There is a knowing of which we become dimly aware, only when our minds are quiet. When we do, its experience is so potent, infused with so much power, that it’s difficult to imagine it could be masked by the cacophony of life. And yet it is – every day. This knowing is the thread of intelligence that comprises, and that connects, all living things. Our awareness of its existence is typically fleeting, and thus affords us only an inkling of its dimension. Yet the answer to every question we can conceive, rests in the crucible of this space. This knowing is a tether to our Creator in the eternal realm, a realm of which we are, and have always been, a part. It exists both within and outside of us.
The wise among us aspire to cultivate this connection with our Creator, often, through prayer.
By and large, however, people dismiss it. They dismiss it because they don’t understand it, and because the din of the Dunya (the world) is so loud. The noise and static that surrounds us here is inescapable, unceasing, and distractions are ubiquitous. In those rare instances when this knowing does enter our stream of consciousness, it disappears almost as quickly as it came; and it disappears, because we allow it. Every time we do this, we’ve made the conscious, split-second decision to dismiss its call, in favor of the temporal world, a world that overwhelms our senses with things and goals of imagined significance. And the world rewards us for this. It reinforces our decision by providing us more of the same. But rewards of the Dunya are no more lasting than they are satisfying. For the surrender of self to worldly things comes at tremendous cost to the soul.
As human beings, we are derivative of the divine, and as such, we possess a consistency, a continuity, and an integrity of presence, as birthright from our Creator. Our experience of the temporal world, however, and of time in particular, is in stark contrast to the eternal nature of our soul; and in fact, challenges its very existence. The irony, is that time and the sensation of its passage, moment-by-moment, has no relevance, except that it helps us to navigate the Dunya. The passage of time serves the world into which we are born, and the world, in turn, amplifies it. We are highly sensitive to it and acutely aware of it – so much so, that we equate time as a measure of life, itself:
- from conception to infancy; infancy to childhood; childhood to adulthood – and yet the soul remains a constant;
- from spring to summer; summer to fall; fall to winter; year to year – and yet the soul remains a constant;
- from youth to age, evidenced by lines in our face and grey in our hair; these things too, remind us of time’s passage – and yet the soul remains a constant.
Time and the sensation of its passing, serves an important purpose in this earthly life. It causes us to reflect, contemplate, and to grow, as we begin to understand and appreciate the folly of investing ourselves – our life’s energy – in the pursuit of status and in the acquisition of material things. This world, both seductive and futile, is a test of desire; it is a test of our commitment to the care of the soul. For in the Dunya, we are under siege, under a relentless assault by temptations that are as insidious as they are powerful; as a riptide that whisks us from the safety of shore. And they challenge our resolve.
There is no peace here, only futility and pointless trifling. Even an awareness and appreciation for this paradox of our existence is not sufficient to save us from the powerful tides of the Dunya. This is the siege that rages in the US today, and it is manifest in the anxiety, depression and in the despair so prevalent throughout our nation and among our youth. It is a pestilence that erodes the United States from the inside out. And it is borne of complacency, of life that is at once shaped and limited by the indiscriminate elements that surround it, leaving us to founder; adrift and devoid of direction or purpose. Islam has the capacity to restore us, as it provides a template for the cultivation of a disciplined life, a curated life – a life in which we consciously and deliberately choose the influences we allow in, and those we keep out.
Only concerted effort, a sincere and abiding commitment to cultivate the path that connects us with Allah SWT, can safeguard the soul and mend a nation. It is imperative that we listen for the call, that we attend to it, embrace it, and cultivate it, that we might develop the capacity to rise above the Dunya and to see beyond it, Insha’Allah (God willing), for herein lies the wellspring and source of lasting peace, as a baraka (blessing), in bequest to all who belong to Him.
The choice is ours and we haven’t the luxury to be complacent; complacency destroys the soul…and dismantles a nation.
Copyright © 2020 American Islamic Montessori Association, all rights reserved.
Dr. Jaime Dodd specializes in the research and application of Montessori theory and practice in early childhood educational settings. She is a member of the executive leadership team for a nonprofit, educational and research institution in St. Louis, Missouri where she has invested the greater part of her professional career. Dr. Dodd serves on the board of various St. Louis area non-profit entities, focused primarily on educational, humanitarian and/or healthcare concerns. Dr. Dodd’s passion is manifest in her work with the American Islamic Montessori Association (AIMA), a professional membership organization to advance Islamic Montessori Education (IME) as a bridge to foster understanding, promote education and expand peace across the U.S. and around the globe.