Tunapojifunza kutembea na kupita kwa upole katika nafasi zetu, na kukuza uelewa na kuthamini zaidi watu wengine, ni muhimu kubaki makini na kanuni za kitamaduni katika mazingira tunayoishi. Kila "mandhari" hubeba ujumbe mwingi wa mila, sanaa, dini, uzoefu, historia na sherehe. Ingawa mandhari ya nchi yoyote yanaundwa na michakato ile ile ya kijamii, "kupamba mandhari" kama kitenzi kunahusu jinsi ardhi inavyobadilishwa kwa nguvu ya binadamu, na hivyo kuunda nafasi za kipekee ambazo maeneo mbalimbali huanzishwa juu yake. Kwa kila mtu, kila wakati unaweza kuwa na maana tofauti kuhusiana na nafasi hiyo. Maeneo mapya ya maana yanaweza kujitokeza wakati wowote, na maana ya kijamii nayo inaweza kupindishwa kuhusiana na nafasi hiyo.

As we learn to move and tread lightly through our spaces and foster a better understanding and appreciation of other people, it is important to remain mindful of cultural codes in the contexts we inhabit. Each “landscape” speaks volumes of tradition, art, religion, experiences, histories and celebrations. While ‘landscape’ of any land is made up of the same societal processes, ‘landscaping’ understood as a verb is about the way in which land is transformed by human agency, creating unique spaces upon which sites are located. For each individual, each moment can mean something different in relation to that space. New sites of meaning can emerge at any given time and social meaning too can become contorted in relation to that space.

Seti ya aya zenye kina zinazotuwezesha kufikiria jinsi ya kupita katika mazingira kwa akili macho, moyo wenye ufahamu, imani, huruma na shukrani, zinapatikana katika Surat an-Naml (27) zinazomhusu Nabii Sulaymān (amani iwe juu yake).

A very insightful set of verses that enable us to consider navigating through spaces with an alert mind, a heart of understanding, faith, empathy and gratitude is found in Surah al-Naml (27) pertaining to Prophet Sulaymān (upon him be peace):

27:17 - Jeshi la Sulemani la majini, wanadamu na ndege lilipangwa safu kwa mpangilio mbele yake.

27:17 - Solomon’s hosts of jinn, men, and birds were marshalled in ordered ranks before him.

Aya ya kwanza kati ya zile zilizojadiliwa inaelezea mpangilio wa uwanja wa vita.

The first of the discussed verses describes a battle scene arrangement.

Aya hii inaibua picha za nguvu, mpangilio, ufalme na uweza. Kwanza, tunatambua kwamba Nabii Sulaymān ndiye anayenufaika kwa njia ya kupita tu na onyesho hili kuu la uwezo. Muislamu anatahadharishwa kuhusu uumbaji wa nafasi na mipaka, kuhusu mandhari na mazingira. Kinachofuata ni kuingia katika nafasi mpya, nafasi tofauti, lakini yenye thamani yake pia.

The verse invokes images of might, order, kingdom and strength. To begin, we realise that Prophet Sulaymān is the passive beneficiary of such a marvellous spectacle of power. The Muslim is alerted to creations of space and boundaries, to landscapes and settings. What follows is an arrival into a new space, a different space, but nonetheless worthy:

27:18 - Walipofika Bonde la Chungu, chungu mmoja alisema: "Enyi chungu! Ingieni majumbani mwenu, msije mkakanyagwa na Sulaymān na jeshi lake bila kujua." Nabii Sulaymān na jeshi lake la watu, majini na ndege wanafika kwenye bonde la chungu. Mpito kutoka mahali pa mamlaka ya kidunia, yenye upeo mpana, kuingia bondeni, mahali palipo chini na kukaliwa na chungu, wadudu wadogo sana, unalingana vizuri. Tunatafakari harakati katika nafasi, kutoka kwenye yanayofahamika hadi yasiyofahamika, kutoka nafasi ya 'hapa' kuingia nafasi za 'huko'. Aya inatueleza kwamba chungu mmoja aliwaonya wenzake kwamba jeshi la Nabii Sulaymān linakaribia.

