When I started to think about what I wanted to put in these posts of mine, I decided to introspect a little bit into certain Ayahs or Surahs of the Quran. In fact, I then decided to see if I could explain some of the events of my life or to be more accurate figure out how to handle day to day events and their impact. There are a few Surahs of the Quran that I absolutely adore. One amongst them is Surah Yusuf. The beauty of narration is amazing and the life lessons from this are one of patience and the use of God given intellect in a manner pleasing to the Almighty.
The concept of patience is extremely important to the believer as outlined in many places in the Quran. In fact Sabr (صَبْرٌ) has many interpretations and explanations. It is one of those quintessential qualities that most of the prophets and messengers have. A notable exception is Yunus (A.S) who gets reprimanded by the Almighty and is swallowed by a huge whale. Of course he regrets and goes back to preaching his people. In fact this quality appears in many anecdotes including the one of Yaqub (A.S), the father of Yusuf (A.S.). The adjective used for patience in the context of this story is Jameel which translates to beautiful.
A very related quality is Hikmah (حكمة). This is also a quality that the Almighty endows his messengers or prophets with. Once again, Yusuf (A.S) is provided this through his interpretation of dreams. In fact the way he handles, the return of his brothers to his life and the continued accusation on him and his brother shows a version of Hikmah through that beautiful Sabr that he has and his amazing Tawakkul in the Almighty.
The digital world today essentially works as a prison of the mind. As we consume more and more digital content, we tend to rely on it for validation. It essentially trumps instant gratification over the beautiful qualities of Sabr and Shukr which comes as a result of prolonged Sabr. Social media can distort the truth, can help win elections through spreading of false propaganda. The computational power of AI can result in a skewing of the reality of this life. So how do you escape from this prison ? After all it is not easy to live under a digital rock if you will. I guess that is where the art of introspection into the ultimate truth helps us to moderate our responses to impulses.
No comments:
Post a Comment