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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Fi-Sabi-Lillah...For the Sake of Allah (SWT) |
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| Trustworthy |
| 05/06/04 at 14:13:45 |
| [slm].... “And they are happy with the life of this world, but the life of this world is small comfort compared to the next world.” (13:26) It is sad really. I know of a Muslim man who takes pride in calling himself a Muslim and greets me whenever we meet, yet one day I had reminded our group that it was time to pray and so he invited us to his home since it was close. Walking in, we noticed bottles of beer on the counter and so I ask, “Why do you have beer bottles in your home?” He replies, “Oh. I only drink beer when my friends are here.” “So you do know it’s forbidden?” “Yeah, but it’s just once in a while when my friends are here.” So now we don’t know what to do since we already asked him to lead the prayer. We decided to go through with it and talk to him later. While people were making wudu in his bathroom, he was giving us a tour and there was this picture of him and his dog. So I was like, “Is this your dog?” “Yeah she’s my baby, but she’s with my parents since we aren’t allowed pets here.” Ok. Then some other girl asks, “What if your parents find you a girl that doesn’t like dogs because she is religious like that?” (He told us that his parents are looking for a girl for him from back home, either Palestine or Jordan.) He replies, “Oh she has to love dogs. I can’t live without my dog. “ “What if she can’t stand dogs?” “Then she’d have to go. This is my baby we’re talking about.” Sigh… Prayer comes and he starts out Ok but then the first surah he reads is Ikhlas instead of Fatihah. That was it. I stepped back from the line and prayed on my own, the rest following. I could not concentrate because he messed up more than once when praying. After he was done, I said, “I don’t want to be out of line, but “Bro”, you need to practice your prayers. Don’t you pray?” He replies, “Yes I do, but when I don’t have time, I pray in my head.” Upset, I responded, “When you don’t have time or when you are physically parrellized because that is the only time when Allah accepts prayers made using your mind.” Then I was like, “I’m going to be blunt with you, “Bro”. Do you not go to the masjid?” “I did until they started asking for donations like they are following some Christian church.” WHAT?! “Dude! You must’ve went in a time when there is a fund raising going on because we don’t ask for donations like that. There’s a donation box in the masjid for anyone who wants to donate. We don’t ask for it, because as Muslims we are supposed to give. We don’t need to ask. And what you give or don’t give is between you and Allah (SWT). And it’s not like it’s for nothing. You will be helping out your fellow Muslims.” So that didn’t go well. I felt that we needed to be in touch so that he doesn’t go any more crooked and we do. We talk about Palestine. He was getting better. He said he would go to the masjid more often now seeing that he is proud to be a Muslim, yet not practicing Islam. I mean, he’s a very intelligent person in every other aspect, but you would not be able to tell that he was Muslim unless he told you or say “Salam” which he does so Arab like. Anways…later on as I was working, I received a service ticket to help out this new employee who had the same last name as he did, but female. So I go to her office and was working on her computer. In her office I noticed a family picture and there he was. She came in and she was a southerner. Deep southern accent and as pale as they come. Sweet woman. I asked her if her son’s name is “Bro”. She responded yes. So we got to talking since I know him and she says that they don’t enforce the religion or even practice it to a great deal because the parents are of different faiths. When he grew up, he chose Islam and wanted to marry a good Muslim girl. I see him once in a long while and he is still the same. It’s like he wants to change but doesn’t really want to cause he is so used to the “Western” lifestyle that he just can’t get himself to adjust to the Muslim lifestyle. It’s like it’s too much of a burden and he’d be losing so much luxury like beer and his dog. And he’s most stubborn. But he’s getting older and is need to get married. So I don’t know, but insha-Allah….. I told you this story because I want you to think about this dunya “world” vs. the next one… How can anyone fear poverty when we know Allah (SWT) owns all that is in the Heavens and earth and all that is between them and all that is beneath the ground. “O people who take pleasure in a world that will vanish, Falling in love with a fading shadow is sheer stupidity.” And then thinking about Allah (SWT) and thanking Him (SWT) because no matter where we are at, we are blessed… Everything that comes from Allah (SWT) to us, whether it is something that we love or hate, directs us to love Him (SWT). His (SWT) giving and withholdings, the good fortunes and the misfortunes that He (SWT) decrees for us and His (SWT) abasing them and elevating them, His (SWT) justice and His (SWT) grace, His (SWT) giving life and taking life away again, His (SWT) compassion, generosity, and veiling of our wrong actions, His (SWT) forgiveness and patience, His (SWT) response to our supplications even though He (SWT) is not in any need of us whatsoever should just invite us to love and worship Allah (SWT). Neither Allah’s (SWT) mercy or generosity towards us deter us from disobeying Him (SWT). In the same way, neither our disobedience nor our wrong actions deter Allah (SWT) from granting us His (SWT) blessings. He (SWT) gives us more than what we need even before asking Him (SWT). He (SWT) is pleased with even the little right action and increases its rewards. He (SWT) forgives untold wrong actions and wipes them out. So…”a remedy for love of this world is to break the worldly desires of the self, ending its greed for this world and purifying it in preparation for the next world. This will then be the state of the heart and sincere devotion will become easier to attain. There are a great many actions where a man acts, thinking they are purely intended for Allah’s pleasure, but he is deluded, for he fails to see the defects in them.” Ma-assalamah..... |
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