Out of Sight – Review
“Out of Sight” presented by Sh Tariq Appleby
Post by Farida Khan – Alkauthar Institute South Africa
One of the most difficult things in life is to trust and accept information without being a witness to it and particularly if details are few and far between. We often use the words – “seeing is believing” – and we quickly contest anything that is seemingly far-fetched for our imagination… be it the conspiracy theories of corn fields or tales of being out alone at night or relativity and parallel universes theories.
But an amazing article of our faith is that as Muslims, we believe in the existence of a world unseen – the ghaib. A world of created beings other than human, is testified by our Creator to be hidden, yet made perceivable through its reports in the Qura’an and sunnah. This world was brought to life on a weekend in September, featured by the Al Kauther Institute, and Sheikh Tariq Appelby. “Out of Sight” was presented with a focus on Angels, Jinn and Qadar.
On entering the lecture hall, we were greeted by other enthusiastic attendees, like me wanting to know more about this world unseen. An interesting feature in class were the group of “empty” seats to the side of the lecture room, set aside for any would be attendees amongst the “unseen” present.
The course began with an overview of the Creations from Light – the Angels. We covered aspects of their physical and spiritual attributes, whilst also delving into how they can benefit us through their worship. We were reminded of the ayah in Qurán that speaks of the constant presence of angels with us. Interestingly, we learnt the hadith of the Qareen – a companion from amongst the Jinn that is also with us, who’s role is to mislead us. In this system, we want the balance of order to tip to the side of good by refraining from sins. Notable pearls of wisdoms were shared in this regard; Know that mountains are made from pebbles so fear the big sins as well as the small ones.
Similarly, the detail of the creations from Fire – the Jinnat, were discussed. A topic that is usually feared, was demystified to a comfortable level, with deluded superstitions removed.
The details of Al-Qadr were broken down into its pillars. A useful comment to help with the oft-repeated Qadr and free will confusion is that we definitely exercise free will as we do not know what Allah knows and has decreed.
Many a times I find myself in awe of the beautiful sunset or the captivating colours of autumn –After this weekend, I have found a new appreciation for the attributes of Al-Khaliqu, Al Baari’u and Al-Musawiru – Allah The Creator, the Maker of Order and The Fashioner of forms. We are captivated by the apparent visible beauty that our eyes and mind can grasp, yet there is so much out there that we cannot see, or even begin to understand as to how it exists – from this parallel creation to the existence of a planned ordered system. Subhan’Allah, a beautiful realisation to end an enlightening weekend.
