THE SPIRITUAL AND
THE MATERIAL
- By S
Roman Ahsan (28th 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!
