In The Shade of Faith….Who Do We Really Love?
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O Allah, shower Your mercy upon Muhammad (ﷺ) and the family of Muhammad (ﷺ), as You showered Your mercy upon Ebrahim (عليه السلام), and shower Your blessings upon Muhammad (ﷺ) and the family of Muhammad (ﷺ), as You showered Your blessings upon Ebrahim (عليه السلام). Indeed You are praiseworthy and most glorious.
Abdullah bin Mubaarak (رحمة الله عليه) says that I heard Imaam Abu Hanifah (رحمة الله عليه) say: “When Ayoob Sakhtiyaani (رحمة الله عليه) was in Madinah Tayyiba, I was also present and I watched to see how he was going to present his Salaam to Rasûlullâh (ﷺ). I saw him facing the grave with his back towards the Qiblah. He was standing there without saying a word, rather he just cried and cried. (Faza’il Madina)
In the shade of faith….
Faith is the only shade from the scorching heat of life’s calamities.
You will not find shelter outside of faith when the desert sun is at its peak, bearing down pushing you into the dusty ground.
You will not find a drink cooler than reliance on Allâh when your throat is dry and your breathing is laboured.
You will not find a resting place on this difficult journey safer than the piece of ground that you pray.
You need belief in Allâh more than your lungs need air.
You need hope in His mercy and trust in His wisdom more than your heart needs to keep beating.
You need His remembrance more than you need your limbs, your eyesight, or your hearing.
You need to worship Him more than you need to be alive.
What is the purpose of life – the purpose of air in your lungs and the blood pumping through your veins – if the essence of your soul is already dead!
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
“He who remembers his Lord and he who does not remember his Lord are like the living and the dead.”
The weaker the man’s faith and the greater his ignorance of matters of death and the Hereafter, the greater will be his attachment to the world and reluctance to separate from it. This is why we are strongly encouraged to remember death frequently. ‘Remember often the defeater of pleasures – death,’ said the Prophet (ﷺ).
And when asked, ‘Who among believers are the most segacious?’ he replied, ‘Those who remember death most aften and are the best in preparing for what follows it; those are sagacious. He encouraged regular visits to the cemetery for the same reason. The remembrance of death detatches one from the world, reducing everything in it to its proper proportions and renders death and the events that are to follow it familiar and much less frightening. This makes death itself that much easier.
Most Muslims nowadays, however, are ignorant of these things and are thus horrified by the mere mention of death. Their attitude is thus the exact opposite of what is taught to be; they come that much closer to the disbelievers’ stance, who, because they know of no Paradise apart from this life, are exceedingly reluctant to leave it and can never understand that someone in his right mind should be eager to do so.
Who do we really love?
A man asked the Prophet (ﷺ), “When will the Hour be established O Allâh’s Apostle?” The Prophet (ﷺ) asked, “What have you prepared for it?” The man said, “I haven’t prepared for it much of prayers or fast or alms, but I love Allâh and His Apostle.” The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “You will be with those whom you love.”
[Bukhari]
Three important points to be noted are:
1. There is something more important than knowing when the Day of Judgement will occur. The more important thing is our preparation for that Day. What good or bad deeds have we sent forth for that Day?
Each person’s Judgement begins as soon as they die, and their grave becomes either a pit of fire or a garden of Paradise. Therefore, the most relevant thing to worry about is our daily deeds, as we never know when we will die and our Judgement commence.
2. The questioner in the hadith did the Fardh (required) prayers, fasts, and charity but not a whole lot extra. Some people do the opposite; they neglect the Fardh while doing a lot of the nafil (supererogatory). This is misguidance, because the greatest reward is for Fardh deeds and punishment is for neglecting the Fardh, not the nafil
3. Most sobering is that we will be with the people we love on the Day of Judgement. If we l♡ve the righteous, Allâh fearing Believers, we will be with them and will follow them to Jannah. We can peek into our heart to see who it is we really love – the proof of love is in appreciating and trying our best to do what they loved and did. This will tell us where we will be on the Day of Judgement.
May Almighty Allâh fill our hearts with the love of His lovers and moreso the love of the best of all creation, our beloved Nabi (ﷺ).
Rasûlullâh (ﷺ)’s Ihsaan/favour upon us is tremendous. Durood Sharif should therefore become our daily practice as it develops that connection with Rasûlullâh (ﷺ). A daily count of a minimum of three hundred, with an increase to multitude of thousand’s on Friday’s is the least one must inculcate and strive for….
As the eve of Jumu’ah and the coming of Jumu’ah approaches let us increase and send abundant Salaam, Salawaat and Durood upon Rasûlullâh (ﷺ)…
*Peace be upon him*
*Peace be upon him*
*Peace be upon him*
*O Allah, bless and bless Muhammad the Prophet and the family of Muhammad as you blessed Abraham and the family of Abraham, and bless Muhammad the Holy Prophet To the descendants of Abraham, you are Praiseworthy and Exalted*
*O Allah, bless Muhammad and his wives and his offspring, as you blessed the family of Abraham, and bless Muhammad and his spouses and descendants, as you blessed
*O my Lord, blessings and peace be upon your beloved, the best of all creatures*
Peace be upon him * Peace be upon him* Peace be upon him
