Voice of British Muslim Women

Bareera Ghaffar, Nottingham

Islam is a holistic religion. Each part of man’s journey is outlined and road mapped through the Holy Qur’an which relates the lives of the Prophets of God (peace be on them). At the centre of it, is man’s yearning for God and the peace that is felt within. This need for closeness with God links to a journey of three spiritual states of man, Nafs-e-Ammarah, Nafs-e-Lawwamah and Nafs-e-Mutmainnah, which translate as: the self that incites to evil, the reproving self and the soul at rest.

The Holy Qur’an chapter 9 verse 119 reads:

‘O ye who believe! fear Allah and be with the truthful.’

The Five Volume Commentary of the Holy Qur’an explains this verse as follows:

“…To keep company with the righteous and the truthful is highly essential. It serves to remove moral and spiritual rust from one’s heart, and exercise’s a very wholesome influence on it. It leads a believer to the fountain of purity and righteousness. It provides a moral and spiritual environment for man…”.

Reading this I thought further of the “environment of man”; clean space makes things orderly, feeling airy, light, and comfortable, a space where prayer is always welcome. In clean environments I think more clearly, and am more at ease so I wonder, what do the spaces we inhabit say about our spiritually?

I have always been in awe of the way different places are described in the Holy Qur’an; there is such an emphasis on the sky, gardens, oceans, rivers, mountains…etc. To me, it is no coincidence nature feels so connected to the human experience, how nature grounds us but also has us pondering on the One Who created such marvel. Edward Relphⁱ, a Canadian geographer has an interest in exploring sense of place and the ways people experience it. He argues that space is not just a void but an incubator. One cannot just look at a space on its own, rather identity, culture and attachments of people within that space must be considered. Thus, the places we inhabit are not just backdrops to our lives, they inform our lives. Spiritualty and worship are big parts of identity, and must be considered regarding space and how it shapes people.

The Holy Qur’an chapter 15, verse 86 states:

“And We have not created the heavens and the earth and that which lies between the two but with truth…”

The book Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge and Truth explains this verse:

“The … verse speaks not only of the visible heavens and earth but also of that something which fills the space between the two — The heavens and the Earth — to be of benefit to man’

and

”The Quran is speaking of such vastness as lies beyond the grasp of human imagination .”

When I read these lines, thoughts came to mind which kept me pondering for a while. Within the sphere of space, there is the concept of liminal spaces. The word derives from the Latin word limen meaning threshold which can be described as the representation of the “in-between”, the “middle stage” from point A to point B. It evokes feelings of surrealness and as though one is isolated from the rest of the world, a place of ambiguity. Examples can be that of caves, secluded rooms, the deep quietness and stillness of the night…etc

There are places within our belief where significant events have happened involving chosen people of God. Take the story of Prophet Yunus (peace be on him). In deep darkness in the belly of the fish that swallowed him, isolated, he cried out to his Lord in desperation for His help and mercy, and chapter 21 verse 89 of the Qur’an says, “So We heard his prayer and delivered him from the distress. And thus, do We deliver the believers”.

Another example is that of Hazrat Maryam (peace be on her). In her chamber, separated from the world, she would pray to God and there Angel Jibreal delivered the news that she would bear a child; the Qur’an states: “relate the story of Mary as mentioned in the Book. When she withdrew from her people to a place to the east…” (19:17). Was it not in Cave Hira, where the Holy Prophet (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would spend his time away from the world, alone, supplicating to his Lord, and where one day the Qur’an was revealed to him?

All three examples come from a place of vulnerability and solitude and of a peace only God can bestow.

Importantly, it is not the spaces that are spiritual, rather they are vessels that hold those who submit to their Lord, beseeching Him to help, and time after time their Lord releases them of their concerns. A Hadith narrated in Sahih Bukhari mentions how Allah comes down to the lowest part of heaven every night to answer the prayers of His supplicants who have left their beds to pray to Him. Is it not absolute surrender and belief that only God can help that wakes one up to Pray?

In that moment, our own room, our own house becomes that very vessel and space that is drawn to God. We must strive to make these environments vessels for the attainment of the peace that God brings, we must strive to make the places we inhabit know the mercy and compassion of God, and we must make sure that the walls and spaces echo remembrance of God.

i Relph, E. (1976). Place and placelessness (Vol. 67, p. 45). London: Pion.

ii https://files.alislam.cloud/pdf/RRKT.pdf p.284

iii Sahih al-Bukhari 1145 (Book 19, Hadith 26)