The need for Baseerah and Insight

The Need for Baseerah and Insight

We have so much to do in our lives and we have all these distractions around us — specifically what comes to the political situation, and then the condition of the Muslim ummah, and the response of the Muslims and the Muslim ummah, and even scholars sometimes to certain issues. The average Muslim feels confused. Doesn't know where to go for guidance. I mean, it's supposed to be clear, because that's what Allah says in the Quran — this is my straight path, just follow it.

It is supposed to be clear. Why is it now then we have so much confusion? Why can't we just see exactly through all the clutter of our life and just find our way back to Allah? There are a lot of distractions, a lot of temptations, a lot of what the ulema call shubuhat and shahawat. So the heart is surrounded with these shubuhat and shahawat — doubts and also desires. The doubts will confuse you in terms of your knowledge and your awareness, and desires — even though you know — you're still tempted to go against your own knowledge.

What is Baseerah?

So, how can I find my way back to Allah? There's something called basira, or as the ulema call it, the station or maqam al-basira — a station between you and Allah. That maqam al-basira means insight, and the meaning of the word insight is to have this inner awareness, like the heart having an awareness. Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, rahimahu Allah ta'ala, speaks about al-basira. He says al-basira for the heart is just like al-basar for your eyes — which means al-basira is the sight of your heart, just like your eyes have their sight. So al-basira provides that sight to your heart.

So what is the importance of this? If your heart sees through all the clutter of this life, you will be well guided. How can I do this? How should I understand this basira? And how can I find my way to accomplish this — to find my way back to Allah?

Allah says: say to them, O Muhammad, this is my way. It's very clear. Allah is not making a secret. It is extremely clear in the Qur'an. He says: tell them, this is my way. Like, if he says this is my way, it's supposed to be clear — I can see it.

I call to Allah — I'm calling you back to Allah to come on this path. This is the path that leads to Allah. Ala basira — but you have to have basira to see it. You have to have that insight, that inner awareness, so you can see it and follow it. Qul ala basiratin ana wa man ittaba'ani — the Prophet, peace be upon him, says: we have the basira. Who are they? Rasulullah, peace be upon him. He says: ana wa man ittaba'ani — and those who truly follow me.

Now the ulema define the people who follow the Prophet, peace be upon him, with the words of the Prophet himself when he said:

The best generation are those who have lived with me — the generation of the Sahaba, may Allah be pleased with them all — then the generation that came after, and then the one that came after. These were the best generations. They have the best understanding. They have the pure awareness of what that path means and where it leads.

Then came a lot of generations. As Allah described in the Quran:

Then came generations after that — those generations started missing their salawat, following their desires, and then they're going to get lost and go astray. We live far away from the time of the Sahaba, may Allah be pleased with them. I wonder — if that compass at the time of the Sahaba started tilting a little bit, I wonder where we'd be today in terms of how close we are to the path. At least, alhamdulillahi rabbil alameen, no matter how far we go, we always have that basira to bring us back again to the path of Allah.

My dear brothers and sisters, as people come and ask what sometimes we think are simple questions — I'm sometimes surprised by the simple questions people ask which you consider to be basic knowledge. But in a time like ours, when everybody is busy with a lot of things and distracted with so many things, many of us are just busy with their lives in a halal way — may Allah bless them, ya rabbil alameen — they don't even have time to learn. Some people just go after social media, that instant gratification that we get out of it, just to spend hours doing absolutely nothing useful. Distraction — we get lost, we don't benefit from it. So there are a lot of distractions. Although the path is there, coming back again to it with basira will help us find our way back to Allah.

