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The Path To Permanent Peace

By Imam Murtadha Gusau

In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, Bestower of Mercy

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of all creation. May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon the Messenger, his family, his Companions and those who follow him till the Hour is established.

Dear brothers and sisters, If you have been alive long enough, you will hear a common phrase among people: “I have peace of mind.” When someone makes such a statement, they are essentially saying, I have no worries. I am content with what I have, and its in good balance. They have no enemies. They are in harmony with their family and can enjoy their privacy without outside interference.

That is “peace of mind indeed”, but wallahi true peace of mind and soul is contentment with the will of Allah, our creator whom sends to us blessings and hardships to mold and test us. To teach us about ourselves. True piece of mind is accepting whatever Allah sends our way and enduring it with patience and thankfulness. True peace of mind comes from belief in Allah Almighty, for without belief there can’t really be peace of mind. When we establish that connection with our creator; when we surrender to His will and realise that the greatest authority is Allah, it is then that we start to attain true peace of mind and soul.

Dear servants of Allah, now I’m going to outline a true plan for you on how to achieve peace of mind both with the creator and with His creations. Both can benefit us, but one is more important. One is more everlasting. One gives true happiness to us. It revives our soul and allows it to see without worries. It allows it to live with purpose. It instills goodness in it. It causes it to be good. That is only with Allah alone.

In order to attain peace with our body and soul, one first has to sincerely accept Allah as the only authority. The only entity that rules everything that exists. He must accept Him as the ultimate power, the ultimate ruler and the ultimate purpose. One first has to establish a communication channel with Allah. They must be receptive of His commands. One must allow Allah to speak to His heart and accept and obey the commands it receives. And the first command is:

“I am your creator, the only one, believe in me without associating any partners with me.”

When we accept Allah as our creator, we open the door to happiness. We allow His blessings to shower us as well as allow His mercy to purify us. We let Godly light breath into our soul. Allah’s mercy is the most essential part of our soul. It is the source of life. We were created with a void in our heart. That void is the knowledge and presence of Allah. When we don’t accept Him as our creator, there will always be a missing piece to the life we live. We will not have peace therefore.

After accepting Allah sincerely as the only authority, the supreme in might, the wise, we must accept His will. We have to accept the blessings that Allah sends to us, and we have to endure the hardships he sends our way. We should not mix hardships with bad. Allah does not send to us bad things. Often times, it is our actions that give life to bad things. What Allah sends to us is difficulties to enlighten us and strengthen us for the missions He has chosen for us. So accept everything that comes your way with thankfulness. Accept His will knowing that whatever comes from Allah is good and perfect. This is a crucial step to attaining peace of mind and soul. And know that whatever Allah intends for you, none can stop it from reaching you.

Respected brothers and sisters, I call on you to live a Godly life. Put aside your pride and arrogance. Ignore the worldly pursuits that you engage in excess. Ignore competing with others in attaining wealth while your soul is deprived and ignorant of its creator. Do everything with balance. Dedicate daily time for your creator by thanking Him and worshiping him as we should.

“For verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.” [Qur’an, 13:28]

Make him the center of your life. Indeed when Allah is your center, He makes you the center of His attention. And when you are at the center of Allah’s attention, greatness will surround you. You will live a fulfilling life with blessings and purpose.

Finally, my beloved people, work to make a living while on earth not forever on earth. Change your mentality on how you see this life and every negative experience you encounter. Understand that you are Human. You are mortal like everyone that has passed away before us. You are not perfect. Don’t get depressed of failures, be happy that you attempted something and had an experience that others never get a chance for whatever reason, being health, authority, money, intellect or other reasons. View and react to every experience that you encounter with thankfulness and contentment. Never view shortcomings as failures. View them as blessings and opportunity to live for the journey that is yet to come. View every shortcomings as Allah molding you for the greater journey that He has prepared for you.

Dear brothers and sisters, there once was a farmer who discovered that he had lost his watch in the barn. It was no ordinary watch because it had sentimental value for him. After searching high and low among the hay for a long while; he gave up and enlisted the help of a group of children playing outside the barn.

He promised them that the person who found it would be greatly rewarded.

Hearing this, the children hurried inside the barn, went through and around the entire stack of hay but still could not find the watch. Just when the farmer was about to give up looking for his watch, a little boy went up to him and asked to be given another chance.

The farmer looked at him and thought, “Why not? After all, this kid looks sincere enough.” So the farmer sent the little boy back in the barn. After a while the little boy came out with the watch in his hand! The farmer was both happy and surprised and so he asked the boy how he succeeded where the rest had failed.

The boy replied, “I did nothing but sit on the ground and listen. In the silence, I heard the ticking of the watch and just looked for it in that direction.”

Moral in the story: “A peaceful mind can think better than a worked up mind.”

Oh Allah grant us the ability to always remember You. For verily in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.

All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad, and upon his family, his Companions and his true followers.

Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of Nagazi-Uvete Jumu’ah and the late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene’s Mosques, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: [email protected] or +2348038289761.

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