عن انس رضي الله عنه عن النّبيّ صلي الله عليه وسلم فيما يرويه عنه ربّه عزّ وجلّ قال اذا تقرّب العبد اليّّّ شبرا تقْربت اليه ذراعًا واذا تقرْب اليّ ذراعًا تقرًبت منه باعًا واذا اتانِي يمشي اتيتُهُ هَروَلة - رواه البخاري
Anas (r.a) reported, the Prophet (s.a.w) said, "Allah says, 'When a slave of Mine draws near to Me a span, I draw near to him a cubit; and if he draws near to Me a cubit, I draw near to him a fathom. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.'" Al Bukhari
Anas (r.a) reported, the Prophet (s.a.w) said, "Allah says, 'When a slave of Mine draws near to Me a span, I draw near to him a cubit; and if he draws near to Me a cubit, I draw near to him a fathom. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him running.'" Al Bukhari
Lessons:
1. Every good deed brings us closer to Allah
2. Allah rewards us substantially for our little efforts and small good deeds.
3. Allah gives us better and more than our expectations and needs.
Be consistent in obedience to Allah, even if it is with small good deeds or minor acts of righteous. Allah appreciates even the littlest gestures of dedication and sacrifice in His way. So do not wait to for grandiose religious performance but everyday, do little good deeds and inshaAllah they will add up.
Allah's help and mercy is received by those people who sincerely strive in His cause. Though they may be exerting themselves just faintly, Allah will still bless their attempt and multiply their efforts. So never give up obedience to Allah, thinking that it is too hard. Simply try your best and inshaAllah Allah will help you and make it easy and enjoyable for you.
Just as good deeds bring us closer to Allah, purposely leaving good deeds and committing sins, distances us from Allah and draw us near Shaytan. So do not leave any opportunity to come close to Allah.
This means,
(a) spend more time offering Salah with calmness and being more attentive to your recitation. It also means to pray pray your sunnan and your nawafil.
(b)Read Qur'an daily and take out lessons for yourself and apply those lessons throughout the day.
(c)Be respectful of your parents, kind to your siblings.
(d)Say salam to Muslims, smile at them and help them.
(e)Work diligently and fairly at school or your office.
(f)Lower your gaze before non-mahram.
(g)Make lots of dikr.
(h)Eat halal, sitting down, after saying bismillah with your right hand, etc.
Allah Knows Best.
I really experienced closeness to Allah this week - alhamdulilllah. Especially in times of sickness and when people are geographically too distant, one feels extraordinarily humble and helpless. How can I restore someone to health when I only know grade 12 biology?
ReplyDeleteSometimes even medical experts cannot completely heal and repair the unwell. Sometimes you just get this dreadful phone call of someone's illness or you read their poor medical report and gape in stupendous shock and sadness of your inability to do anything. The powerlessness is even greater when the geographic distance is too extensive to cover and you are allowed only one phone call a day. SubhanAllah - the pressure on me this week was backbreaking. This medical situation and 2 essays due back to back...
It is not unusual for people to cry in such circumstances. Some become miserable and self-destructive: wail, throw things around, starve themselves or cut themselves. Others become bitter, intensely angry and aggressive - they cause harm to others, shout at people, curse, hound and harass others etc.
I had both options available to me but alhamdulillah Allah guided me to seek His help and mercy. The more I made duaa and prayed to Allah, the more my patience and resolve increased. The extra confident and even relaxed I felt. I couldn't believe my own self which went from being super anxious and paranoid to being all right, in fact very reasonable and okay.
