Dark Nights, Loneliness, and Helplessness
✍️ Mufti Muhammad Tasleem ud Din Al-Mahmoodi
When all eyes have surrendered to sleep in the deep silence of the night, the atmosphere wears a blanket of silence, and the sounds of the world cease, then bowing one's head before one's Lord brings a strange peace. Those moments lighten the burdens of the heart, tears become prayers, and the servant tells the Lord a secret that cannot even reach the lips in the noise of the day.
These moments are not just moments of the night; they are actually moments of true self-recognition for a person. In the light of day, we are many things: busy, strong, smiling, informed... But in the deep silence of the night, when all masks are removed, then a person remains only a person: weak, needy, and a question personified.
When the world sleeps, the heart awakens. That heart that remains suppressed in the noise all day, is suppressed under responsibilities, complaints, grievances, and countless voices. The silence of the night gives that heart a chance to speak. Then the tears flowing from the eyes are not for show; they are pure. Not to show anyone, not to convince anyone, only for the Lord.
This is the time when a person unloads their burdens. Those burdens that cannot be told to a friend, those sorrows that cannot be put into words, those fears that remain hidden behind laughter. As soon as one bows one's head before the Lord, the heart becomes certain that there is someone who is listening, who knows, who understands even without understanding.
The worship of the night teaches a person humility. There, neither positions come in handy, nor abilities, nor fame. There is only servitude. A servant and his Lord. At this moment, a person realizes that true power is not in not bowing before anyone, but in bowing before the right being.
Society today is a victim of restlessness because we have taken noise to be life and have begun to fear silence. We have even sought crowds to ask for things, although true peace is found in solitude, that solitude which is with the Lord. When a person wakes up at night and connects with the Lord, he becomes better not only for himself but for the whole society. His tone becomes softer, his vision becomes clearer, his heart learns to forgive.
This worship does not cut us off from the world, but rather gives us the courage to endure the world. The person who cries before the Lord at night becomes an ease for people during the day. Stability comes into his character, weight comes into his words, and sincerity descends into his actions.
If only we could understand that religion is not just a name for words, clothes, or claims; religion is the name of that relationship that is established in the dark night, with silent eyes and a bowed head. That relationship that changes a person from within, and when a person changes, society automatically begins to change.