Artist: Safia Latif

Creation and Rahmah

Taking a step back - first we must understand the concept of creation.

Creation is a box. God is the owner of this box. Everything that lies within this box is what we have, and have yet to experience. The universe we are slowly beginning to understand, the self-sustaining ecosystem encapsulated on earth, the trees that undergo photosynthesis to create oxygen, creation that uses oxygen for growth and survival, the sunlight co-founded with nightfall that is specific to our circadian rhythm and wellbeing, bodily illnesses - its medications, the pathopharmacology (how the medication works) of these treatments. All of which are encompassed within His box of creation.

The list of creation is endless. Every need is provided for. And in many ways - creation are varying forms of mercy, compassion, and care upon humanity. As creation is endless, as is Rahmah.

The Central Dogma of Biology

In first year medical school, one is introduced to a nightmare called Molecular Biology. Likely in the first week the topic The Central Dogma is covered. This principle study articulated by Francis Crick in the late 1950s explains that DNA (genetic material) contains coded instructions that are copied into RNA which then encodes for proteins. These proteins then carry functions within the cell itself.

It is the principle that genetic material flows in one direction.

The Central Dogma of Rahmah

An argument can be made that principle of mercy follows a similar manner. A metaphysical equation that flows in one direction, from conception till death. Being one of the chosen to enter and live out this world and its many experiences of challenges and blessing is, in it self - a form of mercy.

Lens of Tazkiyah and Mercy

Purification is a lens in which mercy fosters and grow. Tazkiyah is not just the removal of sin to reach a purified state. It is also a fundamental practice of preparing ones heart to receive and reflect on divine mercy. It is vitally important to understand that purification is both a mercy from God and a means to attract further mercy and success, both worldly and the hereafter.

"He has succeeded who purifies it, and he has failed who instills it [with corruption]."

Ash Shams (91:9-10)

“When the heart is cleansed of such vices and evils, mercy settles in it in place of hatred...”

Ibn Shaykh al-Hazamin

The Physiology of Rahmah

A pillar of practice within Tazkiyah (purification) is removing one of sin - in order to cleanse oneself into a state of purity. A common physical practice is Wudu. Prior to meeting God one must purify themself inwardly and outwardly. This physical act is a believers gateway to spiritual mercy, as it prepares the believer to engage in prayer, which is itself a mercy and a means of further purification.

Notably, the human body also mimics acts of autonomic purification. The liver acts as the most striking example. The liver detoxifies by a chemical process that turns lipophilic toxins into water-soluble metabolites that are excreted in urine or bile. Blood carrys toxic material (ie drugs, toxic waste) to the liver which then processes and purifies blood.

Religion of Divinity

Linguistically when one defines Islam, its reference draws from the word peace. When one begins to study the Names of Allah, Ar-Rahman - The Most Merciful — is one of the first names mentioned. When one asks a scholar - what was the first teachings of Islam Prophet ﷺ preached to mankind;

"The merciful will be shown mercy by the Most Merciful. Be merciful to those on the earth, and the One in the heavens will have mercy upon you."

Prophet ﷺ

Mercy towards others is not just a path or series of actions in Islam - it is the entirely encompassing lens in which Islam is defined and appropriately practiced.

Islam often is described as a lifestyle. I would argue living with mercy is not only one of the strongest - but purest forms. When one lives with mercy, God returns to them fortunes of favour. For example - when one removes waste off the floor, that trash is removed from lands. Lands which connect to lakes. Lakes which connect to oceans. Oceans which house fish. Fish which then pray for the believer through this act of mercy.

When one acquires knowledge of what Islam truly embodies and practices - even the fish in the sea pray for him.

”Everyone in the heavens and on earth prays for forgiveness for the seeker of knowledge, even the fish in the sea.”

Prophet ﷺ

The Central Dogma of Rahmah Series

Prologue

Modern interpretation of a practicing believer, especially in the generation groomed by technology, has seem to completely overlook the most fundamental understanding of faith. Misuse of religious teachings for one’s own gain, judging others - believer or not, gender discourse, inhibitory mindset - the subtle cancerous Islamic malpractices have metastasized into a global epidemic.

