What is Islam?

It is the religion that the One True God has sent for all mankind. Not
just to show us how to worship Him but also to show us how to live. For
in Islam both of these are the same, our entire life is one of worship. In
this way Islam is different from all the other religions of the world. This
religion is much more than just rituals, morals, songs and holidays. It is
not something you can do only in your part time. Rather from the
moment that you open your eyes in the morning to the moment that you
shut them at night you can be in a state of worship to God. And through
this you can have a purpose.
How wonderful is it to live your life on purpose. To know what you
have to do at every moment. To never be lost or confused. Never be bored
or meaningless. Islam can show you how to achieve this. It is a compass
that can guide you through your life. Its message is simple and pure. You
have one God. The One True God. He is the One Who created you, the
One Who sustains you , the One Who has given you all that you have,
the very source of all the good in your life. He has given you everything
so worship only Him. Remember Him. Praise Him. Live each moment
only for Him. Because of your love for Him
You realize that you are who you are only because of Him. So you
give to Him all that you can give. You try at each moment only to please
Him. How simple is this? How beautiful is it?This is the reason why He
created us. To dedicate our lives to Him. Not just through a few rituals or
songs but through all that we do. Not just with our limbs but more
importantly with our hearts. Our hearts should always be yearning for
Him. When we are at this state then our limbs will only do what pleases
Him. When we are in this state then we are in Islam. It is the realization
that nothing matters except God. Your love for Him consumes everything
else. And it gives you a serenity and a contentment that all of the riches in
the world cannot buy.
This is the reason why God created us and placed us upon this earth,
only to submit ourselves to Him.
This is our purpose.
Can we not see how everything in this universe has a purpose, can you
find even a single thing that exists without a purpose?

Even the objects that we create, we create with a purpose. The car has
a purpose, the table has a purpose, the house has a purpose. We build
these things only in order that they may fulfill their intended purpose.
And to use these things for other than their intended purpose is
foolishness.
Would you ever use a refrigerator as a filing cabinet, would you ever
use a new computer only as a paperweight?
How then can you ever think of God as being so foolish?
How can the God Who has the Power and the Knowledge and the
Wisdom to create a universe like this create us without a purpose?
Could He have created us and this wonderful universe around us only
so that we can eat, drink, play, copulate, and die?
You know that you were made for more than this, more than simply
the acquisition of material things and the satisfaction of carnal desires. So
if you believe in God then you must believe that He created you with a
purpose.
A far higher purpose than the life that you are living now.
That purpose is Islam, that purpose is to submit to Him completely.
In every aspect of your life.
Because think about it, does He deserve any less from you, does He
deserve that you only worship Him for a few hours on Sunday and then
live the rest of the week heedless of Him? Does He deserve so little from
you? Of course not. You know He deserves from you a life of complete
dedication. He is relentless is His Mercy and His bounties upon you,
should then you not be relentless in your servitude of Him? Should you
not give Him all that you can? If your love for Him is true and deep.
Anyone can claim that they love God, in this religion He asks you to
prove that love. He asks that you manifest that love in all that you do.
The only way that you can truly dedicate yourself to God is through
Islam. For this religion is nothing less than complete surrender and
submission to Him. In this way it is different from all other religions. You
need to realize this. You need to remove all assumptions and
presuppositions that you might have about Islam and about religion in
general. You may have had a bad experience with other religions, you
may even have had a bad experience with some Muslims. Or you may
have heard some negative views about Islam. Do not let any of this
influence you. Realize now that Islam is not at all like the other religions.
And realize also that Islam cannot be blamed for the actions of some
misguided people who may call themselves Muslims. Rather this religion

is good and pure. Because it is from the Holy and the Pure. If you finish
this book with an open heart then God willing you will realize this too.
Maybe right now this life of submission may seem difficult
It may seem as if He is asking a lot. But I assure you that it is not at
all difficult. God Himself has called this religion easy. Not only is it easy
but through it you can find a serenity like nothing else in this world can
offer. You can be content no matter what happens to you. You may find
this hard to believe as well. But I assure that it is possible. This religion is
the way. Contrary to what you have been taught, happiness and fulfillment
are not to be found in feeding yourself. Life is not about satisfying your
ego and your lusts. You have already tried living such a life and you know
how empty it is, how fleeting its satisfaction is. Just a mirage. If only you
knew God you would realize how there is far more to existence than that.
If only you knew Him then you would see why He is indeed deserving of
your dedication. Of your love. So the first step in your journey to Him is
to know Him. How can you love one you do not know? All that we do for
Him is from our love for Him.
As we said in the introduction God is the Creator and the Sustainer for
everyone. So first you need to know about Him that He is the very Reason
for you. At every moment you only are because of Him. Even this
moment. You are experiencing this very moment only because of Him.
You see, you hear, you feel, you taste and you think only because of Him.
How much then do you owe to Him? How tremendous is just this bounty
of His upon you? Can you even measure, can you even quantify the
magnitude of it? When you realize this then you see just how precious
each moment is. A gift from the Divine. He is an active Being, a
conscious Being. He is not a passive force as some people think of Him to
be. Rather at every moment He is choosing to sustain you, choosing to
keep you alive. Just like He chose to bring you into existence in the first
place. What kind of a relationship then do you need to have with Him? Is
it fair that you live your whole life heedless of Him when He has and
continues to do so much for you? You will see in this book that justice
and equity are one of the central pillars of Islam, it is required of us that
we give to everyone the rights that they have over us, we fulfill all our
obligations to them. And who has a greater right upon us than God? Who
has done more for us?

And just as He brought you into existence, so did He also bring to

existence all that is around you. The universe which surrounds you is also
His creation. Everything that you can see, everything that you can touch
and feel, it is all from Him.
In the beginning there was nothing besides Him. He is the Originator,
the Source for all that there is. Even those things which seem man-made
are really from Him. He is the One Who gave us the materials, and the
One Who gave us the knowledge and the ability. So again just think how
much is the gratitude that you owe to Him. For His choosing to bring you
into existence. For this wonderful universe He put you into.
Try and realize once again how active He is at each moment of your
life. Just think about your breathing at this moment. That breath which
you take, that whiff of oxygen is from Him. If only He wanted to, He
could strip the entire earth of all oxygen in only a millisecond, and this
would be easy for Him. But He chooses not to. Rather He chooses to give
you air and He chooses to give air to all the others who surround you.
And then even the power by which you breathe is only from Him. Are
you now even thinking about your breathing? Are you telling your nose
and your lungs to take in oxygen and to take out carbon dioxide? Most of
the time you are not conscious of this process. How then does it happen?
Does either your nose or your lungs have a mind of their own? No, rather
you breathe only because of Him. It happens by His Power, by His Will.
The same can be said for all the other processes which happen in your
body. The digestion of food and drink, the removal of harmful wastes, the
production of energy, the sensory and the nervous systems. They all
operate by His Power and His Will. As does everything that happens in
the universe around you.
The sun does not rise in the morning except that He is the One Who
makes it to rise. The clouds do not bring the rain, rather it is He Who
brings the rain through the clouds. The lights turn on, the cars move, the
computer processes, the cell towers carry voice, He makes it all to
happen. Every single process, all power, all movement is only because of
Him.
Science may be able to explain how these occurrences are
happening but it can never answer why. It can never explain the

Cause.
For He is the Cause. So realize that not only is He is the Creator of the
universe but He is also its Maintainer. He is the only One Who is holding
everything in place, the only One Who is making everything to happen.
How then can you ever forget Him? How can you fill your heart with
thoughts of other than Him?
Once again let me emphasize that in order to understand Islam you
need to know God. Because this religion is only the complete submission
to Him. And the motivation of submission to Him is the love for Him.
How can you love Him if you do not know Him. How can you have a
relationship with one who is a stranger to you? The more you know Him,
the more you will love Him, and the more you love Him, the more you
will submit yourself and humble yourself before Him, and this state of
utter servitude to God is Islam.
First and foremost it is in the heart.
By heart here I do not mean the organ in the body that pumps blood.
Rather I mean the place where thought and contemplation happen. And I
do not just mean the mind, it is also with what you feel. It is where your
soul lives, it where the passion and the drive in you comes from. And it is
also your connection with God. Often in the Quran He speaks of a pure
heart, but what exactly does this mean? It means that the more a heart is
filled with the remembrance of God the purer it is. And hearts that are
filled with thoughts of other than Him are sick hearts. Thus the way in
which Islam helps us to attain serenity is by clearing our hearts of all that
is other than Him. Showing us how they are all illusions. Not only
illusions but demons. Causing grief, sorrow, and anxiety. In Islam when
you surrender yourself to God you let go of all these. You see them for
the illusions that they are. Just think what is it that you are always
thinking of, what is it that you are always stressing over and then ask
yourself if that thing is worth all of the emotional energy you are spending
on it. How does it compare to Him, to His Majesty and His Glory? Just
clear your mind of all that is other than Him. He is not a distant god
sitting high above the heavens. Rather He is near to you, a nearness that is
beyond space and time. A nearness that can be felt in the heart. He is the
Stillness that you can feel when all thoughts stop flowing.

The more that you strive to clear your mind, the nearer to Him that
you will be. And it is in this nearness to Him that you find peace. For He
is your Beloved. You love Him because of all His bounties upon you and
you love for Him because of how Majestic and Pure that He is. He is not
like us, He has no form.
He does not occupy space and time. Rather He is absolutely
Transcendent beyond these limits. He is the Being of absolute Perfection,
Beauty, and Sublimity. Can you not then see how there is nothing in the
world that can compare to Him?
God is Perfect not only in that He is not limited to form but also
Perfect in all His Attributes.
He is The All Knowing, the All Able, the All Hearing, the All Seeing.
Can you even begin to realize what each of these mean? For example to
say that He is the All Knowing means that He Knows all that there is, all
that there was, all that there will be, and even all that could have been. At
this very moment He is well Aware of every single occurrence that
happens in the entire universe.
He Knows what you are doing, He Knows what everyone is doing,
every angel, human, animal, and any other of His creation.
He Knows what you are thinking of in the deepest recesses of your
heart. Just as He Knows you intimately, He also Knows the rest of His
creation.
He Knows the fish in the deepest ocean just as He Knows the star in
the furthest galaxy.
How then can you live heedless of Him?
How can you not want to have a relationship with Him? And this is
just His Perfection in His Knowledge.
What about His Perfection in His Power? His Perfection in His Love
and Mercy?
How can you not praise and glorify such a Being? How can you not be
in awe of Him, how can you not be in love with Him?
How can you place in your heart a rival to Him? How petty and trivial
is it when compared to Him? Once you have entered into His Presence
then you will see. You only need to make the effort to reach this station.
We as human beings admire perfection, beauty, and majesty. When we
see such in the world around us we cannot help but be in awe. Sometimes
we even fall in love. But we need to realize that God is far more Majestic,

and Beautiful, and Perfect than anything of this world. Now you may ask
how you can come to this realization if you have not seen Him or
observed Him in any way? The answer to this contention is that you have.
Can you not see how this entire universe is a reflection of Him? Anything
of this world in which we find beauty and majesty are all from Him.
When you gaze upon a sunrise or a sunset, when you see birds in flight,
when you look up on a clear night and see a sky full of stars, when you
look out the window while on an airplane and see an endless ocean
beneath you and an endless sky above you, or if you just think about how
enormous our universe is (did you know that even if you traveled at the
speed of light it would still take you billions upon billions of years just to
traverse through the expanse of the known universe). When you see
majestic mountains, and green forests, and clouds moving through sky,
and all the different species of animals and plants, and even when you
look within yourself. At how much emotion and love you are capable of.
Can we who feel so much really be from an accident, just the result of
a big bang and the joining of some proteins and amino acids, or are we
more than the sum of our parts, are we more than just flesh and bone. The
human soul is the greatest of His creation because He placed into it a part
of Himself. In the Quran God describes those nearest to Him as those
who contemplate deeply on the universe around them. So by looking to
His universe, by contemplating deeply on it, you can get a small taste of
His Greatness. It is all from Him, He is the Source of all that there is.
Now ask yourself once again how you can live heedless of such a Being?
But as we said before, even though you cannot see God with your
eyes, you can still feel Him in your heart. To reach this station you need
to clear your heart of all that is other than Him. And you need to start with
your ego, your ego is the one greatest veil between you and Him. Because
the ego craves domination and satisfaction. It does not want to submit,
and the very essence of Islam is submission. The ego always craves
something, it is never satisfied. When it gets one thing then it craves
something else. And this craving of ego causes misery for your soul.
Because it can never be at peace, each moment it needs something. It
wants to rule over others, it wants others to praise and glorify it and it
cannot stand any kind of criticism. If it does not get its way it causes it
frustration and anger. And once again this translates into misery for you.
Islam frees you of these shackles because it shows how to let go of the
ego. It shows how the ego is not who you really are. Rather you are a
worshiper and a slave of God, this is your true nature. In Islam we believe
all of creation is already in a state of worship to God. The animals, the

birds, the fish, the trees, the rocks, the stars, the molecules, the cells. All
that there is in this universe. Not only are they all sentient, but they are
also worshiping Him. At each moment. We cannot know how exactly, it
is beyond our ability to comprehend. But we know they are for He has
told us that they are in the Quran. And in the Quran He also invites us to
join them. By doing so we will find peace. By subjugating our ego. By
realizing that life is not about serving us. It is not about the glorification
of us, rather we are all part of something far greater. By giving up your
ego and its desires you too can come to this realization, you can become
connected with God, you can become one with the universe. You can
find a true purpose for each moment. This is what you have always been
searching for.
You also need to know about God that He is One. Absolutely Unique.
He has no partner, no equal, no rival. There is no one who aided Him in
the creation of the universe. Nor is there any being who helps Him to
sustain the universe. Nor is there any being who is in any way similar to
Him. None has any of His attributes of perfection. For example there is no
one else who has knowledge of all things. In fact any knowledge that any
of His creation may have is only knowledge that He has given to that
creation. And similarly there is no one besides Him who has power over
all things. Rather all power in this universe is only from Him. He is the
One Who makes the leaves to fall, the One Who makes the clouds to
move, the One Who makes the sun to burn and the One Who changes day
into night and night into day. He is the One Who holds the cosmos in
place and the One Who brings the molecules together. Even you yourself
cannot even lift a finger or move a muscle unless it be by His Power.
So realize that there is nothing and no one in any way similar to God.
There is nothing and no one who can even compare. He is not even like
us. As we said He is not of a human form. He is not a body composed of
limbs. He does not have hands, feet, ears and eyes like we do. He is not
limited to a specific location. He is not restricted by time and space. For
He is the Creator of both time and space. He is totally different from all
that He created. Whatever you imagine Him to be, He is other than that.
Since He is Unique that is why He cannot have a partner or a rival or a
son. How can there be another like Him when being the One and Only is a
part of Who He is? Part of it what it means to be the Divine is to be the
Unique. He is the Creator and all else is the creation. He is the Sustainer
and all else is the sustained. He is the Source and all else is from Him. He

is the Perfect and all else is in some way flawed.

