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In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious ,
Most Merrciful
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Assalaamu Alaikum
All Praise be to Allah, Al-Hakim
The Life of this World…
Fancy cars and diamond rings;
Pretty women and plenty of “booze” ( alcohol )to drink. Give me money, not advise. Or I will charge your credit card up by surprise.
Shall we Muslims allow ourselves to be entice by the above " Quotation " ?
We live in a material world that is stressful and filled with social
pressures. Many of us can never find satisfaction and be content enough
with what little or abundance that we are blessed in this world. Have we even remember to say , ’ Alhamdullilah’? We rush to compete with others, from a new microwave oven to a new leather sofa when we already have one that is working perfectly fine. Mrs. X has a new big screen television ,
so therefore, Mrs. Y will buy one better than Mrs. X has while Mrs. Z laments and complains about how unfortunate she is comparing to Mrs. X & Y to her poor husband. We get jealous of one another even in very small little things. So often times we look at those above us more than those below us and seldom realize how fortunate we are.
’ Or are they jealous of mankind because of that which Allah of His bounty bestowed upon them?’ 4:54 ]
’ Hazrat Abu Hurairah ( r.a.) relates that the Messenger of Allah (saaw) said: ’ Avoid jealousy for these destroys good deeds as fire destroys wood.’ ( Abu Daud )
Most of us seemed to have wanted everything the media advertises. Our children will not appreciate anything that does not stamped the " NAME BRAND" per se.Some of us hates “GENERICS” , most of us like " EASY MONEY". We liked everything handed out in a silver platter and too often stingy to
help feed a needy Muslim. Some of us hate left over foods and will just throw them away while we know many Muslims are starving. Did you know that some elderly population ( in the USA ) living alone with limited income from social security often times will settle for cat food ( costing
49 ?when on sale )? This is a fact.
’ But squander not ( your wealth) wastefully. Surely the squanderers
are the devil’s brothers. And the devil is ever ungrateful to his Lord [17:26]
Our generation is far more desensitized to violence than any other generation combined. Uncontrollable open sexual activities , drugs and rock and roll have worried parents but nintendo, playstations and the hip
hopping music are creating new fantasies that many of the parents could not control. Are you one from among those who have waited for hours in line to get the “STAR WARS Episode 1” tickets? or a fanatic fan of the
the " BackStreet Boys " who have waited many hours in music stores for their release of the " Millenium " ? TV’s has become the children’s teacher. Any good in it ? or mostly the bad and the evil? Both parents are working more hours and spending less time with their kids. Ask these parents why they are doing this. And they will give you the whole nine yards list of excuses . What has become of these kids?our children? They
become the " LATCH key-kids" ( kids having their own keys, doing their own thing , feeding themselves with unhealthy , no quality frozen ( non halal ) foods, having to wait for the television to make decisions for them perhaps suggesting a frozen pizza for dinner not knowing the commercial
ingredients that are in it ( lard ). No one is there to remind them to make salat, some parents do not do it themselves. When all else failed with their kids, who are they quick to blame ? The husband? the wife?
both parents? the environment? We always seek to find someone to blame,don’t we ? Sad but true. Money ! Music ! Skimpy clothings that sticks like glue to the buttocks… worried to be left out in " vogue " ? For us living in the west, shall we follow the concept, " When in Rome, do as the Romans do?" Is Islam flexible to changes because everyone changes to what seems to be the trend of the generation?
’ Hazrat K’ab bin Ayaz (r.a.) states that he heard the Messenger of Allah (saaw ) say: ’ Every ummah has a test to undergo, my ummah will be tried to the wealth. ’ an authentic tradition / Thirmdhi ]
So one drink ; another drink; more to drink till one drops to his knees
and finds himself in jail for drunk driving.Later you know , he or she has
severely damage his or her liver from abusive drinking.Some of us already
know that DRINKING IS HARAM. Why drink then ? Are we trying to fit in a
group? to please our kufr co-employees? Or just one of the many disease that just have multiplied from one of the many unhealthy desires ? But did that bother some people( Muslims ) to fear the wrath of Allah ? Nah! Are you aware that for every ounce of alcohol a person consumes, 10 brain
cells dies and never be reconstructed according to medical experts. One responded to me by saying," Well , I have billions of cells yet to ruin ". Parents allowing their daughters spending the night with their non
Muslim friends. Finding out later ,these teenagers have sneaked out heading towards nightclubs with their altered identification cards to allow themselves in.What happen next? These women, sad enough young
teenagers from a Muslim family find themselves awake in a stranger’s home
stripped off their dignity.
’ O ye who believe ! Intoxicants and gambling … are only an enfamy of Satan’s handiwork.Leave it aside in order that ye may prosper. The devils desire to cause only enmity and hatred among you, by means of intoxicants and gambling, and keep you back from remembrance of Allah and from prayer , will you then keep away.’ 5:93-94]
Fathers are so busy with the ball games, that they neglect to ask how their children are doing? How is school? Any problems they may have? How about the wives? Have we taken the time to thank them for caring for
everyone in the family? Where is the family values? the extended family? Have we been too busy that we entirely detached ourselves from our priorities?
How about the brothers? Have we lowered our gaze? Have we chosen a woman half undressed over our pious sisters?And sisters? Have we decided Allah will forgive us for not wearing hijab because we have done many other good deeds to others that we deem will qualify us to jannah by eliminating just
one command Allah asked of the muslimah?
Ah! the famous “PLASTIC CARDS”. American Express advertises, " Do not leave home without it". Some of us has gotten so use to it, that one cannot live without it. Shaytan is so clever to ruin a Muslim’s lives.
Shaytan loves to bring forth catastrophe after another to a Muslims. Sure enough , Charge it ! as Shaytan whispers. Later you know, you are so charged up with the accumulated interest that you have already sold your soul to the devil for good.
Abu Hurairah said that the Messenger of Allah (saaw) said: ’ RIBA is of 70 different kinds, the least grave being equivalent to a man marrying his own mother.’ Ibn Majah, Baihaqi ]
Abu Hurairah said that the Messenger of Allah (saaw) said: ’ On the night I was taken up to heaven, I came upon people whose bellies were like houses which contained snakes which could be seen outside from their bellies. I asked Gabriel who they were and he told me that they were people who practiced RIBA .’ Ahmad, Ibn Majah ]
Hazrat Abdullah bin Masud (r.a.) relates that the Holy Prophet (saaw) cursed him who takes and him who pays interest. Muslim ]
Debt is to be feared.Riba is to be feared as it is the gravest of sin to which the Muslim Ummah is exposed today.
Allah has written us the prescription to be better Muslims in preparation for the real life in the Hereafter, and the Messenger of Allah(saaw) has given us the directions from his Sunnah as an example. Islam has all the
solutions. Shall we even bother to ask for second opinion ?
’ Who so desire the life of this world and its glitter; to them we shall pay in full ( the wages ) of their deeds therein and they will have no diminition therein.’ 11:15 ]
’ Hazrat Abu Hurairah relates that the Holy Prophet (saaw)said: ’ The world is the prison for believers and paradise for the disbelievers. ’ Muslim ]
Some of you after reading this, may lift their eyebrows and say,“O com’on ! get a life!”
A life?
Which one?