In Lieu of Today's Ayat for Tuesday 2016-11-29 / 29 Safar 1438
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
Some newcomers to Islam try to rapidly learn and obey every command in the Qur'an, and they try to learn and emulate every possible example of the Prophet(saws) recorded in the traditions.
The result - all too often - is "burnout".
Islam does indeed tell us to strive as if in a race to do good (al-Ma'idah 5:48), but Islam is not itself a race. We do not get to Allah "faster" by trying to take on more than He gives us; and what Allah gives us is One Day - today - and the tools which enable us to make the best use of this One Day.
No one is guaranteed tomorrow, and yesterday is gone.
When we open our Qur'an we find 6,236 verses (6,248 with bismillah's) each of which can and will have a meaning in our lives exactly as Allah wills. Some verses give us clear commands and limits we should learn to be aware of at all times, others have meanings with are metaphorical - meanings which may only manifest in our lives in as yet unencountered situations. We are also warned not to accede too quickly to anyone else's interpretation of such verses (al-Imran 3:7).
But what of the many clear commands? There seem to be so many!
Can a believer be obeying every single one every single minute of every day?
Of course not. That is the path to "burnout".
Some commands do indeed lay out the attitudes, and tasks, which must be regular and constant in the life of a Muslim... we must be regular in our salaat, we must be conscious of Allah at all times.
Other commands are the TOOLS that Allah has blessed us with.
Yes. TOOLS.
The Qur'an is the largest and most complete spiritual TOOLKIT ever given to mankind:
We cannot feed an orphan every minute of every day, but ON THAT DAY when we are feeling unblessed or ungrateful - feeding that orphan is the fastest way to remember and be grateful for our own blessings.
- That is the TOOL that Allah has provided for ADJUSTING that attitude.
Are we having a day of doubt in our deen? Turn to and obey an-Nahl 16:125 - invite others to submission to our Creator.
- Telling others about the peace of Islam is the TOOL that Allah has provided for INCREASING that peace in ourselves.
It is not for me to speak for Allah and to tell each of you which tool is the one Allah would have you use in every situation in your life, it is only for me to tell you that the tools are there... and the more time we spend reading our Qur'an the easier will finding the correct tool be. This is true for merely human toolkits, it is infinitely more the case when we have the help of Allah in using the tools He has blessed us with.
Learn the tools Allah has provided for maintaining your life;
they have the best guarantee possible, and they never break.
