Part One: SEERAH (Biographical Sketch) CHAPTER

C:\Users\Admin\Dropbox\The Message - Material of Maulana\16. Books and Review\Apa's Books\Life And 102 who, in the life Hereafter, will inhabit paradise. Our most compassionate Lord will say: “Dwell in Paradise; you shall have no fear, nor shall you grieve.” (7:49) There is nothing mysterious about spirituality in Islam. It is rather the direct result of the kind of intellectual development that takes place when a believer ponders over the Creator and His creation: he gains something in the process that may be termed spirituality. The source, therefore, of Islamic spirituality is observation and reflection, rather than any sort of mysterious exercises. We learn from the Quran that in the very creation of the universe, the signs of God lie hidden all around us. One who has developed keen awareness when he reflects upon the things of the world is able to see the Creator in His creatures. The meaning of the creation of the Universe is laid bare before him. Ultimately, the universe becomes a permanent source of spiritual inspiration. He is continuously nourished by it during his worldly experience. A believer is not supposed to shun his normal life in order to lead a life of observation and contemplation. Islam does not advocate withdrawing from the world. He has to live in this world and participate in its activities. What is desired from him is that while fulfilling all his duties, his heart should not be attached to worldly affairs. In this way he continues to gain spiritually. Once a noted scientist said that only a prepared mind can make a scientific discovery. The same can be said of meditation. Here also a prepared soul alone can benefit from it. First of all tazkia, purification of the soul, has to be done through meditation. Tazkia aims at clearing one’s heart of all kinds of negative sentiments, otherwise meditation will not work. There is a very interesting story which illustrates this point. A milkman came to Gautam Buddha and asked him to give him Gyan, i.e. the realisation of truth. Gautam Buddha asked: “Would you like the milk to be put in an unclean container?” The milkman said: