#0806 Inner Freedom

---------------------------------------------------------------

Inner Peace Be Upon You

# 0806 Peace and Blessings Every Day

------------------------------------------------------------

Inner Freedom

======================

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is an exemplar of what inward freedom looks like. When he was oppressed and mocked for his teachings during the first 13 years of his prophetic mission, he never replied rudeness with rudeness or harshness with harshness. When the Prophet became the leader of a people for the next 10 years and was forced to fight in battles to protect his community, even then he never allowed hatred to get the best of him and continued to pray for his enemies. When the Prophet was given a chance to engage in perpetual war with his rivals or sign a peace-treaty filled with concessions, he had the insight to choose peace. And, when the Prophet returned victorious to Mecca toward the end of his life, he chose amnesty and forgiveness over revenge. All of this the Prophet did because he was remarkably and truly free.

Nelson Mandela, may God rest his soul, said, upon leaving the prison where he had been held for 27 years, “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.”

These are sagacious words for our times. In the midst of riots and revolutions for the sake of freedom, this inner freedom we cannot afford to forget. For once the outward dictator is overthrown we achieve nothing if the inner dictator is well and alive. Without inner freedom the cycles of oppression continue on and on.

Each one of us has a life long struggle to unshackle ourselves from the inner desires, passions, and ego that seek to be masters over us. Fasting during this month of Ramadan has been an intense and serious lesson in what it means to gain master over lower inner qualities and to attain to a higher state – a state that finds its freedom in God and godliness.

~From 30 days of Ramadan by Sohaib N. Sultan (http://time.com/2957106/ramadan-day-8-finding-inner-freedom/)

Inner Peace Be Upon You.

Thank you for inviting Inner Peace Be Upon You into your mailbox.

Change a life, give a friend Peace and Blessings.

See you tomorrow.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Subscribers please send e-mail to: subscribe@InnerPeaceBeUponYou.com

If you wish to unsubscribe, please send e-mail to: unsubscribe@InnerPeaceBeUponYou.com

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------