Ramadan Reminders; Day 17

Assalam Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu! :)

May the peace, mercy and blessings of Allah swt be upon you!

Daily Reminder 17:

It is an undeniable truth that majority of the Muslims spend… or rather waste an enormous amount of money, time and energy in selecting their Eid outfits. They spend over a 1000 bucks just on one part of their clothing. If they are females, there’s a huge list which includes new make-up kit, accessories, shoes and bags and what not! (I’ve actually seen this happen and it bothers me alot!)

First and foremost, I don’t know who came up with the idea of “wearing new dress for Eid is a must!” That’s not even in the Sunnah!

It was narrated that Jabir (ra) said: “The Prophet (saws) had a cloak which he would wear on the two Eids and on Fridays.”

[Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah, 1756]

You don’t necessarily HAVE TO buy new clothes before Eid. If you probably have a dress that you haven’t worn much or you haven’t worn at all, you can use it now.

Unfortunately these days, the more expensive and branded one’s Eid dress is, the more stones and gems on a woman’s earrings, the more compliments they receive and this leads to that person thinking high of themselves. 

Arrogance, pride and wastage are one of the things that Allah swt absolutely HATES!

After a great deal of Sabr and Ibadah in this month, do you want your efforts to go down the drain and also start accumulating sins immediately after Ramadan…? 

No sane person would ever wish for that!

But… our Deen is also liberal and if you do want to adorn yourself by staying in the limits; 

-NO wastage, 

-NO exposing your beauty to non-Mahram and 

-NO showing off,

You have all the freedom to do so! :)

But make sure you get the shopping done before the last 10 nights of Ramadan begin. The time you could be spending in the worship of Allah and getting all your past sins forgiven, you’d be spending it in the malls or boutiques!

Needless to say, they are the most crucial and you definitely don’t want to miss out on your Ibadah in any of those nights. 

Verse of the Day:

Juz: 17

Surah: Al Anbiya

Verse: 83

وَأَيُّوبَ إِذْ نَادَىٰ رَبَّهُ أَنِّي مَسَّنِيَ الضُّرُّ وَأَنتَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ

And [mention] Job, when he called to his Lord, “Indeed, adversity has touched me, and you are the Most Merciful of the merciful.”

For some of us, there are problems that affects us mentally and emotionally. And for the others, there are few things that we need desperately. We look for all the times of acceptance of Duas and we make sure that we seek Allah’s help at such times.

We get so lost into our problems and needs that we forget about some of the qualities and attributes of Allah swt. We only remember that He is Al Mujeeb (The One who responds) and Al Kareem (The Generous) and Ar Rahman Ar Rahim (The Entirely Merciful and The Especially Merciful).

But Allah swt is also أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ! The Most Merciful of all those who show mercy. It’s like saying “The best of the best”.

Meaning, your parents are merciful towards you even before you were born. They looked after you and love you the most even though you’ve pooped and peed and puked on them! 

If our parents love crosses all boundaries then Allah’s love for us knows no boundaries! There is no limit to Allah’s mercy, love, care and protection over us. 

Which is exactly why Ayyub (as) calls upon Allah with His Best Attributes!

We all know the story of Ayyub (as) and the long years of trials he had to endure. Instead of asking Allah swt to cure him or to ease his suffering, He just placed his situation in front of Allah and testified that there is nobody in the Heavens and the earth who is more merciful than Allah!

Talk about trust in Allah swt!

What about Yunus (as)? When he was in the darkness of the night in the darkness of the ocean in the darkness of a whale’s belly, he only said;

لَّا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ

“There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers.”

And Allah swt heard the Dua of Yunus (as) from under the various levels of darkness!

Why? Because He is أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ, The Most Merciful of the merciful! 

My experience with the Quran so far has brought about the biggest chances in my life especially in my thoughts. I can say I’ve gotten to know Allah swt better now. And because of that, my trust and love for Allah swt has increased to another level, Alhamdullilah.

And as a person who has seen only positive changes through building a stronger relationship with Allah, I can attest that there is no trial or hardship or sickness that we face, except it is a mercy from Allah swt. It is a chance for us to purify our sins and elevate our status in this Dunya and the Hereafter. It is also meant to instill Sabr and Taqwa in our hearts. 

So now when I have to endure any trial, I only thank Allah swt, ask Him to purify me and bring goodness into my life through these trials.

I swear I’ve never felt this peace and contentment before! Subhan Allah! 

Sunnah Challenge 17:

Islam is such a beautiful religion that takes care of every minor and major things that we do in life. Even a basic act such as eating comes with etiquettes to follow from the footsteps of our Prophet (saws)!

Alhamdulillah, for many of us are blessed with food which can much more than sustain us. Yet we complain. When a food is brought to us with much effort, we don't think even once before criticizing it!

Narrated Abu Huraira (ra): The Prophet never criticized any food (he was invited to) but he used to eat if he liked the food, and leave it if he disliked. 

[Sahih Bukhari]

Such was Rasulullah (saws)! And where do we stand?

Let us keep in mind to appreciate the blessings of Allah at all times, for many are not blessed even with the food which we easily dislike. If we don't like the food, remember to not criticize and be quiet.

Assalam Alaykum.