Realising our Poverty before Allah Almighty
Islamic Centre Nottingham
Friday 8th January 2021
From the Aphorisms of Ibn Ata’illah…
“Your best moment is the one in which you witness your poverty and through it, reach the reality of your lowliness before Allah Almighty.”
A third lockdown?! The normal lives that we knew of doing as we pleased have become restricted yet again. Many of us have been deeply affected in numerous ways, whether it is distance from our loved ones who we have not seen for many months, being affected financially, mentally, or in various other ways. The global lockdown which we are experiencing and have experienced, is a blatant reminder of the ultimate power and dominance of Allah Almighty and the weakness of the human. The building of huge structures, possession of technology which allows us to connect globally at the touch of a button, and endless stores of food often cause us to forget our reality- that we are utterly powerless before Allah. An unseen virus swept across the world and completely altered our way of life and everything which we built and collected to sustain us and help us maintain our ‘dominion’ came crashing down. This is no mere coincidence and nor is it something to be dismissed without a second thought and instead of trying to understand what Allah is teaching us through this event, our attention is misdirected towards other futile objectives such as theories of who’s responsible and why. Have we forgotten, “To Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and Allah is has power over all things”? (Surah Ale Imran, Verse 189). Therefore, we must try and understand what Allah Almighty is teaching us through this. And whilst a great many of us may not have been affected greatly, our houses have remained tranquil and our stores have remained full through the kindness of Allah, the wise one is the one who learns from the actions and happenings of others.
It is in this context that the words of the great Imam Ibn Ata’illah al Iskandari help us shed light and this event and all other trials and tribulations which come our way. He says, “Your best moment is the one in which you witness your poverty and through it, reach the reality of your lowliness before Allah Almighty”. Poverty for the Muslim in this context does not refer to the needy and the financially incapacitated, but rather refers to an intrinsic reality of all humans in terms of our utmost dependence and desperation for Allah Almighty’s mercy and bestowal. Allah says, “Indeed Allah is Self Sufficient and you are all in need” (Surah Muhammad, Verse 38). Is there anything we possess that we can truly ascribe to ourselves and our own efforts? Health, wealth, homes, family, provisions; it is all the bestowal of Allah. Allah says, “Whatever blessings you have are only from Allah; then when hardship afflicts you, it is to him that you cry for aid”. (Surah Nahl, Verse 53). When we are surrounded by these blessings it becomes very easy to forget our poverty before Allah. It is this forgetting which leads us to disobedience, leads us to extravagance and even to disbelief, for the one who denies Allah has only done so since they believe themselves and their own intelligence and efforts to be sufficient. It is this alleged ‘independence’ which Allah is teaching us to rid ourselves of this by sending trials and tribulations our way. When
we wake up to this reality of our poverty and dependence before Allah, it is then in which we are in the best of our moments. Imam Ibn Ajiba explains that this is for 2 reasons:
- “It helps us to materialise true slavery before Allah within ourselves and true appreciation of his magnificence and it is that slavery before Allah which is our excellence and honour”.
A person cannot recognise their weakness until they are put in a situation of desperation and dependence. And when our dependence is on the greatest and most generous of Kings, we by association to this most noble of Kings as his servants become honoured. Hence when Allah addresses his Prophets, who are the most noble beings in the Qur’an he does so with the word ‘Servant’. Allah says about the Prophet Muhammad, “Glory be to Him who took His servant on a night journey from Al Masjid al-Haram to Al-Masjid al-Aqsa” (Surah Isra, Verse 1). Allah also says about the other Prophets, “Remember our servants, Ibrahim, Ishaq and Yaq’ub” (Surah Saad, Verse 45). If Allah has addressed his most beloved prophets with this title, then what a great honour it is for us to be slaves of Allah, the most generous! Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) narrates that Jibril sat in front of the messenger when an angel descended and said to the Prophet, “My Lord has sent me to ask you whether he should make you a king or Prophet-slave?”, and the Prophet responded, “I choose to be a Prophet-slave” (Musnad Imam Ahmad). Slavery to Allah Almighty is the very objective for which we have been created, and when we realise this and fulfil this objective, we have achieved our true purpose and potential. Allah Almighty says, “I have only created Mankind and Jinn to worship me.” (Surah Dhariyat, Verse 56). Since the slavery and dependence to Allah is our greatest state and our honour, our best moment is when we are forced to realise it.
