The Believer is a Prisoner in This World; Some Notes From a Lecture by Shaykh Nuh Keller

الدُّنْيَا سِجْنُ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَجَنَّةُ الْكَافِرِ “The World is a Prison for the Mu’min and paradise for the Kafir.” In Lata’if Al-Minan (subtleties of the divine gifts) IbnAtaa’illah said Abul-‘Abbas al Mursi said, Abul Hasan Ash-Shadhili said: ‘The believer in this world is a prisoner, and there is no release for a prisoner except by one of three ways: 1) Through trick and stratagem. 2)Fidya(ransom) – ransoming the self. Allah says, “Allah has bought their own selves so that they may have paradise.” One for The One, exchanging your lowly vile self for The One for whom there is no second. The goal being the presence of the Divine. In the Hadith Qudsi, Allah said, “Allah the Exalted has said: ‘I will declare war against him who shows hostility to a Wali of Mine. And the most beloved thing with which My slave comes nearer to Me is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave draws nearer to Me through performingNawafil(supererogatory) till I love him. When I love him I become his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks (something) from Me, I give him, and if he asks My Protection (refuge), I protect him.”‘ [Al-Bukhari] How much does it cost to be in the divine presence and out of your prison? The cost is simply giving everything that you possess. Everything that is with you! As the Sufis used to say: “Relaxing in a prison is one of the day dreams of the ego.” The Prophet Muhammad (‘alayhis salam) said, ‘The world is a prison for the believer and a jannah for the kaafir’ [Sahih Muslim Kitaab Az-Zuhd] An-Nawawi said in explanation, ‘It means the believer can not do anything he likes, he must leave his lusts that are connected with the haraam –the shahawaat- like the lusts to get even with someone and those that exceed the limits of Allah ta’alaa, and the disliked.’ The Mu’min must wait until the complete relief of the next world, the unending bliss. Shaykh Nasirulbadi said, “Your prison consists of your own self, and if you can emerge from it, you will fall into the ‘relief’.” Many of the scholars wrote books regarding the ‘deeds of the day and the night -‘Amal Al-Yawm wal-laylah’ – in other words, books that inform man of what is needed to lead to perfection (ihsan). Acting, working, struggling to better one’s self through increasing one’s hasanaat. What then is your book? Coming to this realization is the first step in travelling the path; Suluk. It consists in realizing the realities of eemaan. That the world is worth a bag of dirt, and that the whole of your existence is for the life to come. The exchanging of the ephemeral enjoyments for the eternal enjoyments. One’s reality becomes manifested through the realization that to not do a sunnah is harder on ones’ self thanto do it; this is the ultimate goal. The secret of Ikhlasis one sees one’s works bestowed upon one from Allah ta’alaa. True sincerity is to see one’s works as those bestowed only by Allah ta’alaa. 3) ‘Inayah(pure divine concern for one); it is one’s heart vanishing from love of the self to love for Allah. Allah brings man suddenly to Him. Examplesare through a death of a relative, and other hardships. It is turning to Allah and persevering thatleads to success. Allah knew that his servants wouldlong to know the secrets of the divine; and so he chooses for His mercy whomever he wills. He realized that if he left them, they would quit doing works, and so He said, “Verily Allah’s mercy is very close to those who excel in goodness (muhsineen).”Mercy, then is near to those who strive for ihsaan, and striving for ihsan comes by way ofmujaahada(struggling to subdue the nafs). The inayah of Allah is the annihilation in the entity of Allah ta’alaa. It includes the unlooked for events, the powerful and difficult, challenging events that knock everything out of you. Like death of the loved one, poverty after having money, sickness, like even huge events such as the Hajj – a huge ‘ibadah. So the rahmah of Allah is near for the Muhsineen.Abul Abbas said about the hadith “The world is a prison for the believers”, “It’s the way of the prisoner to always be waiting as to when he will be let out [of the prison], the concern as to when you’re going to pass through the door to the next world, leads to the urgency [of the affair].” No matter how much enjoyment one has in this world, it is a prison in comparison to the absolute bliss of being with Allah ta’ala. To be absolutely certain that the divine help will come to you after having made a decent niyyah – a niyyah that is Onefor One, your soul for Allah. This is the promise of Allah, ‘Allah is with theSaadiqeen(true).’ This is thesweet well spring from which to drink, which has no haughtiness, no extremism, free of any pollutions and impurities of worthlessness, and all of it is guidance and eemaan; Allah is the source of aid!