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P
EACE ON A
R
OOFTOP
We’ve all had intense moments. For me, one such moment
happened while standing on the rooftop of Masjid al-
Haram. Above me was only sky, below me, the most
beautiful view of the Kaba’a and an acute sign of Allah,
this life, and the life to come. I was surrounded by an
overwhelming crowd—that exists nowhere else on this
earth—but, for me, it could have been that I was standing
completely alone. With Allah.
I brought with me to that rooftop so much heartache,
confusion, and doubt. I came with so much weakness,
human frailty, and pain. Standing at a crossroads in my
life, I brought with me fear of what was to come, and hope
in what could be. So, as I stood on that roof, I remembered
the story of Musa (`alayhi assalam—may Allah be
pleased with him) standing at the Red Sea. His physical
eyes saw nothing but a wall of water, entrapping him as an
army approached; but his spiritual eyes saw only Allah,
and a way out so certain it was as if he had already taken
it. While the voices of his people—bereft of trust or hope
—spoke only of being overtaken, Musa (as) did not
waiver.
As I stood there, I heard the distant voices warning me of
what was to come—but my heart heard only, “Inna ma’iya
rabee sa yahdeen…Truly my Lord is with me, He will
guide me through.” (Qur’an,
26:62
)
However seeing through the illusions of hardship,
confusion and pain that surround us can only happen when
we allow our heart to focus. The foundation of Islam is
tawheed (Oneness), but tawheed is not just about saying
that God is One. It is so much deeper. It is about the
Oneness of purpose, of fear, of worship, of ultimate love
for God. It is the oneness of vision and focus. It is to direct
one’s sight on one singular point, allowing everything else
to fall into place.
One of the most beautiful traditions of the Prophet
captures this concept perfectly. He
said: “Whoever
makes the Hereafter his preoccupation, then Allah places
freedom from want in his heart, gathers his affairs, and
Dunya (worldly life) comes to him despite being reluctant
to do so. And whoever makes Dunya his preoccupation,
then Allah places his poverty in front of his eyes, make his
affairs scattered, and nothing of the Dunya comes to him
except that which has been decreed for him.” [At-
Tirmidhi]
If you’ve ever seen a “magic eye” picture, you can see a
wonderful metaphor of this truth. At first glance, the
picture looks like nothing but a collection of shapes, with
no order or purpose. But if you start by bringing the
picture right up to your face, focusing your eye on one
singular point, as you move the picture slowly away from
your face, the picture suddenly becomes clear. However,
as soon as you take your eyes off that singular point of
focus, the picture disappears and again becomes nothing
but a sea of shapes.
In the same way, the more we focus on the dunya, the
more our matters become scattered. The more we run after
the dunya, the more it runs away from us. The more we
chase wealth, ironically, the more poverty we feel. If
money is the focus, you will find that no matter how much
money you have, you will always fear losing it. This
preoccupation is poverty itself. That is why the Prophet
says about such people that poverty is always in
front of their eyes. That is all they see. No matter how
much they have, there is no contentment, only greed for
more and fear of loss. But, for the ones who focus on
Allah,
the dunya comes to them, and Allah puts
contentment in their hearts. Even if they have less, they
feel rich, and are more willing to give from that wealth.
And when such people feel trapped by life, by financial
hardship, by pain, by loneliness, by fear, by heartbreak, or
sadness, all they have to do is turn to Allah, and He
always makes a way out for them. Know that this is not
some feel-good theory. It is a promise. A promise made by
Allah Himself, who says in the Qur’an:
“…And for those who fear Allah, He (ever) prepares a
way out, And He provides for him from (sources) he never
could imagine. And if any one puts his trust in Allah,
sufficient is (Allah) for him…” (Qur’an,
65:2-3
)
Allah is sufficient for them. Allah is enough. For those
who make Allah their primary concern, there is only
peace, because whatever happens to them in this life it is
good and accepted as the will of Allah. Imagine having
only good in your life. That is the state of this type of
believer, as the Prophet
says: “Wondrous are the
believer’s affairs. For him there is good in all his affairs,
and this is so only for the believer. When something
pleasing happens to him, he is grateful, and that is good for
him; and when something displeasing happens to him, he is
enduring (has sabr), and that is good for him.” [Muslim]
And so in the heart of such a believer is a sort of paradise.
That is the paradise that Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have
mercy on his soul, spoke of when he said: ‘Truly, there is
a Heaven in this world, [and] whoever does not enter it,
will not enter the Heaven of the next world.’
And in that heaven, complete peace is not something of a
moment. It is a state, eternal.
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