PAUSE TO REFLECT
The Messenger of Allah (Blessings and Peace be upon him) said:
“Acquaint yourself with Allah in good times and He will know you in bad times.”
If a person fears Allah and observes His commands in times of ease, he has acquainted himself with Allah. In addition, a special link or relation will develop between him and Allah. Allah will then know him during bad times, meaning that He will help him because of his obedience to Him during good times. “Acquaint yourself “, and, “He will know you”, suggest a special kind of knowledge, one that points to closeness between Allah and His believing slave and to love of Allah for that slave.
Patience, when truly applied, has the effect of changing misfortune into a blessing. It is all a matter of one’s perspective and frame of mind. For Allah does not test us in order to destroy us, but rather to assess our patience and degree of faith. This is because Allah has a right to be worshipped in bad times just as He has the right to be worshipped during times of ease and well-being. Most people are faithful in their duties and responsive to commands when things are going well and in accordance to their inclinations. A crucial point to understand is that the true test is often to worship and follow commandments that are contrary to one’s liking. And in this regard people differ in their faith. How they perform in those situations will determine their ranking with Allah.
KNOWLEDGE IS THE KEY TO SERENITY AND EASE
Knowledge and an easy-going nature are like two inseparable companions: if the first is present, the other can be counted upon to accompany it. lf you study the lives of islam’s greatest scholars, you will find that they led simple lives and that they were easy to deal with. They understood the purpose of life and knew which issues were paramount and which were less important. Meanwhile, you will find that the most obstinate of people are those who, without having knowledge, are ascetics. They misunderstand revealed texts and are ignorant of religious issues. The calamity of the Khawary (a deviant sect) stemmed from a paucity of knowledge and understanding. They were not guided to understand that there are issues which are paramount in our religion, and which take precedence over other issues. And so they excelled in insignificant matters while failing miserably in lofty matters not to mention the mere basics.
THE WRONG WAY TO GO ABOUT THINGS….
I recently read two famous books, both of which are deprived of that ease and simplicity that the Shari’ah intends for us.
The first is Ihyaa’ al- ‘Uloom ad-Deen by Ghazali. He gathered in it a number of ahaadeeth (hadiths), many of which are either weak or fabricated. He built upon them rules and principles that he thought were the greatest means of bringing a slave closer to his Lord.
Comparing this book to Bukhari and Muslim, I noticed a clear difference: the former consists of exaggeration, harshness, and affectation while the latter two books consist of ease and moderation, perhaps because they only relate for us the authentic Sunnah. By comparing these books, I found a deeper meaning of the following verse:
(And we shall make easy for you [O `Muhammad] the easy way [i.e. the doing of righteous deeds].) {Quran 8 7: 8)
The second book is Qoot al-Quloob, written by Abu Taalib al-Makkee. In it, the author encourages the reader to forsake this life, to abjure work, to refrain from even lawful pleasures, and to strive towards austerity and sternness.
The two authors, Abu Hamid al-Ghazali and Abu Taalib al- Makkee, had good intentions. The problem, though, was that their knowledge of the Sunnah was confused and weak. For this reason, error crept into their way of thinking. We should learn this lesson from their mistakes: the guide must be skilled in the way; he must have an accurate map which shows the different paths that lead to one’s goal.
(On the contrary [he would say]: ‘Be you Rabbaaniyoon [learned men of religion who practice what they know and also preach others], because you are teaching the Book, and you are studying it.)
(Qur’an 3: 79)
THE NOBLEST HUMAN BEING
Some salient features of the Messenger of Allah’s character were contentment, optimism, and a generous heart. He was a bearer of glad tidings. He forbade people from extremes of austerity and asceticism, because these lead to repelling people from the truth. Hopelessness and failure were not in his dictionary. A smile was always on his face, and his heart was content. Furthermore, his commands were easy to follow, for his mission was to alleviate hardship and to remove the shackles of falsehood that hold people down.
