Tazkiyyah

Why are we on this earth? This time, this place. People, make the use of the situation based on a cycle. The EAT-WORK-SLEEP cycle, which I believe turns out to be boring. Monday work starts, lasts till friday. Then again the same old weekend, were some claim to enjoy. Or lets look at life as a whole. A person is born, goes to school, goes to university/ college, gets a job.

In a very beautiful hadith, our beloved Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: __ “There are seven whom Allah will shade in His Shade on the Day when there is no shade except His Shade: a just ruler; a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic; a man whose heart is attached to the mosques; two men who love each other for Allah’s sake, meeting for that and parting upon that; a man who is called by a woman of beauty and position [for illegal intercourse], but be says: ‘I fear Allah’; a man who gives in charity and hides it, such that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives in charity; and a man who remembered Allah in private and so his eyes shed tears.

In the fast-paced world we live in, we often lose the righteousness needed to attain the closeness to Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) that we desire. We go through constant struggles, fighting with ourselves to do what is good and to stay on The Straight Path. At times we prosper and succeed, but much of the time, we lose the fight, but why? Why do we succumb to the temptations of this world?

Innal-Hamdu lillah was-Salaatu was-Salaam `alaa Rasoolillah “Lucky escape … hmmm … Nah! It just wasn’t my time to go yet; Allah saved me and gave me a little longer …” Driving home from work after having a late staff meeting, it was an ordinary evening not much traffic on the road. I got onto the dual carriage, I was in the right lane doing around 60-70 miles an hour, then all of a sudden *BANG* the bonnet of my car flew open and smashed against my car windscreen, *SMASH* all the glass cracked and from the great impact, my back view mirror had completely broken off.

Attaining Jannah can be easy if we want it to be. The choice is ours to make. Just take a step towards Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) and watch! To make things easy, it is reported that Abu Umamah said: The Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: “Whoever recites Ayatul-Kursi immediately after each prescribed prayer, there will be nothing standing between him and his entering Paradise except death.” (Reported by An-Nasa’i and Ibn Hibban)

So, do you want to enter Jannah? Think about it for a second. OK, that was an easy one. Here’s a more difficult question, how do you plan on getting there? Take your time and think about that one. That thinking in and of itself will help you get to Jannah, inshallah ta’ala. Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) will make the path easier for those who sincerely desire to come closer to Him and find ways to do so.

Truly, Allah is most gracious and merciful to us, but most of us are not thankful. Try the alhamdulillah game – come up with a list of everything we should say alhamdulillah for. Try it with your brother and sister and mother and father and son and daughter. To start,- Alhamdulillah for the fact that Allah gave us the ability to thank and praise Him, yet we could never thank Him enough for what He gave us.

I’ll tell you who can. YOU! Thats right my brothers and sisters, recite a third of the Qur’an in just one minute every night! How? Al-Bukhari (رحمالله) recorded from Abu Sa`id (رضي الله عنه), that the Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said to his Companions, “Is one of you not able to recite a third of the Qur’an in a single night?” This was something that was difficult for them and they said, “Which of us is able to do that, O Messenger of Allah?

I walked by as I noticed a bunch of people moved by music, indulged in gossip, purchased tickets from each other … until I spotted my younger sister, Ayesha. I signed, looking at them, as I commented to her, “…bunch of losers.” “What makes you think they are all losers?” questioned Ayesha. “Well, look at all the things they are indulged in? They’re obviously losers,” I responded, as we both noticed other people carrying on with their activities disapprovingly.

On the Authority of the Mother of the Faithful, Umm Abdullah Aa’isha (رضي الله عنها) who said: “The Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said, ‘Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours that is not from it will have it rejected.’” (Bukhari and Muslim) Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) says in the Holy Qur’an: “This day, those disbelieved have given up all hope of your religion, so fear them not, but fear Me.