By Muhammad Nabil Bin Mohamad Zulkefly

“A person should not seek anything from God’s servants. If one wants anything, one should seek it from God, the Sovereign of the heavens and the earth.”

Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Purification of the Heart

This line from the book made me reflect deeply. We may be surrounded by the people we love, have sufficient sustenance and lead a comfortable life, but sometimes, deep down, we still feel empty and alone. There are days when I can’t help but wonder how to feel a sense of peace and tranquillity amidst everything that is going on around me.

Turning back to Allah ﷻ

Humans are created weak. 

We have to battle our nafs every day. 

AND SOMETIMES, WE FALL SHORT, FALTER AND COMMIT SINS. SYAITAN WILL MAKE US THINK THAT WE MUST ALWAYS BE PERFECT.

At some point, I have felt that I’m not good enough and that I am not worthy of Allah’s ﷻ forgiveness. An analogy a friend once shared with me is that of a bird. One wing is hope in Allah’s ﷻ Mercy, and the other is fear of Allah’s ﷻ Wrath. Without a proper balance of both, the bird could not fly properly. Hence, we should constantly seek a balance to keep moving forward. 

Leaning excessively towards fear of Allah’s ﷻ Wrath can be crippling and lead to excessive guilt or hopelessness because one feels that he is not worthy of Allah’s ﷻ Forgiveness. On the other hand, leaning excessively towards hope in Allah’s ﷻ Mercy might cause someone to feel that it is okay to sin as Allah ﷻ will forgive anyway.

We should never forget that Allah ﷻ is Al-Muqsith, The One who is most fair and just. At the same time, He is Al-Ghafur, the All-Forgiving. Yes, we would be held accountable for our deeds and actions. At the same time, we should constantly seek forgiveness from Allah ﷻ and have faith that He can grant us forgiveness. For it has been mentioned in the Quran:

 وَمَن يَعْمَلْ سُوٓءًا أَوْ يَظْلِمْ نَفْسَهُۥ ثُمَّ يَسْتَغْفِرِ ٱللَّهَ يَجِدِ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورًۭا رَّحِيمًۭا

“Whoever commits evil or wrongs themselves then seeks Allah’s forgiveness will certainly find Allah All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” 

Quran 4:110

Istighfar

One of the ways to seek forgiveness is through practising istighfar daily. We should aim to practise 100 istighfar daily, which is achieved by reciting it after every fardh prayer.

Living the Shahada

Referring back to the quote from the book at the beginning, it is crucial to realise that the proclamation of faith is way more than words uttered by the tongue. It is crucial to acknowledge and be aware that we are merely a slave of Allah ﷻ and that He is fulfilling our every need. This awareness should be exemplified in our daily activities. We are creations of Allah ﷻ that are dependent and in need. One of the ways to attain this is to strive to be grateful for all the abilities and blessings Allah ﷻ has bestowed upon us and to be more conscious in our prayers.

Four mannerisms a seeker should embody before God

• Allahu hadiri (Allah is with me)
• Allahu naziri (Allah is watching me) 
• Allahu shahidi (Allah witnesses me)
• Allahu ma’i (Allah is with me)

Allahu a’alam. All goodness is from Allah, and all shortcomings are from me.

Do You Believe in One God
& Ready to [Re]start your Journey of Faith & Gratitude as a Muslim?