Hello, dear readers and followers.
Haven't posted here in so long, and even then, quite sparsely. Had troubles with the sign-in mechanism, among other obstacles I've faced in connection with this blogger host, hence I've opted for another blogsite altogether, after searching and experimenting for some while.
Have transfered all that is contained here, as well as adding more. Found with the new bloghost that I'm able to file in multiple blogs within one main blog address, without having to log out of one and checking into the other. All are accessible (for me as well as the visitor) from one main page, similar to any website. A very nice program.
The blogspot host was nice while it lasted, and it was an excellent spring ground from which I learned the essence of setting up and maintaining a blog. In fact, if it weren't for the ease of the program available via blogspot, I most likely would never have learned how to set up or maintain a blog, seeing as how many of the other systems available are a bit more intimidating.
I thank all who have patroned this site, and hope that you will eventually come to visit my new blog conglomerate: Balqees' World: www.balqees59.wordpress.com
--Balqees Mohammed
May 25, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Updating-More to Come Soon
Assalaamu alaikum warahmatAllahi wabarakaatu!!
Welcome all!! Wow...it's been so long since I've even visited my own blog. Terrible?? Well, I've just been so overwhelmed and busy with so many other things...life, writing, obgligations, etc.
Hmm...ever hear of a blogger ignoring his/her own blog? Well, there's always a first for everything.
Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm still alive and kicking...and have lots of articles (a year's worth, in fact) to upload for updating this blog...and hope (pray) to keep it updated more regularly in the upcoming months as well.
sorry for the long absence...and have fun reading the updated articles. Enjoy...learn...explore. And if you have any questions or look for some sort of debate, well, will try to oblige to that as well.
-balqees.
Welcome all!! Wow...it's been so long since I've even visited my own blog. Terrible?? Well, I've just been so overwhelmed and busy with so many other things...life, writing, obgligations, etc.
Hmm...ever hear of a blogger ignoring his/her own blog? Well, there's always a first for everything.
Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm still alive and kicking...and have lots of articles (a year's worth, in fact) to upload for updating this blog...and hope (pray) to keep it updated more regularly in the upcoming months as well.
sorry for the long absence...and have fun reading the updated articles. Enjoy...learn...explore. And if you have any questions or look for some sort of debate, well, will try to oblige to that as well.
-balqees.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
THE YEAR OF SADNESS
THE YEAR OF SADNESS
It was once said that "no man is an island". And how true that is. None of us is alone. No matter where we come from, or what we develop into, we have a web of our social contacts—whether family or non-family, who are important to us and to whom we are also important.
For the more fortunate, as we grow older, the web not only increases in size but in strength as well, as we interact with people throughout our lives, strengthening the bonds that bind us.
Yet in abiding by the very nature of this earthly life itself, we are bound someday, after the many typical and probable ups and downs of life, to face the great and even terrifying hardship of having to endure the loss of any one (or perhaps more) of our beloved. For, as it is said many times throughout Allah's Book: "every soul shall taste death". (s. 3, v. 185)
This life is a testing ground by which Allah separates the hypocrites from the true believers. And the requirement for one to be a true believer is that he believes in and submits himself to Allah's will, and that he loves Allah and His Messenger more than this life and anything in it, including the fruits and pleasures of this life.
If any of us were given two plots of land to choose from on which to build a home to live in-one dry desert land with no trees or life, the other full with the life of fresh greenery from a plentiful source of water—which would you most likely prefer? The analogy could be applied to our final eternal abode—the choice between heaven and hell, the choice between an eternal abode of bliss and ever-flowing rivers or an eternal abode of torment and thirst. Most of us immediately would respond "Yes! I want eternal bliss! A residence beside which flows a non-ending river."
But how to attain that? The road to achieving this ultimate goal is not an easy road. We will find many obstacles along the way, which serve to either strengthen us and prove our faith, or to weed out the weak hypocrites.
Allah says: "And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits…" (s. 2, v. 155).
Then it goes on to reassure us of the reward for patience:
"…but give glad tidings to the patient. Who, when afflicted with calamity, say: "Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return." (s. 2, v. 155-156)
It goes on to describe those who are patient, and further stresses their grand promise of reward (and surely, Allah does not relent on His promise):
"They are those on whom are showered with blessings and forgiveness from their Lord, and they are those who receive His Mercy, and it is they who are the guided ones." (s. 2, v. 157)
It is never easy to be remaining in this life after someone you love has had to take his lone trip to the Lord. Throughout any trial we may pass, it is helpfully reassuring to realize and remember that we are not alone in our pain, that we have not been singled out for our loss. Although it does not relieve us of the pain, it is helpful for us to perhaps tolerate it better and hence move forward into a new "normal" for our life to realize that others have in the past and are also simultaneously going through similar or perhaps worse hardships than what we ourselves face today.
Prophet Mohammed(SAAW) had a very difficult year in the beginning of his reception of the message of Islam. To back up even further, his whole life was one difficult obstacle followed by another, beginning with his orphaned state at a very young and tender age. This all served to strengthen him and prepare him for his mission to come, all the while giving us invaluable lessons by which to mold our own lives.
The most difficult time that he(SAAW) passed through came to be known as "the year of sadness". It was at this time in history of the Arabs that there had not yet been established the practice of numbering the years for the marking of the passage of time, as we know of it today. This practice did not truly begin for the Arabs until the event of the formal migration of the Muslim Nation to Madinah. Before that, the passage of time in terms of years was marked by giving the year a name, identifying it by a particular outstanding event that occurred during the year, such as the year of the elephant, the year in which prophet Mohammed(SAAW) was himself born. Such goes for this year which occurred early in the prophet's mission, "the year of sadness". It was during this year that his first wife, Khadijah, and his uncle Abu Talib, both died. Khadijah supported him with her resources of money and reputation when he himself had little or nothing. She reassured him and was a constant comfort to him when all others forsook him. She was the only one of all his wives that was blessed to produce for him children. She was the first, second only to Mohammed(SAAW) himself, to accept the message of Islam-the first of all Muslims to join the prophet(SAAW) in humble submission to Allah in prayer. He also suffered the loss of his uncle Abu Talib. After the passage of his grandfather who raised him since his orphanage at the tender age of six, Abu Talib ever so lovingly took the young Mohammed(SAAW) into his heart and home, giving him equal, if not better, treatment than his own children. It was Abu Talib who often interfered with protection for
Mohammed(SAAW) and his early followers when the local Meccans (particularly the Quraish, from which Mohammed himself descends) began not only to reject them and their message, but also to persecute them for their religious preference. And yet for Mohammed(SAAW), the passage of his beloved uncle Abu Talib was a double blow. Not only did he die, but it is recorded that he died refusing to pledge allegiance to Mohammed(SAAW), refusing to state the declaration of Islamic faith. This proved to be immensely difficult for Mohammed(SAAW), who remained with his uncle through his last breath, witnessing the heart-breaking refusal of his uncle to state the declaration of submission in Islam.
As if these two losses of the two closest persons to Mohammed(SAAW) was not enough, he also suffered the humiliation of rejection from the people of Taif. When he realized the high instance of rejection among the Meccans and the rise of the persecution of the new Muslims at the hands of the Meccans, Mohammed(SAAW) took to spread his message to the people of Taif, in the hopes of better reception. Not only was his message rejected, but he was humiliated to be literally chased out and back to Mecca by the people of the region taking to throwing stones, etc.
