EVALUATING YOUR PREPARATION FOR HAJJ

courtesy amazon islam pictures

1. EVALUATE WHERE YOU ARE NOW:

• WHAT IS THE STATE OF YOUR IMAAN?
• WHAT IS THE QUALITY OF YOUR SALAH?
• WHAT IS THE ACCURACY OF YOUR WUDU AND SALAH?
• WHAT ARE YOUR INTENTIONS FOR GOING TO HAJJ?
• WHAT IS THE DEGREE OF YOUR DESIRE FOR HAJJ E MABROOR?

II            EVALUATE YOUR DESIRES:

• WHAT DO YOU WORRY ABOUT LEAVING BEHIND?
• WHAT BODILY DISCOMFORTS DO YOUR WORRY ABOUT?
• WHAT OTHER THINGS DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR PLAN WITH HAJJ?
• HOW MUCH ARE YOU WILLING TO CHANGE?

III            EVALUATE YOUR SPIRITUAL PREPARATION

• HOW OFTEN ARE YOU RECITING THE QURAN?
• ARE YOU READING THE LIFE OF THE PROPHET?
• HAVE YOU READ YOUR HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF MECCA AND MEDINA AND WHAT HAPPENED WHERE?
• HAVE YOU SUBMITTED YOUR SPIRIT TO ALLAH AND ENTREATED HIM TO INVITE YOU FOR HAJJ?
• HAVE YOU READ THE DESCRIPTION OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD’S HAJJ AND LAST SPEECH AT ARAFAH?

IV            EVALUATE YOUR PHYSICAL PREPARATION

• ARE YOU EXERCISING YOUR BODY TO BUILD STAMINA FOR IBADAH?
• ARE YOU EXERCISING YOUR MUJAHIDA TO CONTROL YOUR NAFS (LESS EATING, LESS SLEEPING, LESS TALKING, LESS SOCIALIZING)
• ARE YOU DOING ANY NAFIL FASTS ON MONDAY AND/OR THURSDAYS TO BUILD YOUR INNER SPIRITUALITY AND CONTROL YOUR NAFS
• HAVE YOU PRACTICED TO FOCUS ON PRAYER AND RECITATION WHILE IN A NOISY ATMOSPHERE?

V            EVALUATE YOUR EDUCATIONAL PREPARATION

*            HAVE YOU STUDIED AND IMPROVED ON YOUR NAMAAZ E NABVI?

*            HAVE YOU LEARNED TO PRAY NAMAZ E JANAZAH?

*            DO YOU KNOW HOW TO PRAY NAMAZ E TASBEEH (OPTIONAL)

*            HAVE YOU MEMORIZED EXTRA SURAHS TO RECITE IN PRAYER IN THE HARAMAIN?

*            DO YOU KNOW HOW TO PRAY QAZA E UMARI?

*         HAVE YOU FAMILIARIZED YOURSELF WITH THE MANASAK OF THE HAJJ?

*            DO YOU KNOW WHAT INVALIDATES THE HAJJ?

*            DO YOU KNOW WHAT MANASAK CAN BE MADE UP AND WHICH CANNOT?

*            HAVE YOU MADE A LIST OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE ASKED YOU TO PRAY FOR THEM

*            HAVE YOU MADE A LIST OF WHAT YOU WANT TO PRAY FOR?

*      DO YOU KNOW THE THIRD KALIMA, RABBANA ATAIYNA FID DUNYA AND THE DUA FOR SAFA AND MARWAH?

*            ARE YOU MEMORIZING A NEW DUA EACH DAY THAT YOU WANT TO ASK ALLAH FOR (MASNOON OR FROM THE QURAN?)

• ARE YOU PRACTICING PATIENCE NOW?
• ARE YOU PRACTICING WEARING HIJAB AND PROPER CLOTHES FOR PRAYER?
• ARE YOU PRACTICING PRAYING EACH PRAYER ON TIME?
• ARE YOU PRACTICING SPENDING TIME IN RECITATION OF THE QURAN AND/OR HADITH?

