By Naqiyah Ahmad

His tests and trials were never meant to hurt or curse us; rather, they always came to bring us closer to Him. He tests us out of His Love and Mercy. Yet, as humans, somehow we still fail Him. Endless disappointments, endless downfalls. We are so fragile that it’s so easy for us to get to the edge, yet He—Al-Wadood and Al-Kareem, the Most Loving and the Most Generous—never gave up on us. He gave us a chance to wake up and try again. Countless chances and countless opportunities.

It can be dreadful and exhausting to get out of bed sometimes. You don’t want to move at all, not even open your eyes. You just silently wish to rot in your room. But He lets you wake up for a reason—it’s another one of His many gifts, so let’s give Him our thanks and try to strive together, okay?

Allah ﷻ has already told us everything we need to know to live peacefully, not just through the Quran but also through our Prophets, especially the Hadith, which includes the teachings, sayings, and practises of our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Hadiths supplements the teachings of the Quran by reinforcing what is Haram or Halal, what is Wajib/Fard and what is forbidden, what is impermissible and permissible and what is beneficial and non-beneficial. So, we should try to follow his ﷺ practises so that we may be like him ﷺ, with the intention of having a heart like his ﷺ. We will also learn of sunnah (Recommended), Makrooh (Not Recommended) and Mubah (Permissible acts that do not affect faith or relationship with God). We can also learn through the narrations of the Sahabah, who are companions of the Prophet ﷺ.

We need to understand that Allah ﷻ is Al-Khaaliq, The Creator, The Maker. He created everything including the things around us and even our tests in life. Some may argue as to how restricted Islam is, but if we take a slight glance, the reality is that there is more freedom than restriction. There is so little that we can’t do, and that is only in our best interests. Allah ﷻ loves us so much that He wants to protect us—how could we not see that? Why do we still hurt ourselves by disobeying Him? But each time He wakes us up each day. He is giving us another chance to repent, to look His way and to pursue Him ﷻ. We are imperfect creatures; we were never meant to be flawless and we are a work in progress. That is why He gave us an entire lifespan so that we may spend our time alive on the Journey of Pursuit (of Him). With each breath we take and each second that we live, we should continue to perfect our Love for Him and our Love of Him. As our elders, teachers and scholars have been constantly reminding us, the best way to stick to His Path, is to maintain Istighfar. Even if our faith fluctuates, we need to keep pushing ourselves to stay close to Him. By maintaining Istighfar, we will keep reminding ourselves of Him, which pushes us to want Him.

MAYBE YOU FELL AND RELAPSED LAST WEEK. YOU FEEL WORTHLESS AND HOPELESS YET YOU WAKE UP THE NEXT DAY. ISTIGHFAR. HE IS WAITING FOR YOU TO ASK HIM FOR FORGIVENESS. HE IS WAITING FOR YOU TO CALL HIS NAME. HE IS WAITING FOR YOU TO DECLARE YOUR UNDYING LOVE FOR HIM. HE WILL NEVER ABANDON YOU.

And I trust that You ﷻ will never forget me, my Lord, my Love. For Your Love, I will never forget You too. Please let us seek You ﷻ , more and more, until our last breath, however we can.

Ibn ‘Abbas said:

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “If anyone constantly seeks pardon (from Allah), Allah will appoint for him a way out of every distress and a relief from every anxiety, and will provide sustenance for him from where he expects not.”

Riyad as-Salihin

There are two main learning methods: academic and practical. 

Academic learning would mean attending a school with structured classes on related topics, which usually come with exams and the like. Practical learning would mean that you take in the knowledge little by little, slowly internalise it and practise it. Let these learnings be a part of our Journey to Him. We should constantly remind ourselves that our life is temporary—it’s a Journey. And if done right, our soul will reunite with Him. Our bodies will perish when we die, but not our souls.

Our soul is our true life. Don’t neglect it.

Just like how you take a shower and eat breakfast every morning, do the same for your soul. Start your day with Tahajjud, start your mind and soul with Allah ﷻ . Feed yourselves the real meals of the day: Solat and dhikr. Take care of your heart, remember Him and seek knowledge of Him. Be consistent in practising the Deen; it will nourish the soul. Maintain good character; just like how we take care of our parents after they raised us, we must have good character towards Allah ﷻ by learning about Him with repentance and gratitude. It’s not enough to just be born a Muslim: the entrance to Islam may be shahadah but we must still do our part to pursue Him ﷻ, till we reach the level of Ihsan. InshaAllah.

It’s an honour to be Muslim. While this Dunya teaches us to take care of our body, the Allah ﷻ and His Prophet ﷺ taught us to take care of our heart and soul.

So I’ll keep trying. I won’t give up. I need You. I’m in desperate need of You, so please don’t forget me.

فَٱذْكُرُونِىٓ أَذْكُرْ كُمْ وَ ٱشْكُرُوا۟ لِى وَ لاَ تَكْفُرُونِ

“Remember Me, and I will remember you, and be thankful to Me, and be not ungrateful to Me.”

Quran 2:152

Do You Believe in One God
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