Physical and spiritual provisions

Allah Ta aala mentions in His Glorious Quraan, ‘ wa maa bikum min ni’matin fa minalAllah ‘ ( whatever favour is with you only comes from Allah )

In another verse He says, ‘ wa asbagha alaikum niamahu thaahiratan wa baatina ‘( He has showered abundantly His favours upon you; external and internal )

The favours from Allah are both physical and spiritual.  Our body and whatever is around it in this world as provisions to sustain it are all His physical rizq which we have to make abundant shukr for. Daily food, health,safety, aafiyah etc are all irrepayable bounties. Rasoolullah s.a.w has mentioned to the effect that after eemaan a great gift to be blessed with is aafiyah.

Physical rizq and favours all enjoy whether believer or disbelievers.

Then we have the spiritual rizq of eemaan and Deen. This too is provision from Allah in the form of Hidayah and taufeeq. There is a dua,   ‘Allahummarzuqnaa eemaanan kaamila..'(O Allah bless us with complete eemaan ). Here the word ‘rizq’ is used.

similarly another dua,’ Allahummarzuqnaa ilman naafi aa… (O Allah bless us with beneficial knowledge. .) Here too the word ‘ rizq ‘ is used for knowledge an abstract thing not physical.

Sayyidunaa Umar bin alKhattaab r.a used to make this dua,  ‘Allahummarzuqni shahaadatan fi sabeelik waj al mauti fi Baladi Rasoolik'(O Allah bless me with martyrdom in Your path and make my death in the city of Your Rasool). Here again the word ‘rizq’ was used for martyrdom.

A common dua of Rasoolullah s.a.w was , Rabbanaa aatinaa fidunya hasanatan wa fil aakhirati hasanatan was qinaa athaabanan naar. (O Allah grant us goodness in this world and goodness in the the hereafter and save us from the fire.

Goodness of this world includes both physical and spiritual.

It comes in the meaning of a hadith, ‘Glad tidings to he who finds in his book ( on the day of Qiyaamah ) a lot of istighfaar.

Similarly in another hadith Rasoolullah s.a.w said, ‘Tooba liman ja alalAllahu miftaahan lilkhair, mighlaaqan lissharr’ (Glad tidings to he who Allah makes a key to good and a lock to evil). Allah uses him for opening doors of goodness and closing and locking doors of evil.

So in conclusion fortunate is that person who daily is blessed with spiritual rizq to carry out the commands of Allah and benefit mankind too in this respect. Like how it comes in a hadith that sometimes a person is deprived of rizq due to a sin he commits this is equally applicable to spiritual rizq or Divine taufeeq.

May Allah always bless us with His Rizq in all aspects and save us from being deprived.

 

Ni’mah and amaanah

Allah Ta aala mentions in the Quraan, ” whatever favours you have are all from Allah”. In another place He says that He has showered abundantly His favours upon us; outer and inner. Yet another place He tells us, ‘If you attempt to count the favours of Allah you will never be able to encompass them.”

Our very existence is His favour. Allah says, “Did We not give you life…” This entire body is His favour. Allah mentions He has created human beings in the best of forms and He has honoured the children of Adam (a.s). This body so perfectly structured with all its beauty and functions. Each human different from another be they from same parents.

The material things around us created for our use in this temporary life are all His favours. He has mentioned many a place in the Quraan how He has made the things of this world subservient to man.

Most of all this great Deen of Islaam is His extreme favour.Allah mentions,  ‘ Today I have completed for you your Deen, I have completed upon you My favour and I am happy with Islaam as your Deen.” Eemaan,the Quraan,Rasoolullah s.a.w and being in his ummah are all great bounties.

The demand of these favours is first of all to appreciate that they are all only from Allah and through His Mercy.

Secondly, to verbally acknowledge these favours and make shukr constantly. There is a sunnah dua: Alhumdulillah ala tamamin ni am. ( All praise is for Allah for complete favours).

Thirdly to realise that as these are are favours they are amaanat  (trusts ) in the same vein.  We will be answerable regarding each favour. We have to treat them as amanah and use them only as Allah has commanded. It is a duty upon us and in thus way Allah will continue showering increased favours upon us. Ali (r.a) said three things are inter connected. Favour comes from Allah. Man makes shukr. Allah increases His favour.

The responsibility Allah has kept on this ummah is to appreciate His favours and make effort for the entire mankind to realise this too.

The decision of submission

Allah Ta aala mentions in the Quraan,  ” He has called you those who totally submit..”

Islaam is a decision to totally submit to Allah without an iota of reservation. This is the beauty and crux of our Deen. This is all based on yaqeen in Allah that He is our Creator and knows us more than we think we know ourselves. He is  the All Wise,All Knowing.

Deen is a journey from hawa  (desire) to hidayah  (guidance ). It’s not what I desire it is what Allah desires from me. My physical appearance is not what pleases me but what pleases Him. It’s not based on attraction and impression but modesty and humbleness.

