بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ
Human beings are blessed by Allah with eyesight which gives us the ability to see. However we are also blessed with another organ that allows us vision and comprehension. This is the heart. Allah says in the Qur'an that there are some that 'have hearts wherewith they understand not, eyes wherewith they see not, and ears wherewith they hear not'. Allah says in His Holy Words; "Now have come to you, from your Lord, proofs (to open your eyes): if any will see, it will be for (the good of) his own soul; if any will be blind, it will be to his own (harm): I am not (Here) to watch over your doings." (6:104) Allah has given us the ability to comprehend. It is up to each individual to make the effort in order to become enlighten. Blindness in this context refers to your heart. You can see with your eyes and yet still be 'blind'; as Allah says: 'eyes wherewith they see not'. How is this possible? Always remember that the Qur'an explains itself. The explanation is found in another ayat in the Qur'an. 'do they not travel through the land, so that their hearts (and minds) may thus learn wisdom and their ears may thus learn to hear? Truly it is not their eyes that are blind, but their hearts which are in their breasts.' (22:46) You cannot comprehend with your eyes. For example a lot of people say that there is no god except Allah; but it doesn't sink into their hearts. They simple perform lip service. There are sincere believers all over this world, but in addition to our belief we have to make the effort to increase the alertness of the heart in order to understand some things of Al Ghaib (the unseen), which are not visible through the eyes. In order to achieve this you need to keep your Qalb pure and clean. If you don't it will become clouded and you wont be able to understand as Allah says in Surah Muthaffifin; 'Nay! but on their hearts is the Ran (covering of sins and evil deeds) which they used to earn.' (83:14) If your heart is covered you will not be able to comprehend the Greatness of Allah. In connection to this Prophet Muhammad (saw) said 'rust falls on the heart as it falls on iron'. If you have rust on your heart you'll stay blind and Allah says that is your concern not His. This is why Prophet (saw) told his Companions "I have returned from the small Jihad (Jihad Asghar) to the big Jihad (Jihad Akbar)". The Sahabas enquired "what is the big Jihad?" Prophetsaid "the Jihad al nafs (against the inner desires)." Your nafs can put stains on your qalb or keep it polished and clean. You need to make the required effort. We can comprehend Allah's greatness through Zikir and through Fikir. The wise one will use all these avenues to keep the qalb clean. Through this ones vision will grow, insha Allah. Allah won't send enlightenment from the sky for you; you have to make the effort. For example when the rain falls on a mountain the water simple runs of the stones. However, when it falls on fertile soil it will be of greater benefit. Prepare yourself to benefit from Allah's blessings. Whenever you make the weekly effort to attend our Zikir sessions you are trying to activate your qalb and through this your comprehension of various things will increase insha Allah. Don't 'weaken your vision'. Strive to improve upon it through the avenues Allah made available to us. May Allah make it easy for us and may He cause us to become more and more enlightened, insha Allah.