The following 5 part series will take a deeper dive into the most fundamental pillars of practice - mercy upon others, mercy upon ourselves.

When one truly understands how imbedded mercy is within their religion, their self and their environment - the return to The Most Merciful becomes their central dogma.

By taking a deeper dive into the psychology and anatomical physiology of living a beneficial life through perseverance, striving, and gratitude - this series will attempt to argue that hardships are as equal to rizq as blessings are. That nature is nurture. That death is the ultimate form of mercy. That within us, and through us shines one of the most beautiful descriptions of Allah and the practice of Islam - Rahmah.

the Divine gaze is upon you.

yes.

you.

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References:

1. Shaykh Hisham Abu Yusuf

2. Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar

3. Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

4. The Study Quran

5. Artwork By: Safia Latif (@safialatifpaintings)

Mini Case Study: Iblees and Purification

Iblees, a Jinn (creation capable of freewill) was given a choice and promised to mislead the misled. Methodically taking the believer away from a state of purification.

[Iblees] said, “By your might, I will surely mislead them all Except, among them, Your chosen servants.“

Surah Sad (38:82-83)

Notably, Iblees asked permission (dua) to live until Judgement Day,

[Iblis] appealed, ‘Then delay my end until the Day of their resurrection.’

Surah Al A’raf (7:14)

Iblees acknowledges Allah capacity. He is aware of Allah as his Rabb. Then argumentatively speaking, is Iblis a believer?

Introduction to Iman (إيمان)

Taking a step back, defining Iman and its different branches and idiosyncrasies is an entire lecture on its own^1. Tersely, Iman can be simply understood as belief, or faith.

“Iman has sixty odd or seventy odd branches. The uppermost of all these is the Testimony of Faith: 'La ilaha illallah' (there is no true god except Allah) while the least of them is the removal of harmful object from the road. And shyness is a branch of Iman.”

Prophet Muhammadﷺ (Al Bukhari and Muslim)

To understand the depth of Iman, recognize as well its divine weight. Mentioned numerous times in the Quran and Hadith, Iman acts as prerequisite toward Jannah,

“Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds - they will have the Gardens of Paradise as a lodging”

Surah Al Kahf (18:107)

Also reminded to us, we inherited this prerequisite prior to worldly conception,

And ˹remember˺ when your Lord brought forth from the loins of the children of Adam their descendants and had them testify regarding themselves. ˹Allah asked,˺ “Am I not your Lord?” They replied, “Yes, You are! We testify.” ˹He cautioned,˺ “Now you have no right to say on Judgment Day, ‘We were not aware of this.’

Surah Al A’raf (7:172)

Study Arguments

In the following study will argue two primary points,

1. By analogizing medical principles of hypertrophy and atrophy - Imaan is a fixed human characteristic that is designed against abandonment.

2. If the worldly life is a test and Jannah is incomprehensibly great - then by design, it is not our duty to attain perfection rather to strive to meet Allah how He is - in a constant state of purity. A person of weak Iman is not one mountain, but rather just one step away from Jannah.

Hypertrophy in Medicine

When an organ undergoes an increase in stress, decrease in stress, or a change in stress the organ responds with growth adaptations. Specifically in increased stress, such as hypertension, the heart will attempt to offset pressure by expanding wall thickness - mechanistically by increasing cell size (hypertrophy).

Noted in a previous study, the physical heart undergoes post-birth terminal differentiation. Ceasing the ability of multiplication of cardiac cells. Thus, leaving the heart with a single adaptive mechanism - hypertrophy. The heart grows not by addition but by expansion.

Hypertrophy in Iman

Stress induces hypertrophy. Spiritual stress can be also viewed as distractions or the environment in which sin perpetuates impurities within nafs. Each individual nafs is intentionally designed to be allured by distraction. In a previous study, I proposed a reduction in the collective binding strength of distractions as a form of purification - practically this can be practiced through building Iman from actionable purification.

In a world constantly enticing and stressing one with distraction, to keep Iman strong and healthy - we must act upon our beliefs and maintain a consistent state of purity.

