#Quran
Some Insights from Surah Kahf.
We are familiar with this chapter of the Quran as we, Muslims, tend to recite it every Friday as prescribed in various hadiths.
As reciting has its own virtues and merits, I like to focus on the explanation of the surah as well. So since we have been studying this Surah in our class, I drew few lessons and points to put into consideration and to incorporate in our lives which I have shared below.
- Quran is a book that rectifies every other thing. Its a book that warns you from the dangers of falling into sin and also give you the glad tidings of Paradise if you follow the path of Allah. And in order to achieve that you need to be sincere with Allah and follow the Sunnah.
- Paradise is eternal, a never ending place.
- If we truly love our religion we will never hate people because we all are here to help each other. To bring each other close to Islam.
- Allah created this world and everything in it for us, human beings in order to test us. To test who is the best among us in terms of good deeds. Who among us pays his gratitude towards Allah when he is blessed with a blessing and whether he uses it in a right or wrong way.
- Distraction and accumulation of wealth go hand in hand. The more wealth you gather for yourself of this world, the more distracted you become in your purpose of life i.e. to follow the path of Allah.
- The main thing is our Faith in Allah. We need to guard it and nourish it till death.
- The incident of People of the Cave teaches us that entrusting our lives with Allah will protect us from all kinds of evil and He will never let us down.
- You will be answerable for all the food that you waste or throw away in this world. The same goes for everything else.
- One of the tactics of Shaytan is that he doesnt let us think about the Hereafter and Paradise and makes us plan to get everything in this world. Because of him, we tend to fulfill our wishes here and try to perfect our lives for this world only.
- Do not be ungrateful towards your Creator. If He has provided you with blessings in this world make sure you thank Him and dont let your success make you proud and greedy for more.
- Thinking that your worldly assets can protect you from harm in this world and after is a kind of Shirk. Because instead of having faith in Allah, you prescribe it to your material wealth.
- Incident of the Man who had a garden teaches us that dont be proud of your blessings but always be thankful to Allah for giving you all that. It is His will that you have all of that and if He wants He can take it all back from you in a matter of seconds. You see, nothing in this world belongs to us but only our deeds. Do not put your faith in your assets that they will protect you from harm because thats a kind of Shirk,only Allah has the power to do so. Thinking that since you got everything here, its apparent that you will be provided with it in Hereafter as well. Having it all here is a part of the test that this world is. Material wealth can not help us when the time comes. Power and wealth cause absolute corruption.
- Do not live extravagantly or poorly, keep a balance in your lives. Just don’t overdo it.
- Also make a habit to cook adequate amount of food so that the leftovers dont go to waste.
- Dont make friends with Shaytaan by disobeying Allah. Disobeying Allah means obeying or falling into the trap of Shaytan.
- Do not waste your time in useless arguments over religion.
- Allah has alloted each and every one of us a specific time, when that time comes there is no turning back. So use your time wisely in this world.
- Allah closes the hearts of people who either don’t listen to the message of Quran or be oblivious to it, as a punishment so that no hidaya may enter into them. The worst kind of punishment.
Love Letters from Your Creator.
Has anyone ever written you a letter? Or have you written one for someone? Dont you just love it when a person you love or care for writes you a letter? Not only it shows your worth but that they made an effort because they care for you. So let me ask you again, what if your mother leaves you a whole stack of big fat letters filled with love, life lessons, motivational tools and the fact you are gonna be with her forever? Wouldn’t you treasure all of that? I bet you would.
