A seeker who lived in the mountains would spend each day chopping wood and going to the river to get water. One day the seeker asked his master, “If I become enlightened, what will my days look like?” The Master replied, “You will cut wood and go to the river to get water.”
We have this idea that if we are enlightened, or become an insan al-kamal or a perfected human soul that somehow our lives will fundamentally look different. But this story reminds us that enlightenment is an inner journey, it’s not always about changing external circumstances, but being given the gift to perceive the inner meanings behind and beyond outer manifestations.
In a sense, to become enlightened is to welcome light into the dark places of our perception and intellect. It’s about turning from ourselves to the Divine and through the continued refinement of our inner eyes becoming able to see the world as a sign of Allah.
“Indeed, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.”
—Qur’an 13:28
It is in invoking the presence of Allah in every day moments that we are able to access a peace that has always existed beneath the outer waves of our anxiety. Enlightenment is not about escape from reality, but about a full-hearted embrace of reality. It is directly tied to our growing ability to witness Allah in all things.
“So wherever you turn, there is the Face of Allah.”
—Qur’an 2:115
What changes is you are no longer absent of presence, you are in a continual state of God-consciousness. The novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky famously said, “To love someone means to see them as God intended them.” In other words, love itself is an act of transcendence. The person doesn’t change, the way you look at them changes. It is not the eyes that are blind, as the Qur’an says, but the heart’s vision of reality that is veiled. The river and the wood don’t change, the awareness of your heart does. You begin to live with Ihsan, or the awareness of God’s omnipresence in every moment. You begin “To worship Allah as though you see Him, and if you do not see Him, know that He sees you.” The awakening is not only in what you see, but also in your growing awareness of Allah watching over you.
This is great news, because it means every time you choose to invoke Allah’s names you are enlightening the moment, bringing the light of Divine love to the moment, unveiling the sacred at the heart of all that is seemingly mundane. What a gift to remember that everything is a miracle! Your very eyes, the ability to even read these words is the sweetest marriage of light and mystery. SubhanAllah. All praise and awe belongs to Allah.
Oh Allah, I ask that You allow us to awaken to the beauty of what already exists in the here and now. Oh Allah, help us to remember You and help us to remember that You are reflected in all moments. My Lord, help us remember that whatever we are facing we can always be in communion with You.
In prayers of light upon light,
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