Ramadan Reminders; Day 20

Assalam Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu! :)

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

Daily Reminder 20:

Subhan Allah it’s been 20 days since we began fasting and it hardly seems like a week! 

This passage of time sometimes freaks me out. It makes me realise that we don’t have much time left to prepare for our meeting with the Lord! Every day is a precious gift from Allah swt which most of us fail to appreciate.

And yet our Lord, The Most Merciful of the merciful, The Best of all those who show mercy and The Most Generous Rabb has allowed us to enter the final and the most important lap of this month! Alhamdullilah.

We should be striving to make these 10 days better than the previous 20. We must double up on our Ibadah, Dhikr, Istaghfar and Dua! 

Our hearts must constantly beg Allah swt for forgiveness and to protect us from the Horrors of the Grave, The Judgement Day and the Hell Fire. And our souls should be longing to meet its Creator! 

Allah swt extends the period of His slave in this Dunya for 2 reasons:

One, by allowing our souls and bodies to rise up every morning, Allah gives us another chance to seek His forgiveness for our sins, repent to Him and to take a step closer to earning His pleasure.

Two, He prolongs the life of His slave so that he accumulates his sins for which he can be punished severely after his death. 

We should be asking ourselves - Which category do we want to fall into...?

Verse of the Day:

Juz: 20

Surah: Al Ankabut

Verse: 6

وَمَن جَاهَدَ فَإِنَّمَا يُجَاهِدُ لِنَفْسِهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعَالَمِينَ

“And whoever strives only strives for [the benefit of] himself. Indeed, Allah is free from need of the worlds.”

During an affliction or a trial, Allah swt asks His believing slaves to observe patience through Salah and to have complete faith in His Decree. Why? Why should we glorify Allah when we’re in trouble? 

Recently, one of our Muslim brothers passed away leaving behind a story that continues to inspire Muslims and others throughout the world. He called his affliction a blessing. Why? Why did each of his sentence praise and thank Allah swt?

That’s because our striving, our patience, our tongue that glorifies Allah swt in all circumstances is going to benefit us, not Allah!

It is we human beings who have needs and desires and it is us who are forgetful. Sometimes we forget about the obligations of our Lord and pursue our desires even though they maybe disliked by Allah. When we get distracted by the glitters of this world and temptations start to lure us, Allah swt sends down an affliction upon us.

The hardships we face are in fact a blessing from Allah swt. Our sins need to be cleansed. Either in this Dunya through our trials or in the Akhirah through the fire. So the afflictions we face in this Dunya either wipes off our sins or raises our status in the Hereafter or both!

So when you’re going through a trial or sickness or anything that causes you the smallest amount of pain (it could also be a muscle pull!), strive with patience and Imaan. Not with the intention that you’re doing it FOR Allah but you’re enduring for the SAKE OF Allah!

Allah does not need us, not even the smallest bit. There are His creations who do the Tasbeeh 24x7. The colonies of ants that are insignificant and that you can destroy within seconds are in fact nations that glorify Allah swt [Sahih Bukhari].

Even if we don’t praise Him, it’s not going to affect His grandeur because He is already being praised by the smallest to the largest of creations.

And trials are a part of every individual’s life. Each person has a different method of dealing with them. But if we bear through our problems patiently for the sake of Allah, to please Him, He will lift that problem from our lives, fulfil our needs, forgive our shortcomings and also reward us without measure in this world and the Hereafter! 

Sunnah Challenge 20:

The best of the manners can be learned from our Rasulullah (saws) and one of the Sunnah which we must try to follow is to rinse the mouth after having milk!

Ibn Abbas (ra) narrated the Prophet (saws) drank some milk then called for some water. Once he got the water he rinsed his mouth then said, “It has fat.”

[Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim]

Scientific studies have also shown that milk contains lactose, which when stayed on the teeth for a long period of time causes cavities due to the sugar present in the lactose!

How beautiful is the Sunnah! Which benefits us in so many amazing ways! 

Assalam Alaykum.