Skip to main content

In the Ocean of the Dunya – Seeking Pearls or Drowning

“Satan rejoiced when Adam came out of Paradise, but he did not know that when a diver sinks into the sea, he collects pearls and then rises again.” (Imam ibn al-Qayyim)

Many scholars have commented on the story of Adam (peace be upon him) and Iblees and about how human beings were expelled from paradise.

There are multitudes of lessons that we can learn and should learn from that story. Today, we will focus on one specific saying of Imam Ibn al-Qayyim about the descent of mankind from Jannah to Dunya and how it affects us. It is essential in teaching us about life, our purpose and how we should view it to be. Imam ibn al-Qayyim said:

“Satan rejoiced when Adam came out of Paradise, but he did not know that when a diver sinks into the sea, he collects pearls and then rises again.”

Having Hope in Allah

It is a saying that is very deep and can be used to extract multiple lessons. The first that we can understand is that Satan is rejoiced in seeing us suffer. Human suffering, and in fact anything that takes us away from Allah is something that rejoices Satan. He will not stop until he can get as many of us into hell as possible. And part of doing that is to make us despair.

The word Iblees comes from balasa which means to despair. And part of his greatest mission is to make people despair in the mercy of Allah, despair in the benevolence of Allah and His forgiveness.

Many people who openly commit sins know they are committing sins but refuse to change because they feel that there is no hope of paradise for them.

The first thing we learn from this saying of Imam Ibn al-Qayyim is that one of our greatest weapons in fighting against Satan and earning the pleasure of Allah is having hope in Allah.

Because if it was not for hope then for why do we pray? If it was not for hope then why do we care to obey? We hope in Allah and we hope from Him the best. And that is exactly why we will not let Satan make us lose hope and despair.

We often know of many things that are haram, but how many of us are aware that despairing in Allah’s mercy is haram?

The second part of the saying talks about a diver diving into the sea and comes back up with pearls. There are multiple lessons we can take from it, but we will talk about four important ones here.

Embrace Life Challenges

It is important to understand that diving is not meant to be easy. It is a difficult task and takes a lot of effort. It can be good when there are not many waves, while it can be difficult while there are more challenging waves.

Our worldly life, dunya, is like a dive. It is difficult and has difficulties during it. However, if utilized well, it can be of great use.

Cherish Your Life

We are often told that trillions of dollars of treasures lie below the ocean. While it is a difficult journey and difficulties that lie all through it, there are lots of treasures that we can enjoy in the sea. There are lots of beautiful things that Allah has taught us in the dunya and given us so as to enjoy and cherish.

Remember Your Purpose in Life

It is important that we remember our purpose. The diver is diving to seek out pearls, and that is important. He can enjoy the beautiful underwater life, the treasures that are around, the fish and so on, but that should not distract from the purpose.

We are allowed to enjoy our lives in the dunya as much as we want as long as we are doing it halal, but that should not distract us from the purpose of our lives- to earn Allah’s pleasure.

This Life is Not Eternal

No matter how expert the diver becomes in the sea, he is still in an unnatural environment. The sea is not the place for human beings, neither is the dunya.

Our lives are made for Jannah, and that is why despite all we may have in this life, there is always a longing for something more. It is an inbuilt system in our hearts. And that is why no matter how well we learn to live on earth, we do need to ensure that we are ready for landfall soon Insha’Allah. We do not want to drown; we want to survive.

Imam ash-Shafi would say that Surah Al-Asr was so comprehensive that if only it was revealed in the Quran, it would have been sufficient. And Surah Al-Asr says:

By time. Most certainly mankind is drowned in loss. Except those who believe, do good deeds, call one another to the truth and call one another to patience. (Quran 103:1-3)

Allah is saying that most of mankind are drowning in loss. And then He tells us of the exception. Many people will dive into the sea, but few will come up with the pearls. Do we want to be those who find the pearls?

May Allah make us among those that He says will be saved, those who believe, do good deeds, call one another to the truth and call one another to patience.

Ameen.

(From Discovering Islam’s archive)

The post In the Ocean of the Dunya – Seeking Pearls or Drowning appeared first on About Islam.



source https://aboutislam.net/spirituality/in-the-ocean-of-the-dunya-seeking-pearls-or-drowning/
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

List of Times and Places Where Dua is Accepted

A short reminder regarding the recommended times of dua . And I think what you need to know here is that the recommended times of dua or recommended things that can cause your dua to be accepted, can be divided into two sort of large groups: Am I Good Enough to Make Dua for Myself? Situations where your dua is accepted. Times where your dua is accepted So I’m going to very briefly mention them one after the other as much as possible. As for situations where your dua has been accepted: – The person who has been wronged or oppressed . – A person who finds themselves in severe difficulty after a calamity has struck. – The person who is traveling. – Someone who is fasting. – The one who is reciting the Quran or has just recited the Quran – Someone who is performing Hajj or Umrah or jihad. – The one who is making dua for someone in their absence . Because we know that when you make dua for someone in his absence an angel says: “ Ameen and to you”. – A person...
Post a Comment
Read More »

Derechos de Las Mujeres en Islam

Durante el Tiempo del Profeta (la paz sea con él) Veamos cómo fueron tratadas las mujeres de todo el mundo durante la época del Profeta (la paz sea con él). En la Europa del siglo VIII, la religión principal era el catolicismo y durante este tiempo debatían si las mujeres tenían alma. Dijeron que las mujeres eran impuras y que no tenían derecho a la herencia. A las mujeres tampoco se les permitía tocar la Biblia. No era como ahora en el Islam, donde ellas no pueden tocar el Corán durante la menstruación, pero a las mujeres en la Europa del siglo VIII nunca se les permitió tocar la Biblia. En China e India, fueron quemadas vivas cuando murieron sus maridos. En Arabia Saudita practicaron infanticidio femenino en el que, si nacía una niña, la enterrarían viva. Si el marido de una mujer muere, un miembro de su familia se unirá a ella para demostrar que ahora es de su propiedad. Mujeres en el Islam Con el Islam llegó una nueva era para las mujeres. En el Islam, las mujeres tienen la...
Post a Comment
Read More »

Ghuraba (The Strangers): Nasheed with English Subtitles

Islam began as something strange, and it shall return to being something strange, so give glad tidings the strangers. (Sahih Muslim 145) This famous nasheed has many versions; this one is from Muhammad al-Salman and has the subtitles in English embedded. [We are] strangers and we do not bow the foreheads to anyone besides Allah  […] Transliteration to help in the pronounciation:  Ghurabaa’ wa li ghairillaahi laa nahnil jibaa Aisha Stacey  wrote in an article for Aboutislam.net : “I think that many of you would agree that being Muslim in the 21st century makes you well acquainted with being strange. It might even be a metaphor for random, as in you have been randomly selected. […] many converts to Islam will tell you about feeling as if they were strangers, before finding Islam. They will speak of feeling that they belonged somewhere else that their lives were just slightly off center. They often speak about a vague sense of knowing they were not like everyone else...
Post a Comment
Read More »