struggling to surrender…

has anyone read this book by khaled hossieni? is it worth the read?

alhamdulilah. all praise and all thanks is due to Allaah, who created the night to follow the day, sunlight to follow the rain, and ease to follow hardship.

“inna ma’al usri yusra” - verily, with hardship there is relief. when you’re in the midst of a trial, your body is weak, your chest constricted, and your mind is devoid of clarity. It feels as though you heart has been robbed of its light.

but when the fitnah is over, and the flood of releif hits you, you feel as though that “struggle” hadn’t been anything at all. Subhan Allaah, how great our reliance on Allaah ta’ala, even while we questioning His qadr.

Reflecting on the words of Ibul Qaayim:”O people who take pleasure in a life that will vanish, falling in love with a faded shadow is sheer stupidity!” I’ve realized that I’m attached to that shadow. So many of the things that stress me out [regularly] are totally irrelevant. Its not important, yet in spite of myself I get all flustered and frustrated. All for nothing. If my heart wasn’t attached to this dunya, then I wouldn’t be so affected by the such minor mishaps. Allaah subhanahu wa ta’ala refers to this dunya as “dar-ul-gharoor”, it is a place of deception - mainly because we deceive ourselves regarding its reality. We loose focus, and then we loose hope.  Pegging your hopes on something that is not real nor lasting only causes pain, and can in truth lead to the death of your heart.

Realization is the first step to recovery.

note to self: look for wisdom in the words of the Wise, look for strength with the Strongest, seek the love of the Most Loving, and you’ll never feel alone.

so I’m pickin’ up the pieces, and I’m feeling pretty good. i love it when things start making sense. alhamdulilah, wal lillahil hamd.

But we weren’t there to hear them say it.

In cities across Canada, both students and ordinary citizens alike stood in rain, wind, and blow average temperatures to speak out for something they believe in. They stood there, in the middle of normally busy streets to call for the end of unnecessary death and destruction. The death of our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and children - our body, the Afghan people, and members of the Ummah of Muhammad (sal Allaahu ‘alayhi wa salaam).

When I was in high school, I had been involved in some anti-war and environmental activism. I was usually one of two or three Muslims present - unless of course the protest was about Palestine (when we come out in droves, maa shaa Allaah). The majority of the friends I attended these events with were non-Muslim. I was into Marxism. I wanted to grow dreads. We all thought we would change the world. And although everyone accepted the fact that I was Muslim, religion wasn’t a big part of anyone’s agenda.

The Changer of Heats, Allaah ta’ala had other plans for me. As I started to read more about Islam, I stopped going to the protests. My focus shifted to learning more about Allah and what my life meant in relation to Him. I wrote off my high school hobby as a ‘phase’ and never looked back.

Thinking back now, I’m glad I took that 4 year hiatus. One can never have a full understanding of justice, in its purest form, without understanding the right that Allaah has over us, and perfecting that understanding by acting upon it (submitting).

Drenched in rain, I walked in the crowd of about 100 protestors, only to hear the words “Islam is not the enemy! War is not the answer!” - and 100 non-Muslims (minus say 4 or 5) call back in unison: “Islam is not the enemy! War is not the answer!” I looked up at the sister I was with, and I couldn’t help the tears forming in my eyes. What is has happened to our ummah? What has made us sit in our homes while others cry for the justice that we constantly say we long for?

Along with the commandment of Allaah (subhanahu wa ta’ala) in which He orders us purify our worship for Him alone, is the command to enjoin the good and forbid the evil (amra bil maruf wa nahy ‘anil munkar). So many times I hear Muslims say: ‘protests don’t work, because the government will never listen’. I doubt that any person standing at that protest today believed that the Harper government would call for the withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan, just because we stopped traffic for a couple of hours. It’s called being optimistic, not delusional.

It was the Prophet (’alayhi salatu wa salaam) that taught us that the outcome is for Allaah, and that the struggle or effort is for us. He (sal Allaahu ‘alayhi wa salaam) taught us that when we come into contact with dhulm or transgression, that we should attempt to change it with our hands, and if we cannot we should attempt to change it with our mouths, and if we couldn’t do that, we should at least hate the action in our hearts. He then indicated that that was the weakest of faith.

How can we ever hope for victory from Allaah (subhana wa ta’ala) when we’re not willing to inconvenience ourselves even a little bit? I remember getting so upset in the past that Muslims would never support issues that were ‘outside’ the community - like Indigenous rights, for example. But now I’m worried that we’ve stopped caring even about ourselves.

Granted, there are some aspects of protests, that as a Muslim, I can understand would deter some from participating. But, all these obstacles can be easily overcome. You don’t have to chant if you don’t want to (especially if you’re a sister and you feel it would be inappropriate to be yelling that loud - I didn’t get into the chanting). It is very easy to tune out the music being played. It was interesting for me trying to hear the words behind the music - it had a postive, political message. Most of the time, instead of music they beat drums - very Muslim-friendly maa sha Allaah. Some excessively joyful people may decide to dance, but you don’t have to join them.

