6 - A Journey Beyond Our Limits

So with "Alhamdulillah", we have affirmed Allah's ultimate perfection and thanked Him for all that we are all that He is.

Now, most of us have received - at least once - that Power Point email which zoom us out in powers of 10 from the cell world of a tiny plant leaf... all the way out to the planets, stars and galaxies that make up what lies beyond our planet earth, in this breathtaking universe! Now instead of starting out with that small leaf, start the zoom out process with the image of yourself as you stand before Allah in Salah.

As you ponder over this image, think first of all of the physiological systems within your own body running in beautiful order to sustain you (blood system, immune system, nervous system, hormones, heart beats, respiration, firing neurons, skin cells, liver cells, spleen, kidneys, etc..). Move out now to what's around you. The marvels of our plant world, the animal world, the seven seas, the insect world, the microbial world.

Further out to what surrounds you.. The miraculous precision of the planets and our sun- our solar system, our galaxy. Further out still to the infinite star constellations, nebulas, galaxies. Now what about the world of the unsee? The world of the angels, the jinn and whatever life that lies out there that we have not been able to reach.

This may not be end of it, but we have reached the limits of our knowledge, so start zooming back down. Back through all of that and back to where you were standing in prayer. Would you say you're just a speck in Allah's canvas above? Nowhere even close... You are no longer even visible in relation to the magnificent size of Allah's universe! And imagine, this is just our heaven. The Quran tells us there are 6 more! And Allah presides above all of that! And He is The One and Only, orchestrating the perfect order and function of it all!

How do you fell now as you stand before Him, praising Him and speaking to Him? How do you fell now being answered by Him with every verse? Do you still have it in you to defy some of His commands? Can you imagine yourself ever daring to commit another wrong against such Majesty and Might? Against such Omnipotence and such Sovereignity? How about against such *Love*? How much love must He have for us to select us out, given our insignificance in the canvas of His creation, for this beautiful terms of endearment that are in Salah? After all, He has blessed us with the ability to answer the call to prayer and stand before Him. That's an honor unlike any other! How can we not give of our best that which is due Our Majesty? Can we ever turn our backs on prayer again knowing we are missing out on such a privilege!?

The Prophet (pbuh) tries to help us understand the Grandeur before which we stand... He says (pbuh) that the foot of Allah's Throne (Al Kursi) extends over the heavens and the earth (see 2:255). And the heavens in comparison to Allah's Kursi, is like a small ring cast in the spans of a desert! And The Kursi, is comparison to the Throne itself, is a measure like it!

The next time you stand for prayer, view yourself from above and far away, so you can truly taste the meanings behind "Rabbil Aalameen" (Lord of the worlds!)

Only Two Things!

Assalam-o-alaikum wr wb

Today, on the breakfast table I was struck by a short sentence from my father while he was narrating a short incident to us. It was about the time when a man accidently hit a horse by his jeep and broke the horse's leg. It was,

'Now the horse had to be shot dead, because he was useless.'

This is exactly how this world treats us all. Doesn’t it? Someone’s live would be taken just because he is not up to the standard that others require?

But! My Allah does not do this. Qur'an is full of the verses which tell us that a man is given punishment only due to his own evil deeds.

Al-Baqarah: 79: ... فَوَيْلٌ لَّهُم مِّمَّا كَتَبَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَوَيْلٌ لَّهُم مِّمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ

...Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn.

Al-Baqarah: 134: تِلْكَ أُمَّةٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ ۖ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَلَكُم مَّا كَسَبْتُمْ ۖ وَلَا تُسْأَلُونَ عَمَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ 

That was a nation which has passed on. It will have [the consequence of] what it earned and you will have what you have earned....

An-Nisa: 161: ...ثُمَّ تُوَفَّىٰ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ

...Then will every soul be [fully] compensated for what it earned, and they will not be wronged.

Al-Baqarah: 134, 141, 202, 225, 264, 286, Al’-Imran: 161,  An-Nisa:111,112, Al-Maida: 38,  Al-An'aam:70,120, 120, …. So on and so forth.

