Remembering Death & the Standing In Front of Allah Ta'ala

The topic of death is something that makes many people uncomfortable; and it is also something that I dislike speaking about since up to this point, I have never written about it and I have only once (when I was young) given a talk about it.

The subject of death hits a nerve into many of those who are God-fearing; death to them signifies the end, the full stop which abruptly finishes their story. After this full stop, a question mark arises; have I done enough to be forgiven? And similarly, the aspect of death hits a nerve into many of those who are not religiously inclined; because it once again signifies an end to their existence and it pulls a dark curtain over their performance (i.e. living). The reality is that death is something which no person has a disagreement in; every single sane person who lived regardless of his faith knew that one day, inevitably, he would have to go. Thus, logic would suggest that the clever person is he who prepares for what is to come next.

Yes, the discussion of death and the coming of the angel of death is one which creates anxiety but this is only coupled thereafter with the standing in front of the Creator of death. There is always Allah Ta’ala to save us from the pain of death; but who is there to save us from the wrath of Allah Ta’ala? Failure in front of Allah Ta’ala is the ultimate end; “If Allah helps you then nobody can overcome you and if He forsakes you, then who is there after Allah who can help you?” (Surah Ale Imran). Thus, it is established that though death is something which is testing; there is something far more greater in trial after that.

However, this fear is not something which is disliked in Shari’ah. Allah Ta’ala mentions in the Qur’an, “...whereas for the one who feared to stand before his Lord, and restrained his self from the (evil) desire, the Paradise will be the abode.” (Surah Nazi’ah). There are three steps mentioned in this verse which will lead a person to Jannah; the first is fearing the standing before Allah Ta’ala. When a person does this, it will enable him to take the second step which is to stay away from evil. Because he is constantly thinking about the end of his lowly existence and the perceived horror of standing in front of Allah Ta’ala as a criminal; he is immediately inclined towards doing good deeds. This fear in reality becomes a pious friend who pushes one to do good deeds. Thereafter, when that person has amassed so many good deeds, he is able to take third step. And that third step is Jannah.

Thus we should think about death often despite it not being a topic which is beloved to our heart; it will help us in reaching our goal. When a person is sitting in an exam hall and the teacher reminds him that he has only a few minutes left, he begins to cram as much good in as he can. Similarly, we have to remind ourselves that our time will soon be over upon this earth and thus we too should try do cram in as many good deeds as we can.

Our pious elders would think about death regularly to subdue their desires; they would think of their last breath, the sight of the angel of death, the extraction of the soul from the feet till it leaves from the mouth, the pain it creates, the crying of those around, the ghusl of one’s own body, the praying of the Janazah, the burial in the cemetery and that final clod of mud which lands upon one’s portion of this world. Then the dread of hearing the footsteps of loved ones bidding farewell as if to say, ‘There is nothing we can do for you now’. We too should keep these thoughts in mind. This is why Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam mentioned, “Remember the destroyer of all pleasures (i.e. death).”

However, we should never be despondent of Allah Ta’ala. Our hope should be in His mercy alone. Perhaps this is the reason as to why I have not written about death before as I can’t bring myself to think of a situation so severe in which there is not Allah’s Ta’ala softness. My heart can’t bare the idea that Allah Ta’ala will deal so severely with any slave who at least tries to do good and thus I can only make my tongue moist with the supplication of our Prophet Muhammad salallalhu alayhi wasallam, “O Allah, do not disgrace me for indeed You know of my state and do not punish me for indeed you are dominant over me.” and thereafter hope for His mercy.

May Allah Ta’ala give us all the ability to remember death and prepare for our hereafter and the standing in front of Allah Ta’ala. May He out of His kindness and benevolence pardon our reckoning and admit us into Jannah without any trials. Ameen, Ya Rabbal Aalameen.

Glad Tidings For The One Who Is Ill

Illness is something which we quite simply have no control over. Depending on the severity of the illness, a person can range from being merely annoyed to utterly distraught. However, let there be glad tidings for that slave who falls ill as Allah Ta’ala uses this illness as an excuse so as to expiate the sins of His slave.