Can you not see then how God in Islam is different from the
perception that all other religions have of Him? In Islam He is not a weak
god, a god that makes mistakes, a god that feels pain, or a god that is only
for one tribe. He also does not share in His Sovereignty or in His Divinity
with anyone. There is no son or holy spirit, there is only Him. The One
and Only. Is this not a belief that makes sense, does not God have to be
Perfect and Unique? How can you ascribe a son to Him and worship that
being alongside Him? Is this not polytheism, is this not idol worship?
And if they tell you that the father and the son are really the same, then
you ask them how this could be? If they are really the same then why
even distinguish between the two? And moreover if the son is divine then
how can he have a form, how can he become a man and feel pain? Is it
befitting for the Divine to be limited and weak in such a way? In Islam
God is so Transcendent and so Majestic and so Glorious that He is above
feeling pain or even having a bodily form. Once you think Him to have a
form then He is restricted to that form. And as a consequence of this He
becomes distant from you.
Because you are a form and He is a form other than you. You are
down here on earth and He is somewhere up in the heavens. Or he is a
being who bled and died on a cross thousands of years ago in a far away
place. Once again very distant. But this is not what Islam says. We believe
Him to be without form. Now our belief is also not exactly like the
Eastern religions who think Him to be just a passive force. He is not
something vague and obscure like that. Rather He is the Real, He is more
real than the world around us. And He is an Active Being, He has
Sentience and a Will. He has spoken to us through His Prophets. He has
given us a Law to follow. He answers our prayers when we call upon
Him. He is One Whom we can have a relationship with.
He is distinct from us and yet He is also near to us. How beautiful is
this? To know that there is a Being that is the Divine and not just some
passive and impersonal force. And yet at the same time to also know that
He is not a Being Who is far away in the heavens, but rather a Being Who
is near. So near. In the Quran He tells us that He is closer to us than our
jugular vein.
Can you imagine what kind of a nearness this is? And when you know
that such a Mighty and Powerful yet also Loving and Compassionate
Being is near to you then how can you ever have any fear after that? How

can anything ever cause you anxiety or sorrow? When you know that He
at each moment will be with you. When you know that before any person,
force or calamity can come to you that thing first has to go through Him.
When you know that this entire universe is in His Control and only what
He wills to happen will happen. When you have a relationship with such a
Being then how can you have any fear or sorrow after that? Any concern
but Him.
We are also commanded in Islam to have good thoughts of God. To
never assume that He does not like us or that He is angry with us. To
always think that He loves us, for if we love Him then how can He not
love us? Countless are the verses in the Quran where He has described
Himself as Most Forgiving and Most Forbearing and Most Kind and
Most Loving. The fact that He would choose to be so is also from His
Beauty and His Sublimity for He did not need to be. He did not need to be
your loving friend, He could have been your enemy, He could have been
a vengeful and tormenting god. If He were then imagine how miserable
your life would be. But He chose not to be, He chose to be so merciful to
you. This is how much He loves you, why then can you not love Him?
And if you love Him then how can you not want to be near to Him? How
can you not want to prove your love for Him? Islam gives you this
opportunity.
All scholars of religion agree that there is no religion that is more
monotheistic than Islam. There is no religion where the absolute Oneness
of God is stressed more than in Islam. There is no religion which
condemns polytheism and idol worship more strongly than Islam does.
There is no religion which teaches that God is so absolutely Perfect and
Pure as Islam does. Even the Prophet Muhammad does not have any
divinity. He was only a human, only a messenger. The worship and the
sanctification is for God and God Alone. This is how God is calling on you
to believe in Him, to know Him. And to do so is a belief that has
consequences.
How exactly is this? Firstly to believe that your God is One and One
Alone allows you to have a deep and personal relationship with Him
without the need for any intermediary. In Islam we do not have anything
like a clergy or a priest class.
There is no pope or saint we have to go through in order to reach
God. Rather He is near to us and He has promised that He will respond to

us when we call upon Him. So in Islam you can speak with God anytime
that you want to. You can ask of Him, you can seek His protection from
all the calamities you face, and you can even confide in Him of your
troubles. Such is how near He is to you. Such is how accessible He is to
you. Do not ever think that you cannot approach Him because of your
sins. Rather you should know that He is Most Forgiving and Most
Merciful. Even if you come to Him with a mountain full of sins He would
still forgive you. All that you have to do is ask Him to. You do not need to
ask anyone but Him. It is He Whom you sinned against so only His
pardon should you seek. See how there is no other religion in the world
like this. No religion which allows you to have such a personal
relationship with the Divine. Is this not what religion is all about? At the
end of the day should it not be about you and your Creator?
We are all always desperately in need of God, more so than most of
us can ever imagine. This is the realization that we need to come to if we
are to progress in our journey to Him.
Think about it, who is it that you call on when there is no one else
who can help you. If you were on a ship that is sinking or a plane that is
falling or if your beloved was going into surgery, who would you call on
for help? Is it not the One True God?
Would you call on an idol or a man or a cow? No, for you know that these
are weak. You know that these do not have any power. They cannot help
you. Only He can help you. Because only He is God. He has power to do
whatever that He pleases to and all that He does is easy for Him. And
when you dedicate yourself to the Him then right away you can have a
relationship with Him. And this connection that you have with Him
allows you to call on Him whenever you need to. You do not need to wait
for a calamity to call on Him. Rather you can supplicate to Him for
anything and everything. The Prophet used to seek Gods aid even if his
shoelaces became undone. Now of course he himself would make an
effort to tie the laces but at the same time he would ask Gods help as
well. Because there is no power except in Him. So even the strength and
the ability with which you tie your shoelaces is from Him. If He so willed
you would never be able to tie them. What He pleases is what will be and
what He does not please will never be. He is the One in control. This is
realization we need to come to.
When we do then we never have to fear, we never need to have any

stress or anxiety. For we know that if we are true to Him then He will
never leave us, He will never allow any harm to come to us. And on top of
this we can ask of Him whatever we need of Him. He is the One Who is
able to give and He loves to give those who sincerely ask of Him. The
more you free yourself of ego the more your state of utter need before
Him is realized.
And as you call on Him, even for what seem to be the most trivial of
matters, your connection with Him becomes stronger. Firstly because you
remember Him and to remember Him is one of the greatest of virtues. He
loves those who think of Him, especially when the whole world seems to
have forgotten Him. Supplicating to Him also makes you realize your
weakness and His Power. You come to see how you are the slave and
how He is the Master. You are the one in need and He is the One Who
fulfills your need. This realization will allow you to be humbler before
His Glory. It will increase you in servitude and submission. And through
this you find peace.
Not only is God the One Whom you can call on whenever you need to
but He is also the One Whom you can rely on completely. You can depend
on Him. In all your affairs. Once you realize how near He is to you, once
you realize how there is no power except in Him then you realize you can
depend on Him to be there for you always. He will help you and guide
you.
Even if you are doing your schoolwork or office work or chores
around the home or driving or walking or even eating. In all of these and
more you can rely on Him to help you. To make that action you are doing
come out in the right way. To be safe and to be successful in that affair.
So you no longer need to worry for there is One Who is in control. The
All Powerful. The One Who loves you more than you can ever imagine.
There is not a moment in your life except that you can rely on Him in it.
To help you in whatever that you are doing, to protect you and to keep
you safe, to put your heart at ease. You just need to see His absolute
Power and His absolute Love for you. You only need to turn to Him and
be sincere to Him to receive this Love. All that He is asking of you is that
you try. He knows how weak you are, this is why He will accept whatever
it is that you can offer, if you only take one step to Him He will take ten
to you.
He can be the One Whom you call on for all your needs. You do not
need to divide your worship between many different gods, you do not

need to pray to a certain god for sustenance and another god for
protection and another god for health and another god for victory. Rather
you can know that there is One God Who answers all your prayers. And
He is the One Who is able to answer all your prayers. For He is the All
Powerful, the All Able. He is the One Who can do whatsoever that He
pleases to. He can grant you what you ask Him for and this is very easy
for Him. It is so easy that He does not even need to make an effort. He
does not even need to say a word. Rather His Will right away becomes
the reality. He only wills for a thing and then it is. See then how easily He
can answer your prayers. Such is what makes Him God. Part of what it
means to be the Divine is to be Perfect. And He is Perfect in Power just
like He is Perfect in Benevolence and Love. Who else is there like Him?
Why then would you ever ask any but Him?
And once you realize that He is the only One Who gives to you, how
then can you ever dedicate yourself to other than Him? How can you
serve another master besides He when He is the only One you ask of and
He is the only One Who gives? Is this justice? When you are in trouble
then you know that He is the One Whom you call on. When you need
something you know He is the One Whom you ask. When there is a
danger that you fear you know it is His Protection that you seek. How
then can you forget Him, how then can you not worship Him?
Is He like a servant or butler for you? To only call on when needed.
No on the contrary it is He Who should be the Master and you the
servant. Because He is the Provider and you are the one who is provided
for, He is the Creator and you are the created, He is the Sustainer and you
are the sustained. He does not need you but you need Him.
And yet you so often forget Him while He never even once forgets
you. Is this justice, is this fair? Of course not. And still He provides for
you, still He gives you all that you need. Why is this? It is only because of
His Mercy for you, His Love for you. There is no limit to His Mercy or
His Love. In Islam we do not believe in a vengeful god or an angry god or
a god who loves to punish and torment. On the contrary we believe God
to be the Most Forgiving and Most Merciful. In the Quran the one
attribute with which He has described Himself the most is His Mercy. And
is this not obvious, can we not see it? Think how heedless of Him we all
are. How much do we fail Him in what He deserves from us of worship
and servitude? Do you think that you have worshiped God or even praised
Him as much as He deserves? Do you think that you have thanked Him

enough for all the bounties that He has showered upon you? And yet still
He gives you the air to breathe, and the water to drink, and the food to eat,
and the secure home in which to live. You may take all these gifts for
granted but just think how difficult your life would be if you were denied
even one of these? How much has He given to you? Can you not see then
how much He loves you?
In Islam we do not believe in Original Sin, we do not believe that
the sins of the father carry to the children. That is not just. Each of us is
only accountable for what we do. And even then God pardons much, He
overlooks much. Not by sending His son to Hell for our sins but rather by
His choosing to forgive our sins. Because He wants to, because of His
Love for us. After all is He not God, does this not give Him the right to
do whatever He pleases to? If He wants to He can forgive the worst of
sinners, such is His right. And if He wants to, He can punish the most
pious of us. Such also is His right. On account of His being the Creator,
on account of His being God.
But He has chosen to be a Being of Mercy, a Being Who pardons
again and again. Does this not show His Beauty, His Sublimity, His
Perfection? Now does this mean that He will pardon everyone? Does this
mean that He will not take anyone to task? Does this mean that we will
not be held accountable before Him? No, of course not.
For He has also told us in the Quran that there will be Judgment
Day, a day in which we will all have to stand before Him. Then He will
judge us. Based upon His Judgment He will place a group into Paradise
and a group into Hellfire. The former group He has described as those
who did good on the earth, as those who remembered Him and pleased
Him. And the latter group He has described as the criminals and as the
ungrateful. The distinction will be made both on beliefs and deeds.
You need to believe in God and in the Message that He has sent
and you need to act on this belief. He will judge all of us on if we did this
or not. And this judgment is from His Justice, and His Justice is also from
His Mercy. After all can the sinners and the criminals be treated equal to
those who did good and those who were kind?
Even in the secular world we have a concept of justice, we have a
concept of reward and punishment. We have a justice system, we have a
court system. No one has claimed that we can dispense with justice. Even
in the classroom, even in the corporation, even in the home, there is a
reward given for being good and there is a penalty extracted for evil. We
know that this is right, how then can we expect any less of God? Is it fair

that everyone is forgiven no matter what evil they may do?

You know that much is the evil that has happened on earth.
And often times the perpetrators are not brought to justice.
How unfair is this to the victims of their evil? In the end justice will
be done for one and all. He will show mercy to those whom He knows are
deserving of it and withhold it from those not.
Now you may be questioning how God can punish us if we chose not
to believe in Him. In other words is it really evil for someone not to
believe in Him. I believe that it is. Because so many are the Signs that
God has placed throughout the universe. That it really is impossible for
anyone to deny Him. Our problem is that we are so blind to these Signs,
we do not notice them even though they are in the universe all around us.
God willing we will look closer at some of these Signs. Which prove
beyond a doubt that indeed God is there, and that He is One, and that He
is Perfect. Just as there are Signs which prove God there are also Signs
which prove that this Message of Islam is from Him. These Signs are as
clear as night and day, you only need to look upon them with an open
mind and a sincere heart. If you did then it would be impossible for you to
deny God or to deny the Message that He has sent. If anyone did deny
then it would not be because they were not really convinced, rather it
would be because they did not want to be convinced. They did not want to
believe.
Because there are consequences to believing. If you truly did believe in
God then you cannot live heedless of Him. You cannot forget Him and
just go on with life. He cannot be a fact in your heart which has no
practical impact on how you live life. He refuses to be. Rather He
demands from you, He deserves from you, all that you can give to Him.
For He is God. How can you know of a Being as Majestic and Awesome
as He and not glorify Him? How can you be aware of all His gifts upon
you and not thank Him? This glorification and this praise must be
manifest in everything that you do. And so must your love for Him. Ask
yourself once again if you truly love Him how can you live heedless of
Him. How can you disobey Him? Some people know that such is a
consequence of belief and so they choose not to believe. Please do not be

one of them.
So in Islam our beliefs are never divorced from our deeds and our
convictions are never divorced from our lives. Each of these influences
the other, each of these feeds off the other. Meaning the stronger our
convictions the more they will be manifest in our behaviors and attitudes.
This is the belief that God wants of us, because only this is a true belief. If
you truly believe in Him then you must seek a relationship with Him. And
this relationship must be one of servitude. Because such is what He
deserves. He deserves to be more than just a friend or one called on in
need. He deserves that we all submit to Him. By living in accordance with
the Law that He sent. And by trying to bring goodness and peace to the
world around us.
And this is just why many people reject Him. This is just why many
choose not to believe. Because they do not want to make the sacrifices,
they do not want to slay the ego, they do not want to lose their attachment
to the material things that they covet, they do not want to give up their
evil ways. So they convince themselves that God does not exist, or even if
they accept His existence they convince themselves that He is a passive
god. A distant god who has no say in their lives. This way they can be the
masters, they can live a life without any consequences. And when they do
they cause corruption on the earth. They harm those around them and
themselves. Or at the very least they do not do any good. They do not
contribute in any way to the betterment of this world. So I ask you once
again is this justice, for people to choose to live heedless of such a
Glorious and Tremendous Being? Our problem today is that we become
so distracted by the things of this world. We forget that it is all part of a
test. Do not you make that mistake, do not underestimate Him. Remind
yourself always that He is the True, He is the Source of all the good in
your life. You need to show gratitude, you need to make the effort.
Thus as I said the first step in understanding Islam is to know God.
Because for us as Muslims life is all about Him.
Life is naught but the journey to Him. And I am sure that the more that
you know Him.
The more that you reflect and contemplate on Him. The more that you
begin to realize His sheer Majesty and Glory.
The more that you see just how much He has given you. The more that
you realize just how much He loves you.
The more you will find your own love for Him grow.

So the next time that you see a sunset or a sunrise. The next time you
that you see the birds in flight. The next time that you see a star filled
night sky. Think about the Being Who brought all this into existence, the
same Being Who is sustaining all of it. The entire universe around you is
only possible because of Him, as are you. How then can you be heedless?
For a God as Glorious as He what could be more fitting to worship
with Him than Islam? A life of complete servitude and submission to Him.
Does He deserve any less? There is no religion in the world like Islam, no
religion which calls on you to such a life. In other faiths you are at best a
partial worshipper. But in this religion you can be devoted to Him 24x7.
He calls on you to and He also shows you how. And by doing so you in
turn can show Him how much you love Him, you in turn can draw nearer
to Him. Nothing is better than this.
For when you are worshiping Him, by having your mind focused only
on Him and by doing the deeds pleasing to Him, then you are fulfilling
the very purpose of your existence. How then can you not find happiness
and pleasure in such a state? Just try and realize then how comprehensive
and total this life of dedication to Him can be. This is not something that
you can do only in your part time. This is not a switch that can turn off.
Rather it really is a complete way of life. It is all that you do and all that
you think and all that you see as the purpose of being.
Now you have some idea who God is. And you also can see why He
deserves for you to submit yourself to Him.
Firstly to show gratitude. He is the One Who brought you into being
and the One Who gave you all that you have. He gives to you what you
ask of Him, and He gives you even more that you do not ask of Him. Do
you ask Him for each breath that you take, do you ask Him for every
beating of your heart or each morsel of food that you eat or for every drop
of water that you drink.
Do you ask Him for sound health or for wealth or for family or for
profession or for knowledge? You did not ask Him for any of these and
still He gave to you. And if He had only chosen not to give these to you
then you would have been in misery or you would have been dead. How
much then do you owe to Him? Who are you to Him for Him ever to have
given you anything? What have you ever done for Him? He looks after
you like He has no other creation besides you and yet you neglect Him
like you have many other providers besides Him. But in reality you do
not. Your job, your business, your parents, your income, these are not the

source of your provision. These are only a means through which God
provides for you. Think about it. Would you even have your job were it
not for Him? He is the One Who gave it to you. He gave you the
knowledge, the ability, the qualifications. He gave you the body and the
mind. And if your provision comes from your parents or your husband
then who gave you these, who gave them a job or a business by which
they provide for you. It is all from Him. Every good in your life is from
Him. Even the power by which you rise out of bed every morning is from
Him. Every moment of your life is only possible because of Him. How
then can you not treasure each moment. How can you not be present in
that moment and live it to the fullest? For it is God's gift to you, a
manifestation of His Love for you, in its depth you can see His Depth.
How much is it then that He has given you and continues to give to
you? Even if you spent your entire life just trying to enumerate His favors
upon you, you will never be able to. How much then is the gratitude that
you owe to Him? Of course you can never repay Him, of course you
cannot even come close. But should you not at the very least just try? Is
not something better than nothing? Do you not owe it to Him to at least
give this much? Rather than to live heedless of Him and not render any
thanks like most people have done. Do not you be like them, do not be a
follower, do not be one of the sheep. Rather strive to be different. Strive
to live for God. Life is not a dress rehearsal. You are being tested at every
single moment, each second of your life is being recorded. Each moment
is chance to free yourself from the cage of ego and fly to His Presence.
The more that you remember Him, the more that you try to please Him,
the greater your chances of success. Why then can you not at least try, this
is all that He is asking of you. He is not asking you to be a saint overnight.
He is not expecting you to never commit a sin again. He is not demanding
that you clean your heart of all that is other than Him right away. He
knows that you cannot. Remember that He knows you more than you
know yourself, and realize also that He has more mercy and compassion
for you than any mother can have for her child. This is why He wants the
best for you. Both in this life and the next. He Knows that Islam is the
only path wherein you can find true peace and contentment. This is why
He is calling you. Again and again He is calling you. Why then do you not
respond? Why cannot you at least make the intention? You will be
rewarded more for your sincere intention and effort than for the actual
result that comes from these. Because in reality the results are Him. He
will help you, He will support you, He will guide you. You only need to

take the first step.

