Organic Foods and the Eternal Goal

Organic Foods and the Eternal Goal by Abdul Azeez Tunbosun

In recent times, the popularity of organic foods has been rapidly rising even though its consumption is still very rare. It is almost impossible to find a household or an individual whose consumption is 100% organic foods and if you meet them by chance, know that they are indeed people of high determination. In order to consume organic foods 100% of the time would require them to spend a large part of their productive lives being meticulous in verifying the contents and origins of their consumables. In fact, some have resolved to cultivate their own organic farms in-spite of the economic burden of such an undertaking. Being consistent with such effort is synonymous to aiming for something extraordinary which is beyond the comprehension of an average mind (i.e., someone to whom a modest approach is to replace some conventional foods in their daily diet with organic items such as milk, fruits, spices and vegetables and as such, being consistent will be an easier mission)

In my opinion, the paucity of organic food consumers can be likened to attaining sainthood. Both are scarce and even though attaining Sainthood does not imply being as perfect as the  Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the diligent effort, discipline and sincerity required can be a tough task for an average person. The glad tiding is that the result of our effort is not measured by the quantity of our achievements on our journey. However,  what is most loving to Allah (SWT) and rewarded by Him is consistency accompanied by  sincerity, as the Prophet was reported to have said “The most beloved of deeds to Allah are those that are most consistent, even if it is small.” (Bukhari). When we continue to rise in the little effort within our capacity, so also is our station of sainthood increased and become beloved by Allah as He (SWT) said in an hadith Qudsi that “Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about [seizing] the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him.” (Bukhari)

The nature of the nafs (soul) is such that it’s attracted to pleasures, ease and amusement but a soul that is aiming for transformation to a finer spirit would have to make those attractions secondary while ensuring that the goal of perfection or sainthood accompanied by sincerity becomes primary. I think that in the same way that it’s almost impossible to consume 100% organic food because it is a matter of starting small and consistently aiming for a healthier state. This is not a campaign for organic food but a reminder that wisdom lies in caring more for what is eternal regardless of the difficulty to attain it, as reported in another hadith, “Paradise is surrounded by adversity, and Hellfire is surrounded by lusts.” (Muslim)

3 thoughts on “Organic Foods and the Eternal Goal

  1. Fatima says:

    I like that the brother has recognized that taking on a different, more ethical, and more scrupulous way of eating, trying to inculcate organic foods, can be likened to the efforts we need to take in attaining sainthood, and the refinement of character. Sacrifices must be made. JazakumAllah Khairun.

  2. Abdussalam Yusuf says:

    Jazaka Allahu khayran for the simple but very apt analogy. All source of wisdom eventually corroborate if we sieve the grains from the chaff. Baraka Allahu fiykum

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