I speak not what pleases me or others but what leads to His pleasure otherwise I remain silent. I only see what He permits otherwise I lower my gaze.

Allah has purchased from us our lives and wealth in lieu of jannah. We use whatever we have to achieve this abode of His pleasure.

Life is so easy if we live to please Allah and are unconcerned about what the people will say. Salman Al faarsi used to say the real honour and disgrace is on the day of Qiyaamah not this world

Allah Ta aala make us amongst those who totally submit.

The simplicity and honour in our muslim burials

We have so much to thank Allah Ta aala for blessing us with a complete perfect Deen. Right from conception until a person is buried and beyond we have guidelines.

When a person is ill we are advised to visit thereby getting the duas of the malaa ika for our forgiveness. When we visit there are sunnah duas to read for the sick person.  We are told to console him and give words of encouragement inducing hope in him.

Allah Ta aala states,”Every soul shall taste of death…” . So it is inevitable and a transition from this mundane world to the real eternal world of aakhirah.

If Allah has decided the person’s time is near we are advised to make talqeen near him of the shahaadah thereby reminding him as Rasoolullah s.a.w said to the nearest meaning, ‘ He who’s last words were La ilaaha I’llAllahu has entered jannah’.

When a person passes away immediately we are taught to say inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raajioon  (To Allah do we belong and to Him is our return), therewith resigning ourselves over to His decree and not questioning His decision.

After he passes away we make sure his eyes and mouth are closed to preserve a good appearance.  Then the ghusl is carried out by family and friends in the most honourable way not exposing his private area. Scent and perfume are applied to the parts of his body that touched the ground in sujood and on his shroud. He is wrapped in three pieces of simple cloth. Females with two extra cloths.

We are commanded to bury as soon as possible. It is detestable to unnecessarily delay the burial. There is grief in delaying burial procedings.

Then the janaaza salaah is performed calmly  as a dua for the deceased. No eulogies and wailing.

The deceased is then carried respectfully by those present and slowly laid down in the grave. No coffin. Those present assisting in throwing sand to cover the grave not using machines.

After he has been buried Rasoolullah s.a.w encouraged us to make dua for the deceased to be steadfast in responding to the questions in the grave.

Even after a person has passed away we continually remember him/her in duas . Mourning period only for the widow is four months and ten days. The rest of the people after few days must carry on with their prepations in this life to meet Allah Ta aala in such a way that Allah is pleased with us.

eemaan and shukr

Allah Ta aala has connected eemaan to shukr (gratitude) like how he has connected kufr to ingratitude.

Whatever we have is purely His favours upon us. Allah Ta aala is Al Kareem who bestows favours upon us not based on us being worthy.

A muslim’s life is one of shukr. Eemaan is our greatest gift and it is so overpowering that it leaves no scope for us to complain of any difficulty or trial of this world. A Sahaaba once said, ‘wAllahi alathi laa ilaaha illa Hu.Laa yadhurru Abdan yusbihu alal Islaam wa yumsi alaiha maa asaabahu min ad dunya’. ( By Allah besides Whom there is none worthy of worship, nothing of this world harms that slave of Allah who wakes up with Islaam and passes the night with islaam ).

Ahnaf bin Qais a pious mansays that once he complained to his uncle of some stomach pains. His uncle, too a pious man reprimanded him of putting his grievance in front of another human, then said, O my nephew I have lost sight in one eye for the past forty years but even my wife doesn’t know about it.

Imaam Shaafee r.a supplicated,’  O Allah if You have taken away one son You have left behind many other sons and if You have taken away one limb You have left behind omany others’. In other words I have no reason to complain.

Once I met a Mufti in Jordan,elderly  of age,who had knee problems and needed the aid of a walker. Someone said to him I hope you get well insha Allah. He replied, let me first make shukr for the 70 odd years Allah made me walk with ease.

May Allah make us understand all the favours we enjoy and save us from ever uttering a single word of ingratitude.