Now gratitude is not the only reason why we dedicate ourselves to
God. There is a more sublime and more important reason and that is
because such dedication is a manifestation of our praise and glorification
of Him. So Awesome is He, so Tremendous is He, so Majestic and Pure is
He that He needs to be praised. He needs to be glorified and magnified.
Just reflect for a moment on the kind of Being that He is. The One Who
brought the entire universe into existence. The One Who at each moment
is sustaining it. The One Who has the Power to do all things. The One
Whose Knowledge is endless. The One Who is nearer to you right now
than you are to your own self. There are no words to describe the sheer
Greatness of such a Being. How much does He deserve to be praised and
glorified? Is it enough that we glorify Him with just with a word in
passing? No rather we need to praise Him with all our heart and soul.
Such is how Beautiful and Magnificent He is.
We admire the things of this world because they have some attributes
of perfection. Or at least we think that they do.
For example we may praise a scholar for being knowledgeable or a
woman for being beautiful or a warrior for being brave or a building for
being tall or a mountain for being majestic or a car for being fast or
anything else of this world in which we see something worthy of praise,
worthy of admiration. But think now of God, think how Majestic and
Awesome a Being He is.
How much should He be praised? How much should He be adored,
admired, loved? Is there anything in this world that compares to Him,
anything that even comes close? How then can you love anything more
than Him? And if you truly do love Him as He deserves to be loved, how
then can you not give to Him all that you can? God willing we will speak
in the pages to come about what He asks of us in this religion. But realize
also that you do it all only because of your love for Him.
In our time people have become so individualistic and so materialistic
that it is difficult for us to appreciate just how much God deserves to be
praised. The veil of our own ego and the veils of the material and virtual
worlds cover His Glory and His Majesty from our hearts. But if you make
the effort to look past these veils then you would see something
Tremendous. You would see that there is a Reality and a Sentience behind
this universe. Everything is under His Control, everything happens by
His Power. And if only you surrender yourself to Him, if only you
conform your will to His, if only you live for Him instead of just for

yourself, then you will find a peace like nothing in this world can offer.
A wise man once said that the purpose of all spirituality should be to
end suffering. Islam concurs with this thought, but it also takes it a step
further. In that it also shows us how religion can end suffering, it is by
knowing God. It is by drowning yourself in His Majesty and His Glory. It
is in realizing at every moment that if you have sincerely tried to please
Him in that moment then you have achieved success. It does not matter
how rich or poor you are, it does not matter if people like you or not, it
even does not matter if your worldly affairs turn out right or not. So what
if your project was a bit delayed, so what if dinner was a bit burned, so
what if there is some traffic on the way home, so what if a part of your
body hurts at this moment, none of these matter.
As long as you are thinking of God, as long as you sincerely have
tried to please Him, even if it was not much, as long there was the love
and a sincere intention then you have to believe that He will accept it
from you. And so then already you have something far better than
anything this world can offer. You have Him. He is Greater and more
Tremendous than anything of this world. Can you not see that it is only in
discovering Him and in making the journey to return to Him that
contentment and purpose are found.
So just reflect upon Him for a moment and you will begin to see. Just
how Great He truly is.
Everything you see in this entire universe is only an emanation from
Him. He is the One Source of all. Not a leaf falls except by His Power.
The birds and planes in the sky are only held up by Him. As are the ships
in the oceans. At every moment He is running this universe.
He is rotating the earth around the sun, He is holding the atoms and
molecules in place, He is causing all the chemical reactions in all the
substances.
At each moment, all energy, all matter is being controlled by Him. He
is not a passive god rather He is Active.
It is only by His Will that He does all this, and if He were to neglect
the universe for even a moment it would all be destroyed.
This is why we can see that He never takes a break, He never rests.
He does not need to. He can run this universe and an infinite number
of other universes at the same time and even that would be easy for Him.
He would not even break a sweat.
Ask yourself once again how you cannot praise such a Being, ask
yourself once again how you can be heedless of such a Being. You know

that He is never ever absent from you.

He is the One pumping blood through your body, He is taking in the
air through your lungs,
He is digesting the food in your stomach, He is creating the image of
these words in your mind, He is creating all the sensations and feelings
that you experience.
Every single situation that you find yourself in.
Every reality that presents itself before you is from Him. He is the
True Reality, He is the One of substance and meaning.
Everything else when it is compared to Him is only an illusion,
ephemeral and fleeting. So He does not deserve to be neglected or
forgotten, such is the greatest of injustices.
Islam removes the veil between you and Him. It is the only way of
life that allows you to have a relationship with Him at every moment.
How great a treasure then is it?
Even in His Knowledge He is the Most Sublime, the Most Perfect. At
every moment He Knows all that there is to know.
He Knows about the fish that is in the deepest ocean just as He
Knows about the star that is in the furthest galaxy. And He Knows all
about you. He knows each of your thoughts, each of your actions, each
situation that you face and how you choose to respond to it. He Knows.
Now the question for you is how can you know that there exists a
Conscious and Sentient Being of such Perfection and still not care for
Him? How can you not worship Him, how can you not praise Him? Just
as it is an injustice from you not to thank Him for His bounties on you, it
is also an injustice from you not to praise Him and glorify Him.
For He is the Tremendous, He is the Magnificent.
His Essence is so powerful that even the mountains could not take the
beholding of Him. They crumbled into pieces only from gazing upon Him
for an instant. In the heavens above now at this very moment billions
upon billions of angels surround His Throne and they are worshipping
Him.
Praising Him with their tongues, bowing before Him, and falling
down prostrate to Him.
When darkness covers the earth and all souls are asleep, He is the One
Who slumbers not.
He is the One Who maintains this entire universe. At each moment He
is choosing to sustain it. If He were to neglect us for even a moment then
we would be no more. And while all are dependent on Him, He is

dependent on none.
He does not need anyone or anything, never has and never will. No
one can harm Him even in the slightest.
No one can frustrate His Will from being the reality. He is Ancient
without origin and He is Eternal without end.
The One Who always was, always is and always will be. Before there
was time, before there was anything else, there was He. He is the Real, He
is the True. This is God, how then can you choose to be heedless of such a
Being?
What I have tried to describe to you here of His Majesty and Glory is
only the slightest taste of Who He truly is. For only so much can be said
with words. The rest must be felt with the heart, it must be experienced.
So Tremendous is He that none of our minds can ever encompass His
Essence. He is not an idea to be understood, not a concept to be
conceptualized. Rather He is far Greater. In the end truly knowing Him
means experiencing Him. You need to let go of the ego and make the
conscious effort to live for Him. Then you will feel the world beginning to
melt away, and you will swim in the ocean of His Essence. Nothing
worthwhile in life comes without effort. In fact the greater the reward that
is sought the greater the effort that must be made for it. Such is the nature
of this world. Now think about nearness to the Divine, think about that
feeling of such peace and ecstasy that comes from His Nearness. There is
nothing in the world that can possibly compare. Can such a thing be
obtained without effort? No on the contrary it deserves the greatest effort.
All that you can give. This is Islam. It is the freeing of the soul from the
bondage of the ego.
Just think about it. Once you know of a Being as Sublime and
Beautiful and Awesome as He then how can you not love Him with all
your heart, and if you love Him so then how can you give Him any less
than Islam, any less than complete submission? God has told us in the
Quran that if we truly love Him then we need to prove that love. Our love
cannot just be lip service. If we just say that we love Him but that love
does not manifest in every aspect of our lives then that cannot be a true
love. True love demands that you give everything that you can. This is
how you find peace, contentment and fulfillment. By realizing that life is
not about you anymore. It is about Him.
So much do you love Him that you do not desire any but Him.
And this is when you truly realize your own nothingness.

And just think how beautiful life can be when you submit yourself to
Him. When you can make Him as the very purpose of your existence.
When you seek naught but Him in all that you do. Your heart can belong
to Him and only Him. The One Who is deserving of it. Why would you
give your heart to other than Him when you know that there is no one
who can possibly compare to Him? He is the Overflowing the
Overpowering. How can you know Him and not be in love with Him?
How can you not be intoxicated in your love for Him? This love is the
key. Your dedication comes from your love. For loving Him is not only in
the heart but it also manifests in your actions and even in your emotions.
If the substance in the vessel is truly a lot then should it not overflow?
Islam is not only the realization that there is no god worthy of
worship but He. This is only the beginning. Rather it is also the
realization that there is no being worthy of dedication but He. There is
only He and He Alone. And since He is One, since He is Unique, you can
truly and sincerely focus all your heart only on Him. You do not need to
concern yourself with anyone else or anything else but Him. This is the
fruit of knowing God. It is the love for Him that must fill your heart and
the transformation that you must undergo as a result of this love. This is
Islam. Complete devotion and submission to the Beloved. You have
submitted yourself, surrendered yourself over to Him. Now all that you
care for at each moment is pleasing Him. No matter what this world
throws at you it cannot not in the least bit phase you. Because your
aspirations have now risen above this world. Even if you are in some pain
or discomfort at this moment, or someone does some injustice or wrong to
you, it does not matter. As long as He is near. And He will always near to
you as long as you remember Him. Not for all the money in the world can
you buy such a peace in the heart.
Another benefit of submitting completely to God is that doing so kills
the ego. Realize that this is your greatest enemy, your own evil self. This
is what veils Him from you, it is what prevents you from journeying to
Him. And it really is the source of all your misery and frustration. Why is
it that you become sad or angry? Often times it is when you think you
have been denied something that you deserve. You may tell someone to
do something and they do not it. You may want something and you do not
get it. This then makes you frustrated or depressed.
But the source of all this negativity is not that thing you were denied
or that person who did not listen to you. Rather it is your ego. Islam came

to free you of this ego. By making you to realize that nothing matters
except Him. The only purpose of your life is to please Him. This is Islam.
It is the serenity in your heart that comes from giving yourself over to
Him. To not be worried only about yourself, rather to make Him your
concern.
So even if you are denied something of this world, even if someone
does what you do not like, you do not really care. Because you realize
that it is not about you anymore. Life is not just pleasing yourself. Rather
you live for One far greater. And part of worshipping Him is being
content with whatever He has decreed for you. Even what people may do
to you, in fact every situation that you find yourself is from Him. So for
Him you are pleased. By realizing your utter slavehood.
How can you reach to this sublime state? How can you slay that ego
which is so entrenched in your heart? This is where an effort needs to be
made. This is where you must strive. And to make this effort is why you
were placed on this earth. This is your purpose in life. To attain that
nearness to Him. Through struggle and toil. Rather than focusing on the
effort involved, focus on the reward. Trust in His Promise. That if only
you try with sincerity and love then He will help you.
Once again the main reason why we need to submit ourselves to God
is because such is what He deserves. On account of His Majesty and
Perfection. And also on account of all that He has given us. And to not
give to Him this submission is the worst of injustices. How can it be that
He created us, and He sustains us, and He gives us all that we have, and
we in turn give Him nothing in return? Is this justice?
He is a Being of Justice and He wants justice to be done. For all His
creatures and especially for Himself. This is why He has decreed there
be a Judgment Day.
A Day on which we will all return to Him. A Day when each of us
will stand before Him and He will judge us on how well we submitted to
Him. How well we lived up to the purpose for which He had created us
and placed us upon the earth. Did we believe in Him, did we accept the
Message that He sent to us through His Prophet. We need to believe in
His Prophet just as we believe in Him. Once we realize that we need to
have this relationship with Him, that we need to submit to Him, then who
should define how this submission needs to be? Can we submit to Him
any way that we please? Of course not, He is the Master, He is the Lord,
so He should be the One to define how submission needs to be. This is

why an integral part of our Islam is that we accept the Messenger that He
has sent to us. Because only the Messenger can show the path. Only he
is the link. So we need to believe in His Messenger and we need to make
the effort to follow him.
This is how we can prove our love to God. This is how we can prove
this love to ourselves. As the saying goes Talk is cheap. If you say that
you love your spouse but you never do anything for him or her then really
what kind of a love is that? Islam tells us that God is relentless in His
Mercy and Love for us so we should be relentless in our servitude and
submission to Him. How could He ever deserve any less?
Not only does Islam call on you to submit to God but it also shows
you how this is the natural state that all creation is in. Every single thing
in existence is already in a state of Islam. Because they are all cognizant
of Him. They are aware of Him.
They are not heedless like we are. They know why they were created
and placed on the earth. They realize what He deserves from them. Why
then cannot you do the same?
Realize that He is only asking of you what is best for you. This life that
you are living now, this heedless life, is not what you were created for.
If you live only to satisfy yourself you will never truly be happy.
You will never truly be at peace.
Can you really believe that such is your purpose? Did He create us
and this marvelous universe that we see around us only so that we can
eat, drink, chat, play, copulate, and die?
Could this really be all that there is to life? You know there has to
be more. And there is more, much more, there is He. Once you truly know
Him, once the love for Him enters into your heart, once you understand
this Message that He has sent to you, then a whole new world will be
opened up for you. Your love for Him will consume you. And you will not
care about anything else in life except Him. Then you will live the life of
submission to Him and it will be easy for you. Of course there will be a
struggle, there will be sacrifices that need to be made, but it will be easy
for you. Your love for Him is so strong that you are willing to do all that
He asks of you. The love for Him motivates you, it drives you. It
consumes whatever hardship may be involved in that servitude. So even if
you have to give up some of what you like, even if you may not always
get what you want, even if you have to struggle with your ego and lusts,

you still do it.

Because of Him. Because at this moment He is looking down on
you. And if you are sincere to Him then He will be pleased with you.
This certainty is all that you need.
Islam then should be our goal. That state of utter submission to
Him. This is how we will find true peace and self fulfillment in this
world. This is how we can by His Grace attain salvation in the next
world. To reach this station is where the effort needs to be made. First
we have to strive know God, in order that we realize why He is indeed
worthy of our hearts.
The vast majority of us today are utterly ignorant of Him, we do not
know Him as the Being that truly He is. We have heard of God. Some of
us may even believe in Him and acknowledge that He is the Creator of
this universe. But the vast majority of us have yet to realize His true
Glory and Majesty, His Beauty and Sublimity. Most of us have yet to see
how much He has done for us, how many are the bounties that He has
showered on us and continues to do so, only out of His love for us. Most
of us have yet to come to this realization. We do not realize just how
Awesome of a Being that He truly is.
Once we know God we cannot but help but love Him. And the
manifestation of our love for Him is submission to Him. It is a
comprehensive submission. A submission in every aspect of your life.
Both outward and inward, both individually and collectively. Both in
what you do and in how you respond to what is done to you. It is all part
of your submission to Him, it is all part of Islam. When you make Him as
the one singular purpose for your life then you become free of everything
else. You do not need anything else, you do not yearn for anything else,
thus you are not a slave for anything else. Many today are slaves to their
lusts or their stomachs or their accounts, but you can be free of all this. At
every moment you can have the one thing that you desire the most. Him.
He is far better than anything of this world but to draw near to Him you
must first submit to Him. How else can the slave approach the Master?
How else can the subject come near to the King?
Among the most beloved of acts that you can do for Him is just to
remember Him. As much as you can. Indescribable is the peace that you

can feel just by bringing Him to mind. For He is the Source of Peace, He
is Peace, He is the Source.
How then can you not but experience contentment by coming back to
Him. It is the very reason for which you exist. So just make the effort to
think of Him throughout the course of your day. Realize that He is with
you, He is near to you. Can you even begin to realize what this means?
The Divine is near to you. He is close to you wherever you may be. All
that you have to do to realize this nearness is make the effort to think of
Him. As long as you focus your heart upon Him then He will be with
you. And once you realize Gods Presences then can you ever have any
fear? How can anything ever make you worried or anxious? You know
that He is the All Mighty, the All Able. No one can harm you even in the
least unless He allows them to. No calamity can befall you, not even the
slightest discomfort, unless He permits it. For there is no power in this
universe except through Him. All motion, all events, are only from Him.
Such is how near He is to you, such is how active He is in your life. How
then can you forget Him?
The next manifestation of your submission to Him is that you strive to
be pleased with whatever He has decreed for you. No matter what
happens to you in life, no matter what situation you find yourself in, you
realize that it is from Him. And so for His sake you make yourself
content. You realize the illusion of all that is other than Him. You see how
He must be paramount in your life. More than anything else. This is what
allows you to submit. Because you realize that it is the key to His
Pleasure. And you know that the more pleased He is with you, the nearer
that He will be. And you soon see that it is His Nearness that you desire
more than anything else.
Once again just try and imagine how peaceful, how wonderful your
life would be if you inculcated within yourself such a thinking. Such an
outlook. Not only do you realize that He is near to you but you also see
how everything is from Him.
Every situation that you find yourself in is His creation. And for His
sake, because you realize that you were created for Him, you make
yourself content. If you can have this thinking then nothing that the world
throws at you can ever phase you, because you live for more than this
world. You live for Him. Even if you feel some pain or discomfort, or
someone does some wrong to you, or some calamity befalls you, or you
are deprived of a bounty others have, you do not care. It does not bother