A strong and overwhelming wave of depression set down upon him. The arch-angel Gibreel (AS) presented himself unto him, offering to destroy the region (i.e. the Taif area) by pounding the two mountains together, destroying all life between them. We are told in the Quran that Mohammed(SAAW) is a mercy to the world. Out of his Islamic nature of mercy, he refused the option of his deserved revenge, stating of his hope and prayer that there might eventually emerge believers out of that region. With his rejection at a chance for revenge, he also mercifully saved all other life from death and destruction.
It was shortly after these incidents which caused the great sense of sadness in the prophet's heart that the chapter of the Quran titled "Yusuf" was revealed. The tafseer of this chapter tells us that one of the important and outstanding qualities of this chapter is that is a source of healing for those overwhelmed with sadness. Hence, it is an excellent therapy for healing for one who is inflicted with great sadness to recite or listen to beautiful recitations of this chapter.
Patience is an essential quality of which we are promised great reward. It is not an easy quality to acquire. It takes strong dedication and determination to attain. But it is indeed humanly possible, with the help of Allah.
We are told in the Quran: "O you who believe! Seek help in patience and prayer. Truly, Allah is with those who are patient." (s. 2, v. 158)
Perhaps the surest way to attain patience in particular at the time of tragedy or calamity is by humbling one's self in submissive prayer to the Creator. The prophet(SAAW) used to request of Bilal-the first mu'addhin of the Muslim Nation-to pronounce the call for the prayer when he felt so overwhelmed by the sadness afflicting him in that year of extreme sadness. He found a solace in the prayer that he could not find elsewhere in any other situation.
In taking his(SAAW) excellent example to heart, we too should seek that same solace in prayer and communication with our Creator.
After having gone through two recent tragedies in my own life-I can vouch for the fact that indeed the prayer and remembrance of Allah much is the only way to pull yourself through it with any sense of sanity and hope left in you.
Several months ago, my father died of lung cancer. When I last saw him two years ago on my last visit to the US, saying our goobyes at the airport as I was ready to make my way toward the plane to bring me home to Saudi Arabia, I had this odd pang strike my heart-a premonition, if you will-that I shall never see him again. The sensation was so strong that I could no longer look him in the eyes. And I know he felt the same thing, even though he never mentioned it to me. He avoided me as strongly as I avoided him. When his illness, which had temporarily peaked off after the initial rounds of combined chemo and radiation, suddenly took a turn for the worse, I immediately made arrangements to travel in hopes of seeing him one last time. Oh, how I wished and prayed and willed for that premonition to be a false alarm-silly women's intuition. And it did seem so at first. Even thought the final test results were still several days away, and the Dr. himself had not mentioned about the urgency of his condition, I just knew that his life was spiraling away. Fast. Everyone in the family seemed so optimistic-especially Mom. Hindsight tells me now that she really sensed it too-she was just apparently in denial mode, out of the fear of the depths of sadness she would be in once left for the remainder of her life without him. It was only one week from the time I sensed the urgency of his illness and made my reservations until that final date of flying. But it was never meant for me to see Dad once more-nor for him to see me. My flight was scheduled on Monday. Dad passed away on Sunday morning, only ten minutes after I talked to him one last time-telling him how I loved him, reminding him of God, and letting him know that it's OK now-OK to let go. Didn't want him to be facing his last breath and thinking about me. He had already said his official goodbyes to everyone the day before, and had even mentioned my name to them all, telling them to tell me that he was sorry that he would not be able to wait for me before he had to go.
Alhamdulillah. We come from Allah, and to Him is our return. (s. 2, v. 156)
Now, only four months after losing my father, I have lose my precious grandson. He suffocated on the smoke fumes of a fire in the house. Apparently, he tripped and could not get up to run out in time. His own mother and the other grandmother each ran several times into the smoke-filled room in search of him, but they could not find him from the thickness of the smoke. Local fire department personnel who were first on the scene came ill-prepared, to boot. No gas masks, no flash lights, no water hoses or tanks-so they could do nothing to put out the fire nor could they really even do anything to save the victims still trapped in the house. The victims that did get out eventually had to do it all on their own-my daughter-in-law included- by the grace of Allah. The only one remaining was my precious two and a half-year-old grandson. He was found later when the fire was finally doused and someone finally brought a flashlight to the scene. After receiving a frantic call from my daughter-in-law, I appeared on the scene quite early. But I myself could do nothing to save my darling little "Azooz". A terrible turn of events for him and for me-for the whole family indeed. Always, before this, he could rest assured to find safety and security in my arms, if he didn't find it elsewhere. I was always there to provide the comfort, safety, and security that he needed. Even as a young babe, he would calm down and even sleep in my arms when he would cry from everyone else. Although our time together was actually quite short, we connected together on a different wave-length apart from everyone else. But not this time. I could not provide for my darling AbdulAziz the safety and security that he needed. It was Allah's plan that he die so young and innocent-free of a record against him.
Alhamdulillah. Surely, we come from Allah, and to Him is our return. (s. 2, v. 156)
Truly, I am ever thankful to Allah for all things. As for my father, he lived a long and full life. We had many memories with him. He was blessed in that he knew his end was coming, and he prepared for it in his own way as he felt best at the time. He got the chance to say goodbye to his loved ones-something that so many of us do not get. And I had the reassurance that I had my own private time with him on the phone, as I was the last one to speak to him from this world, excepting for Mom. As for my darling AbdulAziz, his death was a real hard shocking blow to us all. Alhamdulillah. But we gather reassurance in remembering that he was taken at a time in his life when he was not yet held accountable for his deeds. He was still an innocent child, therefore guaranteed of the promise of Allah's mercy in the heavens. We still pray diligently for His mercy upon our baby. He was saved from any future torment or failure in this life. And his death itself was a rather merciful death, for he suffocated on the CO, of which it is reported that the victim merely falls into a coma sleep, and then death comes along painlessly. Alhamdulillah.
An odd coincidence-my own daughter-in-law (AbdulAziz's grieving mother) comes from a family originating from Taif. The young woman, as well as the whole family, is a fine practicing Muslimah. She is even a 'hafizah' of the Quran, mashaAllah. And she was raising and training my beloved AbdulAziz in the finest Islamic manner. May Allah bless her with many more fine children, and may He have mercy on my dear AbdulAziz, and may He mercifully heal our aching hearts and fill the great void.
It has been a difficult time, to say the least. For me, this has been the year of sadness.
Of all the trials I have been through in my life, this has been truly the hardest. As a grandmother, I feel the guilt that I could not save my grandson. As a mother, I have had to deal with the guilt and pain of watching my son and his wife having to endure such pain. AbdulAziz was their first-born. A terribly difficult blow. We mothers try to absorb pain for our children. But I could not absorb this for them-which makes it even harder-to stand by and observe their pain-merely aching along with them.
Alhamdulillah. We are from Allah, and to Him is our return. (s. 2, v. 156)
Ah-so true are Allah's words-Verily! In the remembrance of Allah is comfort for the heart!(s. 13, v. 28)
Prepare yourselves for any calamity to come at any time. Don't scream, or rant and rave. Be sad-yes-that is only human. But be aware of the test at hand-be a true believer. Be patient and say: "We come from Allah, and to Him is our return." (s. 2, v. 156)
And then seek patience, solace, and comfort in prayer and remembrance.
For me, I have had to reflect often on the example set for us by our beloved prophet Mohammed(SAAW), when he himself resorted to prayer and remembrance for the healing of his own heart. And to realize that there is no harm in feeling and expressing the sadness, while at the same time appeasing to Allah with words that hopefully please Him.
