وَالعَصرِِ .....By (the Token of) time

"Pens down", he said...

And with that, a tear drop rolled down my cheeks, no longer able to stay back.

That was it. My two and a half days of studying, my six sections of notes, my stressful weekend, and my one and a half hours of examination period... All gone! Down the drain! Worthless!

I recently wrote my first term exams. I was extremely delighted when my favourite paper was coming up.. Islamic Studies written. To me, it was an easy A, anything below 85% was a fail for that subject.

After spending my entire weekend preparing for the paper and going out of my way to ensure that I would not only pass the paper, but get the highest mark, the day finally came.

Luckily for me, as I read through the paper, everything seemed pretty easy, I was well prepared for all the questions in the paper, and I was absolutely sure that I would pass that paper with flying colours.... Until....

Somehow, someway, as the invigilator said "pens down", I found myself out of time with still 20% of the paper to go.

And that was it.

____________________________________________________

After all the crying, the depression, the complaining and the self-blaming, I finally recovered when some very important questions crossed my mind..

What if the situation had been different and this was the test of Allah? What if I had ran out of time in

the dunya? What if I were to return to my Creator having not passed the test given to me by Him? What if, after all my efforts, I'm still at loss on the day of Qiyamah just because I ran out of time to pass the greatest test of all.. The test of the dunya?

We go about our daily lives not caring about tomorrow, not caring about tonight, not caring about the next hour.

We assume that we have all the time in the world. We delay good deeds, delay our Salaahs, delay our Istighfaar because we think that we will have enough time to do it later.

We know all the answers, we've read the Qur'aan, we've studied the religion, we know the difference between right and wrong, we know what will get us into Jannah and what will lead us astray.. We know all the answers.

Yet, what if we were to fail our exam, not because we don't know the answers, but because we simply ran out of time? We might have been short of perhaps only 5 minutes to gain those extra points.. Yet we failed.

We failed because whenever an opportunity came to us to do good and to attain our Jannah, we never grabbed that opportunity, we were too slow, we assumed tht we had all the time in the world. We forgot that:

"Opportunity is something which is quick to vanish and late to return." Imam Hassan Al-Mujtaba (AS)

Just imagine: on the day of Qiyamah, when everyone is pleading for their own souls, when even the mother remembers not her own child; tears will be rolling down your cheeks, you'll be pleading before Allah, pleading to anyone, begging.. Begging.. Begging for just one more chance, just 5 more minutes to carry out that one deed to pass the test, the one deed that would have ensured you your Jannah.

But on that day, you'll be at loss. On that day, that Islamic studies test you cried over will be as small as a teardrop. And the tears that would now roll down your cheeks would be greater that an ocean of tears.

Ibn Abbas narrated that Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said:

"There are two blessings which many people lose: (They are) health and free time for doing good." (Bukhari 8/421)

Wise are the words of the one who said ... "I expect to pass through this world but once; any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again."

As terrible as I felt after having messed up my exam, after having considered this, the situation seems so minor.

We pay so much attention and we spend so much of our time attending to the affairs of the dunya that we don't stop to consider the Akhirah. Everything we do in this world should be a means of us entering Jannah. Therefore, we should spend our time in such a manner that will gain us entry into Jannah. Let's not be amongst those filled with regrets, pleading for one more chance. Let's use our time wisely so that, Inshallah, we can pass the exams of this world and the hereafter.

"O Allah! Make life a means for every dimension of goodness." [Prayer of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)]

 

ѕнιяα.ѕυ∂ι ♡

Time = Temporary. Akhirah = ETERNITY

"What is the life of this world but amusement and play? But verily the home in the hereafter,- that is life indeed, if they but knew" (29;64)

When a child falls in love with a toy car, he becomes consumed with that love. But what if he can't have the car? What if he has to walk by the store everyday, and see the toy he can't have? Every time he walks by, he would feel pain, and may struggle not to steal it. Yet, if he sees that real car, would he still have the desire to steal the toy? I think not. Rather he would now work harder in life so that someday he would be able to buy that car.

Similarly we in this dunya, are like that boy in the toy shop. We think that the "toy" is the best so we are tempted to commit sin and haraam for the sake of what we love. We are struggling to let go of haraam relationships, business dealing, actions, dressing etc. We need to realise that this world is a "toy", it is temporary, while the akhirah is the real life!

Allah says in the Holy Qur'aan in Surah 51 verse 56:
"I have not created the jinn and men except for this that they should worship Me alone."

From the above ayah we can clearly see what our focus should be towards, the worship of Allah. Do not be mistaken my brothers and sisters, Allah does not need our worship, in fact He tells us that so we can be successful in the eternal life.

We have become caught up in our daily worldly lives that we have forgotten our true aim. We have dedicated our wealth and health to make our lives comfortable in this world, but have we forgotten that this world is just a blink of an eye. How much preparation have we made for the hereafter? We spend so much time trying to build big mansions in this world, how many of us have made even the slightest efforts to build us a name in Jannah. Allah is telling us that this world is temporary yet why do we persist in choosing it?

My beloved brothers and sister, go out into the world, make something of your life and live a comfortable life, but always remember to do this only for the pleasure of Allah! Remember every action is based on intention. Do such work that will be of benefit to you in this world and the next. As believers we are told to ask for the best in this world and the next. But it is like the toy car and the real car. While we could even have or enjoy the toy car we should realise the difference.

