FROM THE SPIRITUAL TREE

There is a tree beside my house. I call it the 'Spiritual Tree'. I derive spiritual inspiration from it. A tree is an evergrowing being that was initially a seed possessing the potential of becoming a full-grown tree. A seed takes food from the universe around it and then grows into a tree. The same is true with spirituality, the desire for which is intrinsic to, and an integral part of, the very nature of every human being. To realize this spirituality, man must derive spiritual food from the universe around him. A tree converts carbon-dioxide into oxygen; a spiritual person is one who can take positive lessons from negative situations. From this perspective, a tree is an embodiment of a spiritual personality. —Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

THE VEIL OF SATAN

THE following is a part of a long Hadith (sayings of the Prophet): “Satan keeps hovering over the eyes of human beings, so that they may not reflect upon the divine signs scattered all over the earth and the heavens. Had it not been so, they would certainly see divine marvels.” (Musnad Ahmad)

The universe around us is called nature in scientific terminology. Man comes across numerous events or phenomena in this vast world of nature. He sees and experiences them without learning any lesson from them. The following verse of the Quran applies to those who do not pay heed to signs of nature: “And there are many signs in the heavens and the earth that they pass by and give no heed to.” (12:105)

These events scattered in the universe are in fact divine signs. They serve as an introduction to the Creator in the form of His creation. If a person were to see with open eyes, he would observe the marvels of nature in these signs. But Satan puts such thoughts in man’s mind as prevent him from seeing those events of nature from the right perspective. It is Satan who puts the thought in a person’s mind that all those signs of nature are the result of the laws of cause and effect, happening automatically, rather than the result of divine power. Satan tries to stop man from looking at these events from the point of view of deriving lessons from them. He strives to make man look at them purely from the point of view of material gain. Satan tries to make man take everything around him for granted and not ponder or reflect upon them. It is these Satanic whisperings which deprive man of the right realization of God and reality.