SPIRITUAL GROWTH AND SELF REFLECTION IN RELATION TO ISLAM, BY RAHEEMAT YUSUF
Spiritual growth in Islam is like nurturing a garden within yourself. You plant seeds of faith, water them with self-reflection, and watch them bloom into a beautiful connection with Allah.
In Islam, spiritual growth is a lifelong journey of developing a stronger connection with Allah and achieving a higher level of faith, wisdom, and righteousness.
Below are some hadith that reflect on spiritual growth:
“The strongest among you is the one with the most taqwa [God consciousness]”; narrated by Sahih Muslim. This teaches Muslims to develop a strong connection with Allah as it is key to spiritual growth.
Ihn Majah (Hadith 71) says, “The one who knows themselves knows their Lord [Allah]”. This Hadith encourages the believers to bring self aware of their flaws or errors and mistakes to help them to grow in spiritual wisdom and maturity towards The Al Mighty.
In another narration by Sahih Muslim, whoever purifies their heart will be successful and whoever corrupts it will be unsuccessful.” This is simply to emphasize the importance of purifying one’s heart and soul to achieve spiritual growth and success.
Thus, the three [3] Hadith above provide valuable guidance on the importance of consciousness of Allah, moral excellence and a deeper connection with Allah.
Self-reflection, otherwise known as “Muhasabah” in Arabic, can be directly compared to holding up a mirror.
In Islam, self-reflection is seen as taking account of one’s thoughts, feelings and actions and evaluating them in light of Islamic teachings.
The aim of self-reflection as a Muslim(ah) is to be able to identify mistakes and weaknesses, seek forgiveness and repentance, recognise areas for improvement, develop self-awareness and mindfulness and lastly, cultivate gratitude and humility.
Quranic verses that emphasize on self reflection:
Surah Al-Qiyamah (75:29-30): “And the soul and Him Who perfected him and inspired him with conscience of what is wrong for him and right for him…he is indeed successful who purifies himself.”
Surah Al-Hujurat (49:18): “Indeed, Allah knows the secrets of the breasts.”
Surah Al-‘Ankabut (29:10): “And We shall set up balances of justice on the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be dealt with unjustly in the least, and if there be (no more than) the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it (to account).”
Surah Al-A’raf (7:189): “And know yourselves. No doubt Allah knows the wrongdoers.”
Surah Al-Mu’minun (23:1-2): “Successful indeed are the believers…those who are humble in their prayers.”
Surah Al-Qamar (54:15): “And We have certainly honored the children of Adam…but does he not know that We have created him from a [mere] sperm-drop?”
Surah Al-Inshiqaq (84:6-12): “O man, you are laboring toward your Lord with [much] striving and will meet [the reward or punishment]…Then as for he who is given his record in his right hand…he will be judged with an easy account.”
These verses encourage self-reflection and personal accountability, reminding us to examine our thoughts, feelings, and actions in relation to Islamic teachings.
