بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
The very steps you take to go about your daily lives, think of where those steps are going to land you in the next life. Perhaps these thoughts will pull you away from taking those steps that will take you to Hellfire and will rush to take those steps that will take you to Paradise, by Allah's Mercy. Indeed, the life Hereafter is no joke! It is either bliss or torment. The pain and sorrow in this life is nothing compared to the severity of the torment of the grave, Day of resurrection and Hell. No happiness in this life is comparable to the bliss in the Afterlife. The Qur'an describes these future events to help us make the right choices. That's why it is good to read the Qur'an everyday, so we are reminded all the time. If you recite and close to the Qur'an, it will be your companion in the next life, where all your friends and relatives won't be there to help you--they have their own huge problems to deal with at that time!
Sometimes, we behave as if there is no tomorrow--indulging ourselves with the world, fighting, arguing, stepping on people's toes, backbiting, gossiping, slandering, being selfish, cheating, being lazy, wasting our time, procrastinating, and so on. There is tomorrow---and tomorrow is Paradise or Hell. Allah gives us the opportunity to choose our final abode. If we choose Paradise then we must change our ways that go against the teachings of Islam and constantly increasing and improving our worship, even if you are praying, fasting, giving charity and so on, because there is always a better prayer, a better fasting, a better charity. By this sincere effort that we hope to gain the mercy of Allah so that He will put us into Paradise and grant us His Noble Countenance, and not put us into Hell. Allah is all-Thankful. The only way you can improve your worship is through having proper Islamic knowledge and du'a.
Narrated Ibn `Umar, Allah be pleased with him: The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "When the people of Paradise have entered Paradise and the people of the Fire have entered the Fire, death will be brought and will be placed between the Fire and Paradise, and then it will be slaughtered, and a call will be made (that), 'O people of Paradise, no more death! O people of the Fire, no more death! ' So the people of Paradise will have happiness added to their previous happiness, and the people of the Fire will have sorrow added to their previous sorrow." (Bukhari)
Narrated Abu Sa`id Al−Khudri, Allah be pleased with him: The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah will say to the people of Paradise, 'O the people of Paradise!' They will say, 'Labbaik, O our Lord, and Sa`daik!' Allah will say, 'Are you pleased?" They will say, 'Why should we not be pleased since You have given us what You have not given to anyone of Your creation?' Allah will say, 'I will give you something better than that.' They will reply, 'O our Lord! And what is better than that?' Allah will say, 'I will bestow My pleasure and contentment upon you so that I will never be angry with you after forever.' " (Bukhari)
"(Some) faces on that day shall be bright, looking to their Lord. And (other) faces on that day shall be gloomy, knowing that there will be made to befall them some great calamity." Al-Qiyaamah 75:22-25
May Allah resurrect us with His beloved, Allah bless him and grant him peace, and enter us into Paradise with him. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Showing posts with label noble countenance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label noble countenance. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Looking at Detriment and benefit
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Imagine you want to be a lawyer or a doctor. Lawyers and doctors can tell you the pains of the journey to become one but a very rewarding journey nonetheless regardless the many years of many sleepless nights, bags under our eyes, feeling miserable, anxieties, spending lots money, no social life. Then after we graduated, it's not over yet--another big test--the Bar exam or the Board exam (for the doctors). Oh yes, I know about the Bar exams--passing the bar is not easy---20 to 40% passing rate in California--it is not so much a test to see how much we know (that was already done in law school exams)--but how much we can work under pressure, how much we can endure 3 solid days of doing nothing except working our brains off reading hundreds of cases, sifting through issues and applying the law! You don't hear anyone say, "bad law school, bad State Bar, for denying me my sleep, my leisure--I have no life because of you, you take all my money, you make me sick! You don't question this, but you struggle patiently until you pass the Bar exam. You are thrilled to death when you receive the long awaited news of passing the Bar exam--almost every lawyer could tell you a story of that moment no matter how many decades ago they received this tremendous news--they could still remember the place, the time, the hows and the whats as if it was just yesterday. It was the most memorable time of a lawyer's life, perhaps their entire life! This is how we take the matters of this temporal life.
You don't mind the pains--lost of sleep, spent all your money, borrowed money, even endured divorce (law school is also a test of patience for the other spouse). Why? Because you see the gold mine at the end of the journey--wealth, status, prestige, and the like. (This is not to say some people don't have high goal which is to serve Allah with their degrees/career but most people don't go to law school or medical school having this goal in mind). You understand that you have to follow the rules of the Bar, Medical Board, etc, study hard and put your life on hold for many years is a huge detriment but it is a necessary detriment for that great benefit that ensued. (You can think of many other examples that apply to you but you get the idea.)
