Spirit (Ruh) and Nature (Fitrah)

NY: Oct, 12 2006
By Rohmat Mulyana

All prays belong to Allah and to Him alone. We have no power without the power given by Him and we have no nobility except the nobility before Allah Swt. Alhamdulillah, today we reach the fifteenth days of Ramadhan, as the special month in the Islamic calendar. For which in this month we are the guests of Allah Swt. And in this month we are to improve ourselves, to improve our spirituality, to increase our religious belief (taqwa), and to find ourselves as human being in order to achieve the nearness of Allah Swt.

As often said by many speakers or lecturers, shaum at least has two benefits for the people who do it seriously. First, what we called as dzahir or physical benefits. These benefits are manifested outwardly. They are very visible and sensible such as losing weight, giving up smoking, temporary stop eating and drinking, etc. As said in al-Hadits shumu tasihu (Do fasting in order you get health) The Second benefits are concerned with, batin or mental benefits. These benefits are something inward, intangible, and inner and they can not be measured by others. This only himself or herself who can feel how the inner spiritual journey presents in the time or after fasting. Allah Swt says in Surah Al-Baqarah ayah 183: “Ya ayyuha ladzina aamanu kutiba ‘alaikumu syiyamu kamaa kutiba ‘ala ladzina min qoblikum la’alakum tattaquun.” (O you who believe! fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that you may become al-Mutaqiin).

Both benefits actually relate with the nature of we all as human being. We are the creature of Allah who always live in the two dimensions; physically and mentally, dzahir wal baathin, body and mind or soul, that they are related each other, effected each other, and they work in very harmonious system, in very beautiful coordination, and in inseparable function. None of human being can create such the creature of God. It is very perfect as Allah says in al-Qur’an Laqod kholaqnal insaana fii ahsani taqwim (We created human as a perfect creation).

This creation physically, no doubt that our body consists of flesh, bone, blood, muscle, skin, and neurons. All those body components generate day by day, from a small to a large number, a simple to a complex system, like what we have ever experienced when we were at a childhood, teenage, adolescence, and adult. Look our body now; is it the same as what we have in 15 years ago? Of course no. There are a lot of changes in our body. In 20 years ago we may still fresh, full power, and so on and so forth, but after the age of 50s, 60s, or 70s we really become less of physical power.

Normally this physical growth is always accompanied by mental development. When our body cell proceeds the physical growth, our mental function like feeling, thinking, imagination and some other mental entities including our spiritual life simultaneously develop from phase to phase. Let’s compare what we are able to think when we were 10 years old and what we have now. Of course there are some different in the developments in our mental entities. I am sure what Pak Jaja thinks now is different from what he thought in ten years ago.

That is why, an interesting question concern with: What makes our physical and mental entities become growing, developing, and working together? This, I think, is not a simple question and it cannot be answered from scientific outlook only, but we have to address our answer on spiritual dimension. The answer is al-Ruh (The Spirit) of our life. Al-Ruh is the first, the foremost and the last human life. This is a mystery human existence that we all as human cannot explain it in detail. We know that al-Ruh exist in our body, but we don’t know much about it. As Allah says in Qur’an Surah Al-Isra ayah 85: Wa yasalunaka ‘anirruuh quli ruh nim amri rabbi (and they ask you (O Muhammad) concerning the Ruh (The Spirit). Say: “The Ruh is one of the things, the knowledge of which is only with my Lord).

Because of the existence of Ruh, we can live, we can breathe, we can see, we can feel and we can think. Because of Ruh, our body can make flexible movement, like handling on things, walking, exercising and so on and so forth. Because of Ruh we can feel hungry of divine, feel longing to Allah Swt, or even because we will dead after the Ruh separated from our body. This is the last of our life in the world, when many Muslim who hear our name will spontaneously say: Innalillaahi wa inna ilaihi raajiun (truly we are from Allah and will be back again to Him).

For this reason, let’s see again the beginning of our life in which Allah Swt testify us to recognize that Allah is our Lord. Allah says Qur’an Al-Araaf: 172: “And (remember) when your Lord brought forth from the children of Adam, from their loins, their seeds and Allah made them testify as to themselves (saying): “Am I not your Lord?” They said: “Yes! We testify.” Lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection; Verily, we have been unaware of this.”

This is what we have to put as the first thing in our life. The recognition of Allah as our Lord (tauhid rububiyah) was proclaimed by every human being who was born in the world. Our God is Allah Swt and no gods except Allah. The only Him to whom we surrender and to whom we set our purpose of conduct. Allah says in Qur’an Surah Ar-Rum ayah 30: Faakim wajhaka liddiini haniifan fithrotallaahu, allatii fatoronnaasa ‘alaiha la tabdiila likholqillah. (So set your purpose for religion as a man upright by nature (fitrah) - the nature (fitrah) framed by God, in which He created mankind. There is no altering (the Laws of) the creation of God.)

Some mufasir (Qur’an interpreter) explains that this fitrah is integrated with human’s spirit (al-Ruh) so that all mankind acknowledge Him as the Lord who has power over all things. This the beginning of human life in the phase of pre-natal conception when we are still in our mother’s pregnancy. That is way, our obligatory to actualize our fitrah by recognizing the Oneness of Allah and to cling it as our life principle is very very important in our spiritual being. No one can make his or her inner spiritual being and inner spiritual journey without trying to purify himself or herself by believing in the Oneness of Allah. So, we have to put it as the basis of whatever we do, including our fasting (shaum) in this Ramadhan.

Ali Syariati says that the most crucial problem of human life today is not a nuclear explosion, but the change of fitrah. I am sure that what he said is more meaningful than the many popular phrase or statement made by greatest politician in the world. We know that nuclear weapon is one of dangerous war technologies that can terribly kill many people as victims. But whoever and whatever a mount of people was killed by a nuclear weapon is not important for Allah, except for them who are remain in their fitrah. Another interpretation for the statement is that no nuclear explosion if all humankind are being consistent and committed with their fitrah. Fitrah by means of the Oneness of Allah, the inclination of al-dienul Islam, the feeling of honesty, or the self-purification.***