Our Bond With God

By Jamal Rahman

“Do not sell your bond with God for so paltry a price.” (Qur’an 16:95)

“Say, what has seduced you away from your most Generous Instructor?” (Qur’an 82:6)

The Qur’an talks about a sacred bond Allah established with humanity before sending them to earth. Allah gathered all the souls of unborn humanity and asked, “Am I not your Sustainer?” Overjoyed indescribably by hearing God’s voice, humanity shouted out in unison, “Yes! We testify!” This covenant is embedded in the verse: “Alastu bi Rabbikum”

However, when we arrive on earth, our memory of the sacred bond is dim and distant. Alas, we are distracted by the glitter and dazzle of the world and enmeshed in the trials and tribulations of life. We fall prey to the worship of money and power. We forget our promise to worship only God and live a life based on divine attributes like love, compassion, awareness and justice. 

Why does God make us struggle? Divinity has the power, Rumi reminds us, to send full blown prophets to earth in a flash. Why did God choose to send imperfect beings like us, who are easily seduced by desires and conveniences? The answer is wrapped in mystery. The poet Hafiz writes: “God revealed a sublime secret when He said, ‘I am made whole by your life. Each soul, each soul completes me.’”I remember asking my parents to give me a practical technique to help remember the sacred covenant. They asked me to meditate on this insight: “It is a law of the created world that whosever approval you seek, you become their prisoner.” Repeatedly, they instructed me to take this insight to heart. After they felt that I had absorbed some of this wisdom, they offered me another insight: “Choose your jailors with care and deliberation!” This sage advice shared by my parents is priceless.