1st Night Of Muharram: Perfection

Bismillahir Rahmanir rahim - In the name of Allah the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful!

What does it mean to be perfect?
everything you do, everything you say, all your qualities, all your emotions, everything have to be perfect as well.
But what is perfection? Perfection has been defined as the complete lack of any kind of flaw. Now different people have different views as to what flaws are, there are some who think of lack of wealth as a flaw, others think that lack of strength is a flaw, there are those who even believe that kindheartedness and being gentle is a flaw!

What does Islam say about it?
The best way to look at it is in the example of our role models, and who better to choose than Imam Ali (AS)?? He was one of the perfect ones, made so by Allah, as we are told in the Aayat I have begun with, "Wa yutahhirakum tatheera!"
Thus in his lifestyle we can find perfection.
Was Imam Ali (AS) wealthy? Was he strong? Was he firm or gentle?

Can you call a person who stitches his slippers himself when they get torn numerous times wealthy? Can you call a person who is the "door to the city of knowledge" poor?

Can you call a person who has trouble breaking the dry bread which he is about to eat strong? Can you call a person who throws the gate of Khaybar a distance of forty cubits, the same gate which seventy men later tried in vain to carry, could you call such a man weak?

Can you not call a father and husband who was so kind to his family gentle? Can you not call a man who would defend his religion to the point where it is said of him, "La fatah illa Ali, La Sayfa illa Zulfikaar!!", can you not call this man firm?

Thus the answer to perfection is to understand and practice with that understanding, so that when it is required of you to be strong, you are strong, when it is required of you to be wealthy, you are wealthy, when it is required of you to be humble, you are humble, when it is required of you to be firm and put a point accross, you do so without moving in your firmness, but if possible without offending anyone. And in all this we can only attain perfection by always remembering that all the strength, wealth, firmness, humbleness, everything is all from Allah, and that without Him we are nothing!

What we need to understand is that this concept of perfection applies to namaaz and dua as well, so that we know that in order to attain perfection we need not pray 24 hours a day, nor do we need to completely leave sleep to pray, nor fast everyday of our lives! rather we should make all we do Ibadaat by making the intention of our daily acts for Allah, and to attain His closeness!

The source of all perfection is non-other than Allah (SWT)!! We can see it all around us; in everything that has been created by His Mercy! All His plans are perfect, and when we have an event such as this great event of Karbala, where the person involved is one of the perfect ones, one who would do no act unless commanded by Allah, we find that the entire event is perfect, from the way it was planned to the way it was executed and the outcome. It is thus not for us to feel that, "if only Imam would have reached Kufa... or if only the true Shias in Kufa had not been arrested and put to prison... or if only Imam would have placed his camp closer to the furaat..." or anything of that sort, because that was part of the plan, and if there could have been a plan any better than that then Allah would have made it happen for He is All Perfect!

Rather what we should feel is, "Ya laytani kuntu ma'akum, fa Afuza ma'akum!!"

Thus Zuhairs View:

In order to fulfill our main objective in life, we need to come as close as we can to perfection, in this short period of time given to us, it is best to follow the perfect examples before us so as to remain on the right track!

This is written purely on my opinions, and if there are flaws, then please do correct them! And May Allah guide us all toward His straight path!!