27:18 - and when they came to the Valley of the Ants, one ant said, ‘Ants! Go into your homes, in case Solomon and his hosts unwittingly crush you.’ Prophet Sulaymān and his army of humans, jinn and birds reach a valley of ants. The transitioning from a site of temporal power, large in scope, into a valley, low in landscape and inhabited by ants, miniature in size, juxtaposes well. We reflect on movements through space, from familiarity to foreignness, from space of ‘here’ into spaces of ‘there’. We are told in the verse that an ant warned the other ants that Prophet Sulaymān’s army was approaching.

Wanapaswa kurudi katika "makazi" yao (masākin). Neno hili linatokana na sakan, ambalo ndilo chanzo cha maskan (nyumba) na sakīna (utulivu). Lilisisitiza kwamba hata chungu, katika hali yake ya unyonge, pia wana makazi, mahali pa kuwa na pa usalama. Wana mahali pa utulivu.

They must retreat into their ‘dwellings’ (masākin). The word derives from sakan, from which we get maskan (home) and sakīna (tranquility). It reinforced that the ants, too, in their lowly setting, also have homes, places of belonging and security. They have a place of tranquillity.

Wao pia wanaweza kuchukua mtazamo wa wengine na kuhisi madhara yanayokaribia kuwapata wengine. Sifa ya huruma ni kipengele kinachojitokeza wazi katika rufaa hii. Aya hii pia inavutia kwa kile inachofichua kuhusu ubora wa kuwa na dhana njema, kwani chungu anakiri kwamba Nabii Sulaymān na jeshi lake hawangetambua uharibifu uliokuwa ukihofiwa.

They too are also able to take perspective and feel an impending harm on others. The empathy bearing is a salient feature of the appeal. The verse is striking too for what it reveals of the quality of forming a good opinion in that the ant acknowledges that Prophet Sulaymān and his army would be undiscerning of the feared destruction.

Aya ya 19 ni aya nzuri, na ina dua yenye maana ya kina, inayoashiria unyenyekevu wa dhati na shukrani kwa Nabii Sulaymān.

Verse 19 is a beautiful verse and contains a supplication profound in meaning and suggestive of a heartfelt sense of humility and gratitude in Prophet Sulaymān:

27:19 - Sulemani akatabasamu kwa upana kwa maneno yake, akasema: "Mola wangu, nipe msukumo wa kushukuru neema Ulizonijaalia mimi na wazazi wangu, na kutenda mema yanayokupendeza; niingize kwa rehema Yako miongoni mwa waja Wako wema." Mwanzoni tunajifunza kwamba alitabasamu, akicheka kwa maneno yake. Hili linaonyesha asili yenye wema ya mfalme-nabii. Kupata furaha katika wakati mdogo wa "kukutana" kati ya "dunia", mandhari na viumbe, Nabii Sulemani anamwomba Mola wake. Mwanzo wa dua yake, "Mola wangu, nipe msukumo wa kushukuru neema Ulizonijaalia mimi na wazazi wangu", unaonyesha unyenyekevu wa kuwa mja, dua ambayo kila Mwislamu anapaswa kujifunza. Mwislamu anapopita katika mandhari mbalimbali au anapokutana na wengine, wadogo, labda dhaifu, waliosahaulika, maskini, ni wakati wa kutafakari ili kuonyesha utegemezi wake mkubwa kwa Allaah, shukrani na unyenyekevu. Kwa hiyo ni muhimu moyo wa Mwislamu udumu daima katika kumkumbuka Allaah.

27:19 - Solomon smiled broadly at her words and said, ‘Lord, inspire me to be thankful for the blessings You have granted me and my parents, and to do good deeds that please You; admit me by Your grace into the ranks of Your righteous servants.’ At the outset we learn that he “smiled, laughing at her speech”. This reflects the good-willed nature of the king-prophet. Finding joy at the small moment of “intermeshing” between ‘worlds’, landscapes, creation, Prophet Sulaymān supplicates. The opening of his prayer, “Lord, inspire me to be thankful for the blessings You have granted me and my parents” is reflective of servitude, a prayer every Muslim should learn. A Muslim’s transitioning through landscapes or in the encountering of others - smaller, perhaps weaker, disenfranchised, poorer – is a reflective moment to express his utmost dependence on Allāh, gratitude and earnestness. It is thus essential that the Muslim’s heart remains ever present in the remembrance of Allāh.

