Question: What’s a favorite teaching of yours?
How are you?
As-salamu alaykum, beloveds! This is Shams Wesley (nee Deckter). I want all of you to know that I love you and I miss seeing your smiling, shining faces! Are you well? Are you feeling Allah’s love in your heart? I truly hope so. If not, you can reach out to any of us at SSC by commenting on this blog post or through the options on our Help page.
One of My Favorite Teachings
One of my favorite teachings is from The Path to Allah, Most High. I love this book so much! The mystical, spiritual, beautiful truths it contains just send my heart soaring. Do you remember the teaching “The Poor” (al-Faqir)?
“The Poor (al-Faqir)”
Out of respect for Amina al-Jamal and copyright laws I’m not going to reprint the teaching here. And truly, this teaching contains so many gems of wisdom that an entire book could be written on it! So I’m just going to mention one of my favorite parts and invite you to comment and share in response.
A Passage Worth Discussing
“There are four attributes of lordship: wealth, glory, power, and knowledge, whereas, the qualities of the slave are poverty, humility, weakness, and ignorance. The attributes of lordship are to be hidden in you, and the qualities of servitude are to appear…When Musa, to whom Allah had spoken directly was asked, ‘Is there anyone who knows more than you do?’ He said, ‘No.’ So Allah disciplined him by making him a disciple of Master al-Khidr, peace be upon him, who commanded and prohibited him. That was because Musa showed a sign of greatness, and Allah turned him back to the state of servitude. If you claim what is not yours, He will strip you of what you have. If you recognize the quality of servitude in you and grant His divine quality, He will grant you what you are lacking.” (p. 67)
Walking toward Servitude
There is so much to unpack in this passage; I can’t do it justice. I’ll just say that remembering the qualities of the slave and remembering to approach my Lord and all of Allah’s creation from a place of deep humility and recognition of my intrinsic poverty, ignorance, humility, weakness is critical. There’s a tightrope and it’s so easy to fall off into the illusion of “I”, into identity and ownership of what comes through me, stemming from the wounds of childhood.
There have been times where I will speak a sentence that feels OK in my mind, but once it’s out of my mouth I can feel it initiating an immediate response in the universe….and not a benevolent one. I know the consequences are coming toward me, even if I’m not sure where in time I will experience them or how severe they will be. When they come, I take my medicine with resignation, because I am grateful that Allah loves me enough to correct me. Knowing that I am in the circle of Divine Care, even when it comes in the form of discipline, is reassuring. And these are the small corrections…
With every large correction Allah gives me, in the form of illness, poverty, fitna in relationships, etc., the humility deepens. The awareness of my complete dependence confronts me. I can turn my head left or right but the Reality is still before me, undeniable. And even though those large corrections are uncomfortable and can be terrifying, they provide powerful opportunities for healing, for surrender, and ultimately, for peace. After each immersion in the jalal purification of the walking, a more humble “me” emerges. Certainly so aware of Allah’s Mercy and my complete dependence on it. Certainly so grateful, so so grateful. And the walking continues…
Please Share A Favorite Reading of Yours
I would love to be in a conversation with you about the teachings in this way. Would you please share one of your favorite readings and highlight a favorite passage? Please do so in the comments below.
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Thank You
Thank you for your kindness, compassion, and love as you read what I wrote from my heart. I pray that we can all come together in community to share, be vulnerable with each other, and supportive of each other, because Allah is giving us the chance to be a real family for each other in His holy way. I pray we can take this chance. Amin.
