“Be More & Achieve More!”

Hi Dear Reader,

As we are in the season for sharing gifts and kind words, especially with ones who are near and dear to us, I thought what would be better than us knowing more about some of the names, virtues and characteristics of our amazing and beloved Creator? After all, anytime we refer our issues to Him, the Wisest and most Merciful that He is, then our issues automatically dissipate into a vast nothingness when we truly rely on Him to resolve them for us. So, we cared to pick Al-Ghazali’s translation and interpretation on the meaning of some these Glorious Names, so that we can appreciate them even more, from his rendering “The Ninety Nine Beautiful Names of God“, and typed here by Shanaz Ali:-

Al-Hasib [41] - The Reckoner- is the one who suffices, for He is all one needs who belongs to Him. God- may He be praised and exalted-is the measurer of every single thing and the one who suffices for it. And it is inconceivable that this attribute, in its essential reality, be said of anything else, since for anything to be sufficient it must itself be all that it needs, for its existence, the permanence of its existence, and the perfection of its existence. And there is nothing in existence which by itself suffices for anything, except God-great and glorious, for He alone suffices for everything, not for some things only. He alone suffices, that is, in that things attain existence from Him and their existence perdures and is made perfect by Him.

Do not imagine that when you need food, drink, earth, sky, sun, or the like, that you need something other than Him, or that He is not all you need. He is the one who supplies all you need by creating food and drink, heaven and earth, so He is all you need. Nor should you think that God is not the one who protects and suffices in the case of an infant who needs his mother to nurse him and care for him. Indeed God-great and glorious-suffices for him, since He created his mother and the milk in her breasts, as well as the guidance needed for him to swallow it. He also created the tenderness and love in the heart of the mother, so that she [will] enable him to devour her milk, calling him to it and prompting him to do so. Now sufficiency is only attained by these means, and God the most High alone possesses the ability to create it for the infant. Should it be said to you that the mother alone is sufficient for the infant and that she is all he needs, you would believe that and not say: but she is hardly sufficient for him since he needs milk and how can a mother suffice for him when there is no milk? Rather you would say: indeed, he needs milk, but milk also comes from the mother, so he needs no-one else except the mother. But you should know that milk does not come from the mother, but together with the mother comes from God-may He be praised and exalted, and from His graciousness and generosity. For He alone is all that each thing needs; nothing [except He] exists which alone suffices for anything at all. Rather things depend on each other, while everything depends on the power of God-may He be praised and exalted.

Counsel: There is no access to this attribute for men except by way of a remote metaphor, or as part of a prevalent popular opinion which does not think twice about it. Metaphorically, it is like this: even if one were sufficient for his infant in sustaining his care, or sufficient for his student in educating him to the point where he is no longer in need of assistance from someone else, he would be but a means to sufficiency and not himself sufficient.  For it is God-may He be praised and exalted-who suffices, and since man neither subsists by his own power nor is sufficient unto himself, how can he suffice for another?

As part of a prevalent opinion, it is like this: even if one be deemed to be sufficient in himself and not as a means, nevertheless he is not alone sufficient since he needs, a place to receive his action and sufficiency. Moreover, this is the least of the things at issue, for the heart, which is the locus of knowledge, is clearly necessary in the first place so that he maybe sufficient in giving instruction. And the stomach which is the receptacle for food is needed to enable him to be sufficient in conveying food to his body. All this alone, along with many other things one needs, are beyond one’s reckoning, nor do any of them fall under his free choice. For the lowest rank of actions requires an agent and a recipient, and the agent will not suffice at all without a recipient. This is only fulfilled in God-great and glorious, since He creates actions as well as creating the place to receive it, the conditions pertaining to its reception and whatever surrounds it. Nevertheless, it maybe that one would turn spontaneously and unreflectively to the agent, without considering the situation surrounding it, and deem the agent alone to be sufficient to the task, but such is not the case.

Indeed, the religious (of faith) fruit from this for a man is that God alone suffices for him, in connection with his intentions and his will, so that he wants only God-great and glorious. He should not want paradise nor should his heart be preoccupied with hell, trying to be on guard against it, but his intentions should be absorbed by God alone, the most high. And if God reveals Himself in His majesty, he should say:

“This is sufficient for me, for I do not want anything other than Him, nor do I care whether something escapes me or not.”

Bookmark It

Hi Dear Reader,

“Be the Change You Want to See in the World.”

At every stage and level of life we encounter relationships that help us to become more of who we truly need to become: a person leading a life of authentic ambition and purpose. But is this just an ideal and a fantastic thought, or is it practicable in our everyday lives?

I believe that some people are naturally gifted in dealing with other people in a way that readily breaks down barriers and helps create an air of trust. With their smooth, authentic interaction they engender mutual feelings of cooperation and dialogue and friendship is built easily. They do this without necessarily realising that they are doing anything special – and this is true of most masters in skills which they are either naturally gifted with or develop over time. Such people don’t carry any agenda’s, deploy techniques or skills, nor are they seeking any particular gain. It is the purer action of theirs that carries with it the hallmarks of sincerity and kindness that touches the other person with whom they are relating. Of course, these masters will have their share of troubles and we’ll see later how they have incorporated certain strategies at the sub-conscience level to deal with obstacles as well as difficult people and circumstances.

