by Rami Mahmoud Elsawah
Surat Al-Doha (The Morning Hours)
1. By the Glorious Morning Light,
2. And by the Night when it is still,-
3. Thy Guardian-Lord hath not forsaken thee, nor is He displeased.
4. And verily the Hereafter will be better for thee than the present.
5. And soon will thy Guardian-Lord give thee (that wherewith) thou shalt be well-pleased.
6. Did He not find thee an orphan and give thee shelter (and care)?
7. And He found thee wandering, and He gave thee guidance.
8. And He found thee in need, and made thee independent.
9. Therefore, treat not the orphan with harshness,
10. Nor repulse the petitioner (unheard);
11. But the bounty of the Lord - rehearse and proclaim!
Please take another two seconds to reread the ayat six through eleven. Please do read it.
After having read that, I want you to try and imagine what state you would be in right now had not Allah subhanna wa taala, by His unending mercy, given you guidance.
Who your friends be? Where would your favorite hang out spot be...partying in the city or shooting up heroin alone in your room? Would you be on Hidaya reading a bunch of articles or checking out the latest crave in mindless pop culture circulating on MTV?
As for me, a few days ago while picking up some groceries from the supermarket late at night I saw a kid (maybe 22-25 yrs. old) walking around rather slow and aimlessy in the parking lot with half-beat up clothes and scruffy go-t like facial hair and chops. I said to myself, 'This guy is definitely stoned.' Walking a little further my inner self said: 'Look at this guy...a waste of society. Haplessly walking through life...a heroin zombie...stoned and aimless..a dispicable mess.' Then, as I get in my car I then thought: 'Why would some kid would get stoned and then go hang out at a Pathmark parking lot?' So I stare at him closely for a while to try to see what he is doing and I find him (very slowwwly) oraganizing the shopping carts in the cart bin.
"He's a cart collecter. Ohh..." Now it made more sense. And I guess he's taking the drugs to kill the time and pass the dredge of the laborious task. That didn't make any difference,...but at least now I knew what he was doing there and that he was actually working and not just aimlessly walking around a parking lot lat at night.
Now somewhere after this point, and not because I found out that he pushes carts at the supermarket, I began to feel bad. Why?
I felt bad because I had realized how pompous I had become, and how pompous Muslims can be. I've seen it happen so many times, especially with older Muslim folks (looking down at african-americans & hispanics, looking down at bums, etc.) And now here I am looking upon this kid as if he is some useless part of society...Not feeling bad...not feeling heartbroken or despair...but looking down.
I thought to myself: 'The Prophet Muhammed (peace and blessings be upon him) would have felt sorry for him. Not just sorry but worried and heartbroken. We are his Ummah and he is our Messenger. The sahaba were like children that he taught and raised and worry about when would go astray. On his death bed the Messenger(peace and blessings be upon him) began to worry so much about those of his Ummah that would come after him. And yet I, and so many others, just frown at and turn away. I began to feel really bad. What happened to caring for your brothers in humanity.
And so I ask you again where would we be If Allah (subhanna wa taala) did not guide us to where we are? Why to we turn away and look down upon others without caring about them or how they might end up? Upon those who may not have been raised in a healthy environment, or who's parents were not Muslim, or who live a life of poverty. It might be that we would have been that situation had not Allah (subhanna wa taala) deemed for us this. Should we not constantly fear that our Qadar isn't written for us something bad?Did not Allah Messenger (Peace and blessings be upon him) used to seek refuge from Kufr and from calamity? From poverty and from hardship?
In the Qu'ran it says:
"Our Lord!" (they say), "Let not our hearts deviate now after Thou hast guided us, but grant us mercy from Thine own Presence; for Thou art the Grantor of bounties without measure.
So seek refuge from the Hellfire and seek refuge from looking down upon others. Always should the Muslim be humble and caring.
Read again ayats 6-11, just read it...and see what you feel the next time you see the bum on the street.
May Allah give us refuge from the Hellfire and let not our hearts deviate after He has guided us. May Allah subhanna wa taala give us a mercy from His own Presense, for He is the Grantor of bounties without measure.
salaam Akhi:
A very sincere and thoughtful reminder for all of us. Jazak Allah Khair!
May Allah reward you and the likes of you who have a compassionate heart and reflect on their own shortcomings...Ameen
As Salaamu Alaikum
Masha Allah,great reminder!
WAs salaam
on April 16, 2005 1:09 PMSubhanAllah. Man is, indeed, arrogant and quick to forget the favours upon him. Who from amongst us can actually say that he/she deserved or earned their iman...
We are born beggars and we die beggars. And its a mercy upon us if we are written to beg for the 'right' things.
on April 17, 2005 2:29 AMAssalaamu Alaikum:
Yesterday I spent most of the day in a series of lecture by Sheikh Mukhtar Maghroui.
It was indeed a most rewarding and inspiring learning that I had, Alhamdulillah. I think those sisters/brothers who sticked around for the program probably did feel the same as well, Insha'Allah.
There were three sessions On Tazkiyaah Nafs: 1) The hidden scars of Dhanb (Sins), 2) The healing breeze of Taubah (Repentence), and 3) The cleansing spirit of Mujahidah (struggle).
There was a Q&A session that follwed (most of this is paraphrasing):
Q: How do we (as individual) improve upon this struggle with the Nafs?
R: First improve upon you knowledge (ILM) of what is good vs bad and Islamic knowledge in general, then always come back to Allah in sincere repentence, and then start doing mujahidah with your Nafs.
For instance, if one does something evil that the Nafs likes (back-biting, stealing, drinking and so on), first one must know that these are Major sins and not consider them light, followed by a repentence to Allah for only HE can forgive, and then one should discipline their Nafs by doing some acts that are tasking on Nafs. Examples of such acts would be, fasting 10 days, or giving $300 in charity (and choose the one which is tougher on the Nafs). Insha'Allah the Nafs will become weaker and weaker in repeating such evil acts if it is followed by a task which is good yet difficult on your Nafs.
Q: How do we know the difference between temptations of our own Nafs & Shaitan?
R: The ways of Shaitaan to tempt someone is always changing and appears in different ways and forms. If you block the waswasa in one way it would approach with another alternative suggestion. The Nafs, however, keeps on coming back with the same act or suggestion again & again & again!
Q: What is difference between Qalb and Nafs?
R: Qalb usually affirms and inclines to what is good and pure from Allah; an idea or thought to do good based on your current knowledge and or guidance from Allah. Usually the thoughts and actions of/from the Qalb are clean and beneficial. The Nafs, on the other hand, usually inspires thoughts that are of primal nature and are self-serving to the individual. To have illegal intimacy, to show-off, to have power, money, and authority to subjugate others. In general, anything that makes one indifferent to other creatures and fellow human beings around oneself. If one feeds the Nafs, it only grows bigger and bigger, until ones act is nothing but driven by his/her desires and whims.
There were other pearls that I thought were great, Alhamdulillah. But I cant remember all of them.
Hope this helps, Insha'Allah.
on April 17, 2005 10:50 AMAssalamualaikum Wa Rahmatullah,
MashAllah, its a good article. I come from a land where most people are poor in the material sense, i come from the land called Bangladesh. I know there are plenty of innocent orphans,who are working in my country trying to get their ends meet. Some of us might be practising Muslims, who are well of both materially and by physical means; but does it make us better than those people who are struggling, who dont have the love of their parents nor any other surrounding people; who are poor and pounded by the brunt of poverty? If you think you are, then take a look back at what religion you are following. For Islam is not the religion of class distinctions, or racism. If you got some race issues, then please take a look into Islam, for your own benefit. Brother Rami, I love you for the sake of Allah Talah, and thanks alot for the article. May Allah Talah reward you.
Salamualaikum