Assalamualikum
Bismillah,
How many of us make big promises? That we will work for this Deen. How many us want our kids to be scholars and da'is of this Deen? But when the opportunity comes to us we politely refuse saying ; my kids are small. My husband doesn't understand and my family isn't practicing. We delude ourselves from the true essence of this faith by drowning our sorrows in sweet reminders and timid quotations of the Qur'an and Sunnah.
Believe me when I say this: There is truth in all those beautiful reminders and sometimes those words are what soothe aching hearts and soften breasts so that they can receive hidiyah. But we have to realistic this deen is not all about sweet talk and kind words. If we look to the lives of the dearly beloved Prophets of Allah you find in their lives nothing short of hardship, in every sense of the word. I mean if anyone deserved to be truly happy its these guys but yet we find that they had to make some very tough choices :
Prophet Nuh (a.s) preached for 950 years and even then only a handful of people accepted Islam and as the flood came he tried to save his son but his son drowned and there was no way to save him. Can you imagine that kind of grief and anguish that Nuh (a.s) had to face as a father? Can you even put yourself in his shoes? How he spent such a long time preaching and even then his own son was not one of the believers. Nuh (a.s) could have jumped in the water after him? Smacked him a few times and tried to bring him to his senses? But Nuh (a.s) had to accept the loss and move forward with his life and continue with his mission to spread the deen.
In this story you find no sweet reminder but a harsh reality of the kind of sacrifices that this deen , if you truly want to walk upon the way of the prophets like we keep saying we do all the time in a sudden burst of passion , will require from you , me all of us.
The only silver lining in our dark horizon is the promise of Jannah. I wouldn't say its the silver lining its a burst of light, like how the sun shines through after a long gloomy downpour. It lights up everything, it lifts our spirits and it shows us that it was all worth the wait. When I think of Jannah I cannot even bring to mind the kind of joy that , that place will bring all I know through my limited understanding and use of vocabulary is that it will be: IMMENSE.
And you know it makes all those hardships worthwhile it gives the mind some understanding that , that was Allah's promise that made every prophet that ever lived and every salaf that ever suffered any pain for this deen worthwhile. While they have been left with scars and meager worldly resources , in the Aakhirah they will have all the wealth and riches you could never squander and more! It's Allah's promise , who dares to doubt Him?
And every once in a while if anyone is ever blessed enough they get that feeling: its a feeling where the world stops making sense. You go from one mundane routine to the next, harping about degrees and future plans to all and sundry but in your heart there is that burning desire. The desire isn't for the worldly gain that comes with a Masters degree or a husband who knows how to earn. Its a desire to know Allah's book to have some shot at working on the same precarious , yet ever so rewarding path of the Prophets. It is the desire to take up Allah on His promise when He says:
And We have indeed made the Qur'an easy to understand and remember, then is there anyone who will remember? ( or receive admonition)
(Surah Al Qamar 54 : 17)
When that happens there will be few if any sweet sugar coated reminders along the way but only that firm promise for all your troubles for Allah's Sake will be : Jannah and nothing less Insha'Allah. I guess as women we need something to fall back on, that reassurance from someone we know and a shoulder to cry on. I'm certain that Allah made us that way in His Perfect Knowledge but I also know that He didn't make our emotional needs and worldly responsibilities an "excuse" to keep us from learning and spreading the deen.
I understand now that this world will forever keep churning out excuses for us , distracting us and imprisoning us. So, give its due importance: pay the bills and cook those meals but know that each day should find you searching for , and yearning for the knowledge of this deen and know that , that is your responsibility too. Because today you feel that burning desire to learn it, tomorrow it will fizzle out and it may never come back and May Allah forbid it will never come back not by sweet reminders or harsh realities.
So, personally I would hate to become one who echoes empty promises of servitude and submission to Allah and survive off sweet reminders about smiling and small sadaqahs and on the inside my heart is broken its link with Allah swt all because I couldn't withstand the hardships that lead to Jannah. May Allah not make us from those. Ameen
Bismillah,
How many of us make big promises? That we will work for this Deen. How many us want our kids to be scholars and da'is of this Deen? But when the opportunity comes to us we politely refuse saying ; my kids are small. My husband doesn't understand and my family isn't practicing. We delude ourselves from the true essence of this faith by drowning our sorrows in sweet reminders and timid quotations of the Qur'an and Sunnah.
