I WRITE FOR HER: HAVE YOU EVER YEARNED FOR DEATH?

Bismil Laahir Rahmaanir Raheem!

Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatul Laahi wa barkaatuh brothers and sisters in Islam. Alhamdu lil Laah for everything that He puts in our way. 

So, recently, I see lots of facebook statuses talking about the death of one person or the other. Most of them young when you see their photos. In my vicinity too, I see and hear the same; so many people dying one after the other. 

Some few days ago, a man who had gone to help prepare his friend’s body for burial had suddenly collapsed in the room where the dead body was and then the next dawn, he died in the hospital. A woman came to express her condolence to the bereaved family and the next day, she also died. All these three people were in the same area.

So Allah, Al-Hayy, Al-Qayyum, tells us explicitly that;

‘Every soul will taste death, and you will only be given your [full] compensation on the Day of Resurrection. So he who is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has attained [his desire]. And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion.’

Surah Al-‘Imraan, the Family of ‘Imraan, Chapter 3 ayah 185

And from the beginning of time, Allah azza wa jal has shown us a prove of this. At the end of the day, we all die. What I have come to realize is that one can never tell how death feels like until someone real close leaves. Then you understand what exactly it means to lose someone helplessly. And I say this out of experience. 

My Experience

I was kneeling by my dying dad in a hospital with my hands in his and on his stomach. I had never seen anyone die before but I could tell that it was close to the end for him. The pain was such that I cannot not describe. I only wished for one thing; that I could help make him well as he used to be. Then the ayah came running through my mind; How great Allah azza wa jal is! He says;

‘Then why do you not intervene when the soul of a dying person reaches the throat? And you at the moment are looking on. But We are nearer to him than you but you see not. Then why do you not if you are exempt from the reckoning and recompense bring back the soul to its body if you are truthful?’

Surah Al-Waqi’ah, the Event, Chapter 56 ayah 83-87

Lo and behold! It hit me hard how pitiful I was as a human being. The more reason that I should take advantage of now to worship him before I am suddenly put in the position I had seen my father in. May Allah azza wa jal engulf him with His abundant Rahma and all others. May Allah subhaanahu wa ta’aalaa grant them the best of His Jannah and all of us who will follow them as well. Aameen.

Grief of losing a loved one

We see how much grief the Prophet Muhammad suallal Laahu alayhi wa sallam felt when he lost his uncle, Abi Talib and then his beloved wife Khadija radiyal Laahu anhaa. That was the Prophet of Allah who understood the concept of death more than any human being. How much more us? I see the grief of Asmaa Hussein (check her out on facebook) in each letter in her status on facebook. A good Muslimah who lost her husband three years into their marriage. 

My friend’s latest yearning

Ok; a friend of mine tells me for some time now that she wishes to die and leave this Dunya that is full of fitaan (temptation, trials, affliction, distress, etc). Allah azza wa jal tells us of the beauty and serenity of what the afterlife contains for the one who dedicates his or her life to His true worship. My friend thinks about this afterlife which Allah subhaanahu wa ta’aalaa assures us that none of us could ever imagine its nature and then she feels like having that life instead of this one now.

That is quite interesting to me. Alhamdu lil Laah, we talked about it in detail and I was able to convince her on my thoughts. I felt the need to write this article afterwards for her and others who have this thinking to read and perhaps I might win them over with what I think.

Contemplating suicide

So, my friend’s situation reminded me of a Muslimah I had been introduced to by a Muslim brother of mine; a young wonderful lady who was contemplating suicide. The first time I heard, I shook all over. She had made quite a number of attempts and they all failed. Being a doctor, he tried to help her but to no avail so I became her friend. Her reasons for wanting to die were quiet sad. She had lost a very close friend and so mostly she felt like she was going to die to follow her due to how close they were. This made her extremely moody making it uncomfortable for her other friends and any other person to be around her. Soon she started thinking that no one wants to be around her so the feeling of suicide became a lot more intense. Alhamdu lil Laah! She is forgotten suicide now and enjoying her life to the maximum. Alhamdu lil Laah!

After this lady, I have come across a number of others who seem to contemplate suicide. I haven’t really come to terms with what the suicide lovers are expecting to have when they are finally out of this Dunya; are they expecting relieve and bliss? Or what?