you at all because you realize that it is His creation. You realize that you
do not live for yourself anymore. The ego has been slain. And in its place
there is only a yearning for the Divine. You do not yearn for anything
else. You only desire that He be near to you. And you know that He will
always be near to you if you think of Him and if you are sincere to Him.
This is all that you desire, all that you need. The more that you bring
Him to mind the more that you feel His Presence. And this is far greater
than any concern of this petty world. The world is petty when compared
to Him.
Most of us underestimate Him, most of us do not realize just how
Tremendous a Being that He is. You know that words are not enough to
describe Him, our minds can never fully comprehend Him and if ever
they could then He is not at all deserving of being God. But you know that
He is, and He is far greater than anything you could possibly ever
imagine. How then can you not submit to Him, how can you not take Him
as your Master and King as you know He deserves to be. He will not
accept from you anything less, He does not deserve any less. Just to
realize this is more than half the journey.
Now not only should you be pleased with Him but you must also try to
please Him. With your actions, with your words and even with your heart.
This striving on your part is also part of your submission to Him, because
by doing so you are giving yourself over to Him. By giving your moments
and your actions over to Him you are in essence existing only for Him.
After all is He not the One deserving of your dedication, rather than your
ego and its selfish and base desires? This realization alone is half the
journey.
So realize that being Muslim does not mean that you are passive and
inactive. Although you accept Gods Decree and believe that everything
is from Him, you also realize that you need to do you part. He has told us
in the Quran that we need to make an effort. Not only has He given us
commandments and prohibitions, but He has shown us how to live. He
has shown us how we need to be in. In terms of our behavior, our
attitude, our very outlook towards life. And this outlook should affect us
at every moment. We realize that He Sees each and every one of our
actions. This realization then should make us strive harder. To do all the
the deeds pleasing to Him. To not let even a single moment pass wherein
we are not struggling to journey nearer to Him. God willing you will see
in the pages to come that the greatest manifestations of your submission to

Him is your striving to be a positive force in the world. Your striving to do

good to those around you. For God sent Islam only as a mercy to all His
creation, only to bring peace and tranquility to the whole world, only to
end all suffering and oppression. Being a Muslim means that you become
an agent towards that objective. You work to be a Light from God on His
earth. And He wants you to strive at each moment to fulfill your mission.
For you know that at each moment you are under His Gaze. Do you not
want then Him to see from you good?
Now just think how much better of a person you will be if at every
moment you were striving to be better, if you lived for more than just
yourself. If you could see past your own selfish desires. This is the
realization that Islam is taking you to. You need to see that the world does
not revolve around you, you are not the center of this universe. The main
character in this movie is and always has been God. The universe was
created for Him, and all the rest of creation at every moment is trying to
please Him. Why does the sun come up each morning and why does it go
down each evening. Why has it been doing so for billions upon billions of
mornings and evenings. Because it knows that it has been created with a
purpose, to serve God. This is why it always follows its path. It never
takes a break, never sleeps in, never becomes lazy, never chills or phases
out.
Why then cannot you be like the sun, or like the rest of His creation
who are in a constant state of worship to Him?
A person who is always contributing, always doing good. Is this not a
station that all of mankind should be in? How much better a place would
the world be if we all chose to live for God, if we all made pleasing Him
as the sole objective in our lives, This is what it means to live a life of
purpose, this is what it means to truly worship God. Only by taking this
journey can you truly find tranquility and contentment. You can you be
the best person that you can possibly be. You can reach the utmost of your
potential. You can free yourself of all the chains of fear, anxiety, sorrow
and regret that are holding you down. You can be at peace with the
universe, because you are One with its Source.
But to reach this lofty station some effort needs to be made.
Nothing in this world is free. The taller the mountain the harder the
climb. How much then do you need to exert in order to reach the
Presence of the Divine? How much do you need to give? This is Islam.

We can serve Him even through our hearts. Firstly just by thinking
in a way pleasing to Him. Such is how comprehensive our submission to
Him needs to be, such is how much that He deserves from us. We can
find peace through our submission to Him, the more that we submit to
Him the more peace that we find. And where are we more in need of
peace than in our hearts. If we do not have peace in our hearts then how
can we ever be content, no matter how much of the material world we
gorge ourselves on? There are several ways we can please Him with our
thoughts. One way is simply by believing in Him.
We will see in the next chapter that there are Signs in the world around us
which point to Him. But we need to choose to look at these Signs and to
ponder over them. In order to attain to the belief in Him. We need to have
conviction in His Existence. And make the effort to maintain this
conviction. Just this effort is among the greatest forms of our submission.
Now this does not mean that we have to believe in God
based on blind faith. He has placed Signs all over the universe through
which we may know for certain that He exists. But the point is that after
we have seen the Signs and believed in Him, then we must try to hold on
to this belief. We must never allow any kind of doubts to enter into our
hearts. This is one way we submit to Him with our hearts. Is this not the
greatest form of your love for Him, your choosing to believe in Him?
Because if you want to find a reason to reject Him, if you want to ignore
and turn away from all the Signs then you will. So many are the souls
who have chosen to blind themselves to His Signs. So many have
convinced themselves that He does not exist or even have allowed
themselves to doubt Him despite the Signs which are clearer than
daylight. Tell me then which soul is better, the one which has conviction
in the Divine or one who only knows this ephemeral material world?
Another way we can submit to God with our hearts is by inculcating
those emotions that are pleasing to Him and by removing those emotions
that are not pleasing to Him. As we said even our emotions are part of our
submission to Him. So we can journey nearer to Him by striving even to
feel in a way pleasing to Him. By trying to remove from our hearts all
traces of arrogance, envy, hatred, despair, cowardice, miserliness, and
anger. And at the same time by trying to foster patience, gratitude,
kindness, forbearance, love, empathy, and humility. For we know that the

former of these emotions do not please Him while the latter do. Now at
first this may seem difficult.
After all how can you control your own emotions? But I am telling you
that if only you try, if only you make the sincere intention then He will
help you. He will make it easy for you.
Realize that He even controls your heart.
Such is His Power over us. And if we can do this then not
only can we please Him, but just think what beautiful human beings we
can become? How much trouble do we cause both to ourselves and to
those around us when the negative emotions get the best of us? How
many are the fights and arguments? How much is the stress and anxiety?
When our hearts are dark we are a burden and a source of pain. Both to
ourselves and to those around us. We hurt our loved ones with our words
and even sometimes with our hands. We may not like to be this way but it
is how we can become if we allow the demonic traits to control us. Once
we succumb to the dark emotions we become evil people. Such is not
pleasing to Him.
So part of our submission to Him is that we have to strive against the
dark for His sake. And also for His sake we strive for those emotions
which please Him. This is how we can submit to Him even with our
hearts. Through this submission we journey nearer and then with Him
we find peace.
Realize that He will test you throughout your life to see if you make
this effort. Situations will happen to you and you can respond to them
with what pleases Him or with what does not. For example a family
member or a friend may say something or do something which you do
not like. At this point you can allow the anger to boil or you can
suppress it with patience and forbearance. You can respond to what that
person said or did with more negativity or you can forgive them. If your
focal point is God then you can let go, you can forgive that person. Only
in the hope that doing so pleases Him. And if you do then you can be
certain that He sees your love for Him. He will draw you nearer to
Himself and this nearness is far better than your revenge. Not only will
you find contentment and peace in His Presence, but you will also have
peace in your relationships with others. You can avoid arguments and

hurtful words to loved ones that you will later regret. See how Islam
builds a perfect human being. This is what it can do for you.
Another way in which we submit to God with our hearts is to always
assume the best of other people, to always think good of them. For God
has told us in the Quran to not have any evil thoughts about anyone. To
think good of all human beings. So not only should we not be envious and
not only should we not hate them but we should think the best of them.
Even if they may do what displeases us. We hate the sin but not the sinner.
Such is part of our submission to God. We only care for pleasing Him,
and so for His sake we overlook the shortcomings and failings of others.
To the point where we do not even see these shortcomings anymore. To
the point where we only see the good in people. Just think how wonderful
our relationships would be if we lived our entire lives with such a
mindset. How much would we be freed from the chains of the ego? No
reason for anger or despair, only peace and love.
Even to be pleased with the situations in life that we find ourselves
in is a form of submission to Him with our hearts. Because this
contentment is found in the heart. It is built and fostered in the heart. And
this submission with His Decree is among the greatest manifestations of
our worship. In Islam we believe that we have free will. This means our
actions are from us, God gave us the ability to choose. He does not force
us, He does not control us like a puppet. So if we do an evil act then we
should not be pleased with that evil. For it is a sin, it is an act that we did
which did not please God. And that act emanated from us, we chose to do
that evil.
For this reason we need to feel remorse and regret, in order that we try
to avoid that sin in the future. But besides our actions, besides what we
choose to do, we need to realize that everything else which happens to us
in life, everything else is from God. He is not only the Creator of both us
and of the universe around us, but He is also the Creator of realities, of
situations. So any moment you find yourself in, know that He created it
for you. If it is a moment of goodness, a moment you find pleasure and
joy in, then know that it is from His bounty for you. He gave it to you in
order that you may be grateful to Him. In order that you may remember
Him as you are enjoying that bounty. For you realize that it is He and He
Alone Who gave you this gift. And so you grow in your love for Him.
On the other hand if it is a moment in which you found some hardship
then you take solace by realizing it is His creation as well. He created that

difficulty for you in order to test you. To see if you would accept it for His
sake, because of your love for Him. And to see if you would turn to Him
and ask Him to make it easy for you. These are hidden blessings to be
found in every trial you face in life. Big or small. And your life is naught
but such moments of trial and bounty, so that you could always be
journeying to Him.
Once we have submitted to God with our hearts, we must also submit
to Him with our bodies. By speaking the words that are pleasing to Him
and by doing the actions that are pleasing to Him. Islam is a
comprehensive way of life that God has sent to us, it shows us how to
submit to Him at every moment.
Meaning at every moment we can do an act or say a word to please
Him, to make manifest our submission to Him. And through this we
journey nearer to Him, through this we find purpose for existence,
through this we can taste the sweetness of His Presence. And there is
nothing sweeter or more fulfilling than His Presence. Many religions will
speak about attaining this proximity to God, of how we can be near to the
Holy One, but none of them offer practical steps that you can implement
over the course of your life to attain this nearness. In fact there is only
one, only Islam. This religion is so comprehensive, its law is so detailed,
that at each moment it shows you an act which you can do through which
you can journey to the Divine. The more that you bring Him to mind, the
more that you strive to do what pleases Him, the nearer to Him you will
become.
What then are the deeds pleasing to Him? How can you submit to
Him? It is through the Shariah or the Islamic Law. Shariah means a
spring of water that is never exhausted.
Because for the Arab in those days water was most precious .
So he always looked for such springs. He knew that these springs would
give him nourishment, keep him alive. And just as the spring keeps the
body alive, the Law from God will keep the soul alive. It is your
connection with Him. It is how you can make manifest your submission
to Him. For if you do not have the law, if you do not have a guidance to
follow, then how can you know how to please Him? What is the compass
that will guide you through life? Is it not fitting for the Master to tell the
slave what to do? Should He not the be Source of direction?

Shariah shows you how you can live a life of complete dedication to
God, how you can serve Him through all that you do and say. In Islam this
is very important. For God has shown us how there is a deep connection
between belief and actions. Each one feeds of the other, should one
become stronger then so will the other, and should one become weaker
then so will the other. See then how Shariah allows us to strengthen our
faith. It is the spring for our heart. When we do an act to please God,
when we live our entire lives in accordance with His Law, we must bring
Him to mind. Because He is the reason why we are choosing to live such
a way. He is the reason why we are choosing to do that action. If we do
not follow His Law then we become heedless of Him and our faith takes a
beating. We become distant from Him. Would you ever want to leave
from your beloved? Would you not make the effort to remain near? So
our love for Him is our motivation to hold fast to His Law.
There are two primary objectives of the Sharia and both are closely
related. The first is that God be worshiped and the second is that His
creation find peace. On one hand we have to praise and glorify God. We
have to recognize His Majesty and Glory. His Transcendence and His
Magnificence. The greatest manifestation of this is the Muslim prayer.
Five times a day we turn to Him in humility and submission. For us the
prayer is more than supplication, it is far deeper than songs and hymns,
rather it truly is an act of worship and submission.
In it we are completed dedicated to Him, we bow down and even put
our faces on the floor for Him. To show our utter surrender to Him. Other
acts of devotion for God include praising Him in our hearts, supplicating
to Him in times of we need, reciting the Quran, fasting the month of
Ramadan and the pilgrimage to His House. These are acts of devotion we
do only for Him. The only benefit that we seek is His Pleasure.
This is the Islam that you may already be familiar with.
This is the Islam that you will come to know of if you ask most
Muslims or if you read most of the literature out there. Because of this
fact I will not dwell much further on this aspect of Islam. For I believe
that it is only a part of this religion. I believe there is much more to it than
these ritual acts of worship. That other aspect, which even many Muslims
today do not know of, is that being a Muslim means working for the
betterment of all Gods creation. Because there is the relationship that you

have with God and there is the relationship that you have with all of His
creation. And the best way to perfect the former of these is by working to
perfect the latter. So try and be the best you can be to all those around
you, not only by refraining from harming them in any way, but also by
serving them and trying to make life better for them in any way that you
can. And do not seek anything from your efforts but the Pleasure of your
Beloved.
Herein lies the connection, the link between these two aspects of the
religion. In that even when you work for social justice, even when you
strive to make the world a better place, even when you try to be the best
that you can be to all those around you, even through all this you are still
worshiping God. Your effort to be a light and mercy for His creation is
one of the best ways in which you can serve Him. Because this is what He
wants from you, this is what He has commanded you to. He has told us
that we were meant to be His representatives on this earth. Meaning His
agents, those who act on His behalf. And of course He is a Merciful and
Loving God. So He desires naught but mercy and peace for all His
creation. He wants us to be the Agents of this mercy and love. By
spreading it to those who around us and eventually to the whole world. A
force for goodness and love, a force which slays the ego. This is the core
of Islam which even many Muslims today have forgotten.
God has told us in the Quran that He commands justice, compassion
and giving. So He wants you to be honest and fair, kind and supportive,
humble and forgiving, you need to give to others from your wealth and
your time, in other words try and be the best human being that you can
possibly be. Try and be a source of comfort and a source of peace to all
those around you. There is no other religion like this. No religion that
teaches you to be so selfless, so kind and compassionate. To all Gods
creation. Even to animals, even to plants, even to the earth itself. This is
how you can truly worship God.
This is how you can you journey to Him. For to be near to Him you
need to imbue within yourself His attributes. Now there are some
attributes of His that we can never have, such as His Majesty and His
Glory and His Holiness. It is not fitting for us to seek these attributes for
ourselves. Because these are attributes that He has chosen only for
Himself. But then there are other attributes that He has chosen for Himself
and that He also wants to see in His creation. Such as His Mercy, His
Love, His Forgiveness and His Compassion. These are His most sublime

