The Way (2)

The path is set and it is tread with the heart.
If you cannot walk straight then wobble along the way, but keep walking.

وَالَّذِينَ جَاهَدُوا فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا وَإِنَّ اللهَ لَمَعَ المُحْسِنِين – قرآن

“And those who strive for Us – We will surely guide them to Our ways. And indeed, Allah is with the doers of good.” Quran 29:69

Note that looks, wealth, status, gender, DNA makeup etc. are not synonyms to ‘doer of good’.

In line with the above, I found the following narration attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, attracting my attention:

إِنَّ الدِّينَ يُسْرٌ، وَلَنْ يُشَادَّ الدِّينَ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا غَلَبَهُ، فَسَدِّدُوا وَقَارِبُوا وَأَبْشِرُوا، وَاسْتَعِينُوا بِالْغَدْوَةِ وَالرَّوْحَةِ وَشَيْءٍ مِنْ الدُّلْجَةِ
رواه البخاري –

Here is an attempt at translating it:
“Indeed, the Way (1) is that of ease and whoever overburdens himself will not be able to continue in that way. So aim (for balance not extreme), get closer to your aim and good news awaits you. And gain strength by making good use of the early morning, the early journey and a bit of the early night time.”

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(1) the original Arabic word is deen -دين- which is humbleness and obedience of the law. The word deen is a neutral word. However, the context in which it is used can give it a positive or a negative connotation. Hence, to stay closer to the original, I choose a figure of speech and translated it as ‘way’.
It is usually translated as religion. However, I was convinced not to use that word after reading the first entry of the Oxford dictionary: “The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods”. As far as I know, some Jews and some Hanbalis believe in a Superhuman. Most people or at least a lot of people do not believe in a Superhuman nor superhumans.
And the word ‘controlling’…Perhaps, it is better to leave that one for now.

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