what we can make effort on in Ramadhaan

Alhamdulillah, through the Grace of The Almighty Allah, Ramadhaan is coming closer. Contrary to the thought of many, it is not only a month of fasting and Taraweeh but a month to bring so many qualities in our life.
First, as The Almighty has mentioned in the Qur aan: ” O you who believe, fasting has been prescribed upon you like it was prescribed on those before us so hopefully you will attain taqwa”
So the primary object of fasting is to attain Taqwa which is an inherent quality of eemaan. To be conscious of Allah and fear Him in all our actions. A believer’s foundation is eemaan and Taqwa. So Ramadhaan is a month of effort on strengthening oue eemaan with developing the quality of Taqwa.
Secondly, in as much it is a month of fasting, it is a month of Salaah. Allah Ta aala increases for us the opportunity to stand before Him in Taraweeh. The masaajid become full in Ramadhaan and at the time of suhoor many a people offer tahajjud salaah اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّه . It is an opportunity to resolve never to miss a single salaah from now on.
Thirdly, it is a month of knowledge. Allah Ta aala mentions: ” Verily We have revealed it (The Quran) on the Night of Qadr” .
The first quality Allah Ta aala mentions of the Quran in surah Al Baqarah is ” Guidance for those who have taqwa”. The Quran is a total Guidance for mankind and contains the True knowledge of this life and the next. The Quran being revealed in this Mubarak month also teaches us to increase our understanding and practising upon the Quran in Ramadhaan.
Fourthly, Ramadhaan is a month of rememberence of Allah in abundance. It is a month of reading the Quran,dua and making the dhikr of Allah in abundance. One should abstain from useless talk and backbiting which in addition to being forbidden affect the reward of the fast.
Fifthly. Rasoolullah s.a.w has mentioned to the effect that this Is ‘Shahrul muwasaat’ I.e The month of mutual feeling of compassion. He has advised us to feed others and lessen the work load of muslims who we take work from. So it is a month to learn not only how to be just to others but to go out of our way and give preference to others known as ‘eethaar’ in Arabic .
Sixthly, It is a month of sincerity and dedication. From all the actions, fasting is hidden and a person gives up what is prohibitted solely for Allah that’s why the reward of fasting is so great. So we learn to develop ikhlaas in all our actions.
Seventhly, it is a month Allah Ta aala showed the distinction between Haq and baatil in the battle of Badr which was on the 17th of Ramadhaan and referred to as ‘yawmul Furqaan'( The day of Distinguishing). Further, some historians say Fathu Makkah took place on 21st of Ramaadhaan. So it is a month of effort and dawaah of Deen to elevate the Kalima of Allah.
Allah Ta aala bless us to develop these qualities and more in Ramadhaan. Aameen.

Basis has to be Eemaan and Taqwa

Man is faced with so many situations, conditions  and challenges daily in various facets of his life and spends a large part of his life, wealth, energies and faculties searching for reasons, causes and solutions. All this because he sees things independent of Allah Ta aala. That is why we see the chaos in the world. People shooting in the dark. Whereas, the only reality is that Allah Ta aala is in total control and nothing happens without His knowledge and decision. We have to redirect our efforts on building our eemaan nd taqwa and strengthen our aamaal. This is the avenue He has made for us to draw from His unlimited treasures to solve our needs of dunya,qabr, and aakhirah.

The value of reciting the kalima once

Once Rasoolullah s.a.w mentioned to the sahaabah a scene from the day of Qiyaamah. he mentioned that when reckoning is done, certain muslims will also go to jahannum. when the disbelievers see them there with them, they will tell them, what was the benefit of your emaan. You are here with us in the fire. The muslims will reply that because of our sins, we are here.

Allah Ta aala, who is all hearing and all seeing will command the angels to take out of jahannum the people who had even an iota of eemaan. the angels will carry out this order. when the disbelievers see that the muslims are being taken, they will wish they had recited the kalima in the world. then Rasoolullah recited the ayah in support of this: ” ..the disbelievers will wish if only they had been muslims” (if they just accepted the klima and declared it once what a great difference it would have made today)

eethaar

 Today mankind defines human rights as what you are entitled to as a human being. in islaam it is defined as what rights I owe to others. imagine the ideal situation like it was in the time of Nabi s.a.w and the sahaabah where each one was worried about fulfilling the rights of others. One is insaaf, to be just and fair and not oppress. beyond this is ‘eethaar’, to give preference to others over oneself. sahaabah had this quality as we read in the ayah: “..they prefer others over themselves even though poverty is their lot”.

They looked at the benefit of others also in business transactions where everyone wants to benefit maximally. there is a story of a sahaabi who told his servant to look for a horse for him to buy. the servant found a horse for 300 dirhaams and came with the horse and the owner to the sahaabi. the sahaabi, liking the horse, paid the owner 600 dirhaams for it, although the owner was happy with 300. the owner left happy.the sahaabi then explained to his servant  why he did that.he said, we pledged allegiance to nabi s.a.w that we will always wish well for every muslim.

an example of barakah

Barakah is a concept connected to eemaan. it is translated as ‘blessing’ in english for lack of a better word. Barakah is something  Allah ta aala bestows beyond our calculation or estimation or logic.

Simple illustration: take the example of two animals;a dog and a goat. a dog lives upto 10 or 12 years. a female dog has a litter of puppies and no one, normally ets dogs. on the other hand, a goat lives 2 or 3 years on average and a female goat gives to normally one kid.people eat goats regularly. so if we use logic and calculation, there should be more dogs in this world than goats but this is not the case. there are more goats than dogs. how come? because Allah Ta aala has kept barakah in a goat, not in a dog. 

When we follow our deen, we are blessed with barakah in this life and everlasting reward in the hereafter.