Focusing on Allah’s Love

It grieves me to see how people these days, especially among the younger generation, are almost wholly preoccupied with negativity: through baseless arguments, gossip, and useless talk. Their time and energies are constantly being wasted on fruitless distractions that squander their potential, foster enmity, and make them unmindful of Allah’s remembrance. These habits are like an addiction. They are hard to shake off, and they are as effective as any intoxicant in making people speak and act contrary to good sense.

I believe that the greatest way to repel such tendencies is to focus on Allah. This is not only a cure for negative thoughts and bigoted notions, but it provides relief for all the negativities, problems and worries of life. The remembrance of Allah calms and fortifies the soul. It cultivates fortitude and perseverance, moderates impatience, and repels depression and despair.

Remembering Allah is also very easy. It is accessible to everyone. There are no prerequisites to fulfill or procedures to follow. There are no permissions to be sought. The doors to Allah’s remembrance are open at all times, whether we have recently been engaged in worship or have recently committed a sin. We have the opportunity to remember Allah upon waking, whenever something good happens, when misfortune strikes, when we make a mistake, and whenever else we are given cause to be reminded of our Lord.

It has been my experience that remembering Allah is the first step in treating all maladies, both physical and spiritual. It is a prescription for every person afflicted with bodily illness or spiritual doubt. It is equally suitable for the young and old, rich and poor, the powerful and the weak, since everyone is equally dependent on Allah.

Anyone who takes time to consider the names of Allah will come to a surprising realization: not one of these names focuses on Allah’s punishment, anger or wrath. Instead, we find names that express His mercy, love, and kindness, others that communicate His knowledge and wisdom, those that speak about His greatness and majesty, as well as those that speak about His creative powers and providence.

We find names like: the Beneficent, the Merciful, the Forgiving, the Source of Peace, the Bestower, the Provider, the Most Kind, and the Loving. There are no names like: “the Punisher”, “the Avenger”, or “the Wrathful”. The Qur’an speaks about Allah being “severe in punishment”, but this is actually a description of Allah’s punishment and not of Allah Himself. It is Allah’s punishment that is severe.

A number of scholars have pointed out this distinction, among them Ibn Taymiyah who writes:
None of Allah’s names denote anything terrible or bad. The consequences of Allah’s actions, however, can at times be described as bad. For instance, Allah says: “Announce, (O Muhammad) to My slaves that verily I am the Forgiving, the Merciful, and that My punishment is a painful one.” [Sūrah al-Hijr: 49-50] and: “Indeed Your Lord is swift in punishing, and indeed He is Most-Forgiving, Merciful.” [Sūrah al-A`rāf: 167] and: “Know that Allah is severe in punishing and (know as well) that Allah is Most-Forgiving, Merciful.” [Sūrah al-Mā’idah: 98]
Ibn al-Qayyim observes:
Blessings and salvation are attained through Allah’s mercy, forgiveness, benevolence, and generosity. Therefore, we find these meanings attributed to Allah. As for Allah’s punishment and its consequences, these are among Allah’s creations, and as such, Allah is not called “the Punisher” or “the Wrathful”. This is an important difference. The former set of meanings is attributed to Allah directly while the latter are only used to describe His actions. This distinction can even be found in a single passage of the Qur’an, for instance: “Announce, (O Muhammad) to My slaves that verily I am the Forgiving, the Merciful, and that My punishment is a painful one.” [Sūrah al-Hijr: 49-50]
Dr. Umar al-Ashqar writes: “Names are not ascribed to Allah from the derivative attributes of His actions, such as His being severe or swift in punishing, or swift in reckoning…” These phrases are always descriptive of certain circumstances and we never see them directly attributed to Allah as names. Moreover, such descriptions only apply to the specific contexts in which they appear. Therefore, Allah is not described as being eternally in a state of anger or wrath, or of eternally dispensing punishment. By contrast, the meanings that Allah’s names convey are eternally and constantly applicable to Him.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) once said, while beseeching Allah in prayer: “Evil is never applicable to You.” [Sahīh Muslim (771)] This means that Allah is perfectly and completely good in His essence, names, and attributes. He is praiseworthy in every way. His actions are full of wisdom and justice and they are always for the best. His names are all depictions of beauty.

Evil exists in the world that Allah created, since Allah’s wisdom dictated that He create a world containing both good and evil. It is in this way that evil can be understood to exist as a consequence of Allah’s actions as Creator, and Allah alone knows why the presence of evil in the world is for the best. It is something that goes beyond our limited human understanding.

When we regard all of Allah’s names together, we see a clear pattern. All of His names refer to benevolence, generosity, mercy, kindness, clemency, and forgiveness. This tells us something very important. It shows us that love is the foremost quality that we should focus on in our relationship with Allah. It is the quality that brings us nearest to Him, and it should govern how we conduct ourselves with others in the world.

Our love for Allah should transcend the fear we have of Him as well as the hopes we pin on His favor. This does not mean that we should fail to pin our hopes on Allah, nor that we should be devoid of feelings of awe or fear of Him, since Allah describes some of His righteous servants as follows: “They would vie with one other in good deeds, and they cried unto Us in longing and fear, and they were submissive unto Us.” [Sūrah al-Anbiyā’: 90]

He also says: “Call upon your Lord humbly and in secret. Lo! He loves not those who are aggressors. Do no mischief on the Earth after it hath been set in order, but call on Him with fear and longing (in your hearts): for Allah’s mercy is always near to those who do good.” [Sūrah al-A`rāf: 55-56]

However, the fact that Allah’s names praise Him for His mercy, clemency and kindness, means that these are the qualities that we should remind people of when we call them to Allah, and these are the qualities we should strive to cultivate in ourselves and our children.