So here is the thing, and yes let me put a religious spin on this whole deal about letters. Lets imagine for a minute that Allah your Creator wrote you 30 letters filled with lots of love, certain stories containing morals, warnings to alert you about your enemy and so much more? How amazing is that. Actually thats an understatement. Allah loves His creation beyond measure. And as strange as it sounds He loves you 7 times more than your mother loves you. strange because no one can love anyone more than a mother loves her children. But its true that Allah loves each and every one so much. How lucky are you! But do you realize that? Do you even think of going through those letters atleast once in your life? And by going through I mean really going through it, trying to decipher the wisdom behind all those words and let the message sink in? Well majority of us dont bother. And thats what makes me sad…
Why do we care so much for our loved ones but not for The One who love us more than anything and anyone else? Why do we not take out one hour in a day to go through a page of Quran and try to understand it? Are we really that busy or just that careless about our future? Why does He comes after everything else? Why do we consider opening His Book after we are done with our worldly chores? Why do we follow the religion according to our own convenience when we are being told since childhood what the future entails. Wont we give ourselves a chance to know Our Creator?
The world in which we live in, the world which we give so much importance to, the world which will be nothing but a speck of dust when that Day arrives, and the world in which we have forgotten our true purpose. Why do we give it so much importance and not to what will happen to us when it will end?4
Now I dont want to make it sound so serious but people IT IS THAT SERIOUS AND THE CLOCK IS TICKING!
Whenever I hear some lecture, I am amazed as well as terrified at the words of Allah. It makes me question everything that is I do. All I want and pray for everyone is that may Allah give them a chance to know and learn this beautiful book, a book which can blossom our worldly life and can land us in eternal bliss. Ameen.
Thoughts in a box.
Imagine this world being an examination hall and you are bound to write the exam. Imagine it being a marathon and people all over the world are participating in it where you have to give your best. In a competition, usually you try to be in your best form. When you have an exam, you start preparing for it beforehand so that you can pass with flying colors. You have the knowledge all you have to do is to memorize it, practice it.
Now if you have a marathon race to be in, you prep your body for it, you practice for it as much as you can so that you can win. You eat right, sleep right. Everything in your life revolves around it. For what? Just so that you can win. Just so that you can pass the exam with triumph.
If thats how conspicuous this endeavor is for you, then whats stopping you from giving it a chance?
We are gifted with this life for a reason. We, as Muslims, have a duty to fulfill to our Creator but most of us have forgotten our task and have overstepped it. We are afraid of facing our destiny.
For instance, if you see a treasure chest lying infront of you with innumerable jewels and stones, with its key in your hand, would you wait a second to open it? Normally you wont but in the context I am speaking, you are and you will.
By treasure chest I mean the Holy Book of Allah i.e. Quran. We all have it in our houses but just for collecting dust or opening it every once in a while.
It has almost never crossed our minds, talking in majority, to open it and try to understand it for once in our lives. Its like we are waiting for others to open up the chest and distribute its content to all of us.
Suppose you received a letter from your beloved, would you wait any longer to open it up and read it? Speaking by experience, no you most likely wont.
This book, Quran is a collection of letters from our Beloved Creator Allah.
The most beautiful thing to me about this life which I have just realized is that its pretty simple.
Allah has told us about the future, the ultimate end and we are aware of our history, people who came by and left, its a warning for us. Just what Nouman Ali Khan mentioned in one of his lectures, that lets say you are in a classroom and one of the group of students are being scolded or expelled by your teacher and you’d be smirking at their state, completely oblivious to the fact that you’re next in line.
Instead of being terrified of what might happen to you, you’re acting foolishly.
The same is the case with our Ummah. We have been given strict warnings by being presented with the examples of nations like Bani Israel,Samud etc so that we can learn some lessons from them and not repeat the mistakes they made. Those nations are a standing example of what could become of us. We have been told about Hellfire and Paradise. About failure and success. Its upto us which path do we choose to walk on. May Allah protect us all.
Now they are dead which means they have no chance of repenting over what they did. The minute you die is when you realise that what you’ve lost and there’s nothing left to gain.
