Monthly Archives: June 2012

Cast off anxiety – Pause to reflect

Do not be sad, for that which has been preordained has already been decided upon and will take place though you may not like it. The pens have dried, the scrolls have been rolled up, and every affair is firmly established. Therefore your sadness will not change your reality in the least.

Do not be sad because, with your sadness, you desire for time’s suspension: for the sun to stop in its place, for the hands of the clock to stand still, for the steps of your feet to move backwards, and for the river to flow back to its source.

Do not be sad, because sadness is like a hurricane that violently tosses the waves, changing the atmosphere and destroying the blooming flowers of the luxuriant garden.

Do not be sad, because the one who is sad is like a person who pours water into a bucket that has a hole in it. He is like a writer who uses his finger to write on water.

Do not be sad, because the true span of life is measured by the number of days in which you are content. Do not then spend your days in grief, do not waste your nights in sorrow, and do not be extravagant in squandering your time; for truly, Allah loves not those who are extravagant and wasteful.

Do not be sad, for in truth, your Lord forgives sins and accepts repentance.

When you read the following verse, does not your heart feel peaceful, are not your worries driven away, and does not happiness permeate your whole being?

Say: `O’ my slaves who have transgressed against themselves [by committing evil deeds and sins]! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Of-Forgiving, Most Merciful.  (Qur’an 39: 53)

He addressed them with, `O’ my slaves,’ to tame their hearts and souls. He specifically mentioned those who transgress, since they are more disposed than others to perpetrate evil deeds on a continual basis. How much greater then will be the Mercy of Allah for others! Thus He forbade them from despairing and from losing hope of attaining forgiveness. And He informed them that He forgives all sins of the one who repents, whether they are big or small, important or unimportant.

Do you not then rejoice upon reading the following verses?

And those who, when they have committed Fahishah [illegal sexual intercourse etc.] or wronged themselves with evil, remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their sins — and none can forgive sins but Allah – And do not persist in what [wrong] they have done, while they know.  (Qur’an 3: 135)

And whoever does evil or wrongs himself but afterwards seeks Allah’s Forgiveness, he will find Allah Of-Forgiving, Most Merciful.    (Qur’an 4: 110)

1f you avoid the great sins which you are. Forbidden to do, we shall remit from you your [small] sins, and admit you to a Noble Entrance [I.e. into Paradise]. 
(Qur’an 4: 31)

 If they [hypocrites], when they had been unjust to themselves, had come to you [Muhammad] and begged Allah’s forgiveness, and the Messenger had begged forgiveness for them: indeed, they would have found Allah All-Forgiving [One no accepts repentance], Most Merciful.   (Qur’an 4: 64)

And verily, 1 am indeed Forgiving to him who repents, believes [in My Oneness, and associates none in worship with me] and does righteous good deeds, and then remains constant in doing them, [till his death].}  (Qur’an 20: 82)

When Prophet Moosa (Moses) killed a man, he said:

`O’ my Lord, forgives me,’ and He forgave him.

When Prophet Dawood (David) repented, Allah said:

So we forgave him that, and verily, for him is a near access to us, and a good place of’ [final] return [Paradise].   (Qur’an 38: 25)

How perfect, merciful, and generous is Allah! He even proffered His mercy and forgiveness for those who believe in the Trinity

That is, if they repent:

Surely, disbelievers are those who said: `Allah is the third of the three [in a Trinity]’. But there is no Ilah [god] [none who has the right to be worshipped] but One Ilah [God Allah]. And if they cease not from what they say, verily, a painful torment will befall the disbelievers among them. Will they not repent to Allah and ask His Forgiveness? For Allah is Of-Forgiving, Most Merciful.  (Qur’an 5: 73-74)

In an authentic hadith, the Prophet (bpuh) said:

“Allah, blessed is He and Most High, says: `O’ son of Adam, indeed, you will not supplicate to Me and hope from Me except that I will forgive you, in proportion to what came from you (i.e. your level of sincerity), and I won’t mind. O’ son of Adam, if your sins were to reach in magnitude the height of the heavens, and then you were to ask me for forgiveness, I would forgive you, and I won’t mind. O’ son of Adam, were you to come to me with sins that (in their size) almost fill the earth, and you met me without ascribing to me any partners, I would come to you with its size in forgiveness.”

Bukhari related that the Prophet (bpuh) said:

“Indeed, Allah extends His Hand in the night to forgive the one who sins in the day, and He extends His Hand in the day to forgive the one who sins at night, and this continues until the sun rises from the west.”

In another hadith, the Prophet (bpuh) relates that Allah said: “O’ my slaves, verily you sin by day and night, and I forgive all sins; so seek forgiveness from me and I will forgive you.”

In another authentic hadith, the Prophet (bpuh) said:
“By the One Who has my soul in His Hand, if you were not to sin, then Allah would remove you, and would bring another nation who sins, and who then seek forgiveness from Allah; and He would forgive them.”

And the Prophet (Blessings and Peace be upon him) also said: “By the One, who has my soul in His Hand, if you were not to sin, then I would fear upon you that which is more severe than sin; and that is self-conceit.”

