BismiLlah,
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَتْلُونَ كِتَٰبَ ٱللَّهِ وَأَقَامُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَأَنفَقُوا۟ مِمَّا رَزَقْنَٰهُمْ سِرًّا وَعَلَانِيَةً يَرْجُونَ تِجَٰرَةً لَّن تَبُورَ
Indeed, those who recite the Book of Allāh and establish prayer and spend [in His cause] out of what We have provided them, secretly and publicly, [can] expect a transaction [i.e., profit] that will never perish
لِيُوَفِّيَهُمْ أُجُورَهُمْ وَيَزِيدَهُم مِّن فَضْلِهِۦٓۚ إِنَّهُۥ غَفُورٌ شَكُورٌ
That He may give them in full their rewards and increase for them of His bounty. Indeed, He is Forgiving and Appreciative.
وَٱلَّذِىٓ أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْكَ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ هُوَ ٱلْحَقُّ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِعِبَادِهِۦ لَخَبِيرٌۢ بَصِيرٌ
And that which We have revealed to you, [O Muḥammad], of the Book is the truth, confirming what was before it. Indeed Allāh, of His servants, is Aware and Seeing.
ثُمَّ أَوْرَثْنَا ٱلْكِتَٰبَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱصْطَفَيْنَا مِنْ عِبَادِنَاۖ فَمِنْهُمْ ظَالِمٌ لِّنَفْسِهِۦ وَمِنْهُم مُّقْتَصِدٌ وَمِنْهُمْ سَابِقٌۢ بِٱلْخَيْرَٰتِ بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّهِۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ ٱلْفَضْلُ ٱلْكَبِيرُ
Then We caused to inherit the Book those We have chosen of Our servants; and among them is he who wrongs himself [i.e., sins], and among them is he who is moderate, and among them is he who is foremost in good deeds by permission of Allāh. That [inheritance] is what is the great bounty.
جَنَّٰتُ عَدْنٍ يَدْخُلُونَهَا يُحَلَّوْنَ فِيهَا مِنْ أَسَاوِرَ مِن ذَهَبٍ وَلُؤْلُؤًاۖ وَلِبَاسُهُمْ فِيهَا حَرِيرٌ
[For them are] gardens of perpetual residence which they will enter. They will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and pearls, and their garments therein will be silk.
وَقَالُوا۟ ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ٱلَّذِىٓ أَذْهَبَ عَنَّا ٱلْحَزَنَۖ إِنَّ رَبَّنَا لَغَفُورٌ شَكُورٌ
And they will say, "Praise to Allāh, who has removed from us [all] sorrow. Indeed, our Lord is Forgiving and Appreciative -
ٱلَّذِىٓ أَحَلَّنَا دَارَ ٱلْمُقَامَةِ مِن فَضْلِهِۦ لَا يَمَسُّنَا فِيهَا نَصَبٌ وَلَا يَمَسُّنَا فِيهَا لُغُوبٌ
He who has settled us in the home of duration [i.e., Paradise] out of His bounty. There touches us not in it any fatigue, and there touches us not in it weariness [of mind]."
The verses that have preceded are from Surah Faatir, verses 29-35. All the translations are from Sahih International. An in-depth commentary on these verses from the perspective of seeking internal bliss might exhaust volumes, and no one has knowledge except that which Allah gives them.
Hearts are in unease. This reminds me of Ibn Taymiyyah's statement, and I find myself coming back to this statement over and over in the past few days: "there is a paradise in this world such that whoever doesn't enter that paradise won't enter the paradise of the next world." From my own reflection, and Allah knows best what Ibn Taymiyyah intended by his statement, that paradise is Iman, faith.
Even the entrance to this paradise is a gift from Allah. Surah Faatir still has things to teach us:
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُمْسِكُ ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ أَن تَزُولَاۚ وَلَئِن زَالَتَآ إِنْ أَمْسَكَهُمَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ مِّنۢ بَعْدِهِۦٓۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا
Indeed, Allāh holds the heavens and the earth, lest they cease. And if they should cease, no one could hold them [in place] after Him. Indeed, He is Forbearing and Forgiving.
That was verse 41 of Surah Faatir. Even the heavens and earth have the natural tendency to go out of their place, their orbit. This is in line with what Ibn Kathir brought in his Tafsir. These verses might not sound super-amazing if one doesn't understand the intricacies of Big-bang Cosmology as understood from the lens of the second law of thermodynamics. This gets more fun -- and perhaps, a short treatise should be dedicated to this. In fact, there is another layer of discussion as it relates to the angels in charge of certain duties and why Tawheed is extremely beautiful, just beautiful.
Anyways, the point here is the world is filled with distractions, a lot of distractions. Hearts are in unease, bleeding and screaming due to the injuries inflicted by the world. Allah said:
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ إِنَّ وَعْدَ ٱللَّهِ حَقٌّۖ فَلَا تَغُرَّنَّكُمُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنْيَاۖ وَلَا يَغُرَّنَّكُم بِٱللَّهِ ٱلْغَرُورُ
O mankind, indeed the promise of Allāh is truth, so let not the worldly life delude you and be not deceived about Allāh by the Deceiver [i.e., Satan].
The world and the shayaatin delude us, inflicting injuries to our hearts, burning that paradise that Ibn Taymiyyah spoke about. These things are interconnected.
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ جَدِّدُوا إِيَمانَكُمْ قَالُوا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَكَيْفَ نُجَدِّدُ إِيمَانَنَا قَالَ أَكْثِرُوا مِنْ قَوْلِ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Renew your faith.” They said, “O Messenger of Allah, how can we renew our faith?” The Prophet said, “Say often there is no God but Allah.”
The Hadith is from Musnad Ahmad. It was graded Hasan (fair) according to Ahmad Shakir. And it was cited from Abu Amina Elias’ website.
Moving on, it's as though the stability of the heart and the stability of the heavens and the earth both need to be renewed or maintained. And, Allah is Al-Qayyum — The One who maintains the continuity of the heavens and earth is the same one who can bestow internal bliss to your heart and maintain. So, ask Him.
Heart, be still. Allah is Qarib, Mujeeb -- nearer to you than I am and responding to your whispered prayers.
Whatever I've said wrong is a deviation from the intricate order of Allah's creation and the truth of His perfected speech (the Quran). May Allah set the disorders of our hearts and minds alright. "أَلاَ وَإِنَّ فِي الْجَسَدِ مُضْغَةً إِذَا صَلَحَتْ صَلَحَ الْجَسَدُ كُلُّهُ" Aameen.
May Allah protect us from those things that seek to cause our hearts to be out of sync with the purpose of our creation, aameen.
-- Umar Hfe
March 6th, 2024.