By Saheed Olurotimi Timehin
who wrote;
Flowerbudnews: “Don’t forget to love yourself”, a wise man once told me. At that time, I had read a lot of sufi (renouncer of Duniyah) tales containing accounts of those rare species of men whose desires had been annihilated in the inferno of their love for Allah.
I had become so inundated by their stories and anecdotes that I was beginning to see life in the mirror of their experiences. *Despite my many imperfections, I wanted to be like them.
I wanted to live for the hereafter alone, and I was almost forgetting my link to this world. Their anecdotes of renunciation, self-abnegation, and ascetism were particularly attractive. I made up my mind, and my dreams about worldly attainments gradually began to fade.*
It was in 1988/1989 academic session, my third year in the University of Ibadan. I had decided to go into Khalwah, a spiritual seclusion during the anti-SAP riot ‘holiday’, when I had a conversation with one of my teachers, and indeed, one of the finest gentlemen I have ever met, the late Imam of the University of Ibadan, *Dr Dawud Ahmad Adekilekun At- Tījānī*( May Allah be pleased with his soul) .
He asked me about how I intended to spend the holiday since the then head of state had vowed to close down universities for a year. I told him of my plan, and he lovingly smiled and asked me to follow him to his office.
Himself, a celebrated Sufi and an accomplished scholar of Islam, he reminded me of a verse of the Qur’an:
“But seek, with that (wealth) which Allah has bestowed on you, the home of the Hereafter, and forget not your portion of lawful enjoyment in this world; and do good as Allah has been good to and seek not mischief in the land. Verily, Allah likes not the mischief-makers” *(Q 28 v 77)*.
‘This is Allah’s standard for us’, he said. ‘May He bless the early Muslim saints and reward their efforts. *It was because of their level of God-consciousness and their fear of falling into the pits of perdition that they went to the extent of divorcing the world and its pleasures. Love all, hate none, and don’t forget to love yourself’’.*
Coming from a Sufi ideologue like him, I did not doubt him. His advice was not particularly new; I had read it in the works of my spiritual preceptors and it is a paraphrase of the slogan of my Jama’ah, but it came from him at a time I needed someone to either encourage me on what I wanted to do, or guide me on how to manage and redirect my newly found passion.
*The main thrust of his message was ‘be godly, but don’t forget your share of worldly pleasures; love everybody, hate nobody, but love yourself’.*
Though I proceeded with that Khalwah, it was not the marathon seclusion I had initially planned. Ever since, it had been off and on; a period for seclusion with my Creator and a period to engage the world.
In your daily struggle, you often become so immersed in your pursuits that you turn your back against your duties to Allah. On those occasions when you are jerked into an awareness of the danger of being extinguished in the fire of worldly pursuits, you turn back and go to the other extreme – despising the world and castigating its luxuries!
*On the one hand, navigating the tempestuous surge of the sea of worldly iniquities and the deceptively attractive calmness of the pond of ascetism and self-denial is highly important, and on the other hand, embracing self-love without falling into the whirlpool of conceit, greed, and selfishness is no less imperative.*
With a conscious pursuit of the middle path, you can traverse those slippery terrains without falling here nor there. Be careful; do not be totally sugar, or completely honey; the world would suck or lick you up; but do not be all vinegar. Otherwise, you would be spit out! This is the requirement of the middle path.
*There is a medium in all things, only fools incline toward extremes. You don’t need to be all rock or all sand. There are moments for each. Because you want to be good, you don’t need to fawn upon everybody like a lapdog; and because you want to be seen as a man with self-esteem, you don’t need to growl at people like an irritated mastiff.*
There is a time to do as others wish and a time to refuse. *If you try to please everybody, you’ll never have peace; and if you turn yourself into everyone’s lackey, you’ll realise soon how thankless a venture it is. If you lie on the ground, you must expect people to tread on you. Be nice and kind, but do not sacrifice your integrity. He who makes himself a mouse will only become a supper for the cat.*
On this day, I ask Allah Whose glory is never exhausted to honour you in this life and the next. May He restrain you from forsaking His Majestic Oneness and veil you from His chastisement.
*As He has bestowed the choicest of His mercy on Muhammad (SAW ), so shall He appoint for you an ample share of His mercy. I ask Him to beautify you with gratitude and patience; and most humbly implore Him to grant you true humility in His sight and enviable nobility in the sight of His creatures. May He avert from you and your family the tumultuous ire of tribulations and calamities and protect you all from worldly disgrace and heavenly blame🤲🏽 (Flowerbudnews)
