Recognition of Allah Ta’ala
Think of Allah Ta’ala before eating your meal

When your plate of Biryani comes in front of you, the lovely mutton and chicken, the Basmati rice of Karachi and Pakistan, the masala from Tanzania and the saffron from Spain, the various ingredients have come from around the world. Who has given me this Biryani?

Before eating the delicious Biryani think of Allah Ta’ala by saying,

بسم الله وبركة الله

I begin in the name of Allah and the blessings of Allah

After enjoying the Halaal bounties of Allah Ta’ala,

 وَاشْكُرُواْ لِي

Be grateful to Me.

Utilise every bounty of Allah Ta’ala correctly

Don’t use the strength that you have derived from the food in Haraam. Allah Ta’ala has given you strength in your eyes, don’t use it in looking at strange women. Look at those things that are Halaal. Recite the Quraan Sharif. Look at the Ulema of Deen and gain the reward of Jannat. Allah Ta’ala has given you strength in your hands not to slap your wife and hit your children. We should use these hands to give to the poor and needy. So, make Shukr of every bounty of Allah Ta’ala by utilising them in the correct manner.

تو اول تو آخر تو ظاھر تو باطن

تو ہی ہے تو ہی  یاکہ آثار تیرا

When I see the lilly, who has made the beautiful petals of the lilly?  When I see the butterfly, which artist is there who has drawn the beautiful designs on the butterfly? All the carpet designers had learnt how to design their carpets by looking at butterflies.

The modern artist learnt from the insects of Allah Ta’ala. Who has made the beautiful designs on the tropical fish that is in my fish tank? Where can the artist make colours? They had copied all this from Allah’s original. You buy a canvas that costs 25000 or 30 000 Rand and you put it on the wall in your bedroom, in the morning you see a beautiful sunrise when you awaken. The artist has only copied Allah’s original. The painting of the artist is actually dead, even though the birds, trees etc. look alive in the picture. Allah’s sunrise is alive and every moment it is different, it is also free so that the poorest person can also enjoy it free of charge.

To gain the recognition of Allah Ta’ala was so important that Allah Ta’ala didn’t instruct us to pay 50 000 Rand to gain recognition of Allah Ta’ala. Allah Ta’ala shows the sunrise on the big screen every morning and how beautiful the sun rises.

The splendour of Allah Ta’ala

The Shaan (lofty position) of Allah Ta’ala is explained in the Quraan Sharif,

 كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِي شَأْنٍ

Every day He is in a different splendour

Regarding the Tafseer of this verse, Allama Aloosi r in his famous Tafseer Roohul Ma’aani writes,

فى كل وقت من الاوقات وفى كل لحظة من اللحظات

At all times and at every moment 

Look at the sunrise and sunset. The colours are changing every moment, the clouds are moving, the sun is coming up and going down. This is all being done for us (the servants of Allah Ta’ala). Why are all these things prepared for the servant?

وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ

I have not created Jinn and human beings except for my worship

In this verse worship actually means to recognise Allah Ta’ala

كنت كنزا مخفيا فاحببت ان اعرف فخلقت الخلق

I was a hidden treasure; I wanted to be recognised so I created the creation (so that they may recognise Me)

If your wife had baked a beautiful cake and you don’t even tell her a word, how does she feel? She decides to dress especially for the husband but you hardly noticed her. How would she feel? Allah Ta’ala had created all this so that we can see and recognise Allah Ta’ala. Allah Ta’ala complains of mankind not recognising Him in the Quraan Sharif,

وَكَأَيِّن مِّن آيَةٍ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ يَمُرُّونَ عَلَيْهَا وَهُمْ عَنْهَا مُعْرِضُونَ

There are numerous Aayaat in the heavens and the earth by which they pass, yet they ignore them.

Recognise Allah Ta’ala by looking at the waterfalls

A person that does not know the reality of the creation, when he gets to see Victoria falls or Niagra falls, he says that these falls are like pouring a bucket of water. These falls are a great creation of Allah Ta’ala, it is to recognise Allah Ta’ala. Why has Allah Ta’ala made these waterfalls? A poem who is a lover of Allah Ta’ala says,

سنا ہے سخت دلوں کے آنکھوں سے آنسوں نہیں بہتے

We have heard that tears do not flow from the eyes of the hard hearted.

