A New Start... A deception

Our Beloved Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam has shown us many ways to prosperity and success. He has outlined to us, and shown us, the lifestyle of a Muslim. Yet, the fact remains that Shaytaan, the accursed, has made a vow, "I will take each and everyone into the hellfire" and this is where the battle begins.

On one hand, we have a believer, one who may not seem to be strong, but nevertheless has the flame of Imaan and belief buring inside his heart. And on the other hand we have Shaytaan who has vowed to mislead mankind despite knowing the result and consequence. Who will win the battle? That option and choice lies with every individual, it lies with me and it lies with you...

Have you ever had this thought, this belief and feeling, that I will start being god-fearing once I get married and settle down? Have you ever had the urge to give up something that is forbidden only to have a force telling you that you are still young and there will be time to repent? Has a whisper ever lead you away from Allah giving you false promises that you shall, one day, return on his path?

All these notions, whispers and forces are non other than the deception of Shaytaan.

Why am I mentioning all this? Surely this blog has things only to do with what I endure in my life, the things that occur to me... Well, this is my story...

This weekend I went to a Walimah (I thought avoiding the wedding ceremony would save us all from the Fitnah). In my mind I had a notion, a belief that people do Walimah because our Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam has told us and taught us to do so. Therefore, if we are doing the Walimah we will surely not be slaughtering the commands of our Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam.

To be honest, it was appalling to see each and every Sunnah of our beloved Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam being slaughtered. It was a shame to see people doing the total opposite of what their 'true' desire is...

Every person that gets married hopes and prays for a happy marriage. We even begin this mighty decision by seeking the guidance of Allah through the prayer of Istikhaara. We beg Him to give us a happy married life and to keep our love and marriage strong through all that life throws at us... We ask Him for beautiful pious children... We prayed to Him for 'A New Life' yet how did we begin this 'New Life?'

Yet, have we ever turned around and asked ourselves if we will ever get what we asked for? The day we take vows and become Husband and Wife is the day that we break nearly all of Allah's commands and rules. We forget Allah in such a way that the only pleasure we seek is that of mankind, the only praise we beseech is that of the people.

We begin to believe that what we truly want is for a 'grand' wedding. A wedding where each and every person of the community is invited, where food is at large and no attempt of upholding the laws of Islam is made... We begin to fall into the deception of Shaytaan to see this as our true desire.

Which wedding can be more 'grand' and worthy of praise than that of our Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam and his beloved Companions Alayhimus Salaam?

I don't want to stretch this post to an extent where it will tire people to read on... But the pain that is felt within the heart is so great that the eyes fail to shed tears but the heart cannot stop wailing. The sorrow is indeed because the happiness of Allah is slaughtered, but the shame and sorrow is for those people who asked for something great for their marriage and done something in totally contradicted it when it came to taking the blessings of Allah.

POINT:

Shaytaan is very weak yet he is very sly and cunning. He will not stop a man from wishing good for himself nor will he stop a believer from begging in front of Allah. Shaytaan's deception is such that he will make you feel that you have done what you needed to do and then he will take you against Allah knowing that your asking was futile when you do not follow His commands.

Has one never felt Shaytaan tell him "do this later, you are still young"?, "You can do all of this once you are married and settled", "there is plenty of time, when you get old, just repent". Shaytaan will never say "No! Don't pray Salaah", "Don't do this act of worship", but he will always aid you in the path of procrastination.

I pray to Allah that He aids us through every step of our life, that He forgives us when we fall into the deception of Shaytaan. I pray to Allah to forgive us all and not to look at our shortcomings and instead look at our sincerity when we spread these hands in front Him to beg Him for His mercy and blessings. Aameen.

Near Misses

I've been meaning to update this blog for some time. However, I had to give priority to my simplyislam blogspot because I have not managed to update that for some time.

As days go by so does the commotion increase, people seem to be getting busier and life seems to be moving on much faster. There is no time for anyone and people are drowned in their own world.

So, what does half of Leicester do at a time like this? When time is moving fast and there is nothing to do but to try and keep up with it, what options does one have?

Well, I don't know how people really tackle that problem, but when I sit into my car and decide to take my mum for a half day shopping spree, I realised what many people do... They drive like maniacs. I could understand the theory of driving fast, but fast becomes maniac before you can really catch on.

I was out shopping with my mum and during that time I saw all sorts of traffic (apart from school traffic, I see that everyday); I saw people rushing to lunch, from lunch, to shopping from shopping, to work, from work and many others that I have no idea about.

During that day, I realised how inconsiderate and dangerous other drivers can be. I had over seven near misses and non were my fault (if I would've hit them it would be their fault - and no, I'm not always right).

To cut a long story short, I managed to finish the shopping and get mum, myself and my lovely car back home in one piece... But I did ponder...

