Tuesday 24 September 2013

Turning to the Creator and not the creature


بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ


The pinnacle of belief is what Allah says about His Holy Prophet Muhammad (pboh); that is he never said anything out of his own desire.  Everything was on the basis of Divine revelations.  Because of this we can conclude that Prophet (pboh) had complete faith and trust in Allah.

In the Holy Qur’an, Allah categorizes man into three groups.  Those who believe in the Oneness of Allah, those who reject His Oneness and those who openly say they believe but in reality they don’t; i.e. the munafiq or hypocrites.

Amongst the first category, i.e. the believers, they are further categorized.  Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported to have said “Imaan (faith) increases or decreases”.  Now we are going to look at a practical example of this hadith as it pertains to us.

Allah says in Surah Hajj;

There are among men some who serve Allah, as it were, on the verge: if good befalls them, they are, therewith, well content; but if a trial comes to them, they turn on their faces: they lose both this world and the Hereafter: that is loss for all to see!  They call on such deities, besides Allah, as can neither hurt nor profit them: that is straying far indeed (from the Way)!  (Perhaps) they call on one whose hurt is nearer than His profit: evil, indeed, is the patron, and evil the companion (or help)!  (22:11-13)

Some believers have faith in Allah but it fluctuates.  They are like sitting on a fence when it comes to belief in the greatness of Allah.  Allah is saying in the ayat above that if good comes to them they are most contented and happy.  But if a trial comes to them they become agitated, disappointed and nervous.  And out of this emotional unrest they become so desperate to alleviate the trial that they go to other sources for help instead of the Lord of the worlds.  Allah says about such that they are losers in both worlds.

Allah is The One who cures, helps and protect us.  We call on His Beautiful Names and Divine Attributes yet the last thing people do when they are undergoing some sort of difficulty is to turn to Him.  It demonstrates the level of faith they have.

For example whenever a person gets sick they would visit a doctor because he understands something of the working of the human body.  That is all well and good; but keep one thing clear, cure comes from Allah and not the doctor.  The same medicine that can cure you of some ailment may not work on another who shares the same ailment.  It is Allah Who allows and grants cure etc.

The sincere and true believers turn to Allah first and then seek some way of dealing with the stressful matter knowing full well that it is only Allah Who can grant a positive conclusion.  Those with little faith will run by all the creatures for help and not The Creator.  And sometimes after they’ve realised that all their efforts are proven futile then they will leave the matter to Allah.  This is not the way of expressing true faith in our Creator.  Turn to Him first and not last! 

This is also one reason why He sent His Beloved (pboh); to show how to have true faith in the Allah.  And his entire personality demonstrated this, from his childhood to adulthood.  For example Allah says;

Did He not find thee an orphan and give thee shelter (and care)?  And He found thee wandering, and He gave thee guidance.  And He found thee in need, and made thee independent.  (93:3-8)

The real advice and message I wish to put forth is to have true, unwavering faith in the Creator.  It is not easy especially when you are faced with trying moments.  Put your faith and trust in Him and after you can seek help from His creatures knowing full well that all help, cure etc. comes through Allah and He can choose to bestow His mercies through whatever medium He chooses.

Insha Allah, He will appoint a way for you to get pass the difficulty and tests.  He is so Great that He listens to all of His servants at one and the same time.  This is part of His Greatness.  He doesn’t put you on-hold when you supplicate to Him.

He says in His Holy Words; ‘Call on Me and I will respond’.  Talk to your Lord especially in the trying times.  A lot of people don’t know how to communicate with Allah.  Talk to Him and seek His Help and Guidance; and rest assured He listens to us all.  He is most Compassionate and He truly loves you.

This is part of the perfection of our faith, i.e. to have unwavering trust in our Merciful Lord.  Yes, He will test you and there will be times of difficulty and anxiety, but always remember that if you put your faith and trust in Him, He will never let you down.

May Allah enable us to be from amongst those who will have strong and steadfast faith, trust and reliance in Him, and may He take care of all our affairs in this world and the next.

Transcript of discourse delivered by
Maulana Dr. Waffie Mohammed

The video presentation of this discourse can be accessed at