Tariq Ramadan – Ramadan Chronicles #13 Doubt, Despair

Among the

faculties or or the emotions or the feelings

that we may have, there is something which

is part of our being. It's always there

in our life. It's coming and going, and

it's something that we have to struggle with

at different levels, and this is doubting.

Doubting God or even doubting oneself.

It happens sometimes in our spiritual journey that,

we look at the universe,

things are happening in our life, and we

are doubting

God, saying, is there a God? Is there

a a presence? Is this,

life,

does it have

a a a meaning? And we are doubting.

And this doubt is nothing that we can

just say, oh, no. It doesn't happen or

because our faith is weak. No. That's not

the case. This is something which happened,

with all,

human beings. It's the way you are going

to struggle with this and to try to

get a deeper understanding

or disconnection,

to god which is essential.

Ibrahim, alaihis salam, experienced something which was quite

interesting in the way he was calling for

signs.

Oh god. And he's asking when Abraham

asked his lord,

show me how to give,

life again to,

to the beings, to to to to how

you bring to life to to to to

life again, anything which has to be a

living

existence and a living being.

And god is asking,

don't you believe?

Are you doubting? I say,

Oh, no. I believe that it's just for

my heart to be at peace, to give

this tranquility

to my heart. So the point here in

this is

Abraham

asking for signs because there he is not

at peace. So this tension

that you can have some times when you

are experiencing a spiritual,

journey, a spiritual a spiritual path that you

are following, is something that you can experience.

And this is where you need not to

isolate yourself

into the rational questions. You have to open

up with your heart and to look at

the signs in the horizons

and in yourself.

So this communication,

this dialogue between your mind and your heart

is also a way for you

not to be,

encapsulate

or captured or imprisoned

into your mind. And then, also, what you

can experience is doubting yourself, and this could

happen. You look at yourself. You have since

you don't do what is right, and you

are sometimes

not consistent with your values, and you feel

that,

you might not you are very weak, and

you might not,

get any reward with your life. And this

is where,

you find in the Quran.

Oh, you who have,

behaved against your own interest,

don't doubt, don't

despair

from,

god's mercy. God is forgiving

all,

the sins. So except to

a shirkil Akbar, which is believing that there

is one god,

beside god, this is not accepted. All the

other,

sins could be,

and are going to be,

forgiven if you go through this struggle.

That's a very important,

understanding

that when you struggle doubting god and you

try to get this,

an iman, which is a man, this space

of security in your heart, and then with

your own self to rely on him.

Do you to to go through doubting,

oneself or doubting god could be a natural

way to go beyond, to a spiritual struggle,

to try to go beyond this and not

to let it go, not just to the

nights here, but to try to find the

right answer.

This is the spiritual journey. It's about struggle.

It's about confidence. It's about consistency.

Remember, don't forget to tell the people you

love that you love them. Life is fragile.