Note to Reader: This post is an exception since it is not based on my views alone and is largely based on a sufi book I read sometime ago. I am not a sufi supporter per se, and to be frank, I'm not sure if this view of submission is correct. It is an interesting concept however, which I want to share. But the post does make a point...we should consider what it really means to submit...for it is a root issue.
Islam means submission, and a Muslim is he who submits. But what is submission? What does it mean to submit? How do you go about submitting? These are important questions, as they form the very backbone of following the straight path as commanded to us by God.
Muslims have always been told to submit to God, to be devoted to God, to be mindful of God and to fear God. These are really variations of the same command. And typically we are told the way to submit is to follow the do's and the don'ts. Do your prayers, don't backbite, do your fasts, don't be greedy, and so on. But fundamentally the list of do's and don'ts are only the outward manifestations of submission; they do not get at the root issue - that which drives the behaviour of submission in the first place.
And what drives submission? It is that which is at the very core of us. It is the understanding the soul given to each of us by God is part of His very spirit, and the soul longs to be close to its Master. It is only Satan who tempts us and arouses our ego so as to make pride and arrogance our Masters instead of God. This after all, is exactly what Satan tempted Adam with, when he promised Adam immortality if he ate from the tree...as stated in the Qur'an. Satan, essentially, awakened Adam's ego.
So what is ego? It is the identification of yourself as its own force. The "I". "I" am great. "I" am smart, "I" am strong, "I" am...and the list goes on. So our challenge at the very core, is to recruit our ego away from the service of the self, the "I", to the service of Allah. The ego cannot be eliminated, an ego is given to us by God as a gift...for without it we will not create, we will not accomplish, we will not do. The challenge is to harness the ego, and use it to do work that is good, work that is in the cause of Allah.
So I define submission/fear/devotion/mindfulness of Allah as:
The recruitment of the ego away from the service of the Self to the service of Allah.
When you are in submission - in the true sense, not only the ritual sense - you become an observer of yourself, just as you observe anyone else. You are no longer identified with yourself, but rather you are an Observer. The Observer now has a non-biased choice of recruiting the ego to serve either you (and that means your desires) or serve God. When you, as the Observer, decide and successfuly guide your ego to serve God instead of your desires, then you have reached the state of submission.
And a state of submission to Allah, is actually a state of freedom from the desires...and I would say meanness of the Self. When put in this way, submission is actually freedom...and freedom from your own desires is peace; you are no longer searching for your next buzz, your next source of excitement, your next activity that will satisfy whatever craving YOU want.
Now all this sounds nice...but its easier said than done. By no means have I personally achieved this on a sustained basis as of this writing. But I am striving. I am in and out of submission. But in those periods when I am in submission, well it is nothing but peace. I get an inkling of what the serenity in heaven might be like.
When you achieve this state, of recruitment of your ego away from the service of the Self to the service of Allah, a number of other things happen. First, the ego simply cannot be hurt, cannot be disappointed, cannot even pick you in preference to others because it is not serving you, it is serving Allah. And therefore you cannot get angry, regretful or impatient. Since the ego is in the service of Allah, you are therefore obliged to follow the guidance of the Qur'an, and part of that guidance is to provide for yourself...but to do so in an appropriately measured amount...and greed is eliminated as are all other vices.
The soul therefore, which is God's very own spirit, effectively holds on to God by a rope, just as the Qur'an says. In this state, praying 5 times a day is not only easy, you actually long for the next prayer. In this state, you look out for other's needs in a measured proportion according to God's guidance without neglecting your own needs and your family's needs. In this state, the veil is lifted, the 'game' of this life becomes evident...and you begin to treat it as such. You realize that 'things' in this life are not so important. In this state, Satan has no temptation over you at all.
And what does God say? He says in the Qur'an (paraphrased) 'Satan will be able to tempt all but the true Believers'. This to me, gets at the root of what it really means to be submitted to God...and what it means to be a Muslim...he who submits. Once the soul reaches this state of submission, it is now able to fully follow the guidance of the Qur'an without exception because it no longer is vulnerable to Satan's temptations.
