Henry David Thoreau once said: “Its not what you look at that matters, its what you see.”
A trend that most of us fall victim to is that we interpret our surroundings based on our moods. So if we’re angry, we find people annoying. If we’re hurt, the world seems to be a mean place. But how about making a conscious effort to see the good in everything? Surely then, the world would seem less mean and a happier place?
Just a couple of short thoughts and reminders:
1. We went out one Eid with Sufyan Al-Thawri and he said, “The first thing we will do on this day of ours is to lower our gaze.” [Ibn Abi Al-Dunya, Kitab Al-Wara’ article 66]
It is reported that Hassan bin Abi Sinan rahimahullaah went out one Eid and when he returned home his wife said, “How many beautiful women have you looked at today?” After she kept asking him, he said, “Woe to you! I have looked at nothing but my toe from when I went out to when I returned to you.” [Ibn Abi al-Dunya, Kitab Al-Wara’ article 68]
So sisters, dress appropriately. I know its Eid and we all like to dress up, but make sure to stay well within your boundaries. And brothers.. follow the above sunnah and lower your gaze.
2. Ibn Rajab rahimahullaah: “Eid is not for the one who wears new clothes. Eid is for the one whose obedience rises. Eid is not for the one with beautiful clothes and fine means of transport, Eid is for the one whose sins are forgiven.” [al-Lata'if, p. 371]
One has to wonder.. how many of us have come out of Ramadan with a clean or even a partially clean slate? How many of us have bettered our `ibaadah? How many of us have purified our hearts? How many of us have been written from amongst the Siddiqeen, and to be from amongst those to enter Jannah? How many of us have been saved from Hell?
You have to ask yourself:
Allaah presents an example: a slave owned by quarreling partners and another belonging exclusively to one man – are they equal in comparison? Praise be to Allaah ! But most of them do not know.
[Soorat az-Zumar; 29]
Belonging exclusively to Allaah – What an honor subhan’Allaah! For Allaah subhanahu wa ta`ala Himself to say this, this is a great, no its the greatest honor and blessing He so generously and lovingly bestowed upon us. To belong to the One Who is so full of Love, full of Mercy, Compassion, the One Who never sleeps or tires from watching over His slaves, the One Who descends to the lowest Heaven asking His slaves if they need anything, and that if they are in need of forgiveness He will forgive them. And that if they are in need of any wish, He will fulfill them – Subhaanaka ya Rabb! Can we find a better Master than the Him?
Have you ever tried to stay up in the middle of the night when everyone else is asleep and the only company you have is of your mus-haf, the moon, and silence. You beseech Him, imploring Him for relief and right then and there, you are enveloped in peace, your heart is filled with certainty and tranquility. Can you find a better Master than Him?
La wAllaah there’s not a single being on the face of this earth or anywhere else in the universe who can compare to Him in His Love, Care and Compassion for His slaves.
In Fi Dhilaal al-Qur’aan Sayyid Qutb sums it up beautifully:
The one who has one master enjoys consistency and knows what is expected of him. His energy is spent in a consistent way and the road ahead of him is clear. The other, who has several masters, is always suffering anxiety and worry. He does not feel settled. He is unable to satisfy even one of his masters, let alone them all.
This comparison accurately describes the nature of believing in God’s oneness as opposed to the nature of idolatry. The one who believes in God’s oneness goes along his earth’s journey equipped with clear guidance, because his eyes are looking up to one guiding star in the sky. Thus his way is straight. He knows one source for life, strength and sustenance; harm and benefit; grace and deprivation. He sets on his straight way to this source, strengthening his ties with it. He is assured of his single goal and does not lose sight of it. Thus, his energy is streamlined, assured of his work’s objective. His feet are set firm on the ground while his gaze looks to God in heaven.
A few verses later, Allaah says:
Is not Allah sufficient for His Servant?
[Verse 36]
Although this ayah was revealed in relation to the scare tactics the disbelievers were using against RasoolAllaah sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam, warning him against their false deities; its also a reminder to the believers in whatever hardship they may face.
