Thought Provoking Reflections Seasons of Life Our life can be compared to the four seasons, one succeeding another-autumn, winter, spring and summer. Everything is in constant motion; day and night, health and sickness, youth and old age, tranquility and tension, wealth and poverty, life and death are all examples of the transient nature of our lives. Nothing is meant to last forever and at different levels we all experience these successive stages of life. All of these are part of destiny-what has already been ordained. The challenge is how we behave once faced with our destiny! The key of success in this case is faith. If we have faith it will lead us to always be content and be thankful to the Creator, the owner of destiny. Happy times will never be forever, neither would the sad times. We will always be fluctuating between give and take; the state of receiving a blessing and the state of losing one. Regardless of what state we are in, life will continue. And just the like that, the journey of iman (faith) must continue. We will have obstacles in our journey of iman just like in any other journey, but if eyes are on the prize, there is nothing we cannot overcome. What about family, spouse, job demands, social and educational obligations becoming a hindrance? This life will continue with the things we desire and do not desire, with the things we like and dislike. A believer knows that Allah SWT does not take from him except to give him. This giving might be in the form of a blessing in this life, or in the form of good deeds in the next. The real point of concern is how to leave this life with a legacy and a sign that will benefit us and benefit others. The focus should be on how to please our Lord so that our Lord will please us and allow us to attain our purpose in life and leave a mark in this world. These thoughts can take a lifetime to internalize! Irrespective of the fact that all of us have experienced these seasonal changes in our lives, we behave with an attitude of permanency towards this world. It is as if we have not heard of people dying. Regardless of the educational level, the distinguished titles of doctor or engineer, and the amount of wealth one has successfully accumulated, death is an inevitable reality that everyone must experience. It will be you and I tomorrow, it is just a matter of time. It is not an issue of ‘if’ but ‘when’. And at this point, what will matter most is how we spent our lives and what we did with the blessings that Allah SWT had given us. How many of us when making decisions question ourselves as to whether this decision will lead me to heaven or hell? How many of us plan our actions according to the kind of legacy we want to leave behind in this world? How many of us are vigilant about our behavior, well aware of the fact that everything in this world will either bear witness to us or against us? How many of us are ‘men’ (or women) as Allah describes in the following ayah: Among the believers are men true to what they promised Allah . Among them is he who has fulfilled his vow [to the death], and among them is he who awaits [his chance]. And they did not alter [the terms of their commitment] by any alteration. (33:23) All of this is dependent on niyyah-intention, purpose and will which is located in the heart. A scholar has divided niyyah into two components: knowledge and action. Knowledge Includes the Following: Knowledge of things you want to do or do not want to do; The purpose and goal of what you want to do; Why you want or do not want to do something. According to your knowledge, you will determine what your actions mean to you, how much you believe in them and their purpose, and what you are going to achieve from them for yourself and others. This will generate the niyyah of whether to carry out the action or avoid it. By this way, the niyyah itself stands on three pillars: Knowledge; will/desire to do; the ability to do it. The more you know about something the more convinced you become about your view of it. And the more you believe in it, the more it will generate a will. This is what pushes you and gives you the strength to carry out the actions! And all this is the PILLAR or pre-requisite of niyyah, meaning niyyah is after all this! What is the purpose of knowing all of the above? A mo’min (believer) weighs all his actions according to the teachings and pleasure of Allah and His prophet SAW. A believer will always question his intentions asking before each action: Why yes, and why not? What am I going to gain from this act in this life and the hereafter? And how does it help me leave the kind of legacy I want to leave behind in this world? This is called sincerity. Sincerity is the purity of intention where you do everything just to please Allah SWT without waiting for any acknowledgment from others. Instead your reward is the pleasure of Allah and the benefit of Muslims and all mankind. The Essence of Pressure Olives are pressed, squeezed and grinded between rocks in order to get pure oil, the best of the olive. The same is done to the fruits in order to extract their best, the juice. Flowers are grinded in order to extort the essence and perfume, the very best of flowers. Musk, one of the most expensive perfumes, is skillfully derived from the blood of gazelles. Nature seems to have a system where the very best of anything is derived after putting it through the worst torture. Then what about you and me? Allah SWT sometimes puts us through very tough situations, situations that we don’t like and that cause a lot of pressure and squeeze. Why? The