Assalaamu alaykum brothers and sisters. I pray you all well.

In the realm of nurture and development we tend to hear voices that describe human beings as products of nature (DNA) with other voices stating that we are products of nurture (environment).

You can already guess these voices belonging to the philosophers and scientistis.

However, when we study the seerah, we actually come to learn that we has human beings may be affected by our nurture and our nature, but ultimately- we can and should be products of our ‘fitrah’ – the natural disposition that Allah Almighty created us upon.

The Qur’an and Sunnah are both rich in teaching us of the guidance that Allah Almighty created us upon. Yes, every human has been created with the knowledge that our Lord in no other than Allah Almighty.

So in essence Allah has blessed us with a continuous inner voice that calls us, and our hearts, and our souls towards guidance- Alhamdulillah.

However what we find, my dear brothers and sisters, is that we live in moments whereby the loudness of misguidance around us and the echoes of our daily monotonous lives are so loud; that they together block out the pure calling of our inner voice.

Our inability to respond to the call of our inner voice then causes us to become a victim of time and part and parcel of a life void of purpose and attachment to that considered more substantial…

Dear reader, our messenger was born into a system of misguidance. He grew up amidst a people that worshipped idols and lived immoral lives, and yet we find him beating his environment, with the mercy of Allah Almighty, and remaining upon the instruction of his natural disposition.

Not once do we ever come across him indulging in misguidance before becoming a messenger, in fact he was revered by the very same misguided nation that he was sent to as an honest and trustworthy person.

Dear reader- it is incumbant you take out a day or two in your week and month to connect with you natural disposition. You have to shut out the ‘noise’ of life and start hearing your inner voice of guidance regularly. It is critical for your safe and successful survival.

Our messenger (SAW) used to leave the noise of misgudance around him and visit a cave often. It was in this cave that he could ponder and reflect without distraction and it was in a cave that guidance was revealed upon him…

We do not need physical caves today! We just need to switch off from the world every now and then and listen to ourselves. We owe it to ourselves!

I love you for the sake of Allah.

your brother,
Sajid Umar