Earlier this week, a friend of mine was in a car accident. I did not think much of it until this Jumu’ah when I learned the extent of the accident. A truck hit him from behind, causing his car to spin out of control into oncoming traffic, where he hit another truck. His mother, who was in the passenger seat, came out without a scratch. But it took three hours for the paramedics to pull him from the wreckage. His spinal cord endured severe compression. In an instant, he became paralyzed from the neck down: Quadriplegic.

We’re driving to see him tomorrow in Pennsylvania. May Allah make it easy on him, give him the patience of Ayub and Yusuf and certainty in the plan of his Lord. Please make a du’a for him. Ameen.

In our modern times, spirituality has been cheapened to merely singing poetry or abstractions of being “close to Allah” without any tangible effects. I am certainly not condemning either expression of love of Allah and his prophet صلى الله عليه و سلم, both are important. My contention is with skin-deep manifestations of spirituality.

Your average person very likely has some difficulty, pain or stress in his life. This can come in many forms, from an alcoholic struggling to quit, to cancer patient dying in solitude, to someone addicted to pornography. The challenge is to endure the test and do that which Allah wills, despite the difficulty. This intense struggle for Allah is spirituality. There is nothing more spiritual than being in a broken, destitute state, yet calling out the name of God with full conviction. It is not always rosey or romantic, but it constitutes a more complete form of submission and worship to Allah. And that is our ultimately purpose in life.

Some Sufis speak of Fana’, the obliteration of the self. They say that when one is able to seek Allah despite the many impediments in his way, rid himself of the diseases in his heart, and follow the will of Allah, it is as if he is destroying his sense of self-being and replacing it with Allah’s. This self-obliteration happens to such a degree that we are replaced with the will of Allah and the Prophet صلى لله عليه و سلم and “become the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم”. Needless to say, this language is purely metaphorical, was not meant for the masses to be read and interpreted without a teacher, and was never meant to be taken literally in any capacity.

But, Mirza Ghulam’s claim to have become Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم lays in the crack between the literal and metaphorical. He takes the notion of Fana’ literally, and claimed that this is how he became the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم, in “A Misconception Removed”.

If one could “become” Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم in any capacity, it would have been Saydina Abu Bakr رضى الله عنه. Abu Bakr knew the Prophet before Islam, he was the first adult male to accept Islam, he married his daughter to the Prophet, he suffered for 13 years in Makkah with the Prophet, then fought for 10 years while living in Madinah, he was chosen to spend 11 days alone with the Prophet during the hijrah, there are at least two ayaat implicitly referencing him, he fought in many battles with him, ate with him, looked upon the blessed face of the Prophet, became the first Khalifa, etc. He even died at the same age as the Prophet, and was buried next to him! Abu Bakr had the most right to claim to have obliterated himself in the Prophet than any soul to ever exist, yet he never made such a claim. But Mirza Ghulam had the gaul to claim to have completely become Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم, in effect placing himself above Abu Bakr. This, from a man whose followers must posit excuses for why he never once performed Hajj.

Spirituality does not lead to arrogance and self-aggrandizement, such as claiming to be the “second coming” of anyone. In fact, it often makes one more aware of his own short-comings. For example, ’Umar bin al-Khattab, the second Khalifah, was terrified that he was written as a munafiq (hypocrite). Abu Hurayrah, the most prolific narrator of Hadith, was once asked about his status and responded that he is just another nameless Muslim among many. True spirituality does not lead to “Look how spiritual I am, I have become Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم”. It leads to humility and deep concern for one’s final abode.

What my friend has endured is a severe test. Through it, may he increase in his degrees and ranks with Allah. This is spirituality, not mere fancy language and poetry. Imam al-Ghazali warned of people who have merely learned some of the terminology of the Sufis, yet know nothing of its reality. May Allah guide us all to what is true, and keep us safe from Falsehood.

And please make Du’a for my friend.

و صلى الله عليه سيدنا محمد و على آله و سلم