Nabii Sulaymān kumtaja wazazi wake katika dua yake kunaongeza upana zaidi wa unyenyekevu na shukrani hii. Nafasi za ‘hapa’ na ‘pale’ sasa zinapata ‘mahali pengine’. Dua na lengo la Nabii Sulaymān vinavuka ya kidunia, na anaweza kupata faraja kwa kuzungumza na Mola wake. Muislamu, licha ya kile anachojiona mwenyewe cha mafanikio na uwezo, hurejesha mambo yake kwa Allah. Ingawa alikuwa Nabii, Nabii Sulaymān aliona haja ya kumwomba Allah mwongozo wa kutenda yale matendo yaliyo mazuri zaidi mbele ya Allah, si tendo lolote ambalo angeweza kuwa tayari amelizoea. Wala hakumwomba Allah amwingize peponi pamoja tu na Manabii wengine, bali pamoja na “waja wako wema”. Zaidi ya hayo, alimwomba Allah amwingize humo si kwa sababu ya matendo yake mwenyewe, utiifu wake, utumwa wake, ibada yake, juhudi yake au kitu kingine chochote, bali kwa “Rehema yako” pekee. Mpito wa namna hii, kusogea katika nafasi na kujitafakari mwenyewe kuhusiana na Mwingine, hupata mwelekeo mzuri pale lengo na mkazo vinapokuwa kwa Yeye aliyeko nje ya wakati na nafasi. Pia hutuwezesha kuiona tabia ya mtu kuwa iliyoundwa na malezi ya wazazi. Katika mfano huu, tunaona kwamba Nabii Sulaymān alikuwa mwana wa Nabii Dāwūd, na baba na mwana wote wawili wanaelezwa katika Qur’ān kuwa ni awwāb (yule anayerejesha mambo yake kwa Allah daima). Kwa sababu ya ibada ya baba, hata milima na ndege walijiunga na Dāwūd katika kumkumbuka Allah. Nao pia wanaelezwa hivyo kuwa ni awwāb. Mielekeo ya upotovu – kuvuliwa ubinadamu na kutengwa na wengine – pamoja na mielekeo ya uadilifu, huathiriwa sana na malezi ya wazazi na ya jamii.

Prophet Sulaymān’s inclusion of his parents in his supplication adds further interest into the breadth of such humility and gratitude. The temporal spaces of ‘here’ and ‘there’ now find an ‘elsewhere’. Prophet Sulaymān’s prayer and focus transcends the earthly and he can find comfort in communing with His Lord. The Muslim, despite what he self-witnesses of success and ability returns his affairs to Allāh. Though he was a Prophet, Prophet Sulaymān felt the need to ask Allāh for guidance to perform those actions which were the most pleasing unto Allāh, not any action with which he might have already been familiar with. Nor did He ask Allāh to enter him into heaven with only other prophets, but instead with “Your righteous slaves”. Furthermore, he asked Allāh to enter him therein not because of his own doings, his obedience, servitude, worship, effort or anything else, but only by “Your Mercy”. Such a transitioning, a moving through space and reflection of self in relation to an Otherness becomes beautifully harmonised when the goal and focus is upon He who exists outside of time and space. It can also enable us to consider a personality as one shaped by parental influences. In this instance, we note that Prophet Sulaymān was the son of Prophet Dāwūd, and father and son are altogether described as awwāb (to always return one’s affairs unto Allāh) in the Qur’ān. On account of the father’s devotion so too did the mountains and birds join Dawūd in remembrance of Allāh. They too are thus described as awwāb . Tendencies of depravity – dehumanisation and othering – as well as tendencies of uprightness, are well informed by parental and social influences.

Sisi tunaishi kama viumbe vilivyounganishwa maishani, vimefungwa kwa kamba za mahusiano ya aina zote. Dhana hasi kuhusu wengine wakati mwingine huundwa tangu miaka ya malezi ya mtu, na dhana hizi zinaweza kuwa za kudumu na kukita mizizi.

We exist as attached entities in life, attached by cords of relationships of all kinds. Negative stereotypes about others are sometimes formed from a person’s formative years, and these can become entrenched.