Likewise, you have to follow Allah's rules to rise in the ranks with Allah. You have to give up, among other things, your sleep to pray tahajjud, eating and drinking during fasting, your money to perform hajj or pay zakat or give charity. You have to endure people's chastisement for your scrupulousness and "being or looking different," etc. This is a huge detriment but remember the benefit is tremendous--eternal bliss, Allah's noble countenance in Paradise--this outweighs the detriment which is relatively a short period of time. Even if it is difficult, just keep doing it, do it and do it...until it become part of you that you don't care what people think of you anymore--this may take 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, 10 years but eventually you will get there inshaAllah. And the road to Him become easier and easier. And you would be able to experience the sweetness of being His slave even in this life. Allah loves the believers but you have to earn His love, i.e. obeying Him. You must follow His rules no matter how difficult or uneasy--do them, do them...after a while inshaAllah they become easy and become part of you. No benefit is without a detriment but find solace that the benefit outweighs the detriment--His love, which is what we have to strive and ask for. So stay up at night, go for a time without food in fasting, wear the hijab, give charity, etc. Learn what Allah wants you to do and keep learning, teach to others and apply what you learn. If you learn and apply something of sacred knowledge each day, you will see a big difference in your coming near to Allah in no time, inshaAllah.
May Allah give us all tawfiq. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. JazakAllah khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Imagine you want to be a lawyer or a doctor. Lawyers and doctors can tell you the pains of the journey to become one but a very rewarding journey nonetheless regardless the many years of many sleepless nights, bags under our eyes, feeling miserable, anxieties, spending lots money, no social life. Then after we graduated, it's not over yet--another big test--the Bar exam or the Board exam (for the doctors). Oh yes, I know about the Bar exams--passing the bar is not easy---20 to 40% passing rate in California--it is not so much a test to see how much we know (that was already done in law school exams)--but how much we can work under pressure, how much we can endure 3 solid days of doing nothing except working our brains off reading hundreds of cases, sifting through issues and applying the law! You don't hear anyone say, "bad law school, bad State Bar, for denying me my sleep, my leisure--I have no life because of you, you take all my money, you make me sick! You don't question this, but you struggle patiently until you pass the Bar exam. You are thrilled to death when you receive the long awaited news of passing the Bar exam--almost every lawyer could tell you a story of that moment no matter how many decades ago they received this tremendous news--they could still remember the place, the time, the hows and the whats as if it was just yesterday. It was the most memorable time of a lawyer's life, perhaps their entire life! This is how we take the matters of this temporal life.
You don't mind the pains--lost of sleep, spent all your money, borrowed money, even endured divorce (law school is also a test of patience for the other spouse). Why? Because you see the gold mine at the end of the journey--wealth, status, prestige, and the like. (This is not to say some people don't have high goal which is to serve Allah with their degrees/career but most people don't go to law school or medical school having this goal in mind). You understand that you have to follow the rules of the Bar, Medical Board, etc, study hard and put your life on hold for many years is a huge detriment but it is a necessary detriment for that great benefit that ensued. (You can think of many other examples that apply to you but you get the idea.)
Likewise, you have to follow Allah's rules to rise in the ranks with Allah. You have to give up, among other things, your sleep to pray tahajjud, eating and drinking during fasting, your money to perform hajj or pay zakat or give charity. You have to endure people's chastisement for your scrupulousness and "being or looking different," etc. This is a huge detriment but remember the benefit is tremendous--eternal bliss, Allah's noble countenance in Paradise--this outweighs the detriment which is relatively a short period of time. Even if it is difficult, just keep doing it, do it and do it...until it become part of you that you don't care what people think of you anymore--this may take 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, 10 years but eventually you will get there inshaAllah. And the road to Him become easier and easier. And you would be able to experience the sweetness of being His slave even in this life. Allah loves the believers but you have to earn His love, i.e. obeying Him. You must follow His rules no matter how difficult or uneasy--do them, do them...after a while inshaAllah they become easy and become part of you. No benefit is without a detriment but find solace that the benefit outweighs the detriment--His love, which is what we have to strive and ask for. So stay up at night, go for a time without food in fasting, wear the hijab, give charity, etc. Learn what Allah wants you to do and keep learning, teach to others and apply what you learn. If you learn and apply something of sacred knowledge each day, you will see a big difference in your coming near to Allah in no time, inshaAllah.
May Allah give us all tawfiq. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. JazakAllah khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
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