The Quran as the Source of Baseerah

Allah tells us about the elements of basira. Where can I get the basira from? The first thing you should look for, or where you should find your way back to Allah, is through the Quran itself. It sounds like a cliché answer because we always say the answer is always in the Quran — but it's really there. It's clear. Allah even clearly says about the Quran and the verses of the Quran:

He says about the verses of the Quran: this is basair — not just one basira, but basair, which means all what you need, all that clarity that you're looking for, the path that is easy to identify and see — it's there. He says all the leads to the path are there. Hadha basairu linnas — for the people, you will find your answers there. He says wa hudan — what does that mean? Guidance. That's exactly what it is. You have the answers to your questions there that leads you to find your way back to Allah.

And isn't that what we ask Allah every single day in our salah? What do we say?

Isn't that what we're looking for? Because that's the ultimate success — if you are well guided to this path that leads you back to Allah, what else do you need? Nothing will distract you from Allah. If you find your way back to Him, nothing will distract you, because you have the basira. You now have the proof and the evidence and the compass that will bring you back to Allah.

Rahma: The Reward of Walking This Path

It's not just that. What do I get if I walk on this path? If I find my way through this basira back to Allah? Yes, I'll find guidance, and Allah says after that: wa rahma — you'll have mercy. What does that exactly mean? What does rahma mean over here, jama'ah?

This is exactly what people are looking for when they come pursuing these answers to their questions. We feel anxious. We're exhausted — spiritually exhausted. We're very anxious, very depressed, very confused. We just wake up in the morning with solid iman, and by the end of the day we're just weak again. And sometimes at night, mashallah, I start with tahajjud and qiyam al-layl, but by the time I wake up in the morning I've lost that. Many people are just confused.

And then Allah says: I'll give you rahma — mercy. And that mercy, when you have it inside you, you feel tranquility and peace. What we call today emotional satisfaction and gratification — that's what we're looking for. I want to be satisfied with the answers I get when I look into the Quran. When I follow this path that should lead me to Allah, I want to know that I can find that peace on this path. Otherwise, if I walk any path and it doesn't bring me peace, I cannot stay long on it.

And if you have the basair on this path that leads you to Allah, I guarantee you will have that peace you should be looking for all your life — because your heart is serene now, by the promise of Allah.

Yaqeen: The Key to Receiving Baseerah

But what do I need to get that basira to stick in my heart? How can I make it stick there? Allah says: li qawmin yuqinoon — for those who are certain, those who have certainty. Which means they have the yaqeen. What does yaqeen mean here? The absolute certainty. You have to believe that the Quran is your way back to Allah. You have to believe that the answers to your questions you can find there — all I need is just to go back to it, learn it, and find these answers. If you have that strong belief and that certainty in your heart, then Allah will give you those basair. You will find your way back to Allah and you shall find that peace and tranquility He promised.

But if you're not sure and you're still confused and you don't have certainty about Allah — still wondering — like many people who come today and always question Allah's hikmah and wisdom. You know, I don't know what's happening to you, I don't know why this is happening to me — because I don't have all the answers. But I'm sure, because I believe in the qadr of Allah. It has a hikmah and wisdom behind it. I could see it sometimes and sometimes I cannot. And if you have that certainty and just rest assured that you're in the hand of Allah, you shall find that peace and tranquility and the rahma that Allah promised.

The Two Pillars of Baseerah

My dear brothers and sisters, when the ulema talk about basira, they say that in order for you to arrive at this basira, it has two elements — two pillars.

First Pillar: Ma'rifatul Haq — Recognizing the Truth

Number one: ma'rifatul haq — that you will be able to recognize and be aware of the truth that came from Allah through the Prophet, peace be upon him. What do we call this today? Knowledge. You have the knowledge.

Nowadays — or let me say 20 years ago, more or less — when we used to ask teenagers and younger adults, subhanAllah, to count the arkan al-Islam — the pillars of Islam — and the six articles of faith, it would be easy for them to count them. Today adults struggle to count them, and I've tested that, unfortunately. Even the basic knowledge of Islam we lack, because we're too busy with other things in life. SubhanAllah, even the basics now we're lacking. So you need to have this ma'rifah — this knowledge, this awareness — about al-haq that came from Allah through the Prophet, peace be upon him.

