11. WHAT PATTERN ARE YOU LIVING FROM?
What We Inherit
When a child is born, the parents eagerly anticipate the moment they can see their little one, each hoping to catch a glimpse of their own features in the newborn. Playful debates often arise about who “wins” the genetic lottery based on the child’s features. Will the child have the mother's eyes or the father’s distinctive nose? The hue of the mother’s hair or the father’s? The stature of one side of the family or the other? Or perhaps a blend of both.
These resemblances stretch through previous generations, with children often taking on features of uncles, aunts, and grandparents. Just as physical features are passed down, so too are other aspects, such as our thinking patterns, behavioural patterns, emotional traumas, and spiritual states. We inherit ways of perceiving the world, responding to challenges, and navigating emotions.
When a child is born into an Arabic-speaking family, they adopt that language just by being in the presence of those who speak it. If they are born into an English-speaking family, they will pick up English. Similarly, if surrounded by Chinese speakers, they will learn Chinese. This highlights the adaptability of Insān and the influence of their surroundings. Children are like sponges, and the first years of their lives are when they absorb the most from their atmosphere.
There are two aspects that influence our pattern of thinking: genetics and our environment. When we are surrounded by people with negative thinking patterns who practice harmful behaviours, we tend to adopt those habits. Conversely, when we are with individuals who have positive thinking patterns and demonstrate good behaviour, we are likely to adopt those habits as well. For instance, if we frequently shout at our children, they will grow up to be hot-tempered. If we lie in front of them, they will do the same. However, if we demonstrate generosity, they will learn that value. Similarly, if we are empathetic towards them, they will also learn to be empathetic. The same principle applies to our friendships. If your group of friends engages in gambling, you are most likely to become a gambler yourself. On the other hand, if your friends are pious, their behaviour will likely influence you.
When Allah ﷻ wanted to create the universe, HE first conceived it in HIS Mind and then HE commanded it to come into existence, and everything manifested. Everything begins with our pattern of thinking. When we think about accomplishing anything, we must first visualize it in our mind, even if only for a split second. This means that we have the ability to set an intention before we act or react. When we establish ourselves in certainty, faith, and trust, these attributes serve as a foundation for inspiration and motivation. If we dwell on worry, disappointment and a lack of faith, we naturally fall into doubt and begin to feel discouraged.
The Inner State
Once, there was a wise king who received news that his ship, carrying valuable treasures and goods, had sunk in a storm. When his courtier delivered this news, he calmly responded, “Alhamdulillah.” The courtier was surprised by this reaction, expecting the king to be distraught.
Days later, the ship was found washed ashore. When the news reached the king, he again said, “Alhamdulillah.” This time, the courtier was confused, wondering how the king could be grateful both when he had lost his ship and when his treasure was found. So he asked the king, “Both times, when your ship was lost, you said Alhamdulillah, and when it was found, you said Alhamdulillah. How come?”
The king explained that when his ship was lost, he looked within himself and saw that his inner state with Allah ﷻ remained unshaken. His faith had not wavered with the loss of his belongings, so he said, “Alhamdulillah.” When the ship was found, he again looked within himself and recognized that its return had not affected his inner state or changed his relationship with Allah ﷻ. So he said, “Alhamdulillah” once more.
Neither the loss nor the return of his belongings changed what mattered most to him: the constancy of his relationship with Allah ﷻ. He believed that every circumstance, whether good or bad, ultimately carries a wisdom. Everything belongs to God, which is why we should remain grateful in all matters.
Some people ask, “Why has God given me this hardship?” This type of thinking pattern is what controls their state. For example, if someone sees themselves only as a victim and sees their hardships only as misery in their life, that is what they will experience. On the other hand, if a person sees hardship as an opportunity to learn a valuable life lesson, their approach to challenges transforms.
Likewise, when one is blessed with moments of joy and pleasure, it is important to view them with the same awareness, so that one does not become heartbroken when those moments pass. Every event in life carries a lesson within it. In this way, we begin to read between the lines rather than focusing solely on misery or pleasure. We come to understand that even the greatest hardships are disguised as blessings.
Instead of sulking in despair or becoming overly exuberant about worldly affairs that are by nature unstable, we begin to see life from an elevated perspective. Circumstances are not done directly to us; they happen around us, and our mindset and perspective determine how we let them in and experience them.
The Prophetic Pattern
The whole purpose of the Divine Books is to guide people out of the negative patterns in which they find themselves. As harmful traditions and ways of life—riwāyāt—develop through generations and are followed blindly, Allah ﷻ sends down HIS Mercy through HIS Prophets (peace be upon them).
The Prophets (PBUT) break away from the destructive habits and patterns of the societies they live in, challenging the dominant ways of thinking and conduct within them. They pave the way for a different pattern of thinking—one that introduces contemplation, faith, certitude, and deep trust in God, and cultivates compassion, knowledge, and reflection, fostering a constructive thinking pattern.
Deen is essentially the Thinking Pattern that brings us towards Allah ﷻ—it is Allah ﷻ’s Thinking Pattern.
When Allah ﷻ Commanded the Angels (AS) to bow down before Adam (AS), they all complied except Iblīs. Iblīs, filled with arrogance, believed himself superior to Adam (AS). In his arrogance and defiance of Allah ﷻ, he asked to be given time until the Day of Judgment to lead humanity away from the Path through disobedience.
This highlights two distinct patterns of thinking that one can adopt: the Raḥmānī Pattern and the shayṭānī pattern.
What We Receive
We receive khayāl through waves, acting as receivers of what is being broadcast. Depending on the frequency to which we are attuned, we can capture thoughts at different levels. A higher frequency allows us to receive them in a purer state, while a lower frequency results in receiving the khayāl at a stage when it has become polluted.
