Secrets of Divine Love:

By; A. Helwa

Page number: 301

Originally published: 2020

"You are not this mortal body that death will one day take. You are an everlasting spirit held in the mortal embrace of clay. You are not a human being meant to be spiritual, you are a spiritual being living this human being miracle." (pg.30)

Thoughts:

When nothing existed, Allah spoke into nothingness, كُن فَيَكُونُ, and so everything was created. The first human did not know how to wish to be created before the utterance of كُن فَيَكُونُ, because he was not a being. I was nonexistent, without darkness or light; I was none. He created “the heavens and the earth, and all that is between them” (7:54), and so we came to life and the cosmos was brought into existence.

When I was as عَاجِز‎ as I was from simply being, Allah gave me from his endless pond of رحمة a life, an eternal soul, and a temporary body made from clay. 114 times in the Quran, Allah tells us his two names, Ar- Rahman and Ar-Rahim, as a way to remind us of His mercy and love that bestowed us the life that began from nonexistence and is promised to be never-ending. As I am breathing in and out at this moment, he is continuing to keep me in existence and granting me to keep the life he has breathed in me.

For that alone, for the sole reason of being an existent and living soul, no amount of gratitude is enough. Knowing that even the most cherished friend of Allah, Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), was not granted the Jannah based on his worship but by the mercy of Allah Azzawajall, who can be sure of the adequacy of their worship of Him?

In our essence, we are naturally drawn to God’s impenetrable love, as he created us with love. Understanding his love for us and remembering our love for him is already within us, worshiping and reflecting in our inner worlds will only uncover them. To love Him is to remove the veil of ignorance caused by ego, and be vulnerable, grateful, and open-minded in our عبادة. Three spiritual stages will take us to Him: Islam, Iman, and Ihsan.

Islam (submission), Iman (faith), and Ihsan (God- Consciousness) are the three steps to fulfilling our spiritual journey. Islam, the first stage, is understanding Allah’s commands to humans and obeying them. Qur’an and the Sunnah are the two collections of rules that a Muslim, someone who has submitted to Islam, must live by. According to the Prophet's hadith, there are five cornerstones to Islamic thought. “Islam is to testify that there is nothing worthy of worship except God and that Muhammed is the Messenger of God, to perform the ritual prayers, to pay the purifying alms, to fast in Ramadan, and to make the pilgrimage to the Sacred House if you are able to do so.”

Iman, the second stage, is the inner belief and trust in God. More than the actions, Iman is about the belief itself. In a hadith, the Prophet (PBUH) describes Iman as “to believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and to believe in destiny both its good and its bad”. A Mumin, a person who has Iman, has reached a state of تَوَكُّل, trust in Allah’s plan, even in times of hardship.

Lastly, Ihsan is the God-conscious mindset. Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) says “Ihsan is to worship God as you are seeing Him, for even if you cannot see Him, you know He sees you”. Thus, a Muhsin, someone with Ihsan, is a believer who takes his every step in consideration of Allah’s gaze. These three concepts are referred to as, Ilm- al Yaqin (Islam), Ayn- al Yaqin (Iman), and Haqq- al Yaqin (Ihsan), and should be the stages a believer must crave, to reach a true understanding of the Divine.

A believer who gained a true sense of Islam, Iman, and Ihsan transforms from being spiritually exhausted by the events of this world, to have inner peace. Although they may still go through trials and tribulations, they perceive the events of the world from a wiser angle of trusting in Allah's plan and foreseeing a good result in everything. In a hadith, Prophet says (PBUH) "Strange are the ways of a believer for it is good in every affair of his and this is not the case with anyone else except in the case of a believer for if he has to feel delighted, he thanks (God), thus there is a good for him in it, and if he gets into trouble and shows resignation (and endures it patiently), there is a good for him in it."

Even in the case of death, a believer is able to see it as an entree way to eternity, rather than an entree way to nothingness. As Rumi says "my soul is from elsewhere, I am sure of that, and I intend to end up there" (pg. 274), a believer is comforted by the knowledge that this world's hardships are a test to measure our trust and belief in God, and with death, will be used as rewards in our name. May Allah mercy us on the Day of Judgment and grant us with the highest levels of Jannah. Ameen...

Summary:

Written by A. Helwa, Secrets of Divine Love is a guiding book that discusses how to gain spiritual closeness with God. The book focuses on Allah’s love, our place in the world, Quran’s mysteries, spiritual stages, repentance, death, and heaven and hell, respectively. The book gives a comprehensive idea of what it means to be a believer and the purpose of this Dunya and the afterlife according to Islamic teaching. It provides 14 reflection assignments that tell you how to put the taught theories into practice. Written with a hopeful yet realistic approach to God's judgment, the book proves to be a great resource for understanding our Creator.

In the first half of the book, the author dives deeper into Allah’s love and mercy, and our obligations in showing gratitude for His generosity. She talks about the importance of first understanding the Creator and second worshiping Him. She makes an emphasis on staying away from hopelessness and ego as they were the characteristics of Iblis, and are the basis for closing our hearts to the Divine message. Topics of repentance, the purpose behind creation, Allah's characteristics, and names are discussed.

In the second half of the book, the author goes into the pillars of Islam, the secrets behind death, and heaven and hell. Shadah, Salat, Zakat, Sawm, and Hajj are given their separate chapters and explained by relating ayah and hadith. The most touching part for me, the secrets of death chapter, explains to the reader that death is not an ending, it is "a transition- a metamorphosis in which we undress our caterpillar bodies to unveil our everlasting butterfly spirit."

personal rating of the book: 10/10