same law of nature: Allah SWT wants the best of us. What makes people different from each other is how they rise above these difficulties and make the best out of them. It is the iman (faith) of the person and ability to show gratitude under hardships that raises him in the sight of Allah. It is his total and utter desperation to Allah SWT and his complete reliance and trust in Him SWT that earns him victory and relief from difficulties. This is what distinguishes a believer from a non-believer, a victorious person from a defeated one. It is not easy but when a person knows that Allah SWT is the only one in control of everything and that He is the owner of destiny and holds the keys to all closed doors, then one surrenders and submits to Allah, is patient, and hopes for the reward in this life and the hereafter. Reward and blessings from Allah can be in various forms; Allah can reward a person in this life by decorating him with the qualities beloved to Him SWT such as patience, gratitude, and contentment. Or He SWT can reward a person in the hereafter by forgiving his sins and granting him paradise- the eternal land of pleasure. Once this knowledge is firmly inculcated in your heart, you will fall in love with Allah SWT and with everything that happens in your life. Both the sweetest and the toughest times will be beloved to your heart because you know they are ordained by Allah SWT. You will be content because you know that Allah SWT loves you and is trying to purify you in order to bring the best out of you. The best in a person is the ability to sacrifice whatever it takes to get closer to Allah SWT, to only seek His assistance, and be in a state of constant gratitude to Him. Once you discover that, you will be overflowing with the love of Allah and will be eager to share this love with all the creation. Ignorance Generates Misery A wise man once said that there are two who neither knowledge nor wisdom can benefit: an ignorant person and a dead person. An ignorant person is an enemy of his own self. Luqman Al-Hakeem said that an ignorant person perceives himself to be on the straight path and of being right, and that is why he cannot change himself. The signs of ignorant are six: 1. He gets angry easily without any reasoning. 2. He talks without any purpose or benefit. 3. He gives to those who do not deserve. 4. He is blind to the point he is unable to differentiate his enemy from his friend. 5. He betrays the trust and secrets of others. 6. He trusts everyone, even the fools. Our example is like that of an artist. The artist gets a canvas and fills it with colors according to his own feelings and beliefs. When he is done, it is his own work! You and I, we are born with an empty canvas and when we die, we will leave behind our canvases which we have painted during our life with our actions, manners and character-whether good or bad. Ask yourself as to what kind of painting you are planning to leave behind? What colors do you plan to use? Are you painting a colorful picture full of faith, generosity, kindness, goodness, compassion, and mercy? Or are you leaving behind an ugly canvas painted with unattractive colors of stinginess, bad manners, injustice, oppression, and ignorance? Ramadan-The Month of Allah Very soon we will enter Ramadan, the month of Allah, of Qur’an, of fasting, of mercy, of forgiveness, of ‘Afw (pardon); the month of laylatul qadr, and the month of purification from hellfire. This is the month that can change our destiny in this life and the hereafter. It is the month in which provision increases. This is the month of self reflection when the shayateen are chained; this is the time to train oneself to be an ‘abd (slave of Allah) and to elevate one’s soul from the animalistic behavior to human and angelic behavior. Allah SWT has set this month aside for His slaves to reflect over their bad habits and innate weaknesses and convert them to good habits beloved to Allah SWT. Ramadan is the month of developing awareness and vigilance of the heart and actions. This is the month to learn about the status of our hearts and piety. This is the month of showing gratitude to Allah, the month to gain rushd (status to gain guidance mixed with wisdom, vision). This is the time to behave with the qualities beloved to Allah such as generosity, humbleness and humility, exercising forgiveness and pardon towards others, taking care of people’s needs and to be nice and compassionate to them, and to love goodness for others. All in all, it is the time to show the best of ourselves to Allah SWT. For the believers, this month is like an intensive care unit, a rehab center, the tune up month, their bank-Ilahi account, their business investment-both for dunya and akhirah. May Allah SWT accept us to be among the fasting Muslims and not those who will not gain anything from their fast except hunger and thirst. This is the month in which we can elevate ourselves and decorate ourselves with the qualities, attitude, character and manners beloved to Allah and His Prophet SAW. This is the month in which we should make special du’a for the whole ummah, for mankind, and for ourselves to become a source of spreading the message and mercy of Islam to mankind. May Allah accept us among those who will be the keys of goodness, the lock of evil, and put His blessings in everything we say and we do. May Allah SWT bless us with a good ending and His pleasure. Ameen, Ameen Ya Rabbal ‘Alameen.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 18:25:32 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015