بِسْم الله الرحمن الرحيم
19-3-1438H
The Prophet ﷺ said:
من قام رمضان إيمانًا واحتسابًا غفر له ما تقدم من ذنبه
"He who observes optional prayer (Tarawih prayers) throughout Ramadan, out of sincerity of Faith and in the hope of earning reward will have his past sins pardoned." [Agreed Upon]
And in another narration:
من صام رمضان إيمانًا واحتسابًا، غفر له ما تقدم من ذنبه
"He who observes fasting during the month of Ramadan with Faith while seeking its reward from Allah, will have his past sins forgiven." [Agreed Upon]
We need strong faith in order to fast and establish the nights with prayer in Ramadan in the way pleasing to Allah. We should take the means of increasing our faith now. And when our faith is increased, it will produce fruits which benefit us both in this world and the next:
CONTINUATION: 8)
When any calamity befalls the believer, he immediately thinks of the reward he will attain from Allah. At the same time, he hopes for the removal of his distress; an exchange of his state to a better one. He does not despair of the Mercy of Allah. Also, he believes that Allah is Al-Hakeem, Ar-Raheem, Al-Wadud, when He afflicted him with the calamity. This comforts and consoles his heart.
The believer does not sit doing nothing, he takes the means of removal of his distress, whilst relying on Allah. There are people, who become paralyzed when a calamity befalls them. They cannot do anything nor think correctly. The believer will think correctly by hoping in Allah, taking the means, and waiting for relief from Allah.
This is regarding situations which can be changed. But what should a person do in the case where he loses someone beloved to him, by death? If a person is a believer, and has strong faith, his faith will comfort his heart.
Whenever the believer loses anyone or anything beloved, he is patient, and reminds himself of بيت الحمد (The House of Praise) in Paradise. The Prophet ﷺ said:
إذا مات ولد العبد، قال الله تعالي لملائكته: قبضتم ولد عبدي، فيقولون: نعم، فيقول: قبضتم ثمرة فؤاده، فيقولون: نعم. فيقول: ماذا قال عبدي، فيقولون: حمدك واسترجع، فيقول الله تعالى: ابنوا لعبدي بيتاً في الجنة، وسموه بيت الحمد
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "When a man's child dies, Allah, the Exalted, asks His angels, 'Have you taken out the life of the child of My slave?' and they reply in the affirmative. He then asks, 'Have you taken the fruit of his heart?' and they reply in the affirmative. Thereupon He asks, 'What did my slave say?' They say: 'He praised You and said: Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un (We belong to Allah and to Him we shall return).' Allah says: 'Build a house for my slave in Jannah and name it Baitul-Hamd (the House of Praise)."' [At-Tirmidhi #922]
He is consoled knowing that when he shows patience, he will taste the sweetness of faith. And this is not for everyone. There are two rewards:
1) In the Dunya - The person will taste the sweetness of faith.
2) In the Hereafter - The House of Praise
Sweetness of faith is where the heart will be mended by Allah, Al-Jabbar. If the person remains thinking of this beloved one who died, and always laments, remembering the days that passed, and does not think good of the event that occured, he is not being patient. Shedding tears out of grief is permissible, but not more than that. There are people who excessively talk about those who are dead, lament, live in grief for years. This all indicates that the person does not accept the death of that beloved person, and thus prevented himself from attaining the house of AlHamd in Paradise.
The believer knows that when a calamity befalls him, he has two rewards to think about: In the Dunya and in the Hereafter. He thinks positively. He thinks; الحمد لله this person died with a good end, without being afflicted in his religion, etc. When he thinks good, Allah will exchange this grief with good, and he will see the wisdom behind the calamity afflicting him, which he did not see in the beginning. Because he submitted to the decree of Allah, Allah uncovered the wisdom behind the calamity. Allah took this person at the right time, He did not make him suffer longer, etc.
It was to that extent that Ya'qoub عليه السلام loved Yusuf عليه السلام. He could not even bear the seperation of him going out to play with his brothers.
Death is much easier to accept than loss. When you lose children, you do not know - are they alive? Are they dead? Is their condition good? You will be in continuous anxiety and grief.
Ya'qoub عليه السلام's calamity was severe, especially for a father who loved his son immensely. Yet, look at the attitude of Ya'qoub عليه السلام in Surah Yusuf, see how his faith helped him overcome his calamity.
In Surah Yusuf [12:84-86]:
"And he turned away from them and said: "Alas, my grief for Yusuf (Joseph)!" And he lost his sight because of the sorrow that he was suppressing."
"They said: "By Allah! You will never cease remembering Yusuf (Joseph) until you become weak with old age, or until you be of the dead."
He turned away from them. He secluded himself, and did not tell his feelings directly to his children. He did not say that in front of the children, but when he was alone. He only complained to Allah. And this is the indication of صبر جميل (beautiful, good patience) - where you only complain of your state to Allah. Allah already knows, but Allah loves that you do that, as in the case of Zakariya عليه السلام in Surah Maryam [19:4]:
"Saying: "My Lord! Indeed my bones have grown feeble, and grey hair has spread on my head, And I have never been unblest in my invocation to You, O my Lord!"
And Ya'qoub did not despair of the Mercy of Allah. He was the one who told his sons to not despair of the Mercy of Allah. In Verse 87:
"O my sons! Go you and enquire about Yusuf (Joseph) and his brother, and never give up hope of Allah's Mercy. Certainly no one despairs of Allah's Mercy, except the people who disbelieve."
Her baby was just born, he was still being breastfed, and Allah ordered her to throw him into the river. After she threw him in the river, she was about to disclose his matter to the people, but Allah ربط her heart. Allah tied her heart, and as As-Sa'di mentioned, this means to be kept firm upon faith, until Allah relieved her. These are our examples; They did not lose hope in Allah. Musa عليه السلام's mother took the means and put her trust in Allah.
We need strong faith at the onset of calamities in order to stay firm, and Allah will reward us abundantly.
Because they knew Allah at the time of prosperity and ease, Allah kept them strong and firm during times of calamities. We have to take the means of increasing our faith, and this is by increasing our knowledge about Allah; His Names, Attributes, and the Impacts of that. Then, when a calamity occurs, we will be able to face it with strong faith - not collapse, and think negatively of Allah.
Forty or fifty years ago, people had hearts filled with faith. They really believed in Allah Ar-Razzaq. They would not know what they would eat tomorrow, they would take their Rizq day by day. But nowadays, the hearts of the people are filled with the Dunya; excessively thinking and worrying. There is more depression, more psychological problems, people bursting out of anger when one word is being said, etc. Everything is easy nowadays, but the problem is the hearts - there is lack of faith in the hearts.
If you increase knowledge about Allah, it will benefit you during the time of calamity.
This begins with the agonies of death, then to the grave, etc. No matter how great your distress is now, it is nothing compared to what we are going to face. We have to prepare ourselves for that time by strong faith.
During the agonies of death, the Shaytan will be so keen to attend in order to prevent the person from saying لا اله الا الله. Being kept firm is not in our power, Allah is the One who will keep the person firm, and enable him to say لا اله الا الله. Because during his life, this person learnt about Allah, worshipped Him by His Names. And when he is placed in his grave, when the Angels ask him who his Lord is, Allah will keep him firm, so that he will say: My Lord is Allah.
Know Allah at times of prosperity, and Allah will know you during times of difficulty. And times of difficulty are going to come in the future.
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