From the beginning of time, human beings have marveled with awe and wonder at the beauty of nature. Yet, this admiration is usually expressed for the creation itself, as opposed to the Creator. In this thoughtful sohbet, Sheikh Din reminds us about the true Reality of Allah’s creation and that beauty is in the eye of the true Beholder.

Bismillah hir Rahman nir Rahim, In the name of Allah (the Supreme Lord, the Supreme Divinity) the Merciful, the Compassionate. As-salaamu 'Alaykum. It is always inspiring to be together in our Dhikr Circle and to hear the voices and feel the love of the hearts of the believers and of the lovers of Allah. It is always good to be among our friends, as it is said, “A friend of the Friend is a friend of Allah.”

Years ago, while visiting Yosemite National Park in March of 1997, a realization occurred to me. The idea is subtle, yet profound, and I will attempt to communicate it as Allah is my Aide.

We were standing in the land of Yosemite Park, in a valley that could be described as one of the most beautiful places that I've seen on this earth. Sheer physical beauty to the eye. Yosemite is land where the trees grow so tall that you cannot see to the tops. It is a land where the same tree grows so big and wide that even if all of us were to join hands, we would not be able to circumference one single tree. The rocks, the mountains, of this place jut straight up from the valley floor and create ledges and cliffs that are 3,000 feet high. Each cliff wears a “tufi-like” prayer cap covered with snow. Yosemite is a land where the spring warmth comes and as the days grow longer, the snow melts and forms waterfalls that drop 800 meters (2,500 feet), forming continuous, flowing ribbons that seem to just fall out of the sky. As the water falls, it creates a mist, and when the sun shines through that mist, rainbows appear literally all over the valley. It's a land where the sky is the perfect color of blue and the stones are the perfect color of white, black and grey. The tree trunks are the perfect color of reddish brown and the tree leaves are the perfect color of green. The water is crystal cold and clear, and there are still wild animals that live untamed in this land. Yosemite has been continuously enriched by the endless forces of nature — flood and fire.

Yosemite Park is so beautiful that when you witness it, you might think, “This cannot be; it must be a movie or some kind of painting or postcard. Is it possible that all of this beauty could be for real?” The beauty of Yosemite’s nature is so resplendent that your brain might not accept that which your eyes are seeing, and overlook it. Beauty like this can take your breath away, bring tears to your eyes, and swell your throat making it impossible to swallow.

However, the real topic of this article is not the beauty of the land called “Yosemite National Park.” I began this teaching as if to say, “Listen to the beauty of a paradisal land,” yet as beautiful as the land may be, the teaching is not one of the land, but one of the Creator of beauty.

Among the many names attributed to Allah (swt) in the Qur’an Kariim is al-Jamaal. Jamaal refers to Allah's aspect or attribute of absolute beauty. Beauty that is the essence of beauty, reflecting the abstract idea of an endless beauty, comprised of 100% of all of the qualities that make anything beautiful.

Al-Jamaal’s beauty is so beautiful that it provides comfort for human beings; as well all created things are attracted to it. The Holy Qur’an illustrates this point, as it teaches that Divinity can be witnessed through the ayat (signs) of Allah in the design of nature. In this way, Allah is also called al-Khalaq, or the Creator in the Qur’an.

Distinguishing between the created (beauty) and the Creator is a very important point. As the beauty of the land seems like paradise, it could cause you, for a moment, to want to worship it as a created thing. Beauty can be so awe inspiring that it could actually cause you to desire it for its own sake. The bigger question remains, “Who or what created the creation?” Al-Khalaq. “Who or what breathed the beauty into that creation?” Al-Jamaal. If we stop short and become mesmerized, distracted and entranced by the creation, we will fall short in the realization of whom and what is its Creator.

The reflective beauty of the created land could be likened to an elaborate set of clothes — the valley being the “dress” of Allah. Do you worship your clothing? Do you mistake your clothes for being you? No. Do you mistake the covering that you wear for being your true Self? No.

We all know that the greatest source of misery in this world comes from a person being misidentified with their false Self. For example, most often people mistakenly think that they are their bodies, so their whole life becomes an obsession to stave off death. Medicines, operations, procedures and gimmicks become the arsenal of their vanity as they struggle with their self-image. They suffer because they think, “I am my body.” The Reality is “I am.” I am more than this body, but I am not the body. The body will perish, but who am I really? The Masters teach us that I am the true Self. The true Self remains and continues unendingly.

The true Self is the force that never stops behind those glorious waterfalls that cascade across granite rock. It causes the waterfall to continuously flow while eventually wearing away the hardest of rock. The realization comes that the beauty that you saw in the valley is only temporary, because it's a beauty of this world. It is only a partial reality, an interim place. It is partial because the creation is subject to change — life and death. The appearance of creation is only a passing through point that reminds you of a much greater beauty which is al-Jamaal and al-Khalaq — Allah the Beautiful, Allah the Creator.

If you are stuck wanting, by trying to hold onto the beauty of this physical world (dunya in Arabic), you will continually suffer, because eventually the waterfalls wear away the rocks that you were worshipping. The “idols” perish as the water carries them away. That tree that you thought was the most glorious tree, the 350 foot giant, at some point falls down and becomes rotten. From its height, it will return to the ground. What becomes of the rock that you thought was beautiful? Where is that tree that you thought so magnificent?

