By Muhammad Uzair Bin Irwan

Alhamdulillah Allah SWT has blessed us with yet another retreat to return to him.

How generous is he to continue giving us chances time after time, knowing our sins, our hypocrisy, our deceit, and our absent mindedness of him.

He still gives us the Hayat and use the day surrounded with his gifts. Our ability to draw breath, think, use this husk of a body and so much more.

What more of a sign that we have to search for to tell us that the days given to us should be used to WORSHIP him.

And this retreat grants us this sacred ability to do so. To isolate oneself and dedicate the mind and body to one purpose. 

This was the second retreat at Masjid Sembawang that we have attended. We noticed something distinct that has changed ever so slightly since the last retreat.

Our ability to focus on the dhikr of Allah swt came easier. Our Quality of our solat seemed more refined. The difficulty of having less convenience and entertainment softened. And this slight and minor improvement came at the cost of hours if not days of practice.

And of course the sohbah (companionship) of our purbhais (peers) and teachers whose eyes remind us of Allah SWT.  This is what each retreat with the Hayyul and Kayyum of Allah gifts us. 

We had always thought that worshipping Allah and acknowledging him was easy.

In retrospect, it is. But this ideology should influence the new Muslim or a child (whose accountability may not be taken into consideration) to ease them into the religion.

But we are no longer that.

We are supposed to be experienced Muslims. Already steadfast.

Our teacher always repeats this rhetorical mantra “How many times we keep asking basic questions like, ‘Does digging our nose break wudu?’, ‘Does our fast break if we do such and such?’”.

And he makes sense because after decades in the practice of Islam we are still evidently LOST. And directionless.

We need to be experts of Islam.

And alhamdulillah the retreats that we have been going to are only the right steps in this direction of perfecting our Islam.

And anyone who has even the slightest of idea of the Barakah Allah has for us when compared to this temporary world would chase and be eager for such activities. 

Each retreat has only been a blessing for us.

And Inshallah may we use this as a means to perfect ourselves in the deen and carry this religion to the next generation. 

Jazakallah

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