To truly follow the guidance of the Qur'an in a state of submission is what is meant by "Guide us to the straight path.." in sura Fatiha, The Opening.
Islam means submission, and a Muslim is he who submits. But what is submission? What does it mean to submit? How do you go about submitting? These are important questions, as they form the very backbone of following the straight path as commanded to us by God.
Muslims have always been told to submit to God, to be devoted to God, to be mindful of God and to fear God. These are really variations of the same command. And typically we are told the way to submit is to follow the do's and the don'ts. Do your prayers, don't backbite, do your fasts, don't be greedy, and so on. But fundamentally the list of do's and don'ts are only the outward manifestations of submission; they do not get at the root issue - that which drives the behaviour of submission in the first place.
And what drives submission? It is that which is at the very core of us. It is the understanding the soul given to each of us by God is part of His very spirit, and the soul longs to be close to its Master. It is only Satan who tempts us and arouses our ego so as to make pride and arrogance our Masters instead of God. This after all, is exactly what Satan tempted Adam with, when he promised Adam immortality if he ate from the tree...as stated in the Qur'an. Satan, essentially, awakened Adam's ego.
So what is ego? It is the identification of yourself as its own force. The "I". "I" am great. "I" am smart, "I" am strong, "I" am...and the list goes on. So our challenge at the very core, is to recruit our ego away from the service of the self, the "I", to the service of Allah. The ego cannot be eliminated, an ego is given to us by God as a gift...for without it we will not create, we will not accomplish, we will not do. The challenge is to harness the ego, and use it to do work that is good, work that is in the cause of Allah.
So I define submission/fear/devotion/mindfulness of Allah as:
The recruitment of the ego away from the service of the Self to the service of Allah.
When you are in submission - in the true sense, not only the ritual sense - you become an observer of yourself, just as you observe anyone else. You are no longer identified with yourself, but rather you are an Observer. The Observer now has a non-biased choice of recruiting the ego to serve either you (and that means your desires) or serve God. When you, as the Observer, decide and successfuly guide your ego to serve God instead of your desires, then you have reached the state of submission.
And a state of submission to Allah, is actually a state of freedom from the desires...and I would say meanness of the Self. When put in this way, submission is actually freedom...and freedom from your own desires is peace; you are no longer searching for your next buzz, your next source of excitement, your next activity that will satisfy whatever craving YOU want.
Now all this sounds nice...but its easier said than done. By no means have I personally achieved this on a sustained basis as of this writing. But I am striving. I am in and out of submission. But in those periods when I am in submission, well it is nothing but peace. I get an inkling of what the serenity in heaven might be like.
When you achieve this state, of recruitment of your ego away from the service of the Self to the service of Allah, a number of other things happen. First, the ego simply cannot be hurt, cannot be disappointed, cannot even pick you in preference to others because it is not serving you, it is serving Allah. And therefore you cannot get angry, regretful or impatient. Since the ego is in the service of Allah, you are therefore obliged to follow the guidance of the Qur'an, and part of that guidance is to provide for yourself...but to do so in an appropriately measured amount...and greed is eliminated as are all other vices.
The soul therefore, which is God's very own spirit, effectively holds on to God by a rope, just as the Qur'an says. In this state, praying 5 times a day is not only easy, you actually long for the next prayer. In this state, you look out for other's needs in a measured proportion according to God's guidance without neglecting your own needs and your family's needs. In this state, the veil is lifted, the 'game' of this life becomes evident...and you begin to treat it as such. You realize that 'things' in this life are not so important. In this state, Satan has no temptation over you at all.
And what does God say? He says in the Qur'an (paraphrased) 'Satan will be able to tempt all but the true Believers'. This to me, gets at the root of what it really means to be submitted to God...and what it means to be a Muslim...he who submits. Once the soul reaches this state of submission, it is now able to fully follow the guidance of the Qur'an without exception because it no longer is vulnerable to Satan's temptations.
To truly follow the guidance of the Qur'an in a state of submission is what is meant by "Guide us to the straight path.." in sura Fatiha, The Opening.
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