As we have in his(SAAW) example when his own son Ibrahim died in infancy-one of the companions noticed tears rolling down his cheeks when it came time for the burial. And he commented on that, saying…are those tears, O Messenger of Allah? And he(SAAW) responded something to the effect: "The heart is saddened, and the eyes shed the tears, but we say nothing on our tongues other than what pleases Allah. Surely, we shall miss you, my dear son Ibrahim."
We become sad. That is human. But to be patient and remain calm and remembering Allah and giving praises to Him even at time of calamity, that is the true test.
I only pray that Allah will mercifully bless me and my family with the reward for being patient or trying to be patient at this most trying time. I pray that we will be counted and testified among the true believers. And I pray that we can all take the important lesson to be had from all of this, and that we can apply the lesson to the remainder of our lives.
It was once said that "no man is an island". And how true that is. None of us is alone. No matter where we come from, or what we develop into, we have a web of our social contacts—whether family or non-family, who are important to us and to whom we are also important.
For the more fortunate, as we grow older, the web not only increases in size but in strength as well, as we interact with people throughout our lives, strengthening the bonds that bind us.
Yet in abiding by the very nature of this earthly life itself, we are bound someday, after the many typical and probable ups and downs of life, to face the great and even terrifying hardship of having to endure the loss of any one (or perhaps more) of our beloved. For, as it is said many times throughout Allah's Book: "every soul shall taste death". (s. 3, v. 185)
This life is a testing ground by which Allah separates the hypocrites from the true believers. And the requirement for one to be a true believer is that he believes in and submits himself to Allah's will, and that he loves Allah and His Messenger more than this life and anything in it, including the fruits and pleasures of this life.
If any of us were given two plots of land to choose from on which to build a home to live in-one dry desert land with no trees or life, the other full with the life of fresh greenery from a plentiful source of water—which would you most likely prefer? The analogy could be applied to our final eternal abode—the choice between heaven and hell, the choice between an eternal abode of bliss and ever-flowing rivers or an eternal abode of torment and thirst. Most of us immediately would respond "Yes! I want eternal bliss! A residence beside which flows a non-ending river."
But how to attain that? The road to achieving this ultimate goal is not an easy road. We will find many obstacles along the way, which serve to either strengthen us and prove our faith, or to weed out the weak hypocrites.
Allah says: "And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits…" (s. 2, v. 155).
Then it goes on to reassure us of the reward for patience:
"…but give glad tidings to the patient. Who, when afflicted with calamity, say: "Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return." (s. 2, v. 155-156)
It goes on to describe those who are patient, and further stresses their grand promise of reward (and surely, Allah does not relent on His promise):
"They are those on whom are showered with blessings and forgiveness from their Lord, and they are those who receive His Mercy, and it is they who are the guided ones." (s. 2, v. 157)
It is never easy to be remaining in this life after someone you love has had to take his lone trip to the Lord. Throughout any trial we may pass, it is helpfully reassuring to realize and remember that we are not alone in our pain, that we have not been singled out for our loss. Although it does not relieve us of the pain, it is helpful for us to perhaps tolerate it better and hence move forward into a new "normal" for our life to realize that others have in the past and are also simultaneously going through similar or perhaps worse hardships than what we ourselves face today.
Prophet Mohammed(SAAW) had a very difficult year in the beginning of his reception of the message of Islam. To back up even further, his whole life was one difficult obstacle followed by another, beginning with his orphaned state at a very young and tender age. This all served to strengthen him and prepare him for his mission to come, all the while giving us invaluable lessons by which to mold our own lives.
The most difficult time that he(SAAW) passed through came to be known as "the year of sadness". It was at this time in history of the Arabs that there had not yet been established the practice of numbering the years for the marking of the passage of time, as we know of it today. This practice did not truly begin for the Arabs until the event of the formal migration of the Muslim Nation to Madinah. Before that, the passage of time in terms of years was marked by giving the year a name, identifying it by a particular outstanding event that occurred during the year, such as the year of the elephant, the year in which prophet Mohammed(SAAW) was himself born. Such goes for this year which occurred early in the prophet's mission, "the year of sadness". It was during this year that his first wife, Khadijah, and his uncle Abu Talib, both died. Khadijah supported him with her resources of money and reputation when he himself had little or nothing. She reassured him and was a constant comfort to him when all others forsook him. She was the only one of all his wives that was blessed to produce for him children. She was the first, second only to Mohammed(SAAW) himself, to accept the message of Islam-the first of all Muslims to join the prophet(SAAW) in humble submission to Allah in prayer. He also suffered the loss of his uncle Abu Talib. After the passage of his grandfather who raised him since his orphanage at the tender age of six, Abu Talib ever so lovingly took the young Mohammed(SAAW) into his heart and home, giving him equal, if not better, treatment than his own children. It was Abu Talib who often interfered with protection for
Mohammed(SAAW) and his early followers when the local Meccans (particularly the Quraish, from which Mohammed himself descends) began not only to reject them and their message, but also to persecute them for their religious preference. And yet for Mohammed(SAAW), the passage of his beloved uncle Abu Talib was a double blow. Not only did he die, but it is recorded that he died refusing to pledge allegiance to Mohammed(SAAW), refusing to state the declaration of Islamic faith. This proved to be immensely difficult for Mohammed(SAAW), who remained with his uncle through his last breath, witnessing the heart-breaking refusal of his uncle to state the declaration of submission in Islam.
As if these two losses of the two closest persons to Mohammed(SAAW) was not enough, he also suffered the humiliation of rejection from the people of Taif. When he realized the high instance of rejection among the Meccans and the rise of the persecution of the new Muslims at the hands of the Meccans, Mohammed(SAAW) took to spread his message to the people of Taif, in the hopes of better reception. Not only was his message rejected, but he was humiliated to be literally chased out and back to Mecca by the people of the region taking to throwing stones, etc.
A strong and overwhelming wave of depression set down upon him. The arch-angel Gibreel (AS) presented himself unto him, offering to destroy the region (i.e. the Taif area) by pounding the two mountains together, destroying all life between them. We are told in the Quran that Mohammed(SAAW) is a mercy to the world. Out of his Islamic nature of mercy, he refused the option of his deserved revenge, stating of his hope and prayer that there might eventually emerge believers out of that region. With his rejection at a chance for revenge, he also mercifully saved all other life from death and destruction.
It was shortly after these incidents which caused the great sense of sadness in the prophet's heart that the chapter of the Quran titled "Yusuf" was revealed. The tafseer of this chapter tells us that one of the important and outstanding qualities of this chapter is that is a source of healing for those overwhelmed with sadness. Hence, it is an excellent therapy for healing for one who is inflicted with great sadness to recite or listen to beautiful recitations of this chapter.
Patience is an essential quality of which we are promised great reward. It is not an easy quality to acquire. It takes strong dedication and determination to attain. But it is indeed humanly possible, with the help of Allah.
We are told in the Quran: "O you who believe! Seek help in patience and prayer. Truly, Allah is with those who are patient." (s. 2, v. 158)
Perhaps the surest way to attain patience in particular at the time of tragedy or calamity is by humbling one's self in submissive prayer to the Creator. The prophet(SAAW) used to request of Bilal-the first mu'addhin of the Muslim Nation-to pronounce the call for the prayer when he felt so overwhelmed by the sadness afflicting him in that year of extreme sadness. He found a solace in the prayer that he could not find elsewhere in any other situation.
In taking his(SAAW) excellent example to heart, we too should seek that same solace in prayer and communication with our Creator.
After having gone through two recent tragedies in my own life-I can vouch for the fact that indeed the prayer and remembrance of Allah much is the only way to pull yourself through it with any sense of sanity and hope left in you.