- “It is in moments of desperation and humility before Allah, that Allah Almighty grants us more assistance and blessings”.
If you wish for Allah to bestow you with divine blessings of closeness and intimacy with Him, become truly humble and lowly before him. Allah Almighty has designated his help and victory for those who remain humble and lowly before Him and has designated disgrace for those who are arrogant. Ponder over how Allah Almighty assisted the Prophet and the companions at Badr, when they were small in number, without adequate provisions for battle such that some companions came with sticks and stones, faced against a 1000 strong army and yet they were granted an unbelievable victory. All of this was the result of the humble pleading and duas of the Messenger during the night before the battle. Hence Allah says, “And surely Allah granted you victory at Badr whilst you were small in number” (Surah Ale Imran, Verse 123) and Allah says, “Indeed with hardship comes ease” (Surah Sharh, Verse 5). The Prophet has also explained, “Know that victory comes with patience, and relief from difficulty comes through struggle and with hardship comes ease”. (Al-Arbai’n al Nawawiya).
Since it is in these moments of difficulty that we are truly humbled before Allah and are forced turn to him such that he blesses us even more, our best moment is when we realise this desperation and turn to him and in doing so, receive his blessings.
Therefore, whether it is a lockdown, or any other trial or tribulation that Allah sends our way, it is only there to teach us of our dependence upon Allah and our lowliness before Him and when we realise that lowliness and humility and turn back to Allah with our hearts, only then does true victory arrive and only then are we granted the gifts of closeness and intimacy with Allah Almighty.
After understanding this, we must understand another reality. If the best of our moments is the moment in which we realise our lowliness before Allah, the worst of our moments will be those moments in which we forget our lowliness before Allah and have the illusion of power and independence. Allah Almighty says, “Indeed, the human transgresses! He sees himself as independent!” (Surah Alaq, Verse 6-7). The one who forgets their dependence and humility before Allah, forgets their place as a slave before Him and His kindness. If this person then chooses to leave the worship of Allah entirely because they believe themselves to be without any need for Allah’s mercy and that everything is in their control, such a person is fooling themself. When trials and tribulations come and shake the very earth upon which they stand, they have no one but themselves to blame, since they forgot their place as a slave before Allah. Allah says about the nation of ‘Ad, “As for ‘Ad, they were arrogant upon the earth without any right and said, “Who is mightier than us?”, Did they not realise that Allah, who created them, is more powerful!” (Surah Fussilat, Verse 15).
Even if such a person prays and fasts, the worship will be mere actions without a soul, since the very meaning of ‘ibadah’ is lowliness. If we prostrate, but our hearts are full of arrogance and we believe that we are all powerful and in control, our worship is futile.
Furthermore, the one who believes themselves to be independent and self-sufficient, becomes deprived of feeling any love for Allah Almighty which is the greatest tragedy. The believers are those who are most firm in their love for Allah, but the one who believes they are self-sufficient and without need loses this feeling of love. This is because the one who lives as a slave before Allah, is pleased and happy with their Lord, and loves Him no matter what just as the one in love, loves the beloved, no matter what the beloved will do. The slave loves Allah and appreciates his blessings in ease and difficulty, whereas the one who believes they are independent and self-sufficient loves only themselves and the possessions they believe are sustaining their acclaimed ‘dominion’.
Allah Almighty is wise in everything that He does and his ultimate kindness to His creation dictates that He desires good for them. Whether this lockdown, or any other difficulty, it is only there to help us realise just how needy we are for the kindness and generosity of our loving creator.
“O Mankind! Surely you are all in poverty before Allah, whilst He is Self-Sufficient and Praiseworthy. If he wished he could do away with you and bring forth a new creation. That is not difficult for Allah”. (Surah Fatir, Verse 15)
Praise be to Him who shows us our lowliness before Him and makes manifest for us our place as slaves before his magnificence.
Issarar Hussain
Graduate, Jamia al-Karam, Student of Al Azhar.
Imam and teacher, Islamic Centre Nottingham
Islamic Centre Nottingham
3 Curzon street
NG3 1DG
info@islamiccentrenottingham.org
www.islamiccentrenottingham.org
Join the online community for regular updates, reminders, articles etc. WhatsApp no: 07485532242