This is just one example of taking a small step towards Allah and Allah taking care of everything that concerns you. I don't have words to describe how I feel. This feeling of reverence and respect mixed with love and gratitude mixed with wonder and surprise. I LOVE YOU ALLAH!
ps. yes alhamdulillah the medical situation was taken care of. Things are okay, alhamdulillah :) But the lesson remains profound. What is life except a hoard of difficulties? Harsh but its true - we do not wake up from our ignorant, irresponsible and sloppy approach to life until we are frightened out of our wits with a perplexing occurrence. Just look at the people in Japan. Do you think they have the same view on life as they did before the Earthquake, Tsunami, Fire, Snow and now explosion in nuclear plants? Of course how some of them planned to graduate, marry, retired - all that probably rejigged completely. I hate to say this but we live as though life is forever. That you and I and the whole world will remain forever green, happy, rich and young. No actually, it won't. You see, there is a God - His name is Allah, He created us and destined that we live on Earth a few days and before long, we will all return to Him. So the blows and jolts in life are meant to remind us of this eternal truth. So prepare yourself. Read the Qur'an, understand it so you can get ready.
Abu Hurairah (r.a) reported, Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w), "The Hell Fire is surrounded with all kinds of desires and passions, while Jannah is surrounded with adversities" - [Bukhari and Muslim]
ReplyDeleteHardship is known to every person on earth. It transcends race, religion and ethnicity. It affects every age group, gender and society. People usually run away from problems. If a child breaks something, he/she will quickly dash out of the room and hide. Similarly, adults will turn a blind eye to their problems as well. Incurring too much debt? Gaining too much weight? Too many fights in the house? Parents are unhappy? Kids are failing at school? Just pay no heed and zone out. Things will take care of themselves? The last thing you want to do is cram yourself and start dealing with adversities, right?
Islam offers a different understanding of problems. Now that we have established, setbacks in life are inevitable. Life is, in an of itself a huge dilemma, Islam proposes that this dilemma is actually good for us. So don't run away from it. Don't hide or cry or waste any money getting therapy. The nuisance and pain in your life is actually good for you. Because every time you are patient and moral during a problem, you are brought close to Paradise.
Paradise is surrounded by adversities. Imagine, your face radiant with pleasure as you sit adorned couches, drinking pure wine with a mixture of Tasneem, drawn right from the sprin in Paradise. It's smell of musk. Can you imagine? I can't. The beautiy and delicacies of Paradise are far beyond what our limited wits can grasp. And to be honest, I would like it to be a surprise :) Find out when I am actually let and let that experience fully astonish and amaze me inshaAllah :)
So just think for a moment, when Paradise is suppose to be this magnificent, glamorous, stunning habitation with gardens and rivers, shades and drinks, jewels and extravagant leisure and amusement ... are we going to secure our place in it, without any effort at all? How "hard" do people work to rent a simple apartment in a shabby neighbourhood? How "difficult" it is to buy a house? People "sacrifice" their sleep, health, food and even family to build for themselves a small, run-down estate to live in for a few days. So will Paradise come without a cost?
Think of all your problems as a stepping stone to Paradise. A fight in the house, a temptation at school, stress at work, illness - every little and large thing that irks you and angers you as your ticket to Paradise. Be supremely patient and consistently humble, obedient and thankful to Allah and inshaAllah Allah will draw you close to Him and reward you with Paradise.
Allah says,
(a) "And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient"[Qur'an 2:155]
(b) "O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed and fear Allāh that you may be successful." [3:200]
(c)"And be patient, for indeed, Allāh does not allow to be lost the reward of those who do good." [11:115]
(d)"So be patient. Indeed, the promise of Allāh is truth. And ask forgiveness for your sin and exalt [Allāh] with praise of your Lord in the evening and the morning." [40:55]
On the Day of Judgement, we may look back at our problems and say, if only I was patient then, Paradise would have been mine today! So be patient now and inshaAllah you won't regret it tomorrow. Think of every difficult situation as an opportunity from Allah to work for Paradise. May Allah pour upon us patience and plant our feet firmly to face adversities aameen.
[Riyad al Saliheen, Chapter 11, Hadith # 101]
SubhanAllah I'm really happy I read this blog, this is exactly what I needed.. a boost and a reminder for being patient!
ReplyDeleteHope you were able to finish the two essays you mentioned:)
take care,
Farah