Bird of faith

Our eman is like a bird. One wing represents hope. Hoping, that is, in the mercy of Allah subhanahuwatala. And the other wing represents fear, that is fearing Allah subhanahuwatala. The head of the bird, which drives our eman, is love- love for our Creator, subhanahuwatala. Ideally, the eman of a servant of Allah subhanahuwatala, as a bird, should be flying in a straight and balanced manner, flying steadfast to its destination. However, some of us, it seems, are flying in a more or less chaotic or unbalanced manner. Perhaps this is due to an unequal distribution of attention to all of ones faculties, as a bird of course.

There are some, for example, who fear Allah subhanahuwatala, but do not hope for His mercy. Therefore, these birds are flying, but are leaning in one direction, hence they are not balanced and cannot fly straight. These birds fear Allah subhanahuwatala, but since they don't hope for His mercy, they simply despair and so their eman is perhaps not functioning at an optimum potential.

On the other hand, some of us hope for Allah's mercy, but don't pay too much attention to fearing Allah subhanahuwatala. Therefore, what may result is that this individual may just simply become careless. Yes, Allah subhanahuwatala is Most Merciful, but He is also the Most Just. So we will undoubtedly be treated with justice and our deeds will be questioned. To deny this or rather neglect this is to be in a way irresponsible and this may be detrimental to the perfecting of one's eman. Again, the bird simply cannot fly straight or in a balanced manner.

Therefore, the two wings of the bird of eman need to be equal and they need to be exercised equally, for the bird to be balanced. There is the third aspect that can't be neglected: the head of the bird. The head is represented by love- loving Allah subhanahuwatala. Ask yourself, if a headless bird tried to fly, what would happen? Nothing would happen. If the bird doesn't have a head, it would be dead! Similarly, if we don't even love Allah subhanahuwatala, where does our eman stand? Perhaps it can be said that our eman is headed nowhere. It is our love for Allah subhanahuwatala that drives us and directs us to success, and without which we may be lost.

From this metaphor, it can be seen that having all three aspects of eman are critical. By maintaining our fear, hope and love for Allah subhanahuwatala, we are strengthening our eman, our faith, and by being steadfast, we are preparing ourselves towards perfecting our eman inshaAllah.

Imagine the possibilites of one whose eman is strong and perfected...