The Good Person - On Compassion (Rahma) - Part 1

Reflections from The Risale-Nur  a Qur'an commentary by Bediüzzaman Said Nursi

The Flashes - The Fourteenth Flash - Second Station - Third Mystery

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Transcript

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The following I was listening on my drive to work the other day. I've read it just like many of you. so many times, but it's always, you come back to this, this is something like oxygen, air, water. Every time you breathe it in, you hear, listen to the ders or to the lesson or to the reading, there are always different reflections because every day you're a different person, every moment you are in a different mode. So while I was driving to work in the morning, I was reading or listening to this section it is from the flashes and in the flashes there is a section the 14th flesh and it reflects on the name Ar-Rahman basically focusing on the sacred formula of Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim and particularly the name Ar-Rahman which we know pertains to the whole universe. Like we know from the Muslim scholars that the name, the quality of Allah's name, Ar-Rahman, is particularly manifested in this world. Rahim is a name that is reserved, a quality that will be witnessed by the believers in the hereafter. So it's more... towards the believers, the ones who have affirmed God's existence, Allah's existence in this world. But Ar-Rahman talks about this vast expanse of compassion and mercy of Allah in this world, in this universe. And so every time when we go out into nature, which we many times refer to as the book of the universe, a book that invites us to read reflect and ponder. That's a Quranic pedagogy, right? The Quran invites us to reflect on the signs of the universe. And when we do that, when we engage in that kind of sacred reading in the art of noticing Allah's names and qualities, we will encounter one of the greatest names, which is Ar-Rahman. And so this third mystery from this 14th flesh, and invite you to go back and reread it again, is dedicated to the discussion of how we can understand the reflection of Ar-Rahman in the universe. Like, if you're not able to see Allah's quality of Ar-Rahman, and Ar-Rahman, we know, comes from the root word, which also means to, refers to the motherly womb, right? The Rahm, basically, which is the seed, the beginning of our lives, basically. When we come into this world, the mother's womb is also called in our languages, the Rahm, right? So even there, Allah shared that quality with us. We are also His precious creation that is able to display and manifest the name of Ar-Rahman. I believe I shared this a few months ago where I related to you this one incident in front of my house where we walk with my family and we saw this little bird trapped in the mousetrap, a total distress and anguish trying to escape the mousetrap. But it was basically trapped. And so we were, as human beings, naturally, we were affected, but just witnessing the distress and the anguish and the pain this little bird was feeling, experiencing in that moment. And subhanAllah, so my daughter ran and I ran to get a towel, soft towel, and my husband tried to free her from that trap. But then in that moment, I thought, we all reflected about the fact how beautiful the human being is created, that we can feel that rahmah, compassion towards another being, another tiny creature. And then my husband said something profound that stayed with me. He said, there are millions of birds, so many animals, but it was us human beings who decided to express compassion, rahmah, towards this little bird. And that's also, of course, a manifestation of being a human being. Allah has shared this quality only with us. There were so many fellow birds, but they didn't care. They didn't care. They didn't stop to free their fellow bird, their fellow brother or sister in that moment of anguish. It was us human beings. And that also speaks to our fitrah, of our innate nature, of our capacity to show and express that amazing quality of Allah, ar-Rahman. towards one another, but also towards tiny little creatures that we feel hesitant to step even on an ant, to crush a fly, and that we feel affected by the emotional distress of another fellow creature and that we feel called to help to do something to relieve and alleviate their suffering. That is the true meaning of a human being. And that's also the beauty of our human nature that we are honored in such a way. Ya Allah, I have it in me. Ya Rahman, to show your holy name of Rahman. Compassion to all beings, whether somebody is a non-believer or not. whether someone is a bird or a human being, doesn't matter, that compassion, Allah calls us to apply to everyone. And in this world, He gives it unconditionally to even to those who deny Him, who neglect Him, who reject Him, who mock Him, who accuse Him of so many, many things, Allah, but still Allah lets His rahmah flow. And for us then, we are called to imitate that rahmah. Of course, we cannot be like Allah. Nothing is like him. Nothing is like Allah, the creator, the source of compassion, the source of mercy. But in that moment, it was me, the human being, who decided to show rahmah to that tiny bird. And maybe that tiny bird, on judgment day, will say, Ya Allah, don't throw Zainab into the hellfire. She showed me compassion. Maybe