A Transformation

بسم اللخ الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

It is important to realize that Islam is for our advantage. It is not a burden that Allah has put on us. If Allah said to do something it is only because He wants us to enter Paradise. These are the best actions for us. They are not something we must do and we will only see the benefits after we die. It is not like that. Our world is only rectified through Islam and our next world's rank is only through this religion. If we understand this, we will love doing what Allah wants us to do.

Allah created us and He didn't leave us to wander alone to figure out things. He sent His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, to teach us and to guide us to excellence. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, brought a program of change. He didn't bring philosophies. He brought things to do. So Islam is our own personal school of change.

No doubt change takes time. So what? Time is the creation of Allah. And success is from Him alone. But you have to take the steps now even a small one. Each step you take you are that much closer to Allah.

It maybe difficult for you to wake up for fajr prayer for example. But you make up the prayer once you wake up. And you try harder tomorrow to wake up for fajr. You fight the nafs and the Shaytan. You might still not able to overcome them tomorrow but you try again the next day, much harder this time, and keep trying until not only you can wake up for fajr, you find yourself waking up for tahajjud. Maybe you like to look at girls. Now you know it is unlawful to do that. Next time when you see a girl passing by, you lower your gaze and turn the other way. You do this until you don't care about looking at girls anymore. Maybe you dress to attract guys or to show off. Now you know that is unlawful. So you tone down your clothing when you go out until you are able to put on a full proper hijab and don't care about what people think of you.

By learning what is obligatory, by trying your best, sometimes falling on your face, praying for forgivness, trying again, you are on the road to Allah. And there is no road other than the road of the obligatory. The most important thing we can do is to learn what is obligatory on us. This is what the scholars of Fiqh has detailed for us. All of us should learn the basics of Islamic law. Once we get the obligatory in place, then comes the recommended. It is not to say that you wait until you have done the obligatory before you do the recommended, but the obligatory is the basis. Without it there is no one going anywhere.

Our religious life flourishes by doing more and more recommended acts, e.g. extra charity, extra prayers, extra fasting, good character, and doing the things that Allah loves. We keep doing them and increase them until we die.

There is no door to excellence other than learning Islam and submitting to Islam. We are talking about a very powerful change, a transformation. Only something powerful from Allah can take us there. It involves doing what is not familiar and doing it whether we like it or not until we enter the realm of "He loves them and they love Him." This is when we have entered the world of closeness to Allah. May Allah give us tawfiq and make us among those who He loves. Ameen.

And Allah knows best.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

Wassalaam