Phenomena that are known in Physics as reflection and refraction come into play where ever there are mirrors, glass, or water between the onlookers’ naked eye and another object. Take the example of a lens or water that covers a surface. Reflection and refraction both distorting the view of the fingers through the transparent gel. Sometimes, the angle can highlight the positive aspects only, hiding the negatives completely from view. At other times, the angle can do the opposite as well. Angle: It is true that the angle with which we look at something can totally change our perspective of it.Increasing distance (and height) totally change our perspective of the same objects, and they appear so minuscule to us as compared to what their size was a mere few seconds ago. The view, literally, “zooms out”, and as the people, cars, buildings, and roads become smaller and smaller, the whole locality, township, and eventually, the city comes into view - albeit much smaller than they actually are.
But as the plane quickly ascends into the sky, our perspective of the same view changes fast, within seconds. One of the best ways to imagine this, is to recall the view when you are looking out from the window of an airplane while it is taking off.Īt first, we are at ground level, and we can see the roads and buildings the size they actually are. These factors determine how those things, which we are looking at, will appear to us.ĭistance: How close or far we are from something, physically, really impacts how we view/perceive it. There are actually quite a few factors that affect how we “see” things, literally speaking.
#DR FARHAT HASHMI LECTURES ABOUT HAJJ SERIES#
So it is extremely important to ask Allah to guide us and show us the way to allow us to see things as they are.īut before I discuss some more about what human perception really is in the light of the Qur’an, I would like to first take you through a series of mental visualizations in order to drive my point home. The same can be said about people: we might like someone whose company is not good for us, and we might consider beneath us those whose company is good for us. Not to mention, what is good for us often appears to be bad to us, and vice versa. It is 100% true that we often dislike and tend to desist from what is good for us, and covet or want to acquire that which is bad for us. “… it may be that you hate a thing, even though it is good for you, and it may be that you love a thing, but it is bad for you and God knows, whereas you do not know.” He also mentions this hardcore truth about the perceptive abilities of human beings:
This is because, in the Qur’an, Allah calls the life of this world: So that I could stay away from what really was bad for me, and stick to what really was good for me. So I beseeched Him to guide me and open my eyes to reality. I did not want to be deceived and misled from the right path. I would often ask Him to show me the truth & reality about things, about people, about events that normally occur, and about life itself. Henceforth in practical life, Allah guided me to supplicate to Him often with this dua. I remember hastily scribbling it down in my notes. I was very fortunate that I once heard my teacher and mentor, Dr Farhat Hashmi, mention this dua during one of her Qur’an lessons, and talk about how she uses it often to pray to Allah to show her the reality crystal-clearly apart from all false perceptions, untrue ideas, and deceptive appearances. It seems to me that the reason for that is, that they perhaps do not adequately realize how effective it is, or can be, in turning around one’s mindset and course in life. In my experience, very few people whom I know seem to know or exhort the practical use of this dua. This is a very profound and powerful dua, attributed to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
“ O Allah! Show me the reality of all things as it (really) is.” It makes one wonder: do humans always think about this life and its origin, and about “God”, the same way, no matter which era of time they are born in? Do all human beings have the same kind of thought processes? With the only difference being which thoughts they allow themselves to act upon, and which they deflect and discard?Īt the end of the day, is it not true that we all are the products of our thoughts? A Powerful Duaįirst, I would like to mention a very great dua (supplication to Allah) that I had the fortune of learning relatively early on in life (well, it was probably not that early, I was 22, but still): It is even more thought-provoking how the Qur’an mentions human behavior and psychology at many instances. The complexity of the human mind really fascinates me sometimes.
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