VI            EVALUATE YOUR LOGISTICAL PREPARATION

• DO YOU HAVE COMFORTABLE, WASHABLE CLOTHES THAT DO NOT REQUIRE EXTRA CARE AND WHICH COVER THE AWRAH?
• DO YOU HAVE TOILETRIES WITH NO FRAGRANCE?
• DO YOU HAVE A SLEEPING BAG FOR ARAFAH AND MUZDALIFA?
• DO YOU HAVE A SMALL SEPARATE BAG FOR MINA?
• DO YOU HAVE A SMALL BACK BAG FOR SHOES, OR READING MATERIAL AND A WATER BOTTLE, WHILE IN TAWAF OR SAAII?
• HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THE MAP OF THE LAYOUT OF THE KAABA AND KNOW THE NAMES OF THE DOORS?
• DO YOU HAVE A LIST (FOR YOURSELF AND GIFTS) OF WHAT YOU WANT TO BUY AT HAJJ?
• DO YOU HAVE A COPY OF YOUR PASSPORT AND DOCUMENTS IN A PLASTIC BAG OR COVER TO TAKE WITH YOU?
• DO YOU KNOW THE CONVERSION RATE FROM DOLLARS TO SAUDI RIYAL?
• HAVE YOU DISCUSSED WITH YOUR MAHRAM, YOUR EXPECTATIONS AND HIS?
• HAVE YOU SHARED YOUR PREPARATIONS WITH HIM?
• HAVE YOU MADE ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE PEOPLE YOU ARE LEAVING BEHIND?
• DO YOU HAVE A WILL?
• DO YOUR CHILDREN HAVE GUARDIANS IN EVENT OF AN UNFORSEEN CIRCUMSTANCE
• HAVE YOU MADE A LIST OF PEOPLE YOU NEED TO APPROACH TO ASK FOR FORGIVENESS OR GIVE FORGIVENESS?
• HAVE YOU PAID YOUR DEBTS THAT ARE DUE?
• WHO IS YOUR BUDDY WHILE IN THE HARAM (IT IS NOT POSSIBLE MOST OF THE TIME FOR YOUR MAHRAM TO BE YOUR BUDDY AS THE MEN AND WOMEN ARE SEPARATED AFTER TAWAF AND SOMETIMES IN TAWAF.

Inshallah you will do well, even if you are not perfectly prepared, but try and be as prepared as possible, then Hajj becomes the true spiritual journey you have imagined it to be!

THE SHIRT: LOSS OF A SON 12: 11-18

Surah Yusuf 12:11-18
قَالُواْ يَـأَبَانَا مَا لَكَ لَا تَأمَنَّا عَلَى يُوسُفَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ  لَنَـصِحُونَ (١١) أَرسِلهُ مَعَنَا غَدًا يَرتَع وَيَلعَب وَإِنَّا لَهُ  لَحَـفِظُونَ (١٢) قَالَ إِنِّى لَيَحزُنُنِىٓ أَن تَذهَبُواْ بِهِ وَأَخَافُ أَن يَألَهُ ٱلذِّئبُ وَأَنتُم عَنهُ غَـفِلُونَ (١٣) قَالُواْ لَن أَلَهُ ٱلذِّئبُ وَنَحنُ عُصبَةٌ إِنَّآ إِذًا لَّخَـسِرُونَ (١٤) فَلَمَّا ذَهَبُواْ بِهِ وَأَجمَعُوٓاْ أَن يَجعَلُوهُ فِى غَيَـبَتِ ٱلجُبِّ وَأَوحَينَآ إِلَيهِ لَتُنَبِّئَنَّهُم بِأَمرِهِم هَـذَا وَهُم لَا يَشعُرُونَ (١٥) وَجَآءُوٓ أَبَاهُم عِشَآءً يَبكُونَ (١٦) قَالُواْ يَـأَبَانَآ إِنَّا ذَهَبنَا نَستَبِقُ وَتَرَنَا يُوسُفَ عِندَ مَتَـعِنَا فَأَلَهُ ٱلذِّئبُ وَمَآ أَنتَ بِمُؤمِنٍ لَّنَا وَلَو نَّا صَـدِقِينَ (١٧) وَجَآءُو عَلَى قَمِيصِهِ بِدَمٍ كَذِبٍ قَالَ بَل سَوَّلَت لَكُم أَنفُسُكُم أَمرًا فَصَبرٌ جَمِيلٌ وَٱللَّهُ ٱلمُستَعَانُ عَلَى مَا تَصِفُونَ (١٨)
Transliteration:
11    Qaloo ya abana ma laka la tamanna AAala yoosufa wainna lahu lanasihoona
12    Arsilhu maAAana ghadan yartaAA wayalAAab wainna lahu lahafithoona
13    Qala innee layahzununee an thathhaboo bihi waakhafu an yakulahu alththibu waantum AAanhu ghafiloona
14    Qaloo lain akalahu alththibu wanahnu AAusbatun inna ithan lakhasiroona
15    Falamma thahaboo bihi waajmaAAoo an yajAAaloohu fee ghayabati aljubbi waawhayna ilayhi latunabiannahum biamrihim hatha wahum la yashAAuroona
16    Wajaoo abahum AAishaan yabkoona
17    Qaloo ya abana inna thahabna nastabiqu watarakna yoosufa AAinda mataAAina faakalahu alththibu wama anta bimuminin lana walaw kunna sadiqeena
18    Wajaoo AAala qameesihi bidamin kathibin qala bal sawwalat lakum anfusukum amran fasabrun jameelun waAllahu almustaAAanu AAala ma tasifoona