POINT

It's amazing how we take life for granted, yet Allah shows us and takes us through so many events in one day which could be life threatening for us and yet we don't even realise. The simple act of eating can be life threatening, all one needs to do is have the morsel go down the wrong pipe. Allah saves us day after day to show us that He is capable of taking us to Him, to show that there is a power that we have no control over, and most of all, he gives us the 'wake up call' so that we turn towards Him before it is too late.

I was also wondering how engrossed we are in our own worlds that we can't even think or care about the safety and well-being of others. In Islam, there has been a great emphasis on rights of our fellow beings, yet we overlook this and become totally ignorant of the level and amount of questioning that will be made in this area.

I pray to Allah that he keeps reminding me of His path and power through all of His signs and that He gives me the strength, inclination and understanding to change myself so that before the death reaches us our hearts, love and connection have already reached Him. I pray that He allows us to see the importance of the rights of people and then He gives us the ability to keep them in our minds so that we are not faced with a burden on the day of Judgement. Aameen.

A New Set of Wheels

Alhumdulillah the last week or so has brought along with it really good weather. It has been really warm and sunny; weather that makes you feel alive and happy as opposed to the normal, gloomy weather most people are used to in this country.

I really love the heat, but my body has its own problems during this time of the year. The heat gives me nose bleeds on a daily basis which leaves me really weak (due to anemia). Nevertheless, I try to enjoy the weather as much as I can.

One of my favourite ways of enjoying this weather is to go for a nice long drive. It is the Mercy and Grace of Allah that He has given me two beautiful cars which are not more than three years old; one being a small polo and the other a Mercedes.

I decided that the Mercedes would be a better option for this long drive. So, I seated myself in (and yes, I did have my seat-belt on) and I set off for a drive. Five minutes down the road and I thought to myself 'great weather for a convertible, I should get of those...' And, sometimes, without realising, we tend to forget what we have and in turn we forget to appreciate it.

It wasn't long before I had thought this that I came to a halt at a traffic light. The people at the pedestrian crossing were trotting across the street and amongst the bustle of the people I saw a person in a small car used by invalid people.

I realised, that though we may not have a posh car or cars that we would like to have, we should be grateful that at least we have some sort of car. And for those who don't have a car, we should really be grateful that at least we are not dependent on some sort of transport because our feet cannot carry us.

POINT:

I am not saying that to desire for a better car is a sin, nor am I saying that we should stop living and enjoying ourselves. Sometimes, we find it hard to stay on the path of religion because we fail to understand what religion is. The truth is that we are not asked to sacrifice our pleasures, but we are asked not to sacrifice our religion for our pleasures. To wish for a great car is not a problem, but to be ungrateful for what one already has is not an act of a true believer.

I pray to Allah that He keeps our mind open towards His religion so that we can understand His way, His choices and His Will in each step that we take. I pray to Allah that if we ever slip from His path that He sends us a simple sign to remind us of Him and His mercy upon us. Aameen.

Allah's Blessings

This weekend I went to London to get away from everything. London, although not my place of residence, somehow feels like home to me.

Anyways, while I was there I was talking to my cousin and realised how people can be liiving a totally different life to the one that we live.

Yes, I know that this is a pretty obivious thing and everyone has thee own lifestyles and their own daily repsonsibilties and chores. But, the thing that made me ponder was the basic things in everyone's lives can really differ.

Whilst we were talking my cousin mentioned to me how proud he was of himself that he managed to pay off seventy pounds of his bank charges and bills. Currently my cousin is jobless and is looking for work, which means that he has to be very careful with the money he receives.

Sometimes, by looking at the lives of others, we can perceive how fortunate we ourselves are. When we compare ourselves to someone less fortunatge thab oursesleves it is then that we can actually learn to appreciate and be grateful for even the small things that we take for granted.

The practices of the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam teach us to look at the people below us in regards to our worldly matters and to look at the people above us in our Deeni (religious) matters.

By practising what the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam has taught us we will achieve satisfaction and learn to be grateful and at peace in our worldly matters and the fire of greed, jealousy and competition will cease to consume us. In the same manner taking an example of those above us, in our religious matters, will awaken us and will aid us to create a desire to accomplish what the Auliyaa (friends of Allah) have achieved. This will therefore help us in creating closeness to Allah Ta'ala and will also give us a high rank in the eyes of the pious people as well as in the sight of Allah Ta'ala.

Simply put, the essence of the outcomes of both these methods will be a peace, contentment and a burning desire to please Allah and meet him.

Allah states:

"If you are grateful, I will surely give you more and more"

[Surah Ibrahim 14:7]

May Allah give us the inclination to be thankful towards Him for all that we have, so that in return He shall fulfil His promise and increase us in our blessings.