Life is a football match

Yesterday night, after Taraweeh, we went to play football with our ten players. The teams were different this week as we had different player this week as some of the regular players could not make it.

As always, a good game of football feels great and there are many lessons to be learnt from what we would class a simple game of football.

Yesterday the teams were evenly matched and equally balanced out. The result of which was a very tight game. Each team put in a hundred percent to overcome the other team and push forward.

In short, the game ended as a draw. One team's goal was answered by the same from the other team. The battle of sixty minutes led to nothing more than a tie.

POINT

The teams in this football match were equally matched and therefore the result was a draw. In our everyday life we have a football match and we have to make an effort to make a stronger team than the opposition.

The length of this match is until our soul is taken by the angel of death and the referees are the angels upon our shoulders.

So who are the team players?

Team one:

Player one: Me, you, us.
Player two: the love for Allah
Player three: the love for our Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam
Player four: Desire for Jannah

Versus

Team two:

Player one: Shaytaan
Player two: Nafs (Self)
Player three: Habits
Player four: Desire for sinning.

The only way we can defeat this opposition if we continue to give back what we take. Each time Shaytaan strikes and scores a goal against us we should become more alert and follow it up straight away.

The Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam has said:

"and follow up a sin with a good deed, it (the good deed) will wipe it (the sin) out..."

The only way to win this game is by training our players; by increasing our love for Allah and His Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam and increasing the desire for Jannah we will have a stronger and better team than Shaytaan.

And if we slip up our defences some times and let Shaytaan's team score a goal then we should make certain that we reply a goal with a goal.

May Allah Ta'ala give us the inclination and make us strong in our beliefs. Aameen.

Rush Rush...

As usual I had to lead Jumu'ah prayers at Rugby town this Friday. Alhumdulillah the weather was great and the sun was shining, the drive there was as good as the drive back; with all the scenery and greenery I was pleased that I had taken the country roads to get to the Masjid.

The journey takes me one three hours in total; an hour to get there and back, and an additional hour at the Masjid. Usually I hasten to leave the Masjid after an hour so that I can reach home and get to the other duties I have. However, this Friday I stayed behind for an additional half an hour reading a few books and just meeting the local people at the Masjid.

It was only when I decided that I had to leave that I realised I had to rush back because time was short and there was a fair bit of work that needed to be completed and I was also missing the luxuries of my home. Keeping this in mind, I left the town and decided to take the Motorway so that I could do greater speeds, thus arrive home earlier than I would if I had taken the country roads...

It was during this drive that I realised that I had an aim; a destination. I wanted to reach somewhere and my love for it was making me rush and hasten towards my goal. The luxury of my home had made me take a path which was quicker than the path I would have chosen otherwise...

POINT

Allah tells us in the Qur'an:

"And hasten towards the forgiveness from your Lord; and a Garden, the extensiveness of which is (as) the heavens and the earth, it is prepared for those who are God-fearing."

[Surah Aal-e-Imran 3:133]

In this verse we are asked to hasten towards forgiveness and Jannah, yet we can see that we fail to act on this command and instruction of Allah.

If we ponder over the reason, we will realise that we haven't created that love and haven't set Jannah and the forgiveness of Allah as our goal and target. For if we were aware of the luxuries of this Paradise then surely we would adopt such a path within which we would reach our goal much quicker than the path we have adopted.

Allah shows us through our daily lives that desire to achieve our goal is what will make us hasten towards attaining it... And if we have this desire then we will be concerned about the path we need to take in order to reach to this goal as quickly as possible.

May Allah Ta'ala create the love and realisation of the luxuries of Jannah in our heart. May He increase it's desire in our hearts so that we can prepare our journey to hasten towards it. May He also show and guide us on those paths which will take us quicker towards reaching this goal of ours. Aameen.

Ramadhan Mubarak

As Salaamu Alayakum,

Just a simple post to say Ramadhan Mubarak.

May Allah give us the strength and inclination to achieve in this month all the rewards and blessings that are sent down by Him.

May He make us from amongst those who have His glad tidings by the time this month comes to an end and may He make us from amongst those who He has forgiven.

Please remember me in your Duas during this month as I will be rememebering you.

Wasalaam