Translation (Pickthall)
They said: O our father! Why wilt thou not trust us with Joseph, when lo! we are good friends to him? (11) Send him with us to-morrow that he may enjoy himself and play. And lo! we shall take good care of him. (12) He said: Lo! in truth it saddens me that ye should take him with you, and I fear lest the wolf devour him while ye are heedless of him. (13) They said: If the wolf should devour him when we are (so strong) a band, then surely we should have already perished. (14) Then, when they led him off, and were of one mind that they should place him in the depth of the pit, We inspired in him: Thou wilt tell them of this deed of theirs when they know (thee) not. (15) And they came weeping to their father in the evening. (16) Saying: O our father! We went racing one with another, and left Joseph by our things, and the wolf devoured him, and thou believest not our saying even when we speak the truth. (17) And they came with false blood on his shirt. He said: Nay, but your minds have beguiled you into something. (My course is) comely patience. And Allah it is Whose help is to be sought in that (predicament) which ye describe. (18)

TAFSEEER excerpted from Taleem ul Quran by Dr. Farhat Hashmi (with my take in italics from the retreat on Surah Yusuf with HY)

This is a 4000-year-old story…………a story of which Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) had no knowledge. The Meccans. Both the Quraish and the Jews were bent on disproving prophet Muhammad’s Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)Prophet hood. Thus he was asked about Yusuf AS of which he had no knowledge. It is then that Allah Subhanawataala revealed this surah with the complete story of Yusuf in its entirety.

Here is how the story goes………………..

Yaqub (AS) was approached by his sons (the eleven brothers of Yusuf)……………..they started their conversation by making him feel guilty that he does not trust them with Yusuf.

They reminded him that they are a large, strong group, and nothing can overcome them. They asked him to let Yusuf go with them on a picnic and that they would guard him and bring him back safe and sound.  They of course had no intention of bringing him back period. Thus this falls into the earliest history of a premeditated crime.

What does a father do………….when one sibling is pitted against the other and is bent on mischief.

He appealed to them, and said, “ it fills my heart with sadness at the thought of Yusuf going away and I feel anxiety that something might happen to him like a wolf might devour him while you are busy……”

He watched as the brothers in a backhanded fashion accused him of not trusting them with Yusuf. They said that they were going for a picnic and did he not think that they were enough in number and strength to take care of one child and that being their own brother……?

The air was rife with treachery…….a murder had been planned and had been changed to abduction and disappearance.

The Nafs of the boys was riding rampant and its predatory tentacles had overcome their good sense. The whisperings of Shaitaan fanning their envy and jealousy for their younger sib.The mischief crystallized into a deliberate plan to get rid of their younger brother whom they believed to be the apple of their father’s eyes.

A parent can feel when something is amiss in his children. And so did Yaqub AS. He felt that the brothers were up to no good and yet………he submitted to Allah’s Divine Decree by making his fatherly anxiety and premonition yield to the will of God.

He let Yusuf go with them………..

Night had fallen. They came back with his shirt, stained with blood, which they said belonged to Yusuf…………The pain and anguish that he had spoken about when he was hesitant about sending Yusuf with them now filled his heart and overflowed through his eyes. Not a word of anger or complaint to anyone including Allah Subhanawataala escaped his lips………all he said was “ I will bear this sorrow with Sabr Jameel and only ask Allah for help” (a sabr that is beautified with perfection of the act).

The shirt……..covered with blood a reminder that Yusuf was lost, somewhere in the vast unending desert.  His dear sweet, handsome, agreeable, lovable, child Yusuf was lost and there was not a thing he could do except be patient, trust in God and seek His help. Sabr jameel! There was no end point to his anguish, but he had vowed to have Sabr Jameel and only ask Allah for help, but his anguish flowed from his heart to his eyes.

The shirt……….was the only thing left of Yusuf to remind him that he was gone, irrevocably. Somewhere in the back of his mind or from his instincts as a Nabi he knew that his lovely child was not dead……..and yet he was gone, lost in the vast desert and it is said that he cried his heart out till he became blind. A father blinded with grief.