Second Pillar: Al-Amal bil Haq — Acting Upon the Truth

Number two — the second pillar: now that you recognize the haq and the truth, they say the second pillar is al-amal bi hadha al-haq — that you do it, you work upon this haq. If you're aware of it and you can recognize it and see it, what you need to do with it is apply it into your personal life.

And a lot of our fitan that we go through come from these two things. Some of us don't have the knowledge — they're completely unaware, completely ignorant, they don't have the knowledge. They go astray because they lack that knowledge, and that's called dalal — they're going astray. Other people have the knowledge, they have it, but they're so tempted because of their desires that they don't work upon what they know, and they're also not going to see that basira. They're not going to have that basira until they work on these two elements.

So my dear brothers and sisters, take from this khutbah this moment — right now — you're looking for peace. There it is. Allah says: hadha basairu linnas — I'm giving you this basair, I'm giving you this lead right now. Wa hudan — and it's guidance for you. And rahma — but you have to have that certainty. And you can only get it if you truly have the pure knowledge of your deen. And it's never too late to learn your deen. Never be ashamed of saying, you know what, I'm at this age and I feel shy to ask these questions — please, learn your deen, learn it. And then what you learn, you work upon — make sure to apply this in your life. And you shall find that tranquility and peace, because you have the basira and that insight in your heart.

أَقُولُ قَوْلِي هَذَا وَأَسْتَغْفِرُ اللهَ الْعَظِيمَ لِي وَلَكُمْ وَلِسَائِرِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ فَاسْتَغْفِرُوهُ إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

How to Acquire Baseerah

الحمد لله رب العالمين، وصلى الله وسلم وبارك على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه وسلم تسليمًا كثيرًا، ثم أما بعد.

Some people might ask: is this basira a gift from Allah? Do you wake up and you find that guidance in your heart and that's it — you're done, alhamdulillah? Or is it something that I can acquire, and if so, where would I get that from? Well, the answer is actually both are correct.

Some people are gifted with that basira. Now that's a test for them — if Allah has given you this basira, what are you going to do with it? Some of these people we know from our history, like Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him. Umar, may Allah be pleased with him — Allah blessed him with so much knowledge and so much insight and basira. Whatever he said would come true sometimes. This is how powerful his basira was, may Allah be pleased with him. And other people we've seen in our own lives — Allah blessed them with this kind of insight; they see things other people don't see. So may Allah bless you with this basira, ya rabbal alameen.

But if you're not one of those chosen ones for this basira, you can still acquire it, you can still work on it. And Allah mentions some of these ways for us that we can apply in our lives to acquire this basira.

1. Strength of Iman and Yaqeen

One of them is of course to have that strength of iman — al-iman. If you have that faith, li qawmin yuqinoon, then eventually through that certainty you will get that basira, inshAllah.

2. Taqwa — Consciousness of Allah

The second is taqwa — applying it by being cautious of what you do and what you say. Allah said in the Quran:

O you who believe, if you fear Allah, if you're conscious of Allah, Allah will give you furqan — insight by which you can tell right from wrong. We all need that.

3. Du'a — Asking Allah for Baseerah

How can I get it? Du'a. How often do you ask Allah for basira, jama'ah? How often do you ask Allah: ya Allah, show me the way, ya Allah, show me how I can do these things? Even the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to make this du'a:

Ya Allah, show us the truth as truth and make it easy for us to follow it, and show us that which is wrong as wrong and make it easy for us to stay away from it. You're asking for basira right there.

4. Tafakkur — Reflection Over Allah's Creation

And the last thing is to look around you and see the creation of Allah, to marvel over the creation of Allah — al-tafakkur, tadabbur. Just look around and you shall see the greatness of Allah in every single ayah, every single sight you look at. You will see the greatness of Allah. I hope that will bring some sense of humbleness and humility and insight into your heart.

Closing Du'as