RAMADAN REFLECTIONS
- Late Sister Mariya Hussain
- Feb 24, 2022
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 25, 2022
JOURNEY OF EEMAN
Is sweetness of Eeman an abstract concept? I found out through today's session, that it in fact isn't!
We really can feel it in your heart! Most of us work towards the betterment of our physical self, but what about the our spiritual improvement?
In order to get closer to Allah, we must first love him. In order to love Allah, we must first understand the word of Allah. This is the first step, to know what Allah and his Messenger have taught us.
When we say that we do in fact love Allah and his Messenger. This means that we must wholeheartedly, accept their guidance without a doubt in our mind and believe that is the best thing for us.
Once we submit to Allah, the biggest problem in our life will not seem like a problem, In Sha Allah. Because when we do submit to him, we truly believe that it is the Qadr of Allah, and that there is good in it for us. Once we are past this step, we will definitely experience the Sweetness of Eeman, In Sha Allah, or rather experience the feeling of having jannah in our hearts in this very duniya! Allah gives us the privilege of feeling that sukoon of being in jannah here in this duniya! Subhanallah! May Allah make us one from those who get the honour of feeling this sukoon.
DAY 2
What I learnt today is that tasting the sweetness of eeman is a gradual process. It's not something that we can experience all of a sudden. It happens in stages:
We must look inside ourselves and search for things that are bad (diseases of the heart). We must make conscious efforts to change these habits of ours. Ramadan is an excellent time for this, as we can clearly know which thoughts are from the shaytan and which ones are from our nafs.
Love Allah and his Messenger SAW more than anyone, including yourself. This means that we must kill our own desires and do what Allah has asked of us instead, and truly believe that there is khair in it for us.
Remembering Allah in everything we do. Even if it's just staring out the window, remember Allah and marvel at his extraordinary creations. Even while doing something bad, remember Allah and we will stop what we are doing, Immediately.
We must completely submit to Allah. We are his slaves and him, our Rabb. We must completely give ourselves up in his control. With Allah in control of our lives, we have to believe that nothing can go wrong and it will not, ان شاءالله.
Once we are in this stage, even our problems will not seem like problems. We will have jannah in our heart. Despite the circumstances outside, we will be at peace in our hearts, and in turn have jannah in it
When something is taken away from us, we must believe that it is from Allah, and he will definitely replace it with something better, ان شاءالله.
May Allah make us one of the lucky ones who get to experience the bliss of Jannah in this duniya.
DAY 3
Today, we learnt about the concept of Ihsan.
In order to truly experience Ihsan one has to have to have a pure heart, this is a prerequisite of sort. A pure heart is never satiated with the Qur'an. It will always want more.
But who can be a Muhsin? Everyone is not given the honour of being called a Muhsin. We can attain the level of Ihsan only when we truly believe that Allah has treated us with Ihsan (regardless of the trials and tribulations in our lives) Yusuf AS was called a Muhsin by many, because he was a Muhsin in every sense. After he was abandoned by his brothers, he didn't turn his back on them when they came seeking food during the famine.
In the Qur'an, Allah asks the people with Ihsan and Taqwa, "What did we send down for you?" And the people replied saying, "Good." People who enter Jannah would not have led an easier life. We know that Allah tests the ones He loves the most. But for these people to say that Allah has given them nothing but good despite all the struggles in their life, we truly need to love and trust Allah.
After the incident of Taif, when the Jinnat hear Muhammad ﷺ recite the Qur'an, they instantly accept Islam and hastily scattered to spread the word of Allah. We must take lessons from them. They had a pure heart and therefore understood the message instantly, سُـبْحانَ الله! We as humans are higher beings in comparison to the Jinnat, but this higher level of intellect actually comes in the way between us and our Lord sometimes.
DAY 4
How do we get closer to Allah? Who better to turn to than Allah Himself, to answer this question for us?
Allah tells us in one of the Hadith Al-Qudsi that we can draw near to Him by performing our obligatory duties towards him and draw even nearer by doing additional Ibadah (sunnah and nawafil). Allah promises that whoever does this, will attain His love! And what can be a bigger blessing than this?!
Allah further tells us that when He loves someone, 'I am his hearing with which he hears, his sight with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks.' سُـبْحانَ الله! When Allah Himself has taken the responsibility to guide our every single move, what more could we ask for?
But gaining such exceptional blessings cannot be easy. We must strive for them and earn them. Allah's love is not something that can be procured easily. We must constantly make Du'a to Allah to keep our hearts turned towards Him.
We must take care that we do not stray from the path to our Lord. Shirk need not necessarily be only associating partners with Allah. Allah says in the Qur'an,
قُلْ إِن كَانَ ءَابَآؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَآؤُكُمْ وَإِخْوَٰنُكُمْ وَأَزْوَٰجُكُمْ وَعَشِيرَتُكُمْ وَأَمْوَٰلٌ ٱقْتَرَفْتُمُوهَا وَتِجَـٰرَةٌ تَخْشَوْنَ كَسَادَهَا وَمَسَـٰكِنُ تَرْضَوْنَهَآ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْكُم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ وَجِهَادٍ فِى سَبِيلِهِۦ فَتَرَبَّصُوا۟ حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِىَ ٱللَّهُ بِأَمْرِهِۦ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلْفَـٰسِقِينَ
"Say, [O Muhammad], If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your relatives, wealth which you have obtained, commerce wherein you fear decline, and dwellings with which you are pleased are more beloved to you than Allah and His Messenger and jihad in His cause, then wait until Allah executes His command. And Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people." (9:24)
Who do we have in our hearts at the moment? Our parents? Our spouse? Who do we give importance to more than Allah and His messenger? The only One who can, and must be given priority in our lives is Allah. The moment we let these worldly associations (even if it is with our family) come before Him, we lose His love. Allah will take His guidance away from them!
Have faith in Allah. If His help is not reaching us, we must check ourselves. Check where we're falling short in pleasing Him. Pray to Him while rectifying our affairs. He will surely open His doors for us, In Sha Allah.
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