The sorrows of a parent for a child…. dead or lost are unfathomable………it is only the mercy of Allah and trust in Him and Sabr, that keeps one sane and patient in the face of the incessant waves of sorrow that threaten to engulf and drown one into the fathomless sea of grief.

The shirt………….Yusuf’s (AS) shirt is symbolic through out this saga as it continues.

Yaqub (AS) grief and his promise of Sabr Jameel and asking only God for help, brings to us the human example of a grief stricken parent given strength to bear endless sadness.

Most of all it raises the bar for the level of trust in God that we can have and that of Sabr to Sabr Jameel.

Dedicated…………in memory of Nabeel

SABR IN ADVERSITY: SURAH HUD 11:9-11

This life is a window through which we get glimpses of the Hereafter

وَلَن أَذَقنَا ٱلإِنسَـنَ مِنَّا رَحمَةً ثُمَّ نَزَعنَـهَا مِنهُ إِنَّهُ  لَيَـُٔوسٌ فُورٌ (٩) وَلَن أَذَقنَـهُ نَعمَآءَ بَعدَ ضَرَّآءَ مَسَّتهُ لَيَقُولَنَّ ذَهَبَ ٱلسَّيِّـَٔاتُ عَنِّىٓ إِنَّهُ  لَفَرِحٌ فَخُورٌ (١٠) إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ صَبَرُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـلِحَـتِ أُوْلَـكَ لَهُم مَّغفِرَةٌ وَأَجرٌ بِيرٌ((١١

And if we cause man to taste some mercy from Us and afterward withdraw it from him, Lo! he is despairing, thankless. (9) And if We cause him to taste grace after some misfortune that had befallen him, he saith: The ills have gone from me. Lo! he is exultant, boastful; (10) Save those who persevere and do good works. Theirs will be forgiveness and a great reward. (11)

TAFSEER BY DR. FARHAT HASHMI:
If we get a taste (fleeting) of the Mercy (naimah) in the form of some advantage of dunya from Allah, and then Allah takes it back, then the human being, man or womah becomes extremely disappointed, depressed and thankless. However the people of emaan do not become depressed or without hope.

Reference from Surah Yusuf 12: 87
يبَنِىَّ اذهَبُوا فَتَحَسَّسُوا مِن يُّوسُفَ وَاَخِيهِ وَلَا تَايــَٔسُوا مِن رَّوحِ اللّهِ اِنَّه لَا يَايــَٔسُ مِن رَّوحِ اللّهِ اِلَّا القَومُ الكفِرُونَ‏﴿۸۷﴾

“O my sons! Go ye and enquire about Joseph and his brother, and never give up hope of Allah’s Soothing Mercy: truly no one despairs of Allah’s Soothing Mercy, except those who have no faith.” (12:87)

Despondency, depression and despair are not in the vocabulary of the Momin:
In Surah Al QALAM (68) Allah Subhanawataala says:
عَسى رَبُّنَا اَن يُّبدِلَـنَا خَيرًا مِّنهَا اِنَّا اِلى رَبِّنَا رغِبُونَ‏ (۳۲)

“It may be that our Lord will give us in exchange a better (garden) than this: for we do turn to Him (in repentance)!” (68:32)

Life itself is temporary, and thus the taste of Allah’s mercy in this dunya is also temporary. He Subhanawataala wants us to know what the Naimah of his mercy are like. He (Subhanawataala) also wants us to know the tempory nature of the naimah (by taking it away. This fleeting taste of his mercy is a reminder that this naimah was just a glimpse  (preview) of what is promised us in the Hereafter.

And if we are given or taste the Namah (defined as those gifts from Allah whose effect is apparent on the individual (e.g. when someone is given health after severe disease, affluence after poverty or relief after difficulties,) then Allah Subhanawataala observes in this ayah that the person becomes very boastful and shows off this naimah (without being thankful).
Allah Subhanawataala qualifies that ahle- emaan (Momin) are not boastful, and do Sabr and good deeds and will thus get forgiveness and a huge reward.

Rasool Allah PBUH said:

I swear by Him in whose hand is my life: Allah SWT does not make a decision for a Momin unless it is good for him or her.

If he or she (a Momin) gets some goodness or happiness he or she is thankful, and that is good for him and if he is faced with adversity he does Sabr and this is also good for him or her because it is a source of forgiveness.

This quality is only specific to a Momin that he or she has submitted to the will of Allah in all conditions of ease and adversity.

And in another Hadith Rasool Allah pbuh said:

I swear by Him in whose hand is my life: Any Momin with any kind of sadness, grief or pain even if it is as minor as a thorn that pricks him or her, Allah forgives his or her sins.