Spiritual Purification

It is important to note the details of Iblees’s influence. It wasn’t just disobedience as temptation - it was the removal of clothing (purification).

“O children of Adam! Do not let Satan deceive you as he tempted your parents out of Paradise and caused their cover to be removed in order to expose their nakedness…”
Surah Al-A’raf 7:27

I would argue that in the time we live in now is the exact method Iblees intends for humanity’s downfall - hadith/sunnah rejection, gender discourse, and religious virtue signalling are just a few examples seen rampantly online that removes a believer from a state of purity and exposes them to discourse - which by extension, reduces Imaan.

Side Note: Importance of Environment

Everyone has heard the story of a man who murdered 100 people and was told even then - he was worthy of forgiveness. When the Pharaoh was drowning, Jibreel in fear of Allah’s mercy, stuffed the Pharaoh’s mouth full of mud in fear that if he acknowledged Allah and repented - Allah would forgive him.

In these two incidents - there is something to note. The man who murdered 100 people was told to migrate towards lands of good people. The Pharoah was placed in an environment of direct suffering (drowning). Both are environments that induce purification - one a physical body and psychological mental distance from desire, and the other a place of physical (bodily) suffering that induced reflection of God and a desire to seek forgiveness.

Spiritual Cardiac Arrest

What one should fear, is when the spiritual heart no longer beats. When guidance no longer circulates within the heart - resultant clinical features begin to present;

“So whoever Allah wants to guide—He expands his breast to [contain] Islam; and whoever He wants to misguide—He makes his breast tight and constricted as though he were climbing into the sky.”

Surah Al-Anam (6:125)

Iman is the resultant rizq from the beating heart that Allah guides and protects.

Adaptation

Between stress and hypertrophy lies the defining feature - Adaptation. It’s not stress itself that induces change. It is the reaction and adaptation response to stress that induces hypertrophy. Spiritually one can reflect that when pulled by desire - it is their conscious actions and response that determines the outcome of their Iman.

Tests are inevitable, failure is a choice.

Atrophy of Iman

Stepping away from cardiac muscle and highlighting skeletal muscle - if you’ve ever had periods of consistent weight lifting then a stoppage - physiologically, muscle atrophies. It’s important to note that muscle cells themselves don’t undergo cell death, they undergo shrinkage. Physiologically the repercussion is apparent. Things become heavier. Getting out of bed. Lifting weighted objects. The stoppage of stress and adaptation resolve the human body towards reduction.

Similarly, when one lets go of their actions and movement towards Imaan - life becomes heavier. The unknown of the future turns to anxiety. In some cases - getting out of bed too becomes difficult. One could argue then that spiritual stress (nafs) is needed in order to activate modes of purification.

Almost as if imperfection was an intended design of humanity, and the test wasn’t to attain perfection, but maintain purification.

Light Upon Light (نُورٌ عَلَىٰ نُورٍ)

So what is Iman? What is belief? How do we assume we’re amongst the purified?

I would argue this - when your inner self prescribes for you memories and reminders of your weaknesses - keep Him close to you, for He (Allah) is guiding your truest self (nafs) towards purity. When we consciously purify our hardships to noor, it transforms within us enlightenment - noor ala’noor.

“Oh Allah the turner of hearts

tkeep my heart

firm upon your deen”

Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

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Recommended Resources (Links available on Substack):

1. (Video Series) Branches of Faith - Dr. Yasir Qadhi

2. (Video Series, Spotify) Seerah, Biography of the Prophet ﷺ - Dr. Yasir Qadhi

3. (Video Series, Book) Purification of the Heart - Dr. Hamza Yusuf

4. (Book) Spiritual Development And The Pursuit Of Excellence - Dr. Husain Abdul Sattar

5. (Book) Rest Stops of Remembrance, A Handbook of Prophetic Duas and Dhikr -Dr. Husain Abdul Sattar

