When endeavouring to explain to someone how I uncovered my
spirituality, I usually say it happened quite suddenly, in a moment of clarity.
Throughout my childhood and young adult years, God remained in the
background of my consciousness. I believed in Him, and performed some rituals
of worship to express this belief. Yet He rarely crossed my mind during
day-to-day life, and I felt it was more important to focus my attention on
intellectual advancement through academic and professional avenues.
I held myself to an elevated standard in work and study, always getting
high grades on exams and maintaining a diligent work ethic that opened many
opportunities for advancement. I sought happiness through ties of family and
friendship, and on a couple of occasions, came close to forging a sincere
commitment in marriage.
However, as it turned out, life was full of all kinds of mishaps and disappointments.
My professional success was overshadowed by office politics or ill-intentioned colleagues
who managed to drain my enthusiasm. Love relationships that seemed to be headed
for marriage would unravel due to dishonesty and lack of integrity. And family
ties would be put to the test by financial and health difficulties. The belief in God lurking in the background of my life wasn’t
sufficient to help me deal with what was flooding in its foreground.
With my lack of attentiveness to the practice of faith, I was unable to
understand why God constantly placed hurdles in my path and left me to wallow
in despair. It was as I was passing through one of these hurdles – frustrated,
anxious and impatient to discover an answer – that I came to that moment of crisp, unhindered, spiritual
and intellectual clarity.
In the Quran, which I hadn’t read up to that point, there is a
description of a veil over the eyes of those who aren’t receptive to God’s
message, a barrier that makes it inconceivable for them to understand faith in
the true sense. Only by seeking answers with an open mind can one overcome this
barrier. God refers to a divine light that, when it shines on the heart, lifts
the veil and illuminates a holistic understanding of belief in God and the
purpose of life.
In my moment of clarity, it was as though I was moved from the former
state to the latter state, from the “depths of darkness into light.”
“He will provide for you a
Light to help you walk; He will forgive you your past: for God is Most Forgiving,
Most Merciful.” (Quran 57:28)
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| A break in the clouds, photo courtesy of Flickr |
It happened one morning before dawn more than two years ago. Unable to
sleep I sat in my living room trying to decipher how to cope with the latest
predicament; trying to understand why I deserved it. In a moment of inspiration, I knew the answer. What I
perceived as a disappointment was actually a blessing, for it prompted me to
question my state of existence, preparing me to be more receptive to God’s
message and mercy.
