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As we approach a new Islâmic Year it is important
that we engage in serious introspection and make
appropriate changes both at an individual and
collective level. The Holy Qur’ân warns us against
becoming complacent and heedless because of
prolonged passage of time and inaction. “Do not
be like those who were given the Book aforetime, and
whose hearts have hardened with the passing of time
so that many of them have become rebellious…”
Moral degeneration, a loss of purpose and hard
heartedness are but some of the failings of the
passing of time. We eventually lose the capacity to
appreciate Divine Guidance; we lose the humility to
search for the truth and the foresight to understand
prophetic wisdom. We gradually embrace values that
are bereft of Divine Guidance and become victims of
spiritual and emotional insecurity.
The Holy Prophet Sallallâhu ‘alayhi wasallam
has said: “Whoever has been blessed with four
things has indeed been given the best of this world
and the hereafter. A heart‑ full of
gratitude, a tongue occupied with the dhikr
of Allâh, a body able to patiently endure
hardships and a wife that does not
breach his trust regarding herself and his
property.” (Baihaqî)
In order to achieve the best of both worlds we need
to consciously work towards acquiring the following
four ‘blessings’:
Gratitude:
Too often, we take the favours of Allâh for
granted. We feel aggrieved, deprived, and tend
display ingratitude when destiny does not accord
with our insatiable dreams and desires
Consider the following:
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If you have food in the refrigerator,
clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a
place to sleep ... you are richer than
75% of this world. |
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If you have money in the bank, in your
wallet, and spare change in a dish
someplace... you are among the top 80% of
the world’s wealthy. |
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If you woke this morning with more health
than Illness... you are more blessed than
the million who will not survive this week.
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If you have never experienced the danger of
battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the
agony of torture, or the pangs of
starvation… you are more blessed than
three million people In the world. |
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If your Parents are still alive and still
married ... you are very rare. |
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If you hold up your head with a smile on
your face and are truly thankful… you are
blessed because the majority can, but most
do not. |
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If you can read this message... you just
received a double blessing in that someone
was thinking of you and, furthermore, you
are more blessed than over two billion
people in the world that cannot read at all.
(Courtesy: Al Balagh) |
Nabî Sallallâhu ‘alayhi wasallam has said:
“The first (condition) for the reformation of this
Ummah is conviction and abstinence, whilst the first
cause of its destruction will be miserliness and
(unending) desires." (Baihaqî)
Dhikr
The Holy Prophet Sallallâhu
‘alayhi wasallam
has said: “The parable of one who remembers Allâh
and one who does not, is like the living and the
dead.” (Bukharî & Muslim) We have become spiritually
dead individuals with no sense of drive. We neither
fear the wrath of Allâh, nor yearn for His pleasure.
Hence, religion has become an oppressive imposition
designed to deprive us of the pleasures of life. How
often do we recite the Holy Qur’ân? When last did we
spend time pondering and chanting the glory of Allâh?
The Holy Qur’ân refers to this kind of spiritual
death in the following words: “They have hearts
with which they fall to grasp the truth, and eyes
with which they fail to see, and ears with which
they fall to hear, They are like cattle: nay even
less conscious of the right way…” They live like
animals only conscious of fulfilling their natural
desires without giving any thought to the purpose of
existence. Hearts rust as metal does, and the polish
for the heart is the dhikr
of Allâh!
Dhikr is the
spiritual rain that renders the heart fertile and
allows for the lush growth of virtue.
Patience:
We have become selfish, impatient, and intolerant
individuals who lose our self‑composure at the least
bit of irritation. We have become pessimists who
fret at the presence of thorns oblivious of the
beauty of the rose. We become despondent and
continue to bemoan the sad state of our affairs
least convinced that every experience good or bad
has a meaning and purpose. The Holy Prophet Sallallâhu
‘alayhi wasallam has said, "Patience is half of
faith." (Abû Naîm) The Holy Qur’ân states:
“Fighting is ordained for you even though it be
hateful to you, but it may well be that you hate a
thing while it is good for you, and it may well be
that love a thing while it is bad for you;
for Allâh knows whereas you do not know.” What
may at first seem to be a disaster may later turn
out to be a means of betterment and enhancement.
Hardships, disaster, and calamities are the like the
thunder, and lightening that we have to endure
before we are blessed with torrential rains.
Consider the birth of Islâm in South Africa. Islâm
reached the Cape Province in 1654 when the Dutch
East India Company decided to use the Cape as a
penal settlement for Muslim prisoners from Batavia
In Indonesia. The Cape was chosen as the official
place of confinement for political prisoners. They
came as slaves yoked in chains and lived under
barbaric and sub human conditions. They were treated
in the same beastly and savage way as our brothers
in Guantanamo Say in Cuba. Yet slavery became the
basis for the rise of Islâm in South Africa, as will
Camp X‑Ray become the basis for the rise of Islâm in
Cuba. Insha‑Allâh!
“And seek assistance in patience, and prayer, surely
it is difficult except for those who fear Allâh.”
A Stable Family
Over the past decade, our society has undergone a
rapid social and religious transformation, resulting
in high divorce rates, separation, single parent
families, and common‑law relationships. It is
becoming extremely difficult to find happiness in
marriage and to develop a healthy and vibrant
relationship with your spouse. This is because of a
fundamental shift from an ‘obligations-oriented
bond’ to a ‘rights-orientated relationship’.
We tend to demand our rights instead of fulfilling
our obligations, which breeds a culture of conflict
and tension. The Prophet Sallallâhu ‘alayhi
wasallam not only encouraged marriage among his
followers, he also emphasised the importance of
appropriate conduct after marriage so that the
marriage endures and in the words of the
Holy Qur’ân becomes the “coolness of our eyes.”
We need to study the life of Nabî Sallallâhu
‘alayhi wasallam to see how far and alienated we
have become from the prophetic teachings.
Conclusion
The Holy Qur’ân states, “Sufficient is Allâh as
an Ally and sufficient is Allâh as a Helper.” (4:45)
Muslims are promised that Allâh will be on their
side and will favour them with His help. However,
this Divine Intervention and support are not granted
to those who sit idle and wait for things to change,
nor do those who adopt a lukewarm approach and
commitment to the Dîn ever win them. If we
refuse to work towards the best of both the worlds,
Allâh forbid, we will have to contend with a
terrible loss in both the worlds. How long will
we continue to profess Islâm, while discarding its
teachings and refusing to abide by its laws or heed
its warnings? If we stubbornly persist in revering
the social, cultural and moral decorum of the
Kuffâr, we have by our own volition opted for a
life of barren existence. |