The Key to the Real “You” [MustRead!]

Assalaamualykum dear reader,

As we are gradually approaching the blessed month of Ramadaan, we at Rafeeqee Islamic Mentoring (rafeeqee.com) will like you to share this write up with your friends and loe ones.

There are many of Muslim men and women who become Ramadaan Muslims just for the month of the year. Just for this one month we blow off the dust on our Qur’an and prayer mats. Some of our sisters put their makeup away and bring out the hijaab and jilbaab and put it on for the month. Then when Eid day comes our brothers get their wacky hairstyles cut many of which are gravity defying and patterns all over their head that even Siberian tigers would be envious of.

The sisters who mashallah wore hijaab and jilbaab for the month pack them away for another year to gather dust and get the makeup out to become Hollywood and Bollywood princess wannabe’s for another year.

Is this the purpose of Ramadan that we only become practising Muslims for just this one month of the year and for the rest of the year we become only Muslim by name moderates who imitate the Kuffar and hardly practice their faith?

Fair enough if we have done this for the past few years then there is nothing we can do about the past now but we can do something about it this Ramadaan! We can make the necessary changes to our lives whilst we are still alive and let me tell you brothers and sisters we are VERY lucky to still be alive and be benefitting from this blessed month!

Therefore let us practise our beautiful way of life EVERYDAY throughout the whole year. Ramadaan is like a training month for us where we train ourselves for the rest of the year.

If we were being given training at work so that we can become better at our job’s and then after the training had finished we disregarded everything we learnt and did not implement any of it into our working lives throughout the year then what use was the training?

Our employer would have been so angry with us that they provided us with an opportunity for training and development but yet we did not even bother to implement it in our daily lives.

Same way Allah has provided us with this most blessed month of Ramadaan as a mercy to us and this month is where we can train and develop ourselves and improve ourselves as Muslims for the rest of the year in order to gain the fear of Allah and get closer to him. It is the chance for us to gain forgiveness of all of our sins and freedom from the torment of the grave and of the fire of hell whose fuel will be men and stones. This month is to make us practising Muslims everyday of our lives and not just for one month a year in Ramadaan.

Therefore let us change our ways and not let ourselves be one month Ramadaan Muslims. There is no such thing as being part time Muslim for the only vacancy is for a full time practising Muslim.

Allah tells us In the Qur’an to enter fully into our deen and not partly:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ادْخُلُوا فِي السِّلْمِ كَافَّةً وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ ۚ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ ﴿٢٠٨﴾فَإِن زَلَلْتُم مِّن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْكُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ فَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّـهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ ﴿٢٠٩﴾هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَن يَأْتِيَهُمُ اللَّـهُ فِي ظُلَلٍ مِّنَ الْغَمَامِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ وَقُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ ۚ وَإِلَى اللَّـهِ تُرْجَعُ الْأُمُورُ ﴿٢١٠﴾

“O believers enter into Islam completely and do not follow the footsteps of Shaytaan, surely he is your clear-cut enemy. If you falter after receiving the clear-cut message, then keep in mind that Allah is Mighty, Wise. Are they waiting for Allah to come down to them in the shadow of clouds, along with the angels, and make His decision known? Ultimately all matters will be presented to Allah for decision.” (Surah Al-Baqarah 2:208-210)

Allah does not expect us to be perfect angels but he will judge us on what efforts we made throughout our lives. When you hear a person say “I try to read Salaah or I try to do what I can.” Do you think they are really trying? Or are they just saying they are and deceiving themselves? If we really tried we can do anything.

We can deceive ourselves but we cannot deceive Allah. Allah knows us better than we know ourselves and he knows what we are capable of and praying 5 times a day is not impossible for any of us.

If we calculate how long it would take to pray 5 times a day then you could sum it up to around 40 minutes a day. Now there are 1440 minutes in a day and 40 minutes out of 1440 of our day is ONLY 3% of a day and we still can’t manage that? Many of us spend that much time eating, excreting or in front of a mirror and we can’t even spend it praying and fulfilling the very purpose of our creation? We spend hours on end in front of the television or listening to Music or playing our playing the latest play station games etc… but we can’t spend a few minutes praying to the one who has given us EVERYTHING we can possible imagine and far more? We are truly at loss!

Many of work full time jobs having to work almost every day of the year having to get up at early hours in order to do so. If one can do this then can’t one pray Salaah 5 times a day for a few short minutes that it takes to pray them? If one really did try then one would not fail in praying our 5 prayers but we deceive ourselves and we end up wasting our lives deceiving ourselves and then regret it later on when it is too late! Let us not be of those who will regret it forever!

So let us internalise these changes in our heads and immerse ourselves into our beautiful way of life and not let ourselves stop practising as soon as Ramadaan is over for the best way to know if our Ramadaan has been accepted or not is if we actually make changes to our lives after Ramadaan is over. If we go back to how we were before Ramadaan started then how can we except for our Ramadaan to be accepted?

I’m not saying that we should become saints overnight but what I am saying is that we should at least fulfil our obligations to Allah and that is to establish our 5 times prayers and to keep away from that which Allah has forbidden.

We should also keep a close connection with our Masjid and not abandon the Masjid as soon as Ramadaan is over. We should not put away our prayer mats and our Qur’ans on the highest shelf to gather dust for the rest of the year but we should continue using them every day!

Our sisters should not out their hijaab and jilbaab away for another year to gather dust but should realise that to cover is an obligation and would they rather want to please Allah or Shaytaan? Did our sisters not feel good and at peace wearing the hijaab and jilbaab? Was it not a freedom? Then do not put them away but continue to wear it throughout the year everyday of one’s life.

Let us make changes to our lives now because we may not have a tomorrow. Death can strike at ANY second and many i personally knew died this year and they were all ages. Therefore do not think you can change later for death may come to you today or tomorrow. Shaytaan says change tomorrow but we MUST change NOW!

This life is so temporary and short but the hereafter is FOREVER! Let us devote ourselves to something that will last forever not something that may end today! So let us devote ourselves to Allah and the Hereafter and we will benefit in this world and the next. Those who chase the hereafter then this world will chase them but if we continue to chase and devote our lives to this world then we will only get what is destined for us and we will not gain the hereafter or this world so we will lose out in both but if we chase the hereafter then we will gain both so it is a win win situation as oppose to a lose lose situation.

So let us make the choice now and take this opportunity to change otherwise when death comes then it will be too late and we will regret it for eternity and death awaits for NO ONE!

Allah knows best in all matters”

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Jazaakumullaahu khayraan