Decorating Our Personality

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

The following is a transcript of discourse delivered by Mawlana Wafi’ Muhammad. 

It is the custom of a lot of people that when they are decorating a home they usually put up a lot of bright bulbs.  If the bulbs of those lights are not bright and shining, it will not serve its purpose.  Every human being is like a bulb.  And the mission of life is to keep that bulb bright and shining, so that it will be part of the decoration of the Garden on the Day of Resurrection.  In that Garden the perquisite of being there is to have a bright and shining personality.  In this connection, Allah (s.w.t.) Tells us in the Qur’an: 

سُوۡرَةُ التّحْریم

يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ تُوبُوٓاْ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ تَوۡبَةً۬ نَّصُوحًا عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمۡ أَن يُكَفِّرَ عَنكُمۡ سَيِّـَٔاتِكُمۡ وَيُدۡخِلَڪُمۡ جَنَّـٰتٍ۬ تَجۡرِى مِن تَحۡتِهَا ٱلۡأَنۡهَـٰرُ يَوۡمَ لَا يُخۡزِى ٱللَّهُ ٱلنَّبِىَّ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ مَعَهُ ۥ‌ۖ نُورُهُمۡ يَسۡعَىٰ بَيۡنَ أَيۡدِيہِمۡ وَبِأَيۡمَـٰنِہِمۡ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَآ أَتۡمِمۡ لَنَا نُورَنَا وَٱغۡفِرۡ لَنَآ‌ۖ إِنَّكَ عَلَىٰ ڪُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ قَدِيرٌ۬ (٨) 

O you who believe!  Turn to Allah with sincere repentance: in the hope that your Lord will Remove from you your ills and Admit you to Gardens beneath which rivers flow ― the Day that Allah will not permit to be humiliated the Prophet and those who believe with him.  Their light will run forward before them and by their right hands, while they say “Our Lord!  Perfect our light for us, and Grant us Forgiveness; for You have Power over all things." (Surah at-Tahrim:8) 

There are two ways of keeping our bulbs bright and shining.  One is to do good.  When we do good, we add to the brightness of the bulb.  Another way is to wipe out the dust and smut that prevents our bulb from shining brightly.  The way of doing this is to constantly ask for Forgiveness from your Lord.  A lot of people do not keep this in mind at all.  When we reach a point in life, concentrate on two things that Allah (s.w.t.) Makes Mention of in Surah an-Naswr: 

سُوۡرَةُ النّصر

فَسَبِّحۡ بِحَمۡدِ رَبِّكَ وَٱسۡتَغۡفِرۡهُ‌ۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ ڪَانَ تَوَّابَۢا (٣) 

Celebrate the Praises of your Lord, and pray for His Forgiveness: for He is Oft-Returning (in Grace and Mercy). (Surah an-Naswr:3) 

We keep our light bright and shining by glorifying Allah (s.w.t.), by seeking Forgiveness for our shortcomings, by doing good to others and by connecting our lamp to the source of the light; Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) because he is Siraj an-Munirah, the lamp that gives light.  Our aspiration is to get into the Garden and the beginning of entry into the Garden is when we rise with brightened countenances.  On this earth, there are limitations.  For example, Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) could not have seen the true personality of Jibril (a.s.) in this world.  It was only when he was outside the dimension of space and time he saw his true personality.  So we cannot understand what are the implications and the beauty of having a bright light.  It is only when we are resurrected we can understand fully. 

We pray to Allah to perfect our light and try our best to avoid those things that soil the light of your soul.  The soul is the source of our light and we must never forget that our nafs is impacting upon it.  Our personality comprises of both the body and soul so we need to take care of both.  Because we cannot see the soul, much attention is not given to it.  We must understand that the soul is the source of our light and we must polish it in order for it to shine brightly.  May Allah (s.w.t.) Forgive us all and Bless us with the ability and understanding to remove the spots we have put on our light and polish it at the same time.