Why Say Bismillah?

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

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

We say بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم (BismillahirRahmanirRahim) before we start our actions. We say بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم before we eat, before we cook, before we enter the bathroom, before we put our clothes on, before we comb our hair, before we step out of the house, before we turn the car ignition, before we write, before we turn on the computer, before we take the exam, before an important job interview, before we make wudu', before we enter the masjid, before praying, before reading the Qur'an, before so many things that we do. Allah knows how many times we say Bismillah everyday. He does not miss it. May Allah accept our Bismillah as good deeds. Ameen.

But what is it that we are really saying when we say بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم ?

When you say بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم you are intending to perform the action in the Name of Allah alone, not in the name of yourself, your friends, your teacher, your boss, your spouse, your children, the person next to you or anyone or anything else.

So at the outset, it reminds us of Allah. It reminds us to make our intentions purely for Allah. Our focus now is towards Allah. We are doing this action for His sake alone and with His help alone. He is the One who gives us the tawfiq to do this. And if He does not will this to happen, even this piece of fish that I am about to chew can fall out of my mouth and be picked up by the cat, or even what I am about to write, will not happen or flow the way I want it, if Allah does not give me the tawfiq.

It is meant for us not to have this feeling of self-consequence or pride, rather to have this feeling of gratitude towards Allah, Lord of the Worlds, who nourishes and benefits us. So we will use what He gives us for the purpose He has created them for us and in the manner He wants us to use them.

Take this simple example, when you put your clothes on your body, it is not to show to people how rich or beautiful you are, but simply to cover your nakedness to please Allah. You feel grateful that He provided you with the means to have this beautiful clothes and a beautiful body to put it on, so you stay away from disobedience of Allah by showing off or looking down upon the less fortunate, for example, and do more good deeds by helping the less fortunate by giving away some of your nice clothes which you haven't worn for many years! And you can think of the many examples that apply to you and take the action. InshaAllah.

And we seek His Mercy and Compassion to give us the blessings and acceptance in what we are about to do.

This is what we should have in our minds and in our hearts when we say بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim, and we follow it with the good action and more good actions with the tawfiq from Allah.

So, pause a little bit after you say Bismillah, and reflect on the blessings. Don't rush your Bismillah (or neglect to say the Basmalah) to get to the action without a moment of reflection.

Teach and remind your children this. InshaAllah.

And Allah knows best.

May Allah brings us closer to Him and gives us tawfiq. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

Wassalaam

A True Shepherd

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Narrated Abu Huraira, Allah be well pleased with him: The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah did not send any prophet but shepherded sheep." His companions asked him, "Did you do the same?" The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, replied, "Yes, I used to shepherd the sheep of the people of Mecca for some Qirats." (Bukhari)

It was mentioned that the first profession of the Prophets was shepherding. Allah trained all Prophets to be leaders by having them go through this line of work--being a shepherd.

The most important lesson from shepherding that the Prophets learned is responsibility. A shepherd is accountable for his flock. A shepherd cannot go back to the owner and said, "I am sorry I lost one sheep because that sheep happened be stupid." It doesn't matter what the sheep do, you are responsible for anything that happened to the flock even if the sheep is wrong. The Prophets are going to be accountable for their people one day.

Shepherding also teaches the Prophets patience. Taking out sheep to graze requires a lot of patience. Sheep take their time, they are slow, but you have to wait. You have to be patient. They might end up fighting with each other or they might end up playing but you have to be patient. You have to wait. You can't really tell them "finish up, we have to leave." They are going to take their time and you have to sit there waiting. That's why sometimes you see a painting of a shepherd sitting on a rock looking at his sheep grazing. Shepherds wait until their sheep have their fill. They do this day in and do out, leave in the morning and come back at sunset. You have to be patient with these animals and have to bear with them, even if they are communicating well with you or not, you still have to be patient.

Prophet Musa alayhissalaam was very patient with Bani Israel. It was an unbearable task to deal with them but Musa alayhissalaam had a training in shepherding longer than any prophets. He was a shepherd for 10 years. He went through a lot but he was patient. Prophet Nuh alayhissalaam went through 950 years in da'wah. He tried every different ways to get his people to believe in the One God--publicly and privately, at night and daytime, but they rejected the message. Imagine doing the same thing, meeting the same people who turned you down for 950 years! Patience.

The wisdom behind having the Prophets as shepherd before Prophethood so that they may become skilled in herding the flock as they will be responsible for their respective nations in the future. In herding one attains forbearance and mercy and imbues patience for when the shepherd is obliged to gather his flock and herded from one area to another at once knowing the traits of all, and all the while protecting the flock from predators, he has thus attained the skills necessary to lead the nation and protect it from enemies both from within and abroad. They learn patience and attain the understanding of the different nature of people. They learn to show kindness to the weak and resolve with the dominant, the reasons for which Allah chose the sheep for the Prophets as opposed to communal animals (such as cows or camels) because they are animals that are weak and need extra guidance and attention. Sheep are more difficult to maintain as a flock because of their propensity to go astray and wander away. This is akin to human society and it is the Divine wisdom of Allah to train these prophets accordingly. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, mentioning this humble trait shared by all prophets attesting to his humility to Allah. (ibn Hajar)

We are all shepherds in this life. A leader is a shepherd of his followers. A man is the shepherd of his household. A woman is the shepherdess of her young children. A teacher is the shepherd(ess) of his/her students. We have to take this job seriously. You must show compassion and be merciful to them and exercise lots of forbearance and patience. We are all going to be accountable for our flocks one day before the Master, Lord of the Worlds. We must protect our flocks from the various dangers--seen or unseen, wolves and other beasts, diseases, etc and make sure you help them get home safe.

The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, one day he stood on the pulpit of masjid warning people of Hellfire. The narrator of the hadith said the people in the market place could hear him in the masjid repeating the warning over and over again!

May Allah grant us forbearance and patience. Ameen. Please remember us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

Wassalaam