Audio of the Week: The Month of Dhul Hijjah

First Step.

‘Life is to enjoy.’ That is what runs through the mind of any average 18 year old. In fact, this is not only the motto of our teen years, but also of our middle-age. It is the driving force that takes us into our more mature years, and then comes to a disappointing collapse when we are plagued with illnesses in the last years of this life. How exciting it seemed to hang out at the latest Café, to attend the latest concert, to fit in with the coolest crowd. But how it all dies out and then becomes a meaningless part of our past. When we look back upon those times of careless youth, we see them for all they were worth. It really did not last forever as we once firmly believed it would.

‘I want to make my hair look like Oprah’s,’ ‘I think my flare for cooking is like Monica’s from Friends,’ ‘What’s the latest trend in fashion?’. We saw it on tv, and it was the life we wanted for ourselves. Had we ever paused to think, is this who we really are? Was our entire life, from the moment of birth until our last breath meant for a few moments of enjoyment that did not even last? Did we ever wonder for a few moments whether we should reassess the direction in which we were going? Perhaps our days of youth can never be a comparison to the youth of Muhammad bin Qasim, who led an army that conquered Sindh at the age of 18, but, whatever the case may be, each and every one of us is certainly aware that deep down, there is so much untapped potential in our own selves. The realization that we have all forgotten to realize is that we are amongst the followers of the Messenger of Allah (sws). It is in-built in us that we tend to imitate whatever it is that we see or hear, and just like that, it was in-built in the young Companions to imitate the Prophet sws.

‘Be in the world as if you are a stranger or a passerby,’ these were the words that the Companions of the Prophet sws lived out their entire lives by. Those who were young and had their lives ahead of them chose to lead a life in which they made each moment count towards the Hereafter. The young companions chose a life that was greater than their own pleasures, and that outlived them for their future generations. These were youth who would stay up at night and cry over their sins in front of Allah swt, and today, we spend our nights sleepless in front of tv screens. The difference between us and the young companions of the Prophet sws is that they were people of truth, courage and patience, whereas we are living lives full of lies, cowardice and frustration. This is not because the companions were super-human, but rather they were human, and humble, and they were ever aware of their relationship with Allah swt, whereas, we are oblivious and completely negligent of our relationship with our Creator. In following the trends of society, we have forgotten Allah, and we have forgotten the importance of living a life that is truthful and valuable, and that can outlive us for our future generations.

The famous three companions Abdullah bin Umar, Abdullah bin Masood and Abdullah bin Abbas (radhiaAllahu alayhim ajmaeen) were passionate in their service to the Prophet sws. They would spend their days and nights serving him and spending time in his awe-inspiring company, and in return the Prophet sws prayed for them profusely. They spent their youth for the sake of Allah swt and His beloved Messenger sws, and as a result of this invetment, all three of these young Sahaba became enormous figures for the rest of the Umma. Abdullah bin Umar became the greatest Muhaddith (expert in Hadith narration), Abdullah bin Masood became amongst the greatest authorities in Fiqh (legal jurisprudence) and Abdullah bin Abbas was a leading authority in Tafsir (exegesis of the Holy Quran).

If we compare our youth to the youth of these great Sahaba, we realize that our excuses are invalid. Placing the blame on our up-bringing and our parents does not solve the issue. Sure, our parents lived the same lives, and they passed on their earnings and livelihood for our sake, and we will do the same, but they are going to leave this world at some point, and so are we. None of the moments and the hours and the days of enjoyment will benefit us then. Our ultimate return will be to that Being Who we had forgotten for most of our lives. In order to resolve the crises of our own youth and to face the reality as to who we are and why we were created in the first place, we must realize how important it is to establish a relationship with Allah swt, and how important it is to carry this relationship forward throughout every stage of our life.

In these troubled times where there is a crisis in almost every walk of life, the solution lies in realizing that we are responsible for our own faults. This does not mean that this life is meant to be boring, burdensome and difficult for us, rather, it is meant to be a means of great development and learning. It is meant to be a life that is an investment in our character building, and consequently society building. If we use our young years in worthwhile pursuits such as learning more about our religion, such as serving our society, and such as creating awareness amongst our own peers, we could make a big difference in changing the state in which we are now. It is only a matter of wanting change, and that in itself is a big first step.

Audio of the Week: Tuning our Hearts

Building Our Roots.

"The speaker shared with us a talk that was given personally to her by a great shaykh. It was about trees. He was saying how we should be more like them. Trees can't grow in gold or silver. It grows in soil and it take in the lowly minerals from the earth and give out the substance we need to survive, oxygen. When the trees are high, the fruit is more valuable so people hit at the branches with stones or sticks to obtain the fruit. It only returns with goodness (gives its fruit). Even if someone were to cut a fragrant tree, the last thing the tree would give is a sweet scent on the blade that cut it. Just like that, we should only give good. Also, we can't really see all of the tree. A lot of it is underground. Just like that, we should build ourselves spiritually in private so no one knows that except Allah. We should look average to everyone else, but have a big status with Him (no one would be able to see our roots). Trees have to go through different seasons, but they are strong during the tough times because they know spring and summer time will come some time. This reminds me of the ayah, "Indeed with hardship comes ease." (Surah Inshirah)

JazakAllahu khairan. May Allah make us like trees with all their good qualities and give us a place near Him. Ameen thumma ameen."