Dr Muhammad A’rifi tells a story in his book; Enjoy Your Life (I recommend you to read that book). He tells the story of a young man who had sent him a message asking whether it was Islamically allowed for a Muslim to commit suicide. Being the person that the Sheikh is; he decided to call the person up. The moment the young man picked the Sheikh’s call, he wanted to know the answer and his tone of voice seemed like he was in distress over something. Dr A’rifi just told him that it is allowed to do so and the guy couldn’t believe it. He asked the Sheikh whether that was really true and he said yes and that he wanted to meet up with him so that they could discuss how he could go about the suicide.

That is how interesting it sometimes is. Mostly, these suicide thinkers do not want to really die. In the case of the young man above, he wanted to excuse himself from dying by finding out that Islam forbids it but the Sheikh decided to play a smart one on him. To understand the Sheikh’s strategy, you have to read the book. You wouldn’t regret it in shaa Allah.

I have ever thought of dying as well. Those days when my understanding of the essence of life was not as broad as it is now. I had wished to die due to some serious problems I was facing which I could not afford to share with anyone on earth for fear of causing pain to them. I had thought that if I died, then it will be over and then I could have some peace whiles I was with Allah (not to commit suicide, but die naturally). Interesting huh! And I thought of my parents; my mum especially and what my death will mean to her and I was hanging between two desires; life and death. Alhamdu lil Laah! Today, all that is over. Alhamdu lil Laah!

‘And no person can ever die except by Allah’s leave and at an appointed term. And whoever desires a reward in this world, We shall give him of it; and whoever desires reward in the Hereafter, We shall give him thereof. And We shall reward the grateful.’

Surah Al-Baqarah, the Cow, Chapter 2 ayah 145

My friend’s wish for death

As the ayah above states; one’s death does not depend on whether he or she wishes for it or not; it would not come if Allah has not decreed it and it will come if He decrees it. I remember once when I had gotten seriously sick as it usually happens to me and then my mum was almost going off; I prayed for life just because of my mum. By then I hoped that even if it was my time to go, Allah should spare me for my mum. Funny, isn’t it? And the last time I had gotten seriously sick again, a few years ago; my mum had finally come to terms with it that it was going to be the end but here I am. This affirms the fact that we could never tell when we were dying or not.

As I said above, my friend believes that the life of the Hereafter was better and she wanted to have that life now. Indeed, each one of us should wish to have the better life of the Hereafter than the one here. But does that mean that we should wish for death? No. Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet suallal Laahu alayhi wa sallam said;

‘None of you should wish for death because of a calamity befalling him; but if he has to wish for death, he should say: ‘O Allah! Keep me alive as long as life is better for me, and let me die if death is better for me.’’ 

Sahih Al-Bukhari

So the Prophet warns us against the wish for death and he teaches us a proper way to go about it. 

The Hereafter is mind-blowingly sweet but...

How much confidence do you and I have about our Islam? Have we worshipped Allah, Ar-Raheem, enough to believe that we are good to go? Are we sure of Allah’s forgiveness for all of our sins? Are we sure that we would be blessed with the Rahma of Allah in order to obtain this pleasure which He describes to us? Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah: Allah’s Messenger suallal Laahu alayhi wa sallam said; 

‘Do not wish for death, for the terror of the place whence one looks down is severe. It is part of a man’s happiness that his life should be long and Allah Who is Great and Glorious, should supply him with repentance.’

Al-Tirmidhi

We see that the issue of the Hereafter is not just the endless enjoyment part but it includes an endless pain as well. Each of us is either going to have the enjoyment part or the pain part. Now which one are you going to have? Do you know? Did Allah, Ar-Rahman, tell you which one you are getting? Obviously it is a no. So then, why the hurry to go into bliss? What if you went and it wasn’t the bliss you wanted but pain that is worse than the one from which you were running from in this life.

With the little I know of the seerah of the companions of the Prophet Suallal Laahu alayhi wa sallam, even though most of them were given the glad tidings of Paradise, they still strove with every inch of their lives to worship Allah azza wa jal with the least opportunity. And their desire for death was in such a way that they wanted so badly to die whiles Allah azza wa jal was pleased with them whether it was now or later.

