Our children perceive

In the name of Allah the Most Loving and Love-Giving.

In this beautiful and serene moment of Ramadhan, Allah made me ponder upon the miraculous verse from the greatest miracle bestowed upon His beloved Prophet Muhammad SAW.
" Praise and gratitude be to Allah, Rabb of all the worlds." Al Fatihah:2.

This is the authority we are gently called to submit ourselves to, inwardly and outwardly without reservation. By introducing Himself as the Rabb (Master),  Allah is naturally placing the highest demand of a Master upon us, the slaves. That is we submit and act as His slaves with the knowledge, awareness and consciouness of His infinite, limitless love and power as Rabb.

We owe Him for everything while He owes us nothing. He calls Himself Rabb, meaning Master. Allah is the sole Creator, Sustainer, Guardian, Ruler and complete Owner of all the worlds: from the tiniest atom to the super galaxies. He has established the kind of relationship we should have with Him and that is we  be His slaves, continuously at all times and place. Forever and ever. With praise and gratitude (Alhamdulillah) we begin this pure and beautiful bonding with the Most Powerful Master of all the worlds, everything  seen and unseen. Profound are the meaning of the well known words of the ulama' of old: "The Rabb loves to be loved."

This is a unique,  exclusive relationship with no equivalent between the Creator and the created which begins with love and appreciation from the innermost depths of the heart. In Arabic we call it tawheed ubudiyyah or tawheed uluhiyyah. It is comprehensively quoted as 'Indeed my sholat, my sacrifice, my living and my dying is only for Rabbal alamien.' (Al An 'am:162).  Yes, this is a live, continuous and eternal relationship, something you would experience every single moment of your life. A living heart is conscious of the perpetual acts of the Rabb upon him in sustaining his existence and guiding him. Sadly, most hearts are blind to the favours of the Rabb.

To be a slave is not limited to performing certain acts alone. You are not a slave only because you have done certain set of acts. But because mentally, phsychogically, spiritually, physically you are a slave. It is a state of 'being' involving not only the body but more important, the heart and the mind. Ibnul Qayyim described slavery (ubudiyyah in Arabic) as the most beloved state of the heart and soul,  closest to the Rabb. [Madarij as Saalikin volume 1]

One who has established it on earth will taste its beautiful and fullest manifestation in Paradise when one can lay eyes on the Supreme Creator, the possessor of the most perfect and most beautiful attributes. How the believing heart long and crave to meet its Master! No words suffice to praise Him except those He taught us. And we were taught to consciously recite repetitively Alhamdulillahi Rabbil alamien.

Allah is our Rabb.
He created us.
He owns us.
He feeds us.
Cures us when we are sick.
Guides us when we are lost.
Provides all our needs.
He has full power upon us.
He holds our life and soul.

Only He can tell us right from wrong and dictate the terms of our slavery. A good slave is how He defines it, not as how we think a good slave is. The One who has the power to create has the right to rule. Only He who creates, rules. A logic the intelligent heart can never defy.

Before we can tell others to be good slaves of Allah,  foremostly on our part we have to meet the conditions of being a slave of Allah. A parent has to strive his utmost to meet the conditions of being the slave of Allah. Because his children learn from him. Yes, our children perceive. Ever since the day they were born.

Our action, body languages, words, decisions, ambition, struggle, tears, laughter and endeavour imprint upon their minds and hearts what it is like to be a good slave of Allah. Could we be giving the wrong signals?

Ibnu Taimiyyah has listed 5 conditions to be a slave of Allah:

1. Love
2. Obedience (inward plus outward)
3. Sincerity (ikhlas)
4. Trust (tawakkal)
5. Terms of slavery defined by Him not us.  (The standard is set by the Master not the slave)

  Inshaallah we need to study them to act upon them. Wallahu a'lam. I seek His forgiveness.