We are still alive and we still have that chance. I look at my life and I know as shamefully can I admit, the chunks of it are being wasted. Life in itself is not easy I admit but once we acquire the faith the Companions of the Messenger of Allah SAW had, we wont face any difficulty in embracing its challenges. All we need is patience coupled with forbearance. We need strength and determination.I am not doing what I should be doing. But I am not losing hope neither am I giving up. I am constantly fighting my nafs and striving to make a difference and fulfill my duty as a Muslim. I dont know if it will be fruitful but what I do know is that I still have the chance to do something. To be something. And thats what keeps me going on. Sure, I will face many hurdles but I pray that I do contribute something for the betterment of my religion. I still have my weaknesses and demons to fight with, but I am getting there. I will get there, inn sha’Allah.May my Lord be happy with me. May I become strong enough to let go of distractions I have in my life right now and may I emerge as a fighting soldier and win the battle of this life and Islam. I hope and pray so, Ameen and Alhumdulillah for everything.
As Nouman Ali Khan says that no Muslim in this world is useless. Allah has bestowed every Muslim with a power to do something and propagate in His religion by giving him the kalma and by being a Muslim. I pray that we dont disappoint Our Lord and do justice to our designation, Ameen.
5 main trials of this life: Reflection #10
{And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to As-Sabirin (the patient)} [2:155]
This world is temporary. So everything about it temporary. It is a place where each and every one of us will be tested. The trails and tribulations wont stop till the day we die. Allah SWT created us to test us. To test that whether we follow His teachings or the footsteps of Shaytaan. If we succeed in following Him, we will be gifted with Paradise which is an eternal abode and if we fail then Hell will be our fate. The test of our patience, how we deal with the calamities when they fall on us, whats our stance.
Although every thing here is a test, this verse talks about the 5 main tests every human has to undergo while being in this world. And they are:
Fear: The first thing we learn after comig in this world is fear. Human is a fearful creature and has all kinds of fear. If someone scares you, you get startled. the fear of losing money, your loved one, your happiness, this life. Fear of disappointing someone. Fear of failing. Fear of dying. Fear of the dark. All kinds of fear.
The test is to see how we react when met with a certain kind of fear in our life. Do we come close to Allah or pull further away?
Hunger: The second thing is the hunger. What do you do when you feel hungry? How long can you control it? For how many days, months? You cant survive for a year with food and drink? Can you? Have you seen the poor people? Whats more important to them? Money or food? Whats their priority? Its food. Have you seen how desperate a person can become if he is not given food for a long period of time? And then if you do have resources for food and drink, in what quantity do you consume it? Is it balanced or you go out of control. Do you share it with others, the poor ones.
This is also a test by Allah to see what you do with food, how much you consume, how do you earn it, do you share it with poor, how long can you bear without food. Do you thank Him or think of Him when you have or dont have it?
Life: When you fall sick or get a fatal disease what do you do. What do the people around you do. When you die or going to what do you. Sickness and death are part of our tests, you are going to come across with them at some point. Both are inevitable, you cant stop it. Do you think of Allah when you fall sick or someone you love does. When your beloved dies, what do you do. Your family member, friends, relatives death leave an impact on you.
Loss of wealth: Wealth is always very dear to every person. And it includes not just money but everything you have in this world including your money, house, cattle, children. All kind of belongings fall in the category of wealth. What do you do if you experience a loss in your business. Do you turn to Allah for help or loose faith in Him and yourself. Every test consists of a choice. Your choice of what do you do.
Fruits: It has a dual meaning. It does mean in literal sense i.e. fruits but also includes children. Fruits are one of the beautiful blessings of Allah bestowed upon us and so are children. And they both are our tests as well as blessings. Fruits turn bad or become scarce. Also the farm and gardens wont produce as much fruit as expected. The way you bring up a child has a lot to do with how they are going to treat you but sometimes they strand you. Most of us are aware of old-age homes, your own children leave you there because they no longer need you. Sometimes your kid gets a fatal disease at such a young age and you feel devastated. Such incidents make you turn to Allah and sometimes it takes you further away.
These are the tests of each and every human who has ever lived, is living, and will live in this world. But all those people who persevere and are patient in dealing with these tests are given the glad tidings of entering into Paradise where there will be no tests and no worries. They are advised not to take the wrong path, use wrong words or bad attitude but only be patient and wait for the tough phase to end. And Allah will bless them with Paradise. These are basic trails of one’s life to test him/her for their patience.