How amazing is it that Allah Ta’ala has given us something positive in something which we dislike. There are many such examples in our Deen where Allah Ta’ala has exalted our status through something which is normally perceived as being disliked and petty. For example, if a person was to prostrate to another man, this would be a complete and utter disgrace. It would show the weakness, frailty and feebleness in a person that he is taking his forehead and placing it at the feet of another person. This idea of lowering one’s head for another can seem quite disgraceful however we prostrate towards Allah Ta’ala by taking the most honoured place of our body (i.e. our forehead from where we thinks and understand) and we place it on the floor by which Allah Ta’ala honours us with Jannah. Allah Ta’ala has made honour for us in something which people would normally perceive as being wrong. In the same way, Allah Ta’ala has favoured us and honoured us even when we are ill. Being ill is something that we obviously do not like but even whilst being ill, our sins are wiped away and our rewards are increased.

Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam said, “A Muslim does not encounter fatigue, tiredness, concern, sorrow, injury or grief, or even a thorn which pricks him without Allah expiating his errors for him by that." Subhanallah! Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam has mentioned several odd problems that could befall a Muslim and in every single one of them there is forgiveness from sins. The general idea here is that anything which displeases a Muslim is a source of mercy for him. Likewise, Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam also said, “Affliction will continue to trouble the believers, men and women, in their bodies, their families and their property until they meet Allah Ta’ala purified of every wrong action."

Furthermore, illness is a sign of a person’s belief in Allah Ta’ala. Once, Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam was discussing illness when a person asked, “What is illness? For I swear by Allah, I have never been ill!” Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam said, “Leave us! For indeed you are not one of us!” This is said because Allah Ta’ala gives illness to a person in order to wipe away his sin. In a narration mentioned in Abu Dawud, it is indicated that when a slave does not have the ability to do good deeds which will enter him into Jannah, Allah Ta’ala afflicts him with some temporary sadness or illness through which his sins will be erased and his good deeds increased. As a result, he is entered into Jannah. Again, Allah Ta’ala is looking excuse to forgive us. Thus, if a person falls ill, he should praise Allah Ta’ala in his heart and be happy that he has some sign of Iman within him.

One a Bedouin came into the company of Rasulullah salalallahu alayhi wasallam; Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam asked, “'Has Umm Mildam (fever) got hold of you?” The Bedouin replied, “What is Umm Mildam?” Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam said, “It is the heat between the skin and the flesh.' The Bedouin said, “No.” Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam said, “Have you got a headache?” “What is headache?” the Bedouin asked. Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam replied, “It is wind which gets into the head and beats the veins.” The Bedouin replied, “No (I have not experienced this). When he stood up, Rasulullah salallahu alayhi wasallam said, “Whoever wants to look at a man who is one of the people of the Fire (i.e. let them look at that man.)”

In fact, on a side note, one hadith related in Tabrani, “Never does a Muslim get a headache except that Allah Ta’ala expiates his sin, writes for him rewards and elevates his rank.”

The bottom line here is that we should always ask Allah Ta’ala for security in our life. We should always make the dua, “O Allah, I ask you for forgiveness and security, in my religion, worldly life and hereafter.” Likewise, “O Allah, I ask you for to safe-keep my ears, my eyes and my body.” We should not hope for illness, rather we should take its coming as a sign of forgiveness from Allah Ta’ala.

Finally, my eyes fell over a nice piece on visiting the sick person written by Sheikh Fadhl ullahi Al-Jeelaani in his commentary Fadhl Allahi As-Samad fi Towdeehi Al-Adab Al Mufrad. If we visit a sick person, we should try to adhere to the following 10 points:

1. He does not face the door directly when asking for permission to enter. (i.e. he is not trying to be nosy and see what is going on inside).

2. He opens and closes the door softly. (i.e. He doesn’t start banging doors and disturbing people.)

3. He does not try to remain anonymous. (i.e. When a person is asked, “Who is it?” he doesn’t respond by saying, “Me!”. This brings no clarity and is a source of annoyance to the sick person as well as those around him).

4. He should not come at an inappropriate time. (i.e. he should not come when it is obvious the sick person needs feeding etc).

