The sugary scent of petunias has given way to the sweet snowfall of neem-tree blossoms and now the chubby jasmine buds are yielding their 'Diorissimo-esque' perfume to the early morning and evening air. As spring has fast-tracked into summer over the last two weeks, my attention has been fully absorbed by the realities and necessities of the D word. Domestos. Not the bleach, but my father's favourite generic term for the Hydra-like looming presence of private family life. Creative juices and editorial peregrinations were diverted to red alert.
My husband Abbas and I had several pull-focus moments in which everything within the line of vision recedes except for what was right before us. Our attention was fully zoomed in on the present moment. Each moment leading to another meant we were riding on wave-crests until the sea of Domestos finally calmed down. Doubtless more whirlpools and sinkholes await, but jasminacious scents still infuse each day regardless.
There is probably no quicker way than to come into the present moment than to be yanked into it by emergencies. If the event is met with trust that Allah's mercy prevails in all situations, one is already freed to ride the waves rather than drown by the anchorage of past history and attachment to expectations. The apparent calamity becomes an opportunity, and the opportunity reinforces the trust, and with that comes a lightness in the quality of our beingness. In his teachings Shaykh Fadhlalla regularly expounds on the relationship between needs and means - 'A question or need invites the answer that was already there waiting for the call.' (Aphorism #101, 'Soundwaves')
So I say to myself in the pull-focus moment, 'Hello, hello! What have we here? Which tree do we have to shake in order to find the right fruit?' Hazrat Mariam (Mary, peace be upon her), hungry and hindered by a full belly swollen with her soon to be born son 'Isa (Jesus), was instructed to shake the palm tree at hand to release the life-sustenance she needed [19:22-28]. Action. And yet earlier, her uncle Hazrat Zakariyya (peace be upon him) had observed that fruits would appear by themselves in her humble room while she prayed [3:37]. Inaction. In the former she had to engage with dunya, to trigger off the chain of events to fulfill her need, while in the latter she was disengaged from worldly matters, and what she needed - nay, more than what she needed - manifested. Same person, different circumstances, needs equally fulfilled. Present and alive to the moment and the isharah or guidance.
Hazrat Zakariyya was so inspired by Mariam's tawajjuh or devotional fidelity to her Creator, it amplified his trust in and reliance (tawakkul) on Allah so as to invoke the fulfilment of his need. His famous supplication [3:38-41] to be blessed with a rightly guided heir to carry on his mission, even though his wife was old and barren, is often since invoked by Muslims seeking the seemingly impossible resolution to infertility. But beyond that this story indicates a reality that relates to the dynamic of conscious intention and action, the need for prayer and supplication in order to dislodge the fruit already ripened and waiting to fall.
The pull-focus moment helps to cut out extraneous considerations. Allowing it to act on our consciousness, guidance manifests, even if not the whole prescription. One step leads to another, to resolution, or solutions, or maybe even absolution. Hidden provision emerges. Manifold proofs of the constancy of Divine Presence and mercy tumble forth. Above all it is an unfolding process.
Indeed, the pre-existence of the answer is what begs the question. Knowing this is liberating. Feeling this is exhilarating.
Glossary:
dunya: this world of phenomena
isharah: subtle indication, implicit in signs
tawajjuh: focus and firm orientation towards Allah
tawakkul: trustful reliance on Allah
My husband Abbas and I had several pull-focus moments in which everything within the line of vision recedes except for what was right before us. Our attention was fully zoomed in on the present moment. Each moment leading to another meant we were riding on wave-crests until the sea of Domestos finally calmed down. Doubtless more whirlpools and sinkholes await, but jasminacious scents still infuse each day regardless.
There is probably no quicker way than to come into the present moment than to be yanked into it by emergencies. If the event is met with trust that Allah's mercy prevails in all situations, one is already freed to ride the waves rather than drown by the anchorage of past history and attachment to expectations. The apparent calamity becomes an opportunity, and the opportunity reinforces the trust, and with that comes a lightness in the quality of our beingness. In his teachings Shaykh Fadhlalla regularly expounds on the relationship between needs and means - 'A question or need invites the answer that was already there waiting for the call.' (Aphorism #101, 'Soundwaves')
So I say to myself in the pull-focus moment, 'Hello, hello! What have we here? Which tree do we have to shake in order to find the right fruit?' Hazrat Mariam (Mary, peace be upon her), hungry and hindered by a full belly swollen with her soon to be born son 'Isa (Jesus), was instructed to shake the palm tree at hand to release the life-sustenance she needed [19:22-28]. Action. And yet earlier, her uncle Hazrat Zakariyya (peace be upon him) had observed that fruits would appear by themselves in her humble room while she prayed [3:37]. Inaction. In the former she had to engage with dunya, to trigger off the chain of events to fulfill her need, while in the latter she was disengaged from worldly matters, and what she needed - nay, more than what she needed - manifested. Same person, different circumstances, needs equally fulfilled. Present and alive to the moment and the isharah or guidance.
Hazrat Zakariyya was so inspired by Mariam's tawajjuh or devotional fidelity to her Creator, it amplified his trust in and reliance (tawakkul) on Allah so as to invoke the fulfilment of his need. His famous supplication [3:38-41] to be blessed with a rightly guided heir to carry on his mission, even though his wife was old and barren, is often since invoked by Muslims seeking the seemingly impossible resolution to infertility. But beyond that this story indicates a reality that relates to the dynamic of conscious intention and action, the need for prayer and supplication in order to dislodge the fruit already ripened and waiting to fall.
The pull-focus moment helps to cut out extraneous considerations. Allowing it to act on our consciousness, guidance manifests, even if not the whole prescription. One step leads to another, to resolution, or solutions, or maybe even absolution. Hidden provision emerges. Manifold proofs of the constancy of Divine Presence and mercy tumble forth. Above all it is an unfolding process.
Indeed, the pre-existence of the answer is what begs the question. Knowing this is liberating. Feeling this is exhilarating.
Glossary:
dunya: this world of phenomena
isharah: subtle indication, implicit in signs
tawajjuh: focus and firm orientation towards Allah
tawakkul: trustful reliance on Allah
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