Joy of Submission

Fajr Reminders - Mahmood Habib Masjid and Islamic Center

The most important thing in life is not wealth or knowledge or even action. It is attitude. With the right attitude, you can create wealth, acquire knowledge and find the motivation to act. Without it you may have wealth, fame, influence, and knowledge but you despair. Just look for celebrity suicides on Google and you will know that the difference between a dream and a nightmare is a very fine line. It is not because of wealth, knowledge, fame, or power that the Palestinians are unbeatable. It is not for these reasons that they pick themselves up from every disaster which would have destroyed others. It is because of attitude. It is attitude that enables totally traumatized Palestinian children to still smile and play games while the world watches in amazement. This applies to Muslims everywhere. The attitude of the Muslim is not simply submission but to submit joyfully. To want to submit. To love to submit. To live to submit. To submit to the One who created us, blessed us in ways we cannot count, protects us from all evil, tests us and helps us to pass the tests, and rewards us in this life and even more in the next. To submit joyfully to the Only One who is worthy of worship. To submit because and as evidence that we trust Allahﷻ to know and to do what is best for us. To submit knowing that what is with Allahﷻ is better than what is with us. To submit to demonstrate our allegiance to Allahﷻ through His Messengerﷺ. The only two connections which will go with us when we die. The connection with Rasoolullahﷺ will be our identity when we meet Allahﷻ and we will be called by it on that Day. Islam, therefore, is not only to submit but to want to do it, to find joy and fulfilment in doing it, to do it proudly as a sign of our identity which we don’t hide but display as we display famous brands. That is why for a true Muslim, to submit is not a struggle at all. It is what he loves to do. Allahﷻ told us about the one who submitted joyfully, Ibrahim (AS). إِذْ قَالَ لَهُۥ رَبُّهُۥٓ أَسْلِمْ قَالَ أَسْلَمْتُ لِرَبِّ ٱلْعَـٰلَمِينَ Baqara 2: 131 When his Rabb ordered him, “Submit”, he said, “I have submitted to the Rabb of all worlds.” He didn’t ask for time. He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t say, ‘I will submit if it makes sense to me. Or if it seems logical, or is politically correct, or whatever.’ He said, ‘I have submitted.’ We submit because we trust Allahﷻ and that trust produces complete peace of mind. A total absence of fear, because we know who is in control. When we submit, our will is superseded by the desire to please Allahﷻ. That is why the slave has no will of his own. He wants whatever his Rabb wants for him. As one of the scholars said, ‘The love of Allahﷻ is the purest and greatest of all loves. It gives life to the heart, it is sustenance for the soul, and is the roadway to eternal success. Love is the road to Jannah. It is the main reason why we worship Allahﷻ and it is the only way to live a true meaningful life on earth.’ I remind myself that this love is a gift. It is the reward of submission. Tawakkul is the reward of Taqwa. We make the effort to have and live with Taqwa. Allahﷻ grants us Tawakkul, which results in complete absence of fear of anything in Dunya if we live with Taqwa. May Allahﷻ protect us from His tests. Allahﷻ tested Ibrahim (AS). Place yourself as a spectator of the scene. The whole town has gathered to see the one they hated being burnt alive because he invited them away from worshipping their creations, to worshipping the One Who created them. See their excitement and hear their noise as they eagerly wait for events to unfold. The fire is so huge that they need a catapult to throw Ibrahim (AS) into it. We know the story leading up to this event where the people said: قَالُوا۟ حَرِّقُوهُ وَٱنصُرُوٓا۟ ءَالِهَتَكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ فَـٰعِلِينَ Ibrahim 21: 68 They said, “Burn him up to help your gods, if you must act.”