651.    The problem with some people who do not “feel” the prescribed prayer (Salat) is that they may be rationalizing it too much, treating it like a checklist of formalities they must accomplish and nothing else, after which some big spiritual opening must necessarily follow. This is obviously not how the prayer should be approached.

652.    When Allah unties the knot (on one’s heart) so that one often asks of Him for his needs, this is an indication that Allah wishes to give him this thing.

653.    Certainty on indubitable Islamic truths should be such that amazing things do not move us. As an analogy, we know 3 is less than 10, so if someone changes stone into gold with the condition that 3 is greater than 10 will we believe him in his claim? No, we do not believe this person, since the amazing thing he has brought forth is not even related to changing the truth of 3 < 10.

Thus, the very important principle in Islam that Mu’jizaat are related to affirming possibilities such as Allah’s sending of Prophets and Messengers (Alayhim as-Salaam), and not to logically absurd matters such as there being more than one God, etc.

654.    The bird needs 3 things to fly: Two wings and a tail; as an analogy, we Muslims require 3 things: ‘Aqeedah, Shariah and Haqiqah; as an answer to some people who belittle the sciences of the heart, if we do not endeavor to love Allah properly, we will be lost, and this deficiency will present itself eventually, with the potential of ruining one’s belief and actions.

As an example, the Shaytan is probably more knowledgeable than all the Muslims today in the formalities of the Shariah, yet the issue is lack of love for Allah, lack of submitting himself to the Divine Grandeur and Reality.

655.    Through manipulation, doubt can be sown in the minds of many about almost anything, even direct sense-data, true axioms, etc.; this is why as Muslims, our methodology for accepting information must be robust.

656.    Yes, it is true that we do not accept all the things written by Sufis in their works or done by Sufi teachers (the true ones and even more so the alleged ones), but neither do we accept all things we come across in books of Fiqh, Hadith verification, Tafsir, etc. Plus, there are huge blunders and problems one might find in these books (of Fiqh, Hadith, etc.) as well, along with evidence of outright cheating in some cases. Thus, the need for a teacher to guide us on the way of all these sciences, rather than denying their worth altogether.

657.    Just as a literate man can identify meanings behind letters written on paper, a literate believer can read the signs of the world after reading the Qur’an.

658.    Real ownership is permanent, and it is only for Allah.

659.    Wisdom consists in doing the right thing in the right way at the right time. If any of these three components is missing, then the act is not done wisely.

660.    As was mentioned: It is a miracle that we have the details including the names of the Prophet’s (ﷺ) horses, his weapons, his clothes, etc. – especially considering the pre-modern era where such information was difficult to record and preserve.

661.    As far as Muslim theologians are concerned, the evidences and proofs of Islam are administered like a ‘buzzsaw’ – sounds harsh, but as an example, what is true necessarily is what it is and this is the end of the story, no emotional rants or pleas are accepted. This is why spirituality is different, and even more effective for many people, since in a class of spirituality the words might be used in other than their very strict theological definitions and can have an effect on the hearts of a different sort of people.

662.    The scholars sometimes allude to the concept of ‘Ilm Ladunni: this is Knowledge given by Allah to those whom He wills, without them ever having studied these matters.

663.    (As was mentioned) The epitome of Divine Justice is not manifested in this world, rather it is manifested in the Hereafter; this is an important point of Islamic belief. As an additional point, creation would be unable to bear total Divine Justice in this world.

664.    (As was mentioned) The Basmalah is an ontological statement: That all reality exists only in the name of and through Allah. The Basmalah teaches us metaphysics as well, in its ordering Bi Ism and Allah, that by Allah’s creating of contingent existents, the names of Allah become evident in creation.

665.    (As mentioned) The Qur’an could only have been revealed on the heart of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ); even mountains would have crumbled if the Qur’an had been revealed to them.

666.    What does the word ‘Allah’ describe? One explanation given by our scholars: it is the proper name for the Entity of the Necessary Existent. Note that we don’t say ‘define’, since Allah cannot be defined.

667.    An important overall aspect of Shariah is so that human beings do not misuse the Divine Blessings (pointed to by the categories of Haram, Makruh, etc.)

668.    The practice of Ishaarah among ‘Ulamaa does exist (i.e. alluding to inner meanings) but was never meant to replace proper formal Tafseer (unlike Batini groups, where for example “establish prayer” may mean only to vaguely remember God without any formal prayers.)

669.    Causation in Islam implies very clearly ‘creation’. This is why our Tawheed is so radical, examples are of fire and its relationship to burning, or of water and its relation to quenching thirst. Also, we say that the fire is the means with which the burning is achieved (not through which it is achieved) and the relationship is strictly one of pairing, not causality.

670.    Being at rest in our hearts is when we acknowledge Allah’s total Mastery over us; anxiety comes to the heart when we the creation claim Rububiyyah/Lordship even in subtle things, like the modern claims regarding human independence.

671.    Allah decrees sins for the believer and at times this is to keep the servant humble, so that he will remember the times when he was down, and that Allah could make this happen to him again – and thus the servant will not rely on himself and on his deeds as if they were the real reason for ultimate salvation.

672.    (As was mentioned) The Prophet (ﷺ) made Dua’ for Qut (sufficient provisions), neither for wealth nor poverty. Those who have enough will be in the ranks of the Fuqaraa’ on the Day of Resurrection, and thus saved from many thorough questions about their wealth.

673.    One sign that our good deeds have been accepted is if we forget about them – since in that case they have been raised by Allah.

674.    For many people, there were/are times when their material state (for example, their economic situation) was so bad that they had no time or ability to look at others’ faults. We should be preoccupied like this at all times with our spiritual state, with our own faults and weaknesses, rather than make it a priority to snoop into others’ lives and deeds.

675.    (As was mentioned) Indeed, the Qur’an was first revealed temporally to Muhammad (ﷺ) before he taught it to all people. But even metaphysically this is true, as [in the realm of true Divine Love] Muhammad (ﷺ) is the Habeeb receiving the message from the Habeeb, from Allah the Exalted.