it will intercede on my behalf. And maybe Allah will save me by that tiny action because it came really from a sincere place. Otherwise, I can also be indifferent to the suffering of other creatures. That's also a choice. But then we stop being human, right? And so I want to reflect on this. What does it mean to see Allah's rahmah manifested? in the creation, in the book of the cosmos. But how do we become holy mirrors of that rahmah, divine mirrors of that rahmah? And when we do that, we become valuable. We become meaningful. We attain worth and dignity because we are able to show and extend Allah's compassion. We are vessels of that compassion. And alhamdulillah, all thanks be to Allah if we can do that. And we can also see human beings who make the choice not to show compassion in this very moment as we speak, we see how human beings can inflict suffering and injustice on so many beings, right? Exploit, abuse, misuse. So rachma should be always front and center in our dealings, in our interactions. Just like Allah shows us rahmah in this world, even though we are not deserving of it. We are not deserving. I didn't do anything by my own merit to acquire this life. He gave me out of His rahmah and out of His mercy, out of His generosity. He honored me with life, but also the highest human life. So the third mystery here, I'm not going to read the whole section, But the invitation stands for us as human beings to ponder and reflect and meditate on how Allah's rahmah is reflected in the world. And here in Maryland, it has snowed. And the other day, the other night I was sitting, I was just reading poems about snow. And again, it just put me in awe of the human being. Who sits and writes poetry about snow? It's the human being, the beauty of us human being, beauty and our amazing futra capacity to sit down and write odes and qasidas and music and nashids and poems for the holy, for Allah and honor his snow and his creation and reflect how his beauty is manifested in the snow, why he created the snow, how every little snow crystal is a unique display of his oneness of his ahadiyya, of his uniqueness. And for me, there are so many ways then that the human being is honored. It's me who sits down and writes a piece of poem to honor Allah. And so it gets us thinking about who am I? What am I called to be in this world? Am I here just to enjoy and enhance pleasure? in enjoyment, for nafs, for my lower desires? Or does Allah call me for the high life of the spirit? Think, ponder, reflect. That's what my duty is, to do that kind of zikr and remembrance, to glorify Allah, to remember Him, reflect on Him. That's why we are here. Our ultimate sacred duty is is to remember Allah, to know Him and remember Him, and to strengthen our Iman in Him. That's our most sacred duty and responsibility. Otherwise, why are there so many changes around us? And nobody but us recognizes it. Nobody but us is curious to learn about it. And that's the beauty also of the Risale-i Nur, that it invites us in a Quranic fashion, think about who you are, and your relationship with Allah and the creation, and try to read these holy signs, these sacred signs of Allah. So in the third mystery, the Rasale-i-Nur here, it says, what makes this boundless universe rejoice is clearly divine mercy, rahmah. What makes this boundless universe rejoice is clearly divine mercy. And let me expand on this. Rahman. Rahman. So Sopana, it talks about us. We are the fruit of the creation. We are the crown of the creation. And the whole in the universe runs towards us, assists us, serves us. If you imagine the creation as this huge tree, everything in the tree works for the fruit. And everything in the tree is contained in the fruit and also can bring out another tree. So Here, what it says, everything in the universe works for the human being. But who made the universe run and serve the human being? Who? It's certainly not blind, deaf causes. They are not conscious. They have no wisdom. They have no power. They have no will. If we talk about so-called Mother Nature, Mother Nature is soil, air, earth, water, fire. Those are the universal elements. But right now we observe, for example, the moment we come into this world, onto this planet, somebody takes care of us. And it's not our mother, right? Our mother is also serving us, the parents. The moment we enter this world, Allah equips the source of compassion, the mother, with the blessed milk, which is uniquely fashioned for that newborn baby. Now, who decides that? Who is the cause of that? Who thinks about that baby and its unique needs and its unique desires for milk and nourishment? And it's exactly programmed according to whether it's a pre-EMI, if it's an early newborn or whatever the needs are, the breast milk is accordingly measured and created in such a way. Now, what's the ultimate cause for this? Rahmah, divine mercy or compassion. Mercy, rahmah, somebody, he is not forced to do it. And also, like I said, if the most intelligent being is the human being, in that case, the mother, who is the most loving, caring, selfless person in that new child's life, she even doesn't know, I don't know how to create a drop of milk. Scientists don't know how to create a drop of that precious milk. And everybody knows now, science confirmed, the best thing you can offer as sustenance, as nourishment for that newborn life is the mother's milk. But who makes