اگر سچ ہو تو پہاڑوں سے آب شار کیوں بہتے

If it is true then why waterfalls flow out of mountains (rock and stones then soften your heart)

Wallah, what enjoyment is there when tears flow?

کبھی طاعتوں کا سرور ہے

کبھی اعتراف قصور ہے

Sometimes it is the happiness of obeying Allah c,

Sometimes it is confessing to our faults and errors.

A person is sometimes crying before Allah Ta'ala for forgiveness, confessing that there is no one as bad as me. This is such a condition that it is mentioned in the Hadith that it is more beloved to Allah Ta’ala than those involved in the Tasbeeh (Zikr) of Allah Ta’ala. In the Quraan Sharif Allah Ta’ala says,

إِنَّ اللّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ

Verily Allah Ta’ala love those that repent

التائب من الذنب كمن لا ذنب له

The one who repents from sins is like one who hasn’t committed any sin

جس قرب کا ملک کو نہیں خبر وہ حضور میرا حضور ہے

The closeness which the angels are unaware of,

My closeness to Allah Ta’ala, that is my closeness.

This is when a person establishes a contact with Allah Ta’ala, then what doesn’t Allah Ta’ala bless a person with? Allah Ta’ala will shower such a person with his bounties immediately in this world. Anyway, we were discussing that the bounties of the world are third class. Jannat was not always in existence, but it will always remain in existence, therefore the bounties of Jannat are superior to the bounties of this world.

Human beings like everything to be first class

Allah Ta’ala also knows that My servant likes everything to be first class. When buying fruit we will always purchase that fruit that is first grade. If we travel by plain, we will purchase a first class ticket if it is affordable. What is first class? It means that a person gets a soft seat wherever he is. So Allah Ta’ala has given everyone a soft seat wherever he goes, he cannot forget it or leave it behind. Allah Ta’ala has given some people super soft seat. Anyway, there are bounties that are greater than the bounties of Jannat, which is the Zaat (the being of Allah Ta’ala.) Allah is from ever and will be forever, therefore this is the greatest bounty. A person that has recognised Allah Ta’ala and is connected to Allah Ta’ala,  he has the creator of Jannat is his heart.

وہ شاہ دو جہاں جس دل میں آے

مزہ دونو ں جہاں سے بڑھ کے پاے

In whoevers heart Allah Ta’ala enters,

He attains such enjoyment that is more than the two worlds.

Some people love their sports whether it is golf or soccer, some like their fishing, others like their cars, some like their food, some enjoy their sleep, but the one who has Allah Ta’ala in his heart gets more enjoyment than all these bounties and the bounties of Jannat put together.

شاہوں کے سروں میں تاج گراں سے اکثر درد سا  رہتا ہے

Because of the weight of the heavy crown on the head of the rulers, they suffer from headaches.(i.e. because of their responsibilities)

اور اہل وفاء کے سینے میں نور کا دریا بہتا ہے

A river of Noor flows in the hearts of the faithful ones (lovers of Allah Ta’ala)

There are so many ways to reach Allah Ta’ala, as many as the creations of Allah Ta’ala. The Buzurgs have said that there are so many ways to reach Allah that they are equivalent to the number of times a person breathes. The Buzurgs cannot recognise each other as the piety of one Buzurg is in his Tahajjud Salaah whilst the piety of another is in his welfare work. The piety of one may be in teaching Bukhari Sharif and Tirmidhi Sharif whilst the piety of another is in teaching the Takhti (Arabic alphabets). If one hasn’t learnt these alphabets, he will not be able to teach Bukhari Sharif nor will he be able to memorise the Quraan Sharif. The piety of all is only known to Allah Ta’ala and no human has the right to judge another.

We make dua that Allah Ta’ala blesses us with His Ma’rifat and recognition. Ameen!