Bismil Laahir Rahmaanir
Raheem!
Assalaamu alaikum wa
rahmatul Laah! Alhamdu lil Laah for favouring us with the blessing of Islam.
So, let me go straight to
the point today.
A
question: When
you pray to Allah, what do you ask of Him?
Do you ask Allah for
wealth, children, a job, a spouse, etc? Well, as humans, we are always in need
of something from our Creator and Owner. May He grant us that which will be
beneficial for us in this Dunya and the Akhira. Aameen.
I once had the opportunity
to talk with Dr Katumi Mahama (Do you know her? If you don’t, you might want to
find her out) in her house for hours. A beautiful time full of lessons I had
with her. She had described this woman who inspired this article as;
‘That
woman has faith!’
And I wish I could write
it the way she said it; with so much passion and a faraway look. She had gone
on and on to tell me about the challenges this woman had been through and how
she had witnessed her handle those tough times; with firm faith.
This woman (the inspirer
of this article that is) tells me one day long after my encounter with Dr
Katumi;
‘Just
when I sensed that something bad had happened? I quickly climbed the stairs and
went to offer two raka’at…’
That is just a minute bit
of the faith this woman has and how she responded to her tests and trials in
life. I have, since Dr Katumi had described her as a woman of faith come to
witness this faith in her. She might not even have an idea just how much of
that faith I see in her. I describe her as;
‘Faith
walking.’
And indeed it is true
because apart from her, I could say same about a number of people I’ve met.
Some people blow your mind with their understanding and practice of the deen so
much so that you begin to wonder what it is that you are doing in service of
Allah Robbil Arshil Azeem. They are people we need to learn from in detail
because serving Allah azza wa jal is the only means to true inner peace and
contentment; this I say with certainty.
One day someone made a
comment about the seemingly luxurious lives of these women especially this
woman who inspired this write-up and I had told him;
‘If
you knew this woman as I do, you will know that all of the luxuries you see her
with do not go anywhere to define her nature.’
And I had truly wondered;
the more reason why we should not judge a book by its cover.
Now, enough of that; that
isn’t my interest in this article anyway. One day, at a Halal Talk with a
couple of Muslim ladies, a lot of things had come up. We spoke on the issue of
Role Modeling and Mentoring of the Muslimah and this woman (Hajia Samia, don’t
worry if you don’t know her) was with us the younger ladies (And of course,
just call her in the name of Allah and she is coming).
In the course of the talk
she said;
‘For
me, when I pray, I tell Allah: Use me as a tool.’
Now, wait and let it
really seep in. How do you understand this du’a?
My
Understanding of the Du’a
I understand this du’a in
two ways;
1.
Use
me to do your work
Imagine you wanted to cut some
vegetables. You enter the kitchen, pick up the knife and start cutting the
vegetables. In the end you get your cutting work done with the use of your
tool; the knife.
Allah, Al-Waahid, sent
Messengers, Prophets, to teach the people His ways. The Messengers were the
tools of Allah azza wa jal with which He does His work; teaching the Aalameen
(all that exists) whom He is.
Praying to Allah azza wa
jal to use one as a tool for me means that you want Him to use you to get His
message across to people; Da’awah. So, would you make it your du’a? Ooooh that
would be great! May Allah make it so for you. Aameen.
2.
Use
me in any way you please
Let us go back to the
knife again. You enter your kitchen, pick up your knife and decide to use it
for whatever you want; cutting, stabbing (and what will you be stabbing? lol),
etc.
A slave of Allah is
totally content to be used in any way Allah azza wa jal pleases so far as he or
she does not end up displeasing Allah. This is the aspect in which I see tests
and trials of the slave. If Allah azza wa jal is using you as He pleases, He
might hurt you in so many ways to see how you would respond as He says;
‘And We will surely test
you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and
fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, who, when disaster strikes them,
say, "Indeed we belong to Allah , and indeed to Him we will return."
Surah
Al-Baqarah, the Cow, Chapter 2 ayah 155 and 156
A slave of Allah is
however very determined to pass the tests and trials of Allah; from it the
slave derives so much pleasure and contentment.
The Prophet Muhammad
suallal Laahu alayhi wa sallam said;
“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]
This Hadith says it all
for my second understanding of the du’a; ‘Use me as a tool.’
What
Kind of Tool are You?
Now, let us talk about
you! What kind of a tool are you? Are you a positive tool or a negative one?
Positive
and Negative Tool
The knife aids in dishes
yet it could cause great destruction; it could even kill. Every human being has
the potential of being a source of goodness. A Muslim could be an ambassador of
Islam by portraying the right Islam to everyone. You could decide to subject
yourself wholly to the sole purpose of your life; worship. That is the positive
tool. May we be favoured with the blessing of being such tools. Aameen. You
could do otherwise. You could decide to be that Muslim who lives exactly
against the rules of Allah azza wa jal and make others believe that Islam is a
bad religion. That is being a negative tool. May Allah safeguard us against
that. Aameen.
From this woman I learn
great lessons and I hope and pray that this du’a of hers has sent a positive
message to you today. Taqabbalul Laahu minhaa (May Allah accept from her).
Aameen.
May Allah use us as His
tools and make us content with that. Aameen.
Never ever settle for a
dead heart and remember to always take advantage of your life before your death
to worship Allah subhaanahu wa ta’aalaa. I love you fiisabi lil Laah and may
Allah love us more. Aameen.
Jazaakumul
Laahu khair always!
Islam
Forever in shaa Allah!
Assalaamu
alaikum wa rahmatul Laah!
Rubaba
Mmahajia Rahma Sabtiu
1 comment:
Ameen
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