“Who am I?” This phrase has been famous throughout time among many philosophers, clerics, and metaphysics scholars, and many have attempted to provide a suitable definition for it or explain its essence. Some linked it to a person’s past, others to their environment, and there were those who denied the existence of the self altogether.
In this article, we will discuss Dr. Nada’s personal definition of this phrase and explain the nature of the self and how we can reach an understanding and knowledge of it from her perspective. Dr. Nada connects self-knowledge with the knowledge of God. How can, in her opinion, a person reach a stage where they understand themselves and recognize their true self without truly knowing God?
Those who think they can know God within their dark room or through their meditations and rituals are delusional, because to discover yourself, you must allow yourself to enter into relationships with others and experience your emotions, feelings, and reactions to what exists outside of you. Undoubtedly, this external world acts as a mirror to your inner world, which you haven’t been able to reach yet due to the shells you’ve wrapped yourself with to protect from pain.
Thus, relationships with others are the key to self-knowledge, and once you truly know yourself, you have begun on the path to truly knowing God.
Let’s take an example of a relationship between a husband and wife. The wife believes she is perfect and that her husband could never think of betraying her, but suddenly she discovers that her husband is cheating on her. Through what happened, if this wife can decipher the message of what happened, she will discover many things within herself that she was unaware of, from beliefs to events and shocks she went through and thought she had overcome. From here, she begins to discover herself and gradually dives deeper into knowing her self.
As another example, consider a man’s relationship with a friend he believed to be the most honest and trustworthy, with whom he shared a business project. After a while, this friend lost all the money and fled the country. If this man can decipher the message of what happened, he will also discover, like in the previous example, that there are things within him that he needs to change, thereby knowing himself better.
So, as mentioned before, a person cannot know God by sitting in a dark room; one must first know oneself. And you cannot know yourselves without engaging in relationships with others, for they are the gateway to this knowledge.
If you want to learn more of these secrets, all you have to do is subscribe to the Ramadan course, which will soon be available on the website under the title “Mastering Your Life Challenges.”