By Imam Murtadha Gusau
In the name
of Allah, Most Merciful, Bestower of Mercy
All praise
is due to Allah, Lord of all creation. May the peace and blessings of Allah be
upon the Messenger, his family, his Companions and those who follow him till
the Hour is established.
Dear
brothers and sisters, If you have been alive long enough, you will hear a
common phrase among people: “I have peace of mind.” When someone
makes such a statement, they are essentially saying, I have no worries. I am
content with what I have, and its in good balance. They have no enemies. They
are in harmony with their family and can enjoy their privacy without outside
interference.
That is
“peace of mind indeed”, but wallahi true peace of mind and soul is
contentment with the will of Allah, our creator whom sends to us blessings and
hardships to mold and test us. To teach us about ourselves. True piece of mind
is accepting whatever Allah sends our way and enduring it with patience and
thankfulness. True peace of mind comes from belief in Allah Almighty, for
without belief there can’t really be peace of mind. When we establish that
connection with our creator; when we surrender to His will and realise that the
greatest authority is Allah, it is then that we start to attain true peace of
mind and soul.
Dear
servants of Allah, now I’m going to outline a true plan for you on how to
achieve peace of mind both with the creator and with His creations. Both can
benefit us, but one is more important. One is more everlasting. One gives true
happiness to us. It revives our soul and allows it to see without worries. It
allows it to live with purpose. It instills goodness in it. It causes it to be
good. That is only with Allah alone.
In order to
attain peace with our body and soul, one first has to sincerely accept Allah as
the only authority. The only entity that rules everything that exists. He must
accept Him as the ultimate power, the ultimate ruler and the ultimate purpose.
One first has to establish a communication channel with Allah. They must be
receptive of His commands. One must allow Allah to speak to His heart and accept
and obey the commands it receives. And the first command is:
“I am
your creator, the only one, believe in me without associating any partners with
me.”
When we
accept Allah as our creator, we open the door to happiness. We allow His
blessings to shower us as well as allow His mercy to purify us. We let Godly
light breath into our soul. Allah’s mercy is the most essential part of our
soul. It is the source of life. We were created with a void in our heart. That
void is the knowledge and presence of Allah. When we don’t accept Him as our
creator, there will always be a missing piece to the life we live. We will not
have peace therefore.
After
accepting Allah sincerely as the only authority, the supreme in might, the
wise, we must accept His will. We have to accept the blessings that Allah sends
to us, and we have to endure the hardships he sends our way. We should not mix
hardships with bad. Allah does not send to us bad things. Often times, it is
our actions that give life to bad things. What Allah sends to us is
difficulties to enlighten us and strengthen us for the missions He has chosen
for us. So accept everything that comes your way with thankfulness. Accept His
will knowing that whatever comes from Allah is good and perfect. This is a
crucial step to attaining peace of mind and soul. And know that whatever Allah
intends for you, none can stop it from reaching you.
Respected
brothers and sisters, I call on you to live a Godly life. Put aside your pride
and arrogance. Ignore the worldly pursuits that you engage in excess. Ignore
competing with others in attaining wealth while your soul is deprived and
ignorant of its creator. Do everything with balance. Dedicate daily time for
your creator by thanking Him and worshiping him as we should.
“For
verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.” [Qur’an, 13:28]
Make him the
center of your life. Indeed when Allah is your center, He makes you the center
of His attention. And when you are at the center of Allah’s attention,
greatness will surround you. You will live a fulfilling life with blessings and
purpose.
Finally, my
beloved people, work to make a living while on earth not forever on earth.
Change your mentality on how you see this life and every negative experience
you encounter. Understand that you are Human. You are mortal like everyone that
has passed away before us. You are not perfect. Don’t get depressed of
failures, be happy that you attempted something and had an experience that
others never get a chance for whatever reason, being health, authority, money,
intellect or other reasons. View and react to every experience that you
encounter with thankfulness and contentment. Never view shortcomings as
failures. View them as blessings and opportunity to live for the journey that
is yet to come. View every shortcomings as Allah molding you for the greater
journey that He has prepared for you.
Dear
brothers and sisters, there once was a farmer who discovered that he had lost
his watch in the barn. It was no ordinary watch because it had sentimental
value for him. After searching high and low among the hay for a long while; he
gave up and enlisted the help of a group of children playing outside the barn.
He promised
them that the person who found it would be greatly rewarded.
Hearing
this, the children hurried inside the barn, went through and around the entire
stack of hay but still could not find the watch. Just when the farmer was about
to give up looking for his watch, a little boy went up to him and asked to be
given another chance.
The farmer
looked at him and thought, “Why not? After all, this kid looks sincere
enough.” So the farmer sent the little boy back in the barn. After a while
the little boy came out with the watch in his hand! The farmer was both happy
and surprised and so he asked the boy how he succeeded where the rest had
failed.
The boy
replied, “I did nothing but sit on the ground and listen. In the silence,
I heard the ticking of the watch and just looked for it in that
direction.”
Moral in the
story: “A peaceful mind can think better than a worked up mind.”
Oh Allah
grant us the ability to always remember You. For verily in the remembrance of
Allah do hearts find rest.
All praise
is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations
of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad, and upon his family, his
Companions and his true followers.
Murtadha Muhammad Gusau
is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman
Okene’s Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via:
[email protected] or +2348038289761.