Patience is Virtue : Reflection #09
{O you who believe! Seek help in patience and As-Salat (the prayer). Truly, Allah is with As-Sabirun (the patient).
Here is an another beautiful verse from Surah Al-Baqarah.
Allah mentions one of the signs of true faith i.e. Patience.
We have heard this a lot in our lives that Patience is virtue. When you have complete faith and trust in Allah, then no calamity bothers you. You persevere regardless the challenges it brings. The real patience is when despite your troubles you dont complain or whine about it. You silently keep on bearing it though there’s a storm going on inside of you. Instead, you pray. You plead in front of Allah and seek His Help. Help you through this tough phase, give you mental stability, courage and strength to conquer the hard time. Managing to exercise such patience is a hard nut to crack. Whoever is capable of doing so deserves my salute. The teachings of Quran are so easy to follow if one puts their mind to it. May Allah guide us to its path, Ameen.
The thing is that most of the times you cant do anything besides being patient. Its a well known fact that complaining hasnt got anyone anywhere. You can whine about your troubles as much as you can and to whoever you want but it wont solve your problems. Your worries will go away at their appointed time. Because they all are the tests from Allah. Without them your life would be so easy. Something which you can accomplish through patience and waiting, cannot be gained through anything else. Its not only RAISES YOUR LEVEL in front of Allah but you also get His Help.
Whoever gets Allah’s Help doesnot need anything else in this world. Allah Alone suffices for everything. Nothing in this world can be beneficial to you like having Allah in your life. His Presence alone can solve everything for you.
Patience and forbearance is one of the most important aspects of a pious Muslim. Success comes with patience. Allah provides you with His Help.
Your belief that Allah is with you, alone can get you through any obstacle. He eases your every trouble. His Special Mercy and Help comes to you in that difficult phase of your life.
Now, the importance of Salah (prayer) has been mentioned in this verse.
The beautiful thing about Salah is that it gives you internal peace and tranquility if observed in its real essence. Salah is one of the most important part of a Muslim. Without it, you’re completely incomplete. (You see what I did there)
Its in the state of Sujood that you’re the closest to Allah SWT. Its just you and Him. All your troubles go away, every worry you had, every grief you went through, all of it vanishes into thin air. Everything doesnt matter anymore besides Allah SWT. Establishing your prayers is the key to acquiring patience in your life. Allah is with every person who is patient in all walks of his life.
This is such a beautiful verse. So many secrets are revealed if only one reflects and ponders over it. We face so many troubles in our lives. People leaves us, they hurt us. Someone loses a job or gets robbed. Someone’s beloved dies, or they fail an exam. There are so many worries and hardships in this world, which is why Allah made it temporary. And that too, only to test His Creation. How they react towards a certain situation, what is their stance when they meet with a calamity.
Do they come back to Him or pull further away from Him.
Years ago, I used to think that I have so many problems in my life because Allah doesn’t like me. And I used to question myself that what I have done so wrong to deserve this kind of treatment.
Few years later, I found the answer. I found what was wrong with me.
I had ABANDONED Salah. I used to offer it only when it was convenient for me. Mostly during Ramadan or Fridays. My life didnt dwell in Salah. I was pretty far away from Allah which is why I had so many doubts about Him. I dont know who’s fault it is but when we’re growing up, mostly parents dont teach us to love Allah. Its actually the opposite. Which is why we never include Him in our lives and we actually repel.
We are unaware about so many things about Him, various levels of His Mercy and its beauty. All we need to do is to Believe. BELIEVE in Him and His Mercy. Believe that while everyone has stranded you, He stays. He ALWAYS stays. When we are patient, He blesses us and increase our levels. He will reward us in the HereAfter where happiness will be our permanent abode. And no trouble will be found.
Just have to do a little thing. Perform obligatory prayers and observe patience when struck with an affliction. His Help is always near.
