Assalaamu alaykum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barkaatuhu
sisters. Alhamdulillaah abadan wa daa iman for absolutely everything. May Allah
azza wa jal grant us the very best of that which He, subhaanahu wa ta aalaa,
offers His favoured servants both in this Dunya and the Akhira.
Question:
Have you ever seen another lady wearing footwear that
you so badly wish you could take off her feet and put them on yours instead?
Or, that you could probably have access to the same kind of footwear? So that
your feet might look as good as hers or you may probably be able to walk so
beautifully and comfortably as her? Or even attract the kind of attention she
attracts?
Answer:
If your answer is a yes and I guess it will be so for a
majority of us per what I have come to realize about us, ladies, especially;
then let us walk through this article together.
Among the greatest of the injustices we do to ourselves
as ladies is wishing to be like others ceteris paribus (smile to Jannah)…comparing
ourselves with those whom we see as better than us.
When we want to be
as beautiful as that lady…
When we want to be
as tall or short as that lady…
When we want to be
as fat or slim as that lady…
When we wish we
were that fair or that dark…
When we wish we
were that rich and or famous…
Had her car and
clothing and shoes…
Even her hair…
And her attention
and attraction…
Even her husband
and children…
When we wish we had
her kind of family or siblings…
And then we find ourselves brooding over how unlucky we
are to be the way we are whiles thinking how lucky she is to be the way she is.
We become depressed and sad out of the feeling of frustration at our inability to
be like that particular lady or those particular ladies.
Now, for most of our ladies, this feeling of wanting to
be like that person, to try to fit in their footwear, breeds discontentment
which leads to a greater disease of the heart (remember; I am a heart freak) –
envy; may Allah azza wa jal safeguard our hearts from it totally. Aameen Yaa
Hayy. Envy is something you must struggle to overcome on a daily basis. Do not
stoop so low as to allow your heart to envy in that negative way. It is evil.
It is unhealthy. It is a dangerous disease. So, fight it with Allah azza wa
jal. Smile!
The Truth…
It is encouraged that you wish to be like some people
for some reasons. Yes! When you see someone doing some acts of good, it is
encouraged that you learn to do same. When you see someone with beautiful
morals and attitudes, it is highly encouraged that you yearn and learn to be
like them. When you see someone who has achieved something of value to Allah
azza wa jal and to humanity, it is encouraged for you to want to do likewise –
to learn from them and to do like them.
And I would say, the only thing you should wish and work
at having about anyone is the beauty of their soul and the material possessions
they have that add to that beauty. The more reason why Allah azza wa jal chose
for us the most beautiful of souls as the ultimate role model. He, azza wa jal,
says;
‘There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and who remembers Allah often.’
(Surat Al-Ahzaab, the Confederates, Chapter 33 ayah 21)
And then we have an endless list of the sahaabas, his
companions; both the males and the females. We also have those who came after
them and many more beautiful souls even now. When we look at the kind of
competition that was among the sahaabas during the time of the Prophet Muhammad
suallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, we see that it was the kind of competition that
had no worldly interests. They did not want to have a lot more money than the
other person except so they would do a lot more good than that person. They did
not wish that Allah azza wa jal makes them a lot more beautiful or popular or
anything of that sought.
One thing that any Muslimah must understand is that at
any point in time, she should make sure she is not ardently and intentional
going against the rules of Allah azza wa jal. If she should break Allah’s rules
for any reason whatsoever, it should not be intentional but a mistake as much
as possible. Whatever situation she finds herself in whilst trying her best to
please Allah azza wa jal is perfectly fine…even when the whole world says
otherwise.
Contentment is a gift a Muslimah gives to herself and
if only she would ponder deeply to understand that all affairs lies with Allah
azza wa jal who is the Sole Decider of our looks, possessions and situations,
then she would find herself not just happy but fully content with whatever it
is that Allah azza wa jal decides to do with her.
She would not wallow unnecessarily in depression and
sorrow just because the world thinks she is ugly or poor or unintelligent or
whatever. She would not bother herself with wanting to be like that girl or
those girls who seem to have it all. She will always remember Allah azza wa jal’s
question which He, subhaanahu wa ta’aalaa keeps asking in Surat Ar-Rahmaan, the
Beneficent, Chapter 55 that;
‘And which of the favours of Allah will you deny?’
Can we deny the
rain?
Can we deny the
air?
Can we deny the
sleep?
Can we deny the
sun?
Can we deny the
food and drink?
No, we cannot if only we understand. Unfortunately,
when some of us are counting Allah’s favours upon us, we forget the real favours;
our sight, hearing, sense of smell, ability to feel pain, our food and drink
and many others like those and only look at our closets and houses and cars and
bank accounts. That is very unfortunate
indeed.
When we learn to be content with our every situation as
we try our best to be beautiful souls, life gets a lot more enchanting and
sweet. You know they say;
‘Contentment makes
the poor wealthy and the wealthy poor.’
It is complete truth. There are so many people that we
seem to believe have it all per what we see of them who are dying either
because of greed for more or discontentment at their lives. Learning to be
grateful is easy, just teach yourself that whatever Allah azza wa jal does is
good and perfect – whatever. Allah azza wa jal says in Surah Ibrahim, Abraham,
Chapter 14 ayah 7 that;
'…If you are grateful, I will surely increase you in
favour...'
The Reality of Life:
The Discontented Dog
‘’Once a dog was relaxing in a garden when it saw a cat
on the top of a high wall. It thought, "It must be so nice to be high
above the ground. If only I could climb?" this feeling of envy made it so
bad-tempered, that it didn't even wag its tail at its master, who came to give
it some milk.
Then it saw a goldfish in the river and wished that it
too could live in the cold water. Envy made it angry once again.
Just then it heard the fish say, "It looks so nice
and warm on the grass. I wish I could lie down on it."
After some time, a sparrow flew past. Seeing the dog
lazing around, it said aloud, "I wish I could play the whole day like this
dog. I wish I didn't have to build a nest for myself, search for food and tire
my wings."
Listening to them, the dog realized its folly for not
appreciating what it had.’’
Source: www.kidsfront.com
Now, the above story says it all. I hope I have been
able to convey my thoughts on this issue well. May Allah azza wa jal bless you
abundantly with a serenity, calmness and contentment of mind, heart, body and
soul. Aameen Yaa Mujeebud’ da’awattad daaee. Keep smiling to Jannah!
‘Our Lord, enable us to be grateful for Your favours
which You have bestowed upon us and upon our parents and to do righteousness of
which You approve. And admit us by Your mercy into the ranks of Your righteous
servants.’
Aameen Yaa Aziz Yaa Khabeer Yaa Wahhaab Yaa Salaam Yaa
Rafi’u Yaa Allah.
Jazaakumullaahu
khairan!
Love
fiisabilillaah
Rubaba Mmahajia Rahma Sabtiu
1 comment:
Maasha Allah sis it's so lovely to read your piece!Am so enlightened n I say aammeen to all your prayers.jazaakillahkhairan sis.
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