In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Half of the year has just passed us. Whether we had fun or not, those were precious moments that we cannot bring back. If you have filled them with good works, it is good for you, but if you have used it to chase after this world, it is your lost opportunity--opportunity to draw closer to the Master. And if you are trampling over others to get there, and if you harbor rancor, indeed it is a great loss.
We don't know when our end is going to be. So always be prepared. Avoid doing anything that could harm others (guard your tongue and be extra careful when you speak) and always look to fulfill your obligations towards others; give people their due rights and not demand your rights. Don't busy yourself with this life. Know that the basket is always full and will remain full with things to do until the day you die. So, prioritize. Busy your life with what will benefit you the most in the next life. For each moment, strive to do the optimal. Optimal varies for each individual and each situation, and what is optimal for a particular moment does not necessarily mean direct worship. It can be taking medicine at that moment when you are ill or helping a neighbor find her lost kitten.
The blessed month of Ramadhan is just around the corner (starting on July 9 or 10 based on some calculation) and this month of Sha'ban is our opportunity to make physical and spiritual preparations. If we have not done so or fall short, it is not too late yet. We have a few Sha'ban days left.
We can prepare for Allah's gaze.
Baihaqi relates, “When it is the first night of the month of Ramadan, Allah, Mighty and Majestic, gazes to them and the one to whom Allah looks, He does not punish him, ever.”
The place to which Allah looks is the heart.
Allah Almighty says,
يَوْمَ لَا يَنفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ ﴿٨٨﴾ إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّـهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ[Qur'an Ash-Shu'ara 26:88-89]
The Day when there will not benefit [anyone] wealth or children (88) But only one who comes to Allah with a sound heart.
Narrated by Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
Verily Allah does not look to your bodies nor to your faces but He looks to your hearts."[Sahih Muslim]
And he pointed towards the heart with his fingers.
So what will Allah see in our hearts if He were to look to us on the first night of Ramadhan?
One of the qualities that would prevent us from this blessed gaze (and from many other opportunities for forgiveness) is malice.
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, taught us of the Night of Power and the Half Night of Sha’ban that those who harbor rancor, mistreat parents, severe bonds of kinship or drink are prevented from Allah’s merciful gaze. Do we want Allah to look to His servants on the first night of Ramadan and overlook us because we are bearing ill will against each other? Is whatever anyone has done to hurt us so important that we cannot overlook it in exchange for an opportunity for eternal salvation from Allah's punishment? What about all of those whom we have wronged? Do we not need Allah's pardon as well as theirs?
We can purify our hearts in preparation for this gaze from the Merciful, Forgiving Lord and also expose ourselves to an opportunity for His pardon when we need it most, by pardoning His servants.
Allah Almighty says,
وَجَزَاءُ سَيِّئَةٍ سَيِّئَةٌ مِّثْلُهَا ۖ فَمَنْ عَفَا وَأَصْلَحَ فَأَجْرُهُ عَلَى اللَّـهِ ۚ إِنَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الظَّالِمِينَ ﴿٤٠[Quran Ash-Ashura 42:40].
And the retribution for an evil act is an evil one like it, but whoever pardons and makes reconciliation - his reward is [due] from Allah. Indeed, He does not like wrongdoers. (40)
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,
A caller will call [on the Day of Rising], ‘Let him stand whose reward is upon Allah and let him enter
paradise’ Then he will call a second time, ‘Let him stand whose reward is upon Allah and let him enter paradise’ It will be said, ‘Who is the one whose reward is upon Allah, Mighty and Majestic?’ He will say, ‘Those who pardon people.’ Then he will call a third time, ‘Let him stand whose reward is upon Allah and let him enter paradise.’ Then so and so many thousand will stand and enter paradise without reckoning.[Tabarani]
Imagine being among that fortunate group and having all of our many sins forgiven and receiving our reward directly from Allah.
In preparation for the blessed first night of Ramadhan, let us pardon one another and all of Allah's servants.
O Allah, if any of Your slaves have transgressed the rights You have prescribed to me, they are excused. I ask you to grant them and me Paradise, and that You make us among its dwellers whom You have described in Your saying, "And We will remove whatever is in their breasts of resentment, [so they will be] brothers, on thrones facing each other. (47)" [Quran Al-Hijr 15:47].
I ask anyone who I have wronged to seek their due from me and forgive me.
رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا وَلِإِخْوَانِنَا الَّذِينَ سَبَقُونَا بِالْإِيمَانِ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ فِي قُلُوبِنَا غِلًّا لِّلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ رَءُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ
Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith and put not in our hearts [any] resentment toward those who have believed. Our Lord, indeed You are Kind and Merciful. [Quran Al-Hashr 59:10]
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Related archives:
What to do before this Ramadhan
Welcoming Sha'ban
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