Assalam Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu! :)
May the peace, mercy and blessings of Allah swt be upon you!
Daily Reminder 13:
When it comes to Dua, there are many posts about its importance, the different times of acceptance of Duas, the best Dua, why we shouldn’t be giving up on Dua and so on…
But what I’m going to ask you is a bit different. Has it ever happened that you sincerely made a Dua to Allah swt and it wasn’t accepted…? Did it not hurt you at least a little bit that in spite of constantly and sincerely asking for just one thing, it still wasn’t accepted by Allah…? Didn’t you think, “Sure nothing is impossible for Allah swt, then why didn’t He make my wish possible…?”
What if I tell you that by not accepting your Dua, Allah swt is making your accountability easy on the Day of Judgement… He swt is paving your road to Jannah…? And by not fulfilling your wish, Allah is stocking up on those things that will prevent you from entering the Fire…?
On the Day of Judgement, there will be a person who will see many mountains full of rewards. This person will be surprised and confident that it doesn’t belong him because he feels he didn’t even live that long enough to commit those many abundant good deeds!
Quite a long time will pass by and he will notice that no one has come to claim their rewards… He’ll turn to Allah swt and ask Him, “O Allah! These mountain full of rewards! Who are they for?”
Allah swt will reply, “This is for you, My servant!”
This person will be astonished and amazed and in doubt too as to what made him accumulate these many rewards!
Allah swt will tell him, “My servant! When you were in the Dunya, you used to make Dua to me. I never accepted your Dua. But what I did in return is I gave you reward. I kept on giving you rewards for the Dua you used to make. And today those duas are a mountain full of rewards!”
And this person will say, “O Allah! In that case, why did You accept any of my Duas!”
[Ahmed]
Subhan Allah!
If only we truly understood why Allah swt is The Most Merciful and why He keeps repeating in the Quran that the reward of the believers will not be lost!
When you ask Allah swt for something, ask Him with full conviction and faith. Keep asking Him consistently and constantly in your prayers and also outside of your prayers. But if you don’t see a response, don’t be in haste. Leave it in the Hands of Allah! Because Allah swt has knowledge over things which we are clueless about! Yes, His Wise Decisions are not always what you wanted but it is always in YOUR FAVOUR!
Imagine, on the Judgement Day, you’ll find your mountains of rewards and realise that it is because of these unaccepted Duas, you will be welcomed in Jannah! After all, isn’t that our ultimate goal?
Ask Allah swt for the smallest needs and desires, even if it was new Converse shoes you saw at the mall! Or your desire to eat at a specific restaurant or to get you that watch your friend was wearing the other day! Absolutely everything!
Because if Allah accepts your Dua, He is increasing your Imaan and wants you to do Shukr! But if He hasn’t accepted your Dua, you’re assured that He swt is working on something even better!
Verse of the Day
Juz: 13
Surah: Ibrahim
Verse: 7
وَإِذْ تَاَذَّنَ رَبُّكُمْ لَئِن شَكَرْتُمْ لأَزِيدَنَّكُمْ وَلَئِن كَفَرْتُمْ إِنَّ عَذَابِي لَشَدِيدٌ
And [remember] when your Lord proclaimed, “If you are grateful, I will surely increase you [in favour]; but if you deny, indeed, My punishment is severe.”
Every ayah in the Quran is a miracle sent down by Allah swt and it holds many treasures, some of which may be unknown to us. A Believer will always try to find a lesson for himself in each ayah of the Quran.
But this verse from Surah Ibrahim is one of the most explicit and beneficial verse for all of mankind. Sadly, these days the non-Muslims exercise gratitude much more than the Muslim community. There are several books on gratitude – the how’s and why’s and when’s, most of which are written by non-Muslim authors.
Brothers & Sisters! This is a command given by Allah swt, much before the non-Muslims even discovered the word ‘gratitude’! We should be acting upon Shukr for each and every second of our life!
