In plants.. a small seed sprouts into a beautiful plant, bearing flowers and fruit.
A delicate and beautiful butterfly starts life in a nondescript manner. The same with other animals.
Seasons change, day changes into night, the moon waxes and wanes.. change is around us everywhere we look.
We are aware of the changes in a human being at the physical level, we see infants grow up into children, then young adolescents and then adult and finally old age starts creeping in. With this physical growth we also grow emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
How much attention do we give to our own mental, emotional and spiritual growth?
Most of us live on 'auto-pilot', unaware of our thoughts, feelings and actions.
No wonder we keep making the same mistakes over and over again.
Islam is about growth and change. That is why we are asked to think, ponder and reflect on everything around us... to learn from what we see. To take clues from how life around us unfolds. There are lessons for us in everything.
The hadith about Islâm, Îmân and Ihsân gives us an indication of how our faith grows in certainty. The levels of the nafs explains the path we take in our growth.
Sûrah al Inshiqâq 84.19
'You shall move onward from one state/condition to another state or condition.'
Growth and evolution must be a conscious process. We are responsible for our conditions as our thoughts, feelings and actions impact the quality of our life. That is why we are told that we are accountable for the choices we make in our life.
Sûrah al Anfâl 8.53
'God would never change the blessings with which He has graced a people unless they change their inner selves...'
Sûrah ar Ra'd 13.11
'God does not change men's condition unless they change their inner selves...'
Our growth is reflected in our everyday life... it is not about just talking the talk. If I am changing I should be able to see it. Beliefs and actions go hand in hand.
© 2003 published on www.crescentlife.com
