Wednesday, June 22, 2005

'Spring Clean'

Our house is going through a thorough clean at the moment; some rooms are being 'broken down' and done up again from scratch, others are having a few touch ups here and there because a simple clean won't do.

During the year, life is so busy and the easiest way of getting rid of something is just to dump it in the store room and say "I'll deal with it later". However, now that the "later" has finally come, we've realised how hard it is to clean all that mess which we gathered throughout the year.

The things have piled up so much that it takes a few hours each day to make such a little difference, and half the things need throwing out whilst others need to stay but have no place. Cleaning up is such a mission, especially after we've been dumping for a year.

So, every day, when I spend some time trying to clean up all the mess that the people have gathered what does my mind say to me? It says that 'if only you would have dealt with it when it occurred...' or sometimes it just provokes me by saying 'prevention is better than cure...' Nevertheless, at times I see the positive side, 'clean away, you will get there...' or 'it's all worth it in the end...' I know it's hard, but I will get there one day, if I keep on trying... Next time, make it a habit to deal with it on the spot.

POINT:

The point of this little cleaning spree is simple. We strive to clean our bodies, our houses, cars and belongings each day; things that will perish one day. Yet we fail to clean the everlasting soul that will accompany is in the hereafter as well.

Throughout the year we commit sins, we gather it in our hearts and make ourselves believe that we will clean it up one day and that one day we will repent. We fail to realise that the "one day" we refer to may never arrive, and if it does come, then surely to deal with a heap load of sins is so much more difficult than to deal with it at the time it occurs. The sins will have, with no doubt, stained our delicate hearts, and to remove those stains of habits will be a very difficult act indeed.

This is one of the reasons that the month of Ramadhan has been sent to us. Ramdhan is said to come in the meaning of "to burn" and the reason for that is because it burns our sins and cleanses our heart. Soon this blessed month will be upon us and it is vital that we start preparing for it now. Surely to reap all the benefits from this month we must prepare ourselves by making our habits in accordance to the Shari'ah. So that when this month does come we are prepared for it. Remember, we will get there if we keep trying.

I pray to Allah that He makes every day of mine a spring clean, so that I can sit and cry tears in His presence, seeking His forgiveness and Mercy, so that one day I am not faced with a mountain of sins which I have gathered. May Allah forgive us all and give us the strength to repent before a time comes when our repentance shall not be accepted. Aameen

Friday, June 10, 2005

Good Ol' Days of Sweet Wrappers

Good Ol' Days of Sweet Wrappers

Today I was very fortunate to be able to get some more chocolates. Yes, I really do enjoy my chocolate feast, not that I'm as bad as I used to be a couple of years back, I now have a limit (honest).

So, here I was, like any other kid, in my room, with the door closed, and my tin of chocolates in front of me. I took one out from the tin and carefully took of the wrapper. I love to keep these wrappers, even though that these wrappers only fascinate me for like ten minutes (which I guess is still quite a long time).

The first wrapper was a nice orangey colour... I took off the wrapper and obviously ate my chocolate. Then I remember how we used to play with these colourful transparent chocolate wrappers. The way we would look through them and see a totally different colour of this world. Something that would seem so beautiful through this wrapper would be the same old boring thing that we would look at everyday in our lives and most of all ignore.

Interesting thought, how a colourful wrapper can you world look different from reality whilst being such a small and uncomplicated thing, just a wrapper.

Point:

Our beloved Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam has said:

"The life of the world is sweet and green. Allah makes you generations succeeding one another so that He may try you in respect of your actions."

It can be complicated to understand this Hadith, yet just as simple. If a mere wrapper can make my everyday bedroom look fascinating, then indeed the powerful eye can make this word seem sweet and green.

So will we fall into the delusion of our eyes? or will we realise that once this wrapper of sweet greenness is removed from our eyes there will be nothing in this world that will seem beautiful.

I pray to Allah that He saves us from the false deception and colour of this world, and that He allows us to see the true reality of this world before it is too late. Aameen.