From Darkness to Light

A Book Review of Rays of Light & Veils of Darkness by Shaykh Tamim Ahmadi

“Allah is the Guardian of those who believe-He brings them out of [the veils of] darkness into the [rays of] light..” [Quran 2:257]

Mankind was created for the sole purpose of adoration of the Divine. God gave humanity a special kind of life, unique from the attribute of life associated with the rest of His creation to test their ability to submit to His Will and act in conformance to His Command. This temporary life is punctuated by death, and then the afterlife, where one will reap what they sowed—virtue, or sin—in Paradise, or in Hell. In this brilliant work, Shaykh Tamim Ahmadi draws from the teachings of his teacher, Shaykh Muhammad Hakim Akhtar, and his teacher Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanwi, in addition to the great scholars of our tradition to compile a practical guidebook on how to lift the veils of darkness that overcome us from the continued disobedience of the True Beloved ﷻ, to receive God’s Guidance to the illumination of ‘ubudiyyah.

“[in the scriptures of Musa and Ibrahim is] that for man is nought save what he strives for, And that the fruit of his labor shall soon come to sight, Then he shall be recompensed to the fullest extent, And that to your Lord is the ultimate end.” [Quran 53:39-42]

The reality of sin is that it detracts man from his purpose and creates difficulties in the path towards the True Beloved ﷻ, who is our Nourisher and Provider. As Shaykh Hakim Akhtar expressed in his couplet,

جو پرہیز کرتے نہیں معصیت سے
انہیں راہ میں سخت دشوارياں ہیں

“Those that do not abstain from enormities,
On the path to God shall face adversities"

The author expounds on the reality of sin and the detrimental effect that it has on our spiritual state. He explains that the primary motivation for abstinence from sin should be the love of Allah ﷻ; that we obey His ﷻ commands and prohibitions out of due reverence for Him ﷻ. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ describes God’s prohibitions as His “sanctum”. To protect one’s religion and honor in the sight of God, one must keep away from the doubtful matters let alone engaging in the explicitly forbidden. This will result in ease in our spiritual journey towards the Ultimate End. In the words of Shaykh Hakim Akhtar:

گناہوں کے اسباب سے دور ہو گے
تو منزل میں ہر وقت آسنیاں ہیں

“If thou shall keep the avenue of sin at bay,
Thou shalt find ease every step of the way”

How ought one remove the veils of sin from one’s heart and rectify their state? The first step is to turn to Allah ﷻ and repent, sincerely and profusely, for every misdeed. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ describes the effect of sins as a black mark appearing on the heart that disappears once one abandons the act of disobedience and seeks forgiveness. But if one continues in the sin unrepentant, the black spot grows until it covers the entire heart. Such a heart will no longer be receptive to the Divine Nur and will drown in the depths of dhulumat.

“Alas! I wish I hadn’t taken so-and-so as a companion.” [Quran 25:28]

The next step, as the author indicates, includes abandoning all the different avenues to sin by keeping good company and making hijrah from environments that encourage us towards sin. Man shall lament what and who he spent time with on the Day of Judgement. By keeping the company of the pious, one is able to develop spiritual fortitude by becoming God-conscious, thereby working towards cultivating a constant state of obedience to the True Beloved ﷻ. To aid in the process of purification from sin and improving one’s spiritual state, the author shares a six-step spiritual program suggested by Shaykh Thanwi for severing addiction to sin and fortifying one’s spiritual quwwah.

“Verily, by the remembrance of Allah do hearts find repose.” [Quran 13:28]

When the veils of sin and darkness are lifted, the heart is primed to receive the sublime rays of God’s ﷻ light. The way to receive it is found in the the perpetual remembrance of God ﷻ, especially as it was practiced by His ﷻ beloved ﷺ. The author, after impressing upon the reader the importance of dhikr, proscribes a daily regimen derived from the authenticated traditions of the Prophet of Allah ﷺ. He is the Munir through which the Divine Nur is dispersed; and so, we attain His light by adhering to the Muhammadan way. What better manner to remember God, than by doing so as His beloved did? The author also draws attention to honoring every sunnah of The Messenger ﷺ and adopting them into our day to day lives as much as possible.

“…so that He ﷻ may reward the good-doers with the finest, Those who abstain from enormities and foul acts save for minor slips; your Lord is indeed of expansive forgiveness…” [Quran 53:31-32]

The author proceeds to describe and expound on the acts that are considered to be sinful and disgraceful to God, as a potent reminder and call to the reader to self-examine. Indeed, we are prone to entering into matters that are spiritually damaging and participating in acts disliked by God simply because of their prevalence in our surrounding society, or simply due to a lack of knowledge. He provides lists of internal and external sins, ranging from minor to major, for without knowing what they are it is difficult to realize if one is indulging in them. 

“Be foremost in seeking forgiveness from your Lord…” [Quran 57:21]

Importantly, disobedience of God impacts us not just the afterlife, but also has tangible and real consequences in this life. Conversely, obedience of God will have positive outcomes in this world as well as the next. The author introduces us to some of the commonly observed benefits of obedience and negative consequences of disobedience in our lives as a form of motivation. To protect oneself from the detriments of sin, it is of utmost importance to hasten towards making tawbah and istighfar, and rectifying our evil actions with those of virtue, in seeking His pleasure.

Veils of Darkness & Rays of Light is a step-by-step, practical guidebook on how one can remove the veils of darkness from one’s heart and prime it for receiving the light of God. Shaykh Tamim does a great service to the ummah by explaining the spiritual and tangible realities of sin, and by giving us practical advice to purify the heart in order to draw near to God, which will, God willing, bring us ease and felicity in this life and in the next. He draws from many scholars in our vast tradition, especially his own teachers, who spent their lives guiding others along this path. The author’s advice to lift the veils of darkness are hereby summarized:

• Abstain from sin and all of its avenues, 
• Maintain good company, and 
• Repent expeditiously when one does fall into sin. 

For the light to then illuminate the heart, one must then: 

• Seek sacred knowledge to know what constitutes as a sin,
• Engage in perpetual dhikr,
• Adhere to the sunnahs of God’s Beloved ﷺ.

We ask Allah to reward the author for this effort, and make it of immense benefit to all and sundry.

Support Muslim publishers by purchasing the book here.

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