Muslims Shall Be God-Conscious

Before we can understand Islamic spirituality we must first understand generic human spirituality. We can understand the human spirit as that capacity to be aware of and the ability to respond to the mystery of life and reality. In the words of one author "Mystery is the best name for reality. It indicates not an absence, but an overabundance." What we are calling "mystery" or the "transcendent mystery" is indicated or implied by means of all phenomena: physical, social and psychological. The practice of spirituality would then indicate the disciplined increase of that awareness and a disciplined response to that awareness.

In addition we need to make some corrections to how we usually envision human experience from a two-fold "mind & body" model to a four-fold, or "quaternion" model of human experience. Note that this de-centers one's interiority to but one quarter of the total experience that defines us as "human". Hence, there is less emphasis upon feeling states than is often the case when discussing spirituality. We are able to more clearly distinguish between spirituality and psychology.

In its most basic or anthropological sense, spirituality, like personality, is a characteristic of the person as such. It is the capacity of persons to transcend themselves through knowledge and love, that is, to reach beyond themselves in relationship to others and thus become more than self-enclosed material monads. In this sense, even the newborn child is spiritual because the newborn baby is innocent of worldly crimes. Spiritual Divine Power normally protects the newborn under the observance of Almighty Alloh while we as a parent provide material and preventive relief. The baby’s thinking, his perception, his desire for food, his love for mother, his ability to recognize and even his ability to guide rarely seen in modern history. The Last Testament Qur’an is a witness of a child who was destined to be born without a father, a Unique Messenger of Almighty Alloh and the only Messenger who never died and he will descend at a chosen time by Almighty Alloh to die as a Man and Messenger of Almighty Alloh: Jesus Christ (PBUH).

The Angels said:

"O Mary, (Almighty) Alloh gives you good news: a Word from Him whose name is The Messiah, Jesus the son of Mary. He will be prominent in this life and in the Hereafter, and one of those closest to Me". "He will speak to the people from the crib, as well as an adult; he will be one of the righteous" {The Qur’an – Surah Ale Imraan (Chapter: The Amramites) 03: 45 – 46}.

She (Mother Mary) said:

"My Lord, how can I have a son, when no man has touched me" {The Qur’an – Surah Ale Imraan (Chapter: The Amramites) 03: 47…}

He said:

"(Almighty) Alloh thus creates whatever He wills. To have anything done, He simply says to it, `Be,' and it is". "He will teach him the scripture, wisdom, the Torah, and the Gospel"{The Qur’an – Surah Ale Imraan (Chapter: The Amramites) 03: 47 - 48}.

[Jesus (PBUH) said to the people]: As a messenger to the Children of Israel: "I come to you with a sign from your Lord - I create for you from clay the shape of a bird, then I blow into it, and it becomes a live bird by (Almighty) Alloh’s leave". "I restore vision to the blind, heal the leprous, and I revive the dead by God’s leave". "I can tell you what you eat, and what you store in your homes. This should be a proof for you, if you are believers". "I confirm previous scripture - the Torah - and I revoke certain prohibitions imposed upon you". "I come to you with sufficient proof from your Lord. Therefore, you shall observe (Almighty) Alloh, and obey me". "(Almighty) Alloh is my Lord and your Lord; you shall worship Him alone. This is the right path" {The Qur’an – Surah Ale Imraan (Chapter: The Amramites) 03: 49 – 51}.

With such an exception like of Jesus (PBUH) as child, we usually reserve the term spirituality for a somewhat developed relationally to self, others, world, and The God. And only when a person has developed this capacity for self-transcendence to a remarkable degree do we call the person a "saint," a person of extraordinary spirituality.

Spirituality in this more developed sense is not generic. We distinguish among spiritualities according to various criteria. For example, we may distinguish qualitatively between a healthy and a rigid spirituality. We may distinguish spiritualities by religious tradition as Catholic or Benedictine or Protestant in Christianity. While in Muslims it may be referred as Wali- Ulloh, Faqueer- Ulloh, or Ayat-Ulloh etc. Or one of Secular ideology may distinguish spiritualities by salient features, e.g., as Eucharistic or feminist. These distinctions are not necessarily mutually exclusive. A healthy spirituality is with relation to Almighty Alloh from where a person envisions and feels the unseen. In short, although all humans are spiritual in the basic anthropological sense, and all religious spiritualities share a deep commonality by adhering to Supreme Lord of this universe, each individual develops her or his spirituality in a unique and personal way and the spiritualities of different religions, even within the same denomination, or movement, may differ enormously. Islamic spirituality will be absolutely on strict Monotheism while others may involve intermediary. In Islam, knowledge is always shared and the relationship remains as of a teacher and student. The spiritual status is never declared and people recognise a spiritual being with his detestation to this world, his knowledge, modest living, charitable work, lower gazed and devoting to Almighty’s work.

What, then, is this unique and personal synthesis, denoted by the term spirituality? Peter Van Ness, a professor of religion at Columbia University who has specialized in the study of non-religious or secular spirituality, defines spirituality as "the quest for attaining an optimal relationship between what one truly is and everything that is". By "everything that is" he means "reality apprehended as a cosmic totality" and by "what one truly is" he means all of the self to which one has attained at a given time. In other words, spirituality is the attempt to relate in a positive way my whole self to reality as a cosmic whole. This definition is broad enough to include both religious and secular spiritualities.

First, spirituality is experience, a term that is itself very difficult to define. In this context, however, it implies that spirituality is not an abstract idea, a theory, or a movement of some kind. It is personal lived reality with Almighty Alloh.

Second, spirituality is an experience of conscious involvement in a project, which means that spirituality is neither a peripheral experience such as the result of a drug overdose, nor an episodic event such as being overwhelmed by a beautiful sunset. It is an ongoing and coherent approach to life as a consciously pursued project with an object to control matters of self-interest not only for this living but and notably hereafter.

Third, spirituality is a project of life-integration, which means that it is holistic, involving body and spirit, emotions and thought, social and individual aspects of life. It is an effort to bring all of life together in an integrated synthesis of ongoing growth and development. Spirituality, then, involves one's whole life in relation to reality as a whole.

Fourth, this project of life-integration is pursued by consistent self-transcendence toward ultimate value. This implies that spirituality is essentially positive in its direction. A life of narcissistic egoism, self-destructive addiction, or social violence even though it may involve the totality of the person's being, is not spirituality but it is evil perpetrated by Anti-Muhammad (SAW), Anti-Christ (PBUH) and Anti-Moses (PBUH) being that is Devil-Jinn-Satan (DJS). The focus of self-transcendence is value that the person perceives as ultimate. One might perceive life itself, personal or social well-being, the good of the earth, justice for all people, or union with The God as ultimate value, as that which claims one's whole life-energy.