So then why would we who have not been given the glad tidings of Jannah ever think of wishing for death now? It doesn’t make that much sense to me. As the Prophet suallal Laahu alayhi wa sallam advised us; if we were going to wish for death then we should rather say;

‘O Allah! Keep me alive as long as life is better for me, and let me die if death is better for me.’’

So why not put the burden of when to die aside since you have no say in it anyway and just really work hard so that Allah, Al-Gaffuur, may take you when your ihsaan reaches its peak? There is so much to do especially in our era. We cannot afford to run away from the fitaan which are there to test our faith in Allah, Al-Aziz, and our rewards increase with the increment of our level of resistance to these fitaan.

The Parable

Imagine that a man has lots of children around him in a very luxurious and comfortable house. One day, he sends these children away into a garden with a bowl to pick some fruits. He lets them know that he would call each one of them back and give them something special based on the passion with which they pick the fruits. The children are then put in the uncomfortable garden with dark soil, thorns and insects. Then some of them begin to get distressed with the farm and their objective for being in that farm and they want to go back even though the man had not called them yet meanwhile they do not know how much longer he was going to make them stay there. Others however take their time to deal with the uncomfortable situation and try hard not to make those things in the farm that will have a negative impact on their passion to pick the fruits to get in their way. They do so knowing very well that if they tried hard to be very passionate about doing the man this service, they were soon going to get something better in return even though they had no idea how soon. They don’t know exactly when but that isn’t their problem. Their problem is their mood at all points in time.

I believe you have gotten what I am driving at? It is the same thing I see with us. We have a purpose in life. It is better we concentrate on this purpose and strive as much as we can with Allah’s help to fight all the temptations, trials, distress, etc that Allah azza wa jal puts in our way in order to test our faith. Not forgetting the fact that, we will soon go to give accounts to Him.

There is also the fear of dying which isn’t also healthy. Some people fear dying but they do not concentrate on trying their best to please Allah due to this fear. This would not help at all. It is not a wise thing to do. Fear the state in which you die rather than your death.

I pray I have been able to say something useful to you. So instead of putting yourself in the distress of wishing for death which you might not get if it isn’t your time, why don’t you do du’a that the Prophet suallal Laahu alayhi wa sallam taught us and just live our lives with hope that Allah, Ar-Razzak, answers?

That was long and I am grateful to you for taking time to read this. You can contact me about any concerns in shaa Allah. May Allah azza wa jal take us when we finally obtain ihsaan and when that ihsaan is at its highest peak. Aameen. Remember always that I love you for the sake of Allah and may He be a witness to this love and may He love us even more. Aameen

Jazaakumul Laahu khair!

Islam Forever In shaa Allah!

Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatul Laah!

Rubaba Mmahajia Rahma Sabtiu

www.mmahajia.blogspot.com

ARE YOU GROWING?

Bismil Laahir Rahmaanir Raheem

Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatul Laahi wa barkaatuh

As always, I emphasize on showing gratitude to Allah azza wa jal for everything. Alhamdu lil Laah for the blessing of Islam. My mum is the type who’d always recognize the minutest of blessings (that is if it is minute at all) and thank and praise Allah for it and I am trying to learn that as well. You should too.

Are you growing?

So, when I ask you the question above, what are you going to say? Are you going to tell me your age? (I guess people aren’t so comfortable telling others their age, heheheee). Or would you start telling me about the increment in your height, weight and all (or even the grey in your hair, heheheee)? Well, I did ask someone this question and she gave me an awesome answer. Do you want to know the answer she gave? Smiles… I’m going to put someone on our plate for some dissection… (not in the real sense of the word though). I want us to take a walk through a portion of her life to see what the growth I’m talking about is.

When I got to know her

A fresh level 100 students I encountered. A pretty lady. She dressed just like any other person (not Hijab). She wears the jeans, skirts, small tops and all. But one thing I noticed, she kind of ties her hair with a scarf most of the times I saw her (when I say kind of, then you should know that it wasn’t proper hair cover, lol. I’m not judging. Trying make a point). And she tells me a long time after I’d encountered her that even with the hair cover; she was not doing it when she came the first time to the University. She used to leave her hair for public scrutiny until a course mate of hers who was a Muslim and who found out that she was also a Muslim cautioned her against not covering her hair. So she started covering it. And oh! She used to add artificial hair to her hair and all.