Yet there are many of us who struggle to get our points across at the best of times and leave meetings with feelings of distrust, doubt and false impressions. No matter how hard we try, there are things we just can’t seem to complete, tasks we can’t get done, people we upset endlessly, challenges that crop-up over and over again, and end-up with one bad encounter that leads to a souring of the mood and distraction from work all day!

As with most things in life, there are certain aspects which are inherent, internal and natural and there are other aspects that are out of direct control, unenforceable, independent. Your task should be to recognise this difference and learn to work on things that are directly under your control:

Things You Can Control

• Focus
• Self-Discipline / Time
• Behaviour & Habits
• Feelings & Intentions
• Communications Methods

Things You Don’t Control

• Other People & Their Thinking
• Their Availability (Time)
• Their Moods and States
• Their Behaviour/s & Values
• Environmental Circumstances

Even a regular glance at this list will help you to refresh the timeless aspects of things that you can control and things that you cannot. Far too often, people trip-up in their work, relationships, duties and goals because they worry too much about things that are out-of their control and don’t help themselves to grow by working on those things that are.

Here is an example for you: when you were a baby, or indeed in your mother’s womb, which aspects did you control? Did you control what others felt, how they lived, what they did or didn’t do, what happened in the society, timings, events, context, circumstances or any of the other things around you. No. You simply did what you were biologically designed to do: grow physically. But as your eyesight strengthened so did your awareness of the world. As it did, it became clearer to you that not all things are perfect, people don’t always understand what you mean, nor do you get what you want when you want it.

You also realised that certain people meant more to you than others. A special bonding with the ones who were in primary care over you led to the understanding that they can do for you as much as you liked, but then there were some expectations placed upon you that you had to deliver in accordance to. A greater realisation led you to the understanding that self-interest meant that the more you wanted to get, or do something, the more you could attempt to please others in order to obtain that objective. Without meaning to do it, you learned you could bend a situation to serve your purposes, but it just wasn’t so sure to work all the time…

Now, as an adult you know that there are several relationships at multiple levels and the fulcrum of them all is you. Your attitude and skills combined will help to foster relationships of mutual cooperation, of need, of love, of neighbourliness, of generosity and not just those of temporary convenience.

Great relationships – be they professional, social or intimate – are all dependent on one key aspect: your ability to communicate effectively, both- verbally and non-verbally. And the key to communication is having a good understanding of other people: their culture, backgrounds, context, time/stage in life, evaluating (inner-processing) styles, current priorities and commitments, pressures and challenges, etc. Of course you may not learn all of this overnight, but one Golden Formula that you can internalise now is:

“Behaviour Begets Behaviour”

If you want to achieve something with someone then carry a pure intention, a smile, and positive expectations. This will help induce into the other person the same characteristics and ensure a safer passage towards your goals. This is why the “The Magic of Relation-ships” is in understanding that a:

“A ’Relation’ is a ‘Ship’ that helps carry you to your desired destination.”

The more free and authentic you are, the greater the likelihood of achieving your aims. Not to hold other people in contempt is the surest way of freeing yourself of self-imprisonment, as the ‘ship’ won’t then travel anywhere fast!

Earlier, I said some people effortlessly get on in life as though all was made to happen for them. But as a matter of fact, we just don’t see the problems they encounter in life, work, health and relations and how they cope / respond to them. So what do they do? Well, in brief (because I want to elaborate on such aspects in future postings), they realise that relations are an asset, just as knowledge is capital, and they appreciate not only levels of authority, but also degrees of care, respect, trust and acceptance. In addition, they have a better idea of the things that are under there control and those that are not. So whether in leadership, management, at home, outdoors or at work, know the:

3 keys to Successful Relations & Happiness

1. Get a real vision of what you want and make a plan;
2. Understand what you may have to give-up to get it;
3. Take action and deal with people in the best manner possible;

Focus on the infinite possibilities of your relationships, work, life and goals. Be aware of the things that lead to distraction, worry and bitterness:

Things That Take Away Your Focus:

1. Unwarranted Fears
2. Immediate pleasures (instant gratifications) & urgency addictions
3. Other people’s demands and meddling in their affairs

“Travel Lighter, Let Go of Unwanted Concerns.”

Till next time,
For Success & Contentment,
Asad Khan

Bookmark It

Greetings,

We, mankind, are created weak, hasty and ungrateful. We have learnt in the previous postings that when things go dead against us we do one of two things: (i) despair and give-up all hope; (ii) enter into prolonged prayers with the deity that we know to exist - the One who created the heavens and the earth and rests on His Mighty Throne above - but lack the proper knowledge to relate to Him. Why? because our base nature tends to seek Him and want His assistance and yet, attempting to be patient, grateful and resolve to persevere only comes with great character development and spiritual insight.

