Reflections... { Check this thread often for updates }

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The Locks on the Door

I always lock my doors before going outside. I believe all of us do the same to protect our valuable properties from the thieves. I have seen people with more than 3 locks on the door and some also have a specialized integrated alarm system against forceful entry! Some also have 24 hours live monitoring systems built in the house. Then one day I was thinking, it is quite sad that we use so many locks in order to safeguard some belongings, but, we have little or no locks at all in ourselves to safeguard our iman from Shaitan and evils of this world. This iman, which is more precious than any material thing, needs more protection than our belongings.

c/o IslamCan

[under_cover]

:shock: wow!!!

*speechless*

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Obeying the Traffic Laws


In Canada, drivers are very attentive towards obeying the traffic signals and regulations. These traffic lights and signals are not alive, yet drivers are very punctual in following them. I myself stop at red lights and stop signs even while driving at 2 a.m. at night when all the roads are virtually empty. I know that there are no cars to hit, yet, I stop and obey the rules. What causes me to do this? It is the recognition of those behind the rules (Government) that pushes me to obey them even when they are not visible around me.

Today, because we have no recognition of Allah, we are disobeying Him day and night. Unlike the dead traffic signals, Allah is ever Living and ever Watchful. We will have to stand in front of Him on the Day of Judgment. We have learned to obey dead objects yet we have decided to disobey Allah, who is the King of all the kings.

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When We Are Shopping


When we are shopping, some items need more of our attentions than others. For example, the ordinary items that we buy, such as a pack of salt or a box of tissue papers, need little or no attention from us. On the other hand, when we need to buy a matching pant for a dress, we use our best judgments to pick the closest match.

Today, praying has become ordinary to us. As a result, we pay very little attention towards Allah while we pray. We start the prayer saying Allahu Akbar (Allah is the Greatest) and repeat it many times throughout the prayer, however, not even once do we realize the greatness of Allah. It is time that we stop taking prayer as an ongoing ritual. Rather, we should have full concentration towards Allah while praying as we do towards the colours and shapes while buying a matching pant for a dress.

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20 Minutes of Tahajjud


Some people say that a person without a job is more busy than a person who is working because a jobless person is always going here and there to look for jobs. Even if this person gets a job that requires him to stay up all night will do so as he needs to earn money. This is the nature of human beings. When he knows the value of something, he will try to attain it even if it be hard for him.

Allah Ta'ala has granted us the gift of Tahajjud Prayer. Through this prayer, we can get many blessings from Allah. Problems such as sickness, family issues, money, hunger, etc can easily be removed by praying to Allah at Tahajjud time. However, because we did not recognize the value of this prayer, it is very difficult for us to spare only 10-20 minutes of our sleep to get up and pray. On the other hand, for some money, we are ready to stay up the whole night.

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Feeding the Horse

Suppose you use a horse for transportation as people have done in the past. One of your friends invites you to his house and you get there by riding your horse. Now, what would happen if your friend totally ignores you and starts feeding and looking after the horse only? You will feel confused as yourself, the rider, was suppose to be the guest, not the horse that you rode on.

The above situation sounds abnormal but that is exactly what we are doing today. Allah has given us a body and a soul. The soul rides on the body to pass through this world. In other words, the body is like the horse and the soul is like the rider of the horse. Today, we are continuously busy in feeding and looking after the body but totally ignored the well being of our souls. As a result, our souls have become so weak without the spiritual food that it is not strong enough to even push us to go to the Masjid or wake up for Fajr prayer. Thus, it is essential that we strengthen our soul with the spiritual food as shown by Islam, such as keeping the company of the pious, recitation of the Holy Quran, Dhikr of Allah and contemplating over the Greatness of Allah.

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Going Up the Stairs

In our area, we rented a room on the 12th floor of an apartment building for performing salah with jamath. This particular building was chosen because 100s of Muslim families live here and there was no Masjid in the walking distance. One day as we came to pray salah, we discovered that all the elevators were occupied or out of service. So, me and another brother decided to take the stairs. After reaching the 8th floor, we were exhausted and could barely keep on climbing. Then, suddenly something came to the mind of the brother who was climbing with me. He said, "Going up the stairs is very difficult, but going down is very easy. Similar is our iman, losing it is very easy but gaining it is very difficult."

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One Seed to a Forest


There is a saying "There lies a forest in every seed". We all have seen that after planting a seed, it grows up to be a plant, which then gives out fruits with many other seeds. Therefore, a forest can be grown from one seed if we kept on planting the new seeds that come out from it. It is indeed one of the evident miracles of Allah!

