About The True Reality

Our goal is to inspire all truth seekers to seek personal development through reading the Holy Qur'an and learning about Allah Almighty.

Table of contents

1) Let’s Talk About Darkness! 
- Striving through darkness is a universal law of nature
- Mental, emotional, & social darkness  
- Darkness from the Evil One    

2) Enter The Light 
- How to seek refuge in Allah in 3 simple steps
- Munajat, whispered prayers to Allah in solitude.  

3) The Whispered Prayer of the Hopeful

Download the Whispered Prayer of the Hopeful here.

1) Let’s talk about Darkness! 

Darkness is one of Allah's Signs. In the Qur’an, Allah Almighty points us to things that only He creates, and He has called them His Signs. We are encouraged to study His Signs so that we get understanding and proof of His existence.  

In the Qur'an verses below, Night is associated with Darkness, and Allah says He created them both:  

Surah 6 An'am - The Cattle  

1. Praise be to Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth, and made the Darkness and the Light. Yet those who reject Faith hold others as equal with their Guardian-Lord.  

27. What? Are you the more difficult to create or the heavens above? Allah has constructed it:
28. He raised on high its canopy, and He has given it order and perfection.  
29. He endows its Night with Darkness, and He brings out its splendor with Light.   (Surah 79, Those Who Tear Out).

The beauty of Allah’s all encompassing complexity is that evidence of His patterns of Creation can be witnessed at all levels of nature within the universe.  

Striving through Darkness is a Universal Law of Nature 

Pushing through Darkness is part of the cycle of growth in nature.  

In the Fall season, the seeds of plants that sprouted in the spring are dropped into the darkness of the earth to begin the growth cycle again. The seeds remain in the soil to develop in darkness, then sprout in the light of the following Spring season.  
Later on in surah 6 Cattle, Allah speaks more about seeds that He causes to grow in Darkness:

59. With Him are the keys of the Unseen… He knows whatever there is on the earth and in the sea. Not a leaf falls but with His knowledge: there is not a grain in the darkness of the earth, nor anything fresh or dry (green or withered) but is inscribed in a Record Clear (to those who can read).    

Allah says that we humans were even created in darkness:      

Surah 39 Zumar - The Crowds:  

6. He makes you, in the wombs of your mothers, in stages, one after another, in three veils of Darkness. Such is God, your Lord and Cherisher : to Him belongs (all) dominion. There is no god but He : Then how are you turned away (from your true center) ?    

So if all living seeds strive from Darkness to Light, is it possible that WE are meant to spiritually grow from Darkness to Light too?  

After all, for Allah to manifest His promise to take us from Darkness to Light it means that we actually have to BE in Darkness in order to get out of it.

So what does being in spiritual Darkness look like in our daily lives? 

Mental, Emotional, and Social Darkness

Social and emotional circumstances can create vibrational darkness that manifests as anxiety, depression, waking up in fear, stress, loneliness, grief, panic, violence, low-self esteem, burnout, broken relationships, and tons of other human ills.

It's like, we want to be happy, but we just don’t know how to maintain prolonged happiness and contentment. Whatever Darkness you’re dealing with, it is not something your “higher-self” can lead you out of...

Oh and let’s not forget the creepy Darkness that comes from the Devil himself.

The Darkness of the Evil One.

It’s creepy to imagine demons all around us in a parallel universe, but Allah tells us that the Evil One suggests evil to us from a place where we do not see him. Consider what Allah says about the Darkness of the Evil Ones in the following surahs:

Qur'an, Surah 2 Al-Baqara - The Cow:

257. Allah is the Protector of those who have faith: from the depths of Darkness He will lead them forth into Light. Those who reject faith, their patrons are the Evil Ones: from Light they will lead them forth into the depths of Darkness. They will be companions of the fire to dwell therein (forever).

Qur'an, Surah 24 Noor - Light:

21. O you who believe! Do not follow Satan’s footsteps, and whoever follows the footsteps of Satan, he will command what is shameful and wrong; and were it not for Allah's Grace upon you and His Mercy, not one of you would have ever been pure, but Allah purifies whom He pleases; and Allah is One who Hears and Knows all things.

