Peace, one and all…
A few years ago, during one of our weekly Mevlevi sohbets, a number of the sayings of beloved Imam Zayn al-Abidin (as) were explored. I fell in love with these words the moment I heard them, and knew they were profound. It has only been recently that I’ve been able to offer a few thoughts. You can find them on this post.
‘If you are content with what is difficult for you of Allah’s decree, you are in the highest station of certainty’.
The ability to be content in the face of life’s challenges is a mighty gift indeed, and not one this poor one possesses. As I’ve sat with these words of the Imam, a few things have become clear. As God wills, in this post I hope to share these thoughts with you.
Contentment is built on the foundation of gratitude, patience, trust and vision.
Gratitude is necessary because it opens our eyes to all that we have been given. It also helps free us from the psychic poisons of resentment and bitterness. Gratitude tells us that everything that happens to us flows from Divine grace and love.
Patience is necessary because it allows us to understand that every difficult situation that we face is a means of purification, of leaving unhelpful attitudes and automatic behaviours behind. Patience is also a particular relationship to time. To be patient is to see the end result within the now, and is thus a means of transcending time. Patience is also the primary means by which we develop spiritual discipline, spiritual muscle memory, so to speak.
Trust, or tawakkul, is another necessary component in attaining certainty. Firstly, we have to trust that all God does is good. We have to have a good opinion of God. Secondly, trust in God enables us to experience difficult situations without falling apart. We begin to see that God’s aid is near. We can begin to see that the difficulty we are facing is God’s aid, rescuing us from some unhelpful attachment.
Vision is a product of these three things, or so it seems. Most fundamentally, gratitude, patience and reliance are ways of seeing God’s action within the confines of the world, of a deep inward witnessing. Integrating these qualities into our lives enables us to see and experience more sincerely. Sincerity and contentment help call forth love. Love for God is born within, and we begin to feel God’s love rushing towards us. These two loves merge within the heart, that meeting place between our temporal existence and divine eternity.
Contentment is thus an inward quality, an inner attitude of satisfaction. As such, true contentment does not depend on external trappings. In point of fact, as this one has discovered himself, it is often easier to be more content with less than with more. We become intimately aware of our need for and poverty in God, as well as a joyful acceptance of all that the divine does within our lives.
Contentment comes from remembering God, from being grateful to Him, in building rida from all of the small moments of gratitude. Contentment comes from patience, from waiting for God, before His door, for His response, at His time. Contentment comes from being certain that Allah’s decrees are for our benefit, both individually and collectively. God acts for our betterment, whether or not we are aware of it.
Moreover, our journey towards contentment helps people we’ve never met, and may never meet, just as we received in this way from others. ‘May the light of this circle be received wherever it is needed’ as the closing dua of the Mevlevi dhikr puts it. Our slow maturation helps move the world along. Growth matters. Love matters.
And praise be to God who maketh it so.
Abdur Rahman's Corner 
Thank you.
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