She started growing

Soon, she fell in love with Islam and its activities. Then she began to cover her hair. Amazing, right? It was really lovely watching her grow together with a very good friend of hers. Her initial style of hijab was that she could wear tight jeans, a short top with or without long sleeves and then she’d wrap some small and mostly transparent veil around her head and neck. Then anytime I saw her, we’d laugh together at how ‘hijabious’ she looked. And oh! Sometimes, when she needed to be where the hijab seemed a no, she would simply do away with it.

Soon, her hijab started getting better. She cared for the Hijab details. And that is just the physical aspect of her advancement in deen. Her interest began switching from all else to watching and listening to Islamic lectures. And then when she finds out something isn’t right in Islam, she stops immediately. She would ask so many questions on what to do as a Muslim on some issues. It was extremely heart-cooling seeing her progress.

And now I remember once a facebook sister whom I have grown very close to telling me;

‘Rubaba, I never knew adding artificial hair to my own was not allowed in Islam and I’ve been doing it all these while. I just cut all of the hair right now after finding out.’

Well, she said it with the kind of remorse that I cannot express in words. And this woman (Oh yes! She is a mother with kids who is just trying now to get better because she was never given the opportunity to discover true Islam as a child) is one of the examples of people I could as well put on our table for dissection.

Back to the one I was talking about earlier…

She is still growing

If I should show you this lady we are talking about today and then you knew her some years back, all that you are going to do is marvel at how Allah azza wa jal is able to transform a human being as much as He wishes. Studying Islam and putting its teachings into practice is now her only passion. She would hear of nothing else. 

This is what I call growth… real growth. Not just an increment in age, height, weight and all. Those are just physical changes. But real growth is displayed in this adorable friend and sister of mine. She was in a kind of world that was exactly at par with Islam and its teachings even though she was Muslim. Then she took a step on the Islamic ladder and today, she just keeps going higher and higher the steps. It is my ardent prayer that she gets to the highest in shaa Allah. Aameen. And I pray the same for myself and for you and for everyone. Aameen.

Could you grow like that?

Well, a lot of people have similar stories to tell. Do you remember the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad suallal Laahu alayhi wa sallam and how much they had grown in faith from the beginning of Islam until their end? It is amazing. Did you know that Omar ibn Al-Khattab, radiyal Laahu anhu, was on his way to kill the noble Prophet Muhammad suallal Laahu alayhi wa sallam when Allah azza wa jal blessed him with His guidance unto the path of Islam? Your head will definitely blow off when you analyze the growth of the man, radiyal Laahu anhu, in Islam, Imaan and Ihsaan. He was an epitome of Taqwa.

In that same way, each one of us has an opportunity so far as he or she is not dead to grow… the real growth. The growth in which one gets better and better. And of course, in this growth, there are challenges that might draw one backwards but with Allah azza wa jal as the One and Only Helper, one will definitely sail through and get back to climbing higher and higher.

All that you need to do

All that you need to do is du’a. Du’a that is sincerely from your heart. Ask Allah azza wa jal for guidance unto His path and hope in His positive response in shaa Allah. May Allah azza wa jal be our Guard and Guide always. Do not forget that you need to put in a lot of efforts to stop the things that are against the rules of Islam. You might be used to some so much that you will find it difficult letting it go but with determination to live as Allah wills, you will be able to let go if you tried hard.

The answer she gave when I asked whether she was growing?

Khalida Jafar says; Yes, she is growing and why she says so is because of the following:

1.      I have grown and continue to grow in my understanding of people

2.      Appreciating what is around me

3.      In being patient with people though it is my greatest weakness

4.      I have grown and I am growing in my relationship with Allah

5.      I have grown and I am growing in my not making this world my focus

6.      I have and continue to appreciate how insignificant this dunya is

7.      Also, I have grown and I am growing in finding my sense of self-worth as a human being

Now, that to me is real growth. What would your answer be? Have you grown and are you growing in this direction? If no, then you can always start growing now. If yes, thumbs up and there is more to grow about than you have already grown so keep it up. If you are rather retrogressing, then we have a major problem.

