question is, how are these lessons being reflected in our own lives? May Allah give us the ability to shake the tree in order for us to see the fruit ahead. Ameen.