IOK Ramadan: Finding Comfort In The Perfection Of Our Religion | Heart To Heart Ep. 6

This Ramadan, MuslimMatters is pleased to host the Institute Of Knowledge‘s daily Ramadan series: Heart To Heart. Through this series, each day we will spend time connecting with the Qur’an on a deeper, more spiritual, uplifting level.

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Transcription:

Reflections #6: Finding Comfort in the Perfection of Our Religion

In the name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah , who created us, sustains us, and has blessed us with Islam. All praise is due to Allah who has made us from amongst the ummah of His beloved Prophet Muḥammad . May Allah send salutations upon the Prophet , his Companions, his family, and all the prophets before him. And may Allah protect those of us who choose to tread in their path.

Assalāmu ‘Alaikum Wa Raḥmatullāhi Wa Barakātuh! In this session, I wanted to discuss a part of verse no. 5 from Sūrah Mā’idah where Allah gives us very important reminders that allows the believer to have contentment, conviction, and purpose in their existence. Allah tells us that “Today, I have perfected for you your Religion, and I have completed for you my blessing, and I have approved for you the religion of Islam.”

In our day-to-day lives, at times we find ourselves lacking conviction. We might find ourselves struggling to practice consistently. We might find ourselves in difficulty in terms of our relationship with Allah . Or just in the day-to-day struggles of our lives, we might find ourselves not prioritizing our religion the way it should be.

Allah reminds us of three things.

Number one: I have perfected for you your religion. This was given to the Prophet , and it is a reassurance. It is comforting for every single follower of the Prophet until the end of time that the religion that was given to the Prophet was perfected. In other words, everything that a believer will want, or a believer will need to live out their worldly existence, Allah says I have given it to you. I have given everything that you will need in your religion for you to live a meaningful existence, for you to live a life of obedience to Allah . I have provided for you the toolkit that will make you able to tackle all the challenges in your lives, no matter what time, no matter what place, no matter what circumstances you face, or any follower of the Prophet faces.

If a person has conviction in Allah and He says that I have given you the tools that are needed for you to face all your challenges, this is very critical–especially as we go through our lives and we see how the world is constantly changing around us. When we see the morals, values, and ethics of society constantly changing, when we see things that are wrong being portrayed as right, and when we see things that are right being portrayed as wrong, at times, we might find ourselves having difficulty finding answers. Allah tells us that you do not have to look far because I have perfected the religion for you. That anything that you might need for you to make sense of the world around you will be found in your religion.

Number two: Allah further reassures us that He has completed His blessings upon us. And this is very important because Allah is reassuring each one of us that as we go through our lives the Mercy and Blessings of Allah is there. Chief among them is the fact that He has guided us to Him, and chief among them is the fact that He has given us all the details that we need to live a life of obedience. The fact that Allah has given us the ability to create a worldview that allows us to make sense of the things that happen around us. That for the believer, it is never going to be an issue of why. Why is this happening? Because a believer, ideally, will have full conviction and trust in Allah . This is through His blessings. One of the greatest blessings Allah has given us is the fact that Allah has given us answers. We have clarity. We have conviction through that clarity. We can have a sense of contentment and peace, no matter the circumstances. Because Allah has given us everything that we need to know for us to always have in mind the ultimate objective, which is the Hereafter and the pleasure of Allah .

Allah makes very clear to us the purpose of our existence. Allah perhaps gave us no greater blessing than that. That not only have I created you, but I have created you for a purpose. And I have communicated that purpose to you. And I have guided you to fulfill the objectives of your existence. I have guided you to the right answers. That is perhaps the greatest blessing.

At times when we feel that we might not have clarity, we might not have answers, we might have difficulty facing the challenges that we see around us, but we only have to look towards the Book of Allah . We only have to look towards the life of the Prophet and Allah will point us the way forward.

Number three: Allah says that “I have chosen Islam as a religion for you”. I have chosen Islam as a Dīn for you. And this is a stamp of approval from Allah . That what you and I are doing, what we are following in our lives, what we are trying to do in our lives is because Allah has chosen it for us. Imagine yourself going somewhere, and the best expert of that field or place chooses for you and they understand your needs at a very deep level. They understand, for example, what type of house might be best for you. They recommend the best car for you. They recommend the best job for you. In other words, they are thinking through every single aspect of your needs. They are not just thinking in the short term, they are also thinking in the long term. They are thinking ahead. They are thinking of things that you may not have considered, and their option or their recommendation is going to be the best choice for you. Imagine how content and comfortable you would be in choosing that recommendation because everything has been considered. Allah gives us that same answer. How can you and I not be content, not be happy, and not be at peace when we know that the religion that we follow is because Allah has chosen it for us?

Allah is pleased with what we do. Allah is rewarding each one of us for what we do. Allah has communicated to us that what He has chosen for us is good. Even though we might not be able to understand His Wisdom, His Wisdom is all-encompassing. His Wisdom is all-encompassing because Allah sees and knows what we cannot see and what we cannot know.

It is not easy for a person to have full conviction in another person, to have full trust and reliance upon another person because people are fallible. You might have trust in others because you choose to trust someone, and perhaps they have demonstrated to you over and over why they are worthy of your trust. Yet it is always possible, because we are human beings, because we are fallible, it is possible that those individuals may let us down. It is not a pessimistic outlook, but rather a realistic outlook that it is a possibility. It might not be out of their own volition. It might be simply because they were incapable of paying back that trust, paying back that reliance. But Allah is not like His Creation. Allah is infallible. Allah is perfect in every single aspect of His existence.

Allah is perfect which means that Allah’s choices are also perfect. This means following the choices of Allah can lead us to a place where nothing else can lead us. Following the choices that Allah has placed upon us, following His recommendations, and following the priorities that He has set in front of us, will give us peace and comfort to a degree that none of our other choices will ever give. When it comes to always choosing between the religion and anything else, we choose what Allah has chosen for us. We choose what Allah is pleased with. We choose what Allah has perfected. And we choose it because Allah knows best.

May Allah guide us, give us knowledge that benefits us, and give us all the ability to do what is best. May Allah protect us all. Assalāmu ‘Alaikum Wa Raḥmatullāhi Wa Barakātuh.

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