Similarly, the kalimah, there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His messenger, is only one sentence in size but it contains the entire paradise in it. Success in this world, in the grave, on the Day of Judgement and hereafter lies only in obeying the message of this kalimah.

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Buying a New Car


When a person buys a new car, he always tries to keep it clean and safe from any type of damages. He will also drive very safely to avoid accidents, as he doesn't want a slight dent on his new car. Even if his own beloved child makes a small scratch on the car, he will become angry and tell the child to stay away from it next time. What makes this person to care for his car so much? It's because he has spent a lot of money and energy behind acquiring the car.

Today, not only one scratch, people are putting thousands of scratches on Islam from all sides. But how many Muslims care? Very few. Why don't they care? It's because they have not spent their health and wealth for the sake of Islam. As a result, they have no value for it. The companions of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) realized the value of Islam because they acquired Islam by sacrificing much of their energy and wealth.

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Going to the President's House


What would you do if you were invited to the President's House for a friendly visit? If I was invited, I would feel very special, as the President of the country has selected me to come over! I would let my relatives and friends know about this great news. I would wear the best clothes, the best perfumes and try to look my best. I would postpone all my other activities for later and cancel any plans that I might have had for that day. If I met any friends on the way, I would tell them where I was going. Overall, I would be very excited to visit the President's house.

On the other hand, the King of all kings, the Creator of all kings, the Owner of the heavens and the earths, Allah the All Mighty, invites us to His house (Masjid) everyday. But sadly, we are not excited at all to visit His house. If we had any plans, we would gladly carry them out and delay going to the Masjid. Moreover, if a friend meets on the way to the Masjid, we feel hesitant to say that we are going to pray. In fact, majority of the people decide to pay a visit to the Masjid only during the two Eid. That too gets cancelled if they have work or something else to do. We have learned to value the material things of this world; yet, we have not learned the Greatness of the One who created them.

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$25 Per Hour


What would you prefer, a work-at-home job for $1 per hour or a job that requires you to go to a place which is a little far from your house but the pay is $25 per hour? I would choose the $25 per hour job. Everyone who is able bodied will also gladly accept the $25 per hour offer. After all, we go out of our homes to work anyway.

A person who offers salah in his house will only get 1 reward for it. But a person who goes to the Masjid and offers the prayer will get 25 to 27 times more rewards! Unfortunately, many of us have decided to earn less when it comes to the matters of the hereafter. Allah Ta'ala will grant us something great in Jannah (Paradise) for each and every good deed that we perform in this world. So, we should put more effort in decorating our Jannah than decorating our homes in this world.

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Watching a Movie


The car parking lots of movie theatres seem to be always full. Even during late nights, there seem to be always people gathering to watch the latest movies. The movies are usually one to two hours long, yet the audiences keep sitting from the beginning to the end. When they come out, they talk about their favorite parts for many days to come. Sometimes, they talk so much about the movie that they convince other people to watch it also. Same thing happens with people's favorite TV shows or other programs. They remain glued to the TV even if the program goes on for hours and hours.

But, what happens when suddenly we are asked to sit for an Islamic lecture or an event for a short while? I have observed myself and many others looking at the watch continuously and waiting to run out of the Masjid. Forget about discussing what we have learned, as soon as we get out, we are angry at those who kept us sitting there for maybe 30 minutes or more. Sometime ago in a Masjid, a person during Jumah actually stood up and told the Imam to stop the Khutbah because the talk went little bit longer than the usual length. This happens because we have not inculcated the love of Allah in our hearts. If we recognized that it is Allah who gave us the time, health, wealth and everything we possess, then we would not be miser in using them for the sake of Allah. On the other hand, our heart is so much filled with the love of this world, that we are ready to spend hours behind watching something which we know is fake and unreal.

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An Important Letter


What happens when you receive an important letter from someone, do you put it away or immediately open it and read it? I believe, all of us would open the letter and read it. If you don't know how to read, you would find someone who could and let him read it out to you. In short, we would take the letter seriously as it contains important information.

On the other hand, how do we treat the Holy Quran, which is an important message from Allah? Our future of this world and the hereafter is in knowing this message. But, do we read the Quran? May be only a few of us. Instead of reading, we cover the Quran with a beautiful cloth and put it away on a high shelf. Would we do the same with the above mentioned important letter? Not at all. So, it's time that we realize the value of the Quran and read it often to know its important message.

