Tarbiya 78: Struggling Against our Souls

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Striving against our souls

Constantly we are being afflicted with trials and tribulations and they are different depending on the person. It may be striving to wake up for fajr or being courageous in the face of oppression. However what we all experience and share in common when faced with such maladies is the desire to give into our nafs (powers of anger and lust in a human being). At times our lusts and desires can take the better of us, constricting our vision so that all we see are the alluring benefits of the material world whilst disregarding any negative consequences. However we all need reminding, we all need to take a second and look at the bigger picture; will I really be happy if I do what I want?

After a recent trip to Italy I had the opportunity to visit Pompeii and saw bodies covered in lava at their time of death, reminding me of the sura:

Say (O Muhammad, to the disbelievers): Travel in the land, and see the nature of the consequence for those who were before you! Most of them were idolaters. (Surat Ar-Rum, verse 42) [Pickthall Translation]

When I walked through the town, all I could see was a plethora of erotic statues, paintings and altars dedicated to their deities; a town given into their own desires, yet this town perished in mere seconds. This was a wake up call, if we succumb to our nafs, what will be our final state? Although as humans we can comprehend little, a central truth that we all must testify to is; nothing is certain but death.

And the question remains; how are we spending our precious moments? Is it trying to get closer to Allah or have we given into our own desires that the akhira (afterlife) has become a mere after thought?

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Tarbiya 71: Training and Re-Training

——————————————– بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم ——————————————–

How do we increase our piety? How do we increase the good deeds we do, to benefit ourselves, our families and society? How do we stay away from things that do not benefit us?

InshaAllah in this Tarbiya, I will first touch upon the concept of ihsan in Islam (excellence), and then following on from this, the importance of continually seeking ways to broaden our skills and knowledge.

Some of the key characteristics of God-fearing individuals are perseverance, hard work and not depending on others and not standing still, yet expecting success to come their way. All of us try our best to work hard and efficiently and this requires us to continue to evaluate and improve ourselves so that we can carry out our duties to the highest standards.

Allah (swt) says in the Holy Qur’an:

“Say: Work away; God will see your labour, and so will His messenger and believers. You will be brought back to the Knower of the Unseen and the Visible, and He will notify you about how well you have been working.” (9:105)

This imaan (faith) motivates us to work hard and reach for ihsan. Be it for the welfare of this world or for the Hereafter, they are both important. The Prophet (saw) said:

“Whoever constructs, without causing oppression or aggression, or plants, without causing oppression or aggression, will be rewarded as long as the creatures of Allah, The Ever-Merciful, blessed and High Exalted be He, benefit from what he did.” (Ahmad)

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Tarbiya 30: A Pure Heart

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
والحمدلله رب العالمين والصلاة والسلام على أشرف الأنبياء والمرسلين

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful the Most Compassionate
All praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the most noble of the Prophets and Messengers

There once lived a man who had worshiped Allah for 70 years. He was known amongst the people for his piety and sincerity; so when their lands one day became drought-stricken, they decided to go to him and to ask him to pray for rain. The old man made du’a, yet no rain fell; he asked Allah again, but still to no avail. At this, the man began to weep and then he asked himself: “What is wrong with me that my heart is not pure?”

Upon uttering these words, Allah sent a prophet to this man to tell him: “Asking that question was better than all of your 70 years of worship.”

* * *

As we pass through this brief and busy life, we often forget to ask ourselves such simple yet profound questions. But if we think about our inevitable meeting with Allah, we realize that it will be “a Day in which neither wealth nor children shall avail, except the one who comes to Allah with a sound heart” (Surah Ash-Shu’ara: 88-89). We should all shudder when reflecting upon these words, for how many of us can truly say, “My heart is pure”?

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Tarbiya 26: Trials and Tribulations

In the name of Allah the Most Gracious and the Most Merciful.

In our quest to become a successful servant of Allah, there are so many trials and tribulations that will be faced along the way. Oppressions, poverty, sickness and even beauty, wealth and health are just a few of trials that humans faced in reality.

In the Quran, Allah says:
Or think you that you will enter Paradise without such (trials) as came to those who passed away before you? They were afflicted with severe poverty and ailments and were so shaken that even the Messenger and those who believed along with him said, “When (will come) the Help of Allâh?” Yes! Certainly, the Help of Allâh is near! (2,214)

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