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If someone gives you a plant to take
care of..how do you think you will do it? Wouldn't you try your best to not to
let that plant die? And of course, to do that you are going to make sure that
all the things that plant need, you provide it and keep it away form all the
harmful things.
At the same time you will try to find
out about the basic elements that plant is consisted of and the basic things
those elements need to grow properly.
Believe me or not but all of us have
one, very delicate and at the same time very strong tree to take care of given
to us by our Lord.
Allah (SWT) has given us this tree that
is planted in our hearts, called "shajarat-ul-Iman" (Tree of Iman).
Allah (swt) describes that tree in
Quran:
"Have you not seen how Allah coined a
similitude (of parable) a good word like a good tree, the root of that tree is
firmly established in the ground and the branches reach the heavens."
At another place in Quran Allah (swt)
said:
"(this particular tree by the permission
of its Lord), gives fruits (all kinds of fruits) anytime Allah (swt) wants it to
give fruits.
Allah (swt) also said:
"Allah coin similitude for the human
beings (for you and I), so that perhaps we may reflect (we may think)."
Science say there are trees in other
plants than earth
Allah (swt) created seven heavens and
earth other than this planet. Some people say that there are trees and some say
there are not. There is proof in Quran and Sunnah that there are trees in Jannah
(heaven). One of them is called "Toobaa", the tree for the "ghurab'a"
(strangers). The shade of that tree is one month journey and this is where the
believers will take their clothes from.
Most Important Tree in this World: The
most important tree in this dunya (world) is the Tree of Iman (shajarat-ul-Iman).
The tree that Allah (swt) has planted in our hearts. The tree that we all should
be worrying about day and night. We all must know what that tree of Iman is made
of so that we can take good care of it.
What Does the Tree of Iman Have:
Almost all the trees that Allah (swt)
has created/originated, almost all of them have three very basic things:
1. Root (O'rooq)
The roots of the most important tree on
this earth are:
a) Knowledge (I'lm)
b) Certainty (Yaqeen)
The tree of Iman is the basic belief of
Islam
"La ilaha illal lah"
"There is no God worthy of worship
except Allah (swt)"
So the root for us of the Tree of Iman,
is the KNOWLEDGE of the meaning of "la ilaha illallah". It covers every single
aspect of our life. When we know that there is no God other then Allah (swt), we
totally surrender to Him alone and we take everything that He gave us through
the Quran and the Sunnah of Rasul of Allah (saw).
The other half of the root of this tree
is the certainty, meaning the certainty of everything what "la ilaha illallah"
brings.
When implementing Islam in our lives, or
when accepting a matter which we were not aware of before, we should do it with
firm belief and certainty, as long as it is from the Quran and the authentic
Sunnah of Rasul and his Companions.
2) Trunk: (Saaq)
The tree of Iman, like the other trees,
also has a trunk, which is Purity of Intention: (al-Ikhlas)
We must have the purity of intention for
our tree to be firm and unshakable and immovable.
Abdullah Ibn Sahl at-tuzkuri (ra)
(scholar from the taba'een) was asked:
"What is al-Iman?", he said:
"Iman is statement, is action, is nyyah
(intention) and is Sunnah. If it is a statement without actions then it is Kufr
(disbelief), if it is a statement and action with out intention then it is Nifaq
(hypocrisy), if it is a statement, action and intention without the Sunnah, then
it is Bid'ah (innovation)."
To keep a healthy trunk of our tree, we
must have a pure intention of our actions. Our every righteous deed is divided
into two parts. The first half of a righteous deed is the purity of intention.
The nyyah has to be pure for the pleasure of Allah ONLY!
3) Branches & Fruits:
This tree should also has branches and
fruits. And these are:
a) Righteous deeds
b) Honorable/Noble Character
At several places in Quran, Allah (SWT)
has distinguished the people of Jannah from the people of Hell as Indeed those
who believed and did righteous deeds....