Nabi(SAW) said: "The world is a prison for the believer, and paradise for the disbeliever".
Therefore, when we see the disbelievers enjoying something haraam in this world, always remember that Allah has something better for us in the Aakhira. We will all have to leave it one day to return to our creator. If I told you that, that day would be tomorrow, can you honestly say that you are prepared??..
I don't think a single person would answer yes to that. So leave this dunya, leave this "toy" and choose the akhira, the final abode.

Anytime you are in love it becomes next to impossible to get over that love or separate from it- until you are able to fall in love with something greater. It is next to impossible to dislodge this destructive love for dunya from our hearts, until we find something greater to replace it with. Having found a greater love, it is easier to replace the first love. When the love of Allah, His Messenger(SAW) and the love of the home with Allah is really felt, then it extinguishes any other love felt by the heart. And thereby the easier it will be to really actualise the statement of Ibrahim(AS)
"Say, Indeed, my prayer, my service of sacrifice, my living and dying are for Allah, Lord of the worlds" (6:162)
So in letting go, the answer lies in love. Fall in love with something greater. Fall in love with the real thing. May  Allah gives us all the love of the akhira, Inshallah, and grant us the best of this world and the next.


ZAKARIYYA KAKA

You Are What YOU See In Me...

6666 ayahs, 848 pages, 114 Surahs, 30 paras.. The most beautiful speech, revealed to the best of Mankind, in the most blessed of cities, to the most privileged Ummah... The Kalaam-Allah, The Qur'aan-e-Kareem.

How fortunate and blessed is he who is granted the honour of memorising it and, thereafter, protecting it in his heart. The one who memorises the Kalaam of Allah is of such high status that Nabi (SAW) has said: "The best amongst you is he who learns the Qur'aan and teaches it".

However, we also learn that a true Hafiz is one who lives by and practises upon the Qur'aan which Allah has blessed him with. This is why society, as we know it today, places certain expectations on the Huffaz. These expectations may lead to judgemental accusations on the Huffaz.

Since I began my journey of memorising the Holy Qur'aan 2 years ago, I've come to notice that people tend to have certain expectations of the Huffaz and tend to be more judgemental. It's as if the Hafiz is supposed to be perfect and flawless. I've heard comments such as "Taubah, you are Haafizul-Quraan, but look at you!" Or "I didn't expect this from a Hifz student".

Expectations! Expectations! Expectations! And JUDGEMENTS!!!!

SCENARIO:

Two boys, Muhammed and Ahmed are 17 years old. They are both quite 'rebellious' Muslim teens. They both listen to music, don't grow their beards, talk to girls, misbehave, and act like 'normal' teenagers. However, Ahmed is a Hafiz.

As a Hafiz, Ahmed finds that people tend to judge, criticise and condemn his actions and character. People expect him to act a certain way, and he gets labelled as "corrupted" due to that. In fact, although Muhammed and Ahmed are pretty much the same, Ahmed is seen as the 'good' boy, whilst Muhammed is seen as the 'bad' boy.

The Question is: Is this Islamically correct??

The following are Ayats from the Qur'aan regarding judging others:

* “O ye who believe, let not some men among you laugh at others; it may be that the (latter) are better than the (former); nor let women laugh at others; it may be that the (latter) are better than the (former); Nor defame nor be sarcastic to each other, nor call each other (offensive) nicknames; ill-seeming is a name connoting wickedness, (to be used of one) after he has believed; and those who do not desist are (indeed) doing wrong.”

Surah Hujarat (49:11)

* “Is not Allah the wisest of Judges?”

Surah Tin (95:8)

* “Shall I seek for (my) Cherisher other than Allah, when He is the Cherisher of all things (that exist)? Every soul is responsible for of its acts: no bearer of burdens can bear of burdens can bear the burden of another. Your goal in the end is towards God. He will tell you the truth of the things wherein ye disputed.”

Surah Al-An'am (6:164)

Also, a Hadith Qudsi states:

* “A man said: ‘By ALLAH, ALLAH will not forgive So-and-so.’ At this ALLAH the Almighty said: ‘Who is he who swears by Me that I will not forgive So-and-so? Verily I have forgiven So-and-so and have nullified your [own good] deeds (1) (or as he said [it]).”

Looking at all the ayats and the Hadith above, we see that judging people is not in our hands, but in Allah's.

Verily, He is the best of judges and He knows what's in our hearts.

Who are we to go around telling people that they are going to Jahannam because they do not live according to the Qur'aan that is in their hearts, without fully understanding their actions.
Yes, of course, the Hafiz is one who needs to live by example, but how can we, being just as bad as him in character, criticise him and think we are better because we do wrong without the Kalaam in our heart.

Is a sin not a sin no matter who its committed by?

We need to understand that the Hafiz is a human being just like us, and they have flaws, they will commit sins and faults.. Just like us! But, Allah has chosen them to carry his Kalaam, and they will be answerable to Allah on how they practised upon and propagated his Kalaam. Let's make Dua for them if we find them committing wrong. Don't look down upon them.

We as humans are too quick to judge. We look at the faults of others before looking at our own faults. And when we see faults in others, we immediately change our attitude towards them, not realising that we have the same faults.

There's a hadith in which the Prophet says something to the effect that what you see in others, is what you see in yourself.

So, when we judge others, are we not then judging ourselves?
 

ѕнιяα.ѕυ∂ι ♡♥