That day, I had to go see a friend. Since the meeting place was in the middle of the city, I decided to use the train instead of driving to avoid getting stuck in the traffic. As I boarded the train, I saw most seats had been taken, except for a few, so, I decided on one and sat down.
I looked around me and saw bored faces waiting to reach their destinations. But there was this one face I front of me whom my eyes were glued to. The woman looked so distracted and distraught. Obviously, her mind was fully occupied with something serious, like a heavy burden. She was just staring blankly in front of her. Her body was there, but her mind was definitely somewhere else…!
I just couldn’t help but wonder why she looked that way. Was her family in trouble? Was anyone sick? Perhaps she was facing financial difficulties. Allahu a’lam(Allah know best).
I remembered one of Allah’s verses that can be translated as:
“We do not impose on any self any more than it can stand. With Us there is a Book which speaks the truth. They will not be wronged.” (Al-Mu’minun, 23:62)
How I wish I could tell her this. Don’t be so worried. Allah will not test you more than you can bear. But what would be rather presumptuous, don’t you think? Perhaps she new about this verse. But then again, what if she didn’t know? Wouldn’t this verse get rid of her worries and bring her great relief? Relief to know that whatever tests and trials she may have been facing were actually bearable, because Allah shall never impose on anyone anything more than what the person can handle.
Caliph’ Ali Ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) once said:
“The one who longs for paradise will rush towards good deeds; the one who dreads Hell will put an end to his vices; The one who has firm conviction in()the imminent arrival of) death will lose all his passions; and The one who really knows the dunya will find disasters easy to bear.”
“The one who knows dunya woud find disaster easy to bear.”What did he mean by this?I needed to crack the wise words of our Prophet’s son-in-law,who was the husband of Lady Fatimah,as well as one of the companionsof the Prophet(peace be upon him)guaranteed Paradise.
Well,dunya ,a.k.a. “ this world,”is a temporary abode,not permanent.It is a place to test the believers and separate the faithful from the rebellious.The higher the iman(faith)of a person ,the bigger the test will be.Noting in this world will last,and there will be a day when everything will be destroyed-the Day of Judgement.Our real life will then be in the Hereafter,Paradise.
No wonder Caliph’Ali said that.Now I understand.If we know that,then whatever we face here,no matter how bad the disaster,is only temporary.Just be patient with every test,and soon enough we will,in sha’Allah,receive His bounty and rewards in a place that is permanent.Forever.Eternal
Listen to what Allah said here:
(Or id you imagine that you were going to enter the Garden without God knowing those among of you who had struggle and knowing the steadfast?)(Al-‘Imran 3:142)
So,the reason why Allah tries us is actually to see if we are qualified for His jannah-just like when we have to sit for an entrance examination before enrolling into a prestigious institution.If we pass the test and make the cut,we are in .Otherwise,there is no place for us there.It is very fair,don’t you think?
Subhan Allah,what an attractive way of thinking!
As I thought further,I realized that,Caliph’Ali’s wise words aside,this feeling of worry actually very destructive.It can make people be in a state of continuous depression,sadness,anxiety, and nervousness.It can affect someone quite negatively-both psychologically and physically.I am sue many would agree with me,right?
Wory does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow;it empties today of its strength.
This is so true.People who worry are in a stateof hopelessness at all times,which may result in loss of interest in the future.Their future.Why?Because we ,as humans,definitely do not know what is going to happen to us later.Therefore,we can never be sure of anything-not even what will happen to us in the next two seconds.Tick.Tock.Yes,those two seconds.
So,what are we supposed to do now in order to ensure that our minds are at peace?What needs to be done so that we can sleep peacefully at night,stop our palms from sweating all the time,and prevent our hearts from racing unnecessarily?
This is what Allah told us to do:
(Says:Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allah has ordainedfor us.He is our Lord and in Allah let the believers put their trust.)
(At-Taubah 9:51)
In Him,we should all put all our trust.
Isn’t it wonderful to have a rope to hang on to?To know that everything that happens to us has been ordained by Allah?
This actually means that we should not be surprised at all about anything that takes place.It has been planned and penned by Allah.It is just that we don’t know about it.