Then, when we are bestowed favours from above, we forget the Source of Goodness and assign the turn-around to our own abilities, or ‘luck’, or worse some false deity or spiritual force. And as the person continues along the path of good fortune he begins to develop a sense of self-sufficiency that quickly rises into a type of arrogance that we are all too familiar with.

But here I want to help you to link this state of arrogance with one other crucial feature: miserliness. You see, this self-conceited person who believes in his own abilities as being the sole power to shape his destiny becomes hard-hearted and shows the exact opposites characteristics of when he was in despair: “I have such and such, so much, and I managed this myself and hence who are you to ask me for anything? Go do it for yourself!” Might be the silent messages emanating from his conduct.

We have been looking at verses in Chapter 70 (Ma’arij, The Ascent) and I want to share with you a coiuple of other verses to put things into further perspective:

17: Inviting (all) such as turn their backs and turn away their faces (from the Right)

18: And collect (wealth) and hide it (from use)!

And so, as the great commentator A Y Ali say, the analysis of sin is given in four master-strokes, of which the first two refer to the will or psychology of the sinner, and the last two to the use he makes of the good things in life.

1. Sin begins with turning your back to the Right, refusing to face it squarely, running away from it whether from cowardice or indifference.
2. But conscience and the sense of Right will try to prevent the flight; the Grace of God, Allah, will meet the sinner at all corners and try to reclaim him; the hardened sinner will deliberately turn away his face from it, insult it and reject it.
3. The result of this psychology will be that he will abandon himself to greed, to the collection of riches, and the acquisition of material advantages to which he is not entitled; this may involve hypocrisy, fraud, and crime.
4. Having acquired the material advantages , the next step will be to keep others out of them, to prevent hoarded wealth from fructifying by circulation, to conceal it from envy or spite.

And so it is: In adversity man complains and get into despair. In prosperity he becomes arrogant and forgets other people’s rights and his own shortcomings.

So here is the simplest of formula to write but amongst the weightiest to enact:

Faith + Gratefulness = Righteousness + Charity (Benevolence)

As per the prophetic tradition, all children of Adam sin, but the best amongst them are those who repent and return to their Creator.

Most sincere people, the general do-gooders, are those who will have a strong sense of guilt when committing a sin and feel a strong tremble within when approaching that which is not proper. And even if this was recklessly repeated due to the weak nature, then this generally good and sincere person does his best to stay away from falling into the same trap. It is only those who refuse to believe that any wrong is being committed, they have deluded themselves into thinking that what is improper is actually valid and acceptable. They have become hard-hearted, deaf in the ears and blind in their sight, though they have a pumping heart, physical ears and eyes. The gap between the physiological function of these organs and their respective spiritual faculties has widened - this connection is lost.

Their central nervous system (CNS) no longer trembles at the idea of committing a sin - whether it be against their own person or against another - as this CNS does not have the same sensitivity or sensibility towards understanding virtue, morals, thoughts, intentions, deeds or habits.

It’s only with a real big JOLT to the CNS that a chance of self-awareness is created and the possibility of appreciation, gratitude and humility re-enters the emotional pattern. Otherwise, the person is far removed from such sentiments and it is no wonder that righteous conduct does not follow.

So what is righteousness you may ask. Let’s us see what the Divine instruction on this is. As well as 2:177, we have in the same chapter 70 that we been studying so far the following masterful insights and instructions:

Not so those devoted to Prayer;-

Those who remain steadfast to their prayer;

And those in whose wealth is a recognised right.

For the (needy) who asks and him who is prevented (for some reason from asking);

And those who hold to the truth of the Day of Judgement;

And those who fear the displeasure of their Lord,-

For their Lord’s displeasure is the opposite of Peace and Tranquillity;-

And those who guard their chastity,

Except with their wives and the (captives) whom their right hands possess,- for (then) they are not to be blamed,

But those who trespass beyond this are transgressors;-

And those who respect their trusts and covenants;

And those who stand firm in their testimonies;

And those who guard (the sacredness) of their worship;-

Such will be the honoured ones in the Gardens (of Bliss).

Prayer, Selfless-Sacrifice, Generosity, Probity, Chastity, True and Firm Witness, and the real consciousness of Higher Presence are the hallmarks of those who desire Peace & Tranquillity in this life and the Eternal Garden of Bliss in the next.

Does every man of them long to enter the Garden of Bliss?

By no means! For We have created them out of the (base matter) they know!

We are all on a journey and the emptiness, confusion and uncertainty of faith that pervades people’s everyday life comes from a lack of true knowledge. Hence the requirement of Divine Revelation to help put matters into the context of the actual Reality.

The animal part of man is nothing to proud of, and we know it. It is by spiritual effort, and long preparation through a good life that a man can rise above the mere animal part of him to his high dignity as a spiritual being, and his noble destiny in the Hereafter.

We all have our day-day experiences, some good, some exciting, others challenging and yet others still quite mundane and tedious. We have to learn to develop a greater awareness in order to make this journey peaceful and more importantly to ensure we safely arrive at the desired ultimate destination.

For Success and Contentment,

Asad Khan

Bookmark It