ONE STEP AT A TIME
When addressing the masses in a sermon, an orator must take a step-by-step, systematic approach. Systematic, in this instance, means that more important issues should be dealt with first. This principle is corroborated by the advice of the Messenger of Allah (bpuh) to Mu’aadh (may Allah be pleased with him), when he dispatched him to Yemen:
“The first thing that you should call them to is to bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except Allah and that I am the Messenger of Allah…”
In our personal endeavors, many of us realize that we should seek gradual development. Why then do we hurl everything down people’s throats at once!
(And those who disbelieve say: ‘Why is not the Qur’an revealed to him all at once?’ Thus [it is sent down in parts], that we may strengthen your heart thereby. And we have revealed it to you gradually, in stages [It was revealed to the Prophet in 23 years].) (Qur’an 25: 32)
Muslims should feel a sense of comfort and ease in learning the teachings of Islam, especially since Islam came to save people from inner strife.
The term Takleef which literally means “a burden (at least in one of its connotations),” was mentioned in the Qur’an only in the negative.
(Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope) (Qur’an 2: 286)
When the Prophet’s Companions would come to him asking for general counsel or instruction, he would advise them in succinct and concise words which were easily memorized. After understanding the questioner’s situation, the Prophet (bpuh) always gave a practical and simple response.
We err greatly when we try to present to an audience all of the advice, teachings, manners, and wisdom that we have at our disposal.
(And [it is] a Qur’an which we have divided [into parts], in order that you might recite it to men at intervals.) (Qur’an 17: 106)
WHETHER YOU HAVE A LITTLE OR A LOT, LEARN TO BE THANKFUL
The person who is not thankful to Allah for cold, pure water; will not be thankful to Him for a mansion or a luxury car.
The person who is not thankful for warm bread will not be grateful if he suddenly becomes blessed with luxury food items, because an ingrate sees a little and a lot to be the same thing. Many before us have made binding promises to Allah that, if He were to give them blessings. They would in turn be grateful and give charity.
(And of them are some who made a covenant with Allah [saying]:
He bestowed on us of His Bounty we will verily, give Sadaqah [Zakah and voluntary charity in Allah s Cause] and will he certainly among those who are righteous. ‘Then when He gave them of His Bounty, they became niggardly [refused to pay the Zakah or voluntary charity], and turned away, averse.) (Qur’an 75: 7 6)
Every day we see people of this sort, people that are mentally distressed, empty on the inside, and bitter towards their Lord because He did not give them more. They feel this way despite their good state of health and in spite of the nourishing food that sustains them daily, not to mention all of the basic needs that they have. They are not thankful for these things, nor are they thankful for the free time that they have. What would then be the case if they were given castles or mansions! Indeed they would deviate even further from the path of their Lord and they would increase in haughtiness and disdain.
The one who walks barefooted says, “l will be thankful to my Lord when he blesses me with shoes.” And the one with shoes postpones being grateful until he gets an expensive car. We take blessings cash down and are thankful on credit. Our wishes from Allah are never-ending while we are slow and lethargic in applying His commandments.
THREE PLAQUES
A wise person hung up three plaques in his office that he would read daily.
Written on the first was, “Your today, your today!” Meaning, live within the boundaries of today, working and striving.
The second said, “Reflect and be thankful.” Meaning, contemplate Allah’s blessings upon you and then be grateful.
And “Don’t be angry,” was written on the third.
PAUSE TO REFLECT
There are two points we should bear in mind when we think about the issues of hardship and relief:
First, when one can no longer bear a hardship, he will lose all hope in human beings, and as a result, his heart will depend upon Allah Alone.
Second, whenever the true believer feels that relief is slow in coming and whenever he feels that his prayers are not answered; he will blame no one save his own self. He will say to his self, “I am in this situation only because of you. Had you been worth anything your prayers would have been answered.” Such self-reproach is more beloved to Allah than many good deeds. When a slave of Allah goes through this process of introspection and self-reproach, he breaks down before his Lord and admits his shortcomings and confesses that he deserves the calamity that befell him and that he doesn’t deserve to have his prayers answered. At this point, the answer for his prayers comes quickly and the black cloud above him dissipates.
