Peace of Heart
Believers in Islam build a strong connection to the creator; therefore, they find inner peace that is not attainable through any other means. A believer perpetually acquires peace of heart through performing the activities of worship, continuously remembering Allah and refraining from committing sins.
Peace of mind
A Believer acquires peace of mind when he is fully content and recognizes that he is doing everything in his ability to be successful in this world, leaving the rest to the will of Allah. When he receives something, he is thankful to the Lord; when at a loss, he recognizes that the Lord has the power to give, as well as to take away. A true believer who has strong faith is at peace within himself, because Islam commands him to use his faculties wisely and to execute actions with his full capabilities, leaving the outcome to the will of Allah. Upon the positive result of his actions, he is grateful to the Lord, and upon negative result, he is patient and accepts it to be the Lord’s will.
Peace of the Soul
Peace of the soul is the most important kind of peace. It is a peace that is deep in the inner self, deep within the heart of hearts. In comparison to the peace of body, heart, and mind that is acquired through simpler means, peace of the soul, unquestionably more precious,cannot be acquired easily. Acquiring peace of the soul requires knowledge of the sacred and knowledge of who one is. What is the purpose of one’s life? What is one’s final destination? The Islamic answers to these questions bring true peace to the soul.
Money and other worldly possessions bring certain amount of peace to the heart and mind, but when one lies lonely in bed, gazing with a deep sigh at the ceiling or at the sky with millions of sparkling stars, one inquires into questions such as those noted above. The soul of man continues to search for answers, but the conclusion is usually incomplete and unsatisfactory.
Islam, on the other hand, guides humanity from the beginning of their journey, through this transitory life, and to the final destination in the Hereafter. It provides comprehensive answers for their curiosity to be at peace, by which they peacefully work towards ultimate success. Peace of heart and mind is essential for people to be active and full of life, but peace of the soul is certainly more precious because it brings ultimate satisfaction.
Islam, on the other had, guides humanity from the beginning of their journey, through this transitory life, and to the final destination in the Hereafter. It provides comprehensive answers for their curiosity to be at peace, by which they peacefully work towards ultimate success. Peace of the heart and mind is essential for people to be active and full of life, but peace of the soul is certainly more precious because it brings ultimate satisfaction.
Peace within a family
A family unit is the most important part of human life. A family is the place where each member finds refuge,support, and inspiration to live and work. If family life is disturbed, its members feel unprotected,each other’s support diminishes, a deep emptiness sets in, and overall life gradually begins to disintegrate. Love, peace, and tranquility are the most important ingredients to having a happy and prosperous family life. Sometimes even wealth, success, and fame fail to bring joy, and the true taste of living together is not achieved. Even though some may not admit that life becomes miserable without a family, the fact is that life does become a miserable human failure without a family. This becomes obvious when loneliness begins to bring unbearable sufferings.
In Islam each member of a family is bound to each other to achieve the pleasure of the Lord and to perform his or her fair share of the duties prescribed by Islam. By fulfilling these great tasks, each member of the family unit maintains and enjoys peace, happiness, and prosperity. To bring peace in the family, Islam fully explains every duty and right of a husband to his wife and vice versa, of parents to their children and vice versa, and so on. Any violation of Islamic rules, regulations, and obligations by any member brings forth tragedy to the family, and every violator will be held accountable on Judgment day.
In a family unit, it is not a choice, but rather it is incumbent upon a husband to support and fulfill every justifiable and basic need of his wife. They both have to be loyal and faithful to each other and must safeguard their chastity to maintain each other’s right and trust. One of the main duties of parents is to provide their children with a solid Islamic education and to train them to become good, practicing Muslims. Similarly, children have equal, if not greater, duties to their parents, which, if neglected, earn the irreversible wrath of the Lord, unless forgiven by the parents. For example, even a simple smile from children on seeing their parents brings countless blessings from the Lord. When each member fulfills his or her duties the entire family is strengthened and solidified, and peace, happiness, and prosperity prevail in the family. When each family, the building blocks of a society, is peaceful, the entire society becomes full of peace.
Peace in Society
In addition to peace in the family, through Islamic brotherhood, equality, justice, system of punishments, social welfare system, acts of direct and indirect worship, and the concept of accountability on judgement Day, a society achieves complete and everlasting peace. If Muslims do not implement Sufi Islamic principles in their society to establish the divine rule of law, Islam should not be blamed for crime, disturbance, chaos, lack of peace and prosperity, unhappiness & non-integration to Non-Muslim/Islamic societies.
The one who claims to be Muslim and fails to apply Islamic principles to his or her life or to the society at large is at fault, not Islam. It is a matter of fact that those societies that implement such Islamic principles in their system enjoy the fruits of it. Those who abuse and exploit Islam to achieve personal agendas are the actual losers, not Islam or the way of life it prescribes. History is witness that not too long ago, faithful Muslims enjoyed an era of peace and prosperity as they truthfully practiced Islam. Even to this day, wherever faithful Muslims practice Islam, they are enjoying the fruits of it.
Peace in the World
By achieving peace in a Muslim family and society through Sufi Islamic principles, global peace can easily be achieved. Suffice it to say that Islam contains principles that, if fully and universally applied, result in national and international peace and prosperity. Having true knowledge of Islamic principles and having the sincerity of everyone, both Muslim and Non- Muslim, are some of the prerequisites for world peace.
After all, we are the creation of one single Lord, He is the One Who prescribed and extended to us all the system of life ( Islam) that is so perfectly fit for out nature and purpose. Why should we not benefit from it for the greater good of ourselves and simultaneously achieve worldwide peace?
This post is in series of many to come on the topic of Islam from a Sufi Perspective. More articles are to follow. Please follow in the Category : Islam as a Sufi Perspective.