Several months ago, my father died of lung cancer. When I last saw him two years ago on my last visit to the US, saying our goobyes at the airport as I was ready to make my way toward the plane to bring me home to Saudi Arabia, I had this odd pang strike my heart-a premonition, if you will-that I shall never see him again. The sensation was so strong that I could no longer look him in the eyes. And I know he felt the same thing, even though he never mentioned it to me. He avoided me as strongly as I avoided him. When his illness, which had temporarily peaked off after the initial rounds of combined chemo and radiation, suddenly took a turn for the worse, I immediately made arrangements to travel in hopes of seeing him one last time. Oh, how I wished and prayed and willed for that premonition to be a false alarm-silly women's intuition. And it did seem so at first. Even thought the final test results were still several days away, and the Dr. himself had not mentioned about the urgency of his condition, I just knew that his life was spiraling away. Fast. Everyone in the family seemed so optimistic-especially Mom. Hindsight tells me now that she really sensed it too-she was just apparently in denial mode, out of the fear of the depths of sadness she would be in once left for the remainder of her life without him. It was only one week from the time I sensed the urgency of his illness and made my reservations until that final date of flying. But it was never meant for me to see Dad once more-nor for him to see me. My flight was scheduled on Monday. Dad passed away on Sunday morning, only ten minutes after I talked to him one last time-telling him how I loved him, reminding him of God, and letting him know that it's OK now-OK to let go. Didn't want him to be facing his last breath and thinking about me. He had already said his official goodbyes to everyone the day before, and had even mentioned my name to them all, telling them to tell me that he was sorry that he would not be able to wait for me before he had to go.
Alhamdulillah. We come from Allah, and to Him is our return. (s. 2, v. 156)
Now, only four months after losing my father, I have lose my precious grandson. He suffocated on the smoke fumes of a fire in the house. Apparently, he tripped and could not get up to run out in time. His own mother and the other grandmother each ran several times into the smoke-filled room in search of him, but they could not find him from the thickness of the smoke. Local fire department personnel who were first on the scene came ill-prepared, to boot. No gas masks, no flash lights, no water hoses or tanks-so they could do nothing to put out the fire nor could they really even do anything to save the victims still trapped in the house. The victims that did get out eventually had to do it all on their own-my daughter-in-law included- by the grace of Allah. The only one remaining was my precious two and a half-year-old grandson. He was found later when the fire was finally doused and someone finally brought a flashlight to the scene. After receiving a frantic call from my daughter-in-law, I appeared on the scene quite early. But I myself could do nothing to save my darling little "Azooz". A terrible turn of events for him and for me-for the whole family indeed. Always, before this, he could rest assured to find safety and security in my arms, if he didn't find it elsewhere. I was always there to provide the comfort, safety, and security that he needed. Even as a young babe, he would calm down and even sleep in my arms when he would cry from everyone else. Although our time together was actually quite short, we connected together on a different wave-length apart from everyone else. But not this time. I could not provide for my darling AbdulAziz the safety and security that he needed. It was Allah's plan that he die so young and innocent-free of a record against him.
Alhamdulillah. Surely, we come from Allah, and to Him is our return. (s. 2, v. 156)
Truly, I am ever thankful to Allah for all things. As for my father, he lived a long and full life. We had many memories with him. He was blessed in that he knew his end was coming, and he prepared for it in his own way as he felt best at the time. He got the chance to say goodbye to his loved ones-something that so many of us do not get. And I had the reassurance that I had my own private time with him on the phone, as I was the last one to speak to him from this world, excepting for Mom. As for my darling AbdulAziz, his death was a real hard shocking blow to us all. Alhamdulillah. But we gather reassurance in remembering that he was taken at a time in his life when he was not yet held accountable for his deeds. He was still an innocent child, therefore guaranteed of the promise of Allah's mercy in the heavens. We still pray diligently for His mercy upon our baby. He was saved from any future torment or failure in this life. And his death itself was a rather merciful death, for he suffocated on the CO, of which it is reported that the victim merely falls into a coma sleep, and then death comes along painlessly. Alhamdulillah.
An odd coincidence-my own daughter-in-law (AbdulAziz's grieving mother) comes from a family originating from Taif. The young woman, as well as the whole family, is a fine practicing Muslimah. She is even a 'hafizah' of the Quran, mashaAllah. And she was raising and training my beloved AbdulAziz in the finest Islamic manner. May Allah bless her with many more fine children, and may He have mercy on my dear AbdulAziz, and may He mercifully heal our aching hearts and fill the great void.
It has been a difficult time, to say the least. For me, this has been the year of sadness.
Of all the trials I have been through in my life, this has been truly the hardest. As a grandmother, I feel the guilt that I could not save my grandson. As a mother, I have had to deal with the guilt and pain of watching my son and his wife having to endure such pain. AbdulAziz was their first-born. A terribly difficult blow. We mothers try to absorb pain for our children. But I could not absorb this for them-which makes it even harder-to stand by and observe their pain-merely aching along with them.
Alhamdulillah. We are from Allah, and to Him is our return. (s. 2, v. 156)
Ah-so true are Allah's words-Verily! In the remembrance of Allah is comfort for the heart!(s. 13, v. 28)
Prepare yourselves for any calamity to come at any time. Don't scream, or rant and rave. Be sad-yes-that is only human. But be aware of the test at hand-be a true believer. Be patient and say: "We come from Allah, and to Him is our return." (s. 2, v. 156)
And then seek patience, solace, and comfort in prayer and remembrance.
For me, I have had to reflect often on the example set for us by our beloved prophet Mohammed(SAAW), when he himself resorted to prayer and remembrance for the healing of his own heart. And to realize that there is no harm in feeling and expressing the sadness, while at the same time appeasing to Allah with words that hopefully please Him.
As we have in his(SAAW) example when his own son Ibrahim died in infancy-one of the companions noticed tears rolling down his cheeks when it came time for the burial. And he commented on that, saying…are those tears, O Messenger of Allah? And he(SAAW) responded something to the effect: "The heart is saddened, and the eyes shed the tears, but we say nothing on our tongues other than what pleases Allah. Surely, we shall miss you, my dear son Ibrahim."
We become sad. That is human. But to be patient and remain calm and remembering Allah and giving praises to Him even at time of calamity, that is the true test.
I only pray that Allah will mercifully bless me and my family with the reward for being patient or trying to be patient at this most trying time. I pray that we will be counted and testified among the true believers. And I pray that we can all take the important lesson to be had from all of this, and that we can apply the lesson to the remainder of our lives.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
COUNTING THE PASSING OF TIME
Allah says in His Book: 'It is He Who made the sun a shining thing and the moon as a light and measured out for it stages that you might know the number of years and the reckoning.' (s. 10, v. 5)
We see by this that the moon was created for the purpose that we may count the number of years, that we may determine when one year has passed, and the next is beginning.
But why should we count the years? Why should we count the passing of time?
Before the revelation of this verse, the years were not yet counted necessarily in the numerical fashion that we are accustomed to today. At least not yet on the basis of the changing stages of the moon. The Gregorian calendar, as we know it in the Christian and western world, is not based upon the changing stages of the moon. It is based upon the assumption that there are 356 days to the year, excepting leap year, when there will be an extra day.
The Lunar calendar was instilled into the Islamic calculations, because it is based upon the stages of the moon to account for the coming of a new month, and therefore the passing of a year.
For many years, it has been a tradition in the non-muslim world to celebrate the passing of the old year and the beginning of the new year. It has become such an established tradition as to surpass all religious celebration-almost a religious celebration in and of itself. But there are no religious ties to this date whatsoever. It is merely the attraction of the celebratory nature of this date that entices so many people worldwide to its notification and celebration. It has raised to such a status that almost all business and commerce comes to a halt worldwide for the day and perhaps continues on into the day following, such as to allow for recuperation from the parties of the previous night.
