Lots of storms recently thrashing the UK. The pictures look quite devastating. One picture that made me smile (maybe I shouldn’t have!) was a man who went for a walk, and the gust of wind took him flailing in the air. Surreal. Just by chance someone was there with a camera and took the pic! I am sure he planned it! After the Summer 2007 floods, weather gets people anxious. According to some “boffins” the Summer floods were freak. What gives? Allah gives us signs to see the error of our ways, and it seems we just wave them away insignificantly.
These are times to ponder on Allah’s Greatness, His Control over over one of our affairs, and to relent back to Him in submission. All of the signs whether causing affliction or happiness, should in fact lead us back to our Creator. Makes you wonder at times, when we have turbulence in our lives, which make us feel down, or the highs, that makes us buoyant. The lows are not too appreciated, but the highs are. As one Arab proverb has it:”Allah sometimes takes us into troubled waters, not to drown us , but to cleanse us”. So there you have it. Allah gives us trials in order that we may advance in His sight through our patience and perseverance, and adherence to His Obedience.
Maulana Saleem Dhorat said: “If a subservient servant of Allah ta’ala is experiencing any pain in this world then he should comfort himself with the fact that this pain is only temporary. For after death such a person will experience nothing but comfort.”
Many a time, we get flustered and frustrated because of hurdles en-route our road of life, whether that be the car breaking down, family disputes, illnesses, work, and so on. Most of the time, the circumstances are out of our control so we feel more inhibited. Mulling on the problems increases our stress, and magnifies discomfort. We should show gratitude for all those things that are going right in our life. Praise Allah for our families who are safe and well, the car in the drive, food, lights, electricity, law and order, safety in our community (compare that to Gaza or Rwanda, and you will know what I mean). and many other things. If it helps, write them down, and give thanks to Allah for all these Blessings. Allah gives us these “speed bumps” so that we begin to reflect, repent and resolve to bring our lives on the correct path.
Try not to think about what happened, but ponder on what could have happened i.e. we were saved from a worst calamity. If it is a terrible calamity, then one should really count one’s blessing in other areas, after all look around and see people in a worst state that us. Prophet Muhammad (May the choicest of Allah be upon him) advised us to look towards those in worly matters to those worse off than us (so we give thanks), and in religious matters (to those better than ourselves) so we excel ourselves in our connection to Allah SWT.
When Sa’eed bin Jubair was asked by a furious Hajjaj (the notorious bloodshedder), to choose his mode of execution. Sa’eed May Allah have Mercy on him, replied wittily, “as you would like to be executed!” Brilliant comment. Apart from the fantastic bold remark, it brought home to me, how much love of Prophet Muhammad (May the choicest of Allah be upon him) these pious people have as he appeared to be pointing out his teachings to the tyrant. When I read this, I remembered the beautiful Hadith of Prophet Muhammad (May the choicest of Allah be upon him): None of you can be a believer until he likes for his brother what he likes for himself. (Bukhari). What he was saying to Hajjaj was treat me, the way you would like to be treated. It is said that when he was executed Hajjaj marvelled at the blood that streamed out of Sa’eed’s body. When he asked his physicians the reason for this, they replied that due to his cool, calm, and unruffled composure, his blood retained its normal state. When a person is on the gallows, he is so frightened that as soon as he is executed, the blood curdles.
This goes to show that despite conditions of stress Sa’eed (May Allah have Mercy on him) was not the least perturbed, as he knew that he was going to a better place. It is all about managing difficult situation, and when we have a close connection with the Creator, then Allah is enough for us.
So, tell me your experiences. Agree or disagree? Any thing to add? Talk to me.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.