Sayyid Qutb rahimahullaah says:
So, what can scare him when God is with him? What can generate any feeling of fear in him after he has taken the position of a servant of God and fulfilled the responsibilities that such aposition confers? Who can doubt God’s sufficiency for His servants when He is the Almighty who holds sway over all His creation?
So the lesson we take from here is that no matter what others may try to do in order to deter you from your goal, whether they slander you or even think of you as a no-match or inferior to them, there’s no reason to be disheartened because you have Allaah as your Master. Thus you become invincible and their petty games and threats are easy for you to shrug off.
I was looking for an email and came across a recent one which I sent to a dear friend. Its a piece of advice that I desperately needed to remind myself with and I thought I’d share it with others, perhaps those who read it might benefit as well.
…1. Just know that Allaah’s Mercy is infinite and it encompasses EVERYTHING, every single being, every creature on this earth. I’ll share with you something extremely beautiful and touching that I read just last night.
Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullaah says: “…the hearts of man can be divided into two kinds, the first of which is the heart of those, who incline to the Beneficent, which is the source of brightness, life, happieness, pleasure, delight and blessings. The second one is the throne of the devil where narrowness, darkness, death, sorrow, distress and grief are settled therein. This heart is obsessed by sorrow for the past, and grief and distress for the present.
at-Tirmidhi and others narrated: “The Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam said: ‘If the heart is overwhelmed by the brightness (of faith), surely it will be opened and delighted.’ They said: ‘O Messenger of Allaah [sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam]! What is the sign for that?’ He replied: ‘Resorting to the eternal dwelling [Jannah], being averted from the dwelling of deceit [worldly life], and being prepared for death before its arrival.’“”
So my dearest sis, imagine how content and bright you heart will be if you were to continue working on keeping it close to Allaah? These feelings of brightness, delight, contentment, serenity, etc only come about from knowing Allaah. And really truly knowing Him, is to know that whatever comes our way we know that it is from His Mercy and Wisdom. No matter how ugly and difficult it may seem on the outside, to a believer his/her affairs are always good. Remember that hadeeth? And how would you know Allaah? By reading and pondering over His Words. We’ve got the Book right there on our shelves, yet it sits there covered in dust waiting for us to reach out. Try to, no not try, MAKE this a habit: whenever you feel lonely or feel sadness overcoming you, open the mus-haf to any random page. Just open it up and I make Allaah as a witness to this sis, whatever your eyes fall upon [in that page] will give you comfort. All you have to do is not just read it with your eyes, but read it with your heart and wAllaah your heart will open up.
2. Allaah created us in pairs and in numbers for a reason and thats because humans are by nature social beings. We need company especially in times of distress. Its natural to want to talk to a friend, its not an act of laziness. Even the Prophet sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam had a best friend [Abu Bakr] whom he relied on at times.
But that doesn’t mean we’re dividing our reliance between Allaah and the creation. Our reliance on Allaah is different or rather should be different from that of the creation. Because we ought to trust and rely on Allaah completely and wholly. We belong to Allaah primarily, not to the creation. And so our complete love and reliance is directed to Allaah, as in He is the ultimate object of our Love and trust and that we don’t put another person/object above or before Him.
See, you’ll be able to tell the difference when at times of loneliness you don’t have a friend you can talk to, your heart still feels at ease because you know you’ve got the Ultimate Friend [Allaah]! That way you won’t feel overwhelmed by depression or sadness because you’re turning to the One who is really the best kind of Friend: He not only listens and understands our pain, He knows us inside out and He can actually deliever us from hardship. People don’t have the power or ability to do that.
I came across a beautiful verse from soorat an-Nahl a couple of weeks ago when I randomly opened my mus-haf. I’ll share my reflections on it in the next post, insha’Allaah.
Indeed, mankind was created anxious
When evil touches him, impatient
And when good touches him, withholding of it
Except the observers of prayer
Those who are constant in their prayer
1. هَلُوعًا is from the root: ه ل ع which has several meanings and some of which are: anxious, miserly, someone who loses hope over small matters, fretful, very impatient, etc.