May Allah give us the ability to do so,Ameen.
2:85 Reflection #08
{After this, it is you who kill one another and drive out a party of you from their homes assist (their enemies) against them, in sin and transgression. And if they come to you as captives, you ransom them, although their expulsion was forbidden to you. Then do you believe in a part of the Scripture and reject the rest? Then what is the recompense of those who do so among you, except disgrace in the life of this world, and on the Day of Resurrection they shall be consigned on the most grievous torment. And Allah is not unaware of what you do.} [2:85]
This verse talks about the promise made between Jews and Allah. The promise which had 4 conditions.
-Not to oppress their fellow mates
– No bloodshed should be exercised
– Shouldn’t exile their fellow mates and let them stay in their homes peacefully
-Taking ransom to free one of their members.
The Jews didnt keep their promise and broke it. At least the 3 of them. They continued to take ransom for them however. They played witness in their promise to Allah and swore not to break it. Which later turned out to be a lie. According to their Scripture, they knew that Prophet Muhammad SAW (Allah’s Last Messenger) will show up in a place like this, desert type. Which is why they travelled to Madina to find him although they’re in dispute with each other. They used to kill each other, fight each other and took ransoms from each other to free each other. They broke the first 3 promises and kept only the last one which was to take ransom. At this, Allah is asking that what do they expect to get at this behaviour. Except being at loss in both, this world and the end. They used to do things for showoff but not for the peace of their hearts. They used to work against the orders of Allah and did what they found convenient.
The lesson which can be derived from this verse is that when following Allah’s commands we cant pick and choose. One can not follow whats convenient for him/her. That is not how you follow a religion, let alone Islam. Islam doesnot work like that. Dont make fun of Allah’s orders and dont disobey Him.
Quran, the Book of Allah, is like a mirror in which we should find ourselves. We should look at it and find the same things in ourselves which can be done after fulfilling the commandments ordained by Allah. Only then we would be able to see the beauty in ourselves which we find in Quran. Following those orders which are easy to follow and do not challenge you or disrupt your life. Thats pretty easy to handle. The real test of faith is to establish your lives on the grounds of each and every command set by Allah only then you’d be able to testify to your faith in Allah. Some might be easy and some might be hard, some might require you to make a change in your life a big one rather. No doubt that takes a lot of courage and effort to do so but one should be focusing on the end product.
It also attracts one’s attention on the seriousness of making a promise. Once you promise, you must fulfill it. Be it with Allah or His Creation. Remember we will be answerable in front of Him for every little deed we did here, in this world. It doesn’t take a second for the diamond to emerge from a stone, it takes a lot of hardwork to produce such a beauty.
May Allah give us the courage to do the same with our lives and may we lead them in accordance to the teachings of Quran and Sunnah, Ameen.
Misconceptions about Istekhara
Today, I thought of enlightening people about a certain topic which holds great importance in the life of Muslims.
Most of the people I see today have misunderstood the purpose and way one should carry out istekhara. The correct way is mentioned in the above hadith.
When a marriage proposal came for me, I did istekhara myself. But my parents wanted to confirm it somehow from my Aalim cousin. I was supposed to tell him about my ‘dream’ which he could interpret in order to find if this marriage will be fruitful for me not. I turned down this idea.
I was in opposition of the fact that my dream had to be interpreted. Allah has set for us a clear cut guideline but since the day one people have been creating misunderstandings for themselves and deriving wrong interpretations.
Istekhara doesnot have to have a dream. We do istekhara in order to take a certain decision and to seek Allah’s help. And the doing of Istekhara isnot confined to marriage business only.
It can be done for any of your life decision.
For instance if you have been offered a job for which you have to leave your current job and country, the money’s good but you are torn between the choice of leaving back your family here and the old job where you are acquainted with everyone. It is a tough decision to make. However, you decide to take the job. After making the decision you do istekhara and seek Allah’s help to make everything run smoothly. If you are faced with hurdles along the path it would mean that it is not good for you. Things like maybe they take back the job offer or maybe you are unable to get your passport or visa. All you need to do is to read signs.
