THE OLD YEAR (2014)

As the year is coming to an end, it is necessary for all of us to keep in mind that we are now blessed with one more year in our physical life-span in this earthly life. We also need to remind ourselves that we have one year less remaining in our lives, because our physical life on earth, has been fixed long before we were born. Allah says:

Every living person (nafs) will taste of death. (3:185)

At the end of every year, as a matter of fact, at the end of every day, the true believer is required to reflect upon the way as to how the precious gift of life was managed. Was it done properly i.e. in accordance with the guidance from Allah and His Rasool, or otherwise?

Perhaps one can contemplate on the following: Was it a beneficial and productive year; or was it a year of losses? Was I able to observe my religious duties willingly; or did I falter and failed to be guided by the principles and teachings of Islam? Did I stay conscious of the fact that one day I am going to leave all my material belongings and connections behind me, as I move on the journey in life?

Please be reminded that Allah says:

Whatever is with you will evaporate; and whatever is with Allah will endure. (16:96)

We need to constantly remind ourselves that physical death is not the end of the journey.

As we are all liable to make mistakes due to moral and spiritual imperfection, we must take advantage of Allah’s kindness towards us. He does not want to punish us for our wrong doings, so He says that He is Most Forgiving and Most Merciful. He therefore wants us to acknowledge our faults and beg Him for forgiveness. He says:

Surely, Allah loves those who (turn to Him in) repentance; and He loves those who (stay pure) and clean. (2:222)

Every day that dawns upon us comes with its challenges. This is because there are two pathways before every one of us and we are supposed  to constantly choose what is beneficial to us in both the worlds. One of the pathways may appear to be attractive but will lead finally to torment and torture; while the other may appear to be steep and difficult, but it leads to a beautiful garden.

No matter how hard we may try to do good we can still be liable for Allah’s punishment; as He says:

If Allah were to take mankind to task for all the wrong that they do, He would not have left on the earth any living creature. (16:61)

It becomes necessary therefore for every person to try and do as much good as possible, as, Surely, good deeds annul ill deeds (11:114).

In addition to doing good one must make it a daily practice to beg the Merciful Lord for forgiveness. He says:

And vie with one another for forgiveness from your Lord; and for a Paradise as wide as are the heavens and the earth, prepared for those who ward off evil. (3:133)

May Allah forgive us for our faults, mistakes and sins; and may He bless us for all the good that we did.

SERVICE TO ALLAH

Every true believer must be prepared to be of service to Allah. This is clearly expressed during the Haj; as the Pilgrim leaves the whole world behind and journey to the Kaba, with very little. 

There, he or she chants; here I am at Your service, O Allah, here I am at Your service. Surely, all Praise and blessings are for You. There is no partner with You.

Allah says about the true believers the following:

Surely, those who are with the Lord are not too proud to serve Him. (7:206)

Allah prefers those who strive hard and fight, above those who sit (at home); by a huge reward. (4:95)

One way of serving Allah is to serve mankind. This is well established in the Hadith, part of which is as follows:

(Allah will say to a person on that Day) O son of Adam, I asked you for food, and you fed Me not. The man will say: O Lord of the Worlds, how should I feed You when You are Lord of the Worlds? He (Allah) will say: Did you not know that My servant, so and so asked you for food, and you did not feed him; did you not know that if you did feed him you would have fed Me? (Muslim)

Service to humanity must be done out of pure love for Allah, and with no other motive in mind. Allah tells us about this in the following verses of the Holy Qur’an:

And they feed, for the love of Allah, the needy, the orphan, and the captive. (They say to themselves) we feed you for the sake of Allah alone; We do not desire any reward from you, nor thanks. (76:8-9)

One must be prepared to serve Allah with pleasure, either on a personal level or in the community. If he finds that the community out of satisfaction expresses praise on him, he should be careful and be humble; as this may make him feel a bit of arrogance which can be a dangerous thing.

Service to Allah, and for the sake of Allah is the way to success in this life and in the next. Allah says:

And of them (human beings) are some who are, by Allah’s leave, foremost in good deeds. That is indeed a great grace. Paradise, Eden, will they enter.(35:32-33)

May Allah give us the will and strength to serve Him dedicatedly in worship and in our interaction with others.

THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWLEDGE

A believer must always keep in mind that Adam was acknowledged as being superior to the angels when they realized that he was blessed with something that they did not have, and that was knowledge. Allah says about the knowledge He gave to Adam the following:

And He taught Adam the names of everything. (2:31)

Allah then made it known that knowledge makes one superior to others, as He told Adam to tell them their names. He said:

O Adam, Inform them of their names. And when he had informed them of their names, He (Allah) said: Did I not tell you that I know the unseen in the skies and the earth, and I know what you reveal and what you have been concealing? (2:33)

Knowledge can help a believer to:

Develop a respectful attitude towards Truth,

Know more about himself

Become aware of the things that can cause him to be punished.

Knowledge can come:

Through pondering: Those who ponder about the creation of the skies and the earth. (3:191)

Through reading and writing: Read and your Lord is Most Gracious; Who has taught by the Pen. (96:3-4)

Through Zikr and Meditation: So did Allah reveal to His servant what He wanted to reveal; his heart in no way falsified what he saw. (53:10-11)

The best of knowledge is the one that enables us to know about our Lord and our relationship with Him. He says: Allah bears witness that there is no god but He, and the angels and men endued with knowledge. (3:18)

Knowledge is so precious and valuable that it has no comparison. Here are some of the Traditions regarding the status of the learned.

Ibn Abbas said:

The learned men rank seven hundred grades above the believers; between each two is a distance of five hundred years.

Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported to have said:

When Allah loves a person He gives him knowledge of Religion, and guides him into the Straight Path. (Bukhari)

The learned men are the heirs of the Prophet (pboh).

The passing away of a whole tribe is more tolerable than the passing away of one learned person.

Imam Shafi said:

One of the noble things about knowledge is that he who is given a portion of it, no matter how small, rejoices; while he is deprived of it grieves.

Perhaps it is because of the importance given to the acquisition of knowledge and the status that a knowledgeable person will ultimately have that the first revelation that Allah give to the believers though the Prophet (pboh) was to lean to read and write.

Certainty

Allah says:

Worship your Lord until certainty comes upon you. (15:99)

The popular translation of Al Yaqeen is death. So one can translate this verse to mean: Worship your Lord until death comes to you.

The term Al Yaqeen, can mean many things; for example one meaning can be; to worship your Lord, until you realize that He is the Truth, Permanent and Everlasting. He says:

This is because for certain Allah is Truth. (22:6)

As we journey through the phases of life we realize that there are many things that we need to know and always keep in mind. Some of these are:

• The physical body is just a shell.
• It has a life span.
• It can be kept clean and decorated, or it can be damaged and soiled.
• In it is housed the soul.
• This can be polished or kept dirty by the physical shell
• The body is subjected to physical laws, not the soul

·        We are existing because of the Grace of Allah. He says: All bounties are in the Hands of Allah. He grants them to whom He pleases. (3:73)

With certainty comes wisdom. The wise person realizes that he must not be arrogant, and he must not believe that his material possessions can save him for the will of the Lord, nor will it stay with him forever. He keeps on reminding himself of what Allah says: i.e.

Do not walk in the earth arrogantly, because you cannot crush the earth or reach the heights of the mountains. (17:37-39)

Al Yaqeen also enables us to understand that all creatures have a life span, and that our ends are already written.

It helps to always be aware of the fact that Allah can destroy us and the entire universe if He so desires, and can bring a new creation into existence.

One of the beautiful achievements of Al Yaqeen is to experience our closeness with our Lord. The body alone will not be able to realize this as it gets its knowledge through reason and logic.

Allah made this known to us by telling us about the experience of the Prophet (pboh) He says:

So did Allah reveal to His Servant what He wanted to reveal. His heart did not falsify what he saw. (53:10-11)

When a person gets a little of the benefits of Al Yaqeen, he realizes that no one has the power to stop death, and when it comes all material things will remain behind and will be of no use on the onward journey.

Many people will then realize that they wasted the precious gift of life, and they will be returning with very little success for the remainder of the journey. Try not to be among them.

True success is to realize that we are helpless creatures in the Hands of the Lord, and we need to win His Favours in order to dwell in Paradise to live in Eternal Bliss and Peace.

CONSCIOUSNESS OF ALLAH’S BLESSINGS

In the name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful

A true believer is supposed to remain knowledgeable of several things, all the time. One term used by Allah for staying alert of His blessings on us is called fikr (pondering and reflecting). Allah says:

Then they ponder and reflect. (24:46)

Pondering and reflecting can be in many areas of life including the positive and negative aspects of our thoughts, words and deeds.

As far as the consciousness of the positive benefits from the Lord upon us is concerned, one must keep in mind the following: 

1. Appreciation of the blessings of Allah on us. He says:

If you were to count the blessings of Allah (He is giving to you), you will never be able to number them. (14:34)

On one hand we should be thankful for life and the working of our physical existence, as, in this condition, we can glorify our Lord, recite His Holy Words and represent Him here on earth.

2.  Be grateful of the fact that we have the capability and capacity to be God conscious all the time; and we can glorify and praise Him in many ways and at any time. We should be grateful that, unlike other creatures, we can allow our hearts to engage in zikr, even though we may be busy in material matters. Allah says:

Those who remember Allah standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides; and contemplate (on the wonders and perfection) of creation of the skies and the earth. (3:191)

A believer must always be aware and conscious of his limitations as a creature of the All-Powerful and All-Mighty Creator of the skies and the earth. Sometimes, some people may want to believe that they are very pious and will definitely go to Paradise.

In the time of the Prophet (pboh, it happened that some of the companions thought that they were as pious as or even more devoted than the Messenger himself. Allah then made it known that the Prophet (pboh) was special and was the model for mankind. In this connections Allah says:

And your personality is of a tremendous nature. (68:4)

Every believer must always be conscious of the fact that he/she has short comings and limitations. One must not forget what Allah says to us in the following verse.

If Allah were to take mankind to task for all the wrong they do; He would not leave on the earth a single living creature. (16:61)

On way of knowing our limitations and short comings is to compare our lives with that of the Prophet (pboh). On one hand Allah says about him that he is the universal model for mankind. This is recorded in the Qur’an in the following verse:

And We have not sent you O Muhammad, except as a perfect model for the whole of mankind. (34:28)

Another very important point that we must never forget is the fact that Allah says about him the following:

Your Companion (i.e. the Prophet pboh) is neither astray nor being misled; nor does he say anything of his own desire. (53:2-3)

We must always be conscious of the fact that we represent Allah here on earth, and true representation means that we should try to perfect our lives and morals. We should try to make as much as zikr as we can because that is the only way for us to constantly remember that we are in the presence of the divine all the time. Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported to have said:

All obligations imposed by Allah are clearly marked, and none are exempted from them in the presence of a genuine cause. The only exemption is zikr. Allah has set no specific limit for it; and under no circumstance is one allowed to be negligent of it.