An Awe in the Heart – Abdur Rahman’s Corner

Peace, one and all…

Dhu al-Nun al-Misri is recorded as saying:

‘Shame is an awe in the heart, with a terror at the things you have done that are not to be done’.
Quoted in Attar, Tazkerat al-Owliya

Confronting ourselves and our wrongdoing is an important, essential step. How can we be transformed if we don’t face the reality of our misdeeds? How can we be opened to Divine Grace if we don’t first seek it (though understanding that even that first step is His gift)? We will see our mistakes, and feel their consequences, personally and experientially. We will taste them, and experience how they impacted our hearts, and the hearts of others. As the Quran repeatedly reminds us, our very limbs will speak.

All beings will one day account for themselves and their deeds. All beings, therefore, carry this shame with them, and the only place we can set down this burden is within God’s overflowing mercy. Divine forgiveness cleanses our soul and opens our eyes, so that we might see the end result before falling into the same behaviour again. There is no other way it seems, other than to experience and grow, to learn and transcend.

We seek Allah’s aid in all things, and a Mighty Helper is He!