5. He should not sit for too long except when it pleases the sick person. (i.e. sometimes, people overstay their visit and this over burdens the sick person but he may feel too shy to say anything. He may need some rest in order to preserve his energy but sometimes, useless chatter diminishes this. However, the case of a person who pleases the heart is different. Generally, when the beloved is near, the heart forgets all of it's sorrows. On a side note, I remember one brief story of Layla & Majnoo. Majnoo was so infatuated on Layla that news of this came to the Qadhi (judge) who immediately stipulated 100 lashes (whipping, pitai) for Majnoo. As a result, Majnoo was hit 100 times but to the amazement of the people, he did not let out a single yell. It was as if he was in a trance; however, when he was hit with the last lash, he let out an almighty yell! The people were amazed and thus asked him, "You received 99 lashes and did not utter even whimper but on the 100th lash, you screamed so loud?! Why is this?!" He replied, "My beloved Layla was watching me from her balcony and I was looking at her. Whilst she was there, I was lost in her and so I did not feel any pain; on the 99th whip, she turned and left as the punishment was to end. When she left, I came back to reality." Thus, it is always nice to have the beloved visit when one is sick.)

6. He should lower his gaze from the sick person (i.e. if the person has some apparent illness on the body, the visitor should not fix his eyes upon it as if to show some shock. :-| <-- like that)

7. He should not question the sick person excessively. (i.e. this can become tiresome).

8. He should show sympathy. (i.e. sympathy shows softness and care).

9. He should make sincere dua.

10. He should give him some words of encouragement so it strengthens the ill person’s resolve. (i.e. many people go and visit the sick people and instead of giving them encouragement, they say, “Oh dear! You look terrible!” This doesn’t do any good to the moral of the ill person; rather it convinces him that he is in a truly poor state. This in effect gives a huge psychological blow to the ill person and at times can break his resolve. Thus we should give words of encouragement to build the resolve of the sick person).

May Allah Ta’ala give us all good health. Ameen.

Takabbur (Arrogance) - A common Disease

With the name of Allah, the All Merciful, the Very Merciful...

The Prophet Muhammad(Peace be upon him) said in an authentic hadith,"Whosoever has an atoms weight of arrogance in his heart will not enter Jannah." One of the signs of arrogance is denying the truth. Denying the oneness of Allah is amongst the biggest signs of arrogance. Nowadays, many are so blinded by this world that they think that this world is everything but the thing that they don't realise is that a day will surely come where we will stand in front of the One who created us and we will be asked as to our actions. Allah says in Surah Yaseen,"Does not man see that We have created him from Nutfah (mixed male and female discharge semen drops).Yet behold! He (stand forth) as an open opponent."

The problem in society is that every one thinks they are better than every one else but in reality, this is far from the truth. We can never claim to be better than anyone else as we do not know our position infront of Allah. Allah will not at how 'good-looking' we are or how strong we are or how rich we are and surely, Allah doesn't look at your status amongst your fellow human being but Allah looks at your piety and good deeds. We see that nowadays it's a common problem that affects the youth mostly. Some people think that because we are driving the best cars, we naturally are better than anyone else. Stop! Think about it, will your car be able to outrun death or the punishment of Allah? Will your car save you on the Day of Qiyamah? Some people think, "I have big biceps, Iam better than everyone else!" But know my brother and sister, the prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said in a hadith,"The strong man is not the one is who is good at wrestling but strong man is he who controls himself in a fit of rage". It easier to knock some one out than to forgive someone, surely forgiveness is a very good attribute to have. You might be pushing 100kg in the gym but when it comes to Fajr prayer, are you able to lift that blanket that weighs less that 1kg off you? If you can't then that says everything. A strong person must have the abilty to fight his Nafs, he must be able to fight shaytaan, and he will only be able to do all this by seeking the help of Allah. We need to realise that we need Allah in everything. So why do we have to be arrogant when we are entirely dependent on Allah?

We can see from the examples of the Sahabas (may Allah be pleased with them) that they were the strongest men that walked upon the face of this world but yet they were always humble.We see some brothers and sometimes sisters too, they walk around as if they are mountains! Allah says in the Qur'an, "Do not walk on the earth in haughty style. You can neither tear the earth apart, nor can you match the mountains in height." So if a person cannot match this, how dare he walk with such arrogance? My brother and sisters arrogance is a sign of ignorance, because Allah looks not at how strong you are or how beautiful you are, or how rich you are; rather Allah looks at what is in your heart, Allah looks at your good deeds and your piety.