everything servant to that human being who is so full of needs and weak and vulnerable? It's Rahma. Divine mercy. And this is not just me. At this moment, as we are speaking, there are thousands of new life entering into this world. None of them is neglected. None of them is forgotten. None of them is somehow dismissed. This is divine mercy at play. It's not mother nature or the human being or certain scientists who can create that drop of milk. It's Allah who knows you, your needs, and he's not forced to send you that sustenance. It's his will. It's his wish. It's his desire. And what I always love, I'm a thought of Allah. He planned me. He sent me. He wanted me to be in this world. Imagine sometimes you hear the stories of children who say, I was not wanted. I was an accident. I was not planned. SubhanAllah. But of course, we know as Muslim believers that there's no such thing. But the idea, ultimate idea, that you are Allah's intention, that you are His desire, His will, that your existence was His wish. And then, not only then, He sends you here, but then He also makes sure that you are cared for with divine mercy. It's not conditioned. It's out of his own nature, of his rahmah, that he wants to take care of us, love us, care for us. And so, of course, our natural response should be, who are you, Ya Allah? Why are you doing this? How can I respond to that mercy, that love and care? What can I do to show you my love? So then that follows, then the ethical response is, Ya Allah, allow me to also express my love towards you. So everything in the universe, just from the first moment of inception, our first moment of entry into this world, shows us that Rahmah is at the core of human existence. The way we are created. We are coming to this world ready, equipped with hands, arms, emotions, intellect, brain, feelings. perfectly designed, our arms not too long, not too short, our bodies perfectly fashioned. Allah is the best shaper. And then He doesn't make a mistake that we somehow look alike and sound alike and act alike. No. In His Rahmah, He gives us a unique identity to show how much He is our personal Lord, our personal Creator. He didn't make me like a mass fabrication. I don't look somebody. My voice is unique. My eye color is unique. Everything, my DNA is unique. That's also an act of mercy. We want to be special. And Allah elevates us to be special. You are special in your voice, in your character, in your personality. Yes, you carry the legacy of your ancestors with you. quite literally in your DNA, but still you are you. You are still you. You are uniquely you. And that's also a great honor, which comes from mercy, compassion, saying, I want to express how special you are, how important you are to me as a unique creation. And then we see our fingertips, our saliva, our DNA. Everything says, the one, the one, the one. Don't you see? Who can create such a human being? And why should he create in such a way? Out of mercy. Nobody forced Allah to do it. Nobody intimidated Allah to do it. Nobody compelled him to do it. It was his own choice, his own will, his own decree, his own desire. How beautiful to be Allah's desire, his wish, his thought, his irada, his power. And that is manifested in our existence. So, what does it say? What fills and illuminates boundless space and the empty, vacant world and makes it rejoice is self-evidently divine mercy. And what designates ephemeral man for eternity and makes him the addressee and beloved of the pre-eternal and post-eternal one is self-evidently Divide mercy. And then Allah chooses you as his addressee. Me, the human being. Allah doesn't talk in the Quran to the animals and the trees and the ants and the minerals. He talks to us, to me, to you. Isn't that something that is a great honor? And that comes also out of compassion, out of love. And we don't say love because it doesn't capture the unconditional element of this. Because love is something that you do something and you want something in return. But Allah's compassion, rahmah, is not conditioned in this world. It comes out of his nature. He's not compelled. He doesn't feel pity to do something. It's not a reaction towards something or someone. It comes out of his nature, his holy nature. His holy nature. And then he chooses us as his addressee, as his muhabab, which basically means I'm taking you seriously. I'm talking to you. I am taken in this divine audience, in the sacred audience where Allah chooses me as his addressee. I mean, look at some people when we achieve a certain rank or reputation or fame. or if we are from a certain royal family, people become very arrogant and very, I mean, full of greatness and full of, they lose humility. They don't even talk to you anymore. Or even if you want to go see a doctor today, how long will you talk? When are you coming? What is your concern? If you don't have valid concerns and don't come, is that the case with Allah? Allah says in Hadith Qudsi, where are my servants who want to call out to me so I can respond to them in the third of the night? Who on earth, a friend, a dear friend, can you call them in the middle of the night if it's absolutely not an emergency? Certainly not. But Allah in His Rahmah takes us as His addressee, as His beloved. and takes us seriously and says, for any occasion, any time, any moment, I'm here for you. I'm accessible to you. I'm present to your life, the small and the