Retrogressing

So, we were neighbours in my Hall in level 100 (I am telling a story). She always dressed decently (not in hijab). Her hair is always covered; her skirts up to her feet, her tops cover her bosom and all. Soon, she started wearing what was popularly worn by others. The tight jeans and baby tops. Then it sadly came to the very short skirts and shorts. And then show your breasts and it kept getting worse and worse (I am not judging her, I am only telling a story). It was indeed sad watching someone trek such a path. I never saw her get better again until now. I hope and pray she retreated. Aameen. But such is the challenge in our world today. May Allah save us from it. Aameen.

And there are some who were deep into the deen who have suddenly gone off the path. They let the Dunya take them for a joke. May Allah azza wa jal safeguard us from this kind of fate. Aameen.

A Necessity 

We all need to keep assessing our growth. Pick out some bad that you have noticed about yourself and try to overcome it with du’a and action. You could choose a mentor to help you in doing that if you deem it necessary. Each one of us needs to do some self-assessment always and we should never ever think that we are perfect. There is no one like that at the moment. We all have our shortfalls and our ability to recognize, acknowledge and work on them is in itself a great victory for us. We must always think that we are the worst of people in the sight of Allah in order to get gingered to always do that which pleases Him…growth.

Imagine how much Asiya bint Muzahim radiyal Laahu anhaa grew in her believe in the message of Prophet Musah alayhis salaam so much that even when her husband tortured her severely, she still found solace in Allah and she smiled in her torture because Allah showed her, her home in Jannah. May we be blessed as she was. Aameen.

So, that is a really long story. I just really hope that you have gotten what I am driving at and you are going to work on growing up from today until the end. Remember to remember me in your du’a always. May Allah azza wa jal continue to draw us closer and closer to Him. Aameen.

Taqabbalul Laahu minnaa; may Allah accept from us. Aameen. And as always, I want to let you know again with all sincerity that I love you fiisabi lil Laah and will always do so far as you remain on the deen. And I pray that Allah will be a witness to this love. And may He love us even more. Aameen. May He sustain us on His path always. Aameen.

Jazaakumul Laahu khair always!

Islam Forever in shaa Allah!

Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatul Laah!

Rubaba Mmahajia Rahma Sabtiu

www.mmahajia.blogspot.com

DO NOT DARE QUESTION HIM!

Bismil Laahir Rahmaanir Raheem!

Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatul Laahi wa barkaatuh brothers and sisters.

Do you know the most blessed person right now?

Who could this person really be? Anybody among your family members or friends? Who? Now, if you asked me this; I’d say that indeed you are the most blessed person right now. I believe with all certainty that no one is more blessed than I am and I really think you should believe the same for yourself too (not in an arrogant way though).

The blessings in each of our lives are such that if we were going to concentrate on them, we’d realize that we could not see anyone as blessed as us and then we will find that showing gratitude to Allah, Our Creator and Owner, is easiest today both with our lips and limbs. 

Why You are the One!

Ok, take a seat and do some pondering (I believe in pondering). Start with your body, your mind, your heart, etc and then extend to your environment. You might have some deformities but the moment you are able to read what I am writing, then you couldn’t be more deformed than the person who can only stay in bed and do nothing else (Check out the woman Tayyaba Beg and the situation of her children on facebook). But even that person believes that he or she is blessed because the person has an opportunity of life.

The most amazing of all of the ‘whys’ you are the one is that you have ‘opportunity.’ If you are a Muslim who believes in Laa ilaaha illal Laah Muhammadur Rasu lil Laah, then that is indeed your greatest blessing and your opportunity here is that; you could decide now to truly dedicate your life to its purpose; Worship. That is; no matter what your sin has been before, you could change everything by true repentance: regret, remorse and seeking forgiveness from Allah azza wa jal. That is a blessing compared to no other. If you aren’t Muslim, then you have the opportunity to start believing now so far as you are breathing. That is a blessing that those who are died in their disbelieve never had.