Such people (momins) are given forgiveness and a huge reward

Ahle- emaan i.e. those with emaan are not boastful on getting a Namah nor do they get depressed when the namah is taken from them.They have Sabr.

Thus Allah SWT says in the final section of the ayah that those who do sabr and good deeds will get forgiveness and an extremely huge reward.

End Tafseer

My take:

These ayahs symbolize the state of mind of a momin, no matter what the circumstances and that is:
1.  Total and complete submission to the will of Allah Subhanawataala

2.    Having Sabr and acceptance with submission to Him Subhanawataala in happiness and in sadness, in ease and in diversity and at all times remembering that in dunya all things, people and circumstances are transitory and that:
“THIS TOO SHALL PASS”

I too am struggling with this state,

Please keep me in your prayers.

White flowers In memory of Tariq

NAVIGATING CONFUSION IN WAR & IN PEACE…….7:156

Those who are cautious, aware  (muttaqeen) and patient (sabireen) will be guided through conflict and confusion towards knowledge and trustful submission (to Allah)

Excerpted from: The Quranic Prescription for life

AFFLICTION…………

Quran 47: 31 We shall try you till We know those of you who strive hard and are patient and steadfast. We will test your record of deeds.

Afflictions and difficulties are meant for us to reflect upon our life, take heed and correct our direction towards better knowledge of His signs and will.

Quran 23: 75 And if we bestowed mercy on them and relieved them of the harm afflicting them, they would persist in their obstinacy, wandering blindly on.

Afflictions are a part of His mercy, which is recognized by those who trust and reflect with insight.

Quran 10:21 And when we cause people to taste mercy after some adversity which afflicted them, they plot against Our Signs. Say, “ Allah is quicker in plotting, Surely, Our messengers write down what you plot”.

Arrogance and the illusions of independence in this world will only increase the darkness and veils for those who are misguided.

Quran 7:156 He said. “As for my punishment, I strike with it whomsoever I will and my mercy extends to all things, I will prescribe it for those who have cautious awareness (taqwa) purify by alms (zakat) and believe in Our clear Signs.

The sincere seekers will constantly ask for and desire His mercy and act selflessly and with constant caution and awareness (taqwa).

Those who are cautious, aware and patient will be guided through conflict and confusion towards knowledge and trustful submission.

Excerpted from “The Quranic Prescription for Life” Compiled by Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri

CELEBRATION OF LIFE IN FACE OF DEATH………….

In the name of Allah, most Gracious, Most Merciful

It is only when I sit at the Lake and see the serenity of the water so contradictory to the turmoil within me and hear the breeze moving through he trees, do I realize that we are mere mortals…..even compared to our surroundings.

We laugh, we cry and we desecrate the earth heedlessly and yet….the wind, the earth, the water outlasts us by years if not centuries.

I am at Lake Lick Fork………….a place where we have come so many times. It is where we have laughed, cried, and listened to the memoirs of my mother. The wind still stirs as it did with the whizzing of the Frisbee, and the memory of the characteristic laugh of my son is embedded in the sound waves of this beautiful place. We have returned again and again, each time making new memories.

So many of us who once came here have returned to dust. My mother and my son……..of the closest to me, others have left and moved away. Yet the serenity of the lake is untouched by the changes in our lives, it still ripples to the touch of the wind, warms to the light of the sun and reflects the sentinel trees in blazing summer and naked winter.

The lake, used in multitudinous ways, remains serene in the face of all use and abuse and reminds me of the characteristic of ‘sabr’, a quality that I am struggling to attain. Looking at the lake it serenity or ‘sabr’ seems effortless in face of all the change.

Change is one thing guaranteed in this world, everything and everyone changes, except Allah Subhanawataala, He is the constant in this universe, has been, will be, unchanged and unchangeable. For in Him is the only constancy.

I see trees across the lake. Every fall the leaves turn golden, fall and are absorbed into the ground. Every spring those very trees that lost everything on their branches turn green bringing out young delicate shoots.

It is this joyful exuberance for Allah’s naimah hidden in each of his creation that produces the green again and again after everything has died…….that is what I am looking for…… so far unsuccessfully.

Three important branches have fallen from my tree (my mother, my brother and my son) and I find myself unbalanced….un- exuberant, and unable to bring the spring shoots out of the remaining unbalanced tree that remains behind.
I am told that I must live in Dunya as if I am a traveler passing through, not make attachments, and avoid distractions, and keep focused on my Akhirah, my final destination. Not to partake too much in the joys of living as they are transient.

However when I look at nature as it stands in front of me in all its glory, in life and in death, it seems never to tire of celebrating life.

