Filling the Void: Journeying Back to the Creator
The book under review, Healing the Emptiness” is written by Ms. Yasmeen Mogahed. She was born on March 11, 1980 in Egypt and is an American educator, author, and motivational speaker. She is known for having expertise in spirituality, psychology and personal development. She gained fame for being the first lady Instructor at Al Maghrib institute in America and has authored two more books, “Reclaim your heart” and “Love and happiness”. The book was published in 2022 and has 229 pages.
The book under review has different sections, for instance, section I is about the origin of emptiness while the other sections delve into diagnosing the suffering, removing barriers to healing, treating the wound, guarding the heart and redefining the pain.
The writer begins by stating that the real problem lies in how we choose to fill the emptiness. She explores how we as human beings attempt to do so?
Money
Some people try to fill this emptiness with money. They think that more money they have, more secure they are. But it is like living in a very material world. Emptiness can only be filled through remembrance of God and nearness of God.
We began with the Creator
We actually began with the Creator. We came from the Creator. There was nearness to the Creator. But when we came to this world, now we have a separation from the Creator. That separation has in a way, created a hole inside us and that is this hole which we should try to fill. We take help of different things to fill that hole inside. Each person runs after different things to fill that hole. Some people try to fill it through the money but that hole can be filled only through returning to the Creator.
Take ourselves back to Creator
We should try to take ourselves back to the Creator in a beautiful way. Our actual purpose should be to go back from where we started. What we should do in this life is to look forward all the way that reconnects us with the Creator. We need to understand and respond to everything in the world that connects us with the Creator. We will go through different experiences in our life. Some experiences are going to make us happy and some make us sad but the way how we respond to every experience is actually understanding our purpose. We have to keep this fact in mind that we are here with a purpose to go back. We have a transient life and we are not here to stay. The main problem because people are lost is because of the fat that they think they are going to stay for longer time or perhaps forever. Power, money are no guarantees that will stay here forever. Prophet PBUH said:
“I am like a traveler who stops under the shade of a tree for a while and then continues again.”
We are only travelers here
Hence, we must know that we are here temporarily and have to return to Allah and be answerable for all we did in this world. when we know that we have to stop only for a while then we know that we are a traveler. Here we can stop for a short time. Our goal is beyond this life and we have to continue our journey
We should prepare for the next life
Practically how we can use that understanding to actually bring us closer to our home. We should keep in mind that there are two types of things that can happen to a believer. There can be things you like and the things you don’t like. If you respond properly then the bad things can also become good and help us reach closer to our destination.
For example, when hardships you face, you can respond in a way that can make them good for you. if you act with patience then it can become possible.
A collection of signs. Understand the Creator
Imagine a world that is full of lies. Such a world teaches you how to come back to the Creator. When you look at the beautiful sky, rain and cloud then these all actually make you understand more about the Creator. Therefore, practice asking this question.
What does this tell me or teach me about my Creator
Everything you experience should teach you and let you come closer to Allah. When you start studying everything around you then in the universe every occurrence will be a book of signs in order to make you learn more about the Creator.
99 attributes of Allah
Everything in this world that He created actually helps us to understand the 99 attributes of Allah Almighty. Everything is a lesson to understand about the creations of Allah. Allah says in Quran:
“Indeed, in the creation of heavens and the earth and the change and alternation of night and the day, there are signs for those of understanding (3:190)”.
Read
Most people do not know how to read the signs around them. When a man who could not read was asked to ‘read’ from the book, it was a different kind of reading, one beyond words. True reading is not just about literal reading; it is about understanding the signs in the heavens and the earth. Few people truly understand this. They often fail to understand why Allah has given them certain things in life or what is the true purpose of their existence.
Everything happens for a reason
Everything that happens to us, everything we get and lose is all for a purpose. When we do not study the signs of Allah, we will not be able to find the purpose and when we don’t have any purpose then we may have troubles in our life. When you see the signs about airport then they are to direct and redirect you as without them you will not be able to go to the right path. In same manner when we talk of reading the signs of Allah then it means that we are all on a journey and we all are trying to get back home. For that we need a road map and guidance. One answer can be that guidance is in Quran and Sunnah.
Seeing the signs of Allah
If a person is blind and deaf then how can he learn., He cannot listen and see. The guidance is bright and clear but some people hearts are blind so when they see the signs they actually do not see them because the heart is blind. When people are in so much darkness that if they put their own hands on their faces, they will not be able to see it. Darkness upon darkness will be there. So, we have to figure out how can we see the signs and come with the way to give our hearts sight.
Baseerah and excessive remembrance of Allah
Vision of our heart, Baseerah is the ability to see. It will not be with eyes; it will be with the hearts. Giving the heart the ability to understand is achieved through studying the ways to purify it. That process is rooted in excessive remembrance of Allah, i.e. Zikar and Salat. This is the first step. We need to build a relationship with Quran. It means that we must read the Quran with the understanding. Have we ever thought how much effort we employ in translating if Arabic is not our mother language? Would you just read it in a language that does not make you understand and you have no idea what it is. That is most of the people do with Quran while reciting it. So, translate it and understand it better.
Salat is the oxygen of the heart
Salat is the oxygen of the heart just like as if we do not breathe our bodies will be suffocated and we will die. In the same way if we do not offer salat and do zikar then heart, spiritually will be dead. In this case how we will connect to the Creator?
