⛰️ #2 | Looking Within: Reflection of the Self

Looking Within: Reflection of the Self

With the bombardment of news, circulation of social media trends, and an overload of information, it is easy to get lost in the whirling chaos of celebrity gossip, personal lives of acquaintances on Instagram, and the bajillion Netflix shows to keep up with. Especially today, there is an enormous emphasis on the ability to accumulate large masses of information, which just a couple of decades ago, would have been nearly impossible.

However, along with the potential of these resources at our fingertips, has also come an increased shift in perspective and processing. We all find ourselves constantly interacting with and revolving around this incessant outer world, and slowly, we forget an equally, if not more crucial, part of our minds: the self.

Just as we engage with the superficial world, deeply engaging within our own selves is vital.

It is now incredibly easy to gloss over our own shortcomings when there are so many of others’ displayed, posted, and effortlessly accessed. Desensitization of personal weaknesses not only stunts our spiritual self-growth, but it also creates a world of unnecessary judgment, animosity, and an inflated-boost to the ego: not a pleasant combination.

Through understanding the self, the awareness of the presence of both our strengths and weaknesses will lead to self-improvement, and ultimately, will ground us to the reality of human nature, and the truth of ourselves, rather than the presumed truth of others and their shortcomings.

I’ll leave you all with an incredibly powerful ayah.

Allah (swt) says in Surah Rum:

{أَوَلَمْ يَتَفَكَّرُوا۟ فِىٓ أَنفُسِهِم ۗ مَّا خَلَقَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَآ إِلَّا بِٱلْحَقِّ وَأَجَلٍۢ مُّسَمًّۭى ۗ وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًۭا مِّنَ ٱلنَّاسِ بِلِقَآئِ رَبِّهِمْ لَكَـٰفِرُونَ}

“Have they not reflected upon their own being? Allah only created the heavens and the earth and everything in between for a purpose and an appointed term. Yet most people are truly in denial of the meeting with their Lord!” (Ar-Rum 30:8)

Subhanallah. As we consume the depth of the world, let us also reach into the depth of our souls, and find a path illuminated by the reflected light of Tafakkur, leading us to a successful meeting with our Lord, inshaAllah.