Editorial

No Greater Honor, No Higher Calling, No Greater Reward

We are not idle beings, devoid of purpose or unbidden by a higher calling. For thousands of years, Allah sent His messengers to Earth to ensure that His message was heard and His call was heeded. We were created for no purpose other than to worship Him. While we are allowed to live our lives to the fullest in this world, within the legitimate limits of shariah, our time in this life is only a means to reach Him, be with Him, and eventually see Him in the akhirah. That is the singular, greatest reward.

There is no greater honor than being His servant. No one can rise higher above or to a greater position of honor than when they place their forehead on the ground for Him, to worship Him. Contrary to the negative connotations associated with the idea of servitude, to serve Him is to free oneself from every other form of slavery in this world. It is to liberate one’s heart from every other form of attachment by worshipping Him alone. This is what it means to be Allah’s servant; it is an honor in and of itself. Believing in Him, worshipping Him, and knowing Him are the three stages of accomplishing this purpose. While believing in Him and worshipping Him are crucial to every Muslim, and worthy goals by themselves, knowing Him is the work of His awliya and places them leagues above everyone else. To know Him is to know fulfillment.

A diamond in the rough will shine through if it is polished and worked to perfection in the hands of a master jeweler—in the case of our hearts, a kamil murshid is the master of this unique kind of jewel. A kamil murshid will carefully, delicately, and diligently work the impurities out of our hearts, not for days or months but for years or even for a lifetime, if that is what it takes, to bring out the jewel of true iman that shines bright because a pure iman is what paves the way for one to begin to know Allah.

This was true and practiced during the lifetime of Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) as well, for he was the greatest of master jewelers. He gave the Companions khutbahs, taught them the ways of Islam, educated them, bonded with them, prayed with them, sat and ate with them; even merely being in his presence without exchanging a single word, receiving his blessed gaze, transformed them profoundly. It imbued them with an iman so pure and radiant that we cannot even begin to imagine. He polished the hearts of his Companions so immaculately that their iman became as bright as the stars in the sky. Of this, he said, “My Companions are like the stars; whichever of them you follow, you will be rightly guided.” And so, the greatest of master jewelers passed down this wondrous art of perfecting others’ iman to those who followed in his blessed footsteps: his Companions, their followers, and the great awliya who took up the mantle for many generations onward.

I’d like to conclude my words with the prayer that Allah grants us such pure iman so that we may begin to know Him and love Him. I hope to see you in the July issue inshallah.

M. Galip Dönmez