And if its good for you then maybe your new employer would send you the ticket for travelling or that after reaching there you get an instant promotion.
People nowadays either rely on their dreams or on other people who will interpret those dreams for you. In some cases, the family refuse to do istekhara itself and ask the Aalim to do it for them as if he knows the both parties.
I absolutely find this nonsense. How can a stranger decide such a thing for you. How can he possibly know whats best for you more than you.
Its not only nonsensical but also against what Allah has prescribed. Its possible that doing it in such a way might be considered as bidah because its not the sunnah way. You have to have complete faith in Allah after performing Istekhara. He is the only capable One of making the right decisions. By performing Istekhara, we can ensure ourselves that whatever happens it will be in your best interests and Allah is always with you.
So correct your ways and get rid off such bidahs from your life. May Allah guide us on the right path, Ameen.
Reflection #07, 2:105
{Neither those who disbelieve among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) nor Al-Mushrikun (the idolators, polytheists,disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah, pagans) like that there should be sent down unto you any good from your Lord. But Allah chooses for His Mercy whom He wills. And Allah is the Owner of Great Bounty.} [2:105]
This verse is basically intended towards Prophet SAW. The backstory of this verse is that the disbelievers (all kinds) didn’t want prophethood to befall on Muhammad SAW. But when it did, they left no stone unturned in making his life hard to bear.
So Allah declares in this verse that these disbelievers dont want any good for you. They dont want you to succeed in anything let alone in spreading the message of Allah. Which is why they try to create hurdles in your way.
But Allah is the best Planner and is the only One capable of doing anything He wants. He gives the shade of His Mercy to whomever He wants. Allah SWT gave His Mercy to Prophet SAW by helping him out in this tough phase. Goodness lies with Allah only.
Mankind has been sent to this world to spread goodness. In this journey, he meets all kinds of people. Some become his friends and some foes. This is a part of life and one should accept it. Because everything happens according to Allah’s decree.
People who have hatred in their hearts can never see good in anyone. If they see someone succeeding in something their hearts burn with contempt. The same way disbelievers behaved in the case of Prophet Muhammad SAW.
They cant bear the fact of something good happening to someone. But no one’s evil eye, jealousy or hatred can harm you unless Allah intends. Its only upto Allah what happens to us, not to a man who is Allah’s creation.
One lesson which we can learn from this verse is that the people who firmly believe in Allah and His Messenger SAW fall in the category of special people of Allah. They have nothing to fear. Allah protects them from all kinds of harm.
We should always lay out our hands in front of Allah only and with sheer hope and faith in Allah that He is the only One who can fulfill your needs.
Whenever struck with a calamity, one should only remember Allah for He is only One capable of granting tranquility to one’s heart and make things easier.
We should ask protection from the insinuations of Shaytaan because he doesnt leave any chance of diverting us from our path, path of Allah. And its in the vulnerable conditions when we face the real test of faith. So pray to Allah for His Mercy and protection.
If anyone wants to harm you or doesnt want you to succeed you should find comfort in supplicating to Allah and having utter faith in His Mercy. Not even a speck of dust can harm you if Allah doesn’t wills.
The Covenant of Allah: Reflection #06
{Those who break Allah’s Covenant after ratifying it, and sever what Allah has ordered to be joined (as regards Allah’s religion of Islamic Monotheism, and to practice its laws on the earth and also as regards keeping good relations with kith and kin), and do mischief on earth, it is they who are the losers.} [2:27]
This verse specifically talks about a certain group of people. The kind who break the covenant between them and Allah at the time of creation of mankind. That they will obey Allah and His Last Messenger SAW and fashion their lives according to His teachings. Such people who transgressed the following 3 things which Allah commanded them to do:
- Follow Allah’s religion i.e. religion of Monotheism (there is no God but Allah).
- Practice the orders prescribed by Allah in our lives.