The fact that Allah swt keeps giving us another day to live, to repent and gives permission to our heart for every beat is something we have taken for granted! And this is the same reason why the non-Muslims are so deeply thankful for.
Guess what the American author, Melody Bettie feels about gratitude. She said, “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend!” Isn’t this beautiful?!
Imagine, as Muslims how grateful should we be to Allah swt for He has blessed us with those things we never even asked Him for!
Did you know that the above command of Allah in Surah Ibrahim, v.7 was what Musa (as) told his people after they crossed the sea?
These are the same people who suffered at the hands of the tyrant, Firaun! Their sons were killed by him! He was an oppressor! After being under trials for such a long period, Musa (as) is asking his people to be grateful instead of being patient! Why?
Because we cannot be patient if we’re not grateful! Subhan Allah!
Imagine, a car meets with an accident but the entire family is safe. What is the man or the woman going to say? “Thank God nothing happened to us!” And because they’re grateful that God didn’t cause harm to their family, they’re able to be patient during this trial.
Now generally, giving thanks or Shukr is understood by performing this act when we’re blessed with something right…?
What about Yusuf (as)? Do you think he would go on to become the Treasurer or something like a Finance Minister of a country if he wasn’t taken up as slave or if he wasn’t thrown into that well by his brothers?
What does this teach us? Gratitude is not to be done only when we’re blessed with something but also when we’re afflicted with a trial!
Because you never know which trial or hardship is going to turn out to be the best blessing in your life! Or through which difficulty you were saved from a much bigger problem!
And the beauty of this ayah is that Allah swt didn’t limit gratitude to anything. Meaning no matter what you’re thankful for and how much you’re grateful to Allah, Allah swt will increase that for you!
In other words, repeating ‘Alhamdullilah’ a 100 times does not necessarily mean you’re grateful. But if you truly feel thankful to Allah in your heart, then one Alhamdullilah is going to suffice your feeling of gratitude! Subhan Allah!
Indeed, Alhamdullilah for the greatest gift Allah has bestowed upon me, the understanding of the Quran, without which I would be lost like a wanderer in the desert!
What are you grateful to Allah swt for? ;)
Sunnah Challenge 13:
Do you want to know of a deed that will multiply its reward TEN times?
The Prophet (saws) said:
“When you hear the Mu’adhin calling for the prayer, repeat his words then ask Allah’s blessings upon me, because the one who asks Allah’s blessings upon me once will be rewarded ten blessings by Allah.”
[Sahih Muslim, The Book of Prayer, Hadith 384]
We can ask for Allah's blessings upon the Prophet (saws) by reciting the salawat:
اللهم صلِّ علَى محمد، و علَى آلِ محمد، كما صليت علَى إبراهيم و علَى آلِ إبراهيم، إنك حميد مجيد
اللهم بارك علَى محمد، و علَى آلِ محمد، كما بَارَكْت علَى إبراهيم و علَى آلِ إبراهيم إنك حميد مجيد
Allahumma salli ala Muhammadin wa ala ali Muhammadin, kama sallayta ala Ibrahima wa ala ali Ibrahima innaka Hameedun Majeed.
Allahumma Barik ala Muhammadin wa ala aali Muhammadin kama barakta ala Ibrahima wa ala aali Ibrahima innaka Hameedun Majeed.
“O Allah, bestow your favor on Muhammad and on the family of Muhammad as You have bestowed Your favor on Ibrahim and on the family of Ibrahim, You are Praiseworthy, Most Glorious. O Allah, bless Muhammad and the family of Muhammad as You have blessed Ibrahim and the family of Ibrahim, You are Praiseworthy, Most Glorious”.
[Al-Bukhari]
Next time you hear the Adhaan, don't just recite one Dua that follows it, but remember to include the salawat for our Rasulullah (saws)!
May Allah swt reward us for our good deeds, protect us from straying into the wrong path, and make us among the righteous! Ameen.
Assalam Alaykum.
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