and beautiful attributes, these are the attributes most beloved to Him. We
know this because He has told us to seek these attributes as well. Those
who imbue in themselves such traits are the most beloved to Him. As an
example His Prophet. His Prophet was the most beloved to Him of all His
creation. Why was this so? What was the Prophets most salient attribute?
Of course it was his mercy.
The Quran calls him a mercy to all. God willing we will see in an
upcoming chapter just how loving this man was, just how much was his
concern for all mankind, all creation. Islam is about slaying the ego, and
how better to do so than by being in the service of others. By sacrificing
and giving to others. By first thinking of them before you think of
yourself.
Without a doubt life in this world is not easy. There are so many
people who are suffering, there are so many people who are in need, there
are so many people who do not know God. We are all neighbors to each
other, we all affect each other, we are all connected to each other.
Do we not then have a duty to help each other? Is this not what makes
life worth living?
Can we not wish for others what we wish for ourselves?
Is this not what makes us noble and decent human beings?
Can we not try to bring good to the world? Especially if our goal in
life is to journey closer to God. How can we believe in Him and not feel
for His creatures, how can we praise Him in all His Glory and still have
arrogance within our hearts? It is only this pride which makes us selfish.
The source of which is the ego, the greatest veil between us and Him.
How can it be fitting for a seeker of the Divine to allow traces of ego to
remain in his heart?
Can we not see that we have to strive against it with every ounce of
strength that we have? God created you to know Him and to journey to
Him. But this journey needs much effort. It needs you to let go off the
self. Islam is the path which facilitates this.
Have you seen the Muslim prayer? You have to bow down and fall
down in utter prostration. When you do so you symbolize your abject and
absolute slavehood to the Divine. You admit that you are nothing and He
is everything. There is no other religion that allows you to slay the ego so
completely. No other religion which emphasizes so strongly the place
which He must have in your life.
In Christianity you may be taught to love God but are you taught to
dedicate yourself to Him completely? Tell me where is the Church today

which preaches this. Even those folks who go to Church on Sunday, how
much of a place does God really have in their lives? How much do they
really do for their neighbor and for mankind? How cleansed are they of
the ego? So realize that there is something that is better.
God has told us in the Quran that the true Muslims, those who truly
submit to Him are the Light of this earth. They bring light to this earth.
They are the source of goodness, the source of guidance, the source of
justice, the source of mercy and compassion, the source of law and order,
and the source of peace and security on the earth. They are the ones who
right what is wrong, the ones who help the weak and oppressed, the ones
who bring comfort and solace to those in pain, the ones who feed the
hungry and provide for the needy. They are the ones who let go of their
lower selves and who work constantly and tirelessly in the service of
others. This is how you need to be. This is what Islam is all about.
Submitting to the Creator by serving His creation. Worshipping God by
doing good on His earth. This is what it means to be a Muslim, what it
means to be a saint, what it means to be one who has a connection with
the Divine. It is the shattering of the ego.
Now there is nothing between you and the Holy One.
Now you imbue in yourself the most sublime and most salient of His
attributes. His Love and His Care for His creation, despite their countless
flaws, you love them and you want them to be happy, you want them to
be pleased. How beautiful an existence is this? How could you ever settle
for anything less?
This is the life that God is calling you to. Worshipping Him is not
only praising Him and glorifying Him and prostrating before Him. He
does ask such worship of you and He deserves it from you. But He is not
a selfish God, not concerned only with Himself. If He were then He
would not even have initiated creation in the first place, because He does
not need any of us. He is enough for Himself. Rather He only created all
of us because of His Love for us, His Mercy for us. And these are the
most salient of His attributes, these define Him the most. This is what He
has chosen for Himself and what He wants to see in you as well.
If your goal then is to serve God by bringing goodness to the world
how can you achieve this goal? The way shown by the Prophet is to start
with those nearest to you. We will see in an upcoming chapter that this is
just what he did. Not only did he take Gods Message first to his family,
but he also was the best to his family. The importance of the family in
Islam cannot be stressed enough. There is no one who is closer to you

than your family. They see you the most, they interact with you the most,
and they are the ones whom you reveal your true self to. With them you
cannot put on a faade, you cannot pretend to be someone whom you are
not. Should they not then see the best from you? Should they not be
whom you are on your best behavior with? Should they not be whom you
should seek to serve and whose lives you should try to be make better? If
you do not at least try to bring happiness and peace to those who are
nearest to you how can you look to the rest of the world? And realize also
that unlike your friends, your family are the companions whom God chose
for you. So because of your reverence for Him, can you not try and be
good to them? Not for their sake but for His. All of the good treatment
that you extend to them should firstly be for His sake. Now it is okay for
you to love them, it is even encouraged for you to love them, these are
natural feelings which God has placed in your heart.
But at the same time you must strive to love God more than anyone
else. And then to make this love for God the foundation of your
relationship with everyone else, including your family.
This way when you interact with them you will be good to them.
Even if they are not always good to you. Because you know that doing
so will please Him. And it is His Pleasure that you are always seeking.
If you can have such a mindset then not only will you attain nearness to
God but imagine also how peaceful and strong your relationship with
your family be?
How then can you be the best to your family? Of course it is by
showing them love, and kindness, and respect, and most of all forbearance
and forgiveness. It is being there for them, it is spending time with them,
it is giving them should they need anything from you, it is supporting
them in any way that you can, and it is listening to them when they speak.
These are only a few examples. I am sure that with each person in your
own family you can find something that you can do for them.
Something which will please them.
Some way in which you can bring light and joy into their life.
However just keep in mind that your ultimate goal is to please God.
This is why you should never do something which may anger God, even

if for your family, even if they tell you to. Remind yourself that at each
moment you only seek Him, you are relentless in your quest to be near to
Him. So you do not allow anything or anyone to stand between you and
Him. But of course even when you turn down their request, you should
do so graciously and politely. Try your best not to upset them. Try and
show them that what they are asking is not permitted in your religion. But
as long as they do not ask for what angers God you should try to
accommodate them as much as you can. Once again only as a means of
pleasing God. Only with the intention of drawing nearer to Him. This is
why even when you are with them you should be thinking of Him. When
you speak with them, silently in your heart also speak with Him. O Lord,
I am doing this for You and You Alone. As an act of slavehood to you, as
a means of drawing nearer to you. So please accept it from me. Such
words or words similar to these should be going through your heart. This
way you are always reminding yourself of your purpose, of your focal
point. Even when you interact with the people, you are still with Him. No
one is more important in your heart.
And of course the best thing that you can do for any loved one is to
invite them to God, to try to bring them nearer to Him. Because if you
love them then how can you not desire the best for them, and what is
better than He? What is greater than He? What could be more satisfying
at any moment than to feel His Presence? This is what you should desire
for yourself and for your family. Realize that if God guided you to
Himself then He also has made you a means for your family to be guided.
For He has blessed you with the greatest of gifts, Himself. There is no
bounty that He can confer which is greater than this, but it also comes
with responsibility. Now that God has placed light in your heart, He
wants you to share that light with others. First and foremost with your
family. So speak to your family about God. Tell them about this way of
life that He has sent to them.
The ideas discussed in this book are a good to place to start.
But of course each of your family members may have their own
impediments preventing them from submitting to God. It is up to you to
find out what these are. And of course the best way is simply ask them.
Do you not believe in God, do you not see that He is the One Who created
you, and the One Who at every moment sustains you. Do you think that
He created you for no reason? Know now that He has sent to you a
Message. Wherein He shows how to live the life that He created you for.

What then is preventing you from doing accepting Him? Do you not
see that death comes for us all? Can you not see that it is closer than you
think? Why then do you not prepare for it? Ask them such questions. See
their responses. And through this gain insight into their hearts. Realize
that you are offering to them the best thing that you could ever offer and
also in the process you are becoming nearer to Him yourself. In order to
journey to Him you need to have this love, this concern, for them. You
should desire salvation for them as you do yourself.
Now of course by family I mean first and foremost your immediate
family. Your parents, your siblings, your spouse, and your children. These
are the people who nearest to you and so they deserve the absolute best
from you. In fact if you look in the Quran and in the hadith of the Prophet
you will find specific text exhorting you to look after and be good to each
of these. Being good to them is a means of your calling them to Him.
First and foremost among these are our parents.
The Prophet has said that parents are the middle door to Paradise.
And he has said that Paradise lies at the feet of our mothers. In the
Quran the second most important commandment after the commandment
to worship only God is to be the best to ones parents. So just to look after
your parents, just to spend time with them, just to be kind and respectful
to them, to never say even the slightest word that may annoy them, this is
one of the best ways you can worship God. This pleases Him so much.
Because it is what is just and He loves the just. After all is there
anyone on this earth who has sacrificed more and who has worked harder
for you than your parents? How much have they given you? How much of
his hard earned money did your father spend on you? How many times in
the deep night did your mother wake up to feed you? Not to mention the
nine months of pain and difficulty through which she carried you and the
torment of labor through which she brought you to this world. How then
can you forget her, how then can you allow weeks or even months to pass
without speaking to her? How can you put her in an adult care home when
she is old and let someone else look after her even though she was the one
who cared for you when you were weak?Just serving your parents, just
being there for them and making them happy, this is one of the best ways
to worship God. See how He wants you to be a light for those who

deserve it from you the most.

The next way in which you can please God is to try and improve your
relationship with your other family members. If you are married then you
must be the best you can be to your spouse. Both adultery and fornication
are strictly prohibited in our religion. These are among the greatest of
sins. Not only is the actual act of intercourse outside marriage a sin, but
even just kissing and hugging, or just touching or just socializing. God
has commanded that men and women be separate from each other, there is
not to be any free mixing between them. Of course if there is a purpose
then they may speak with each other, for example in business or
education. But once this purpose has been fulfilled then the two of them
cannot remain chitchatting. They have to go their separate ways. And even
when they are speaking they have to be very formal. Why is Islam so
strict you may ask? Simply to protect the institution of marriage. Because
in Islam marriage itself is a form of worship.
The spouses come together in order to please God through their union.
And for His sake they ensure that they each are only for the other. Both
before and during the marriage. This is why both the man and the woman
try to avoid unnecessary contact with the opposite gender. You know
what a failure marriage is in the secular world. You know the statistics.
That more than half of all marriages end in divorce. That more than half
of all married couples cheat on their partner. It has become so common, it
has almost become the norm. And as a result of failing marriages the
couples, their children and the society as a whole suffer. But why are
infidelity and divorce so common today? Only because we have forgotten
God, we do not view marriage as form of worship to Him. We do not
think that we have to please God by being the best that we can be to our
spouse, by trying to make the marriage work. We are too focused on the
self. Enslaved to our egos.
So a kind word that you speak to your wife, some time that you spend
with her, your forgiving her some wrong that she may have done, your
giving up in a disagreement that you had with her and doing instead what
she wanted, your giving to her gifts that will please her, all of these are
ways of serving God. Because even though you love your wife, a natural
love that God placed in your heart, you are still good to her for Him. For
you know that He has commanded you to be the best that you can be to
her. Imagine if all spouses behaved with each other in this way, without
any ego or oppression. If before they spoke with each other, even before

they saw each other, they first saw God. They took each moment they
spent with the other, each word they spoke with the other, as a means of
worshiping God. And so they only spoke and did to the other what they
knew would please Him. How beautiful would such marriages be, how
peaceful and tranquil would they be? Not only would they survive, but
God willing they would thrive.
Just as you are the best to your spouse, you must also be the best to
your children. The Prophet has said that the one who does not show mercy
for the young is not a true Muslim. So for us it is a religious obligation
upon us to have love and compassion for children. Not only by
restraining from being cruel with them, but also by spending time with
them. Being there for them whenever they need us. Speaking kind and
encouraging words to them. Forgiving them. And also setting a good
example for them, being a good role-model for them. And giving them
proper education and upbringing. Teaching them about God, showing
them how to be righteous worshipers of His. Helping them to reach their
true potential. Children for us are a trust. We are responsible for guiding
them to Him and for making them His Light. If they do not reach this
sublime station because of our negligence, then God will hold us liable.
You must also be the best that you can be to the rest of your family.
Meaning your siblings, your cousins, your aunts and uncles, your
nephews and nieces, your grandparents, and your in laws. These are all
part of the family and so these all deserve the best treatment from you.
You have to be always kind and respectful towards them, you have to
listen to them when they speak, you have to give to them if they ask of
you, you have to spend time with them, and you have to forgive them if
they wrong you. These are all acts of worship that you can do for God. He
wants the family to be strong because the family is the foundation of the
society. Individuals are joined together by blood and by marriage to form
families. And then it is these families that come together to form societies.
Today the family is dying, because the institution of marriage is dying.
Many of us think that we can live by ourselves, we think that we can
make it on our own. Our society has become so prosperous, we have so
many advancements and comforts that we have forgotten our dependence
on God. The farmer who needs the rain to come will never forget God,
but we who get all the food we need from the supermarket or restaurant
forget the One Who is really providing for us. We think we do not need
anyone. This is why many of us for the most part abandon our family

members. And the consequence of this is that we are alone, we might try
to fill our lives with work or with technology or entertainment. But really
we are alone and so we are in misery. And should ever any calamity
befall us we have no one to turn to. This is where we have come to by
turning away from God. Rampant Individualism. Worrying only about
me, myself and I. Glorying ourselves instead of God, hearts attached to
the material things instead of to Him. Can we not see that this is a state
not pleasing to Him? Do we even care?
Are we not destroying ourselves in this world and the next?
Can you not see the loss of family in our society today? The war that
has been declared on it. Abortion is legal and rampant. There are state
campaigns to discourage marriage and reduce family size. Adultery and
fornication is no longer considered a crime, rather it is promoted in the
media. Many of the movies and the music is nothing but the glorification
of promiscuity. Men are choosing pornography on the internet to finding
a wife and raising a family. And the day care center has become the
mother for our children. Can you imagine that 6 month old babies who
cannot even walk are being abandoned by their own mothers to complete
strangers? Can they give that child the love and nurturing that only a
mother can? We also have a state welfare system that encourages women
to be single mothers. And today we have recognized homosexual
marriages, showing even further that we have really forgotten what the
whole purpose of this institution is. Marriage is no longer seen as the
foundation of the family. That sacred place where our future generations
are raised. If even a single child does not have it, then can you imagine
the damage that this will have on that child? A child is the product of the
union between a mother and a father, when that union ends then the child
loses much of their self esteem. They just do not see their worth, they do
not see their purpose. This might turn them into underachievers in life,
failing to reach their true potential. And what a tragic loss would this be.
Not just to that child but also to our society as a whole. This is why in
Islam family is so important. And to look after ones family and to build a
strong family is one of the greatest acts of devotion that one can do for
God. He Knows us more that we know ourselves, and He want us to be
content and prosperous. Both in this life and the next. This is why He has
legislated laws and guidelines to help us achieve this goal. We only have
to follow His guidance.
The next step in your journey to God is that this same love and care
that you extended to your family must also be given to all those people

who are near to you. Be they Muslim or non Muslim. There are several
narrations where the Prophet has told us to be the best that we can be to
our neighbors. And the Islamic definition of neighbor is not only the
person who lives next door to you. Rather it encompasses all those who
are near to you. Be they your coworkers or your classmates or your
friends or even the person whom you see on the train or meet on the
street. All the people whom you may interact with. All the people who
see you and know you. They are neighbors to you. On account of their
proximity and familiarity to you.
How then can you be the best to your neighbors? Firstly you should be
friendly and considerate. You should not be a stranger to them. You should
take the time to smile at them or wave to them or even speak with them.
You should let them know that they can depend upon you should they
ever need something from you. And if ever they do call you should try to
the best of your ability to help. You should consider this as an act of
slavehood and devotion that you do for God. At every moment your one
focal point is Him. You do not have any other concern or worry in life
except Him. You should also try not to harm or annoy those around you in
any way. Remind yourself that God is watching. If you say something or
do something which might be even a nuisance for your neighbors realize
that He is Aware. So you should be as kind and respectful to them as you
possibly can. The Prophet said that a believer is not one who will eat to
his fill if his neighbor is hungry. This shows us that our care for our
neighbor has to be so deep that if ever they do not have food then we
would share with them even if it means that we cannot eat to our fill. This
is the level of utter selflessness and concern that Islam can fill your heart
with.
Was this not the way of the prophets, was it not the way of Jesus?
Why cannot we be like him, why cannot we have a greater concern for
those around us? In Islam words are not enough, they need to be backed
up by actions. You cannot simply accept Jesus as your savior and then
live in sin and in heedlessness. You cannot say that he went to Hell for
you and then use that as an excuse to violate Gods Law. In Islam we do
not believe that Jesus came to make us forget God and become distant
from Him. Rather we believe that he came to remind us of God and to
bring us nearer to Him. As did the Prophet Muhammad. As did all the
prophets. And is there a better way to come nearer to God than by abiding
by His Law?