2. جَزُوعًا is from the root: ج ز ع which is similiar to هَلُوعًا in meaning: to become agitated or irritated, to be extremely impatient, to display violent grief and it also means to cut or cut off [Lanes Lexicon].
For instance, in soorah Ibrahim Allaah says:
“And they will come out [for judgement] before Allaah all together, and the weak will say to those who were arrogant, “Indeed, we were your followers, so can you avail us anything against the punishment of Allaah ?” They will say, “If Allaah had guided us, we would have guided you. It is all the same for us whether we show intolerance or are patient: there is for us no place of escape.”
3. مَنُوعًا is from the root: م ن ع and its meanings are: to withhold, to deny from access, to prevent, to abstain from, etc.
Allaah mentions these 3 sifaat that are innate to human beings and they were placed in our hearts as a trial for us, to see who can overcome these. The beautiful thing is that Allaah mentions right away the solution, the way to overcome these negative characteristics. And that is: salaah. Not just any salaah but the kind that is constant: << الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَاتِهِمْ دَائِمُونَ >>
دائم: its meanings are: continued, to be prolonged, to extend, to remain or stay longer, to endure. And from amongst its meanings is also moderation.
Ibn Katheer in his tafseer gives 3 explanations for this:
1. It means that they [the performers of salaah] “guard its times and the elements obligatory in it. This was the opinion of Ibn Mas`ood, Masruq and Ibrahim an-Nakha`i.”
2. Second opinion is that “it means tranquility and humble concentration (in the prayer). This is similar to Allaah’s statement,
‘Successful indeed are the believers. Those who with their Salah are Khashi`un.’
(23:1-2)
This was said by `Uqbah bin `Amir. From its meanings is the same terminology used to describe standing (still) water (Al-Ma’ Ad-Da’im). This proves the obligation of having tranquility in the prayer. For verily, the one who does not have tranquility (stillness of posture) in his bowing and prostrating, then he is not being constant (Da’im) in his prayer. This is because he is not being still in it and he does not remain (in its positions), rather he pecks in it (quickly) like the pecking of the crow. Therefore, he is not successful in performing his prayer. “
3. Constancy and moderation. Ibn Katheer lastly mentions that “the meaning here refers to those who perform a deed and are constant in its performance and consistent in it. This is like the hadeeth that has been recorded in the Sahih on the authority of `A’ishah that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said,
“The most beloved deeds to Allaah are those that are most consistent, even if they are few.”
So in essence, Allaah listed the 3 characteristics are inherent to human beings but are present as a trial for us inorder to separate the successful ones from those who aren’t. The successful ones are those who a) guard their salaah, i.e. pray on time; b) who give the salaah its due right by completing all aspects of it for e.g. the qiyaam, the ruku`, the sujood, etc.. making sure that our posture throughout is still, serene and humble. To take our time when we bow down in humility and in praise and lastly; c) to be constant and consistent with our prayers.
Subhan’Allaah, how beautiful is His Kalaam and how soothing it is to the heart! The Qur’aan is truly a vast and deep chest of treasures, the more you dig, the more you come up with. Its like a lock and key. We are given the problems, along with answers so there’s no excuse, no reason to not implement.
Whenever we’re overcome by sadness or hardship, instead of exhibiting impatience and agitation, Allaah gives us the perfect fix: prayer. If you think about it, what does prayer constitute of? Praising Allaah, displaying humility, complete surrender in His Oneness and His Might, fearing Him and His Wrath, yet being hopeful of His Infinite Mercy, reaffirming our belief in Him and His Absolute Power. How can then one feel even the slightest bit of anxiousness or irritation?
One of the beauties of the Qur’aan is that you can be reading any ayah, and just by pondering over it you can derive so many lessons from it. Earlier today, I was contemplating over soorat al-Ma`aarij and came over several verses that really stuck with me. In this series insha’Allaah I will go over some lessons I learnt and hope that it benefits those who read it as much as it benefited me, and that it also encourages the reader to pick up their own copy of the Qur’aan, sneak out into some still and quietness and ponder over the magnificence of this Book. I’m not going to follow a specific sequence in terms of listing the lessons, therefore I will not be going in order of the verses of the soorah, rather I will be writing in order of what affected me the most.