It does so year after year tirelessly, with exuberance and gratefulness, with flowers in the spring, lush greenery in the summer and deep oranges and yellows in the fall.

It continues the celebration of life, knowing full well all the time, that the leaves will fall, the branches will break and winter will take its full toll of the standing trees.

Yet they continue to respect and rejuvenate the cycle of life celebrating each change of state…………………why can’t I?

natural life and death at the lake

THE JOYS OF FASTING

Maghrib at the seaside

Rasulullah, SalAllahu alayhi wasalam said what means:  “For the fasting individual there are two joys: a joy at the moment he/she breaks the fast, and another joy when he/she encounters their Lord.”

‘joy at the moment of breaking the fast’ — this could be the joy of eating, but there is a deeper type of joy as well — the joy at completing an action that is pleasing to Allah, that cultivates sabr.  This brings a much deeper peace and joy inside of us than the simple joy of eating.

An allama [indicator] of this is not breaking the fast ‘with a vengeance’.  Don’t “BREAK“ your fast.. don’t shatter it.

Another, deeper type of joy at the break of the fast is knowing that I adorned my heart with an aspect of a divine quality — sabr, as Allah is as-Saboor, the most Patient.  Patience is a quality from the qualities of Allah.  He intends for us to adorn ourselves in this world with aspects of His attributes.

This is also another way of defining ubudiyyah — that it is the state in which we adorn ourselves *only* with aspects of His attributes.  His are infinite in intensity and expansiveness; we are obviously limited.

Excerpted from: Notes on the Inner Dimensions of Fasting
From Sh. Mokhtar’s Fiqh of Siyaam Seminar
Courtesy www. Jannah.org

ALLAH KNOWS BEST

Whatever Allaah does….it is for our best

by Asma bint Shameem

When my daughter was 2 years old, she loved to play with the water in the commode. Yes, that’s right….the commode. Yuck!! That’s nasty! You would say. But to her, that was the delight of the day! Splish…splash! To her there was nothing like it! And so when I would prevent her from it, she would scream and cry and wouldn’t want to stop. She didn’t understand how harmful that was for her. In her little mind, I took away something that she really enjoyed.

And when I would take her to the doctor to have her immunization shots, she didn’t understand either. She would howl at the top of her lungs at the first sight of the needle and would run the other way. It would take two of us just to hold her down! To her, frankly, it was plain torture! Her innocent little mind simply could not even begin to understand how, on earth, could being tortured by a needle, be good for you?!! She didn’t realize that this ‘needle’ will Insha Allaah protect her from certain illnesses and harm that is much more severe than the prick of this little needle.

So what’s the point here?

The point I am trying to make is that we, as parents sometimes do things for our kids, out of our great love and concern for them, which they may not understand. They do not see the wisdom behind it, although we do, and so we carry out those things because we know it will be better for them.

And for Allaah is the Highest example. (Surah Nahl:60) وَلِلّهِ الْمَثَلُ الْأَعْلَىَ

So when Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta’ala , in His Infinite Wisdom, tests us with a situation that we think is difficult or takes away something that in our mind was good for us, we need to remember that perhaps it may not be so. Perhaps if we had continued in our way, it might have been harmful for us and whatever

Allaah decreed for us is actually better for us, for He is All-Wise and All-Knowing.

Allaah says:

“…and it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allaah knows but you do not know.” (Surah Baqarah: 216)

Al-Hasan al-Basri said: “Do not resent the calamities that come and the disasters that occur, for perhaps in something that you dislike will be your salvation, and perhaps in something that you prefer will be your doom.”

Remember that we are dealing with the One who is Arham ar-Raahimeen, the Most Merciful of all that show mercy. All the mercy that we have in this world from Adam (Alaiyhi Salaam) to the Day of Judgment is only one hundredth of the Mercy of the Most Merciful. And He is Most Wise. He knows and we don’t know.

So have faith in Him and trust in Him and although, sometimes we may not understand the reason behind certain things, know that as long as you obey Him, whatever He will do for you is, in fact for your betterment.