Believe me when I say this: There is truth in all those beautiful reminders and sometimes those words are what soothe aching hearts and soften breasts so that they can receive hidiyah. But we have to realistic this deen is not all about sweet talk and kind words. If we look to the lives of the dearly beloved Prophets of Allah you find in their lives nothing short of hardship, in every sense of the word. I mean if anyone deserved to be truly happy its these guys but yet we find that they had to make some very tough choices :
Prophet Nuh (a.s) preached for 950 years and even then only a handful of people accepted Islam and as the flood came he tried to save his son but his son drowned and there was no way to save him. Can you imagine that kind of grief and anguish that Nuh (a.s) had to face as a father? Can you even put yourself in his shoes? How he spent such a long time preaching and even then his own son was not one of the believers. Nuh (a.s) could have jumped in the water after him? Smacked him a few times and tried to bring him to his senses? But Nuh (a.s) had to accept the loss and move forward with his life and continue with his mission to spread the deen.
In this story you find no sweet reminder but a harsh reality of the kind of sacrifices that this deen , if you truly want to walk upon the way of the prophets like we keep saying we do all the time in a sudden burst of passion , will require from you , me all of us.
The only silver lining in our dark horizon is the promise of Jannah. I wouldn't say its the silver lining its a burst of light, like how the sun shines through after a long gloomy downpour. It lights up everything, it lifts our spirits and it shows us that it was all worth the wait. When I think of Jannah I cannot even bring to mind the kind of joy that , that place will bring all I know through my limited understanding and use of vocabulary is that it will be: IMMENSE.
And you know it makes all those hardships worthwhile it gives the mind some understanding that , that was Allah's promise that made every prophet that ever lived and every salaf that ever suffered any pain for this deen worthwhile. While they have been left with scars and meager worldly resources , in the Aakhirah they will have all the wealth and riches you could never squander and more! It's Allah's promise , who dares to doubt Him?
And every once in a while if anyone is ever blessed enough they get that feeling: its a feeling where the world stops making sense. You go from one mundane routine to the next, harping about degrees and future plans to all and sundry but in your heart there is that burning desire. The desire isn't for the worldly gain that comes with a Masters degree or a husband who knows how to earn. Its a desire to know Allah's book to have some shot at working on the same precarious , yet ever so rewarding path of the Prophets. It is the desire to take up Allah on His promise when He says:
And We have indeed made the Qur'an easy to understand and remember, then is there anyone who will remember? ( or receive admonition)
(Surah Al Qamar 54 : 17)
When that happens there will be few if any sweet sugar coated reminders along the way but only that firm promise for all your troubles for Allah's Sake will be : Jannah and nothing less Insha'Allah. I guess as women we need something to fall back on, that reassurance from someone we know and a shoulder to cry on. I'm certain that Allah made us that way in His Perfect Knowledge but I also know that He didn't make our emotional needs and worldly responsibilities an "excuse" to keep us from learning and spreading the deen.
I understand now that this world will forever keep churning out excuses for us , distracting us and imprisoning us. So, give its due importance: pay the bills and cook those meals but know that each day should find you searching for , and yearning for the knowledge of this deen and know that , that is your responsibility too. Because today you feel that burning desire to learn it, tomorrow it will fizzle out and it may never come back and May Allah forbid it will never come back not by sweet reminders or harsh realities.
So, personally I would hate to become one who echoes empty promises of servitude and submission to Allah and survive off sweet reminders about smiling and small sadaqahs and on the inside my heart is broken its link with Allah swt all because I couldn't withstand the hardships that lead to Jannah. May Allah not make us from those. Ameen
Mashallah what we all need to strive for Akhira inshallah
ReplyDeleteJazakAllah khair for the reminder. It's so true and really is important to put the Deen first but so many times we put it second squeezing it into our lives always the last thing on the list of things to do. May Allah rectify our situation ameen.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteassalamualaikum wa rahmatulahi wa barkatu sis!! masha'Allah what alovely post!! Just wanted to point out there is a few minor things that need edited! (i think delusion is with one "l" ?) but nice reminder masha'Allah :)
ReplyDelete