Allah azza wa jal tells us in Surah Ibraaheem ayah 34 that;

‘And He gave you from all you asked of Him. And if you should count the favour of Allah, you could not enumerate them. Indeed, mankind is [generally] most unjust and ungrateful.’

And if you want to challenge the veracity of what Allah azza wa jal has said; ‘If you want to count His favours on you, you cannot enumerate them,’ then pick a pen and a paper and start making a list of your blessings (something I would not encourage you to do though).

The problem will only be with what you see as a favour from Allah and what you do not see as a favour. If for you, favours are; Posh houses and cars, fat bank accounts, highly paying jobs, etc., then we will definitely have a problem of counting your blessings but if the air you breath, your finger nails and toes, your ability to see and speak and all of that are deemed blessings to you (which should be so) then indeed your blessings will be absolutely uncountable. Trust Allah azza wa jal on that and on anything else.

A Caution

Now, whenever you want to whine, think again about the above and others which are not mentioned here and quickly stop the whining and show gratitude to Allah azza wa jal instead. He tells us in Surah Ibraaheem ayah 7 that;

‘And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, 'If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favor]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.'

That says it all for the grateful and ungrateful ones among us. We all know what to expect. May Allah favour us with the ability to show as much gratitude as possible to Him. Aameen.

Now, let’s get to the main issue here (don’t worry, I’m a woman and women are noted to mostly not go straight to the point, heheheee).

Would you question Allah over that which He has given another?

Now, how do you question Allah azza wa jal on such a matter? Subhaanal Laah! Could you really dare do that? Is it really possible that you could tell Allah, Al-‘Alim, that He does not know best to give you and others what He should give you? Nastagfirul Laah! I guess none of us in our right senses will dare trek that route because we do not want to face the consequences at all. But just look at this scenario…

SCENARIO

Ali and Abu are very good Muslim young men of the same age range and they live in the same vicinity. Ali has a very good wife and a child. He has a good paying job, his own house and a car. He lives his life very comfortably. Abu on the other hand lives a hard life. He does not have a wife or a child. He does not have a house or a car. His job pays him only a little and makes it difficult for him to survive.

IMAGINE ONE

Abu is frustrated (perhaps he is even more religious than Ali) as he sees Ali, his mate doing great. He sees himself as a failure in life compared to Ali. He wishes badly that he could have a wife, child, house, car, and job like Ali’s but no matter how hard he tries, it just doesn’t happen to him.

RESPONSE

1.      In Abu’s frustration, he wishes badly that since he could not have all that Ali had, then Ali should lose it all so that they would all become the same. He also wishes that he will be given all that and then Ali will lose it all so that he will become better than Ali. So at any point in time, he is not happy for Ali and all that his heart is filled with is Ali’s downfall.

2.      Abu is patient with his situation. He thanks and praises Allah for his situation and that of his friend. He prays for increase in baraka for Ali and prays that his situation also gets better if Allah wills. He is genuinely happy to hear any good thing that comes on Ali’s way and shares in his joy. He is very sad whenever something bad happens to Ali. He puts into action the saying of the Prophet Muhammad, suallal Laahu alayhi wa sallam that;

"Do not have malice against a Muslim; do not be envious of other Muslims; do not go against a Muslim and forsake him. O the slave of Allah! Be like brothers with each other. It is not allowed for a Muslim to desert his brother for over three days."

Muslim & Tirmidhi

He does not even believe that Ali is more blessed than he is because he believes, upon all his hardships that; he is the most blessed person. That is because what he considers blessings are beyond material gains; He has true contentment.

IMAGINE TWO

Ali is so pleased with his comfortable life that anytime he saw Abu, he wondered why his life was different. He is happy with all that he has; his wife, child, house, car, job, etc.

RESPONSE

1.      Ali looks down on Abu because of his supposed success in life. He sees himself as more blessed than him. He does not want to have anything to do with him because he believes Abu belonged to the lower class. He begins to think that perhaps Abu is having such a tough time due to some bad that he did to Allah and all.

2.      Ali is very humble and he sees himself as no better than Abu because he believes that what he has are just worldly gains and he knows that true success goes beyond material gains in this life as Allah says in Surah Al-Maaidah, the Table Spread with Food, Chapter 5 ayah 119 that;

"This is a Day on which the truthful will profit from their truth: theirs are Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise) - they shall abide therein forever. Allah is pleased with them and they with Him. That is the great success (Paradise).