So if Allaah didn’t give you that big house, or that nice car you wanted or that big raise you were hoping for, know in your mind and believe in your heart that it is actually better for you. Who knows…..maybe that big house, that car or that money would have become a source of ‘fitnah’ for you….Perhaps you would have become arrogant and conceited because of it, and Allaah saved you from it. Because, you know that the Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:

“Any one in whose heart is even a mustard seed’s worth of pride will not enter Paradise.” (Muslim)

And if you have been sick and suffering, sure it is not easy. But again, know in your mind and believe in your heart that it is indeed better for you. For, if you bear patiently, it will be a means of expiation for your sins and a source of great reward. The Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:

“There is nothing that befalls a believer, not even a thorn that pricks him, but Allaah will record one good deed for him and will remove one bad deed from him.” (Muslim)

And: “On the Day of Resurrection, when people who had suffered affliction are given their reward, those who were healthy will wish their skins had been cut to pieces with scissors when they were in the world (when they see the immense rewards for the afflictions they suffered).” (Tirmidhi-Saheeh by al-Albaani)

If Allaah took away a dear, loved one, believe, from the bottom of your heart, that surely this was better. For, you never know, had the one who passed away lived longer, may be his life would have been one of sins and disobedience and Allaah, out of His Mercy, took him before that….in a state of Imaan.

And if life has been difficult, worries surround you and calamities after calamities befall you, hear the good news from the Prophet (Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam): “Trials will continue to befall the believing man and woman, with regard to themselves, their children and their wealth, until they meet Allaah with no sin on them.” (Tirmidhi– saheeh by al-Albaani)

Subhaan Allaah! No sin?! And what is it from this world that you wouldn’t give up, just to meet Allaah with no sin??!!

Remember that the One Who is testing you is the Most Wise, the Most Merciful and the Most Loving…..and that He did not send this calamity in order to destroy you….or cause you pain or finish you off. Rather, He is checking on you, testing your patience, acceptance and faith; it is so that He may hear your du’a and supplication, so that He may see you standing before Him….seeking His protection….filled with humility and complaining to Him, alone. The difficulties you face is a reminder for you to return to Allaah and ask for forgiveness from Him. Who knows… if He didn’t give you the difficulty, maybe you would have strayed from Him far, far away….

Ibn Taymiyah said: A calamity that makes you turn to Allaah is better for you than a blessing which makes you forget the remembrance of Allaah.”

Thus in our times of trouble, when we go through pain and suffering and in our times of loss, we need to trust Allaah. We need to keep in mind that as long as we fear Him and try our best to obey Him, He will never do us wrong. He will protect us and guide us and do the best for us, no matter what the situation apparently looks like. Allaah says in a hadeeth Qudsi:

“I am as my slave thinks of me and I am with him whenever he remembers me.” (Agreed Upon).

It is actually a sign of our weakness and shortsightedness, that we tend to focus on the calamities themselves, without paying much attention to the benefits that they may bring. We also forget to look at all other innumerable blessings that we enjoy and see around us.

Our minds, our logic and our senses cannot even begin to fathom the Wisdom, the Knowledge and the Hikmah behind Allaah’s decisions and verdicts. It is He who is the Wise….it is He who is the Just and it is He who is the Knower of the unseen. If we trust in Allaah, He will suffice and it is He who will grant us goodness in any situation and under any circumstances.

“And when someone puts all his trust in Allah, He will be enough for him.” (Surah at-Talaaq:3)

The Prophet (sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:

“If you put your trust completely in Allah, He will arrange for your sustenance in the same way as He provides for the birds. They go out in the morning with their stomachs empty and return filled in the evening.” (Tirmidhi-saheeh).

So trust Him….for, there is much reward in trusting Him…..it is Jannah. And there is sin in distrusting Him. Calamities and disasters are a test, and they are a sign of Allaah’s love for a person. They are like medicine: even though it is bitter, yet, in spite of its bitterness you still give it to the one whom you love….

“The greatest reward comes with the greatest trial. When Allaah loves a people He tests them. Whoever accepts that wins His pleasure but whoever is discontent with that earns His wrath.” (Saheeh al-Tirmidhi)

ON MY KNEES……………….

I am listening to the tafseer of Surah Al Anaam, I think Allah Subhanawataala sent it to our Prophet Peace and blessings be upon him, especially for me. At every turn of the sentence there is a nuance of encouragement, a message of warning and a message of change that speaks to me.

It takes me to the times when the surah is revealed. The Quraish of Mecca are strong, wealthy and rich in knowledge, trade and male children. They are happy with their evolved lifestyle of many Gods, even though they had started out with only one God along with Abraham (AS).

I am stunned with the realization that what happened to them is happening to us. Somewhere in our hijra from our home countries in search of a better life for our children, seeking a challenge to our intellectual abilities to help save the world in the fields of medicine and engineering, we lost the purpose of living, and our true endpoint in our destination became hazy.

Most of all, on stepping into the race to get ahead where the coin of success was arrogance, stepping on the weak and an “in your face” attitude, we trained our self for the race with the will and perfection of true competitors. We had the right tools just the wrong destination.