Allaah says:
And no friend will ask of a friend. Though they shall be made to see one another – the Mujrim, (criminal, sinner, disbeliever, etc.) would desire to ransom himself from the punishment of that Day by his children. And his wife and his brother. And his kindred who sheltered him. And all that are in the earth, so that it might save him.
[Verses 10-14]
‘حميم‘ is from the root ح م م which means heat/fever and is also used for passion, or love and affection for a very close and dear friend. حمّةٌ can also be used instead of حبّةٌ where م is the substitute for ب, for instance in this phrase: هو من حمّةِ نفسي ‘He is of the beloved of my soul’ [Lane's Lexicon].
بصّر means to see something and recognize it. Our state on the Day of Judgment would be such that even the object of our love and passion will ignore us despite recognizing us. That is because of the fear and torment of that Day. Everyone will be preoccupied with their own state, their own deeds.
- Something that struck me hard was the ephemerality of human love. A mother’s love for her child, a wife’s love for her husband, love of siblings for each other, and the love of best friends for one another, is all transient. Our quest for that eternal love is nothing but phantasm, its futile because it doesn’t exist. There’s only One deity out there Who’s Love is forever enduring, and that is Allaah. The verses above teach us our priority in terms of love and relationships. That the common denominator in love in all relationships is Allaah, i.e. it should be solely for the sake of Allaah, otherwise it will bring us little to no benefit. When we say we love so and so for the sake of Allaah, we are essentially saying that no matter what the circumstance, seeking Allaah’s pleasure and fulfilling His rights over us takes precedence over everything and everyone else.
This leads to a further point of benefit and that is: staying away from the illusion of perfect love. There is no such thing as perfect love, therefore expecting perfection from our parents, spouses and friends is wrong. I want to refer here specifically to love between spouses. As humans, we are born with a certain longing in our hearts that we expect other humans to fulfill. And naturally we try to find that in the opposite gender. When we fail to find that perfection in a mere human, we find ourselves feeling utterly devastated and betrayed. What we don’t realize is that this longing belongs to our Creator, the One who nurtured us. We can only seek perfect happiness and love in Allaah, because expecting this from a human is placing a burden on him/her that they can never bear. Realizing that will help us minimize our expectations from each other and help preserve our relationships. I think it was Shakespeare who said:
“Roses have thorns, and silver fountains mud;
Clouds and eclipses stain both moon and sun,
And loathsome canker lives in sweetest bud.
All men makes faults…”
All men make faults, but Allaah is faultless and flawless. He is Perfect, and perfection can only be expected of Him.
To continue..
A continuation of my previous post on the 99 names of Allaah and my reflection on them.
This Mercy of Allaah is specific to the believers. And so He bestows His Mercy on us due to our belief and actions.
وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَسَأَكْتُبُهَا لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَـاةَ وَالَّذِينَ هُم بِآيَاتِنَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
“..and My Mercy embraces all things. That (Mercy) I shall ordain for those who are the Muttaqun and give Zakah; and those who believe in Our Ayaat.”
[al-A`raaf; 156]
Self-Reflection:
1. The mercy and love that the creation of Allaah have in their hearts for each other is due to the Mercy of Allaah upon them. For e.g. the Prophet’s (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) love for his sahaabah:
فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِّنَ اللّهِ لِنتَ لَهُمْ
“And by the Mercy of Allah, you dealt with them gently..”
[aal-`Imraan; 159]
Or, the sahaabah’s love for each other:
النَّبِيُّ أَوْلَى بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَأَزْوَاجُهُ أُمَّهَاتُهُمْ
“The Prophet is closer to the believers than their ownselves, and his wives are their (believers’) mothers..”
[al-Ahzaab; 6]
2. No matter how much we disobey Allaah, He continues to shower upon us His infinite Mercy and blessings. Even when our sins are as much and as deep as the vast Atlantic, all it takes for us to come out clean from it is to simply ask for His forgiveness. How many times have we found ourselves asking Allaah for palaces in Jannah, whilst conveniently forgetting to ask His Forgiveness for all the times we have disobeyed Him?
