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Prepare for Battle!
A_Stranger
11/13/04 at 10:55:56
http://www.hidayaonline.com/archives/000012.html

[center]Prepare for Battle[/center]

by Mostafa Khalifa
[Editor's Note] This article first appeared on Eid-ul-Fitr 1424. It appears once again on the front page of Hidaya on this day of Eid-ul-Fitr 1425. Eid Mubarak, brothers and sisters. Kull 'aam wantum bi khair.

Assalaamu alaikum,

Kull sana wantum tayyibeen ... kull `aam wantum bi khayr ... kull sana wantum salmeen ... Eid mubarak ... Eid kareem ... Eid sa`eed ... Feliz Eid Ul-Fitr ... Happy Eid Ul-Fitr (Feast Celebrating the End of the Fast of Ramadan). Prepare for battle.

Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar! Laa illaha illa Allah!

Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar! Wa lillah-il-hamd!

It is a an amazing blessing that our Creator has given us in allowing the vast majority of all Muslims around the world to celebrate this Eid Ul-Fitr on the same day! No need for explanations to teachers, co-workers and colleagues on why different Muslims they may know are celebrating the same holiday on different days. Recognize this as a mercy our Lord has bestowed upon the Ummah! No doubt that many of us prayed that we would all meet up on the same day to celebrate Eid :) Prepare for battle.

May Allah accept our Ramadan -- our fasting, our prayers, our duaa', our ruku`, our sujood, our qiyaam, our dhikr, our zakaah, our sadaqah, our dawah, our sleepless nights, our early mornings, our new bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood, our rekindling of old friendships, our strengthening of ties with our families and relatives and all of our good deeds we have performed during this blessed month. Let us continue all of these practices, and develop them into habits -- and not into accidents, anomalies and aberrations. Prepare for battle.

Confused yet? Think I may have finally lost it (if you hadn't thought so already)? Maybe, but then again, maybe not ;) Prepare for battle.

So where's the battle, you ask? No, ISRU doesn't have any weirdo speaking this week (remember, no meeting, school is closed on Thursday). This is a battle that requires each and every one of us to enlist. Don't worry, I'm not getting you in trouble with any law enforcement officials.

We just finished a month of all or some of the stuff mentioned above. But we had help. Allah chained up the shayateen to allow us some freedom from their temptations and whispers so that we could get the ball rolling for the entire month. It was a lesson in energy -- potential vs. kinetic. The more we went through the month, the more we seemed to be able to do. The later in the calendar, the more prayers, duaa', charity, etc. we were able to push ourselves to do -- requiring less and less effort -- moving faster and faster downhill like a ball or car rolling down the side of the mountain. Felt good, didn't it?

We all need to understand something. Now that Ramadan is over, Allah has released the shackles on the shayateen. Did you see how full the masjid was a couple of night ago (especially for the last 10 days of Ramadan and Laylatul Qadr)? How many people were at ishaa' tonight (after we found out there was no taraweeh)? How many will be there for the daily prayers tomorrow, next week, next month? Pretty shameful, don't you think?

Here comes the battle. You think the shayateen will be coming at you like they were before Ramadan? You've got to be kidding! They've been chomping at the bit, aching to be freed so they can come at us. Brothers and sisters, the shayateen will be coming at us with a vengeance!!! Prepare for battle.

These first days of Shawwaal, especially all 3 days of Eid, the shayateen will be out in full force. They would love nothing more than to mock each and every one of us -- "Got Islam? Got Imaan? Let's see how religious you've become ... come over here and commit this sin ... go over there and look at this (College Ave -- enuff said) ... forget all that prayer, duaa' and charity -- that show was nice for your family, friends and the imam, now go be worse than you were before we were held back from you! ... You thought your hearts were softened and purified, think again!". Prepare for battle.

So how can we prepare for this battle? We need each other. It has become very difficult to keep the same intensity up as we had in Ramadan. We need to continue to surround ourselves with good brothers and sisters who want to hold strong to each other, to work hard together, to pick one another up when we need that support. Prepare for battle.

We need to be on guard, to keep our defenses up like never before. These next few weeks are critical for us. Are we thinking twice before committing a sin now, or are we jumping head first as if Ramadan was some kind of torture? These weeks will give us some idea if our duaa' and prayers for forgiveness and guidance to the Straight Path (Siraat Al-Mustaqeem) were answered. It may give us an indication if we were able to find Laylatul Qadr (the Night of Power) and if our duaa' and prayers were answered on that night -- a night better than 1000 months! Prepare for battle.

Keep up what you've been doing. Do some extra prayers regularly (even if only 2 nafl prayers per night). Read some Qur'an each day (even if only a few verses/ayaat). Make dhikr each day -- just say subhan Allah, alhamdu lillah, Allahu akbar, laa illaha illa Allah, and astaghfirullah as you walk or drive to school/work. Make duaa' to the Almighty Creator at least twice a day (when you wake up and before you sleep). And continue to strengthen the bonds of friendship, brotherhood and sisterhood with good, upright brothers and sisters by staying in touch with the brothers and sisters you have grown closer to this month and joining forces in doing good deeds, praying together in groups and going with each other to the masjid.

Remember how you felt as the days, the hours, the final minutes and seconds of Ramadan were slipping away? Many of us were thinking, "Aww man, we were just warming up!" We've done so much good, why let it go to waste? Are we going to have to struggle to get that ball, that old car to the top of the hill again next Ramadan (if we live to see it)? Why not use the momentum we gained this month to push forward? Why not raise more money for needy children all over the world (*I'm still collecting money for Islamic Relief, e-mail me for info*)? Why not come forward to help ISRU, MCMC and your local Muslim center/group and offer any services or skills you have for the sake of Allah? Let us keep striving -- together -- so that we can start the month of Ramadan off with a running start next year?

To do this, these next few weeks are the key. Brothers and sisters, let us promise Allah and ourselves to do everything we can starting today, this very first day of Eid. Let us celebrate together, come together to work together to this end. Prepare for battle.

It starts today. All brothers and sisters who want to do this, send me an e-mail <mostafa@eden.rutgers.edu> with your ideas, suggestions and solutions. Send me what you feel you would be good at it -- whatever it may be. If you can write, cook, teach, speak, jump, tutor, play -- WHATEVER, there is a way we can benefit Islam and benefit the ummah. The ummah needs us now more than ever. Prepare for battle.

Our brothers and sisters, our young and our old, our sick and our weak in Palestine, Kashmir, Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya, the Philippines, Sudan, Gujarat, Guantanamo Bay, Europe, North and South America -- they are all suffering because we have let them suffer, by not fulfilling our duties to Allah and to each other, thinking only of ourselves. I intentionally left this part to the end. We need serious people with enough patience to get through one of my e-mails willing to work toward this goal. I am looking forward to all of your responses, and to working with each of you who have taken the time to read this, think about these words and to do your part to be a part of the solution and the renaissance of our community. Prepare for battle.

Kull sana wantum tayyibeen ... kull `aam wantum bi khayr ... kull sana wantum salmeen ... Eid mubarak ... Eid kareem ... Eid sa`eed ... Feliz Eid Ul-Fitr ... Happy Eid Ul-Fitr. Prepare for battle.

Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar! Laa illaha illa Allah!

Allahu akbar, Allahu akbar! Wa lillah-il-hamd!

Asalaamu `alaikum,

[i]Mostafa Khalifa[/i]


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