In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
وَعَسَىٰٓ أَن تَكْرَهُوا۟ شَيْـًٔا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ۖ وَعَسَىٰٓ أَن تُحِبُّوا۟ شَيْـًٔا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَّكُمْ ۗ وَٱللَّـهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿٢١٦ ...[Qur'an Al-Baqarah 2:216]
... But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not. (216)
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said about Divine Decree (Qadr):
Narrated Shabi: “When Adi bin Hatim came to Kufah, we came to him with a delegation of the Fuqaha of Kufah and said to him: 'Tell us of something that you heard from the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace.' He said: 'I came to the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, and he said: “O 'Adi bin Hatim, enter islam and you will be safe.” I said, “Whats is islam?” He said: “To testify to La ilaha illallah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah) and that I am the Messenger of Allah, and to believe in all the Divine Decrees, the good of them and the bad of them, the sweet of them and the bitter of them.”...[Ibn Majah]
Trials generally pose a faith crisis. And trials can knock out of people. This is also the time our true character appears. This is when iman (faith) is crucial. A true believer will not lash out on others or throw objects at people, especially at innocent people or people trying to help, when something bad happen. They understand nothing happen without Allah's will.
مَآ أَصَابَ مِن مُّصِيبَةٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ ٱللَّـهِ ۗ وَمَن يُؤْمِنۢ بِٱللَّـهِ يَهْدِ قَلْبَهُۥ ۚ وَٱللَّـهُ بِكُلِّ شَىْءٍ عَلِيمٌ ﴿١١[Qur'an At-Taghabun 64:11]
No disaster strikes except by permission of Allah. And whoever believes in Allah - He will guide his heart. And Allah is Knowing of all things. (11)
It is a reality that not even a particle can move without the Divine will. Without the will of Allah no one can harm or benefit anyone. If a person does not believe in Allah and the Divine destination, he would not have any means of comforting himself when a calamity befalls him. He receives it with despair, and gropes for means of alleviating it. A believer, on the other hand, who reposes his faith in Divine will and destination is guided by Allah, and his heart is filled with peace and tranquility. Allah will guide his heart to certainty of faith. Therefore, he will know with certainty that whatever difficulty afflicts him could never have missed him, and whatever adversity has missed him could never have afflicted him. As a result of this belief, he is promised a reward in the Hereafter, which he keeps in view all the time. This strong belief in the promise of a reward in the Hereafter alleviates the worst calamity of this world.
True believers are content with the Divine decree. This does not mean we are content with hardships or evil. We are not content with the hardship, nor evil, nor anything that entails disobedience of Allah, but the fact that Allah decreed it and that this is the test He chose for us, this is where we submit and say, "I am content with Allah as my Lord." When we rise to deal with problems or to combat evil and oppression, that is part of Divine decree. Allah gives tawfiq to us when we do good.
Just as Allah creates disease, He has created cure, so we take the cure to alleviate our problem with the sickness. Just as Allah decreed problems in this world, He has decreed solutions for those problems, so we should take it upon ourselves to struggle to be part of the solution to the problems.
One of the beautiful benefits of believing in the Divine decree, even the disappearance of a commercial aircraft or oppression in the world is part of the unfolding of the Divine decree. When we see that, we will have taqwa (God-consciousness) in our response. This is crucial. We have limits in our response, that is part of our taqwa and ethics -- not only I have to obey Allah when I am faced or dealing with problems, I have to rely on Allah to give me tawfiq in dealing with the problems. Nothing will prove difficult when you seek through Allah and nothing will prove easy when you seek through yourself. [Hikam Ibn 'Ata'illa]
Iman (faith) is the most precious thing that we have, not only for our eternal salvation in the Hereafter but before that -- to help us in times of distress, to enable us to put things in context of the bigger picture, and aid us to maintain a balanced and happy life here. So we should nurture our iman, the most sublime of gifts to us, and struggle to reach the highest of iman, and protect it for our dear life and never leave any door for the shaytan to snatch it away. We struggle and struggle to reach contentment with Allah. We don't just sit around.
Knowledge is key success. Some knowledge is obligatory for everyone--the basics of belief and practice. So seek them. "Whoever follows a path to seek knowledge therein, Allah will make easy for him the path to Paradise."
Begin with reciting a small portion of the Qur'an daily and embody and reflect on its teachings. If we reflect on the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, he is really the locus of the most perfect reflection of the Qur'an. Every single virtue is manifested in the person of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, to the extent that his wife, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), when asked by a companion, described his character as being the Qur’an. Allah declared to him, ”Verily, you are of a magnificent character.” [Qur'an Al-Qalam 68:4]. He embodied the perfect and complete practice of Qur’anic tenets in his life and his companions followed suit by emulating his character.
Allah is pleased with the Companions and described them in good terms in the Qur'an.
وَٱلسَّـٰبِقُونَ ٱلْأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ ٱلْمُهَـٰجِرِينَ وَٱلْأَنصَارِ وَٱلَّذِينَ ٱتَّبَعُوهُم بِإِحْسَـٰنٍ رَّضِىَ ٱللَّـهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا۟ عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّـٰتٍ تَجْرِى تَحْتَهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَدًا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ ﴿١٠٠[Qur'an At-Tawba 9:100]
And the first forerunners [in the faith] among the Muhajireen and the Ansar and those who followed them with good conduct - Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him, and He has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great attainment. (100)
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, praised them.
“Verily the best among you (to follow) is my generation, then those who follow, and then those who follow them…”[Muslim]
Ultimately, this is our goal in this life -- gaining the pleasure of Allah and attaining His Love.
May Allah enable us to embody the teachings of His beloved Messenger, sallallahu alayhi wassallam, and let us die at the highest of iman and place us in the company of His beloved. Ameen.
Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Related Archives:
Shielding Our Iman
No comments:
Post a Comment