It has now come to a sad state that many Muslims worldwide are not only recognizing the passing of the new year (both in the Gregorian as well as the Hijjri calendars), but they have taken one step further to celebrating it, even if only in the sense that they exchange sentiments of congradulations and remembrances on the date of the first day of the first month of the new year.
By sheer coincidence of the closeness of the dates of the two calendar systems this year (the Gregorian and Hijjri), the passing of the old year into the next are very close together this year. And so it become even more confusing to many Muslims, in that they tend to opt to exchange sentiments of congradulations and remembrance at this time.
My dear brethren, many reputed scholars worldwide have announced and recognized this mistake that Muslims are falling into, issuing religious rulings (fatawa) to the effect to remind us that there is no evidence whatsoever that this occasion (the passing of the previous year and the beginning of the new) was something recognized and so celebrated by the prophet(SAAW) or his companions(ARA). In fact, all evidence points away from this, and suggests that it is not something acceptable to celebrate this marking of time. Allah Himself has told us in His Book that He has set up the moon and appointed it in stages in order that we may count and mark the passage of time- the passing of the years, one into the next.
Another grave mistake that many Muslims are entering into by their practice of recognition and celebration of this passage of an old year into the new by exchanging congradulations and remembrances is that they mention, in their greetings to one another, the mention of the assumption (presented in a format such as the one exchanging the greetings has firm knowledge of this statement) that the record that had been going on for the previous year is now being rolled up and sealed, only to be released later on the day of judgement.
This in and of itself is a great danger that the Muslim engages in, by appearing or assuming to know something of the unknown, which Allah Himself has already claimed as His reign alone. There is no evidence whatsoever in any Islamic literature that the record is rolled up and sealed at the completion of a year, and a new record begins with the new year. This claim gives impression that once that record is rolled up and sealed, there is no chance for redemption by seeking forgiveness for sins made during that time of which the record represents. This goes strongly and completely against the teachings of Islam. As long as this world is in existence, and as long as the person has life, then his/her record is still open and in the process of being recorded. Hence there is still chance of the person to do something right to offset the wrongs he has done any time in his/her past.
For us as Muslims, and in following the Hijjri calendar, we have a more important date to recognize with the passing of the new year. The first month of the Hijjri calendar is the month of Muharram. It is the month in which the first generation of Muslims, at the direction of their beloved prophet(SAAW), made their immigration from Makkah, where they were persecuted, to Madinah, where they found solace and recluse and protection and brotherhood. It is also the month in which the 'ashura' (the tenth) occurs. And yet, the prophet(SAAW) never did once celebrate the passing of the old year into the new by the coming of Muharram, nor did he advise his companions to do so either. He merely recognized the passing of time by the changing of the moons, and so noticed when one month changed into the next, and therefore continued on in his life and leading and teaching the new Muslims their religion.
As for Muharram itself, I have already mentioned that it is the marking of time when the Muslims first migrated to Madinah in bulk. And it is also the month during which we witness the 'ashura' (the tenth). This is an important date as well, perhaps at least as important as, if not more than, the coming of a new year.
It is reported that when the prophet(SAAW) migrated to Madinah, he came upon a community of Jews fasting on this occasion. Upon asking about the reason for their
fast, he was told that this was the date on which Moses(AS) led his people out from under the tyranny of slavery under Pharoh, and into freedom. Upon hearing this, Mohammed(SAAW) replied that they (i.e. the Muslims) were more of right and deserving to follow the ways of Moses(AS), and so he began to observe the fast of ashura (the tenth of Muharram), and directed his companions(ARA) to do so as well. At this time, the divine command for the fast of the month of Ramadhan had not yet been revealed, and so this was basically the only fast yet observed by the Muslims. And at this period of time, it was a mandatory fast that Mohammed(SAAW) directed his companions to observe. In order to differentiate themselves from the Jews, the prophet(SAAW) made order that they combine with the tenth either the day preceding (i.e. 9th) or the day following (i.e. the 11th). In other words, the fast of ashura then developed into a two-day fast, not simply one day of the tenth. Then, when the divine revelation later gave directive to the Muslims to fast the obligatory fast of the month of Ramadhan each year, the status of the fast of ashura was released from obligatory to a thing of voluntary nature, of which it remains to this date. Hence, the fast of the month of Ramadhan is an obligation each Muslim owes to Allah yearly, while the fast of ashura is a voluntary form of worship that renders great reward to those who practice it, yet no harm or punishment to those who do not practice it.
It is in this vein that I extend my greeting to all in remembrance of these important dates in our Muslim Hijjri calendar-the passage of the Eid Al-Adha, the coming of the new year by the end of the month of Dhul-Hijja and the beginning of Muharram, the month in which our pious predecessors migrated from their lives of religious persecution, and the recognition and remembrance of the first fast of the very first Muslims-the fast of ashura.
I heartily congradulate those who attended and completed their haj-may Allah mercifully accept from you and forgive you and me our sins. I congradulate all of my Muslim brethren on the passing of the occasion of Eid-Al-Adha, even though belated it may be. And I beckon to all to remember this important month in our Hijjri calendar-the advent of the month of Muharram-the occasion in which the first Muslims migrated from the state of religious persecution and humiliation to a state of religious freedom and expression.
Let's all remember this time not by greetings of a happy new year, but by worshipping Allah as He deserves and as our beloved prophet(SAAW) himself did, by observing the fast of ashura, praising Allah, giving thanks to Him, and humbling ourselves in hopes of attaining piety through the fast and remembrance of Him.
We see by this that the moon was created for the purpose that we may count the number of years, that we may determine when one year has passed, and the next is beginning.
But why should we count the years? Why should we count the passing of time?
Before the revelation of this verse, the years were not yet counted necessarily in the numerical fashion that we are accustomed to today. At least not yet on the basis of the changing stages of the moon. The Gregorian calendar, as we know it in the Christian and western world, is not based upon the changing stages of the moon. It is based upon the assumption that there are 356 days to the year, excepting leap year, when there will be an extra day.
The Lunar calendar was instilled into the Islamic calculations, because it is based upon the stages of the moon to account for the coming of a new month, and therefore the passing of a year.
For many years, it has been a tradition in the non-muslim world to celebrate the passing of the old year and the beginning of the new year. It has become such an established tradition as to surpass all religious celebration-almost a religious celebration in and of itself. But there are no religious ties to this date whatsoever. It is merely the attraction of the celebratory nature of this date that entices so many people worldwide to its notification and celebration. It has raised to such a status that almost all business and commerce comes to a halt worldwide for the day and perhaps continues on into the day following, such as to allow for recuperation from the parties of the previous night.
It has now come to a sad state that many Muslims worldwide are not only recognizing the passing of the new year (both in the Gregorian as well as the Hijjri calendars), but they have taken one step further to celebrating it, even if only in the sense that they exchange sentiments of congradulations and remembrances on the date of the first day of the first month of the new year.
By sheer coincidence of the closeness of the dates of the two calendar systems this year (the Gregorian and Hijjri), the passing of the old year into the next are very close together this year. And so it become even more confusing to many Muslims, in that they tend to opt to exchange sentiments of congradulations and remembrance at this time.
My dear brethren, many reputed scholars worldwide have announced and recognized this mistake that Muslims are falling into, issuing religious rulings (fatawa) to the effect to remind us that there is no evidence whatsoever that this occasion (the passing of the previous year and the beginning of the new) was something recognized and so celebrated by the prophet(SAAW) or his companions(ARA). In fact, all evidence points away from this, and suggests that it is not something acceptable to celebrate this marking of time. Allah Himself has told us in His Book that He has set up the moon and appointed it in stages in order that we may count and mark the passage of time- the passing of the years, one into the next.
