Tranquility...
“It is He who sent down tranquility into the hearts of the believers, that they may add conviction to their Faith…”- Qur’an, 48:4
Disoriented. Disturbed. Annoyed. Punishable! Why do you bother yourself? Why are you killing yourself with your own hands?
Find your tranquility in the worship of Almighty Allah!
Orientation! Effort. Movements in all directions. What am I looking for, what do I want, why do I write and read. Who do I like and who likes me. Who do I wish well and who wishes me well, why do I live and what is my goal, and if I reach there, what then, what is my gain or accomplishment. What enhances your life, its ornaments, the cloth that covers it, or perhaps the heart and mind whose cloth is not made out of matter? Who are you, where are you headed, which way are you going, and where are you going to end up!
Observe. Listen and hears. Feel uncomfortable. Agitated. Indolent! Your feelings got heavier and thicker. You are lying on the ground. Don’t need a thing, but feel depressed. You are bored of the life you are living. Everything bothers you. Have no desire to write or read. The thought of thinking terrifies you. When you think, your conscience gets overburdened. How incapable I am, you say to yourself. You keep staying still in silence, estranged from people, most of whom you hate. Why, you don’t know.
Time passes, while for you the day does not begin. Every morning is the same. You wake up just like any other day. Monotony! Loaded and overloaded. The soul cries, while the tongue is speechless. You stand leaning against the wall. Want to be alone, immersed in thoughts. What a destiny! What a life was cooked up for me! How weak I am. Words keep flowing into your thoughts, while you surrendered to the wall of darkness; the darkness of desperation and constraint.
Say enough to this memory, this kind of thinking! Get away from the wall, before it turns you into a ruin.
Change your everyday’s pattern. Break your monotony! You can do this by being faithful to the daily prayers. Did you practice the nap between Dhuhr and Asr? It is a time called “kaylulah”, a time this, when a little sleep rests and rejuvenates the entire being. Allah’s Messenger (SAWS) said: “Observe Kaylulah (nap between Dhuhr and Asr), truly satan does not observe Kaylulah (don’t nap during this time)”- Hadith: Sahih al Jamiah as Sagir, Al Albani. Kaylulah does not only calms, but also strengthens you to be a true worshiper of Almighty Allah, especially during the night hours.
Use miswaq! The heart wanders around. Make her firm in the path of your Lord. Supplicate time and again: O Allah! O Transformer of hearts, focus my heart onto Your religion! Allah is He, Who’s Majesty causes the entire being to calm, ask, while sincerely leaning and longing with full conviction on Him. Close your eyes in absolute silence and attentively listen to the Holy Qur’an.
Continuity, success! When you feel overburdened, carrying excess weight, rest a bit, do not torment yourself because everything exceeding your ability, is harmful. Rejuvenate, then, continue your mission.
Conviction! Builds and insures. When you are convinced in a matter, you proceed doing this task with certainty. Doubt brings loss and stagnation. When you lose your way or get stranded, you get worried, crying, you stop and think, and by way of scolding you punish yourself. Security and conviction, brings tranquility. The truth opens pathways.
You’re torturing yourself. Your thoughts are in disarray. Have no idea where to start, which way to turn, where to lean or what to do. Can’t think straight, same thoughts come end go in repetition. You are waging a war against time, but the time is eating you from within. You think you are fighting your yesterday, but while submerged in thoughts, you don’t realize how you are overburdening your tomorrow with your present.
Confused, disturbed, worried, chastised. Why do you bother yourself? Why do you assassinate yourself with your own hands? You have a life, do not belittle it. If your effort is required, exert yourself, if an undertaking is required, engage, if sweating is needed, sweat if a sacrifice is called for, sacrifice, pain is required, feel the pain, if forbearance is asked of you, persevere, if you need hope, hope! Engage the storm head on, don’t fall, lean on the Lord of heaven and earth, and don’t lean on thoughts and bad memories.
Don’t allow others to instill trouble and insecurity in you! If this ilk talks to you, do one or the other: say peace and tranquility to you, or keep silent and move away. Don’t laugh and don’t talk too much. Engage with low voice and a light smile. Excess talk and loud laugh, troubles and shakes up your heart. Run away from noisy places. Do not be a part of gatherings where talk and laugh resonate! Guard your heart’s tranquility, before you lose it, and spare yourself from suffering.
When you surrender, when you enter the depths of darkness, and don’t even attempt to rise up and get out of the abyss which you created, then, nothing grows in you except the unease. The unease causes mental and spiritual balance disorder. Free yourself from the abyss, fly away from it in order to feel vitality in your life. You need tranquility, every person needs it. No one needs to settle for crises and exasperation. Tranquility is a spiritual, mental heartily repose of the entire being. Can not reach it just by keeping the balance; but need give everyone the rights it deserves with justice and by not taking sides.
Is tranquility something unattainable. No, tranquility is there, so when you don’t seek it, and don’t steer towards it, then it is not lost but forgotten. You search for lost items, and when you are conscientious about the loss and its value, you will search for it till you find it, and never lose hope. He, for whom tranquility is a forgotten thing, demands so much from himself, but don’t offer anything in return. He wants to do this and that, but nothing brings him the most needed thing: his tranquility.
Feelings are at ease, when in contact with tranquility. A heart, whose owner is overfilled with sorrow, can not experience peace. The opposite of sorrow is happiness, whose prerequisites are to be peaceful, and not hostile or hateful. Stay close to others and accept other people’s faults, as you can, likewise, be filled with faults. This way your heart can accept and be accepted, and when this takes place, it feels closeness, love and respect, and then reaches tranquility. Likewise, the mind and heart while thinking light, peace, flowers, hope, purity, love and respect find their ease. Tranquility is not something you touch, eat or drink. It is felt deep within your being.
When you experience anxiousness, when you are worried, feel loneliness and daily annoyance, you realize that material possessions don’t bring you peace and tranquility. You realize that you are not just flesh and bones, but you also possess a soul, heart and feelings. They need nurturing just like the body. The body feels warmth when covered with warm cloth, but the heart and soul also long for their cover. The cover which warms your heart, mind and soul is security, peace and tranquility. These are nourishments. You can not buy them, but obtain through feelings and clear thinking.
Seek this nourishment from the One that created you. Your creator also secured your provisions, so provide. Search your tranquility in worshiping your God. He causes you to feel secure and tranquil. There are solutions for everything. When you feel angry and nervous, freshen up with water – perform ablution, remembering your Lord. If your heart is infatuated, remember its Lord often and continuously. If your mind is disturbed and wanders, and feelings are experiencing tremendous weight, don’t be lazy, ask for Allah’s support, pray two rakaahs, and Allah willing you will find tranquility.
The messenger of Allah (SAWS) said: “Those who gather in one of the houses of Allah, read Allah’s Book and study it amongst themselves, Allah’s tranquility will reach them, His mercy will cover them, angels will look after their security, and Allah will praise them to the ones closest to Him”. Hadith: Muslim.
The true tranquility is the one attained through remembering Allah the Merciful with the entire being!
O Allah, make us from among those who find their tranquility when remembering You!