Let's consider hunger. Look at the way we think about hunger. We
use hunger to refer to many different aspects of our lives.
We hunger for food, we have a sexual
appetite, we hunger for justice, we hunger for divine grace. Sura Al
Ma'ida lists things that are appropriate to hunger for. Halal food,
chaste believing women, wudu and cleanliness, justice in covenants
and oaths and the light of divine teachings. Allah (swt) says “All
good things are lawful for you” He is spreading a feast before us.
He says eat from this table. Then the sura makes a juxtaposition and talks
about the things that feast on you, things that eat you up inside such as: cowardice, jealousy, anger, hypocrisy, pandering
and excess.
Let's take a look at the story of Cain
and Abel inserted into the middle of the sura. It acts as a pivot
point between the two descriptions. What does it have to do with hunger? Abel was a shepherd and
Cain was a farmer. So they both produced food. Good but what else?
They both made offerings to Allah and Allah was pleased and accepted
Abel's offering but rejected Cain's. Cain becomes morose over his
situation then Allah speaks to Cain:
“Why are you angry? Why is your face
downcast? If you do what is right will you not be accepted? But if
you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door . It
desires to have you, but you must rule over it” (Genesis 4:6)
And this is such an interesting image
isn't it? Sin crouching at your door like a tiger ready to pounce and
devour you.
Cain suffered from his nafs. He became
jealous of his brother because he convinced himself that he could
never match him. He became angry God favored Abel over him despite the
loving words of encouragement and parental warning. Instead of taking
on his challenge and striving to do better next time, his perceived
failure ate him up inside. Jealousy turned to rage and hatred until
he committed the first murder in the world. A grave sin which he was
punished for. He was banished to the land of Nod to continue to roam
until the end of days.
I'd like to tell you a story of a most
heinous hunger. A teenager leads a comparatively normal life, much
like the rest of his friends and classmates. He plays football and
soccer and video games. He gets average grades in school and when he
likes the teacher and subject he manages to do better. One more
course for a certificate in life guarding and a city job. Mom and dad
are so proud and encourage him at every stage. But there is something
missing. Something deep inside. An unspoken pain which turns into a
hunger pain he slowly begins to feed.
A bunch of friends after school pass a
joint around and each of them take a quick pull. It feeds the
mischievousness and the rebellion of youth. Soon after there are
parties with more drugs and alcohol and the teen feels his first
“buzz”. Friends begin to skip school to get high and everyone is
there so the follow begins. These friends are no friends unless you
can “score”. They barter and steal and lie to you. Drugs begin to
be the most important thing in the teen's life. More important than
school, property, love of family, personal safety and the law. The
term for these actions in recovery circles is “feeding your
addiction”. Addiction is that tiger crouching at your door. It
growls and bears its teeth at you threatening to devour you unless
you give it sustenance. It becomes a slow suicide.
Lines 90-94 Sura Al-Ma'ida give a warning and a
solution. “You who believe, intoxicants and gambling, idolatrous
practices and divining (with arrows) are repugnant acts – Satan's
doing – shun them so that you may prosper.[...] Those who believe
and do good deeds will not be blamed for what they may have consumed
[in the past] as long as they are mindful of God, believe and do good
deeds, then are mindful of God and believe, then are mindful of God
and do good deeds: God loves those who do good deeds.”
There is the road to recovery. How can
we get the message of Allah's Feast across? Everyone can have a good
life and all we have to do is choose the law and path assigned to us.
Reach out to those you see in pain. Be gentle and kind about it but
address their pain. Do a little reminding and show how good and happy
life can be. Take them with you to picnics and family trips. Get them
out into nature, get them involved in projects, remind them of their favorite hobbies and have them start doing them again, get them to
start exercising with you, bring them to masjid.
Have the confidence to see what natural
talents Allah (swt) has given you and relay it to your community
through compassion, understanding and mercy.
"Sometimes Allah allows you to taste the bitterness of this world so that you could fully appreciate the sweetness of faith"
-Omar Suleman
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