بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّ حِيْمِ
Brothers and
sisters, welcome back after the blessed month of Ramadhan, and we pray that
Allah would have blessed us tremendously for all our efforts made in the
blessed month; and today we would have been much better as a believer, both
morally and spiritually.
Allah has
established a law regarding His connection with the believers and how we can
get closer to Him. He says good
erases evil. We have a good example
of the application of this in the tradition of Prophet Muhammad (pboh)
regarding the month of Ramadhan where he is reported to have said “whoever
fasts Ramadhan with faith and seeking the reward of Allah will have his past
sins forgiven”.
So good removes
evil. What is important for us to keep
in mind all the time is that faith does not stay static. Nothing in this world is static. Even Allah says about Himself;
Every day He manifests Himself in yet another wondrous way. (55:29)
So nothing
remains stagnant; even our faith. Our
faith can increase or decrease. In
connection with this Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported to have said; “Imaan (faith) increases or decreases”.
Ramadhan is that
occasion where Allah allowed the believers to increase their faith tremendously
through the fast, extra worship and trying to be careful of thoughts and
actions for His sake. Our reason for
doing all of this is to get Qurbay Ilaahi – getting closer to Allah.
When Allah
wanted to show mankind how they can get closer to Him, He invited Prophet
Muhammad (pboh) in His Divine Presence on the night of the mir’aj. And he, (pboh) being our model and that one
who demonstrated real success in this life, if we were to follow him and engage
in much of the actions that he used to do we would insha Allah also increase
our faith and gain closeness to our Lord.
But if after the
blessed is over, we fall back into some thoughts and actions that would bring
about dark spots on our heart we would be reducing our faith.
It all depends
on the individual and their intention, their desire and their activity. The reason for saying this is because Allah
says in the Holy Qur’an that those who try to keep their soul bright and
shinning are the real successful ones.
It is those who believe and clothe not their beliefs with wrong -
they are (truly) in security, for they are on (right) Guidance. (6:82)
Scholars are of
the opinion that at the time of doing a wrong deed your faith is not strong
because at that time you are not mindful that Allah is with you. This does not mean to say that we are free
from faults and mistakes. Allah says;
And if Allah were to seize mankind for their wrong-doing, He would
not leave on it (the earth) a single moving (living) creature. (16:61)
What does this
ayat tell us? That we do a lot of wrong,
knowingly and unknowingly. However,
Allah has given us this great blessing that even if we falter we can wipe out
the blemishes through repentance and engaging in good deeds.
The point is that
we have a good head start coming out of the month of Ramadhan, therefore don’t
lose it and keep building on it.
Some people
can’t understand life so they behave like the spider. Invest all their efforts and recourses to
build a big ‘web’ paying no heed to returning to their Lord and without warning
it can all come crashing down leaving them destitute and back at square one.
For us it is a
simple reality; if when we exhale and the oxygen doesn’t go back in that is
it! All your work and aspirations come
to an end. And what next? What about the meeting with your Lord?
And this is the
message of life. Be careful all the
times. We want that when our last breath
comes out our soul will be transported to a beautiful place and the Messenger
of Allah (pboh) is reported to have said;
“The soul of
the believer is in a bird hanging from a tree in Paradise until Allah returns
it to his body on the day He resurrects him”.
Work for
it. Try your utmost to have good
intentions and don’t harbour hate and malice, etc. Islam wants us to be part of the beautiful
universal family. Let us try our best,
so our faith will continue to grow and our personality would become brighter
and brighter.
So as we have
started back on this program, try your best and work hard against the baser
desires as Prophet Muhammad (pboh) told his Companions “I have returned from
the small Jihad (Jihad Asghar) to the big Jihad (Jihad Akbar)”. The Sahabas enquired “what is the big
Jihad?” Prophet (pboh) said “the
Jihad al nafs (inner desires).”
One mistake can
destroy all your life’s work just as a married couple can destroy their loving
relationship through one moment of ill treatment.
This is why we
engage in the zikir and try to culture or spiritual stations to resound Allahu. If you have Allah in your heart Satan cannot
come and whisper to divert your intentions and emotions.
We beg Allah to
forgive us for our mistakes, wipe out our evils and cover up our faults. Keep conscious of your responsibilities and
duties, and guard your faith so that when you leave this world you will have no
room for regrets.
May Allah
forgive us, bless us, guide us and protect us all insha Allah.
