To my brothers and sisters in Islam,
These are my inner feelings and I only wanna share them with u all.
I don’t know how many of you think or feel the same way but I sometimes feel as if we are wasting our time. The greatest and most beautiful thing Islam has given us is the ability to decide between the right and wrong.
Instead of getting involved into discussions about sects, races, etc, why Don’t we do a Muhasiba (analysis) of ourselves. Why don’t we try to find any filth inside our soul and try to purify it with the teachings of Islam. I wonder how our dear Prophet Mohammed (sullahu alehey wa alehee wassalam) would feel while watching us fight.
Every person realizes these things at a certain age. Some finds these facts about life at the age of 80, some at 20, some at 40 and so on. The earlier we find truth about life, the better it is.
I ask myself this question everyday: “Ok so this is life. I take care of my family and relatives. I earn money and go to work, I sleep and eat. But is that life is all about? Is there something more than that to life?”
Another thing I observe is people telling me a “Million times that they are going to pray or that they are fasting? I wonder why they tell me all this. Namaz , roza and so on are all Farz and part of religion. We HAVE to do these things. Then why tell everybody about it a million times? I consider it Riyah (show off) which is a severe disease. I feel sorry for those who destroy their good deeds by posing them and those actions that are specifically for Allah becomes impure then.”
All I see around me is people fighting over small matters.
I see people praising others only “because they want to get a favor sometimes in future”
I see people “abusing others behind their back (gheebat)”
Whats all that?
I really feel that these people do not understand the message of Islam that talks about purifying the soul, loving Allah, helping others, being there for them when the need us, good Ikhlaqe and so on.
I sometimes feel like I can die the very next moment, but am I prepared for that? Do I owe (financially or ethically) anybody anything? Have I done my part here? Did I hurt any Brother Muslim or any human? I look at my sins and I look at the blessings of Allah.
This guy came to Imam Jafar Sadiq (a.s) and asked him:
“Oh dear Imam! When I pray, I try to cry but tears do not come out of my eyes. What should I do?”
Imam Jafar Sadiq (a.s) replied:
“Think about your Sins and think about Allah’s blessings. Tears will automatically come out of your eyes.”
What a wonderful and true sentence about our lives. When I read this sentence, I felt like I was looking in a mirror. A mirror of my soul, my inner soul.
I’d like to get some responses from all my friends here but only serious and constructive ones.
Brother Humble,
When You say, some people realize at 20 or some at 40 or at 80, what exactly is that u are trying to explain? What is that they realize? Please elaborate.
What People realize is that they were wasting time here in this world and they have not done anything constructive yet. As mentioned in Quran, there are three kinds (stages) of Insaan.
1) The one who comes here in this world and spends time and leaves. His/her life is meaningless. A straight path to hell. (surah asr: wal asre innal insaana lafi khusrin)
2) The second type or stage of Insaan is that when he/she knows whats going on around and tries to act accordingly. His/her Imaan is strong but not strong enough to act accordingly and prove it by his/her actions ( suarah asr again: illal-lazeena amino)
3) The third category (stage ) of Insaan is the one who not only knows why he/she is created but acts accordingly with strength. At this level we find Prophets, Imams, and Aulias. (surah asr: wa-amilussalihat). This level of Imaan and amal-saleh combines to get a Nafs-e-mutmainnah (the word quran used for Imam Hussein a.s when everybody in Karbala heard the voice of Ya-Ayyatohal nufsul mutmainna irjai: Oh Nafs-e-mutmainnah comes towards your creator)
SubhanAllah. Good thoughts. Are u a student brother Humble? Where are you? It seems to be a very nice and intellectual discussion. Where did u get your education from? How old are you?
Jazakallah khair,
Wassalam,
Muslim786
When you think a place has gone absolutely disastorous -- and foolish, a person actually steps up & respectively puts things in focus where needed.
It's about time.
I am a programmer by profession but I got most of this knowledge from Majalis-e-aza during Muharram . I dont know if u have ever been to one. I read quran daily with translation so that is my big source. I have also read Nahjul-Balagha (It is a collection of very useful sayings of Imam Ali a.s, our first Imam of the twelve).
The term Nafs-e-Mutmainnah means a "satisfied soul" and it is the word quran used to refer to Imam Hussein (a.s).
Where in quran is that word "nafs-e-mutmainnah" used? Just give me the name of Sorah, I will trace it brother. I am not arguing with you here, just trying to find the source.
I have a question for you Humble and again I am not arguing with you, I am just trying to clarify things here:
Question 1: When you say people pose and show riyah, how bad is riyah in your viewpoint or if that topic was discussed in your gatherings(majlis)? I have not been to them, so I dont know about it.
Question 2: When we talk about getting rewards in the world hereafter, are they based on quantity? Yes ? No? Why?
ans 1:Riyah is any kind of posing or showoff. There is even Riyah in religion. For example if I try to post all this here to "Impress you aor others", then it is considered Riyah. Riyah is a severe hidden disease that eats up a humal soul terribly. The most pious acts can become ugly if a person has riyah.
ans 2: Islam always talks about the quality of actions. Therefore, it is really "not" the quantity that Allah cares for. It is the quality of one's actions that matters. For example:
"A SAJDA LATE AT NIGHT AND THE TEARS FALLING OUT OF A MOMIN'S EYES ARE VERY MEHBOOB (IMPORTANT) TO ALLAH.MAYBE THAT ONE SAJDA IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE WORSHIP OF ALL LIFE."
Imam Mohammed Baqar (a.s), our fifth Imam said:
"The closest condition a person is in with Allah is when he/she is in a state of sajda and tears are falling out of his/ here eyes"
Imam Ali (a.s) said:
"If a person starts to think about Allah's greatness and his blessings while in a state of Sajda, then he/she will never get up from Sajda."
Thanks for the post. It really makes one stop and think about their actions and consequences of those actions and how one should try and improve themselves.
A good book which I read is 'Ethics and Spiritual Growth' by Syed Mujtaba Musavi Lari. If you are in London I can lend it to you if you wish to have a read.