The Soul is Like a Garden, Blooming or Fading
“Have you ever stepped out into the garden on a gloomy, rainy morning in late autumn?
The trees are almost bare, drafty and swaying, fallen leaves are rotting on the paths, death and desolation are everywhere. Not only in the flowerbeds, above the drooping, yellowed stems of other flowers, do the autumn asters and dahlias bloom brightly. Do you remember their pungent, grassy scent? You would stand, sometimes, in a strange daze near a flowerbed, shivering from the cold, smelling that melancholy, purely autumnal scent and yearning... This melancholy contains everything: regret for the summer that quickly passed, anticipation of a cold winter with snow and howling chimneys and sadness for your own summer, which has passed so quickly...” (“Autumn Flowers”, Alexander Kuprin).
The autumn landscape described by the heroine of Kuprin’s story is not only a picture of nature’s withering but also a surprisingly accurate metaphor for the human soul. Trees losing their leaves are like missed opportunities, past aspirations that seemed so strong, but now “shine through and sway” in the wind of doubt. The fallen and rotting leaves underfoot represent the sins and mistakes of the past. And the all-consuming feeling of “death and desolation” is the state of a soul that has forgotten its purpose.
But even at such a time, as Kuprin’s heroine writes, there are asters and dahlias. For a believer, these autumn flowers, blooming stubbornly despite the general wilting, are the seeds of goodness sown long ago. It is the regular prayer they performed even when they lacked the strength to wake; it is alms given secretly; it is a kind word spoken at the right time. They do not fade, even when life’s cold has frozen everything around them. This melancholy truly contains everything. “The anticipation of a cold winter” is the realisation of life’s inevitable end. And regret for the “quickly flashed summer” is a sadness for the past (for youth wasted aimlessly, for time wasted), which forces one to awaken from carelessness and ask oneself: what harvest have I reaped from the field of my life?
At any time of year, even when nature outside freezes, in a garden the work never ceases for a moment. This garden of our soul, entrusted to us by the Almighty, is our greatest responsibility and greatest opportunity. However, we tend to be careless, as if we hope for eternal life in this world. As the venerable Sheikh Said Afandi said, “He who desires a good harvest works tirelessly in spring and summer. Such a one will achieve his goal. <…> The world is a field for the Akhirah (eternal life). Plough the field for it.”
Soil: Primordial Purity
Every garden begins with soil. Our inner soil is fitrah, a pristine, pure nature, predisposed to faith, goodness and knowledge of the Creator. It is like fertile earth, ready to receive good seeds. However, like the earth, it must be protected from waterlogging and depletion. After all, both beautiful flowers and thorns can grow on it. Man is given the choice of what to cultivate on it.
Seeds: The Power of Intention
There is a famous saying of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ: “Verily, actions are judged only by intentions and verily, each person receives only what he intended to obtain...” Our intentions are the seeds we sow in the fertile soil of the soul.
Every day, when we wake up, we open a bag containing the seeds of our future thoughts, words and actions. A seed of envy sown in the soil of the heart will one day grow into a thorny bush, poisoning everything around it. A seed of gratitude to the Almighty will blossom into a flower whose fragrance will delight both us and those around us.
Modern psychology explains these patterns by the property of neuroplasticity in the brain: every repeated thought or action creates a neural pathway that, over time, becomes a broad road. We literally shape our brain and our character by what we constantly think and do.
Watering and Fertilizing
for Spiritual Growth
Even the best seeds will not germinate without life-giving moisture. Watering the garden of our soul involves daily obligatory and voluntary prayers, the remembrance of Allah ﷻ (dhikr), reciting salawat (blessings) upon the Prophet ﷺ and reflecting on the verses of the Koran. This regular spiritual practice prevents the heart from drying out, hardening and withering.
Kind deeds, especially those that make life easier for others, are an invaluable form of fertiliser. A hadith of the Prophet ﷺ states, “Whoever alleviates the suffering of his brother in this world, Allah ﷻ will alleviate his suffering on the Day of Judgment.” Often, helping others becomes even more important than constant worship, as it demonstrates a living, active love for the creations of the Merciful Creator.
Weeds and the Fight Through Substitution
In any garden, weeds inevitably appear: sins, bad thoughts, envy, anger, arrogance. Religious wisdom suggests that we should not simply mechanically pull them out, for they can grow back in the empty space. What is important is systematic, painstaking work to eradicate negative moral qualities and purify the heart under the guidance of a spiritual mentor.
One effective way is substitution. If stinginess has crept into the heart, one should offer a sincere almsgiving. If anger overcomes one, one should do something kind for the one who caused it or at least say a prayer for their well-being. If one’s soul is tormented by worldly worries, one should strengthen one’s faith that everything, both good and bad, comes only from Allah ﷻ. The best cure for any “weeds” and “pests” is sincere repentance. Islamic tradition teaches us that sincere repentance is not simply regret for one’s actions, but an active turn toward God, after which a person consciously refuses to return to previous mistakes and replaces the bad with a good deed.
Fruits: The Harvest of the Soul
After much labour, harvest time comes. The fruits that a well-tended, flourishing garden of the soul, with a caring gardener, bears are the beautiful moral qualities that become part of our nature. Patience in difficulties is like a strong tree that does not break under the force of the wind. Truthfulness, courage, and selflessness are like sweet fruits that have absorbed all the rays of the sun.
But the most desirable fruit is sincere and complete trust in the Almighty. This is a state of the heart when a person, making every possible effort, internally relies completely on Allah ﷻ, knowing that the final result and all blessings are in His power alone. This is the very inner peace that every person unconsciously strives for.
Even when the days grow shorter and the nights longer, the work in our inner garden never ceases. What will it be: a blooming oasis, exuding the fragrance of faith and virtue or a desolate wasteland, overgrown with the thorns of sin and regret? Every day we make a choice: what we will sow, how we will tend it, with what diligence and intention. We have amazing freedom and mercy from Allah ﷻ – the opportunity to labour in this field, striving to present Him with a wonderful harvest. Thus then, in any season of our lives, even the coldest, by the grace of God, our garden will bloom with its own asters and dahlias: deeds, words and thoughts that will warm us with the light of hope and faith.