Stop the apathy ya Muslimeen. It is the sunnah of Allaah not to change the condition of one until he makes the effort to change himself.

“O my son! establish regular prayer, enjoin what is just and forbid what is wrong; and bear with patient constancy whatever betide you; for this is firmness (of purpose) in (the conduct of) affairs.” (Luqmân 31:17)

Patience during difficult times may be achieved by:

1. thinking of the good reward that lies ahead. The more you believe in the rewards that are waiting for you, the easier it becomes to have patience. If it were not for the anticipation of the rewards, no goals or objectives pertaining to this life or the hereafter would have been achieved. Human nature loves instant gratification, but reason and maturity make us think of the long term outcome, which helps to strengthen our patience in enduring whatever faces us, whether there is no choice or otherwise.

2. expecting and hoping for a time of ease. This hope in itself offers a measure of immediate relief.

3. thinking of Allâh’s countless blessings. When we realize that we cannot enumerate the blessings of Allâh, it becomes easier for us to exercise patience in facing  current adversity, because present troubles are like a raindrop compared to vast ocean of Allâh’s blessings and favours.

4. thinking of previous blessings of Allâh. This will remind us of Allâh’s care, and strengthen our hopes and expectations of a time of ease to come.

still struggling. O Allah, make me of those who surrender.

 Yesterday was ‘Eid. Youmul Farah - the day of happiness. 24hrs later I’m still sitting here wondering why I feel so sad…

I’ve always thought of myself as a pretty patient person, but recently I’m finding it so incredibly hard to stay content. I’m totally off-balance. My heart hurts. And I can’t get this sick feeling out of my stomach. Even the tears won’t come. I have so much to be greatful for. I know it. My heart refuses to listen.

O beautiful patience, where have you gone?

I can’t even begin to explain what’s wrong because I don’t know myself. I feel like there’s no one to talk to….

Except you, Ya Allah. O Loving, O Kind! Replace this sadness with happiness and exchange this pain with the pleasure of feeling close to You again. Join me in rank with the greatful and patient ones.

 

for more about Dr. ‘Ali Al-Timimi’s case: freeali.org

may Allah increase his patience and hasten his release. Please remember him in your du’a.

 

“O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me, and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth, and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as it.” (at-Tirmidhi)

On Seeking Laylatul Qadr: 

On the authority of our Mother, ‘Aaisha (radi Allahu ‘anha), who said: “I said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, what do you think, if I witness Laylat al-Qadr, what should I say?’ He said: ‘Say, O Allaah, You are Forgiving, and you love forgiveness, so forgive me.’” (Narrated by Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi,  and Ibn Maajah).

 

Benefiting from Knowledge by Ibn ul-Jawzi

(an excerpt in Hudaa newsletter Vol. 13 No.2) From “Sayd Al-Khâtir” (138)
Transl. Hisham Assing (may Allah ta’ala reward him in abundance)

I have met many mashâykh and the affair of one was different from that of the other, and their knowledge capacity were of varying levels. The one whom I benefited from his company the most was the one who used to apply what he knew, even though there were those who were more knowledgeable than him. I met a group from the people of hadîth who memorized and knew a lot, however they would permit backbiting under the guise of jarh wa ta’dîl (ed.:”accreditation and disreputation,” science of criticism of narrators), they would take monetary payment in return for narrating hadîth, and they would be hasty in giving answers, even if they were wrong, lest their status diminishes.

I met Abdulwahâb Al-Anmâtî, he used to be upon the methodology of the Early Righteous Muslims. One would never hear backbiting in his gatherings nor would he take payment for teaching hadîth. Whenever I read a hadîth that contained in it a heart-softener, he used to cry continuously. I was very young at that time, (but) his crying affected my heart. He had the calm of those whose description we hear about from the narrations.

I met Abû Mansur Al-Jawâliqî, he was very quiet, very careful about what he said, precise, and scholarly. Sometimes he would be asked a question, which may seem easy; one that our young ones would rush to answer, however he would withhold from answering until he was certain. He used to fast a lot and remain quiet often.

Thus, I benefited from these two more than I benefited from the others, and I understood from this that: guiding people by one’s action is more inspiring than doing so by words. One should implement what he knows for it is indeed the greatest foundation. And the miskîn, the true miskîn is the one who wasted his life learning what he does not practice, thus he loses the pleasures of the dunyah and the goodies of the âkhirah, (in addition to) coming forth bankrupt (on the day of judgment) with strong evidences against himself.”

“Verily, we are not fuqaha’ (men of understanding). We merely listen to the hadith and then narrate it to others. Rather, the fuqaha’ are those who, when they know something, act upon it.”  - ash-Sha’bi