6. (Video Series) The Fortress of Faith - Ustadh Hisham Abu Yusuf

7. (Video Series) Names Of Allah And His Attributes - Ustadh Hisham Abu Yusuf

8. (Book) The Study Quran - Dr. Seyyed Hossein Nasr

(Video Series) Branches of Faith Series - Dr. Yasir Qadhi

(Video Series, Spotify) Seerah, Biography of the Prophet ﷺ - Dr. Yasir Qadhi

(Video Series and Book) Purification of the Heart - Dr. Hamza Yusuf

https://kutub.nur.nu/English/Hamza-Yusuf_Purification-of-the-Heart-complete.pdf

(Book) Spiritual Development And The Pursuit Of Excellence - Dr. Husain Abdul Sattar

https://sacredlearning.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/SDPE-2024-WEB.pdf

(Book) Rest Stops of Remembrance, A Handbook of Prophetic Duas and Dhikr - Dr. Husain Abdul Sattar

https://sacredlearning.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/Rest-Stops-2024-WEB.pdf

(Video Series) The Fortress of Faith - Ustadh Hisham Abu Yusuf

(Video Series) Names Of Allah And His Attributes - Ustadh Hisham Abu Yusuf

The Nafs

Before I begin the study I want to first define terms. Nafs cannot be translated and defined into a singularity. Nafs has a broad and layered definition within classical Islam, Sufism, and the science of tazkiyah (spiritual purification). For the purposes of this study - we will define the nafs as the human self that carries desires, intentions, accountability, and moral responsibility.

The Enzyme-Substrate Complex

Biologically speaking, an enzyme and substrate interact through a highly specific relationship. This process is often described as - a key fitting into a lock. Metaphorically, one could argue the nafs operates in a similar manner. Just as biological systems exhibit unique affinities, each individuals own nafs finds a natural draw toward certain temptations.

A spiritual test designed for each soul.

“And [by] the soul and He who proportioned it; And inspired it with its wickedness and its righteousness.”

Surah Ash-Shams (91:7-8)

Affinity vs Avidity

An inference on the inner self can be that we all have a specific and varying selection for certain desires. A believer may just have a single worldly desire for a specific weakness in the nafs. Another believer may find themselves pulled toward countless desires, each small on its own, but collectively overwhelming.

Spiritual Discipline

I would argue the better one understands their affinities toward desire, the better they can navigate a world saturated with temptation.

For example:

• By changing perception within the desire itself - recognizing its corrosive potential, one can avoid a temptation directly in front of them.

• By changing their environment, one distances themselves from desire.

• By conscious awareness that worldly life is a test, one easily adopts a sense of evanesce - detaching from the illusions of desire.

“O tranquil soul, return to your Lord, pleased and pleasing.”

Surah Al Fajr (89:27-30)

When taken under the biological perspective, the strongest approach against the nafs may not be by resisting every desire individually - but by reducing the collective binding strength. Every act of remembrance, worship, gratitude is a form of self-awareness and purpose that weakens the attraction between the inner self and what distracts it. For the return back home is both pleasing and pleased.

And for everything in this life you could not have - there is Jannah.

“ The goal of self-awareness is not merely to understand yourself.

The goal is to gain control of yourself.

And you cannot control what you have not explored. "

Shaykh Usman Qamar

Disclaimer: The content written is derived from talks by Dr. Husain Abdul Sattar & Shaykh Usman Qamar. This post is not a source of formal Islamic knowledge on the verses mentioned, nor it is an attempt to decode the Quran. My qualifications are melancholic, not scholarly.

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I want to begin the study with a story of man.

Before modern medicine, imagine a man being inflicted with a disease that completely distorted his body. Skin lesions, nerve thickening and palsy - destroying your ability to sense and function. Then consider this man’s story so profound that Allah preserved his story for every generation that would follow.

This is the story of Prophet Ayyub (عليه السلام). The crux of his journey is that he was never aware of why he was given his illness. He did not deny his suffering. He brought it to Allah. He acknowledged his physical and social suffering without accusation. But Ayyub (عليه السلام) taught us that suffering can exist without bitterness.