Those people who believed and did
righteous deeds have also been given the glad tidings of Jannah at several
places in Quran:
Every righteous deed consists of two
parts. First part is the purity of intention (for the sake of Allah only!).
Second half of the righteous deed is that the action has to be in conformed with
Shariah (Quran and Sunnah of Rasul (SAW) and the Companions(May Allah be pleased
with them)). If the action is not conformed with Shariah, it is not considered a
righteous deed!
When a tree has firm roots and healthy
trunk and branches, it automatically produces good fruits. Similarly, when we
establish firm roots of Iman in our heart and keep healthy trunk and branches of
the tree the fruits will prosper. If we have the knowledge of our deen and
certainty of whatever knowledge we have, and we do righteous deeds with pure
intentions, we will automatically develop an honorable and noble character.
Things that will Make Our Tree Die:
1)Kufr:
If we allow kufr to come into our tree,
it will destroy the tree.
2) Shirk:
If we allow shirk to come into our tree,
it will also destroy the tree.
3) Bid'ah:
If we allow Bid'ah (innovations) of all
types to come into our tree, it will demolish our tree. Our tree will become
yellow, our tree will become dry and our tree will eventually die!
Note: Muslims nowadays are involved in
so many "religious practices" thinking that they are pleasing Allah (swt),
though in reality they are getting themselves involved either in bid'ahs or
sometimes even to the extant of shirks. Muslims, intentionally or
unintentionally, either add or remove stuff from how a certain act was
originally practiced by our pious predecessors and hence making it a bid'ah. And
since the act was not practiced according to the "Shari'ah", it will not be
considered a righteous deed.
To avoid from getting ourselves involved
in these dangerous things, it is extremely important to have the "knowledge" of
the deen and to refer back to our pious predecessors in every single thing we do
or say.
What is AL-Iman:
Al-Iman is:
1) Belief:
Iman is a belief in our hearts. It is to
have a firm belief of "la illah illallah" in our hearts and all the thing that
it brings. Every thing that we find from Quran and Sunnah, we must have a
sincere and firm belief on that without having any doubts.
2)Statement:
Iman is a statement by our tongue. We
must state "la illaha illallah" by our tongues. Meaning what ever believes we
have, we cannot just keep them in our hearts, but we must say them out.
3) Actions:
Iman is to carry out our believes and
our statements by our bodily limbs. After believing in "la illaha illallah" and
stating it, we must imply it in our actions. And the way we imply "la illaha
illallah" in our actions is by modifying our every action and deed according to
the Quran and
Sunnah of Rasul and our pious
predecessors.
A general example of the above could be
wearing hijab. If one has a firm belief in Allah (swt) and whatever He revealed,
will definitely believe that wearing hijab is a command of Allah and it is
mandatory. Then only believing is not enough, we must have to admit by stating
by our tongues the fact that hijab is necessary and inform other people about it
in a nice pleasing way (not in a displeasing or complaining manner). But still
our Iman is not completed until we start wearing it ourselves.
To think that Iman is in our hearts
only, is one of the tricks of Iblis (satan). We shouldn't be fooled by the
shaytans (satan) of the Ins wal Jin (Humans and Jinns) by thinking that Iman is
in our chests only and as long as we have a firm belief, our Iman is completed
Rather we HAVE to show our believes by our statements and by our actions
Highest and Lowest of Iman:
Rasul of Allah (saw) said: "Iman has 70
branches. And the highest of al-Iman is the statement "la illaha illallah" (It
is the most sublime, the most magnificent and the most superior of all Iman).
The lowest of the Iman is to remove some harmful thing from the street. And
modesty is a part of al-Iman."
Iman Wears Out:
We all go through high and low levels of
Iman. As Rasul of Allah told us:"al-Iman wears out in each and everyone of you
and me like a "thaub" (garment) wears out (like our clothes wears out...and they
become shabby eventually. Iman wears out like that "thaub").
So Rasul of Allah (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) advised us (since our Iman wears out) "So all of you
Muslims, should ask Allah (swt) to RENEW the Iman in our hearts."
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