The Realm of the Souls

وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنۢ بَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا۟ بَلَىٰ ۛ شَهِدْنَآ ۛ أَن تَقُولُوا۟ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَـٰذَا غَـٰفِلِينَ

“[O Prophet], when your Lord took out the offspring from the loins of the Children of Adam and made them bear witness about themselves, He said, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ and they replied, ‘Yes, we bear witness.’ So you cannot say on the Day of Resurrection, ‘We were not aware of this.’”

[Surah Al-A'raf/The Heights, Verse 172]

Reflections:

1. Life began with the creation of Adam from a mixture of different coloured and textured clay, collected from different parts of the earth and mixed with water. The Ruh, the spirit, was then breathed into him and he became a living soul.
   
   

2. All the children of Adam were brought forth to the presence of their Lord, for the establishment of the covenant between the Creator and His human creation.
   
   Lord: “Am I not your Lord?”
   Human souls: “Indeed you are and we bear witness to it.”
   
   

3. This covenant is imprinted in each soul of the human being. This is why it is said that all children are born upon the fitra, the primordial nature of purity; a nature that is constantly seeking the Divine presence that it remembers from the Realm of the Souls, 'A’lam al-arwah'.
   
   

4. The reason the 'adhan', the Islamic call to prayer is recited in the right ear, and the 'iqamah' (the second and reminder call to the prayer) in the left ear of a newborn child, is to remind the newborn baby’s soul of this covenant.
   
   Allahu Akbar - repeated 4 times
   God is Greater (Greater than what? Everything and everyone).
   
   Ashhadu alla ilaha illallah - repeated twice
   I bear witness that there is no god except The One God (this is the reminder of the covenant).
   
   Ashhadu anna Muhammad ar-rasulullah - repeated twice
   I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of God (this is the second component that has been added to the final Divine Message that completes all faith traditions from Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, to Moses, to Jesus and to Muhammad - the Seal of the Prophets (May Peace and Blessings Be Upon Them All).
   
   Hayya ‘alas-Salah - repeated twice
   Hurry and come to prayer (remember that you were created for the sole purpose of Divine worship)
   
   Hayya ‘alal-Falah - repeated twice
   Hurry and come to success (your success lies in the establishment of the prayer in congregation and in your connection through the prayer with the Divine).
   
   Allahu Akbar - repeated twice
   God is Greater (Than everything and everyone, so leave everyone and everything and come to establish the prayer and come to success).
   
   La ilaha illallah
   
   There is none worthy of worship except The One God (remember your purpose of creation and remember the covenant).
   
   

5. Every call to prayer is to reorient the 'ruh' or the human spirit to come back to the Divine Presence. This is why, when the adhan is called, it requires absolute silence and the affirmations we repeat softly. If you are a man, make haste to join the congregational prayer in the mosques. If you are woman, encourage your men-folk to rush to the prayer in congregation at the mosques and accompany them if you are able to.
   
   

6. Every call to prayer is a reminder to stop what you are doing and answer the Divine Call to Success five times a day. There is nothing more important in this life than the prayer. Hold on to it. Therein lies everyone’s success in this world and the next.

And Allah and the Messenger know Best