The living and the Dead

The Living and the Dead.

Written by: Sheikh Safwat Gaafar

Translated by: Khaled Farid, Montreal

Introduction:

Previously, identified the different types of souls that may inhabit a human being. These were:

1-   The “animating or animal soul”, which regulates bodily functions such as breathing.

2-   The “Soul of Honor”, which separates Humanity from the rest of creation and yet remains a purely materialistic soul. This soul acts at the level of the physical senses and is ill equipped to lead us to the Spiritual world.

3-   The “Soul of Faith” which is a shard of the Prophet’s (PBUH) light and whose purpose it is to link us with the invisible or “spiritual” world.

Given the fact that beasts, insects and Humans all share the “animating soul”; but human beings exclusively possess these two extra souls that separate them from the beasts, the insects and the plants. Can we then say that the concept of being alive or dead is the same for all?

If the definition of “being alive” is to live and breathe and procreate,  then the answer is yes; but only at the physical level. Both humans and beasts possess this energy that keeps the body alive.

Having said that, we already know that Man was not created to serve the same purpose as animals and insects. Man was created to worship Allah, and Allah has equipped him with the required tools to do so. We may therefore safely conclude that for a human being, simply being alive does not make us worthy of the description; “being alive”. In order for a human being to deserve to be called “Alive”, it is the soul that must live and flourish, and not the body.

Is it then safe to say that some people who walk this Earth are actually dead, while others who inhabit the graveyards are alive and well? The Answer is definitely yes.

Our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has said:” Let me give you the example of one who does zikr vs one who does not. The former is alive while the latter is dead”. Clearly, our Prophet (PBUH) is referring to the life or death of the soul.

Given the fact that we are students of Tasawwuf and Children of Sidi Fakhreddin, we should now understand that the adept of  Zikr is the one whom we should treat as a living person though this person may be underground.

Almighty Allah has said:” It is not the eyes that go blind, it is hearts that beat within your chests”. This clearly means that unless one’s heart is open and ready to receive the Light of the Prophet (PBUH), such concepts as spiritual life and death will always elude us. This is why some people these days will claim that the Prophet (PBUH), his companions and all the saints are actually dead just like everyone else. To us, it is actually quite the contrary. We consider them to be alive and well and consider ourselves dead unless we keep our souls alive through the practice of Zikr. 

Should you at any time mention any of the above to a person who does not follow the Sufi Path, they would probably tell you that they to, in their own way, practice Zikr. Then they will proceed to tell you that “zikr” means to remember Allah and that they too, remember Allah in all their transactions with their peers,  for are honesty, integrity, professional courtesy, not all qualities that please Allah? And therefore are they not all forms of Zikr?

The answer is:” No indeed!” One should learn to make the distinction between various religious concepts and not mix them together into a form of spiritual salad. If all religious practices were the same they would be interchangeable and one could choose to do more of one and less of the other. But Allah and his Prophet have explained everything with great clarity.

Religious practices and those who do them are clearly named:

Salat: Mousalli

Siyam: Sa’em

On the other hand, one should not confuse the worship of Allah with the Fear of Allah. A merchant who deals honestly with his clients and his suppliers is a God-Fearing merchant, but that does not elevate him to the rank of Zaker (one who does zikr). He is merely an honest merchant who knows that Allah is watching him, nothing more. Having said that, this does not mean that integrity is not a commendable quality for a merchant but is remains just that. It is not equal to prayers or zikr at all.

On the other hand, whenever Allah has wanted to command us to do Zikr, the command was issued openly and clearly:” Repeat your Lord’s name”. Prayer, Zikr and other religious practices are not to be confused with good values. They are not the same and are not interchangeable.

It is important that we all understand these concepts,  because there are forces out there whose mission is it to confuse and make us forget the basic tenets of our faith.

To those who would tell you:” I do not practice zikr, but I do read the Quran” you should say:. Commendable indeed. But reading the Quran is no substitute for zikr because you are ordered to do  both and should not substitute one for the other. It is all very clearly written:

·      The command to read the Koran is: “read the Koran”

·      The Command to Glorify Allah is: “Sabbehouh”.

·      The command for Zikr is:” ezkorouh”.

·      The command to repeat his name is:. Repeat your lord’s name”

See how clear every command is? Why then should we mix them up or substitute one for another?

In fact, the command to practice Zikr is always accompanied by the notion of plenty; whereas the command to read the Quran is always accompanied by the statement of:” Whatever you can of ”.

Who among us has never heard the following statement uttered even once?” I do not pray but I never hurt anyone and that should be enough”. 

The answer to such a statement is that you were order to pray and to not hurt anyone, not to substitute one for the other.

Mixing-up the various principles and concepts of Islam is the greatest danger facing the nation today. People should not be taking it upon themselves to interpret the sacred texts according to their own whims. They should instead seek a better understanding of the basic tenets and concepts of the faith in order not to be led astray.

But in order to better understand the many concepts of Islam, one must seek the help of an expert. And this expert is not always the same, but changes according to the nature of the knowledge thought.

Only our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is the custodian of all the knowledge and sciences of Islam; hence his name the “ Mother Prophet”, because he is the source or mother lode of all knowledge. Mother being here the true meaning of the term “ Ummi” and not “illiterate” as some would wrongly say. The term “Ummi” is therefore derived from the Arabic word “Umm” which means mother.

However, the power to gather all knowledge within his was only granted our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). In order to ensure the continuation of this knowledge through he ages, he has divided it into many areas of expertise and appointed people whose mandate it is to pass on the knowledge. i.e.

·      Imam of Sharia

·      Imam of Haqiqa

·      Specialist of Tafsir

·      Specialist of Hadith

·      Imam of Fiqh

Finally, let us be assured that our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is not dead; he is alive and well, he is among us, he sees us, he loves us. Everyday, our actions are presented to him and if they are good he thanks Allah and if they are bad he asks Allah to forgive us.

No nation or people can claim to be Allah’s favorite. Left to itself, the nation of Islam would be no better than any other. However, it is the intense love of Allah for his Prophet that makes this a blessed nation. It is therefore our duty to thank our Prophet (PBUH) for this great gift by justifying his faith in us on Judgment day. How do we do that? By practicing Zikr and following the lead of our beloved Burhani teachers.