Moderation in JOY and GRIEF

Muslims’ commitment to Allah and His religion entails an unconditional loyalty.

For this reason, fluctuating conditions and circumstances never change believers’ zeal, enthusiasm and determination to live by the Qur’an.

Allah mentions two basic reactions shown by a believer.

First, hardship or severe conditions never daunt him.
Second, he never exults or feels pride because of what he obtains in this world. Allah reveals this in the Qur’an as:

That is so that you will not be grieved about the things that pass you by or exult about the things that come to you. Allah does not love any vain or boastful man. (Surat al-Hadid; 23)

Man is always vulnerable, since he has no idea about what awaits him in life.
A young person may suddenly be seized by a serious disease or become bedridden because of an accident. Anyone may lose all his wealth in a day or encounter events he never anticipated.

In such a situation, those of weak faith will despair or feel rebellious. Forgetting all the blessings of Allah in an instant, they may even lose their love for and trust in Him.

Aware that there is a divine purpose and good in every event that Allah creates, believers merely persevere in the face of unexpected events and trust firmly in Allah's wisdom, compassion and justice.

Meanwhile, believers may sometimes experience loss of material wealth, have to risk their lives or abandon their homes. Yet all such seemingly adverse occasions will bring great reward, joy and glory in the Hereafter.

As well as unexpected losses, people may also experience unexpected gains. Allah opens His infinite dominion to whom He wills and grants success, authority and power.
But He warns Muslims against exulting in pride since any person receiving a great possession, authority or benefit becomes only a trustee, while it is Allah Who is the real possessor of everything.

In the Qur’an Allah reveals this fact.

Mankind! you are the poor in need of Allah whereas Allah is the Rich Beyond Need, the Praiseworthy. (Surah Fatir: 15)

Aware of this fact, believers never forget their own weakness and do not become arrogant even when they enjoy great blessings and wealth. They feel only a deep gratitude to Allah, and they strive to use their blessings for His cause in the best way possible.

Source: http://www.harunyahya.com/

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'Grumbling' is a repugnant habit of ignorance

But there are some people who trade in distracting tales to misguide people from Allah’s Way knowing nothing about it and to make a mockery of it. Such people will have a humiliating punishment. (Surah Luqman: 6)

Some people voice their ideas about the things they live through all day long by continuously muttering to themselves. Sometimes something that bothers them, sometimes a subject they think is faulty, sometimes a flawed attitude they observe, sometimes a word they hear uttered may cause such people to express their discomfort about these point without thinking much on it.

Actually, it is of course not wrong for a person to voice something he sees at fault. However for such a talk not to be wrong, the aim to do this should definitely be –for the approval of Allah- 'to correct that mistake'. And if there is a faulty behavior, word or incident in question, then this point should definitely be communicated to people who can solve it. And at the same time, the mistake done should be explained to the other party with the nicest and most wise wording.

In this habit of "grumbling", there is no place for any of those mentioned goals. The aim in this is only to "quell one's anger and rage" by saying everything that comes across his mind. And this, clearly manifests how vain and wrong such a manner is.

Sometimes such people continuously grumble not only about the things others do, but also about the things they live through themselves:

They voice all their negative thoughts about almost every subject about their daily life, while working on one side.The common point of all these talks is, never the aim to find a solution for those. The aim is only to voice the discomfort one feels. As a matter of fact, since no precaution is taken for the solution and no attempt is made in this regard, this irritating situation goes on and on. Consequently this person continues to grumble as he is used to do.

However according to the morality of the Qur'an, a person is responsible from everything he sees around him, everything he hears around him and every incident he bears witness to. If there is something wrong going on, it is the responsibility of a Muslim to "correct it or to strive for the correction of it". Consequently, a Muslim's point of view about an irritating situation should be about "coming up with a solution".

Along with that, such people ignore the discomfort that the ones around them, who bear witness to their muttering and grumblings, would feel about this situation. However, to be with someone who complains about almost everything is both spiritually and physically grueling and wearing.

First and foremost, the fact that the state of mind of a person who keeps grumbling is not compliant with the Qur'an and that such a person would actually be living completely by the morality of ignorance, would cause a serious discomfort and oddity for Muslims witnessing these. That is because a grumbling person would give the impression that he had "forgotten that Allah created everything and that there is benefaction and wisdom in every incident, and that everything happens within the scope of destiny and especially for the test of people".
Such behavior creates the suspicion that he is unaware of the fact that one should respond to all incidents which seem to be hardship and trouble, which requires one to show patience and selflessness, with the morality of the Qur'an. It of course raises doubt for that person to leave himself spinelessly to the morality of the ignorance, even though he is responsible of living by the morals which requires him "to control his rage when he faces things that might make him angry; to say the best of the words; to preach people around in the best possible way; to command the good and to forbid the wrong."

A Muslim is the person who uses his conscience. He is responsible of fearing from Allah and of behaving according to the morality of the Qur'an at every moment and of saying every word by thinking if it is compliant with the Qur'an or not.

A Muslim knows that the habit of grumbling is not compatible with the morality of a person who believes in Allah, who knows destiny and that this world is a place for testing and who is aware of the Hereafter. Grumbling is an unbecoming attitude to nobility of a Muslim and it is indecorum to the awareness and conscience of a Muslim.
A Muslim would make good every defect he sees, on his own by his own means, if necessary but nonetheless does not speak in such a complaining manner. No matter how wronged he might appear to be, he never reflects these in a complaining manner. He tries to correct this situation by talking to the related people or by taking the necessary precautions; but never tells about those in the shallow turn of phrase of ignorance. Even if he comes across something irritating, he controls his anger. He never reflects his anger aimlessly just because he feels angry inside. A Muslim knows that that grumbling is not the way of freeing oneself from anger. He is well aware of the fact anger can only be removed by submission to Allah and abiding by the morality of the Qur'an.