Just as a television broadcast travels through waves to reach the device and appear on the screen, our thoughts operate in a similar manner, appearing on the screen of the mind. If other electronic devices interfere with the signal, they can cause distortion or loss of clarity, affecting how the information is transmitted.
All khayāl begins as pure thoughts from One Source: Allah ﷻ. We can either receive it in its pure state, or, as it descends, it can be interrupted by another agency (shayṭān), which lowers its frequency and causes us to receive it at a distorted level.
There are forces that either bring us closer to reality or take us further away from it. Everything is created by Allah ﷻ, including both negative and positive energies. Allah ﷻ has made it clear that there are forces that oppose HIS way and those that align with it.
As receivers of khayāl, we decide which thoughts to engage with and explore, and which ones to let pass by. It’s like scrolling on your phone; you can spend hours heedlessly scrolling through so much content, interacting only with what attracts your attention. When you encounter content you don’t like, you skip it or simply unfollow. Over time, the algorithm learns not to keep placing it in your feed. Similarly, when we overcome such thoughts rather than continuing to feed them with our attention, we weaken their hold on the mind. The quality of the thoughts we feed ourselves daily affects our mental state.
Once we become aware of these patterns within us, it becomes our duty to correct them so that they are not passed on to the next generation, as part of their inheritance. We should not allow harmful habits to persist because, with time, they become more ingrained. Changing them becomes increasingly difficult the longer we practice them. Making a meaningful change requires significant willpower and determination.
The Hidden Knowledge
Khayāl comes from Ghayb. When we act upon it, it becomes ẓāhir—it manifests. Once the action is completed, it returns to Ghayb, where it is recorded in our record.
Al-Lawḥ al-Maḥfūẓ is like a motherboard, containing all the information of the universe. As information descends from Ghayb, it is broadcast, allowing us to receive it and fulfill it through action. In this way, it becomes manifest and is then sent back to Ghayb. After completing its cycle, it is recorded as a completed task.
At each step, we draw from this motherboard, select options, and send them back to be inscribed in our individual records. We should be mindful of how we send our deeds back, as this influences our lives in dunyā and in al-Ākhirah. We are constantly accumulating energy that affects us, our lives, and our relationship with Allah ﷻ.
We should aim to break the negative thinking patterns within the riwāyāt that we have inherited and connect our thinking pattern to the one found in the Divine Books and the Teachings of the Prophets (AS).
Prophets (AS) have been sent with the Divine Books as a mercy to mankind, guiding humanity towards the Truth. Through their patterns of thinking and conduct, they illustrate the wisdom that has been bestowed upon Insān by Allah ﷻ. They made this knowledge practical and the Path to Allah ﷻ achievable.
When we study the stories in the Holy Qurʾān, they are not presented merely for the sake of storytelling. These accounts recount historical events whose patterns continually recur throughout time. For instance, when we examine the story of Firʿawn, who sought dominance through power and greed, we can recognize similar patterns in our time.
When we look at the story of Prophet Sulaymān (AS) and the throne, we see that Allah ﷻ mentions a man with the Knowledge of the Book who surpassed even the knowledge of the jinn and brought the throne of Sabaʾ in the blink of an eye.
According to the teaching being reflected upon here, this was a regular man—not a Prophet or a Nabī—but one of Sayyidunā Sulaymān’s (AS) followers who possessed the Divine Knowledge through which he could perform miraculous feats beyond the comprehension of our limited worldly knowledge.
Just as Firʿawn’s story can be seen in our time, so too can we relate the story of the man with the Knowledge of the Book. We cannot pick and choose which aspects of these narratives we believe can exist; our limited minds cannot accept some elements of the Holy Qurʾān while dismissing others, because it is timeless.
Logic has its place, but spirituality transcends logic. To experience spirituality, we must allow ourselves to go beyond logic, because it is limiting. For example, science explores that which can be observed and measured within the physical world, through the physical senses, yet these limited eyes do not perceive everything.
Spirituality invites us to explore beyond what we can physically see. If the heart recognizes a reality that the physical senses cannot grasp, we should follow that curiosity and explore until the spiritual eye sees it.
We should not dismiss what we wish to explore simply because it lies beyond what science can observe or what society readily accepts. What about the heart that feels and seeks to follow that sensation to free itself from the confinement of physicality? Should it suppress its vision? Or should we recognize that there is immense beauty to be experienced beyond logic and the physical world?
When someone takes the steps to discover what lies beyond the physical, and begins to explore the Knowledge of the Soul, they begin to nurture their hearts and souls. They attain a deeper understanding of their origin and their reason for existence. Entering the Life of Ghayb, result in Sukūn in this world. We usually get glimpses of this tranquillity, but for one to attain a consistent state and to know the fullness of that Sukūn, one must experience the Knowledge of the Soul.
Beyond Duality
Happiness is the conscious state of the Friends of Allah ﷻ. They remain happy in every situation, seeking the beauty in all things. When we remain happy and content regardless of the circumstances, we begin to awaken the Raḥmānī Thinking Pattern, which gradually diminishes the shayṭānī pattern of thinking.
This movement takes us away from the pattern of doubt and into the pattern of Yaqīn. As we learn to distinguish between the dual patterns, we realize that beyond them lies a neutral pattern of thinking: a state in which one sees that Allah ﷻ is the Creator of all that appears within HIS system.
The friends of Allah ﷻ see through this neutral pattern of thinking. Their alignment with Allah ﷻ becomes so one-pointed that they negate everything other than HIM and see only Allah ﷻ in all things. This is Qalandar Consciousness: the ṭarz-e fikr of Allah ﷻ, borrowed by HIS Awliyāʾ.