Gut-Brain Axis

1. In 2021 a study by Kim et al. Researchers transferred gut bacteria from Alzheimer-type infected mice into healthy young mice.¹

2. In 2023 a study by Zhang et al. Researchers housed healthy young mice into the same cage as Alzheimer-type mice.²

3. In 2023 a study by Grabrucker et al. Researchers transferred gut bacteria from people with Alzheimer’s Disease into healthy young mice.³
   
   What was concluded?

   ---

   Gut-Brain Axis

1. The study demonstrated that unhealthy gut bacteria alone, without any genetic predisposition in the healthy young mice, could trigger changes resembling Alzheimer’s.

2. As healthy and sick mice naturally began to share bacteria within their communal environment (grooming, shared bedding ect) - the healthy mice picked up the Alzheimer's-associated microbiota. Even more notably, researchers found that the spouses of Alzheimer’s patients had gut bacteria that looked more like the affected partner’s than the likes of those of healthy individuals. Arguing a sort of dysbiotic bacteria spread through shared living environments.

3. After the transfer of gut, rats began having trouble with memory and learning. Notably, worse the human donor’s dementia was - worse the rats performed.

   ---

In Islam we don’t consider nourishment as merely mechanical provision. Repeatedly we are reminded to consider what we consume, how much we consume, and to consider whether what enters us is under His blessing. It is not merely satisfaction of hunger - it is spiritual provision, gratitude, moderation and purification.

The scholars describe creation as being in continual need of divine support, for “the creature is in need of its Lord in its existence, its survival, and its benefit and harm”. Every cell in your brain ultimately depends upon things you didn’t create. Every heartbeat depends on substrates you didn’t create. Your nervous system depends on oxygen you didn’t create. Ibn al-Qayyim wrote that the body lives through food and drink, while the heart lives through faith, knowledge of Allah, love of Him, and remembrance of Him. So our existence is not self-sustained—it is a constant receiving from Allah: He feeds, gives oxygen, maintains cells, directs circulation, and preserves the soul.

Today, we have a tendency to disregard nourishment as a form of rizq. We are so focused on worldly desires that we over consume food. Everything is ostentatious. Foolishly thinking what we love is what Allah loves. We ignore that we could be conduits, giving rizq to others - simply by providing food and water.

Recently, we have watched children starve through screens while eating our own meals. We have watched children become thinner while our appetite became wider. The distance between their hunger and our abundance.

What does it mean to call something rizq when we possess more than enough, while another human being possesses almost nothing?

Perhaps nourishment was never meant to be something we merely receive.

Perhaps nourishment was a divine gift we received and could give to others. Rizq given is rizq provided.

We give these conditions names because medicine must name what the body suffers - but it does not define the existential definition of suffering.

So what do we call the suffering itself? what is illness? is it a test? is it hardship? is it rizq?

I think illness is so much more that what we superficially perceive it as. Perhaps a gateway toward Jannah. A connection between you and your Lord. Your Rabb. And when He bestows hardship in health upon you, perhaps it is not punishment nor defect - For the believer, illness can become a means of purification, intimacy with Allah, and elevation. And like Ayyub (عليه السلام), a believer may discover through their suffering a path towards Paradise.

The road to Allah is not long. It is one moment of pain. It is one moment of reflection. Do not be fooled by internet trends. Rizq is not tied to ten thousand istighfar on a digital ring counter - it can be a single moment of awareness to your Lord, a definitive moment that turned your heart.

La ilaha illa Allah (لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ)

Medical References:

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37849234

2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34500036

3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37604976

For the sake of my premise - let’s say the incidence rate of pure cardiac malignancy is negligible.

Why? How?

Firstly, shortly after birth vast majority of your cardiac (heart) cells never divide again. This leaves very little opportunity for cancer as it manifests through uncontrolled growth. Meaning at birth - you were sent here with a predestined sound heart. As if already written - no matter where you turn in life, no matter your hardship, corruption, infection, or illness - it is a reminder that illness of the heart is acquired.

Corruption is an intrusion; not a defect of original design.

Secondly, the heart is in constant work load. Mechanical load (beating heart) actively suppresses cancer proliferation. We discussed previously - our oxygenated blood is rizq. If our beating heart is the guidance that softens us, humbles us, and brings us back to our Lord - we can then reflect that His constant guidance is the exact mechanism by which we do not turn malignant.

