by Bint Abdul Khaliq
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: A strong believer is better and is more lovable to Allah than a weak believer, and there is good in everyone, (but) cherish that which gives you benefit (in the Hereafter) and seek help from Allah and do not lose heart, and if anything (in the form of trouble) comes to you, don't say: If I had not done that, it would not have happened so and so, but say: Allah did that what He had ordained to do and your" if" opens the (gate) for the Satan.
Book 033, Number 6441(Sahih Muslim)
If only I hadn’t said that
If only I had thought
If only I could take the hurt away
If only we hadn’t fought
If only I could go back in time
If only I could change the past
If only things could be different
If only time didn’t move so fast
If only I had planned
If only I hadn’t rushed
If only I had prioritized
If only I hadn’t fussed
If only I had learnt more
If only I had concentrated
If only I had been more serious
If only I hadn’t procrastinated
If only I had been a better Muslim
If only I had done what was asked of me
If only I had turned to my Creator
If only my Life was one of Piety
If only…If only…If only…
‘If only’ can change nothing
Time to look forward and greet the present
Don’t make the same mistake again
Life will follow much more pleasant
The past is gone
can never return
The future is non-existent
It simply isn’t here yet
So what we are left with
Is the PRESENT
It’s HERE,its NOW, its REAL
What we do with it is our deal
It was once our future
A shadow with no substance
And it becomes the past
Something not anymore in existence
We have to stop living in the future or the past
ALLAH knows when we shall breathe our last
And every second is a treasure
A gift beyond any measure
What we do must be done
Only for ALLAH the ONE
So the past that’s gone is GONE
YA ALLAH how can I improve on what I’ve done?
The future ahead is not in my control
All is in ALLAH’S hands alone
So we have to trust in ALLAH and try our best
Use the present wisely and will follow the rest
Never should regrets stop us from progressing
Hope is more precious than any gem
‘If only’ has many lessons for us…
IF ONLY we would learn from them.
SubanAllah! It's like you posted the article at a time when I needed it the most! JazakAllah Khairun sister, may Allah reward you. I was just sitting there and thinking how I always persist on the same disliked acts over and over again and I just wished how I cud go back in time.... and then when I go into this deep thinking I start romantancizing about the future and how I willbe a perfect Muslim from now on...... I will now Inshallah not dwell in the past nor romanticize about the future... but work in the present.... Im so happpy now!!! (I know I sound geeky!)
Waslamalikom
on October 3, 2004 6:28 PMWow, that def. was pretty geeky, you got that right. But its geeky in a good way that makes the rest of us envious of that kind of happiness and jolt of realization. May Allah (SWT) put barakah in your time and happiness, inshaAllah and Amin.
Alhamdulillah, its awesome how realizations can come from areas in our lives where we often dont expect them. MashaAllah, nice poem sister.
If only I had studied for that exam I have tommorrow morning...
WasalaamuAlaikum
on October 3, 2004 7:38 PMAs Salaamu Alaikum
I am so happy that you are happy sister Humayun! lol.ALLAH is great.May ALLAH give us the ability to be hopeful and strong Muslims always and protect us from falling into the pit of hopelessness.Ameen.
Hope your exam went well sister Justoju!Got one coming up too.Request for duas.
Was Salaam
on October 6, 2004 1:41 PMGreat poem Mashallah, sister. I often delve into "if only"; maybe this poem will help me get out of this trap :)
on October 7, 2004 5:57 PMHmm, my problem is that I dont seem to ask "If Only" often enough. I dont recall regretting much in my life. The problem is that that causes me to be somewhat apathetic towards my mistakes and causes me to not really care that I did something wrong. My own personal jihad was/is trying to learn to 'care' when I did/do wrong. If we do not regret, then we cannot repent, and if we do not repent then we cannot rectify and reform ourselves. So "If Onlys" are necessary and beneficial so long as one doesnt obsess or allow them to be something that brings one's himmah levels down.
on October 8, 2004 12:22 AMAs Salaamu alaikum
I agree with you totally Justoju.Jazakillah for that.We have to keep ourselves in check at all times and we need to realise our mistakes, sincerely regret them and promise not to commit them again,at the same time this regret shouldnt overwhelm us to such a state that we begin to lose hope in the mercy of ALLAH TA'ALA and become easy targets for shaitaan.As you beautifully put it:
"so long as one doesnt obsess or allow them to be something that brings one's himmah levels down."
May ALLAH grant us the sweetness of Imaan.
Ameen.
Was salaam