A comprehensive Law.
A Law which shows us how to act in every moment. So that at each
moment we can be conscious of Him by doing what pleases Him. And
through this effort we can draw nearer to Him. By proving to Him just
how much we love and yearn for Him. Each of us is responsible for our
acts, it is only our acts that He will count for us and recompense us for on
the Day we return to Him. No one else can carry our sins for us, rather we
have to make the effort to be pure. By trying our best to live by His Law.
This is what it means to live for God. Such a life was the way of the
prophets and their lofty example is what we always strive to reach. Of
course we will never be as perfect as they were. We will sin, we will make
mistakes, we will have moments where we are only thinking of ourselves.
Only acting for ourselves. This is exactly why we are not prophets. God
knows this about us and this is why He has reminded us many times in the
Quran of His Mercy. But such heedless moments should not be the norm.
We should not even settle for mediocrity. Rather in the Quran God has
told us that He loves those who strive for Him. Because the striving is the
journey. So at least we should try.
Try to be an agent of Gods Mercy on the earth. By being good to all
those around us. Never should we think that we have done enough, rather
we should always think that we can do more. Our yearning to be near to
Him should give us all the motivation we need. Do you feel that you are
as near to God right now as you can be? When seeking an answer to this
we should not look to the world around us because it is a world that has
forgotten Him. Rather our role models should be the prophets and the
saints. Their station is what we should always be striving to reach. They
are the ones who truly sacrificed all that they had for God, can you not see
that this is the ultimate measure of a human being? This is how our true
worth can be determined. Not in wealth or position rather in how much
we try to be God's Light on earth. For He is the Ultimate Reality, He is
more important than anything else. Only by realizing this and by
emptying your heart of other than Him can you find peace.
Not only can you find peace within yourself but you also
can bring peace to all those around you. Including the animals, plants, and
even the inanimate objects. Not only do we believe that all of these are
sentient but also that they are worshiping God. He has told us in the

Quran that there is not a single thing in the heavens and the earth except
that it is glorifying Him. It is declaring with every fiber of its being His
absolute Majesty and Perfection. This is why we love all of them, on
account of their love for God. We love them because they are so steadfast
and diligent in their worship of Him. The bird in the sky, the fish in the
sea, the beast in the land, the cat and the dog, the cow and the horse, the
tree and the flower, the rock and mountain, the star and the planet, the
table and the chair. Each of these is in its own way worshiping God , each
of these is conscious of Him. This is why we perfect our relationship even
towards these non human creations of His.
Such was the example of the Prophet, he was the most merciful and
compassionate man who ever lived. He showed us how we can be a Light
on this earth for all of Gods creation. So much compassion did he have
for all that even the animals knew that they could find solace in him. One
day a camel came to him. This camel had tears in it eyes and it looked
tired and weak. Then it actually began speaking to the Prophet. God had
given the Prophet the ability to comprehend the speech of this creature. It
complained to the Prophet about its master. After hearing what this animal
had to say, he then sent for its master. The Prophet said onto him I advice
you to fear God regarding this creature which He has placed under your
care. It has come to me and pleaded to me about the treatment that it has
received from you. You overburden it with heavy loads and you do not
feed it enough. The Prophet then told the man to treat the camel better
or else to set it free. See here the concern that he had for the plight of this
animal. See here the love and compassion he had for it. He did not look
down upon it, he did not think that it was there only to serve him, he did
not think that he was better than it. Rather he knew that he was but a
slave of God. And because he had tasted of the Divine, he knew that he
did not have any right to arrogance, any right to oppress or harm any
creature in any way. Such a sublime station did he reach. Such
compassion and concern did he show for one and all. Because he knew
that Love and Mercy were beloved to his Lord. He knew that the more
mercy that he showed to those on earth the more God would show to him.
So because of his love for his Beloved, he made the effort to remove
from his heart all traces of arrogance and hatred. He made the effort to
foster instead humility and compassion.
Because he knew that the more he let go of the ego, the more the True
Reality will be revealed.

The Prophet has told us of a woman who was forgiven all her sins
and granted entry to Paradise only for the deed of giving water to a
thirsty dog. And he also told us of another woman who was sent to Hell
because she had a cat that she tied up and did not feed or allow to feed
itself. See here the tremendous reward and punishment that is given for
only the treatment of animals. When a Muslim is aware of this then will
he not be conscious of God even in his relation to animals? He will
remember the Day when he has to stand before God and answer for all
his actions. Including his treatment of animals.
This is what Islam teaches. Personal responsibility and accountability.
The caliph Umar told us to judge ourselves before we are judged by God.
See how Islam creates a heart which is always mindful, always careful
that it does not do any evil. Even when we slaughter an animal for food
we should do so in the most humane way possible. We have to use a
sharp blade so the animal feels the least pain possible and so that death
comes quickly. The only other place where we can harm an animal is if it
poses a clear danger to our life or property.
But besides for these two reasons, we are not allowed to harm animals
in any way. In Islam hunting merely for pleasure is not permissible. This
is only a small sampling of the rights that even animals have in this
beautiful religion.
Islam also teaches us to have mercy for plants and trees, God showed
us in the Quran 1500 years ago that trees and plants were alive and He
showed us that they were always worshipping Him. On account of this
we are forbidden to cut them down or even to damage them for no reason.
Just think about the attitude that even a child will have towards a flower if
he knows that flower is worshipping God. Would he pull it out or step on
it just for fun if he had this knowledge and his heart was pure? Or would
he have love and compassion for it?
Islam also teaches us to have compassion for what are known as
inanimate objects. Just like with plants and animals we believe these too
are sentient and that they are always in a state of worship to Him. For
example the Prophet said of the mountain of Uhud, a mountain near his
city of Madinah, that it is a mountain whom we love and it loves us. Just
think about a mountain that is capable of love. An earth that is capable of

love. Would you still harm the earth if you knew that she was alive and
that she loves you? Can you not have mercy for it just as you have for
yourself and for your own children? Can you not find this compassion
which God has placed in your heart? You only need to see how all things
are connected through Him. You only need to let go of the ego.
How then can we be good to the earth and to all that is on the earth?
Firstly by not wasting its resources. Such was the example shown to us by
the Prophet. When he used to make ablution for prayer, the most
important of devotions that one can do for God, he was still careful not to
waste water. Even though he was purifying his body so that he can stand
before God in prayer, he still did so without wasting water. The most
abundant resource on the planet and still he was careful to conserve. In
addition to not wasting, we should also be careful not to damage. We can
no longer think of the things of this world as lifeless or as ours to do with
as we please. We have to remember that they are all a trust given to us by
God. Yes we are the dominant species on this planet, but this does not
mean that we can just exploit and plunder it for our own benefit. We have
to see that we are not the masters here. Both we and the earth have to
answer to our true Master. He has subjugated the earth and all that is on it
for us as a test. To see if we would be grateful to Him. By fulfilling our
purpose of being His Light on this earth.
Another way to bring Light to the earth is by establishing justice.
God wants us to show mercy to all His creation and at the same time He
also wants us to be just to them. To each of them He wants us to fulfill the
trusts that we have to them. In Islam each of us is in some way
responsible for those around us. And when we return to Him God will
ask us about each of these trusts. For example parents have an obligation
to look after their children and to raise them in the proper way. And in
turn children have a duty to be obedient to their parents and to care for
them when they become old. The husband has an obligation to provide
for his family. The wife in turn has an obligation to be a good mother for
the children and to make a beautiful home for her husband. The employee
has an obligation to do the work the employer has required of him to the
best of his ability, and in turn the employer has an obligation to give him
a decent wage for that work. The businessman has duty not to
shortchange his customers. And customers a duty to pay a fair price. The
government and the leadership have a responsibility to look after their
people and not to overburden or exploit them in any way. The people in

turn have a duty to abide by the laws of the government. These are but a
few examples of the rights and obligations that each of us can have. In
Islam the fulfillment of these rights is an act of worship. Several are the
verses where God has told us to fulfill our covenants and He has said that
the covenants will be asked about. See once again then how Islam makes
us into be the best human beings that we can be. How wonderful a world
would it be if each of us would look first to what we can do for others
instead of what others can do for us. Only for the Divine if we would give
to everyone their rights upon us, if we would let go of the greed and the
ego and the envy and the hatred.
Would this not bring peace and mercy to the earth?
You see when you live for God then you realize that it is not just about
you anymore. And this is when life starts to have meaning. This is when
you can really taste the sweetness of your existence. When you forgive
your spouse a wrong that she did. You do not even mention it. When you
complete the project your boss assigned to you in the best way possible,
and you do not mind if he does not recognize you enough for it.
Even if you have to put in some unpaid overtime. When you give to
your relative the loan that he asked of you and then you give him more
time to repay his loan. You give and give more, not seeking anything at all
from the creation. Because your heart is attached to the Creator. And you
know that the more that you give, the nearer to Him that you become.
This is what you desire, it is how you find peace and purpose. Can you
not see how this can make you a light on the earth? Just by living for
God, by being an agent of His Mercy to all His creation. And when you
do this you can bring goodness to the entire world. Because compassion
and cheer is contagious. It will spread from one person to the next. Like a
radiant light shining out into the darkness. So never ask what others can
do for you but ask what you can do for others. Live to make the world a
better place, live for more than just yourself.
I know that you are a good person, this is why I wrote this book for
you. I know that in you there is this light. Deep inside it is there, even if
you cannot see it right now. At the very least I know that you want to be
good. In Islam we believe all human beings are inherently good. God tells
us that we are the most excellent of His creations. It is only we who
become evil by our choices, by our actions. The problem with the world

today is that people do not have the motive to be selfless. Rather the
secular society teaches us to be individualistic and selfish. It teaches us
we are just animals, living by the law of the jungle.
Is it then any surprise why we see the pain and injustice that is present
in the world today? Our hearts were created for the Divine. He created us
so that we may know Him, so that we may yearn for Him, so that we may
love Him, so that we may worship Him. And if we forget Him, if we
forget the very purpose for which we created, then how much darkness
are we capable of? How much evil can we commit if we forget the One
Who brought us into being, the One Who sustains us, the One Who we all
have to return to and answer to. As long as we are remembering Him we
are in the Light, we are creatures not capable of evil. Not only are we not
capable of evil but we will always be striving to do good, for we know
that by doing good to the world around us we become nearer to Him. We
will not care what we have to sacrifice, we will not care how hard we
have to strive, we will not care if we are tired or hurt, all that we would
care about is God. Being near to Him. Drowning in His Majesty, His
Beauty, His Essence.
But now think of the heart which is the opposite of this,the heart which
is heedless of the Divine. What motivation does such a heart have to be
good? What can save that heart from being consumed by arrogance, envy,
lust, greed, apathy, miserliness, and hatred. The source of all these is the
ego. All the evil in the world today is only because of ego. And the only
way to be saved from ego is to have a connection with God. For if you
know God then you see there is more to existence than your self. Life is
not just about feeding yourself, glorifying yourself, making yourself
content. There is something more, something far greater than you. To have
a connection with Him, to live for Him, this is where the true contentment
lies. In Islam this is the only difference between humans, not race or
wealth or status or nationality. The only real difference is those who have
submitted to the Divine and those who have not.
Now you may claim that it is possible for someone to be a good
person even if God is not so important in their life. You may claim that
there were people who have done much good on the earth even though
they were not particularly religious. Do we then really need God? Yes we
do, for several reasons.
First because such people who do good without any religion are more

the exception than the norm. Meaning most people are not like them,
most people are not so selfless, most people worry first and foremost
about themselves. This is just the nature of the human being. We all have
traces of greed, lust, and arrogance within ourselves. Only with Divine
Guidance, only through mercy from our Lord, can we free ourselves from
these demons. The second response is that we simply cannot assume that
all the people who did good and who seemed not to be religious did not
have a relationship with God. Perhaps they did have a connection with
the Divine but they chose not to share it with the outside world. In Islam
we believe that all human beings are inherently good, all of us have a part
of the Divine within us. Even though there are the traces of darkness
within us there is also the Divine Light. We choose which of these we
want to foster. We choose which of these we want to dominate our
personality. Islam helps us to make the right choice. It gives us the
motivation to be selfless, to show more kindness and compassion. It does
so by freeing us from the chains of the ego. Thus bringing out the best in
us. So even if you are a good person, you can be even better through
Islam. But you know that you are not perfect, you still make mistakes.
You still waste many moments of your life instead of being a benefit
to this world. You still desire and despair and get angry and frustrated.
You may even hurt others. But once you have tasted of the Divine then
the ego is slain and with it all this evil. What then is left in you except
Light? This is what Islam offers.
Only by truly dedicating yourself to God can you reach to this sublime
station. You have to submit yourself to Him, you have to try and live for
Him with each breath that you take. This is what He asks of you, this is
what He deserves from you, this is what you yourself would want to give
Him if the love for Him really penetrated into your heart. You would be
intoxicated in your love for Him till you reach the point where you do not
desire anything except Him. But to reach this ideal some effort needs to
be made. You need to strive against your ego and to make Him as the
focal point in your life. And you need to be relentless in this struggle, for
such is what He deserves. This effort that you make for Him is the
manifestation of your gratefulness and your glorification.
Now realistically most of us will not be able to reach this high ideal .
That of the prophets and the saints. Where we are able to remember God
at every moment. Where each action that we do and every word that we
say is only to please Him.

Where we are completely free of the ego. It is a very high station to

reach. But does this mean that we should not try? Does this mean we are
content to be sinners and heedless of Him? No, He deserves from us more
than that, He deserves that we at least try. The problem today is that
people do not know Him, people do not know His Majesty and Glory, and
they do not know the extent of His bounties and favors, if they did then
they would love Him. And if they loved Him then at least they would try.
And if we all just tried then He will make it easy for us. He will help us,
and in His Infinite Mercy and Love He will pardon us our many lapses.
If only we all just tried then how much better of a place would the world
be? If at the very least we all came to the realization that our purpose in
life is only to please Him. If we at the very least made this into our
intention. How enlightened and beautiful people we would be?
Several are the paths which Islam has given us through which we
can journey to God. Through which He can become the focal point in our
lives. Among these are supplications that the Prophet used to make. The
Prophet had a prayer for each and every occasion. He had a prayer that he
would recite the moment that he awoke in the morning, the moment he
went to bed at night, and for all the moments in between. In all that he
did and in all that befell him he would seek Gods aid. For he knew that
God was the True Reality. He knew that everything which happens is only
from Him and the only refuge from Him is in Him. This is what we need
to do as well, we need to be in the habit of remembering God. Because the
world around us distracts us. It pulls us away from Him with its snares.
Often times you want to think about God but you get distracted by
something of this world, you think about that thing instead of thinking
about Him. This happens to most of us. In fact in the Quran God has told
us that we were created in weakness.
How then can we maintain this life of submission to Him, how can we
bring Him to mind all the time?
This is where the Muslim prayer comes in. The prayer is our
connection to God. It is the most important of acts that we can do because
it puts us in direct communion with Him. And it is more than just a prayer,
rather it is really the sanctification and glorification of the Divine. It is not
just supplicating and asking of God, it also praising Him and magnifying
Him. We bow down before Him, we prostrate ourselves before Him, we
dedicate our entire body, mind and soul only to God. When you are in
prayer you are not allowed to eat or drink or even speak to a created thing.

Because you have wholly given yourself to your Creator. Every fiber of
your being is only for Him. As you were created to be. So you see how
this prayer reminds you your purpose. Of how you should be only for
Him.
The Muslim prayer begins with the words Allahu Akbar, which
means God is greater. Just by saying these words you remind yourself
that God is more important. He is your only purpose, He is greater in
your heart than anyone or anything else. Then you read from His Book,
then you bow down to Him and then you fall down prostrate before Him.
During each of these motions you are reminded of Him, of how He is the
Tremendous One, of He is Supreme in your heart. More than your base
desires. More than any petty argument you may have had with anyone.
More than your own ego or sense of identity. More than that pain or
anxiety that has been troubling you. He is greater. He is heaviest in your
heart. So you shift away from the worldly illusions to the True Reality.
The Arabic word for the prayer is Salah. This word has several
meanings and each of these meanings reveals a different nature of the
prayer. First it means to connect, for it is our connection to God. It is how
we reestablish our link with Him. When the world distracts us away from
Him, when our hearts begin to wander, we can bring them back through
the Salah. This word also means to burn.
Because it burns away all the illusions between us and Him. Only
He cannot be burned because He is not of this world. Another meaning for
the word Salah is that which comes immediately after. It has been used in
this way to describe the one who comes a close second in a race. The
reason for this meaning is because Salah must come after faith in that if
you truly believe in God then you need to worship Him. How can you
believe in a Being as Glorious and Magnificent as He and not feel the
need to praise Him? If you do not then you need to check your belief. Is
it really true, is it really sincere? God is completely dedicated to us at
every moment of our lives, can we not do for Him as He has for us? Can
we not at least make the effort?
As we said prayer in Islam is not simply our asking of God, nor is it
useless dogma we have to blindly recite. Rather it is first and foremost our
glorification and magnification of Him. We praise Him in all His Majesty
and Glory. We acknowledge just how Pure and Sublime that He is. And
we acknowledge our utter slavehood and nothingness before Him.

