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
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