Sometimes we are faced with days that we wish to forget - as a result of unpleasant things which happened to us. They may be experiences professional, social or personal in nature. When these things occur to us, all that we are and all that we have been are put to the fore. We are indeed opened to many causes of options to adopt - emotionally, physically or even orally abusive to regain the lost balance in that relationship. But what we have invested in ourselves in better days are put to the test: do we act according to guidance we acquired or by our own emotions?It is easy to regurgitate in theory what one should or should not do, but it is a lot harder to go through it - to make those choices in a fit of anger, for example. Sure, Allah The Almighty has said the following, amongst others:
"Seek Allah's help with patient perseverance and prayer. It is indeed hard except for those who are humble." (2:45)
"Oh you who believe! Seek help with patient perseverance and prayer, for God is with those who patiently persevere." (2:153)
"Be sure We shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods, lives, and the fruits of your toil. "But give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere. Those who say, when afflicted with calamity, 'To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return.' They are those on whom descend blessings from their Lord, and mercy. They are the ones who receive guidance." (2:155-157)
But, sometimes you cannot travel through this journey alone without some helping hands. And it is precisely during these situations in life, the warmth of human relations shines through. My kind, gracious and thoughtful friends brought me out to have ice-cream - to symbolically cool down from the "heat".
I went home thereafter and a few other verses from the Blessed Qur'an came to mind - and today, these verses were my saviour in pointing me to the right way to respond to this test:
"Oh you who believe! Persevere in patience and constancy. Vie in such perseverance, strengthen each other, and be pious, that you may prosper." (3:200)
"If good befalls you, it grieves them, and if an evil afflicts you, they rejoice at it; and if you are patient and guard yourselves, their scheme will not injure you in any way; surely Allah comprehends what they do." (3:120)
"Say: O my servants who believe! Be careful of (your duty to) your Lord; for those who do good in this world is good, and Allah's earth is spacious; only the patient will be paid back their reward in full without measure." (39:10)
SubhanAllah! I am grateful to be a Muslim.
Alhamdulillah!
10 comments:
Salam,
Rasulullah s.a.w had Abu Bakr r.a, Umar r.a and Ali r.a and not to mention his other loyal and devoted sahabah...
Your friends remind me of this ayah from Surah al-Nisa': 69, which means,
"All who obey Allah and the apostle are in the company of those on whom is the Grace of Allah,- of the prophets (who teach), the sincere (lovers of Truth), the witnesses (who testify), and the Righteous (who do good): Ah! what a beautiful fellowship!"
Beautiful indeed, alhamdulillah :)
It is indeed a ni'mah to be a Muslim :) SubhanaAllah :)
Salam,
Your giving examples of the Sahabah reminded me of another beautiful hadith which I used to teach during the introductory lesson on the Four Righteous Caliphs:
“There is no prophet who does not have two Wazirs (Ministers/ advisors) from the inhabitants of heaven and two from the inhabitants of the earth. My two Wazirs from the inhabitants of heaven are Jibrail and Mikail, and my two Wazirs from the inhabitants of the earth are Abu Bakr and ‘Umar” (at-Tirmidhi)
What I used to ask my students are:
Q1: Have we been an Abu Bakr or an 'Umar to our friends?
Q2: Do we have an Abu Bakr and an 'Umar in our lifes?
If the answers to both questions are positive, we are indeed blessed. SubhanAllah!
Shaykh Hamza Yusuf has given 2 excellent talks (available on CD) which are in line with this topic. One is called the "Seventeen benefits of tribulation" and the other is on Gratitude.
For those who are feeling down and out, giving these CDs a listen will Inshallah refreshen the spirit and make one put things in perspective.
Thank you for reminding me of this recording which is kept somewhere in my bookshelf. Will look for it now...
Alhamdulillah - the medication for the ill :-)
always look on the bright side of life...hehe...Only to God we seek help.
Thanks for reminding me of how blessed we are when we have friends who can "comfort" us when we are feeling down. Friends are indeed our non-transferable asset. But I also believe our experience of "bad days" are crucial for our own growth and maturity, cos without them we may not be pushed to learn to meke wise choices.
thaks for the reminder...indeed sometimes its hard to go on when our spririt is dampened... i'm really happy i got to know of this blog.
theres a reason for everything He knows best...
alhamdullilah
i'm grateful to be a muslim too!! XD
Your questions:
Q1: Have we been an Abu Bakr or an 'Umar to our friends?
Q2: Do we have an Abu Bakr and an 'Umar in our lifes?
The questions were very important to me. At the start of the program till the end, i never stopped pondering upon it. They were loaded and really demanded an honest reflection that hit straight into your very soul.
This is my conclusion:
Q1 can only be answered by the few friends that i have. I can only certainly hope that I have been an Abu Bakr or an 'Umar to my friends.
As for Q2, alhamdullilah, in my heart i know i have married one.
More importantly for me, was asking myself why the questions deserved the 90 days to reflect. It made me jog my memories to identify the behaviours i demonstrated to answer the questions and the number of times i displayed such actions. It was sorta like doing a self - feedback session.
On a journey towards self improvement, Q1 becomes important. It requires you to know the behaviours/action that answers Q1 and to consciously continue to keep doing it. As for Q2, it is important to recognize and appreciate that someone is helping you towards being a better person in Allah's eyes, insya Allah.
May Allah reward you for all the things you do to help us all.
Amin. May you benefit from the classes which you attend, and may that benefit you derived be passed on to those who did not have the opportunity to be in the same classes that you had been.
And All Praises belongs to Allah, The Almighty.
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