This is why our prayers should have an impact on us for the rest of the
day. It should never be that we are dedicated to God for a few minutes
when we are in prayer and heedless of Him for the rest of the day. No
rather we need to be dedicated to Him for the entirety of our day. The
prayer is what facilitates this, it is what brings us back to this sublime
station.
For as we said before and need to emphasize again there is a certain
state of heart that we need to maintain. We need to be with the Divine. We
need to free ourselves of all thoughts which distract us from Him. At each
moment we need to ask what we can do for Him. The prayer brings us this
station. It does this by teaching us humility. When we bow down before
God, when we put our faces on the floor, then we realize our place. Our
utter nothingness when compared to His Majesty and Glory. Such is how
the prayer slays the ego and lets us to maintain consciousness of Him
throughout our day. When we are at this station then we can become a
Light on this earth for all His creation. Because in the end what is it that
prevents us from serving others, forgiving them, and seeing good in them
no matter what they do to us? Is it not the ego? To vanquish it is a
lifelong struggle. The prayer in Islam helps us in this effort. It guides our
hearts back to their true home. With Him. Even for Muslims it is a
struggle. But to make struggle is the journey.
Meaning when we strive for Him. When we make the effort to maintain
our prayers and to be His Light then we manifest our love for Him. And
through this effort we journey to Him.
After prayer and after excelling in our relationships with those
around us, the next most important part of our servitude to God is
avoiding what He has forbidden. Most of the things of this world He has
made permissible for us, but there are a few things which He has told us
to stay away from. He has done so in order to test us, in order that we
may make manifest our submission to Him. You see it is very easy to
simply say that you love God, especially if you do not have a law to
follow. But we believe that actions speak louder than words. And if you
are true in your love for Him then you would keep to His Law.
You would make every effort possible to comply with His Law because
you know that it is His Law, what He has told you to do. And if you truly
love Him then would you not want to listen to Him? This is why in

Islamic Law when it comes to the prohibitions of God, we have to be

extra careful. We need to take the utmost of precautions to avoid any
violations of our Lords Law. It is not a matter to be taken lightly. The
reverence that we have for His Law reflects the reverence we have for
Him. The more that we love Him, the more that we fear doing anything to
displease Him, the greater the effort we will make to hold on to His Law.
Of course it is not easy, there will be a struggle involved. But this striving
is how we prove our belief in Him and our love for Him. And the
consequence of violations is not only the punishment in the next world,
but even worse is distance from Him. For we believe that the more that
you sin, the more you allow the ego to take over your heart. And the more
ego there is in your heart, the less He will be. Thus there is much you
must do in order to traverse this path which leads to Him. Firstly you need
to believe in Him, then you need to strive against your ego and make Him
as supreme in your heart, finally you need to make the effort to hold on to
His Law.
Through all this you can journey to Him. This is Islam.
As we will soon see Islam has a detailed system of life by which you
can live. Part of this system are commandments and prohibitions. Not all
of these are easy to abide by, some require effort, some require you to
sacrifice what you desire. But this should not be a reason for you to be
turned away from the religion. On the contrary it should be a motivation.
For there is a reward, a sweetness, a fulfillment and satisfaction that you
can attain by your efforts. The harder it is for you, the more that you have
to strive to obey His Law, the nearer to Him that you will become. And is
proximity to God not what you are really seeking from life in the first
place? What is there in this world that can possibly compare to Him? This
is what you have to remind yourself of. Especially when you feel yourself
being drawn towards what He has forbidden. Or you find yourself
becoming lazy in fulfilling what He has commanded. You have to
remember that your choosing to displease Him will make you distant from
Him. And this is the greatest of torments, if only you knew. Once you
have tasted the sweetness of being near to Him then you will see how
nothing else matters.
When you do choose to please Him, to make the effort to hold fast to
His Law, then know that none of your striving will ever be wasted. For He
is the All-Seeing and the All-Knowing. Even the slightest of labor that

you exert for His sake, He is well Aware, as He is Aware of even the
smallest of sins. So you can never think that you can get away with
violating His Law. He is always watching. There is not a single moment in
our life except that He is watching us in that moment. He Knows us more
than we know ourselves, He even Knows our thoughts.
How then can we ever hide anything from Him? Know that even in
the darkness of the night, even behind locked doors, He Sees what you
are doing. This is why you need to make every effort possible to stay
away from what He has forbidden.
What then are the prohibitions of God, what are the acts which He
has told us to avoid? The greatest of evil in His Sight is that another god
besides He be worshiped. For He is the One True God, without partner or
child. So all worship, all sanctification, all servitude must be for Him and
Him Alone. Try then and realize His Oneness. Realize that there is no
deity worthy of worship except He, there is no master worthy of
servitude except He, there is no object or person on which to rely and
place your hopes in except He. For there is no might nor power except in
Him. Nothing at all can happen in the universe unless He allows it to
happen. This is why your heart must be attached to Him, before you see
the world, see Him. It is not just that you do not serve any other master or
worship any other god besides Him. Rather it is that you have reliance
on Him and Him Alone. Not on yourself or your abilities or your money
or your power or your family. These are all but illusions.
You see everything that happens as coming from Him.
Associating partners with God then is the greatest of
evils in our religion. But this does not simply mean that another god
besides He be worshiped, it also means the heart being attached to other
than He. It means for another to be loved more than He. As we said
before and need to stress again all that we do for Him is only from our
love for Him. And ultimately it is our love for Him which will be the
measure of how much we will be dedicated to Him. Should we not then
try to make the love for Him be supreme in our hearts, should we not try
to remove all the other false gods whom we have made as more
important than Him in our lives? Be it wealth, or job, or children, or
property, or our own glorification. Islam helps us to recognize these for
the illusions that they are. The central message of this religion is the

Absolute Oneness of God, only He matters, only He is Real. Where then

should your heart be?
See then how comprehensive this religion is, see how much of a
practical impact it can have on your life. Here to free yourself of false
gods does not only mean not worshiping idols, rather it means to free
your heart from all attachments except God. To have no other concern in
life but Him. If you truly knew Him then you would see what a great
injustice it is to live for other than Him. Because a heart that does not
submit to Him is a heart that does not love Him. Love needs to be proven,
He will never accept empty statements without meaning. And a heart that
does not love Him is an evil heart indeed. For He is the One Who
deserves to be loved, He is the Source of all goodness, He is the Majestic
and the Glorious, the Sublime and the Pure, the Beautiful and the
Awesome. As long as you are making the effort to journey to Him, as
long as your heart is full with love and yearning for Him you will not fall
into sin. It is only when your focus begins to weaken, it is only when you
think of other than Him, that is when you are capable of evil.
That is when the ego can creep in, when you start to see yourself as
more important than He. You start listening to that voice in your head
which is always complaining or getting angry or desiring something of
this world. That voice is the veil between you and Him. Because as long
as you beckon to its call your heart can never be with Him. You can never
enjoy or fully appreciate the present moment, the gift that He has given
you. If you truly love Him, if you have truly submitted to Him, then you
will never resist any situation in life He has placed you in. Because you
know that it is good for you, even if you cannot always see His Wisdom.
You know it is what He has created for you, and because you love Him
you love all that comes from Him. You know that accepting it means
accepting Him, loving it means loving Him. Thus the first and the greatest
evil we must avoid is to see anything other than God.
The next greatest evil is to kill another soul. God has told us in the
Quran that to kill even one human being is like killing all of mankind.
Such is how great a crime murder is, such is the tremendous value that
Islam has placed on human life. On the life of any human being, be they
Muslim or non Muslim, black or white, male or female. Only in very
specific instances has God made lawful the shedding of blood. And even
this can only be carried out by the Islamic State. Never by an individual

or a group. These instances in reality are only three. First to punish very
serious crimes like murder, adultery or treason. Second in times of war,
meaning between soldiers in battle. Finally in self defense. These are the
only situations in which God has made it permissible for a life to be
taken. And notice that in all of these three cases the life that is being
taken is not an innocent. Rather it is the life of an aggressor, one who has
done some evil to deserve such a punishment. But for an innocent life to
be taken, this truly is the greatest of sins. There has not been any
disagreement on this by any of the scholars of Islam. Because there are
several explicit statements of the Prophet and also explicit verses from
the Quran which refer to murder as a great sin. Even in war the Prophet
has forbidden us from killing any except the soldiers who are fighting.
The slaying of non combatants has been explicitly forbidden. We are not
even allowed to take lives as a result of what some call collateral
damage. In Islam there is no such concept, all life is sacred. Because we
believe that every human being is a child of Adam, and God has honored
all the children of Adam. We do not break our brotherhood by race or
nationality. Such a viewpoint prevents us from looking down on anyone,
there are no lower caste or second class. Rather in everyone we see God.
And we know that our very purpose in life is to be His Light for them.
How then can we ever harm them in any way?
How far greater is the value that Islam has put on human life when
compared to the the secular world. Only recently in the United States
there was an incident where a man shot down twenty innocent children in
cold blood. Can you even imagine this, what kind of a heart can commit
such a heinous crime? This killer was the product of a secular school
system.
The child of a secular world.
When we do not teach our children the value of life or even the
purpose of life for that matter then what else can we expect from them.
There was also an incident in Norway where a man went on a shooting
spree and killed dozens of youths in cold blood. He shot down kids who
were in front of him begging for their lives. These are the products of a
secular society. Not only has secularism produced individuals who are
sadists and mass murderers but even nations. The regimes of Hitler and
Stalin, the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the bombing raids
over Baghdad and Hanoi, the genocides of Bosnia and Rwanda. And all

of these have only been in this century, if you go back even further you
find Imperialism, Colonialism, and countless wars. All of these because
the secular world does not view human life as sacred, it does not tell its
children that they have to answer to God for all their actions, nor that their
very purpose in life is to be an agent of His mercy and compassion. If
you think that matter is all that exists, if you do not acknowledge the
Spirit within, if you only see the world as you vs them, then how can such
carnage and brutality not be the result? Despite all the advancements that
we have made in science and technology, we remain a very primitive
people in terms of our outlook towards life. And the reason for this is
because we have forgotten God. For most of us He does not have any
place in that outlook. It is only when see others as flesh or as matter that
we are capable of harming them.
Islam teaches us to view all creation as something higher than that.
And it teaches us to view our fellow human beings as even higher still.
For we believe that each and every one of us has withing us God's Spirit.
This is why not only is murder itself among the greatest of sins, but even
to harm another human being. In any way, be it with the hand or with the
tongue, this too is a great crime. Once the Prophet was asked who the true
Muslim is and he replied that he or she is the one from whose hands and
tongue the people were safe. See then how it is the very essence of
submission, the very core of this religion that you do not harm anyone
else. In any way. Even to harm with the tongue is not allowed. To
backbite or slander. To mock or to ridicule. To criticize or to find fault
with. To speak any word with the intent of causing any harm is not
allowed in Islam. Such is the care and the regard God has told us to have
for all human beings. Such is the love we must have for everyone, the
same love we have for Him. Because we do not believe God to be some
distant being above the skies. Rather we believe He is without limits, not
confined in any way to space and time. He is in the world around us just
as He is in us. So to harm the other is to harm Him. This is the true Islam.
How then can you think of this religion as violent or in any
oppressive? As we will soon see not only is harming people a sin but it
also a sin to do any injustice to them. As we said earlier and need to
emphasize again, our very purpose in life is to be God's Light for all His
creation. This is the very reason why we exist. Instead then of thinking
how we can kill or terrorize or destroy, we should be thinking how we can
make peace, how we can make life better. For everyone. As Muslims our

striving is to break the veil of the ego, the barrier between us and God.
This is what it means to be a Muslim, the one who submits. I am just a
slave, I do not matter. Only He does.
Another great sin in Islam is adultery and fornication.
Relations of a sexual nature between an unmarried couple.
The sexual drive which God placed within all of us is indeed very
strong. We all have such lusts and urges. God does not want us to deny
these, He does not want us to live a life of celibacy. In fact even sex itself
in Islam is not looked upon as something evil or filthy. Rather if it is
done in the right way, between a husband and a wife, then it can be a
blessed act. It can even be an act of worship. An act through which you
seek to draw nearer to God. This is because as we said earlier in Islam
marriage itself is an act of worship. And the union in bed for a couple is
naught but the fulfillment of their marriage. This is how God wants it to
be. He does not want us to come to that act merely to satisfy our urges.
Although there is nothing wrong in taking pleasure from the act, He wants
us to see that it has a greater purpose. That is of course to have children,
to build a family. So that we leave behind on Gods earth souls who will
praise and glorify Him after we have left it.
This is the primary purpose of marriage and of sex. You can see
then how adultery and even fornication circumvents this purpose. Not
only does it not help in building a family but it also destroys it. Most
divorces today are caused by infidelity. Or when at least one spouse is not
satisfied with the other.
Why do couples reach this sad state? Is it not because we have
legalized fornication? We no longer think of it as evil. This is why we
indulge in it. We become so used to having multiple partners that it is very
hard to remain faithful. And then it is the marriage which suffers, it is the
children who suffer, it is the society which suffers. Just think how
wonderful it can be if you were only for your spouse and if they were
only for you? If you did not even lay eyes on anyone else. Not only would
you have a blessed marriage and family but He will be pleased with you.
Not only has God forbidden fornication itself, but He has also
forbidden all the situations and circumstances that may lead up to it. For
example Muslim men are told to lower their gaze, meaning we are not

allowed to even look with lust at a woman who is not our wife. Only
marriage, that sacred bond, allows us to look with desire. At the same time
God has also told Muslim women to dress modestly. To try and cover as
much of their body as possible. The more they can cover the closer it will
be to piety. By the same token the more that men lower their gazes, this
too will bring them nearer to the Divine. Because He Knows us well. He
Knows that fornication begins with a look. The woman shows and the
man gazes. This is how it starts. So if both men and women can avoid this
situation then the sin can also be avoided. As a further deterrent God has
also made it forbidden for a man and a woman to be alone together unless
they are married or close relations. He has told us that if a man and a
woman are behind closed doors then the devil is the third among them.
God Knows how weak we are, He Knows that even if we may not mean
to, we may fall into that terrible sin. This is why He put so many barriers
between us and that evil. In general men and women should also be
separated in social gatherings. Once again the purpose of this is to block
any avenue for that evil to be committed. Do you not think it better if sex
was preceded by the bond of marriage? Would you like it for your
daughter or your sister to surrender her body to a man who has not fully
committed himself to her?
To protect her, to provide for her, to be there for her for his entire
life. For us it is not just about the lusts, not just about exploring
sexuality, rather it is about building permanent relationships. It is about
making the bond and love between husband and wife as strong as
possible. So that they always remain together, so that they raise the best
children possible.
Another major sin is that of breaking trusts and oaths.
The sin of betrayal. Whenever you are entrusted with anything then God
wants you to fulfill that trust. He does not want you to cheat or to deceive
the person who gave you that trust to you. After all how can you be God's
Light to those around you if you are unjust to them, if you in any way
cheat or betray them?
Even if you believe that they have not fulfilled their obligations to
you, you must still live up to all the obligations that you have towards
them. To break these trusts is among the greatest of sins. It is injustice
and He loves not the unjust. Because He is the Just and He expects it

from His creation. Especially from us the human race, especially from
the Muslims. In fact if a certain person claims to be Muslim but at the
same time is in any way dishonest, then you really have to question if
such a person is even a Muslim to begin with. Because the Prophet has
told us that the two signs of a hypocrite are that when he speaks he lies
and when he is given a trust he breaks it.
When people break their trusts that is when injustice and tyranny
begin to appear. It is only capable by a heart that has forgotten the Divine.
A heart which has been seduced by the illusion of power. A heart filled
with hubris, a heart that looks down on others and thinks itself better. This
is why it oppress and cheats. It does not see others as those it must serve
or even be honest to. Such is the extent to which ego dominates. This is
what we need to save ourselves from. We need to be reminded that we
exist only to serve Him. He is the True, we are but His slaves. If we can
maintain such a state then we would think twice about oppressing anyone.
Rather we would strive to fulfill our trusts because we know that this
exertion is a path to Him. In the end it is not the other party that matters,
rather it is only Him. We have to be people of truth to behold the True
Reality. Life is only the journey to Him.
What exactly does it mean then to fulfill one's trusts?
Several are the examples that can be cited. Several are the ways that
you can implement this command of God in your own life and in the
process draw nearer to Him. Each of us has something that we have been
entrusted with, something that has been placed under our care, some duty
that we owe to those around us. For example if you are student then
simply to do your homework in the best way possible, to pass all your
exams, to gain the best education that you can so that you can be the most
productive member of society. This is a means of draw nearer to God, this
is Islam. Because you are fulfilling the role you have been entrusted with
to the best of your ability.
Similarly if you are a professional then you strive to do your work in
the best way possible. You do not cheat or shortchange your employer or
your customer in any way. This is Islam because God loves the honest and
the fair, those who strive not to do even the tiniest of injustices. If you are
a wife then you remain faithful to your husband, you do not let another
man look at your beauty. Similarly if you are a husband then you take
care of your wife, you provide her with all that she could need, you buy

her gifts, you are kind and respectful to her, and your are faithful to her as
well. You strive not to even look upon another woman. This is Islam. If
you are child then you are dutiful and respectful to your parents and if you
are parent then you be there for your children and you raise them
properly. This is Islam. It is looking to the rights of others first before
your own rights, it is giving and giving more. Because you know that the
more that you give, the nearer to Him that you become. And in your heart
there is only the yearning for Him. Just imagine if everyone was at this
level, imagine how wonderful a place the world would be. If we all did
for the other for His sake. This is the vision of Islam.
Another great evil in Islamic Law is drugs and alcohol.
Part of your submission to God is also that you make every effort to
avoid this sin. Most people indulge in these vices for escapism. To lose
their inhibitions. To escape from the real world. To be a different person.
But does not the very fact that you would seek to do this reveal that you
are in some way discontent with what God has decreed? As we said the
very foundation of Islam is submission. To surrender fully to God, to be
content with whatever it is that He has decreed for you.
Now if you are sincere to Him then you have to believe that He will
only choose for you what is best for you. He will send down His Mercy
upon you. He will keep calamities away from you.
And even if He does send something which may seem to you like a
hardship, you have to trust in Him that even in this there is something
good for you. When you have such a complete reliance upon Him then
would you ever want to escape, would you ever want to be anyone other
than who you are? Every situation you find yourself is what He has
chosen for you. So for His sake you are content. This is what it means to
submit to Him. You know that His Wisdom and His Knowledge is greater.
Most of us today do not realize this. We have chosen for ourselves a
secular world. Which allows the vices of drugs and alcohol. How great is
the evil that has resulted. How many are the wives who are beaten by their
own husbands, how many are the daughters who are raped by their own
fathers? Think also how many are the lives ruined by drunk driving ? How
many are the youth killed in gang related drug violence? This is the legacy
of the secular world. This is the evil that a soul is capable of when it
forgets its Lord. When it is dominated by ego and lusts. Not only can