Now,let me ask you a question.If it is our Lord and Creator who has ordained this trial on us,then,logically speaking,whom should we turn to when seeking help?If we have medical problems,do we go to see a banker?If we have a problem understanding mathematics,do we seek the help of a language teacher?
Our beloved Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him)left us with a prayer(du’aa’)that he used to recite when dealing with worries about the future:
“Allahuma aslih li deeni alladhi huwa ‘ismatu amri,wa aslih li dunyaya allati fiha ma’aashi,wa aslih li akhirati allati ilayha ma’aadi,waj’al al-hayata ziyadatan li fi kulli khayr,wal-mawta rahatan li min kulli sharr.”
“O Allah,correct my religious commitment,which is the foundation of my life ,and correct my wordly affairs in which is my livelihood,and grant me a good in the Hereafter to which is my return.Make my life a means of accumulating good,and make death a respite for me from all evil.”(Muslim)
And he also said:
“Allahumma rahmataka arju fa la takilni ila nafsi tarfata ‘aynin wa aslih li sha’ni kullahu,la ilaha illa anta.”
“O Allah,for Your mercy I hope,so do not abandon me to myself even for a moment.And correct all my affairs.There is no god but You.”(Abu Dawud and classed as hasan by al-Albani)
A perfect prayer for a stressed soul,subhan Allah.
Imagine…asking Allah to correct my wordly and spiritual matters,asking Allah not to abandon me,even for a second,to make my life in this world blessed with goodness and make my death as a relief for me from evil.Allah!
And,in the end,Allah says that:
(And whosoever puts his trust in Allah,then He will suffice him.)
(At-Talaq 65:3)
Of course,once we put our trust in Him,everything else seems so small and trivial.He is Al-Barr(the Most Kind),The Source of Goodness…
How I wish we could all have the same level of conviction as a Caliph’Umar below…
I do not care in what state I wake up in the morning-wether it’s good or bad-since I do not know what is good for me and what is bad.
Just imagine how contented and peaceful his heart and mind were with such a level of trust in his Lord…
Let me share with you a poem I once read,entitled Yesterday,Today and Tomorrow:
Today is the tomorrow I worried about yesterday
And today was such a lovely day,
That I wondered why I worried about today yesterday
So today I am not going to worry about tomorrow
There may not bea tomorrow anyway
So today I am going to live as if there is no tomorrow
And I am going to forget about yesterday.
Today is the tomorrow I planned for yesterday
And nearly all my plans for today did not plan out the way I thought they would yesterday
So today I am forgetting about tomorrow and I will plan for today
But not too strenuously
Today I will stop to smell a rose
I will tell a loved one how much I love her
I will stop planning for tomorrow and plan to make today the best day of my life.
Today is the tomorrow I was afraid of yesterday
And today was nothing to be afraid of
So today I will banish fear of the unknown
I will embrace the unknown as a learning experience full of exciting opportunities
Today,unlike yesterday,I will not fear tomorrow.
Today is the tomorrow I dreamed about yesterday
And some of the dreams I dreamt about yesterday came true today
So today I am going to continue dreaming about tomorrow
And perhaps more of the dreams I dream today will come true tomorrow.
Today is the tomorrow I set goals for yesterday
And I reached some of those goals today
So today I am going to set slightly higher goals for today and tomorrow
And if tomorrow turns out to be like today
I will certainly reach all of my goals one day!
Certainly,I will,in sha’Allah.Don’t you just love the way this poem twists both your tongue and your mind?it is beautifully penned by the unknown poet,who I think has put a lot of his time into observing and contemplating life,ma sha’Allah.
So now my friends-a question for you and me.is it worth worrying too much about tomorrow?Because tomorrow is yesterday’s today.And my today looks just fine and wonderful,Alhamdulillah.
Is yours so,too?If yes,then what are we doing with”worry”sitting here with us?If no,then,still-why worry when tomorrow is a brand new day!
Remember what Charles Schultz said once:
Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today.It’s already tomorrow in Australia.
So,let us all toss Mr.Worry out of the window,and out the window he should go.I have thrown away my “Mr.Worry” just seconds ago.Is yours thrown out too?
Come,let me help you…:
Goodbye,Mr.Worry!
Doesn’t that feel great?Totally!Alhamdulillah…s
No comments:
Post a Comment