He also believes that his wealth, spouse and child are a blessing in this life for which he must give absolute gratitude to Allah. Anytime he sees Ali who had none of that; he is reminded to thank Allah for giving him all that He had favoured him with and as much as he is able, he tries to help Abu. Allah tells us;

"And it is not your wealth, nor your children that bring you nearer to Us, but only he (will please Us) who believes, and does righteous deeds; for such (people), there will be a double reward for what they did, and they will reside in the high dwellings (of Paradise), in peace and security."

Surah Saba, Sheba, Chapter 34 ayah 37

ANALYSIS

In RESPONSE ONE for both

We see Abu clearly questioning Allah, the Knower of Everything, for making him lack the things that Abu has. He is also making it seem that Allah does not know best how to allocate resources because He gave Ali what he, Abu, best deserves. Nastagfirul Laah! May we never ever have such an attitude. Aameen. 

We also see Ali showing clears signs of arrogance like that of Fir’aun. He does not think too far. He believes that it might be due to his efforts that he has all his blessings which is a grave mistake. He does not know that Allah could change his situation as he did the arrogant man who owned the garden in Surah Kahf (Check it out, Chapter 18). Indeed, we pray against being like this also. Aameen.

In RESPONSE TWO for both

Now, we see true Muslims here. Abu who understands exactly what blessings are does not ‘envy’ his brother for his gains. He is genuinely happy for his success and sad whenever he has a problem. That is what as true believers we should be like. May Allah make us so. Aameen.

Ali also displays the character of a true Muslim. The situation of Abu reminds him of nothing but his need to thank Allah. He is humble and understands that he is not better than Abu and Abu is not better than him except in piety. May Allah make us like that also. Aameen. 

The Prophet Muhammad suallal Laahu alayhi wa sallam tells us that;

He has weak faith until that person loves for his brother what he loves for himself.

    

Bukhari

Facts We Must Seek to Understand

There is always someone who will have more of this material world than you. Some of these material things are just glittery and not gold (it isn’t up to you to find that out though). What we have to understand is that we are tests unto one another. 

Looking at the scenario above, Ali’s situation is a test unto Abu and Abu’s situation is also a test unto Ali. If someone has more material gains than you, that person is a test unto you. If you begin to envy that person for what Allah azza wa jal has decided to give him or her, then you have a big problem to deal with. If you however feel happy in your heart for the person, then alhamdu lil Laah. When you have it all too and you see someone who does not have as much as you do, then your test begins. The moment you begin to look down on the person, then there is a big problem. However, if that person reminds you of your blessings and you humbly thank and praise Allah for your favours, then alhamdu lil Laah.

Whatever it is that our test is in this life, we must always remember the saying of the Prophet suallal Laahu alayhi wa sallam that;

“How amazing is the affair of the believer. There is good for him in everything and that is for no one but the believer. If good times come his way, he expresses gratitude to Allah and that is good for him, and if hardship comes his way, he endures it patiently and that is better for him.”

[Muslim]

May we be among those who apply the gratitude and patience strategy to all that happens to us, good or bad. Aameen.

One of the greatest benefits of seeing yourself as the most blessed and not envying others for what they have of material things is gaining ‘contentment.’ And to me, contentment is the solution to all of our problems. We gain contentment by constantly remembering Allah as He tells us in Surah Ar-Ra’ad, the Thunder, Chapter 13 ayah 28 that;

Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured."

And the Prophet suallal Laahu alayhi wa sallam said;

“Richness is not having many possessions. Rather, true richness is the richness of the soul.”

Bukhari & Muslim

You’ve had a long read. Jazaakumul Laahu khair. May Allah make us among those who love for one another that which they love for themselves and may He never make us among those who envy others for that which He has given them. Aameen. I love you fiisabi lil Laah and may Allah love us more. Aameen.

Jazaakumul Laahu khair

Islam Forever in shaa Allah

Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatul Laah

Rubaba Mmahajia Rahma Sabtiu

www.mmahajia.blogspot.com