Islam prevent this by freeing us of ego, the evil within, but it can also
remove the exterior evils. It has a detailed law which strictly outlaws such
vices.
Some other vices which God told us to shun are lying stealing,
gambling, and consuming usury. These are all evils, these all cause great
harm both to the individual and to the society as a whole. Can you not see
how this is so, would the world not be a better place if people did not
commit these? How many families are in poverty because someone in
their home cannot stay away from the casinos? How many families are
chased out of their homes because they could not make the usury
payments on their mortgage? How many children are deprived because of
theft and waste? How many couples are separated because of lies and
deception? Can we not see that God loves us more than we do and we
only hurt ourselves by turning away from Him? Just think what a
beautiful human being is the one who always maintains a consciousness
of the Divine. The one who thinks twice before he harms others in any
way. Such a person will not even lift a finger or say even the slightest
word to harm another human being. Because he or she knows that their
Lord is Love and that only by imbuing such within themselves they can
journey to Him. They will also strive to keep to His Law. They will not
steal or cheat anyone.
They will not look upon their neighbor's wife. They will not waste
their wealth away in gambling nor will they rob and exploit others
through usury. Rather with their wealth and their time and their energy
they will strive in God's Path. To make the world a better place, to be an
agent of the Merciful, to invite the people to Him. To ease the suffering,
to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to teach the ignorant and to help
the oppressed. Can you not see how this is your purpose as well? Can
you not see that you will find peace and fulfillment only on this path?
What is there in this entire world that can possibly compare to Him?
Those things which He has made unlawful for us are only those things
which can harm us.
See then how Islam has come for the betterment of mankind. Not
only by teaching us to look beyond ourselves, not only by helping us to
cope with the hardships of life, not only by reminding us of our purpose
and by giving our lives meaning, but also by removing from our lives all
those things which can harm us. And even more than that by giving us
the reason and the motivation to avoid these evils. We all know that sins
like alcohol, gambling, usury, fornication, and such are evils and that
we should not be engaging them. We know also that we should not harm

others in any way, and that we should not steal or cheat. We know we
should not tell lies or despair or become angry or arrogant or envious.
We know that we should not be lazy or gluttonous or lustful. God gave
us the ability by which we can recognize the dark side of our nature.
Yet we as individuals still fall into these sins and we as as a society still
permit them. Why is this? It is only because we do not have the
motivation to stay away. Now Islam gives us this motivation. It teaches us
to live for a greater purpose than satisfying our lusts and greed, it teaches
us to share and to have empathy for all creation. It slays the demon of the
ego and replaces it with humility and yearning for the Divine. This is how
to build a better human being. This is true progress. When you are at this
level then you will not so easily commit evil even if you knew that no
other human being was watching, because you would be certain that your
Beloved is always watching.
Thus an important part of our servitude to God is avoiding what
displeases Him, avoiding what He has forbidden. This is one way we can
prove our love to Him. Some other religions speak of loving God but at
the same time they do not live by God's Law. They believe that only the
priests and saints need to obey the Law. In Islam such an attitude is
nothing short of hypocrisy. If you love God you need to prove that love.
Notice how all of the deeds which God has forbidden for us are only
those which harm us or harm those around us. So even it is a
manifestation of His Mercy for us. Not only then can we prove our love
for Him by making the effort to avoid what He has forbidden but doing so
is good for us. Even if we in the beginning we may not always realize it.
For example a young woman in college may not see the wisdom in the
prohibition of fornication, she might want to give in to her boyfriend
when he calls her to that act. But then when he dumps her a few weeks
after that she realizes the mistake she made. And with each man that
leaves her after she had let him taste her she loses a part of herself. Until
she feels empty, the innocence and purity she had in her youth is gone.
Would she not be happier if the only man who has touched her is the
father of her children, the one who has committed to be with her for the
rest of his life?
See then how even in fornication there is evil and pain. We just
sometimes cannot see it when we are blinded by ego and its lusts. Our
vision is limited but His is not, and He loves us even more than we can

ever love ourselves.

Another benefit of keeping to God's Law is that it reminds us of the
temporary nature of this world. The Quran tells us that the entirety of this
world is only fleeting illusions but it also has the ability to deceive. So
most people do not realize all the illusions for what they really are. Just
think then what is it that makes you to sin, what makes you to do what
displeases Him. Is it not ego or lusts or greed? And in the end are all these
not illusions? How do they in any way compare to Him? The True
Reality. God wants us to reach to this realization, to realize the ephemeral
nature of this world. This is why He has told us not to gorge ourselves on
it, to restrain ourselves a bit. So that we realize the true purpose of our
existence. We are not here to feed our egos but rather to serve Him.
Islam also commands us to do all our actions in the best way
possible. The Arabic term for this is Ihsan. Basically it means we should
strive for excellence and perfection in all of our affairs. So whatever you
are doing over the course of your day, try and do it to the best of your
ability. If you are doing your chores or your schoolwork or your office
work or driving or cooking or looking after children or even just
interacting with others, try to accomplish the best result that you can in
that particular endeavor. Even if you do not attain to perfection, you
should still try. Because remember that in Islam our submission to God is
comprehensive. Our servitude to Him encompasses every single deed we
can possibly do. So the moments of your life and the actions that you do
in them are offerings you make for the Divine. And does not the lover
want to give his Beloved the best of gifts? To make manifest the
perfection and depth of his love. How then can one attain to perfection in
one's works?
One way is being maintaining mindfulness.
Mindfulness is usually thought of as part of Buddhism and the Eastern
religions but it does have a place in Islam as well. One reason for this is
because Ihsan which Islam commands us to have necessitates
mindfulness. How can you reach to perfection in any action unless you
put your mind on it? If your mind is somewhere else, if you are not
focused and present in what you are doing, then how can you be doing to
the best of your ability? So Islam calls on you to free yourself from all the
distractions and useless thoughts that flow through your mind. Strive

against them for God's sake. Focus your attention on the present moment
and what you are doing in it. Consider even this effort that you make an
act of servitude to your Beloved. Realize the impermanent nature of all
that is other than Him. Rise to a level that is beyond yearning for success
or fear of failure. Rather just accept the present moment and let it be.
So Islam allows you to achieve mindfulness by living fully in the
present moment. It helps you to achieve this station by slaying the ego.
Just as ego is the veil between you and God, it is also what prevents you
from being in the present moment.
The very nature of the ego is that it wants to flee from the present
moment. It wants to take you somewhere else than where you really are
now. It either takes you into the past or the future. If it is taking you back
in time, it makes you to lament about something tragic which happened in
the past or it makes you to relive a pleasant memory from the past. It also
transports you into the future. It either makes you to fear some event
which it thinks will happen in the future or it makes you desire something
that it hopes to achieve in the future. But regardless of it takes you into
the past or the future, or if it fills you with thoughts of joy, pain or fear,
the bottom line is that it is taking you away from the present moment.
Away from where you really are right now. The question remains why.
Why does the ego want to take you away from the now. The answer is
clear. Because now is a pathway to God. The present moment is an
interface to God. It is the continuous manifestation and unfolding of His
greatest bounty upon you, your very existence. So to truly appreciate it, to
truly live it to in the fullest, you need to be present in it. If you are not, if
your mind is somewhere else, then your life is literally being stolen from
you. By your own ego. The endless stream of thoughts that it fills your
mind with are obstacles between you and God. Because they take your
mind away from the present moment, and thus away from Him. In order
to perfect your servitude to Him, even in order to fully appreciate the gift
of life that He has given you, you need to be in the present moment. By
letting go of resistance to the present moment, by stopping trying to
escape from it, you can show your submission to God, the One Who
chose it for you.
We said earlier that there was more to the prayer in Islam than
supplication. But does this mean that you cannot ask of God in this
religion? No of course not, rather He loves those who ask of Him. And He

loves to give to those who ask of Him.

So as we said before and need to stress again you can ask God for
whatever you need. As you are in a complete state of servitude to Him
you can be in a constant state of prayer to Him. Asking of Him and
relying on Him in all of your affairs. Out of the conviction that you have
of His absolute Power and total Control over your life. Of course you
make the effort, of course you try. To the best of your ability as we said
earlier. But you do not rely only on yourself, you never think that you are
enough for yourself. Rather you ask of Him and you rely upon Him. For
if you are sincere in your supplication, if you truly ask Him from the
depth of your heart, then how can He ever turn away from you. Is He not
the Most Merciful and the Most Loving and the Most Kind? If you knew
the extent of His Mercy then no matter what happens and no matter what
you may have done, you would never give up on it.
Another benefit of supplicating to God is that it removes from us
arrogance and it increases us in humility. This also is a state that is
pleasing to Him. When we admit our weakness and our inability, and at
the same time we admit His Power and His Ability. O God only you can
remove from me this difficulty , only you can save me, I am helpless
without you. What a beautiful state is this for the seekers heart?
Yet another benefit of asking God is that He will actually give you
what you are asking Him for. Unlike most people. Just as He is the Most
Loving He is also the Able, He can give you whatever you desire and this
is easy for Him. Why then do you not ask of Him? Why do you seek from
the creation who turn away from you while the Creator waits with open
arms?
This was how the Prophet lived. In a constant state of supplication and
yearning to the Divine. When he woke up in the morning there was a
prayer he made. All praise and thanks be to God Who gave us life after
our death. In the Name of God, I put my reliance upon God, and there is
no power nor situation except from God. There was even a prayer he
made when used the restroom. And a prayer he made both before and
after he took his meal. There was a prayer he made when he left his
home. There was also a prayer he made when he rode on some form of
transportation. There was a prayer he made when he began his work.
There was a prayer for seeing the rain clouds. And a prayer when he saw
children. And a prayer when he felt some pain. And a prayer when a

bounty came down to Him. And a prayer when he took his afternoon
nap. And a prayer for when he was intimate with his wife. For every
situation in life that he could face, he had a supplication that he would
make. And if you look closely you would see that the common thread in
all of these prayers was God. He would either thank God, or ask Him for
help, or ask Him for nearness through that particular situation. If you too
can live such a life then imagine how near to God you can become. You
would respond to every situation by thinking of God and thus drawing
nearer to Him. The Prophet also taught us general prayers we can make
in any situation. Prayers in which we ask God for all that is good. We ask
for faith, and for obedience, and for protection from hardships and trials,
and for peace on earth, and for healing the ill, and for forgiveness. For
yourself, for your family, and for all the good people. So see how at any
moment we can supplicate to God and bring Him to mind through that
supplication. We can draw nearer to Him by our asking of Him. This too
is part of what it means to be a Muslim, this too will help you journey to
Him.
This then is the life of a Muslim. Submitting to God in each and every
way. With the heart, with the tongue, and with the body. By worshiping
Him, praising Him, glorifying Him. By being content with whatever that
He has decreed. By doing the acts beloved to Him and by avoiding what
He has not allowed. By maintaining mindfulness and striving for
excellence in all of one's affairs. And by trying to be a light for all His
creation. As I said before and need to stress again this is the core of Islam.
God is not selfish or arrogant. He does not want us to only worship
Him and forget the rest of the world. Rather at His Core He is a Being of
Mercy and Love. Such is the attribute He has most frequently described
Himself with in the Quran. Ego is the veil which prevents us from
imbuing this attribute within ourselves. For the more that we think only of
ourselves and our needs, the more distant from Him we will be. And the
darker our world will become. For we are connected to the world around
us through Him. The more we improve our relationship with Him the
more we will improve it with the world, and the better we are to the world
the nearer to Him we will become.
After all is not everything around us His creation. If we want then to
be near to Him should we not be an agent of mercy to His creation just
like He is. Think how beautiful life can be if we can all be at this level.
Not only will we bring peace to our own selves, but we will also help to
bring peace to those around us and peace to the world. Then ego would be

replaced with submission, anger would be replaced with forgiveness,

cruelty would be replaced with compassion, greed would be replaced
with sharing, indecency would be replaced morality, war would be
replaced with peace and all nations would be united as one. Not only
would each of us seek to end suffering in our selves but also in all those
around us. The world would be a better place, closer in every way to Him.
This is the vision of Islam.
Once you have submitted to Him completely, once you have
acknowledged that you are only His slave, then do you not become His
instrument? Do you not become a vehicle for Him? What is there left of
you? The illusion of you. This is the realization that Islam helps you to
attain. The false sense of self that you identify yourself with is the greatest
veil between you and Him. A Sufi was once asked what was the path to
God and he replied Abandon yourself and you are already there. This is
the essence and the core of Islam. Giving yourself over to God
completely. And the liberation and serenity that arises out of it. But in
order to reach this station, in order to make the journey, you first need to
believe. You need to believe that there is more to existence than the
material world. That there is more to you than the identity you have of
yourself. You are not who your name says or what your title at work is or
the degree that you attained or the perception that you think others have
of you. These are the illusions, the demons which keep you from Him.
Rather Islam says that you are God's slave and that your only purpose in
life is to dedicate yourself to Him totally.
Can you even begin to imagine what freedom and peace
such a mindset can bring? You can escape the bondage of all your
anxieties and worries. You no longer need to be ruled by the ego and its
lusts. You no longer need to care about what other people think of you.
Rather your one single concern in life can be attaining nearness to Him.
To attain this you only need to worship Him, avoid what He has forbidden
and be a good neighbor to all those around you. This is all that He is
asking of you. If you can do this then you are free to enjoy life. Free to
truly live in the present moment knowing that you have with you the Best
of Protectors. He will take care of you, He will provide for you, He will
not allow harm to come to you. For you will become His beloved. And
what is better than that?
Avoiding evil actions, worshiping God, and trying to do good to one
and all. How can you find anything wrong with this religion, how can you

choose a way of life other than it? Is this in and of itself not enough to
show you that it is the Truth? Just look at the kind of human being that
Islam creates. Just look at the kind of personality that it builds. It answers
the deepest and the most fundamental questions that a human being can
have. Who am I, what am I doing here, where did I come from, where am
I going? It lets you have the most personal and intimate of relationships
with the Sublime and the True, the One and Only.
It lets you be so near to Him that you can feel His Presence deep
inside of you. And this will bring a peace and fulfillment to your life
which cannot be found elsewhere. It calls all mankind to this with open
arms, black and white, young and old, male and female. It gives us all of
us a purpose for our existence. It lets us be a positive force on the earth,
an agent of change for the better, a mercy for all those around us. It shows
us how we can rise above our lower selves. It teaches us to sacrifice, to
have empathy and compassion. To always work to make the world into a
better place. So I ask you once again how much better a place this earth
would be if we were all Muslims? We would no longer be divided by
religion or race or nationality.
Islam came to transcend all these boundaries, to unite as all as
children of Adam, as were we meant to be. We do not believe that any one
race is Gods chosen people. We believe that we are all equal before His
Eyes. The only way in which one of us is better than another is in how
much we love Him and how much we strive to please Him. And this is
only known to Him. So see how the Message of Islam itself is one of its
greatest proofs. How can this not be the true religion from the One True
God? Is there anything wrong with it, anything evil about it? But it has
more proofs besides these.