Arrogance is a disease my brothers and sisters, do we want Jannah or not? If yes then get rid of arrongance from your heart because a good Muslim is always humble no matter how strong, or how rich he is. He is always humble because he realises that his wealth, his strenghth will not help him when he will be in his grave, when the angels will ask him, "Who is your Lord? What is your religion? Who is the Prophet?" We think that these answers are easy now but know my brothers and sisters that if you didn't live your life in the obedience of Allah, you will not be able to answers these three questions. We must make dua that Allah protects us from this disease, because for sure it will destroy our herefafter. If we have one atoms weight of arrogance in our heart, we will not enter Jannah, a true believer realises that he is nothing but a creation that has been created from a drop of semen... is this really something to boast about?

I make dua that Allah makes these few words a means of guidance for all of us and I make dua that Allah protects us from arrongance. Ameen.

Reality Check!

Days are going by, weeks are going by and months are going by. Day in and day out the same things happen, the sun rises in the morning, and the sun sets in the evening. At the same time our years are passing by and our lives are getting shorter.

After my first year of college I remember countless times the conversation amongst us would be along the lines, "...maaan college is missions, I wish we could go back to the kelmscott days (secondary school)." It's funny when we say such statements even though we know there's no chance of us going back, but we just have false hopes of returning to those years because it was a lot more easier than the years we are in at the moment.

When a person leaves primary school, after doing his SATs, he then moves on to secondary school and he knows there's no chance of going back. When a person leaves secondary school and heads to college with his GCSEs, he knows there's no chance of going back to change the results he received. When a person receives his results for his A-levels he heads to university for whatever course is available for him and he realises there's no chance of him going back to that same college to re-do those same years he done there. Similarly the examples can go on and on of the doors that open and close in life. We enter through one door and then soon after we leave through another door and then that door is sealed shut behind us. One door which we all entered together, was the door of being in this world. And just like one day we left primary school then secondary school and then college and we knew there was no chance of going back to change the results that we got, is the same way that when you leave this world it's like closing a door behind you which has no handle for you to pull open again. Whatever results you receive on that day when you die, is what you will have to make do with and then there will be no chance of going back. It's a fact that today in the year 2009 we are all here alive and well, alhamdulilah, but that might not be the case in 2100. The world will carry on, wars will still be occuring but for you and I, we won't even be able to move a muscle. If you think about this deeply then a certain reality will hit you.

When a person dies, then he's closed one door behind him and that door will be locked shut. You won't have no choice but you will obey the will of your Lord, and you will enter the door of the grave. In here is another reality, because you will be on your own with your deeds around you and your eyes will see things they've never seen before. Again, you will have a set time in the grave then that door of the grave will close too. This time you and the entire creation of Allah Ta'ala will be destroyed by the sound of the horn of the angel Israfeel alayhis salaam and then even he Israfeel alayhis salaam will be destroyed. For an approximate period of 40 years or more, Allah will be the only Being in existence and nothing else. Allah is the Real Power and the Real Might. Allah is the Eternal One, and the One to whom we will return to. This is all the truth of reality. All of these events will come to pass and that's when we will finally be resurrected and given the greatest exam of our life. On that Day Allah himself will say, "Whose is the Kingdom this Day?" (Allah Himself will reply to His Question); "It is Allah's, the One, the Irresistible!" (Surah Ghafir, verse 16).

This life is a series of doors that open and close which will carry on even when you die. The last of doors which we will enter, will be the doors of Jannah, InshAllah. And when those doors are closed then you wouldn't even want to go back!

It is the desire of every human to obtain success. Nobody wants to be a failure in life. Different people have different views of success. Some view success as being wealthy and rich. Some view success as having fast cars and making the most of this life that they were given. Whatever the views are of people the ultimate success which nobody can doubt is obtaining entry into Jannah without any punishment of this world or the hereafter. To achieve this, is where your efforts will come in handy. The same way those who will receive grade A's in their A-levels, generally put alot of effort into getting those grades over the last 2 years they spent in college, is the same way that those who put effort and the word is, "effort", into practising the Deen of Allah, will surely receive the good grades of Jannah before them. No effort for the Deen of Allah will go to waste in the Sight of Allah, and that's a fact.


The following is a qoute I made when writing this piece, not that it's anything special.

"I'm alive today and I'll die tommorow, I'm not alive tomorrow because I died today. "