Another grave mistake that many Muslims are entering into by their practice of recognition and celebration of this passage of an old year into the new by exchanging congradulations and remembrances is that they mention, in their greetings to one another, the mention of the assumption (presented in a format such as the one exchanging the greetings has firm knowledge of this statement) that the record that had been going on for the previous year is now being rolled up and sealed, only to be released later on the day of judgement.
This in and of itself is a great danger that the Muslim engages in, by appearing or assuming to know something of the unknown, which Allah Himself has already claimed as His reign alone. There is no evidence whatsoever in any Islamic literature that the record is rolled up and sealed at the completion of a year, and a new record begins with the new year. This claim gives impression that once that record is rolled up and sealed, there is no chance for redemption by seeking forgiveness for sins made during that time of which the record represents. This goes strongly and completely against the teachings of Islam. As long as this world is in existence, and as long as the person has life, then his/her record is still open and in the process of being recorded. Hence there is still chance of the person to do something right to offset the wrongs he has done any time in his/her past.
For us as Muslims, and in following the Hijjri calendar, we have a more important date to recognize with the passing of the new year. The first month of the Hijjri calendar is the month of Muharram. It is the month in which the first generation of Muslims, at the direction of their beloved prophet(SAAW), made their immigration from Makkah, where they were persecuted, to Madinah, where they found solace and recluse and protection and brotherhood. It is also the month in which the 'ashura' (the tenth) occurs. And yet, the prophet(SAAW) never did once celebrate the passing of the old year into the new by the coming of Muharram, nor did he advise his companions to do so either. He merely recognized the passing of time by the changing of the moons, and so noticed when one month changed into the next, and therefore continued on in his life and leading and teaching the new Muslims their religion.
As for Muharram itself, I have already mentioned that it is the marking of time when the Muslims first migrated to Madinah in bulk. And it is also the month during which we witness the 'ashura' (the tenth). This is an important date as well, perhaps at least as important as, if not more than, the coming of a new year.
It is reported that when the prophet(SAAW) migrated to Madinah, he came upon a community of Jews fasting on this occasion. Upon asking about the reason for their
fast, he was told that this was the date on which Moses(AS) led his people out from under the tyranny of slavery under Pharoh, and into freedom. Upon hearing this, Mohammed(SAAW) replied that they (i.e. the Muslims) were more of right and deserving to follow the ways of Moses(AS), and so he began to observe the fast of ashura (the tenth of Muharram), and directed his companions(ARA) to do so as well. At this time, the divine command for the fast of the month of Ramadhan had not yet been revealed, and so this was basically the only fast yet observed by the Muslims. And at this period of time, it was a mandatory fast that Mohammed(SAAW) directed his companions to observe. In order to differentiate themselves from the Jews, the prophet(SAAW) made order that they combine with the tenth either the day preceding (i.e. 9th) or the day following (i.e. the 11th). In other words, the fast of ashura then developed into a two-day fast, not simply one day of the tenth. Then, when the divine revelation later gave directive to the Muslims to fast the obligatory fast of the month of Ramadhan each year, the status of the fast of ashura was released from obligatory to a thing of voluntary nature, of which it remains to this date. Hence, the fast of the month of Ramadhan is an obligation each Muslim owes to Allah yearly, while the fast of ashura is a voluntary form of worship that renders great reward to those who practice it, yet no harm or punishment to those who do not practice it.
It is in this vein that I extend my greeting to all in remembrance of these important dates in our Muslim Hijjri calendar-the passage of the Eid Al-Adha, the coming of the new year by the end of the month of Dhul-Hijja and the beginning of Muharram, the month in which our pious predecessors migrated from their lives of religious persecution, and the recognition and remembrance of the first fast of the very first Muslims-the fast of ashura.
I heartily congradulate those who attended and completed their haj-may Allah mercifully accept from you and forgive you and me our sins. I congradulate all of my Muslim brethren on the passing of the occasion of Eid-Al-Adha, even though belated it may be. And I beckon to all to remember this important month in our Hijjri calendar-the advent of the month of Muharram-the occasion in which the first Muslims migrated from the state of religious persecution and humiliation to a state of religious freedom and expression.
Let's all remember this time not by greetings of a happy new year, but by worshipping Allah as He deserves and as our beloved prophet(SAAW) himself did, by observing the fast of ashura, praising Allah, giving thanks to Him, and humbling ourselves in hopes of attaining piety through the fast and remembrance of Him.
THE ESSENCE OF THE HAJ
Many years ago before the advent of Islam, or Christianity, or even Judaism as we know of these religions today, Allah gave the command to His chosen prophet Ibrahim (AS): 'And proclaim to (among) the people of the haj (pilgrimage).' (Holy Quran, 22:27). He followed up this command with the reassuring promise that it (the call) will be answered by the response of people coming from far and wide, literally from the furthest corners and deepest valleys of the earth-walking and riding every possible beast available for travel. This, in a time and age when no such commodity or technological aid such as microphones and speakers existed. This, in a time and age in man's history when methods of determining the passage of time, in terms of months and years, had not yet been deciphered by man. This, in a time and age when there was not yet discovered such devices for providing comfort such as refrigeration for cooling water and preserving food, or air conditioning or even tents-all providing comfort and ease for today's pilgrims. This, at a time and age in which it took many months-even years-to pass over the land and through the hardships it took for the people to reach their destination of the sacred spot known as "Makkah'.
As a great honor of commemoration to Ibrahim (AS) and even greater honor to Allah, millions of people now answer this age-old call. The conveniences of modern travel and accommodation coupled with a major rise worldwide in the monetary station of people has enabled such masses of over 2 million pilgrims to attend the pilgrimage yearly.
This is no small feat, and something which we should not take lightly by forgetting to thank Allah for this great blessing.
Many hardships and tragic obstacles have scarred the pilgrimages of the past. But those associated with the responsibility of ensuring the safety and comfort of the pilgrims-the honored guests of the Most Merciful-have learned the hard lessons of those tragic events. And they have worked long and diligently in making the proper corrections to ensure the safety and comfort of all. Great strides have been taken in this direction by the Saudi Government:
As a precautionary method to preventing the wildfires that have previously taken over the tent city of Mina, gas and even electric cookers have been prohibited, and a system of bringing in food prepared outside or in assigned kitchens to the pilgrims has been established and enforced. Even the very tragic incidents of the stampedes at the jamarat areas (the sites where the pilgrims toss the stones in imitation of Ibrahim's stoning the devil when he was tempted by him) have been eliminated by the construction of multiple-level bridges and enforcement of one-way traffic for this procedure, as well as an enforced orderly admittance from the lanes of tents into the jamarat region.
Nowhere in the world will you witness any such gatherings of nearly 3 million pilgrims gathered at one spot, at one time, dressed in the same bland simple cloth, facing the same direction at one time, all praying essentially for one thing: forgiveness. All asking of One God for admittance into heaven by His Mercy. Pauper, beggar, king, businessman, lower laborer, all standing shoulder to shoulder on the same standing--none outshining the other in the sight of Allah by anything other than their piety held within the depths of their hearts.
Such a beautiful spot and time--the mountain of Mercy on the Day in which He lowers His vast Mercy on the masses!
To repeat the words the pilgrims so humbly and hopefully repeat: 'Labaik Allahumma labaik' (I am here, O Allah-I am here in answer to Your call).