Satan is our enemy whose aim is to lead us out of Light into Darkness by hissing at our nafs. Nafs in our language could be likened to the Ego. In our culture just about everything bad is blamed on the “ego”, but nafs is deeper than that. Nafs are our carnal and animalistic instincts.

In Hadith Qudsi Allah explains to Prophet Muhammed that our nafs is the "evil insinuating" part of our soul that inclines toward everything Dark.

So, Darkness exists within all of us. We have to practice self-control and strive hard to restrain our nafs. This is part of what it means to spiritually grow from Darkness to Light.

2) Enter The Light

Darkness has overcome us all at times and we’ve gotten some wounds and scars along the journey. Let us humbly turn to the Creator for forgiveness, healing, wisdom and guidance.

In the following ayats  (verses) of Qur'an, Allah Almighty tells us to seek refuge in Him from Darkness :

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

15. There has come to you from Allah a (new) Light and a perspicuous book (clearly expressed and easy to understand) -
16. Wherewith Allah guides all who seek His good pleasure to ways of peace and safety, and leads them out of Darkness, by His Will, into the Light - guides them to a Path that is Straight. 

-Surah 5 - The Table Spread

43. He it is Who sends His blessings on you, and (so do) His angels, that He may bring you out of utter Darkness into the Light; and He is Merciful to the believers.

- Surah 33 - The Confederates

1. Say: I seek refuge with the Lord of the Dawn
3. From the mischief of Darkness as it overspreads.

- Surah 113 - The Dawn

So how do we actually "seek refuge" in Allah?

How to seek refuge in Allah in 3 steps

Step 1: Decide to leave your sleep one night to sit with Allah, alone, in the Darkness of midnight anytime until the Dawn.

Step 2: Offer two rakats (units of prayer) to prostrate yourself to Allah before you supplicate to Him. If you like you can even perform the Night Prayer seeking even more nearness to Allah.

Step 3: Thank Allah for all of the good things in life, then whisper to Allah your defeat. Admit your bad decisions, bad behaviors, mistakes, and bad judgment calls. Tell Allah about your pain.

Remember, Allah wants us to come to Him. Mankind struggles to admit the vital reliance we have on Allah for every - little - thing. We are not self-sufficient. We are blind and we make mistakes and tarnish our souls unknowingly. Our bodies are weak and our burdens can become heavy to carry.

Ask Allah to show you how to reform your faith and your life.

Munajat

Munajat means whispered prayers to God in solitude. Imam Ja’far As-Sadiq shares with us a Narration from his great-great-great grandfather The Holy Prophet Muhammad :

"When a servant communes with his Lord in solitude at midnight, Allah will enlighten his heart. Then when he says: 

‘O’ my Lord! O’ my Lord!’ 

Allah, the Glorious, the Majestic says in response: 

‘Here I am, My servant! Ask Me so that I may grant you, trust in Me so that I am sufficient for you.’ 

Then Allah tells His angels: 

‘O My angels! Look at my servant who is supplicating to Me at midnight when the pleasure-seekers are indulging in sensual pleasures in vain, and the ignorant are sleeping. Testify that I will include him in my forgiveness.”

Munajat is like a meditation where you speak softly, in secrecy with Allah about your life. In the words of Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Misbah Yazdi,

“What a privilege and honor to taste the pleasure of munajat and conversation with Allah.”

Learn more about Man’s Need To Whisper To God.


3) The Whispered Prayer of the Hopeful

Imam Zain ul-Abideen the great grandson of Prophet Muhammad, has left us a legacy of Munajat Supplications to Allah that earnestly bring Allah to mind in the deepest most sincere part of our hearts.

The spiritually inspiring supplications from Imam Zain-ul Abideen has made him known to believers as "The Ornament of Worshippers".

May Allah send his blessings upon the Prophet and his family.

To help you get started with munajat with Allah, we'll provide you with a copy of Imam Zain ul Abideen’s Whispered Prayer of the Hopeful.

Read this prayer in the Darkness of Night or Dawn if you can.  

In doing munajat we hope that your heart will find tranquility.

Download the Whispered Prayer of the Hopeful here. 

Related articles:

Surah 1 Al Fatiha, The Opening

The Mysticism of Dawn in Islamic Spirituality