بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In college, I had a friend who had greenish-brown eyes. They were stunning and I would often tell her - mid-conversation - that I couldn't believe that it was her real eye colour. As the months passed, I remember thinking to myself that I stopped noticing the colour of her eyes despite that they were unchanged and still a wonder.
How long can we behold a thing of beauty and savour its offering before we can't contain any more of it? Or before the wonderment fades and something akin to boredom leads us elsewhere? It is not that we no longer consider that thing beautiful, but rather that we are unable to access, appreciate, or relish any more of it.
If sunrise was a constant, full-day phenomenon, for how long would we or could we enjoy it?
There are two truths of outward beauty. The first is that it is not an end and the second is that it heightens when shared. This is of course a very elementary perspective on beauty.
We must then go deeper and first acknowledge that nothing in creation is without purpose. Beauty exists in every inch of the physical world and every aspect of the intellectual and intangible world. But it is useless if it serves only as a passing amusement. Thus, it must necessarily be connected with the inward: the emotional -on a primary level- or the spiritual -on an elite level- if we are to discover the real meaning and taste of beauty. Only then is beauty savoured and appreciated long past sensory stimulation.
Beauty leads to an experience not a state so it cannot be constant unless or until, I imagine, it is connected to a spiritual insight. With deep reflections, physical, momentous beauty soars in spiritual insights, the inward. Alternatively, we find that a thing of momentous pleasure rises to become a source of deep reflection which is eventually harvested as a state of deep gratitude and profound peace.
Perhaps the reader may consider this articulation a culmination of feathery words and baseless meanings, to which I might agree. However, as I am exposed to innumerable breathtaking sights, I know not how to savour them regularly as I have no one to share them with outwardly. I recognize that they are clearly not in vain and a deeper and prolonged appreciation of them need not require mere pleasant companionship as God is most just and kind.
Thus, I must return to my heart and mind in an attempt to discover what must be made aright so that my appreciation of such beauty is not a mere snack for the sight but is rather utilized as fuel for the heart. Such a transition, I'm afraid, seems impossible without the subtle assistance of weighty companionship (those who inspire deeper inward progressions) or the training and guidance of a teacher or spiritual guide. But at least by articulating it, I can now understand some points of my difficulties and failure.
O Allah, all praises and gratitude are due to You alone. You have created all that exists, has ever existed, and will ever exist. We affirm Your beginningless and endless existence, Your majesty, and Your transcendence. Ya Khaliqu, raise your weak and disobedient servants so that creation and its beauty are means through which we draw closer to You. Protect us from vanity as we behold beauty it in all its forms. Let us be of those who recognize You and Your Lordship despite beauty and not because of it. Your governance, power, generosity, and all Your attributes are limitless and must not be limited by only what the eyes behold. O Allah, guide us to You. We are lost and experience the pain and punishment of this misdirection. There is none to lead us to You except You. O Allah unite us with the reality of Your beloved, salla Allahu 'alayhi wa sallam, his existence, his beauty, his character, and his way, and guide this ummah to rise to the way of following him for Your sake alone.
يا ارحم الراحمين يا ارحم الراحمين يا ارحم الراحمين
آمين يا رب العالمين
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