Allah has extended the invitation, and the humble, hopeful pilgrims have answered. They have accepted Allah's invitation to be His honored guests. He is by sure the Most Generous and Beneficial! He has promised His Mercy and forgiveness for those who come to Him, and He never relinquishes on His promise. His only stipulation is that His slaves answer His call.
On this Day of Mercy-the Day of Arafat-we have many multitudes of yearning pilgrims answering His call.
May He shed His Everlasting Mercy upon us all!
As a great honor of commemoration to Ibrahim (AS) and even greater honor to Allah, millions of people now answer this age-old call. The conveniences of modern travel and accommodation coupled with a major rise worldwide in the monetary station of people has enabled such masses of over 2 million pilgrims to attend the pilgrimage yearly.
This is no small feat, and something which we should not take lightly by forgetting to thank Allah for this great blessing.
Many hardships and tragic obstacles have scarred the pilgrimages of the past. But those associated with the responsibility of ensuring the safety and comfort of the pilgrims-the honored guests of the Most Merciful-have learned the hard lessons of those tragic events. And they have worked long and diligently in making the proper corrections to ensure the safety and comfort of all. Great strides have been taken in this direction by the Saudi Government:
As a precautionary method to preventing the wildfires that have previously taken over the tent city of Mina, gas and even electric cookers have been prohibited, and a system of bringing in food prepared outside or in assigned kitchens to the pilgrims has been established and enforced. Even the very tragic incidents of the stampedes at the jamarat areas (the sites where the pilgrims toss the stones in imitation of Ibrahim's stoning the devil when he was tempted by him) have been eliminated by the construction of multiple-level bridges and enforcement of one-way traffic for this procedure, as well as an enforced orderly admittance from the lanes of tents into the jamarat region.
Nowhere in the world will you witness any such gatherings of nearly 3 million pilgrims gathered at one spot, at one time, dressed in the same bland simple cloth, facing the same direction at one time, all praying essentially for one thing: forgiveness. All asking of One God for admittance into heaven by His Mercy. Pauper, beggar, king, businessman, lower laborer, all standing shoulder to shoulder on the same standing--none outshining the other in the sight of Allah by anything other than their piety held within the depths of their hearts.
Such a beautiful spot and time--the mountain of Mercy on the Day in which He lowers His vast Mercy on the masses!
To repeat the words the pilgrims so humbly and hopefully repeat: 'Labaik Allahumma labaik' (I am here, O Allah-I am here in answer to Your call).
Allah has extended the invitation, and the humble, hopeful pilgrims have answered. They have accepted Allah's invitation to be His honored guests. He is by sure the Most Generous and Beneficial! He has promised His Mercy and forgiveness for those who come to Him, and He never relinquishes on His promise. His only stipulation is that His slaves answer His call.
On this Day of Mercy-the Day of Arafat-we have many multitudes of yearning pilgrims answering His call.
May He shed His Everlasting Mercy upon us all!
THE RECORDERS
We are told in the Qur'an that there are five things explicitly of which the knowledge is with Allah alone. As it says in His Book: 'Verily, Allah, with Him (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour, He sends down the rain, and knows that which is in the wombs. No person knows what he will earn tomorrow, and no person knows in what land he will die. Verily, Allah is All-Knower, All-Aware (of things).' (s. 31, v. 34)
We are told also that Allah knows full well what is in our hearts, and that this knowledge is also for Allah alone.
However, out of His everlasting mercy for us-His creatures, and His truly Omniscient power over all things and all of creation, He has decreed that a small section of His creation is endowed with an eminently small morsel of His tremendous knowledge and insight. Glory be to Him, in whose Hand is the dominion over all! It is only for Him to decree for anything to be, and it is!
He has granted a portion of His powerful knowledge and insight of the world of the unknown and the unseen to a select group of angels. Of these angels, He has appointed two for every single soul as recorders of their deeds. And He knows full well that these angels are worthy of the grave responsibility not only of recording everything, but as well of delving into their charge's hearts and comprehending and then recording their intentions as well. For Allah has created the angels in differing fashion from mankind-whatever they have been appointed to do, they do so in the most perfect obedience to Allah's directive, and with the utmost dignity and without questioning or hesitance.
It says in His Book: '(Remember) that the two receivers (recording angels) receive (each human being), one sitting on the right and one of the left (to note his or her actions). Not a word does he (or she) utter but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it).' (s. 50, v. 17-18).
Now, you may say-but what does that have to do with the unknown, or the unseen? What a person does or says has been publicized-at the very least to those constantly around him/her- i.e. the recording angels.
Yes, but Allah also tells us: 'And indeed We have created man, and We know what his ownself whispers to him. And We are nearer to him that his jugular vein.' (s. 50, v. 16)
Yet, still, this above-mentioned verse is referring the knowledge of that which is in our hearts to be with Allah.
But we have indication otherwise, in a hadith qudsi, of how Allah has decreed for the recording angels to have the insight and ability to know what is in the deepest depth of our hearts.
Narrated Abu Huraira (ARA), that Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said: Allah says:
" Whenever My slave intends to do a bad deed, (I say to the deeds-recording angels): Do not record it against him until he (actually) commits it. If he has done so, write it down exactly as one in his record book. But if he refrains from it for My sake, write down this as a virtue in his favor. And when he intends to do a good deed, but does not actually do it, write it as a virtue for him. And if he puts it into practice, write its reward equal to, from ten to seven hundred times (in his account). (Muslim, Bukhari, and Tirmidhi).
Glory be to Him the Most High, the Most Compassionate, certainly the Most Merciful!!
We see with the evidence of this hadith, that Allah's grand mercy and compassion reaches out to us in such an extent that we are not only rewarded for our deeds ten-fold, but we are even rewarded for merely thinking to do a good deed. As well, not only are we held accountable only one time for a bad deed-but we also receive recorded reward for merely thinking to do a bad deed without commencing to commit it. Glory be to Him-such compassion and mercy.
I pray that we can all find the inspiration to be had from these examples given here, that we may not only form our lives to performing more good deeds, but that we may also be blessed by His mercy and guidance to clear and purify our intentions as well.
May our scales of deeds weigh heavy towards the good.
We are told also that Allah knows full well what is in our hearts, and that this knowledge is also for Allah alone.
However, out of His everlasting mercy for us-His creatures, and His truly Omniscient power over all things and all of creation, He has decreed that a small section of His creation is endowed with an eminently small morsel of His tremendous knowledge and insight. Glory be to Him, in whose Hand is the dominion over all! It is only for Him to decree for anything to be, and it is!
He has granted a portion of His powerful knowledge and insight of the world of the unknown and the unseen to a select group of angels. Of these angels, He has appointed two for every single soul as recorders of their deeds. And He knows full well that these angels are worthy of the grave responsibility not only of recording everything, but as well of delving into their charge's hearts and comprehending and then recording their intentions as well. For Allah has created the angels in differing fashion from mankind-whatever they have been appointed to do, they do so in the most perfect obedience to Allah's directive, and with the utmost dignity and without questioning or hesitance.
It says in His Book: '(Remember) that the two receivers (recording angels) receive (each human being), one sitting on the right and one of the left (to note his or her actions). Not a word does he (or she) utter but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it).' (s. 50, v. 17-18).
Now, you may say-but what does that have to do with the unknown, or the unseen? What a person does or says has been publicized-at the very least to those constantly around him/her- i.e. the recording angels.
Yes, but Allah also tells us: 'And indeed We have created man, and We know what his ownself whispers to him. And We are nearer to him that his jugular vein.' (s. 50, v. 16)
Yet, still, this above-mentioned verse is referring the knowledge of that which is in our hearts to be with Allah.