Guidance is not merely direction - it is alignment. As though restoring an arrythmatic heart back to sinus rhythm.

Important to note - the spiritual heart becomes diseased not because it turns malignant. What we must worry about is the traces of behaviour that slowly poison our hearts.

SIDE NOTE

I will tell you something my beloved father once told me when I was in a trying season, ‘This is your Badr. Everyone has their Badr. So fight.’

Not every heart is diseased. The Prophets were saddened. Ya’qub cried until he lost his sight. Musa felt crushing fear. Even our Prophet ﷺ experienced the Year of Sorrow. Emotion is not Iman. Anxiety is not disbelief. Hardships are not abandonment.

Struggling and hardship are a path. Not a destination. So against all current meme hijab advice - BE A JOURNEY. And when the journey is embedded in his guidance - the end result always provision. By worship, we turn hardship to noor.

Perhaps there is a reason Al-Fātiḥah begins with “Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.” (1:2). Before the heart is guided, it is taught gratitude. Before it is renewed, it remembers its sustainer.

Because the heart that recognizes its dependence cannot be consumed by its own desires.

If it has not clicked yet. THIS IS SYNCHRONIZATION. In Islam, we repeat our prescription 17 times during the day. Every time you stand in worship - you are being reorientated back to who you are, why you exist, what you worship, and where you are going.

If you’ve ever noticed - human medicine is mostly preventative care. Healthcare professionals are aware of the GDMT + 1 protocol for Heart Failure - we prescribe 5 drugs;

1. ARNI— "Relaxes blood vessels"

2. Beta-blocker — "Slows the heart"

3. MRA— "Blocks salt retention"

4. SGLT2 inhibitor — "Pees out sugar"

Loop Diuretic — "Removes extra fluid"

All in all - these reverse heart damage, reduce hospitalizations, and prolong life.

As believers, our GDMT + 1 protocol is as follows

1. The Shadahah - Corrects the diagnosis. Who is your Lord?

2. Salat - Al Fatihah, our daily prescribed rhythm control.

3. Zakat - Treats attachment. I dont shine if you dont shine.

4. Fasting - Quiet discipline sold for patience and gratitude

5. Hajj - The final reminder. A pilgrimage that mimics life. Every journey has an end.

I do not believe our generation is suffering from lack of knowledge or a crisis of intelligence.

Nor ambition. Nor pursuit of excellence.

Perhaps we are suffering from a crisis of orientation.

“…We are closer to him than his jugular vein.” (50:16)

Basic physiology; the jugular vein returns deoxygenated blood to the heart — and by extension reminding us that we must always return back to Him. So perhaps, like blood returning to be renewed, we too return to Allah after being depleted by the trials in life.

But my mind kept wandering; what of the carotid artery?

Medial to the jugular vein is the carotid artery. The carotid artery carries life itself. Oxygen. Glucose. Through a simple chain of diffusion and transport, a single cell becomes a living factory sustained by oxygen and nourishment.

One could then reflect that this oxygenated sustenance itself is rizq.

We often reduce rizq to a selection bias. Career success, companionship, wealth, our place in the hereafter. But rizq is far greater than what fills our hands or where we are going — it is everything that sustains existence.

Your reflection on Him in this very moment, the ability to ponder on His existence — this is all rizq. We spend our lives asking Allah for more rizq while overlooking that we are already drowning in it.

Between return and rizq, lies the heart. To the body it distributes life; spiritually, it reflects where guidance settles.

We return to Allah carrying our burdens, our shortcomings, and our exhaustion, and by His mercy we receive guidance. Perhaps this is why the Qur’an speaks of hearts that soften, harden, open, and find tranquility.

- for the journey of a person is not merely measured by where the body travels, but by the direction in which the heart turns.

Disclaimer: The content written is derived from talks by Sheikh Husain Abdul Sattar & Ustadh Hisham Abu Yusuf. This post is not a source of formal Islamic knowledge on verse (50:16/17), nor is it an attempt to decode the Qur’an.

My qualifications are melancholic, not scholarly.

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