Consequently, "grumbling" is one of the most important moral attributes that differentiates the Muslims from the people of society of ignorance. Accordingly, approaching this subject with such point of view and using one's mind, conscience and willpower in the best way, to live by the morality of the Qur'an in the most perfect manner, is a beautiful responsibility faith lays on them.

And say to My servants to speak that which is best. The satan plants animosity between them. The satan was to mankind a clear enemy. (Surat Al-Isra': 53)

Source: http://www.harunyahya.com/

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I KNOW.....

I know that the place where I now stand; where I live my life, is my path in life, so I am not lost

I know that what happened to me was written as my destiny and no one can change it and I don’t want to, because it has made me who I am

I know that what I fear is from the unknown and belongs to Allah, so I have to trust in Him – not in myself – so I should not fear

I know that the people in my life were sent to me and if some are taken away I have to let them go, trusting in Allah that He will send another

I know Allah loves me for I feel His mercy, forgiveness and compassion all around me – so I have to love myself

I know that barakah is peace and that ease exists within the difficulty so I shouldn’t resist hardship but embrace it looking for the joy and allow myself to feel it

I know that everything changes even myself, so I have to be open to transform and evolve – knowing that everything from Allah is good even if we don’t always see it

I know I am part of all that exists because I feel the affect of life around me and because when I’m sincere and determined the universe moves to make room for me


BY SELMA COOK

SOURCE:http://www.islamicgarden.com

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I KNOW.....

I know that the place where I now stand; where I live my life, is my path in life, so I am not lost

I know that what happened to me was written as my destiny and no one can change it and I don’t want to, because it has made me who I am

I know that what I fear is from the unknown and belongs to Allah, so I have to trust in Him – not in myself – so I should not fear

I know that the people in my life were sent to me and if some are taken away I have to let them go, trusting in Allah that He will send another

I know Allah loves me for I feel His mercy, forgiveness and compassion all around me – so I have to love myself

I know that barakah is peace and that ease exists within the difficulty so I shouldn’t resist hardship but embrace it looking for the joy and allow myself to feel it

I know that everything changes even myself, so I have to be open to transform and evolve – knowing that everything from Allah is good even if we don’t always see it

I know I am part of all that exists because I feel the affect of life around me and because when I’m sincere and determined the universe moves to make room for me


BY SELMA COOK

SOURCE:http://www.islamicgarden.com

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HOW TO ACHIEVE TRANQUILITY OF THE HEART

Sometimes it feels like it’s just too much – these fluctuations in our iman, the repeated sinning, the feeling that “I just don’t deserve Allah’s mercy.” The tests always feel like punishments. There is a constant worry about the future: my marriage, my money, my career, my Ummah… And some difficulties just feel like they are too great to overcome. We know we’re not supposed to ask this, but the question at the back of our minds is, “Why me?”

We have all heard that we should never despair of Allah’s Mercy. And on the surface, we try not to, but Shaytaan (the Devil) has a trick. We tend to despair of ourselves and our incapacity to change things, especially the inner turmoil that we feel. And the effect of this is basically the same as despairing of Allah’s mercy. We do not always accept that Allah can take us out of the situation we are in and we don’t need to ‘deserve’ the trouble; Allah isn’t punishing us and we don’t need to be perfect.

This doesn’t mean, however, that we shouldn’t strive, or take ourselves to account when we do mess up. The key is to develop our relationship with Allah during that trouble. If we know Allah, no situation is too hopeless. No sadness is ever permanent. We perceive trials as they are meant to be perceived – as tests of our trust in Allah, forcing us to put our knowledge into practice and bringing us closer to Him. These trials could potentially be a punishment too, that is if we let it affect us negatively by completely turning away from Him because of our sadness. But our awareness of our own state and our understanding of Allah’s Mercy allows us to turn the punishment into something positive that is manifested through repentance to Allah, alongside increasing in hasanat (good deeds) in order to erase the bad deeds.

The first exercise is for us to consciously realize that Allah knows. Whatever grief we go through, whatever hardship we endure, we must understand that we are never alone. Even if we feel abandoned by the world and those closest to us, Allah is there. He reminds us in the Qur’an,

“Fear not. Indeed, I am with you [both]; I hear and I see.” (20:46)

As long as we begin by recognizing that Allah is with us and He is close to us, there remains a solution to our inner worries. There are things we need to know in order to develop our relationship with Allah. Then there are things we need to do in order to maintain that closeness to Allah. And finally, there are things we need to aspire for to achieve the ideal relationship with our Lord. We pray that by the end of the series, we will all have developed a stronger relationship with Allah.

SOURCE:http://www.suhaibwebb.com/

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WHY GOD MADE TEACHERS

When God created teachers,
He gave us special friends
To help us understand His world
And truly comprehend
The beauty and the wonder
Of everything we see,
And become a better person
With each discovery.


When God created teachers,
He gave us special guides
To show us ways in which to grow
So we can all decide
How to live and how to do
What's right instead of wrong,
To lead us so that we can lead
And learn how to be strong.


Why God created teachers,
In His wisdom and His grace,
Was to help us learn to make our world
A better, wiser place

- Kevin William Huff

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WHY TEACHERS are CREATED.....

When God created teachers,
He gave us special friends
To help us understand His world
And truly comprehend
The beauty and the wonder
Of everything we see,
And become a better person
With each discovery.


When God created teachers,
He gave us special guides
To show us ways in which to grow
So we can all decide
How to live and how to do
What's right instead of wrong,
To lead us so that we can lead
And learn how to be strong.


Why God created teachers,
In His wisdom and His grace,
Was to help us learn to make our world
A better, wiser place.


BY Kevin William Huff

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