Ibraheem ibn Adham said:
“If the kings knew our quality of life, they would fight us over it with swords.”
Ibn Taymiyah said:
“My heart sometimes experiences a kind of inexpressible feeling for a number of hours, and I say, ‘If the people of Paradise are in a state similar to mine (right now), they are living a good life.”’
BE FREE FROM WORRY AND FEAR
More than thirty chapters of the book Al-Faraju B’ada ash- Shiddah deal with the topic of ease and relief after difficulty. The book stresses the point that the more severely we become engrossed in hardship, the closer we are to ease and relief The book has more than two hundred stories, all of which revolve around this theme.
Whatever the hardship may be, it is only a matter of days before better times arrive. At-Tanookhi said,
“Be calm, for many have come before you who have trodden upon this path.”
Arid certainly, we shall test you with something of fear; hunger: loss of wealth, lives and fruits…..) (Qur’an 12: 155)
(And we indeed tested those who were before them) (Qur’an 29: 3)
lt is truly just that in this period of examination —which continues until we die — we are expected to worship Allah in bad times just as we are expected to do so in good times. Allah changes our situations similar to the changing of night and day. Why then the anger, why the disobedience, and why the complaining?
(And if We had ordered them [saying], ‘Kill yourselves [i.e. the innocent ones kill the guilty ones] or leave your homes, ‘very few of them would have done it…) (Qur’an 4: 66)
DEEDS OF CHARITY
Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) succinctly said, “Deeds of charity protect one from the vicissitudes of life.”
This statement is attested to by both, revelation and sound logic.
(Had he not been of them who glorify, He would have indeed remained inside its belly [the fish] till the Day of Resurrection.)
(Qur’an 37: I43-144)
Khadeeja (may Allah be pleased with her) said to the Prophet (bpuh):
“Nay, by Allah, Allah will never forsake you. Verily, you are good to relatives, you carry the burdens of others, you provide for the needy, and you help people who are going through hard times.” Observe how she understood that good deeds necessarily lead to good results and that a triumphant ending follows a noble beginning.
Al- Wuzaraa by As-Sabaabi, Al-Muntazim by Ibn al-Jawzi, and Al-Faraju B’ada ash-Shiddah by At-Tanookhi: all of these books relate the following incident. A Governor named Ibn al-Furaat would constantly seek to inflict harm upon Abu Ia`far ibn Bistaam. The latter went through much hardship because of this.
When Abu Ja’far was a child, his mother used to place a piece of bread beneath his pillow. On the following morning, she would give it to a needy person on her son’s behalf Later on in life; Abu Ja’far went to Ibn al-Furaat for some purpose or another. Ibn al-Furaat immediately said, “Is there a matter between you and your mother concerning bread?” He answered, “No.” “You must be truthful with me,” Ibn al-Furaat insisted. Abu Ja’far, perhaps somewhat embarrassed, recounted the story of his mother in a manner that poked fun at her and at womanhood in general. Ibn al-Furaat said,
“Do not speak in such a (joking) tone, for before sleeping last night, I prepared a plan that, if it had succeeded, would have destroyed you. When I fell asleep, I saw a vision: it was as if my hands were raised with an unsheathed sword and I rushed towards you to kill you. Your mother blocked my way and in her hand was a piece of bread that she used as a shield to protect you from me. As a result, l couldn’t reach you. And then, I woke up.” Abu Ja’far gently reproached him for the animosity that had gradually been built up between them, and this incident opened the way for a truce between them. Ibn al-Furaat generously helped Abu Ja’far in his affairs and they soon became close friends. Ibn al-Furaat was heard to have said after the incident,
“By Allah, You will not see from me any evil after this.”
Source: Islam Basics By Aaidh ibn Abdullah Al-Qarnee
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