In the Name of Allah the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
A classic Arabic proverb states:
مَنْ عَرَفَ نَفْسَهُ فَقَدْ عَرَفَ رَبَّهُ
Whoever knows himself, knows his Lord.
How well do you know you?
Al-Ghazali writes:
فمن عرف سر الروح فقد عرف نفسه وإذا عرف نفسه فقد عرف ربه وإذا عرف نفسه وربه عرف أنه أمر رباني بطبعه وفطرته وأنه في العالم الجسماني غريب وأن هبوطه إليه لم يكن بمقتضى طبعه في ذاته
Whoever knows the mysteries of the spirit, knows himself. If he knows himself, he knows his Lord. If he knows himself and his Lord, he knows his matter is heavenly in his nature and his instinct, and that he is a stranger in the corporeal world, that his decent into it is not as a result of his nature in itself..
Been sitting with this...
I find that as I learn more about Allah…
I learn so much about myself.
I see what mercy can look like
I see what generosity can look like
I see radical kindness
I see forgiveness
And to think Laysa kamithlihi shay’…
‘Nothing resembles Him (Allah) in any way’1
And then I aspire
Because I am inspired.
To know Him is to love Him.
May Allah ﷻ love you.
Surah Ash’Shura Ayah 11