And even then we are still wasting our energies, ourselves for this world?? Who judges us based on our apparent personality, and out of the things in which we have no role?? We don't want our son getting married to a daughter of a criminal? We don't want our children to play with the children of our servant? We even abandon our all true relations just because of the fact that someone out of their family has a bad reputation. Are we not treating everyone like the horse who was being hit by a jeep??

And we still keep on striving hard and hard for this world, to please ourselves, to please people.. And the list goes on.

But do we ever strive so hard to be connected to the ONE who has been blessing, blessing and only blessing us throughout our lives despite us being a constant sinner, sinner and sinner?
And could any more Ayah of Qur’an be more beautiful than this one?

Al-Furqaan: 70: إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا فَأُولَـٰئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّـهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّـهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا

Except for those who repent, believe and do righteous work. For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.

مگر جس نے توبہ کر لی اور ایمان لے آیا اور نیک عمل کیا تو یہ وہ لوگ ہیں کہ اللہ جن کی برائیوں کو نیکیوں سے بدل دے گا، اور اللہ بڑا بخشنے والا نہایت مہربان ہے،

And still what is that is stopping us from going towards Allah? Be connected to him? And the answer is 'WE!!’ Right?

Just two things, only two that we need to do.

1. Repent, make Astaghfaar.

and

2. Do good deeds, which are acceptable in the eyes of Allah Talah.

And now the choice rests entirely in your hands.

Jazakumullah-o-khairan Katheera.

5 - The Essence and Heart of Salah

It was common that when the time for prayer came, the Prophet (pbuh) would turn to Bilal (whose duty was to call out the Athaan) and say, "Relieve us with it, O Bilal". In other words, make the call, Bilal, for what will lighten our heavy burdens and will soothe and comfort us. For when the Prophet was troubled with a difficult matter or much worry, he would turn to prayer. After all, doesn't Allah say:

"and seek (Allah's) help with patient perseverance and prayer"? (2:45)

Every people have their own method of seeking comfort, relaxation and escape. Some use music, some use exercises like Yoga, and some unfortunately- alcohol. But for us Muslims, we attain the benefits of all of the above and more, from Salah. We resort to the source of all solutions and the source of all peace and relief, Our Beloved, Our Creater.

Now we have guarded ourselves from Satan's ways and ready to enter upon the most sacred part of our Salah, the essence of it all.. The Fatiha! The greatest Surah in the Quran! The segment of Salah without which you cannot have prayed and your prayer would be nullified. The segment where Allah actually answers back to us at every verse! How can we ever drift in this part of the prayer?

But first, let us remind ourselves. Again, what brought us to stand here right now? Oh yes, our endless love and deep longing to be with Allah. And when one meets up with his beloved, what is he first most likely to utter? It is the sweet sound of his Beloved's name! But this is no ordinary name. This is a name that blesses everything around it! Everything it falls upon! This is a name that lifts away any evil, harm and ache. With it we start, and with it we finish, and with it we taste the sweetness of this life and the sweetness of the next... "Bismillah- Arrahman Arraheem" (In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful). Feel it soothing your heart as it gently rolls off your lips.

"To Him (Allah) belong the most beautiful names.. " (59:24)

And when you love someone, you savor in how perfect they are. Don't you? No one deserves this more than Allah. For only He, is truly perfect! "Alhamdulillahi- Rabbil- alameen!" (All praise is due to Allah, The Cherisher and Sustainer of the Worlds!).

In praising Him, we are in essence establishing Allah's undeniable perfection. The Prophet(pbuh) told us, "Alhamdulillah fills the scale!" Let gratitude fill our hearts when we utter it, He has blessed us with so much and always keep in mind that when we thank anyone in this world, we are in fact, thanking Allah Himself. He is the ultimate source, isn't He? Let's take it to another depth, when we say "Alhamdulillah", we are even praising and thanking Allah for blessing us with the ability to praise and thank Him. As even this ability is from Him! So in reality, Allah establishes praise for Himself, through us. Glorified is He. Feel your dependence and need for Him, feel the healing effects of the gift of remembering and praising Him.