SPIRITUALITY IN ISLAM — An Intellectual Process

sitting in my room on the upper floor, I heard a gentle knock on the door. When I opened it, I found a child of about five years of age. It was Qanita, the first-born daughter of Brother Alaref. She asked in all innocence and gentleness, “Do you need anything?” (turidu haja). Perhaps it was her mother who had sent her, and although this was a simple question, I was quite overwhelmed by this innocent voice; to the extent that I could not utter a single word in reply. This was a normal incident, but in my mind, it became transformed into a supra-normal event. Children are like the flowers of God and little angels. I felt as if God Himself had sent me an angel to discover and meet my needs. At this moment, a famous Hadith (words & sayings of Prophet) came to mind: “Your Lord descends to this worldly haven every day, looks at His servants and says, ‘Is there anyone who has a need and asks Me, that I may give it to him?’” (Muslim). ‘Do you need anything?’ was a short question that came from an innocent soul, but it was enough to cause a great revolution in my inner being. For a while, I felt that I could see the whole of the Universe on the screen of my mind. This was a great spiritual experience which could not be expressed in human words. In the beginning, it seemed as though God, through a little angel, was saying, “O my servant, do you need anything? “Then, the matter extended to include the whole Universe with its Heaven and its Earth. In fact, it was only a little girl at the door of my room, asking, “Do you need anything?” but in its extended sense, it was as if the whole Universe was asking the very same question. The vast Heaven was saying, “Do you need shelter? Here I am to provide you with one, because God has ordered me to do so.” The gleaming sun was saying, “Do you need light? I am here to supply it and transform your darkness into light. “The majestic mountains were announcing, “Would you like to be on the highest level in all humanity? I am here at your service to help you attain that high position.” The flowing water in the river-beds was murmuring, “Do you want to have a spiritual bath to purify your soul? I am here to offer you that.” And the gusting wind was asking, “Do you want to tour the Universe to see the wondrous signs of God? Here is my back for you to ride on to