3. Increasing mutual love and understanding between the believers by applying the hadeeth of RasoolAllaah (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) in regards to kindness, which beautifies an act, whereas leaving it tarnishes it. Often times we find ourselves soft in speech towards those who have malice and hatred in their hearts for Allaah and His Messenger, yet when it comes to the believers, we are no where near compassionate or merciful.
4. Building a bond of love and friendship with our Creator. Allaah has extended a bond of love to us, and there are even specific times when He’s the most closest to us and awaits our company for instance the third part of a night. Friendships are formed based on reciprocated feelings, mutual characteristics, etc. Now we know Allaah is the Most Merciful and none compares to Him in His infinite Mercy, so how can a person with a heart worth a rock, void of any mercy, kindness or compassion befriend Allaah?
حدثنا أبو اليمان أخبرنا شعيب حدثنا أبو الزناد عن الأعرج عن أبي هريرة أن رسول الله -صلى الله عليه وسلم- قال:
إن لله تسعة وتسعين اسما مائة إلا واحدًا، من أحصاها دخل الجنة
“Indeed Allah has 99 names save one, whoever counts them will enter Paradise.”
The word أحصاها (root word حَصَى) means :
1. To count;
2. To protect;
3. To memorize;
4. To understand, learn and teach.
So really أحصاها here would mean to understand the names and attributes of Allaah, memorise them and teach them. Understanding the attributes would entail establishing a relationship with Allaah through those attributes. And by securing that bond with Allaah, by pleasing Him, we secure our aakhirah.
There are narrations that indicate that there exists more than 99 names and attributes of Allaah. Ibn Haajar al-Asqalaani narrated from Sufyaan Ibn Uyaynah and other sahaabah that there are more than 99 names of Allaah mentioned in various ahadeeth. Some scholars have actually collected around 200 names according to another narration.
But anyway, here I’ll mention those that are generally known to us and hope that it will encourage myself and others to memorize them solely to seek Allaah’s pleasure. I ask Allaah to make it of some benefit to not just those who reads them but to myself as well.
الرَّحْمَنُ - The most Merciful; that there is no higher degree of Mercy that this.
<< وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْء >>
“..and My Mercy embraces all things..” Soorah al-A`raaf; 156
Recall this aayah? Amazing isn’t it? Subhaan’Allaah and the hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah (radiyAllaahu `anhu) that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said:
“Allaah has one hundred parts of mercy, of which He sent down one between the jinn, mankind, the animals and the insects, by means of which they are compassionate and merciful to one another, and by means of which wild animals are kind to their offspring. And Allaah has kept back ninety-nine parts of mercy with which to be merciful to His slaves of the Day of Resurrection. “
and,
It was narrated that Umar ibn al-Khattaab said: Some prisoners were brought to the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam), and there was a woman among the prisoners who was searching (for her child). When she found her child she embraced him and put him to her breast. The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said to us: “Do you think that this woman would throw her child in the fire?” We said: “No, by Allaah, not if she is able not to.” The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Allaah is more merciful to His slaves than this woman is to her child”.
[Agreed upon. Al-Bukhaari, 5653; Muslim, 6912.]
Imagine the status of the one who is loved by someone with a love stronger and higher than the love of a mother for her child? How can that person be sad or at a loss when he or she is shown love and affection in so much abundancy?
Self-reflection:
If Allaah loves us so much, shouldn’t we be loving Him more than every other person in our life? More than our parents, our siblings, our spouses and our children? After knowing and learning about His infinite Mercy towards us, should we not disregard every obstacle that we may come across in our path towards attaining Allaah’s pleasure and only seek that which He wants for us?
…to be continued..
Tips on memorizing translation of the Qur’aan:
Ibn Jareer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Allaaah, may He be exalted and His name sanctified, taught His Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) proper manners by teaching him to mention His most beautiful names before all his actions. He commanded him to mention these attributes before starting to do anything, and made what He taught him a way for all people to follow before starting anything, words to be written at the beginning of their letters and books. The apparent meaning of these words indicates exactly what is meant by them, and it does not need to be spelled out.”
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