Does meditation have a place in Islam? When we think of meditation, we think of a monk or a zen master sitting somewhere peacefully with eyes closed in a state of bliss. But what is the relation meditation have with Islam? For us lets simply define what meditation is. Meditation quite simply is the art, the practice, the experience of being still. It’s about surrendering. It’s about being completely still and relaxed, surrendered at the most fundamental levels of our existence. Meditation is about completely letting go and aligning and immersing oneself in the Divine presence of Allah Almighty. Generally, as human beings we are in an active state, we are constantly ‘doing’ whether physically or mentally. We are active. We are continually asserting ‘will’. Continually asserting ‘self’. Yet through the practice of meditation we learn to surrender ‘the self’. To simply be!
Islam literally means to surrender. The root word for Islam is ‘salam’ which means ‘peace’ and the word itself means ‘to surrender in peace’. The understanding, and the implication is that to arrive at peace, the goal of Islam, we must follow the spiritual path of surrender. As part of our creation, as part of our psyche, we have this ego that we call our Nafs and it believes that it is responsible for our survival. However, the believer knows, understands and believes that they are entirely, completely dependent upon Allah almighty. Transcending the ego is a difficult task, a difficult practice and this is known in islam as jehad un nafs – a greater struggle against the self – the greater war to transcend the self.
The state of islam is the state of peace and one-ness with divine will. This resistance to the present moment, this resistance to divine will, this resistance of everything else is a result of the ‘separation’. The separation of the psyche from the one ness of creation. And all of islam is about returning to the ‘fitrah’. Returning to that original state of innocence, peace, purity, clarity and one ness. Spiritual path in islam known as taziat un nafs, in English sometimes referred to as sufism, in Arabic as tassawaf is about returning to that state of purity. It’s about purifying the self of the self.
The natural state of the ‘ego-based consciousness’ is the one of resistance. It’s continuously resisting the present moment. It is continuously seeking escape from the present moment either into the past or in the future.
The ego, the nafs, the self, the me, the I- it can only exist in time. It can only exist in past and future. In the pure present moment, you transcend yourself. You transcend ego-based consciousness. True surrender, true belief, true faith is only possible in the present moment. God, Allah is in the present moment. The degree to which we are consumed by time-based consciousness, by ego based consciousness- is the degree to which we manifest tension and contraction in the body.
The body and the mind are connected. When there’s tension in the mind, there’s tension in the body. When there’s resistance in the mind, there’s resistance in the body and this results in contraction throughout the entire system – physically in your muscles and your tissues – even on a deeper level in your organs. By physically relaxing the body, we relax the mind. By physically surrendering the body, we bring the mind in the state of surrender.
Either we, the heart, is in control of the self or the mind – ego – is in control of us. The goal is to remind ourselves that la ilaha illallah – there no God but Allah and that the mind the ego is not in control.
In meditation, we are practicing to surrender, let go, relax in the lap of the present moment. Eventually, meditation is not something we do. It is our state of being. The practice is to be in the meditative state at all times. It’s called dynamic meditation. Being in the state of surrender at all times.
Is meditation necessary in islam? Absolutely. There’s no way to attain that state of surrender and mindfulness without practicing it. And we know that prophet Muhammad pbuh spent days in meditation. Every month he would go to ghar e hira to seclude himself and to immerse himself in the presence of Allah in a complete state of meditation not just for an hour or two but for days at a time. And it was in that state of surrender – of presence – that he was given revelation. Islam is an ocean of spiritual light and knowledge. Its not just a physical religion, its not just a superficial topical religion. We are not going to get closer to Allah by simply observing outward forms. The path to Allah SWT is a journey inward deeper and deeper into yourself.
In hadith e Qudsi narrated by the prophet Allah says
‘Neither My Earth nor My Heavens could contain Me, whilst the heart of My believing servant does contain Me…’.
The doorway to the divine presence is in your heart. Through meditation you look within. You turn within. Meditation is absolutely essential in islam in fact meditation is islam. It is the state of islam.
The prophet refers to Fikr or reflection as the kohl of the inner eye. Traditionally Kohl was used for medicinal purposes to brighten the eyesight. Meditation brightens and sharpens the vision of your inner eye- a faculty of spiritual perception, also called Al basira. If we only see through the physical eye, we see only one side of the reality. To know the truth, we need to see both dimensions of reality – spiritual and physical.
In the words of Prophet Muhammad pbuh. Meditation/ reflection is better than a 70 year’s worship. Reflection is travelling of your heart in search of the meaning of things. It’s not only about lowering your blood pressure, having lower stress in your life or improving your health. It will do all those things but ultimately, it’s about gaining realisation of the reality of things. Until you transcend your ego and drop your identity your race, nationality, form – you will not see the reality. You will always see it through a lens, a filter.
Meditation is about tearing away that filter.
Fikr is ‘Siraj e Qalb’ – lamp of the heart. Our growth as human beings is stunted, we learn to control and operate the world around us but what about our inner world? we are a slave of our thoughts. We are meant to control not only our physical universe but also our mental and spiritual universe because we are khalifatullah. This is the science of the fikr or tahqeeq – it is only then that you can truly realise truth and the source of truth the is the divine Allah.