So also did we show Ibrahim the kingdom of the heavens and the earth that he might have certitude. When the night covered him over, he saw a star. He said, “This is my Lord,” but when it set he said, “I love not those that set.” And when he saw the moon rising in splendor he said, “This is my Lord,” but when the moon set he said, “Unless my Lord guides me, I shall surely be among those who go astray.” When he saw the sun rising he said, “This is my Lord. This is the (greatest) of all,” but when the sun set he said, “Oh my people, I am indeed free from your (guilt) of giving partners (shirk) to Allah. For me I have set my face firmly and truly towards Allah who created both the heavens and the earth and never shall I give a partner to Allah.” SURAH AL-ANAM, HOLY QUR’AN 6:76-79

The streaming waterfall eventually and always will find a new course. The valley that you thought was a beautiful place to build your home will flood. This was one of the lessons of the story of the Prophet Noah (upon him be peace), when he was caused to build an ark, a container to hold the truth because the world around him was flooded and the valley that he once lived in was no more. As a matter of fact, Yosemite National Park suffered from a flood the January before I visited that was so devastating, they closed all the camp grounds. Instead of camp grounds, there were boulders, tree trunks, sand and debris. The campgrounds were gone. Although they had been counted on for decades, what was built was destroyed by the flood.

Immediately next to the flooded valley is a mountainous hillside where tens of thousands of trees caught fire due to a lightning strike. All of those beautiful trees were gone only to leave their black, charred corpses standing like dead soldiers after a battle. Every part of this physical world, at some point is going to perish and be no more. All of this could be witnessed in the most beautiful place in the world.

Now I am not saying, “Do not enjoy your world.” I did not say, “Don't utilize your resources properly.” I also did not say, “Don't appreciate or admire the beauty of your world,” but I am warning you of your attachments to it and your misidentification of the Creator with the created.

When it comes to the signs of Allah, the Qur’anic message teaches us to look, rehearse, contemplate and through the beauty of creation, know that Allah is the Reality. God’s message is to look and see the evidence that I am here. I am the Reality behind the existence of all created things. Yosemite Valley is only a sign to say “Allah exists.” Who is the Creator of nature? It is al-Khalaq; that is who we want to know and worship. When you see beauty, ask yourself, “Who is the Creator of that beauty?” That is al-Jamaal; that is who you want to know and worship.

The duty of the human being in this world is to responsibly care for the trust which we have been given: to have freewill, to exercise self-reflection, to worship and know one’s Lord, to live and work in harmony with the creation and to adopt one’s correct position to God and life. We are here to love, to appreciate, to learn and to move on. Worship is only for the Creator, not for the created. If you worship the created, then you will find yourself in loss, because whatever is created is going to change; it will disappear and die before your eyes. If you worship the Creator, you find yourself fixed on that which never changes or dies.

Over time, verily the human being is in loss, except such as have faith and do righteous deeds and band together in the mutual enjoining of Truth, Patience and Constancy. SURAH AL-ASR, HOLY QUR’AN 103

Ask yourself, “Who sent the waterfall; who grew the tree; who makes the sun to shine and causes it to set; who raises mountains into the sky; who brings the rain for plants to grow; who administrates the seasons turning spring to summer, summer to autumn, autumn to winter and then to spring again?” When you get to know that One, you will see a new beauty. The beauty that you see will not be with the physical eye but will be through the “eye of the heart.” You will now see a permanent beauty that never ends — the permanent perfection that never dies.

Your happiness will not be limited to or dependent upon what is in the external world, but your happiness will now be connected to true happiness, which is an internal realization, an unending station and eternal unity with Allah in the heart. Then you will actually be able to enjoy this world even more, and I might add, properly.

Do not allow yourself to fall into false worship. Do not find yourself enamored, addicted and caught by the material things that you think are yours, but will perish. Affix on one single point. Ya Ahad (the One). Ya Waahid (the Unique). Do not isolate your means to happiness by limited pleasures and enjoyment. Allow yourself to experience this world, but do not depend on this world for your life’s fulfillment, as if you think that this world is the final destination, because it is only a passing through point.

As we stayed in Yosemite National Park for only five days, it had already started to change, as the season was changing. More water appeared to flow down the waterfalls. More tourists were arriving, filling the park. The very thing that we came to experience was changing right before our eyes. We thought, “Oh God, How beautiful it was, but it is already leaving.” The valley became less beautiful, because too many people were coming with their campers, Winnebago motor homes and tents. Previously it was as if we had the park to ourselves. Now it was filling up with tourism and kitsch. The temporary beauty was revealed in the midst of its previous grandeur.

This is why one of the most favored du`aa's (supplications) of the great Sheikh Abdul Qadr al-Jilani (ra), taken from a verse from the Holy Qur’an, is:

Rabbana atina fiddunya hassanah wa fil akhirati hassanah wa qina adhabannar.

Ya Rabb. Our Lord, grant us what is truly good in this world and good in the life hereafter, and protect us from the suffering of the fire.

The “good” means the permanent good, the never ending good, the eternal good. Grant us that good in this life as well as in the life hereafter. Save and protect us from the torment or punishment of separation, the fire that consumes all temporal things. As we come to the realization of Allah, we realize that the true Self will not perish. As it creates, the true Self is known as al-Khalaq; as the creation reflects beauty, the true Self is called al-Jamaal. So that our hearts will be and always remain united, again we pray, “Our Lord, Grant us what is truly good in this world and good in the life hereafter, and protect us from the suffering of the fire.”

As you seek to imbibe in the beauty of God, as you strive to realize your Creator, I call upon you to recommit and remotivate a continuous effort to offer your worship for Allah alone. Continue a ceaseless intent to ideate on Allah, the One, who is the Creator and Source of all. Allah, the essential beauty that makes all things beautiful. Worship the Creator not the created. Alhamdulillahi rabbil ‘alamin, All praise belongs to the Lord and Cherisher of this world and all worlds.