my faith
...
ISLAM
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The essence of faith is
Ma’rifah
, (realization or
discovery of Allah). When a man consciously
seeks out and finds Allah, and thereby has access to
divine realities, that is what constitutes faith. This dis-
covery is no simple matter. Allah is the Creator and
Master of all things. He will award or punish all, accord-
ing to their deeds; none is free from his grip. The dis-
covery of such an Allah permeates to the very core of
the being of man. His thinking is revolutionized, for
Allah becomes the centre of all His thoughts and emo-
tions.
With Allah as the principal focus of his attention, man
becomes Allah’s servant in the fullest sense of the
word. He becomes a man whose living and dying is all
for Allah. Such a faith ultimately results in all of man’s
behaviour and his dealings taking on the hue of Allah.
When the believer speaks, he is conscious of the fact
that Allah is listening to him. When he walks, he does
so with modesty so that his gait may not be displeasing
to Allah. When he deals with people, he is always wor-
ried lest he deals unjustly and be punished by Allah in
the next life.
The impact of this degree of faith makes the entire life
of man
Akhirah (Hereafter)
-oriented. In all matters his
eyes are focused on the Hereafter. Instead of immedi-
ate gain he makes gain in the next life his goal.
Whenever there are two aspects of any matter, one
pertaining to this world and the other to the next world,
he always prefers the latter.
Faith, another name for the recognition of the Supreme
Being, Allah, becomes for the believer a fountainhead
of limitless confidence in his Creator. When this recog-
nition takes root in an individual’s heart and soul, his
whole personality becomes regenerated. Knowing that
in all circumstances he may depend upon Allah, he
becomes a dynamic individual.
PT
