Friday, April 13, 2012

The imperfect to remind us of the perfect


 I got a new mobile phone recently, Alhamdullillah (All Praise is to Allah). Well, it looks really nice and it has all these fancy features, full touch screen and so on. It seemed almost flawless, with its sleek look and shiny screen, and then while I was using it one day, it suddenly switched off. It went completely dead and I don’t really know why; my brother has speculated that it’s because it may have gotten too hot. The reason for this doesn’t really matter, what matters is the reminder this has given me. It’s reminded me that nothing in this world is perfect, worldly things are imperfect and full of flaws (and this goes for people as well). But more than this, the reminder that things of this world are imperfect has reminded me that Allah Almighty, the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth, and of all creatures, is in fact ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!

Only Allah is perfect. Only Allah’s creation does not need regular upgrades. Look around, look at nature, the vast seas, the endless skies, the perfectly shaped clouds, trees perfectly crafted, different kinds of flowers, etc, etc... these things are perfect because Allah has created them in the perfect mould. The things that human beings make may look good, they may seem great, but somewhere along the line the imperfection will show, there is no doubt about that.

A few years ago my sister and her husband bought a beautiful car. It was a convertible and as can be imagined it was stunning; my sister ended up hating that car, for many different reasons, one of which was the car had faults, and although you wouldn’t expect this from such a car, there were some serious faults with the car and no one could do anything about it, even after various complaints to the car company. After a short while they sold the car and went back to their old ordinary car; but that episode in their lives was one which taught them great lessons. That beautiful car was imperfect, and it reminded them of what is Truly Perfect.

I think we need such reminders, otherwise we’d get caught up in this world, believing that the things of this world is the best. It’s easy to get fooled you know. But when we are given these reminders, then we are forced to focus on the world of the hereafter, which is perfect and which will last forever. The beauties in Paradise cannot be imagined by anyone alive, but I bet you that my new cellular phone, or my sister’s ex-convertible, or any other worldly thing for that matter is very, very poor in comparison to the things of Paradise.

Instead of focusing on the beautiful things of this world, we should be directing ourselves to the beautiful things of the Hereafter, because then we will work harder and harder to try and get the perfect things, instead of the imperfect.

So it seems that we need opposites to remind us and direct us. Without poverty we cannot appreciate wealth, without sickness we cannot appreciate health, without old age, we cannot appreciate youth, and of course, without the imperfect we cannot appreciate the Perfect!

May Almighty Allah guide us and always show us real beauty and truth and May Allah give us what is truly perfect instead of the flawed, imperfect things of this world, Inshaa-Allah Ameen!

Image from here

13 comments:

  1. Assalamu Alaykum waRahmatullahi waBarakatuh, ameen, :) beautiful reminder sister.

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  2. I love how you extract a lesson from occurrences that usually drive people to blog rants! x

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  3. Dana

    Wa-alaykum salaam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu. Thanks for your comment, Alhamdullillah I am glad you found this useful.

    jnana

    Thank you for your comment, there's always a lesson to be learnt, especially when we think there can't possible be anything to learn from something. I just pray that Allah Almighty always makes it easy for us to recognise the lessons we need to.

    Stay well sisters and thanks for stopping by.

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  4. Assalaam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh dear Zarina!
    I hope you're doing well, dear sister. I miss you :-) <3 And I know it's my fault, because I am not using the Internet (and blogging) much these days... Instead I get more time for Salah and worship, Alhamdulillah :-)
    Masha'Allah, this post is really great - as always!! Very inspiring and I agree with what jnana wrote! :-)

    I send you lots of hugs and love. Take care! May Allah (swt) bless you always!

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  5. Rose water

    Dear sister it is good to hear from you and although I miss you as well, and all your inspiring posts, I really understand that blogging and the internet can waste a lot of time. Masha'Allah I am so happy that you have prioritsed and are now spending more time in worship, May Almighty Allah be pleased with you and accept all your efforts Inshaa-Allah.

    I am also glad that you found some inspiration in this post, Ameen to your prayer.

    May Allah keep you in peace always;-)

    Stay well

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  6. Great reminder from a simple event! I like this Zarina. The world is imperfect and realizing it give us the chance not to attach ourselves to possessions or people. This journey is not the end.

    Have a beautiful week Zarina.

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  7. Marie

    Absolutely, this journey is not the end, in fact it's only the beginning. The sooner we realise that this world is temporary, the better it will be for us, and detaching ourselves from this world is one sure way to remember this.

    There are reminders and signs everywhere, the choice is ours, we can decide if we want to take heed of these reminders or choose to ignore them.

    May the Almighty Creator always be our guide and help us to recognize truth.

    You have a wonderful week and stay in peace!

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  8. I really enjoyed reading your post - It makes us think about how we are leading our lives!

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  9. Karima

    Thank you, glad you liked reading this, reflection is always good, and there are always more lessons to be learnt.

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  10. Asalamu alaikum thank you for sharing, a good read, feel free to visit "A Good Friend"

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  11. ireminisces

    wa-alaykum salaam, thanks for your comment, will visit your blog soon inshaa-Allah.

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  12. Assalam alaium,

    Beautiful and may Allah reward you for reminding us of this crucial fact.

    I would like to share with of something minor which reminded me Allah's perfection. Few weeks back as I was seated in the kitchen whilst preparing a meal for family,my cat came to seat next to me by feet. I then happened to look at his face (well I always at him anyway - he's such an attention seeker, BUT this time I got to appreciate and really notice what a PERFECTIONIST ALLAH is. What led me to this realization is the design of his (cat's) coat especially the stripes around his eyes extending to his chicks as if some artist/ professional designer designed with deliberate precision.

    I know it sounds absurd or may be kind of hippy but AlHamdulillah from that I have learnt that we can find/identify Allah's perfection in any of His creation. Therefore I couldn't agree more with you that none but Allah is the most perfect, for everything He's made/ created is made with precision - and you can start by looking at yourself for you, yourself, are the evidence Allah's perfection.

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  13. Amina

    Wa-alaykum salaam

    Thank you for your comment and for sharing your story with us. This does not sound absurd at all.Alhamdullillah, there is definitely beauty in all of Allah's creatures, and I'm sure that you cat must be beautiful. There is also artistry and design in everything that Allah makes, SubhanAllah. May Allah make us of those who are always able to recognise His signs in everything Inshaa-Allah.

    Stay well dear sister

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