The Intimate Discourses of Ibn Ata’illah 4 – Abdur Rahman’s Corner
Peace, one and all…
Intimate Discourse 4
‘My God, from me comes what is in keeping with my miserliness, and from You comes what is in keeping with Your generosity’
Commentary
‘Transgression, sin and unmindfulness originate from man’s evil and contemptibility. It is man’s inherent quality to fail in the execution of the rights (huquq) of Allah Most High. Allah’s relationship with man is one of grace, kindness and forgiveness’.
Reflections
Our innate nature is one of limitation. We exist in time, and will therefore perish. We have height, length and depth, and are thus located in one space and not any other. As such, we are fallible beings. We will always fall short of the mark. This is no bad thing either. Our limitations point beyond ourselves, reminding us that we have come from Allah. One day we shall return to God. Our faults point to Hu’s perfections.
Moreover, so much of what we do is coloured by our self-interest. If we look honestly at ourselves, we can see just how selfish, how miserly, we can be. In spite of this, Allah continues to shower His mercies upon us. Divine generosity is unstoppable and utterly overwhelming.
Perhaps this is the point. Understanding our frailty, our miserliness, is to understand the fullness of Divine grace. Our ordinary workaday selves can be dissolved by God’s love. And then we can be born anew…
And praise be to God who maketh it so…