When we affirm that the love of Allah is foremost, we must not be hesitant in doing so, fearing that our categorical commitment to Allah’s love means we should no longer fear Him or pin our hopes of salvation upon Him. All of these feelings are aspects of our relationship with Allah. They complement and reinforce one another. Once we understand this, we will find ourselves open to more goodness than ever before. Our deeds will be better for it, and we must know that Allah’s mercy far surpasses the merit of our best deeds. So we beseech Allah for His mercy and support, and ask Him never to leave us to our own efforts. islamtoday.com

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'Forest therapy' taking root

Researchers find that a simple stroll among trees has real benefits. For stressed-out workers, this may someday be a doctor's prescription: Walk around in the woods.

Scientists in Japan have been learning a lot in recent years about the relaxing effects of forests and trees on mental and physical health. Based on their findings, some local governments are promoting "forest therapy."

Experience shows that the scents of trees, the sounds of brooks and the feel of sunshine through forest leaves can have a calming effect, and the conventional wisdom is right, said Yoshifumi Miyazaki, director of the Center for Environment Health and Field Sciences at Chiba University.

Japan's leading scholar on forest medicine has been conducting physiological experiments to examine whether forests can make people feel at ease.

One study he conducted on 260 people at 24 sites in 2005 and 2006 found that the average concentration of salivary cortisol, a stress hormone, in people who gazed on forest scenery for 20 minutes was 13.4 percent lower than that of people in urban settings, Miyazaki said.

This means that forests can lower stress and make people feel at ease, he said, noting that findings in other physiological experiments, including fluctuations in heart beats and blood pressure, support this conclusion.

"Humans had lived in nature for 5 million years. We were made to fit a natural environment. So we feel stress in an urban area," Miyazaki said. "When we are exposed to nature, our bodies go back to how they should be."

Taking a walk in a forest, or "forest bathing" as it is sometimes called, can strengthen the immune system, according to Li Qing, a senior assistant professor of forest medicine at Nippon Medical School in Tokyo.

Li conducted experiments to see whether spending time in a forest increases the activity of people's natural killer (NK) cells, a component of the immune system that fights cancer.

In one, 12 men took a two-night trip to a forest in Nagano Prefecture in 2006, during which they went on three leisurely strolls and stayed in a hotel in the woods. Thirteen female nurses made a similar trip to another forest in the prefecture in 2007.

NK activity was boosted in the subjects in both groups, and the increase was observed as long as 30 days later, Li said.

"When NK activity increases, immune strength is enhanced, which boosts resistance against stress," Li said, adding that forest therapy for immune-compromised patients may be developed within a few years.

Li said the increase in NK activity can be attributed partly to inhaling air containing phytoncide, or essential wood oils given off by plants.

Miyazaki of Chiba University said forests gratify the five senses by providing the sounds of birds, cool air, green leaves, the touch of trees, wild plants and grasses.

"The atmosphere of forests makes people calm," he said.

Based on studies on the effects of forests, the public and private sectors are now promoting forest therapy.

The Forest Therapy Executive Committee, a group of researchers, other intellectuals and the government-affiliated National Land Afforestation Promotion Organization, started officially recognizing certain forests by granting the designations of Forest Therapy Base and Forest Therapy Road in 2006. The titles are given to forests that have been found by researchers through scientific evidence to have relaxing effects.

Officials from the Forest Agency and the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry participate in the group as observers.

A forest therapy base comprises a forest and walking paths typically managed by local governments.

So far, 31 bases and four roads nationwide have gained such recognition.

Visitors to some of the therapy bases and roads have the option of taking part in various health programs, including medical checkups, breathing and aromatherapy classes, and guided walks with experts on forests and health care.

At the Akazawa Natural Recreation Forest in Agematsu, Nagano Prefecture, which was recognized as a forest therapy base in 2006, visitors can get free medical checkups among Japanese cypress trees on Thursdays. The forest is known as the Japanese birthplace of the concept of forest bathing in 1982.

Some companies have come to use forest therapy for their employees' health care.

The Shinano Municipal Government in Nagano Prefecture, which manages the Iyashi no Mori (Healing Forests) forest therapy base, has contracts with four companies, a town official said.

Visitors to the forest therapy base can take part in various programs, including dietary management, hydrotherapy and aromatherapy.

The formal designations have drawn more people to such towns.

The Oguni Municipal Government in Yamagata Prefecture said 1,280 people visited the Nukumidaira beech forest there in fiscal 2007, including some 100 people who took part in forest walking tours with "matagi" traditional hunters.

"Before we got the recognition (in 2006), there were not so many visitors to the woods. Now we can see some people in the forest even on weekdays," said Juro Watanabe, a town official in charge of forest therapy.

Recognition as a forest therapy base can be a big help, said Shigetaka Harashima, manager of the forest therapy project for the Okutama Municipal Government in Tokyo.

The town received official recognition in April 2008 and is now cooperating with experts to draw up therapy programs that will be available next year.

Chiba University's Miyazaki said he hopes the number of forest therapy bases and roads will reach 100 nationwide over the next decade so people will have plenty of choices when they look for different types of forests.

"Some people like broadleaf forests and others prefer forests of conifer trees like hinoki cypress that give off a strong aroma," Miyazaki said. "I hope people try to find a forest that suits their tastes and visit them from time to time." japantimes.co.jp

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