As we continued in the race, there came a fork in the road, we forgot in the heat of competition where we were supposed to turn. We avoided the less traveled path of the Siraat-e Mustaqeem and took the fork in the road that everyone else seemed to be taking.

Instead of using our assets only to glorify Him (SWT) and help His (SWT) creation, we stepped on them like a runner stepping on the flowers and insects that lay in his path.

The goal of Allah SWT is to pick the truly humble abd, who has submitted all and everything of his outer and inner being to Him (SWT) for the inner most gardens of Jannah.

Thus while we were running in an unknown direction heedlessly, He (SWT) was watching patiently, waiting for us to turn back to Him (SWT) in repentance and onto the less traveled Siraat-e – Mustaqeem. He was going to test the runners with strife and evaluate the level of humility before He (SWT) chose them for the inner most gardens of Jannat ul Firdous

True humility comes when one is stripped layer by layer of all of ones accoutrements that may be leading to arrogance, worldly ambition, greed and heedlessness. The last few characteristics mentioned may stem from wealth, education, healthy children, an aristocratic ancestry, a syed ancestry, and a blind heedlessness to the guidance of the Quran.

This level of insensitivity and superficial nod to the Quran may stem either from immersion in other things leaving no time to reflect on the word of God, or a supercilious attitude of “knowing it all” and intellectualizing and marginalizing the various excerpts of the Quran in which Allah (SWT) demands absolute and complete humility from His (SWT) true abd.

How could this happen to us?

Most of us who are in a race to “better ourselves” either for ourselves or to bring a better future for our children we fool ourselves into thinking that all this money that we are amassing in gold jewelry, in demonstration of beautifully decorated homes, in gorgeous spouses and perfect children with perfect grade point averages, landing a good well paying job are really just our dedication to our children and isn’t that what Islam is all about?

Meanwhile we look down upon those who are lesser off than us, wonder why this black person cant get a job and quit asking for help or why other peoples children don’t excel…………..Somewhere in this thinking process when we cross the line then the long leash given to us is yanked by Allah and we are hobbled till we come to our knees.

we either lose our wealth and have to beg and borrow like the black person we despised, or our child or spouse is afflicted with an untreatable illness, or our child leaves the fold of Islam and flagrantly flaunts the fact, and or……. dies.

All these are ways that Allah SWT hobbles the arrogant, the greedy, the heedless and sometimes even the virtuous to test their sincerity in their slave hood to Allah (SWT).

Each one of us will have an affliction of some sort, either in us or in our spouses or children. No person and I repeat with certainty No person who yearns for Jannah will escape this test.

It is my certain belief that the path to Jannah has to be traversed on our knees and our foreheads, in rukus, tashahuds, and sajdahs………so why am I still standing?

All I can feel now, is regret, repentence and …………more Istighfaar, so Help Me God!

 

Look at your innermost self, do you have any regrets…………..?

THE WAITING ROOM

It is strange how an inanimate object can pull out a memory from the well of the heart as fresh as if it was today.

I am entering the waiting room of the dental office. The pristine chairs and the particular fragrance of the medical cleaning agent greet me, as I turn the corner there is the chair.

I see him sitting there, his long lanky athletic legs stretched out his feet loosely shod in blue flip-flops. He is watching some soccer game on the waiting room TV. His hair thick and black is slightly greasy from not being washed today.  He says today is his day” off “ because he is getting all four wisdom teeth out.

I am business like and appearing ‘not worried’, he is nonchalant, and hiding his anxiety well if any.

I look around……… all the inanimate pieces are in place but my live vibrant son is missing, as if there is a hole in the wall.

 

I know at some higher level of consciousness that these are not the kinds of emotions I need, to heal after dental surgery, but what can I do when I can see his athletic legs sprawled out in blue flip flops…….

Before my heart loses its grip on the now and why I am here, a shield appears, my lips move without volition and I repeat:

لا إلهَ إلاّ الله، وحدَهُ لا شريكَ لهُ، لهُ المُـلْكُ ولهُ الحَمْد، وهوَ على كلّ شَيءٍ قَدير.

 

“Laa ilaaha illa Allaahu wahdahu laa sharika lah, lahul-mulku wa lahul-hamd, wa huwa ‘alaa kulli shay’in qadeer. ”

 

“None is worthy of worship except Allaah, alone, without partner. To Him belongs all sovereignty and praise, and He has power over all things.”

The supplication rises to Him (SWT); and even though Tariq’s image remains vivid in my mind’s eye, the intense tsunami of grief that was rising inexorably is stemmed for now.

The nurse comes to call me and I leave the waiting room laden with memories, to go for my procedure.