But we have indication otherwise, in a hadith qudsi, of how Allah has decreed for the recording angels to have the insight and ability to know what is in the deepest depth of our hearts.
Narrated Abu Huraira (ARA), that Allah's Messenger (pbuh) said: Allah says:
" Whenever My slave intends to do a bad deed, (I say to the deeds-recording angels): Do not record it against him until he (actually) commits it. If he has done so, write it down exactly as one in his record book. But if he refrains from it for My sake, write down this as a virtue in his favor. And when he intends to do a good deed, but does not actually do it, write it as a virtue for him. And if he puts it into practice, write its reward equal to, from ten to seven hundred times (in his account). (Muslim, Bukhari, and Tirmidhi).
Glory be to Him the Most High, the Most Compassionate, certainly the Most Merciful!!
We see with the evidence of this hadith, that Allah's grand mercy and compassion reaches out to us in such an extent that we are not only rewarded for our deeds ten-fold, but we are even rewarded for merely thinking to do a good deed. As well, not only are we held accountable only one time for a bad deed-but we also receive recorded reward for merely thinking to do a bad deed without commencing to commit it. Glory be to Him-such compassion and mercy.
I pray that we can all find the inspiration to be had from these examples given here, that we may not only form our lives to performing more good deeds, but that we may also be blessed by His mercy and guidance to clear and purify our intentions as well.
May our scales of deeds weigh heavy towards the good.
THE TIME PASSES
Allah the Almighty says (translation of the meaning): ' It is He Who made the sun a shining thing and the moon as a light and measured out for it stages that you might know the number of years and the reckoning. Allah did not create this but in truth.' (Qur'an 10:5)
Through the usage of these signs that Allah has mercifully given us to mark and know the passage of the years, we have witnessed the passage of yet another year and another Ramadhan. So quickly it has come, and so quickly it has gone.
It seems like only yesterday that we were awaiting the sighting of the new moon to determine the beginning of the fast. And it seems not so long ago that we were witnessing the passage of the previous Ramadhan.
A month has come and gone-the holy month of Ramadhan. A year has come and gone. Many years have passed from each of our lives. And for each one of us, our time to end this earthly life is coming nearer. With the passage of every moment, we come closer. How much closer, none of us knows for sure. But it is without question that with each breath we take in and then release, we become closer at the end.
With the passage of this time, our records are updated with whatever we have done or not done in that time. Imagine if you yourself were to keep a written daily log of your own activities, speech, and comings and goings. What would you find if you were to re-open that daily log for review? What will be found is your record that Allah has commanded to be recorded? What – if anything – did you accomplish in this holy month of Ramadhan? What have you accomplished during this past year since last Ramadhan, or during the previous years?
Allah the Almighty has endowed us humans with the great honor and responsibility of being His vicegerents on this earth. It is our duty to Him that we take this position seriously to make the best out of the time He has granted us. It is our duty to ourselves that we not waste the time granted us on things truly unworthy of our precious time.
I ask again-what have you accomplished in this Ramadhan? Did you review the Qur'an? Did you learn something new? Did you learn the value of patience? Did you learn how the poor feel when they are hungry? Did you help someone out in need? Did you increase your prayers?
If you did any of these or similar acts, then I commend and congratulate you heartily. For that is in part of what Ramadhan is all about, to help return us on the right path towards pleasing Allah and coming closer to Him through the various acts of worship.
And if you did not accomplish any of those mentioned, but spent Ramadhan in the flimsy cares and worries of this life-only fasting in the physical sense without paying attention to your spiritual needs, then I pray for you that you will soon awaken to the starvation that your soul is going through.
For, there is much more to be gained from Ramadhan than the mere accomplishment of the physical fast.
The greatest gain one can find with Ramadhan is the nourishment and maturing of the soul. Feed it with the knowledge and inspiration found only in the Qur'an. Sustain it by your connection to the Creator through prayer. Help it towards maturity by the patience necessary to continue on through a month-long fast.
I bid farewell to this beloved month of ours with the supplication to Allah that He may graciously accept our meager efforts and forgive us our misgivings and mistakes. I pray that if we should not live to witness yet another Ramadhan that He will grant us His Merciful Pardon, for He is the Most Merciful and Gracious of those who grant pardon. I pray also that if He shall grant us a longer life to witness yet another Ramadhan, that He shall bless us with the health and stamina to worship Him as He deserves.
The moments come and go; they pass and add up to days. The days turn into weeks and months, which then turn into the passage of yet another year. The years pass us by, and before we know it, a lifetime has passed us by. And what do we have to show for it all?
May Allah have mercy upon us and grant us His pardon.
Through the usage of these signs that Allah has mercifully given us to mark and know the passage of the years, we have witnessed the passage of yet another year and another Ramadhan. So quickly it has come, and so quickly it has gone.
It seems like only yesterday that we were awaiting the sighting of the new moon to determine the beginning of the fast. And it seems not so long ago that we were witnessing the passage of the previous Ramadhan.
A month has come and gone-the holy month of Ramadhan. A year has come and gone. Many years have passed from each of our lives. And for each one of us, our time to end this earthly life is coming nearer. With the passage of every moment, we come closer. How much closer, none of us knows for sure. But it is without question that with each breath we take in and then release, we become closer at the end.
With the passage of this time, our records are updated with whatever we have done or not done in that time. Imagine if you yourself were to keep a written daily log of your own activities, speech, and comings and goings. What would you find if you were to re-open that daily log for review? What will be found is your record that Allah has commanded to be recorded? What – if anything – did you accomplish in this holy month of Ramadhan? What have you accomplished during this past year since last Ramadhan, or during the previous years?
Allah the Almighty has endowed us humans with the great honor and responsibility of being His vicegerents on this earth. It is our duty to Him that we take this position seriously to make the best out of the time He has granted us. It is our duty to ourselves that we not waste the time granted us on things truly unworthy of our precious time.
I ask again-what have you accomplished in this Ramadhan? Did you review the Qur'an? Did you learn something new? Did you learn the value of patience? Did you learn how the poor feel when they are hungry? Did you help someone out in need? Did you increase your prayers?
If you did any of these or similar acts, then I commend and congratulate you heartily. For that is in part of what Ramadhan is all about, to help return us on the right path towards pleasing Allah and coming closer to Him through the various acts of worship.
And if you did not accomplish any of those mentioned, but spent Ramadhan in the flimsy cares and worries of this life-only fasting in the physical sense without paying attention to your spiritual needs, then I pray for you that you will soon awaken to the starvation that your soul is going through.
For, there is much more to be gained from Ramadhan than the mere accomplishment of the physical fast.
The greatest gain one can find with Ramadhan is the nourishment and maturing of the soul. Feed it with the knowledge and inspiration found only in the Qur'an. Sustain it by your connection to the Creator through prayer. Help it towards maturity by the patience necessary to continue on through a month-long fast.
I bid farewell to this beloved month of ours with the supplication to Allah that He may graciously accept our meager efforts and forgive us our misgivings and mistakes. I pray that if we should not live to witness yet another Ramadhan that He will grant us His Merciful Pardon, for He is the Most Merciful and Gracious of those who grant pardon. I pray also that if He shall grant us a longer life to witness yet another Ramadhan, that He shall bless us with the health and stamina to worship Him as He deserves.
The moments come and go; they pass and add up to days. The days turn into weeks and months, which then turn into the passage of yet another year. The years pass us by, and before we know it, a lifetime has passed us by. And what do we have to show for it all?
May Allah have mercy upon us and grant us His pardon.
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