Voice of British Muslim Women

Ayesha Naseem Mirza, Walsall

There was a time not very long ago when watching the news disturbed me a lot; the lack of peace in the world and the rife unrest and raging wars scared me so much that they impacted my mood and thinking. I would feel down because I would fear for where the world was heading. Now, it’s not that this doesn’t happen anymore and it’s not that I don’t feel concerned or worried with how things are deteriorating across the world, but I have realised that the lack of inner peace in one’s life is far worse as absence of it can make a peaceful and stable geopolitical world look and seem difficult.

The last few months have made me feel emotions I never knew I could feel and taught me things no book or university lecture could teach, and it has truly been this time in my life that I have lived and felt what inner peace, that comes from God, really is and what it feels to have a lack of it.

Anxieties, difficulties and hardships are part of life. Staying determined and trying to overcome them through perseverance, patience and steadfastness promises us reward, ease and blessings from Allah the Almighty.

In Surah Al-Baqarah, it has been said:

‘O ye who believe! seek help with patience and Prayer; surely, Allah is with the steadfast.’ (Ch. 2, V. 154)

It is also human to stumble and feel down when such afflictions strike. The immediate thoughts and prayers are for instant relief for without it these situations create an anxiety within the heart; they take away whatever little peace we used to feel about our lives. Yet this is also the only time when a believer truly realises and remembers who is there for them and who is the one they can turn to. We may look for peace in our daily lives through our homes, relationships and community but the ultimate peace is in the way of God. For without God, we are alone and except for God and His Path, we have nowhere else to go. Only He can answer prayers, only He can remove hardships and only He can instil the peace our soul and body yearn for.

The Holy Qur’an shows us the way to attain this spiritual connection and to eventually embrace the peace that comes from God Almighty. In Surah Al-Anam, it is stated:

‘And this is the path of thy Lord leading straight to Him. We have indeed explained the Signs in detail for a people who would be admonished. For them is the abode of peace with their Lord, and He is their Friend because of what they did.’ (Ch. 6, V. 127-128)

Then in Surah Ar-Rad, Allah the Almighty promises comfort and peace for those who remember Him. It is stated:

‘Those who believe, and whose hearts find comfort in the remembrance of Allah. Aye! it is in the remembrance of Allah that hearts can find comfort;’ (Ch. 13, V. 29)

Indeed, this promise is fulfilled if we look for the signs. I know I have felt and seen them and know many of you reading this would have as well. When, in a moment of anxiety and fear, there are feelings of restlessness and uncertainty over whether there is even any light at the end of the tunnel, Allah the Almighty always sends His assurance. Sometimes through inner peace of the heart and mind, sometimes through an answered prayer or with dreams and other times through blessings that run as a powerful reminder of Allah’s Love for you.

It is these moments of spiritual uplifting and the feelings of peace within that we must hold on to like a lifeline without which we wouldn’t know what to do. It is then this inner peace eventually enriches our steadfastness, increases our faith and strengthens our trust and belief in God and His Grace, Mercy and Love.

His Holiness, Mirza Masroor Ahmad (may Allah be his Helper) the fifth Caliph of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community once said:

‘God Almighty is the most Merciful and Forgiving and is most loving towards His servants who turn to Him. Thus, He listens to the pious desires and prayers of His righteous servants accepts their good deeds.’ [1]

The peace of the world is not in our control although our prayers for it are, and they are our only weapon. But attaining spiritual peace comes through finding God Almighty – and that is the ultimate peace that can help us foster our relationships, our relations with society and our communal life. Once we all try to achieve it individually, we will be collectively creating a world of peace for ourselves, our neighbours, our society and largely our world.

References: [1] https://www.pressahmadiyya.com/press-releases/2019/09/religion-not-cause-worlds-problems-solution-hazrat-mirza-masroor-ahmad/