Spirit of Islam December 2017

24 Spirit of Islam Issue 60 December 2017 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 ever- growing 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 PRAYER FROM THE HEART A NY person who has become conscious of the existence and presence of God has experienced the most important and heart- shaking of experiences. Suddenly, the world and that individual’s place in it takes on a completely different aspect and meaning. In fact, maybe for the first time, that individual realizes that the universe and his place in it actually have a meaning. So many people wander through their journey of earthly life without discovering what that meaning is—they are born, grow, eat and drink, mate, age and die, without ever realizing that their physical components of atoms are as minute and insignificant as those of one tiny ant lost on a huge planet; but these atoms are only the temporary belongings of a soul which inhabits a vastly different plane of existence. The realm of al-Ghayb , that which is unseen and unknown to us within the limitations of our human lives, is vast indeed. A believer becomes a believer when some inkling of that reality enters his conscious mind. This awareness may steal in gently as the invisible air we breathe, or it may break through our envelope of ignorance like a flash of lightning. The person may never have thought about God at all, or realized that the faith of others was relevant; or that person may have prayed