- To maintain ties of kinship.
When the universe was created, every being made a covenant with the Creator i.e. Allah. Anyone who violates that covenant will face adversity on the Day of Judgment. Allah is mentioning such people who have and will do that. The covenant was taken into account when we came into this world and embraced our religion after reciting Tashahud (There is no god but Allah and Prophet Muhammad SAW is His last Messenger). Often times, we don’t keep our promise because we become so engrossed in the illusion of this world. We cut off these things from our life which Allah had decreed us to involve in our lives. Which were to worship only Him and do whatever He has asked us to do. Lead our lives according to the teachings of Quran and Sunnah. Preserve the ties of kinship. But instead we have deviated from that path, the path of Sirat-ul-Mustaqeem. Whoever manages to take the above mentioned orders out of their lives have lost everything. They are the ultimate losers, in this life and after. They will be left empty-handed on the Day of Judgment and will be crying their wits out and pleading in front of Allah for one more chance but it will too late. Lets not be among those people.
Don’t break your covenant with Allah be it the one of Monotheism or concerns your everyday life. We make a lot of promises, to Allah and to people. Promising to someone is just like promising to Allah. You need to fulfill each one of them for you to be successful on the Day of Judgment. People who break their promises and cut off ties with Allah and their kin are in great loss. The saddest part is most of them don’t realize it until its too late.
Let alone following Quran and Sunnah, we treat our kin like strangers. Mostly we treat them with sheer cruelty and hatred as if we are dealing with enemies. I have seen it in my own relatives. At one time we are like best buddies ever, like sister and brothers and treating them with ample amount of respect and on the other hand, if that specific person has done something to offend us, we leave no stone unturned in making their lives hard or cut off relations with them.
{Narrated Jubair bin Mutim RA that he heard the Prophet SAW saying, “Al-Qati (the person who severs the bond of kinship) will not enter Paradise.”} [Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol.8,hadith no.13]
I have the first hand experience with such situations. We forget that Allah has ordered us to sustain our relationship with our relatives and loved ones but instead we do the contrary. By doing so, we are not only breaching the covenant but often times we end up backbiting about that certain loved one which is an another heinous sin. Our ego manages to win over our faith, our promise. Our pride doesn’t let us act humanely. We turn into these mean creatures who have no sense of compassion. We don’t know how to forgive, we forget that despite committing sins we are pardoned by Allah when we repent in front of Him. Then why cant we do the same with its Creation. Why cant we be humble and selfless enough to do that. Only for the sake of Allah, why cant we put our pride aside for one second?
In order to spread Allah’s religion, we need to follow it first which sadly we don’t. We are not sincere with our jobs. The job Allah appointed us for. To spread His religion. How can we ask someone to embrace Islam when we, ourselves, are failing at it. We should be doing dawah in our free time, but instead we’ve filled those slots with all kinds of other worldly things to keep ourselves busy. Things which entertain us for the time being. The worry of what will become of us on the Day of Judgment have completely left us or at least mostly it has. We wake up thinking we have a long life to live, but in reality we don’t even know if we will make it in the next second. That’s how unpredictable our lives are.
Lets promise ourselves to improve ourselves. Lets put this worldly chaos aside for a moment. Lets live for ourselves, for our Creator, for our religion. Lets spread the word. Lets not break the oath we took even before we came into this world and forgot all about it. Lets repair our relationship with Allah. Lets make Him happy. This Ramadan, take an oath. An oath to never sever ties with your kin no matter how badly they treat you, don’t let them take the best of you. Treat them with kindness and affection. Help them if you have to. It will make Allah happy. Because its all about making Him happy at the end of every day, every second. Let this verse fluctuate your heart. Let this beautiful month make a difference to your life this year. Let it alter your thought, your being. Just let it be. We don’t have much time on our hands, make sure you use it wisely and make it turn in your favor and be blessed with the glad tidings of Paradise. May Allah guide us all, Ameen.
metamorphosingbeing 