The Big Move

Recently, the days have been very hectic and strenuous both at work and personal life. As many people will know, that Jame' Masjid, Leicester, is going under construction; the work has already commenced, Alhumdulillah, however the move was very chaotic and everyone linked with the Masjid or the Madrassah, in any way, was involved with the 'big move'.

The community had to make adjustments as the building was to be different and thus they had to adapt and become accustomed to the new environment and surrounding. The people who were involved in the Masjid had to ensure that all the necessary and useful items were moved and that the temporary accommodation was adequate and appropriate for all those who would be praying in the Masjid.

The Madrassah people were also occupied in ensuring that the Masjid has suitable space and therefore had to adjust to a degree to allow the 'big move'.

All in all, the move, although simple and smooth, was very strenuous as it involved great responsibility and any lack of preparations and arrangements would lead to difficulty for many members in the future.

For me, the Masjid moving into another building was a 'big move' as I was involved in all areas of the move; from being one of those who prays at the Masjid, as well as being part of the Masjid and Madrassah. Therefore, I got a slight realisation of what was involved in the 'big move'.

POINT

If moving buildings can be so chaotic, where there is a possibility of making amendments for our mistakes and errors, can we even imaging of the move from this world to the hereafter where the only retribution of our mistakes could be the cleansing fire of Hell?

In this world it is essential to make arrangements to a comfortable, welcoming and adaptable environment, and all our efforts are placed into it. However, how many times have we considered the arrangements of the hereafter? Do our deeds suggest that we are comfortable with Hell as our abode?

Those who are involved in some project feel the direct strain and tension of that project; therefore we exercise our greatest efforts to ensure that the project is successful. However, our daily lives indicate to the onlooker that we have no connection or involvement with the hereafter; that our project, importance and objective lies in this world.

May Allah save us all and give us the understanding and inclination to realise the necessity of preparing for the real 'big move'; for on that day, apart from His mercy there will be no power that can save us from our involvement in those matters that separated us from His love and commandments and from the worry and concern of the Hereafter. May He forgive us for our addiction to this world and cure us from the deviation of this world, its love and deception. Aameen.

Drip... Drip...

Our passage is like a motorway for human feet. There is so much traffic there that despite removing our shoes in the house that carpet goes through quite a bit of wear and tear. So, we arrived once again towards that time in which replacing the carpet was necessary.

We removed the old carpets and realised that there were floorboards that need nailing down as well as replacing due to being rotten or loose. Therefore, we put someone on the simple task of removing the old floorboards and nailing down the new ones.

After handing over this 'simple' task we sat down to eat our lunch. Within minutes we heard panic and saw house members rushing from here to there. In order to find out what the commotion was we also rushed to have a look at what had taken place, only to see that the ceiling was like a fountain, abundantly pouring down water through the entire ceiling including the light bulb.

To cut a long story short, one of the pipes had taken a good 'beating' in the process of changing the floorboards and a simple fifteen minute job took a good three to four hours to correct.

In addition to the extension of time, we also suffered the loss of water for a period of an hour or so as we had to turn off the mains tap to fix the leakage and damaged pipe.

POINT

There are a few things I learnt from this incident that took place at our house. Some only whilst I was writing this post.

1. The carpets of a house are exposed to a lot of wear and tear due to continuous strain upon it and due to that they need replacing. Similarly, a believer continuously experiences the strain of this world upon his soul and though we can't 'replace' our soul we can sure get it cleaned and reformed in order for it to remain in pristine condition and achieve its purpose.

2. Like the floorboards, we also tend to 'loosen up' a little over a period of time and, Allah forbid, we sometimes also reach a stage when we 'rot' also. However, it is necessary to ensure that we don't slack and loosen up in our A'maal (acts of worship) if it that happens, it is essential to refer to a 'professional' to 'tighten' and heighten our spirits.

3. As mentioned above, we need to refer to the professionals to ensure that we are doing the correct things and that we receive the correct treatment. When we don't have the knowledge of something then that 'simple' task can become complicated. Similarly, when we make efforts to seek Allah through A'maal, it is essential that we also have knowledge to ascertain what we are doing is right. One can understand this in another manner, a person who walks on a path to seek Allah, without a guide (Shaykh), will take a hundred years for a two day journey.

4. The blessings of Allah should always be remembered and His mercy also. At times we tend to forget his blessings because we are so accustomed and used to them. For this reason we tend to overlook it and become appreciative towards it. When the house was without water we realised how this blessing of Allah was so important and essential for a 'normal' daily life. But if we divert our attention to those who do not have water to quench their thirst then we will realise how fortunate we are.

5. Finally, as mentioned above, we should be grateful to Allah for sending reminders to us from time to time. Like above, we showed us the value of water by depriving us from it for an hour or so. If He so wished, He could have taken this blessing away for ever due to our ungratefulness.

May Allah Ta'ala give us all inclination to act upon that which we learn and to thank Allah for His infinite blessings and reminders and for not punishing us for our ungratefulness and ingorance. Aameen.