When struggle is the sign of Serenity

I have always wanted to lay truthful claim to the nature of the relationship I aspire to my
Lord and sustainer – strong and meaningful, the kind I know He loves for me to establish with Him
. striving to convert this ambition into reality , however , has proven ( some may say as expected )
no easy task – and that’s an understatement . but lest I be misunderstood , I hasten to underscore
two facts without which the picture can be neither whole nor accurate .

The first is that I have tasted the deep emotional and intellectual satisfaction of this
relationship . I have experienced its inspiration almost continuously , many times overpoweringly ,
and often for prolonged phases . what is difficult is maintaining that incredible spiritual velocity of
its high end , to surf in the curl of its steadily heightening and accelerating wave for as long as Allah
wants one to be there ;that is , until we come safely ashore on the far side of life .

This is the state our scholars have called “ al-istiqamah “ it means constancy upon the
way of Almighty God “ Allah “ and such is the condition that requires of the human spirit immense
effort and poise and training for its balance to be maintained . to shift to the right or the left , to
lose one’s composure in the midst of the spray of life is to spill into the spiritual sea of deviation .

The second detail is that “ abd” or “ salve of God “ has always found joy in his humble
relationship with his rabb or “ Lord” even when the needful worshipper buckled weak or the tasks
fell heave , or the way seemed hard to perceive . Each moment that I consciously struggled with it ,
regardless of my condition , the reward hit me with breathtaking quickness . yes satisfaction
showered its usual rose-petal thrill over me , as it dose every matador that steps into the ring and
grasps hold of the horns of challenge and tames it , with Allah ’s aid . But what of the ecstasy of
serenity , the delight in the night that envelopes one who realizes that his Lord accepted his striving
and brought his toils to fruition , made his game to graze full and all his grains to grow ; for such is
the manifold and majestic appreciation of my Lord “ Allah “ God “ most Kind and Generous.

Good relationships take work . that means to not struggle to be wholly dutiful to God is to
fail the full submission due Him – a bad sign of a less than “good “ relationship with the sole Divine

So glade tidings to the struggling . for Allah tells us , “ But { as to } those who strive for Us

( alone , against every evil ) , we shall most surely , guide them upon Our pathways ( to salvation ) .
for , indeed , God is , most surly , with those who excel in ( doing ) good “ Holy Quran 29-69

A friend of mine used to love spending hours in his room at night worshipping Allah in his
teen years . that starated changing when he entered collage , until he completely lost his love of
Allah and stopped his prayers . It took him the next 15 years to gain back his love of Allah .
Recently , he confided in me that misunderstanding his struggle to submit to Allah alone – his
misinterpretation of vicisstudes of his striving as signs that he was a bad and ungrateful severnt –
was the main reason he went astray .
 Undoubtedly , many of us have had to meet , or may be experienced right now , challenges
similar to that of my childhood friend . But know that our struggle to surrender is the best
indication of the good quality of our serventhood to Him “ our Lord “

Striving for spritiual growth is no easy undertaking . And there are no short cuts either . the
road must be traced all the way home . Yet if it is authentic knowledge that buoys us , if repeatedly we
seek to true our souls in Tawbh “ repentance “ then , togather , we are headed in the right direction .