No More Excuses

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

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Every time you give an excuse for not following the command of Allah and the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, Abdullah dhu al-bijadain, Allah be pleased with him, will say to you, "You have no excuse."

Abdullah dhu al-bijadain belonged to Musayna tribe. His father was the leader of the tribe. He became orphaned when he was small and his uncle took care of him. He was a very spoiled kid. By today's standard he was like a teenager owning sports cars, the fastest laptop and all new gadgets that come to the market. Among other things, he owned 2 horses and had all the comfort of dunya that others around him didn't have. The door of the dunya was opened wide to him.

He became Muslim at the age of 16. Although his uncle was good to him but when he heard that Abdullah became Muslim he took everything from him.

He learned the verses that were revealed from the Companions but later the Companions stopped teaching him because they had to emigrate to Madinah.

He used to go outside into the desert everyday to learn the deen. How about some of us? You are home on your bed and the deen come to your lap (through the internet, satellite, etc.) but you don't learn the religion, you don't follow the sunnah, you don't practice the religion like you should. Abdullah went out to the desert to pray. You have mosques all around you but you have many excuses not to go to the masjid to pray.

Abdullah didn't leave his uncle and his family right away to join the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, because he wanted to call his family to Islam and save them from Hellfire. He did this patiently for 3 years.

At the age of 19, he emigrated to Madina and joined the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace. His uncle had taken everything from him even his clothing. So he cut a large sack into 2 pieces to clothe him and so he traveled to Madina in only this 2-piece covering. He was nicknamed Abdullah dhu al-bijadain by the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, when he arrived in Madina because of what he had on him. When he met the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, he had a lot of knowledge of the deen--3 years being a Muslim under difficult situation, surrounded by community of hostile non-believers.

Many of us have been Muslims for decades and had a pretty easy (some very comfortable) life. How much do we know of this deen? Why are we not following the teachings and the sunnah of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace? Is it because you think religion is for old people? Do you think you are too young to die? Or are you thinking you will start getting your act together and start to pray, put hijab, learn and read the Qur'an, get up for night prayer, go to hajj and learn Islam seriously after you finish college or after you have a steady job or after you get married? Any excuse you have in your mind, Abdullah will tell you that it is not a valid excuse.

At age of 23, Abdullah followed the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, to Tabuk for a battle. On the way, he asked the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, to make du'a for him to die as a martyr. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, made du'a: "O Allah, make his body safe from their swords."

Abdullah had a high fever during the journey. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, Allah be pleased with him, narrated that: It was in middle of the night that I got up and saw some activity at the fire at the edge of the camp. When I pursued the light, I saw Abu Bakr and Umar (Allah be pleased with them both) with Abdullah dhu al-bijadain who had passed away. I saw the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, digging a grave for him and and then he lied down in it. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "O Allah, I am pleased with him, so be pleased with him."

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud said, "I wish this is my grave and I have been a Muslim 15 years before him."

Abdullah died at the age of 23. The deen is here now and it has to be practiced now. We cannot run after this temporal life and destroy our next eternal life. We have to work hard and not waste any time. Death can come anytime but the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, taught is to live for the sake Allah. As long as we are doing everything for the sake of Allah--seeking knowledge, earning a living, getting married, having children, serving our parents, etc--if you do all these for the sake of Allah, you are in a state of jihad and if you die, you die a martyr. Obviously, there are ranks of shaheed. Allah knows best.

May Allah guide us and grant us righteous deeds so He loves and be pleased with us. May Allah give us tawfiq. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayer. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam.