Did you learn your lesson? Chapter 6 Verses 42-43

With the name of Allah, Most Kind Most Merciful…

 

Life is full of hardships and difficulties. These experience are intentional and necessary, to simply teach us HUMILITY.

 

Humility is defined as, “A quality by which a person considering his own defects has a humble opinion of himself and willingly submits himself to God and to others for God’s sake.”

 

We have been created from dust, a sperm drop. By Allah(SWT)’s Mercy, Grace, Love and power we grow

physically and intellectually. This development is a test and as soon as we reach certain levels of strength, intellect,

Financial stability we grow in “kibr” (pride). We quickly lose track of our origin, the origin of a despicable liquid drop.

 

كَلا إِنَّ الإنْسَانَ لَيَطْغَى

Nay, but man doth transgress all bounds

أَنْ رَآهُ اسْتَغْنَى

In that he looks upon himself as (Ghani) Independent/wealthy/self-sufficient. (S96V6-7)

 

As we grow in strength, honor, wealth, intellect…our mentality, routines, company…changes. We move up the ladder.

 

This is the true test of life. To grow in strength, to become a millionaire, a billionaire, a president, a professor…

And always bear in mind that it is Allah who is the greatest, that we are just mud molded into shape.

 

Hadith Qudsi

“Allah (mighty and sublime be He) said: Pride is My cloak and greatness My robe,

and he who competes with Me in respect of either of them I shall cast into Hell-fire”

 

The Prophet(SAW) is reported to have said

“Whoever possesses an atom’s weight of ‘kibr'(Pride/arrogance) will not enter into the paradise “. Muslim

 

And so it is, that Allah(SWT) full of loving kindness, allows us to experience difficult situations,

Most of which have been caused by our own hands. It is these situations that HUMBLE us,

These situations that show us how weak we really are. We cannot do anything to prevent

Cancer, an earthquake, death…As powerful and intelligent as we humans have become, we are yet sooooo

Vulnerable and truly it’s Allah(SWT) the One and Only that has power over all things and can do as He Pleases.

 

The most tragic event, is the tragedy of not learning humility through a humbling experience.

 

When calamity strikes, we are expected to reform, and mend our lives. Humility is not just a personality,

But a lifestyle. Humility is being simple and selfless in all we do. It’s treating with respect every creation of Allah(SWT).

Humility is simplicity and sincerity, in the way we talk, the company we keep, what we buy, the clothes we wear…

تِلْكَ الدَّارُ الآخِرَةُ

نَجْعَلُهَا

لِلَّذِينَ لا يُرِيدُونَ عُلُوًّا فِي الأرْضِ وَلا فَسَادًا

وَالْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

That Home of the Hereafter

We shall give to those who do not seek to exalt themselves in the Earth nor to cause corruption in it,

and the end is (best) for the righteous.(S28V83)

The bed of the Prophet

There is a famous Hadith by Umar ibn Al-Khattab (R). He mentions, he entered the mosque in Madina when the Prophet   was lying down on his small compartment. The compartment only had a small jug of water and a bed for him to lie down. The bed was not made out of leaves of the date palm, rather it was made out of the branches of the date palm. When Umar (R) comes in, the Prophet   sits up to greet him and Umar (R) notices that the fiber or the branch of the date palm has left a mark on the Prophet’s   back.

This is an incident of the 7th or 8th year of Islamic calendar, by this time the Prophet   had already become the undisputed leader of a large chunk of Arabia.

So Umar (R) could not control himself and began to cry, he said,

O Messenger of Allah, how can we allow you to live like this? Look at the kings of Roman, Persia. Look at how they live. Surely O Messenger of Allah, you deserve better.

Instead of saying maybe you are right or I will think about it, the Prophet   rather got irritated at him. The Prophet  said,

O Umar, is this why we are here for? O Umar, aren’t you happy that they have this ‘Dunia’ (this life) and we have the ‘Akhira’ (the afterlife)?

So the Prophet   rebuked Umar by saying I am not here for this, I am not even thinking about this. Such was the simple life that the Prophet Muhammad   lead, despite having all the power to afford a lavish lifestyle.

 

One of the clearest examples of his humility, is that the Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه و سلم ) would sit in the Masjid with his companions and if a stranger or visitor came to the Masjid he wouldn’t know who the Prophet was until he asked, “Which one of you is Muhammad”? This is because he would not sit, dress, or be treated in a way that distinguished him from the people.

Anas Ibn Maalik would pass by a group of young boys playing and he would extend to them a warm and gracious greeting (salaams). When he was asked, “Why do you do this”? He replied, ‘The Prophet ( صلي الله عليه و سلم ) use to do it’. Bukhari/Muslim

Abdullah ibn Amr ( رضي الله تعا لي عنه )said: ‘The Prophet (صلي الله عليه و سلم ) entered upon me so I gave him a pillow (to sit on) made out of skin and filled with date palm fibers. The Prophet ( صلي الله عليه و سلم ) (refused to sit on it) and he choose to sit on the (bare) ground, and he left the cushion between him and myself’. Bukhari/Muslim

Aisha ( رضي الله تعا لي عنه ) was asked, ‘What did the Prophet (صلي الله عليه و سلم) use to do when he was in the privacy of his home’? She replied, ‘He use to be in the service of his family’. He used to repair his sandals and sew/patch his own thobe and he would milk the sheep. Bukhari

Anas ibn Maalik ( رضي الله تعا لي عنه ) said the Prophet (صلي الله عليه و سلم ) performed the Hajj upon an old camel that had a saddle that cost about four dirhams or less, and then he said, “Oh Allah, this is a Hajj (that I’m performing) wherein there is no showing off nor notoriety sought”. Tirmizi/Ibn Majah

Anas ibn Maalik ( رضي الله تعا لي عنه ): ‘I never saw a man seeking the ear of the Prophet (صلي الله عليه و سلم ) except that the Messenger of Allah would never turn his head from him, until the man turned his head first. Nor did I ever see a man take the hand of the Prophet, except that the Messenger of Allah would never let his hand go, until the man was the first to let the Prophet’s hand go’. Bukhari

Abu Masood ( رضي الله تعا لي عنه ) said: ‘A man came to the Prophet (صلي الله عليه و سلم ) and he began to speak to him, and he was seized by fear (of the Prophet). Upon witnessing his demeanor the Prophet (صلي الله عليه و سلم ) said to him: “Take it easy and calm down, for verily I am not a king, but instead I am only the son of a Quraishy women who use to eat dried salted meat strips”. Ibn Majah

May Allah(SWT) protect, preserve and purify our lives from pride, arrogance and extravagance,

And admit us among those who humble themselves before Him and His creation…

Feast Your Eyes! Chapter 9 Verses 95-99

With the name of Allah, Most Kind Most Merciful…

All Glory and Praise to Allah, Ahsanal Khaaliqeen(The Best to create) and Peace and Blessings on the Muhammed, the final messenger!

OBR – Outcomes Based Ramadaan! Chapter 2 Verse 183

With the name of Allah, Most Kind Most Merciful…

All Praise and Glory to Allah who has sent us the Quraan to guide us and Peace and Blessings on the final Messenger, Muhammed!

What’s the purpose of fasting(sawm)? What are the expected outcomes?

The answer is quite simple – Chapter 2 Verse 183

لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ – To develop your Taqwa

What is Taqwa? – An infusion of Love and Fear of Allah(SWT) or A heightened awareness of Allah(SWT)’s presence…

 

So after the task(of fasting) what should the student achieve?

In one word the Outcome would – TAQWA

 

How would one recognize and rate the TAQWA, what are the practical qualities, behaviors’ that need to be measured?

 

Acticity 10.1 – Has fasting increased my TAQWA?

For our case study, I have taken just one set of verses to draw the measuring qualities to test any progress in TAQWA after the activity of fasting.

 

Surah 3 Verses 133 – 135

 

وَسَارِعُوا إِلَى مَغْفِرَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ Be quick in the race for forgiveness from your Lord, وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالأرْضُ and for a Garden whose width is that (of the whole) of the heavens and of the earth, أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ prepared for the righteous, (Those with TAQWA) Verse 133	FASTING SHOULD 1)    Increase our  frequency of asking Allah(SWT) for forgiveness. The Prophet(SAW) is reported to have said “I seek for forgiveness from Allah more than 100 times a day “ 2)    Increase our attention and focus of the real goal of attaining Al Jannah. Yeah, imagine you are granted Al Jannah, and you are taken to these huge beautiful gates that lead to you castle, and your land stretched from Mercury to Pluto or even much more J Insha Allah!
(Those with TAQWA) الَّذِينَ يُنْفِقُونَ فِي السَّرَّاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ Those who spend (freely), whether in prosperity, or in adversity; وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ who restrain anger, وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ and pardon (all) men; وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ for Allah loves those who do good;- Verse 134	3)    Increase the value and frequency of giving of our wealth for the upliftment of the poor and needy regardless of economic conditions. 4)    Strengthen our control  over our anger. The Prophet(SAW) is reported to have said “When you are angry, sit down, if you are still angry, lie down”. Simple but really effective advice. Yap, I have never seen 2 people screaming at each other whilst sitting down. 5)    Soften our hearts, remove our prejudices, make us, more forgiving. Fasting should give us the strengthen to overlook peoples faults. This very act of forgiving and overlooking each others faults is the necessary glue that our ummah needs for unity. وَلْيَعْفُوا وَلْيَصْفَحُوا let them forgive and overlook أَلا تُحِبُّونَ أَنْ يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ do you not wish that Allah should forgive you? وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”S24V22
(Those with TAQWA) وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً And those who, having done something to be ashamed of أَوْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ or wronged their own souls ذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ earnestly bring Allah to mind, فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا لِذُنُوبِهِمْ and ask for forgiveness for their sins,- وَمَنْ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلا اللَّهُ and who can forgive sins except Allah?- وَلَمْ يُصِرُّوا عَلَى مَا فَعَلُوا وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ and are never stubborn in persisting knowingly in (the wrong) they have done. Verse 135	6)    Increase our awareness of our own weakness’s and sins. Fasting should cause a heightened concern of our very own characters and lead us to self inspection. One of the meanings of TAQWA is “To guard oneself against evil”. In Ramadaan, through fasting we are  strengthening our will power. Fasting is a way to strengthen ourRESISTANCE to anything that displeases Allah(SWT). Fasting teaches us to say “NO”. If we can say “NO” to food for 12 hours than we are preparing ourselves to say “NO” to Shaytaan when he calls us to lie, cheat, hate, steal, backbite, ….
“Ramadan is a month whose beginning is Mercy, whose middle is Forgiveness and whose end is freedom from the fire.” – Hadith

 

 

Scorecard – Rate yourself 0 – 5

0 – No improvement / increase

5 – Maximum improvement / increase

 

Measurable quality / activity	0 – 5
1)   Frequency of seeking Allah’s forgiveness
2)   Strengthening our goal of attaining Al Jananh
3)   Giving of our wealth
4)   Anger Control
5)   Ability to forgive and overlook
6)   Self awareness of our weakness’s, our sins and our resistance to sins and shaytaans whispers

 

May Allah(SWT), the Most Kind, Most Merciful, make this month of Ramadaan easy and filled with blessings for you and your family!

 

May Allah(SWT) increase our closeness to Him, our Love for Him and our Obedience to Him in this Blessed Month of the Quraan,

And May Allah(SWT) strengthen our resistance to shaytaan, grant us greater control over our anger and soften our hearts so

That we may forgive and overlook each others faults…

 

May Allah(SWT) strengthened Deen Al Islam in our country in this month and the coming years and establish

Peace, Mercy, Love and Unity in the Ummat of Muhammed(SAW) in our country and throughout the world…