Allah ‘azza wa jall, says in the Quran:
وَلَقَدْ صَرَّفْنَا فِى هَـٰذَا ٱلْقُرْءَانِ لِلنَّاسِ مِن كُلِّ مَثَلٍۢ
We have certainly diversified in this Quran for the people from every ˹kind of˺ example {Al-kahf 16:54}
To understand the journey of hearts, the journey of self- discovery, the journey of transformation, Allah has given us many examples in nature to reflect upon. Let's take the life of a butterfly, the lifespan of which is short but the process of growth and transformation is complex.
Someone once said, "There is nothing about a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly." This quote illustrates the change process perfectly.
Butterflies - Birthed from an egg the butterfly lives its early life as a caterpillar. It then retreats within the Pupa or Chrysalis where it undergoes a deep transformation by forming a vessel-like structure, cocooning around itself undergoes a metamorphosis. Being grounded in darkness, the entire identity changes on a twig in a hidden place. Being buried and shrouded for long finally when it has attained all of its changes, it's the time to emerge from darkness into light.
Before this caterpillar emerges as a beautiful butterfly, it has to go through a lot of struggles. Each time it lunges out to escape, acids are being removed from its wings. If someone were to come along and break the cocoon open for it then the butterfly would die from those acids. In essence the struggle is necessary for the butterfly to survive. The process itself is painful, but this pain is required for what it is supposed to become, a beautiful winged being. Then in the stillness, when the struggle is over, the butterfly comes out and shares its beauty with the world.
A butterfly completely transforms itself from a comfortable cocoon into a radiant entity with wings. This magnificent transformation the butterfly journeys in its life closely mirrors the path of spiritual transformation we each have the opportunity to choose. You are like a beautiful butterfly waiting to be re-born and transformed.
Change is a mythological journey, where we hear the call, go with uncertainty into unknown dangers, until we finally find our way home. Many of us fear change. Change is scary because the outcome is usually unknown, but it is only by stepping into this darkness, like a caterpillar inside the cocoon, that we can in time grow, change, and emerge to fly. When we surround ourselves in cocoons of Salah, Dhikr, Qur’an, spiritual insights and reflections, we transform.
We as humans are not any different from butterflies, there are times that we need to struggle, to rid ourselves of the acids that make up sadness, fear, anger, grief, traumas, emotions. It is only at this time when we are exhausted and still, when we are willing to face our own shadow self, greeting all the aspects of ourselves we've not wanted to face, welcoming everything, all that we are with love and with compassion, we transform.. Through this inner journey, we heal, grow and evolve. We become ready and willing to emerge.
Spiritual transformation, like the physical metamorphosis of the butterfly, is a very difficult and often painful process. However, To be reborn like the beautiful butterfly emerging from its burial shroud-like cocoon, we must embrace the growing pains of transformation and growth. Like the Butterfly we can be reborn, completely transformed, we can find our wings and learn to fly but only when we first are willing to retreat within. By retreating from the busyness of the external world into our inner being, we will be able to cultivate and dive into a rich Stillness, Peace and Presence of our creator.
In order to emerge like the butterfly, awakened and ready to fly we're required to transform and emerge into an entirely new being as Ibadur-rahmaan which can only happen when we have the signature trait of a believer.
When we make our inside beautiful by going through the tough process of transformation and reform, the outer beauty shines like the beautiful colors of a butterfly. A Person beautiful inside out is described by Allah in the Qur’an as Saliheen. Allahumma ja’alna minhum (O Allah make us of them).