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Not Going to Work


Suppose a person owns a shop to earn his livelihood. He goes to the shop everyday to maintain sales and customers. Now, what will happen if he doesn't go to the shop and open it for one day? He will suffer some loss. What if he doesn't go for two, three, four or five days? He will suffer a big loss. Eventually he will become a failure if he continues not to go.

As Muslims, we are to live in this world as presenters of Islam. Our job is to practice Islam fully and show the whole humanity what Islam is. But, many of us have not been fulfilling our duties for 20 years! Some for 60 years! What is the loss for not doing our job for so many years? The whole world is affected. Most Non Muslims are dieing as Non Muslims and Muslims are dieing without iman and repentance. Don't be happy by seeing one or two people becoming Muslims. In the countries of Africa, South America, Central America, etc, millions of Muslims have been leaving Islam for some money and food. If us Muslims did our assigned job, then no one would remain hungry in this world. If we paid our due zakah, then no one would buy the hell fire with few dollars from the missionaries.

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Defective Key


Suppose, you are given a key to open a lock. What would happen if the key is damaged or half of it is missing? Would the lock open? No. What if you are trying to insert the key upside down? The lock will still remain closed.

Similarly, salat is the key to Paradise. In order to open the doors of Paradise, we must make our salat proper. If our salat is totally opposite to the ways of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), then it is as if we are trying to put the key upside down. And if we don't have concentration and devotion in salat, then it is as if we are planning to use a damaged key to open a very secured lock. Finally, if we do not complete our prayers with all the necessary actions, then it is the same as using a key which is missing parts or half broken.

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How Embarrassing!

People usually feel embarrassed when they do something wrong in front of a crowd. The embarrassment increases as the size of the crowd increase. For example, a person will feel more embarrassed if his/her faults are revealed in front of a thousand people than in front of only 10 people. Imagine how you would feel if your faults were broadcasted through the media to all the people in your country.

We are very particular in protecting our honour and dignity in this world, however, while disobeying Allah, are we mindful of the Day of Judgement when we will be standing in front of Allah in the presence of the whole humanity? Besides the ordinary people, all the prophets will be present along with all the sahabah, martyrs and pious individuals. How embarrassing it will be if they see us standing in front of Allah as sinners! Besides the whole humanity, how bad it is if we are to stand in front of Allah alone as a disobedient servant? Therefore, to avoid those major humiliations, we should avoid committing sins in this world.

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Asking Again and Again


Many times in my life, I came across people who would keep asking me for favours. For the first and second time, I happily gave them what they wanted. However, if they kept on asking, I tried to hide from them so that they don't ask me again. I believe, all humans do the same. Even a mother gets irritated at the child if he/she keeps on asking her for things again and again.

On the other hand, the more we ask Allah, the more pleased He gets. Such is Allah, the most Merciful. We should all learn the ways to ask Allah for anything we need.

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This Ummah is like a Tasbih


A Tasbih is used to keep count of dhikr. It is usually made up of 100 beads which are held together in a necklace form by a thread. As long as the tasbih remains in its original form, it can be used for doing good deeds. However, what happens if the thread rips? The beads fall all over the place and create a mess. Similar is the example of this ummah. As long as the Muslims remain united together, good results will come out of them. However, as soon as they are divided, they will create a big mess, which is clearly visible in these days.

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A 3 Bedroom House


To live in a 3 bedroom house in North America, a person has to work atleast 8 hours a day to pay for the rent. Sometimes, that is not enough. Some people without a high paying job have to work 12 hours to 16 hours a day to live in such a house. So much work is required just to live in a tiny little house of this world!

On the other hand, the houses of Jannah (Paradise) are not made of 3 bedrooms. Rather, they are gigantic palaces made of the most precious jewels from the treasures of Allah. In this world, we are spending so much time and energy for the 3 bedroom house, however, what are we doing for attaining Jannah?

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Preparing for a Long Journey


Last week, I went on a journey for 2 days. All I took with me was a sleeping bag and some clothes. Before that, I had to go visit some cities for a duration of 6 days. For that journey, I took with me many more items than I took for the 2 days journey. Few years back when I was visiting a different country for a longer period, I had to take large luggages with me. The point is that we prepare more for long journeys than short ones.

As a living being in this world, we are also planning for a journey that is coming after death. That journey is for a really long period of time. It starts from the grave and ends in Jannah. The only provision for that journey is our faith and good deeds. Are you ready for that journey?

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:as:

That was the last of the reflections section, If more do become available in the future I will be sure to post them inshallah.

The above snippets were written by brother Abdullah.

Source (http://www.islamcan.com/reflections/index.shtml)

Inshallah these articles were a great benefit to all who read them.

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