Am just thinking aloud. How would our response be when the final call comes? Perhaps lukewarm and not so eager like the response we give when there is a call for prayer. Because we are occupied with all kinds of business, we are here and there so we tend to delay until it becomes more convenient to make a prayer. We are not very responsive and excited except maybe when we are in the Haramain where prayers are highlights of the day, day in day out. Over there we are like an ashiq - one who loves Allah - truly. But I suppose, the sacred and pristine environment is a motivating factor.
By contrast when we are at the mall we become an ashiq of all the beautiful and cool stuffs on the shelves. Hopefully we are thinking about how rich the Creator is, and how great a Craftsman He is. A specific example (and a personal one) is the Tiffany's citrine ring. Oh man! I can't get it out of my mind, for God's sake.
Now, how are we supposed to be an ashiq if we are like this?
A page I happened to flip this lovely Thursday morning had this to say. It's from a book by Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad called 'Love for Allah' under the heading 'Constant Reflection':
"When the sun rises, the ashiq is reminded of his beloved. When it sets, he is reminded of his Beloved. When an ashiq sits with his friends, he speaks of his Beloved. And were he to receive an invitation to meet His beloved, he would go walking on his head."
Would you go walking on the head? Would I go walking on my head? Or do I say 'Er...wait...where are you taking me?' But if indeed He is our true beloved, we would go anywhere our beloved wants to take us, aye? And anytime. Yes, anywhere, anytime.
May Allah pardon us for we do not have the capacity to love Him as He ought to be loved.
O Allah, grant us love for You, love for Your Beloved, love for all whom You love and all who love You.
Ameen.
Credit: Faqir Publications
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