(INSIGHT) - The Spiritual and the Material

THE SPIRITUAL AND THE MATERIAL

-      By S Roman Ahsan (28^th June, 2020)

This world is being governed by forces of both the spiritual and the material. Before we discuss this in a little detail, let’s first do post-mortem of the movie ‘Samson and Delilah’ as we shared a video clip earlier from the same in relation to the Spiritual (SEE POST: http://together-we-rise.blogspot.com/2020/06/film-scene-with-god-on-his-side.html)

The original movie ‘Samson and Delilah’ made in 1949 has no doubt high merit as an arts project and its remakes fail to capture the audience in the same way due to many reasons. But the real question is can we draw spiritual lessons from the movie as per Islamic standards? The simple answer is that the general theme of the movie imparts a noble message however ‘Samson’ displays loose character at many turns of the movie.

Samson leaves a pure woman from his own tribe to go after the more attractive and aristocratic women of a nation who have enslaved his own people thus subjecting them to oppression and torture. He falls for the allure of a woman again and again though she heavily betrays him. In short he does not care for his own dignity nor for his own people and parents who are victimized by the Masters. All that does not really make ‘Samson’ a Holy figure with God on his side. The character of ‘Delilah’ is more of a vamp than a heroine also. The real heroine is the pure girl from Samson’s own tribe whom he easily ignores in spite of her keen interest in him as a potential life partner.

This is the magic of Hollywood that they succeed in fooling you by presenting loose characters as the Holy. Still, the movie ‘Samson and Delilah’ has many plots worth reflecting on, especially how the oppressors meet their ultimate downfall after they continuously mistreat the downtrodden nation.

Now let us get back to our topic of the spiritual and the material. Being spiritual in Islam does not really turn one into a Superhuman. Fruits of spirituality offer different rewards to the believers with Unseen benefits. The best of Spirituality is when we keep striving in Allah’s way whether we reap any benefits or not. We have faith in Allah that this world is just a temporary abode and real life begins after death. However benefits are sure to follow in this life also when we try to practice Islam as our Creator does not leave us alone. Our Prayers and supplications are sometimes answered in different ways than we expect.

Let us discuss the case when someone close to us is seriously ill. Our prayers can be answered then to a surprisingly huge extent if we turn to Allah instead of just relying on the material. The material is important also though. The treatment plan should be followed along with medications and the help of healers (doctors or of any other kind) depending on our resources. But the spiritual quest should not be ignored at any level!

Our case is when someone dear is awaiting surgery at hospital and doctors have warned about the dangers of General Anaesthesia due to the old age of patient. It is surgery day at the hospital and you got a copy of Holy Qur’an from the hospital well in advance. You have to go out of your room and ask for that copy from different people. You need to make effort for it. You have done a little job in advance if you have recited Surah Ar-Rahman beside the patient’s bed, have offered supplication and afterwards have blown in the patient’s container of drinking water. This is the right practice in Islam and then the patient is given that drinking water during the day. Reciting the Surah once a day is also sufficient due to your other caretaker’s duties in the hospital.

After two three days in hospital, the surgery time arrives. Ward boys come to your room to take the patient’s bed to the surgery room. Suddenly, you feel a lump in your throat. You feel that God forbid you are going to lose your close one forever. You become overly emotional and are unable to control it. You take the patient’s hand in your hand and stroke their head. You accompany them to the entrance of surgery room after which the door closes. You can no more see your close one.

When the patient has been admitted to the surgery room, that is the most decisive moment as far as your spiritual efforts are concerned. You become hoarse and return to the room with tears starting to swell to your eyes. You know it that these moments count a lot and you want to make the best use of them instead of enjoying a snack or going through your mobile or just sitting outside the surgery room.

The Holy Qur’an is your calling card to Almighty Allah. You take the copy of Qur’an and go to the prayer room with the ablution (wuddoo) of previous Salah (Namaaz). After all every hospital has a prayer room these days. No matter how humble, a prayer room or mosque is the place where people offer regular prayers and hence carries great spiritual value!

When you sit down and open Qur’an, the tears are unstoppable. You start reciting Surah Al-Fateha, then first two rukku of Surah Al-Baqarah, Surah-e-Yaseen and finally Surah Ar-Rahman. All this while your tears are flowing freely and naturally as never before in life because of the pain you feel. You were not expecting this extreme change of mood and severe stroke of agony.

At the end you offer supplication (dua) for the patient about successful surgery as well as after care and when you close the copy of Qur’an, as if like miracle your pain immediately disappears and your tears stop. Peace overtakes you and you step out of the prayer room with a very light heart. Somehow you feel that God has listened to you with His infinite mercy. You then put the copy of Qur’an in the patient’s room and sit down calmly outside the surgery room along with your sibling having full faith in Allah.

Surgery process takes approximately two hours. Finally the door opens and a junior surgeon tells you that the surgery has been successful and the patient is fine. You rejoice but want to know more and have to wait for it. Later the surgeon in-charge declares that everything went well and the patient coped well amazingly with administration of General Anaesthesia which was their biggest fear. He emphasizes that in fact the old patient behaved like an 18 year old when General Anaesthesia was administered!

We can only conclude at the end that in times of pain and difficulty your tears along with adherence to Qur’an and Salah (Namaaz) ‘can’ lead to Almighty Allah granting you miracles provided you have a pure heart and you are regular in your prayers too. The material also has its significance but the spiritual is stronger than the material!