الرئيسية
Balance between spirit and body
Question: Does Islam keep balance between the requirements of spirit and body, life and the hereafter?
Question: How can I keep balance between the requirements of spirit and body?
Islam is a religion that achieves perfect balance among all the facts in man. As man consists of spirit, body, heart, mind and soul, and as he has two lives a worldly life in which he lives now and a life after his death, so Islam guaranteed happiness to all facts in man and satisfaction of his desires in a perfect precise balance so that no fact exceeds or dominate another.
Early Muslims honored by being contemporary with the light of revelation knew this great perfect method. When the prophet (Blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) fraternized between Abid’dardaa’ and Salman Al-Faresy, once Salman was out of Medina when he came back he went to the house of his brother Abid’dardaa’ to visit and see him, he found his wife Omod’dardaa’ not caring about herself, he asked her: What’s wrong? She said: Your brother Abid’dardaa’ only want to get ready for the hereafter and he deserted life.
When Abid’dardaa’ came back and food was served and he asked Salman to eat but Salman said: I won’t eat until you eat with me, Abid’dardaa’ said: I am fasting, but Salman swore that he must eat with him, they ate and slept. Whenever Abid’dardaa’ wanted to get up to pray at night, Salman ordered him to sleep again until it was near dawn, they both got up, did ablution and went to pray dawn with the apostle of Allah (Blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), when Salman saw his brother angry (because he didn’t let him pray at night), he said to him: Your God has a duty upon you, your wife has a duty upon you and your body has a duty upon you, give each one his due right. Abid’dardaa’ went to the apostle of God and complaint what Salman did with him hoping that the apostle of God would support him, the apostle of God (Blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Salman is right, Your God has a duty upon you, your soul has a duty upon you and your family has a duty upon you, so give each one his proper right.”
So we see Islam asks a Muslim to give his own body what it needs from food, drink, wife, residence and other things it needs. A Muslim can marry the most beautiful woman, eat the most tasteful food, drink the best drinks and dwells the most splendid houses on condition that:
1- He gets all this by legal ways accepted by God, and he gets away from prohibited or illegal ways because God says:
“Eat of the good things We have provided for you,” Surat Al-Bakara, Verse 57.
2- He gets away from squander and exceeding the proper limits in doing all this, as God says:
“Eat and drink: But waste not by excess, for Allah loves not the wasters,” Suirat Al-A’raf, Verse 31.
3- He also gets away from boast pride and arrogance, as God says:
“For Allah loves not any arrogant boaster.” Surat Lukman, Verse 18.
The prophet (Blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) mentioned the two things together and said: “Eat, give charity and wear clothes but away from squander and boast.”
4- He should thank God properly after enjoying every favor from God to deserve more from God’s bounty as He promised to grant His grateful servants, He says:
“If you are grateful, I will add more (favors) unto you,” Surat Ibrahim,Verse 7.
God also urges man to be careful about the needs of spirit such as remembrance, contemplation, obedience, worship and approximation to God, all that should be after satisfying the needs of the body and man’s needs in this life, God decided this even to His perfect apostle and the last of His prophets our master Mohammed (Blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), He said to him and to us at the same time:
“Therefore, when you are free (from your immediate task), still labor hard. And to your Lord turn (all) your attention.” Surat Asharh, Verses 7, 8.
I.e. when man finishes his duties for himself and for people around him, he shouldn’t tend to amusement, heedlessness and entertainment, but he should hasten to the needs of the spirit by getting nearer and closer to God.
He can also have some amusement for his soul on condition that he gets this from legal things accepted by Sharia and be far away from illegal things, the prophet (Blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Revive hearts time after time because if souls get bored they get blind.”
Reviving is by legal singing, meaningful music, non-violent sports, innocent entertainment with friends, joking with wife and children, going for a picnic to meditate in God’s creatures in plants, orbits, stars, animals, birds, insects and others, on condition that he performs duties at their due times and not commit sins that get God angry.
Book questions from non-Muslims
Click to download the book:
Book_Questions_of_Non-Muslims
http://www.slideshare.net/hassanelagouz/book-questions-ofnonmuslims
