Why Ya Sin

‘Everything comes with a heart, and the heart of the Qur’an is Ya-Sin.’

—Prophet Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

Ya-Sin is the ‘heart’ of the final Divine message sent to creation, a message that has refined the hearts and reformed the lives of billions. The essence of our Creator’s message in the Qur’an is summarised within this beautiful chapter, known as Ya-Sin.
   To receive the treasures of this Divine message and respond to the Divine call, one must first connect to the pure heart of the Chosen One (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), as it is his heart upon which the Quran and its heart were revealed. The stronger our connection is with the pure heart of the Chosen One, the deeper our appreciation for Allah’s words. For one to unravel the Qur’anic mysteries and wisdom and unearth some of the treasures and pearls that lie in its every letter and vowel, and to truly appreciate its beauty, one must first develop a strong love-based and obedience-based connection (ta’alluq) with the Beloved of Allah. For it is from him we receive the spirit of the Qur’an. Our deficiencies in developing a love-based and obedience-based connection with the Master of Creation render futile our journey to embrace the blessings of the Divine message.
   ‘Connection’ is primarily a function of the heart, and so our hearts must align with the pure heart of the Chosen One in order to become worthy recipients of the blessings of the ‘heart’ of the Qur’an. A strong connection to the pure heart of the Beloved and the Book is the essence of our faith and the key to our success and happiness, without which there is no journeying to Allah. The process whereby this desired attachment is developed is the purification of the heart (tazkiyah), one of the key functions of Prophetic training.
   Just as Ya-Sin is the heart of the Qur’an—requiring that our hearts be attached to the heart of the Beloved of Allah if we are to reap the benefits of studying the Book of Allah—Ya-Sin is also one of the beautiful names of the Chosen One (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Hence the name Ya-Sin Institute, for it implies and combines all of these meanings and associations that are necessary for our return to The Merciful Creator, Allah.
But as Surah Ya-Sin and the life of our Master Ya-Sin illustrate, our journey is not restricted to a mere attachment, for that is only the first step to eternal felicity. Ones connection must lead to something tangible, productive and contagious, namely the inculcation of virtue (takhalluq). The more we grow in our love and connection to the Messenger of Allah (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) the greater our portion (hadh) of his splendid manners and qualities (khuluq).
   We try to obey the one we love. We try to think, feel and act as he would. We enlighten and empower our inner and outer selves through spiritual and physical manifestation of the qualities of Allah and His Beloved. We have connected ourselves to the Supreme Teacher (al-Mu’allim) who came to teach wisdom, purify minds and hearts, perfect human character, reform speech and behavior and live and transmit mercy to all of creation. We must, therefore, strive to do the same as much as we are able, since that is what he would want us to do.
  What we must not do is build our own criteria of his love and fall short of the criteria he and his Lord have set for us, as that would be deception—and how many are fooled with such fantasies! Few are the saved ones, may Allah Most Kind make us amongst those!
   Sayyidah ‘A’isha was once asked about the Prophet’s character (khuluq), to which she replied, ‘His character was the Qur’an.’ A true and sincere connection will always lead to a profound and beautiful adoption of his character. Cultivation follows attachment. He internalised and lived the Qur’an, so should his followers.
  The journey is now near to realisation (tahaqquq). At this stage, the states are raised, pleasure is granted, veils are lifted, eyes are cooled, hearts are made tranquil and souls are eternally graced with the beauty (Jamal) and perfection (Kamal) of the Divine Pleasure of Allah. The journey now moves from an initial attachment to cultivation to a realization—from ta’alluq to takhalluq to tahaqquq, the legacy now becomes a reality.
   ‘AlhamduliLlah’ (all praise is due to Allah) is what those who have realised say. ‘Praise to Allah Who has guided us to this. And in no way could we have been guided, had Allah not guided us.’ (Quran 7:43)
   Once we are graced with tahaqquq, we must now lead, serve and help others in finding their way back home, to the Presence of the All Merciful, All Wise, and All Beautiful. Come and let us embrace, appreciate, live and serve the legacy of Ya-Sin. That is what we are all here to do and, In sha’ Allah, that is why Ya-Sin Institute was founded: to serve and help live this legacy and assist the works of the heirs of the Chosen One (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).

Wa BiLlahi Khaza’in al-Tawfiq (and with Allah Alone are the treasures of success).

The letters Ya-Sin are commonly referred to as the huruf muqatta’a, or the disjoined letters, the in-depth meanings of which are unknown to creation, save the Chosen One, who received his knowledge from Allah. The implication is this is that ours is ultimately a journey to the unknown realities of the unseen beauty of the Eternally Perfect One—Exalted is He! Submission and obedience are keys to success in traversing the path to the Unseen Ultimate Reality.

Wa al HamduliLlahWa La Hawla Wa La Quwwata Illa BiLlah (And all praise is due to Allah, and there is no movement or power save by Allah).

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