great. You don't need an appointment. You don't need to tell me how long you want to talk to me. You don't need to tell me how severe situation is. Whatever the topic, I'm here for you. Gharib. Like the Quran says, my servants ask you about me. I'm paraphrasing. Tell them I am near. I'm the most near. I am al-qareeb. Whenever they want to talk to me, I'm here. I'm listening. I'm hearing. Wherever I am, nothing is inappropriate. And Allah calls us to ask from Him. He loves to give. Again, why? Because out of His rahmah, this vast, expansive rahmah, compassion, that has such a desire to be in connection with us, But do we say, Ya Allah, I want to be also in relationship with you. I want to be talking to you. I want to be in conversation with you. So, O human being, since divine mercy is such a powerful, inviting, sweet, assisting, lovable truth, say, In the name of Allah, the merciful, the compassionate. Say, Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. So whenever we utter these words, we should remember how much rahmah is at play. How much rahmah is in our lives. It's a constant. We are constantly surrounded by rahmah. We are constantly treated by rahmah. I'm saying it because sometimes in this moment, as people look around the world and the the repression and the suffering and the evil and the injustice, the question can come up, or the doubt or suspicion, is Allah's rahmah truly at play? Is He present? Is He listening? Is He seeing our suffering? Certainly He is, because rahmah is all around us. You just have to open your eyes, look inwardly, outwardly, and you will see it manifested, and then you will have no doubt, no questioning, no fear, that Rahmah will always be having the last word. SubhanAllah, I look at the bird nests outside here of my yard. Snowstorms came, rain came, thunderstorms came, but Allah in His Rahmah still has them up protected high in the tree. According to causes, they should have been falling down. They should not be stable. They should not be hanging there. But if Allah's Rahmah decides and desires that you will stand and you will be preserved and you still will be hanging there. You will be. You will be standing strong. Just like that tiny little fragile bird nest. So for me, that's explanation, the manifestation of Ar-Rahman. If Allah is preserving in His mercy, in His vast compassion, that tiny little bird nest, then He surely will not neglect my needs. He surely will not dismiss my needs and desires, my prayers, my tears, my struggle. Of course not. The Rahmah that is all around us is seen. The moment I enter this world who sustains me with vitamins, minerals, with enough sunlight, enough rain, the perfect soil, who has prepared this earth in a way that makes it livable and makes it able that we can inhabit it. It's Allah's rahmah. And nobody asked for it. Nobody knows even how it works. We are so clueless and ignorant about the workings in the cosmos, in the universe. We think we know it all, but we don't. Still, a lot, majority of the knowledge is still uncovered for us. And yet we make huge claims about the invisible world, the alam al-ghayb, the world of the unseen. So to conclude, oh man, oh human being, Since divine mercy is such a powerful, inviting, sweet, assisting, lovable truth, say in the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate, adhere to this truth and be saved from absolute desolation and the pains of unending needs. Draw close to the throne of the pre-eternal and post-eternal monarch and availing yourself of the compassionate and grace of divine mercy, become his addressee, his friend, and his beloved. And we see who is that ultimate manifestation, Habibullah peace and blessings be upon him. The Prophet is this ultimate manifestation of Rahmah. We have not sent you except as a mercy to the worlds. And if we imitate and imitate the sunnah of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, we too need to become that embodied mercy to all the creatures in the world. And you see that with him. Tiny little beings towards the mountains, trees, to every human being. His compassion, his tenderness, his kindness, his generosity is awe-inspiring. It's a model for us, a rahmah. And through his rahmah, He is a manifestation of Allah's rahmah because Allah doesn't need to send him to us. But Allah in his mercy shows us an embodied example of rahmah and tells us, if you want to be a true human being, this is the way to live. If you want to live like a true human being, here's your model. Here is a human example of to rise up to your full potential, how to be in relationship, with all creatures, the sky, the moon, the mountain, the animals, people of different faith, people from different backgrounds. And then it is really a compassionate guide to navigate life and death. So to see in the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam this holy map, a sacred map, who shows us, who teaches us how to orient ourselves in the world, how to make sense of life's struggles, pain, sorrow, injustices, and what was his reaction towards that? What did he say? What was his conduct? And then we also realized that he was this huge expression of Allah's rahmah. So I will stop here and inshallah we can reflect on this. But there is so much more to be said. I think the major invitation is that we have to cultivate a deep learning, and reflection about how to see Ar-Rahman reflected in our lives.