A New Life

Osoul Global Center

Have you seen the light?

Have you followed it? Do you feel that you have a new heart; a new soul that has replaced your old one that was overburdened with life problems?

Have you cast a glance on your past life? Do you feel that you are at a crossroads?

Yes, everything will change: your habits; your dealings. Yet the biggest change will be here: in your heart. It is the one that motivates all other changes.

A Muslim who is close to God experiences unique feelings, unshared by anyone else. Such feelings cannot be described except through the use of similes and metaphors. It is akin to feeling oneself under the care of the One who is able to accomplish everything; the Supreme who knows everything. So, what and whom do we fear?

A Muslim echoes the words of Prophet Moses when Pharaoh and his army were about to catch up with him and his followers who complained that they would certainly be overrun. He confidently said:

‘No, indeed. My Lord is with me and He will guide me.’

(26: 62)

As you feel the change in your heart, all your life will change.

You will reset your alarm clock so as to wake up for your dawn prayer, rather than for going to work. You do this because your heart wants to meet up with your Creator. You do this five times every day: before sunrise, at midday, mid-afternoon, after sunset and at night. With every prayer you have this meeting that gives you your daily spiritual nourishment: the one you find in those houses where God’s name is frequently mentioned.

Your hand will cause no harm to anyone. It will not grab anything forbidden. It will only do what is good and beneficial: it will deal kindly with an orphan, and will give assistance to a poor person. This is all because you know that God sees and hears you. Therefore, you worship Him as if you see Him. Well, He sees you even though you do not see him.

Your eyes will not look at what God has forbidden, because you realise that what God has forbidden is unsightly and gives you a feeling of disgust. God has made the forbidden hateful to you and you love what is permissible.

Now you will feel what is forbidden jars on your ears. You will prefer to listen to a Qur'anic recitation. Your heart needs nourishment, and the best it has is God’s words.

Your mouth will not take in anything forbidden: no intoxicant, no pork, no drugs. Islam forbids all that affects the human mind.

Your legs will not walk to a place where what God has forbidden is practised. You feel the serenity in places where God is obeyed and you experience worry where He is disobeyed.

Yet the change will not affect you only.

You have been using your phone for business or social contacts, but now you will add a call to your parents whom you have not called for a long time. They are advancing in years, so you must speak tenderly to them. Tell them that you have become a Muslim, and that God has given your heart the light of Islam. Perhaps they will join you when they realise that they too can experience the same happiness you feel.

You might have wasted time on your computer. You might have used it for some forbidden purposes. Now you will use it to learn more about your new faith and to be in touch with your Muslim group.

Your bookcase will now have the Qur'an as its best acquisition, and you will have new and useful books to give you more information and better knowledge of your new faith. Do not forget that the first word God revealed in the Qur'an was, ‘Read’.

You might have often looked through the window to watch vehicles and pedestrians but now you will look at the sky and contemplate God’s magnificent creation that indicates His greatness. You feel your heart full of His love and you fear to incur His displeasure. You realise that you are just a small one of His creatures. You look at yourself then listen to His words:

‘The creation of the heavens and the earth is indeed greater than the creation of man; yet most people do not understand.’

(40: 57)

All these changes are motivated by a heart that loves God. Therefore, start with setting your heart on the right course.