In another authentic narration, the Prophet (bpuh) said: “Every one of you is constantly doing wrong, and the best of those who constantly do wrong are the ones who are constantly making repentance.”

He (bpuh) also said in this authentic hadith:

“Truly, Allah is happier with the repentance of His slave than one of you who is on his mount, and upon his mount is his drink and food; then he loses his mount in the desert, and he searches for it until he loses hope; so he sleeps and then wakes up to find that his mount is beside him, and he says, `O’ Allah, you are my slave and I am your Lord’. He pronounced this mistake as a result of his extreme happiness.”

He (bpuh) is also authentically reported to have said:

“Verily, a slave (of Allah) commits a sin and then he says, `O’ Allah, forgive me my sin, for indeed, none forgives sins except you’. Then he commits another sin, and he afterwards says, `O’ Allah, forgive me my sin, for indeed, none forgives sins except you’. Then he commits another sin, and he afterwards says, `O’ Allah, forgive me my sin, for indeed, none forgives sins except you’. Then Allah says, `My slave knows that he has a Lord, Who takes one to account for sins, and Who also forgives sins, so let my slave do as he wishes. ‘

The meaning of this is that as long as Allah’s slave is contrite and repentant, then Allah will forgive him.

Do not be sad – Do good to others

Being of service to others leads to happiness. In an authentic hadith, the Prophet (Blessings and Peace be upon him) said:

Verily, Allah will say to His slave as He is taking account of him on the Day of Judgment, `O’ son of Adam, I was hungry and you did not feed me. He will answer, how can I feed you and you are the Lord of the worlds! He will say, did you not know that my slave so and so who is the son of so and so felt hunger, and you did not feed him. Alas! Had you fed him you would have found that (i.e. reward) with Me. O’ son of Adam, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. He will say, How can I give you drink, and you are the Lord of the worlds! He will say, did you not know that my slave so and so, the son of so and so felt thirsty and you did not give him drink. Alas! If you had given him, you would have found that (i.e. reward) with Me. O’ son of Adam, I became sick and you did not visit Me. He will say, How can I visit you and you are the Lord of the worlds! He will say, did you not know that my slave so and so, the son of so and so became sick and you did not visit him. Alas! Had you visited him, you would have found me with him.”

Here is an interesting point; in the last third of the hadith are the words: …you would have found me with him.

This is unlike the first two parts of the hadith: “You would have found that (i.e. the reward for feeding and giving drink) with Me.”

The reason for the difference is that Allah, the All-Merciful, is with those whose hearts are troubled, as is the case with the person who is sick. And in another hadith, the Prophet (bpuh) said:

“There is reward in each moist liver (i.e. to do service to any living creature will be rewarded).”

Also, know that Allah admitted the prostitute from the children of Israel into Paradise because she gave a drink to a dog that was thirsty. So what will be the case for the one who feeds other humans, giving them drink and removing from them hardships!

In an authentic hadith, the Prophet (bpuh) said,

“Whoever has extra provision should give from it to the one who has no provision. And whoever has an extra mount should give with this extra to the one who has no mount.”

Commanding his servant to search out for guests, Hatim said in some of his more beautiful verses:

“Burn the coals, for truly, the night is chilly,
If you bring me a guest, then I have set you free.” And he said to his wife:
“Whenever you make food, then search
For he who is hungry, as I do not eat alone.”

Ibn Mubarak’s neighbor was a Jew. He would always feed him before feeding his own children and would provide clothing for him first and then for his children. Some people said to the Jew, “Sell us your house.” He answered, “My house is for two thousand dinars. One thousand is for the price of the house and one thousand is for having Ibn Mubarak as a neighbor!” Ibn Mubarak heard of this and he exclaimed, “O’ Allah, guide him to Islam.” Then, by the permission of Allah, he accepted Islam.

On another occasion, Ibn Mubarak passed by a caravan of people who were traveling to make the pilgrimage to Makkah, and he too was on his way to do the same. He saw one of the women from the caravan take a dead crow from a cesspit. He sent his servant to inquire about this and when he asked her, she replied, “We have had nothing for three days except that which finds its way into it.” When Ibn Mubarak heard of this, his eyes swelled with tears. He ordered for all of his provision to be distributed among those of the caravan, and having nothing with which to continue the journey, he returned to his home and gave up making the pilgrimage for that year. Later, he saw someone in a dream saying, “Your pilgrimage has been accepted, as have your rites; and your sins have been forgiven.” Allah says:

And give them preference over themselves, even though they were in need of those themselves. (Qur ‘an 59: 9)

One poet said:

“Even if I am a person who is far,
From his friend in terms of distance,
I offer him my help and wish to alleviate his difficulties, I answer his invitation and his call to me for help, and if he dons a wonderful new outfit I will not say, alas, were I to be blessed with the clothes that he wears.”

By Allah, how wonderful are good manners and a generous soul!

No one regrets having done well even if he was extravagant in doing so. Regret is only for the mistake or for the wrong done, even when that wrong is a minor one.