“And do not disgrace me on the day they are resurrected, the day when neither wealth nor children will benefit, except for one who comes to Allah with a sound heart”. Surah Ash-Shu’ara (26:87-89)
The real success, Zikar
You could be the most successful person in this world, the smartest and the richest. But in reality, these things do not matter at all. The real life is beyond the shade of this tree. We have to see when we will return, is it the healthy heart, dead heart or sick heart with which we return to Allah?
“And the life of this world is nothing but a mataul gharoor (the enjoyment of delusion/shadow of deception)”. Surah Aal-e-Imran (3:185)
We think if we have money, or have a particular person in our life then we are going to be happy.
Realizing that what appears to be water is merely a mirage stops us from chasing false idols and it
makes us stop running after shadows of deception. This only happens when the heart is alive and this can be alive through remembrance of Allah.
Focus on Salat: A Communion with Allah
The first thing we need to do is to focus on salat as it will establish a direct link with the Creator.
In our lives if we look closely what is that which makes human relation strong and what are the factors responsible for weakening or breaking these relations. We would know that communication plays a vital role in building and fortifying relationships. If the communication is not healthy then the relationship will not be healthy. Same is true of salat. How can we have good relation with Allah as when we are communicating, we do not understand what we are saying. We will not be able to get connected with Him in the real way in such a case.
Fix priority to become a good Muslim
We must make it a priority to know how can be become better Muslims. If we miss salat then we have to make sure that we pray and pray on time. We should work on the quality of our salat so that it makes us get closer to Allah. This is how we create a solid foundation
Solid roots
If a tree grows very tall, then the taller it grows the deeper its roots will be, as with this it will have more weight. So, learn how to pray. Learn the concept of Tauheed. Make it your priority. Work on the root. Salat will provide the form roots and that will be laying a good foundation of relationship with the Creator. Build on that foundation. Dua is important when you water the tree. It is like speaking to and asking from Allah all the time. It can help you to become a close friend of Allah. As you cannot make someone your best friend when you do not communicate more. The more you do, stronger your relationship will thrive.
Clean your heart through Astaghphar
The more remembrance you have, stronger your heart will be and it will get more polished in the process. It is just like when you take out the glasses and constantly clean the lense, it makes you see clearly it. If you do not do so then dust will gather on it. So, clean your heart and understand the world better.
We need to give our hearts oxygen through remembrance of Allah and we also need to clean our hearts through Astaghphar. In other words, this is to teach us the importance of constant and consistent Astghaphar. It is seeking forgiveness from Allah. Essence of Astaghphar lies in the fact that the heart feels the sense of remorse and then it asks Allah for forgiveness. Astaghphar is like a shower. We cannot say that we will do it only in Ramadan. We have to do it consistently to make our hearts clean.
Relationship with Quran, protecting the environment
The writer asks to build the relation with Quran through cleaning the heart and making dua. All this will help purify and protect the heart. What will happen to you if you go out in the extreme heat or extreme cold with no protection, you could die of hypothermia or scorching heat. In the same way we have to protect our bodies and hearts. That can be learnt through two things. One is controlling or watching our environment. If you put something clean in middle of a sand box then it is not clean anymore as its environment will be dirty. We have to protect ourselves from an environment that takes us away from remembrance of Allah. Second is to protect the openings to the heart, eyes, ears and the tongue. What we look at, listen to and what we speak is what affects our hearts.
Love of Allah and Istiqama
How is it that the way we go through life and the way we interact with others can eventually guide us back to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala? Purifying our hearts is something related to Istiqma which means staying firm. It can be attained by staying consistent on the right path. One important thing is to regular offer salat along with making us stay away from haram and fulfilling worldly obligations. So, the things that can keep us firm on the right path is offering salat properly. Only if you offer it properly you can understand what you are offering.
Prayer protects from opprobriousness and evil deeds
Prayer offers us a shield. Quran is our shield also. You can go a little dissuaded through ups and downs in life but salat helps you to come back. So, as it also leads to get connected with Quran.
Keep your bodies alive
We can keep our bodies alive through a minimal amount of water or food. We may lose our friends, but yet we still stay alive. So, stay consistent with salaat, isitiqma and zikar and have relationship with Quran.
Being humble
Satan may make us think that we will not be forgiven. He may make us plunge into abysmal despair so that we do not repent by making us think that we are too far away from Him because of the enormous mistakes we commit in life. It can be another reason why we cannot be steadfast. But we must remember that Allah is closer to us than our jugular vein.
“And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein.” Surah Qaf (50:16)
So stay away from Satan. We should also be careful not to lose hope and consistently come back to Allah and repent. Doors of repentance will be shut only when we die. Hence it is not late until we die.
Allah loves even our small actions
Allah loves the actions that are consistent even if they are small in quantity. It means if I am doing something consistently even if it is tiny, Allah will love it in comparison to if I do something huge once in a while. The point here is that if I go to my favorite restaurant and eat with ten people and then if I do not eat for two weeks, this is the same with spiritual life. During Ramadan we may finish Quran three times and in the rest of the year we do not read. So, it is better to read a bit of Quran every day. Make a plan and live your life that is closer to Allah. Have consistency and hold on to small things consistently. Satan may use different tools to make you think that you are perfect but do not let him deceive you. Human beings are not perfect so they are asked to ask for mercy and penance from Allah, and do Astaghphar maximum. When you think that you are perfect the moment you commit some mistake then you become totally hopeless and you say that what is the point of supplication or asking forgiveness anymore. But if you think you are imperfect then you will ask Allah for forgiveness and will not lose hope.
Based on the key points discussed in the book, it can safely be said that this is a book which opens the doors of a profound and beautiful journey and let us embark on a spiritual journey with a new orientation and renewed perspective.
Ghazala Anbreen
