You Are Chosen!!!

Peace! :)

Congratulations!! You've been chosen by The President for a special meal!!! Only problem is you will have to dine with him at 3 am! Once more, 3:00 AM!! Oh and he will grant you one wish as well!!! Are we, 'hungry for special consideration' youth gonna miss such an awesome opportunity??!!! Who in the world would wana miss this meeting??? It's with The President!!!

What if I phrase it this way...

Congratulations!! You've been chosen by The President of all the presidents in the world!!! You have the meeting scheduled at 3 am! Oh and He will grant you WHATEVER you wish for!! Best part about this meeting is, you get the opportunity everyday!!! Are we gonna miss this beyond awesome opportunity???

Who in the world would wana...........Oh yes we do. Sadly, we do miss this opportunity. :(

What we fail to realize is the beauty of this time of the day.. 

Imagine having a heart to heart talk with someone very close to you. You pour out heart infront of them.. express your fears, emotions and dreams.. How content would we feel..?

It's like someone just took load off our chests..

But Allah says He is closer to you than your Jugular vein! (Surah Qaf. Verse 16)

And here, Allah Himself is inviting us to share our worries with him.. A meeting where there's only you and your Lord.. He has chosen YOU to spend time with Him.. And yet we choose to ignore His call?? The call of The Master of the world..?You have a chance to ask him whatever you are in need of.. You have a chance to cry out in front of your Lord, share your fears, rectify your faults, express yourself..

Then what's stopping us from utilizing this priceless opportunity..? So what if it's early? The rewards are humongous! By praying Fajr, you will receive blessings and treasures that'll surpass your imagination! Nope..that's not me saying it.. Let's see who...

The Messenger of Allah (SAWS) has said: "Whoever prays the two cooler prayer times (Fajr and Asr) will enter Paradise."

(Authenticity : Saheeh Bukhari and Muslim)

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah (SAWS) said, "And if they only knew what was in the prayers of Isha and Fajr, they would come to them even if they had to CRAWL." 

(Agreed upon)

<I could imagine myself crawling if there was a box of 100,000 $ left outside my door..> When the rewards of praying Fajr is beyond 100,000 $, is unimaginable, surpasses the definition of 'priceless' in this world, you are guaranteed treasures that cannot be compared with the meager treasures of this world, why can't we respond to the call of our Lord..? Think, my readers! 

If we do wake up (chances are almost nil) then how exactly do we present ourselves before Allah? 

Scarf wrapped around like a towel on our heads, water dripping from our night suits, yawning continuously  (like its as essential as breathing), eyes struggling to keep itself wide open, scratching here and there... Can you imagine the sight???

Would we visit.. or rather dare to visit the president in such a state??? You might be thinking I'm out of my mind or maybe that's what the president might think.. (LOL)

Then why are dressed in rags when we stand infront of The Lord of the worlds, The President of presidents...? 

I think I've made myself pretty clear in stating the importance of Fajr Salah. And trust me when I say this (cause I've experienced it myself) one CANNOT have a better start to their day than offering 2 rakahs and seeking Allah's guidance.. It's Allah's promise - You call to Him and He WILL respond. :)

Now. Question arises, if something is still stopping us from experiencing this amazingly beautiful meeting.. And if we have made up our minds to wake up for Fajr, how can we put it into practice..?

I'll be back with the answers in my next article.. ;)

Until then,  الصَّلَاةُ خَيْرٌ مِنْ النَّوْمِ

(Prayer is Better Than Sleep)

As Salam Alykum :)

"How can I ever face You?"

Readers! Peace be onto you!

My first article was about having trust and faith in Allah, The Controller of all our affairs which will come about through prayer.

Since I'm a youth myself, I can say some of you might still hesitate to take the first step. Question is, what's that 'something' that's stopping us from experiencing that magical moment.. (No not magic, fellas! The indescribable feeling I talked about in my previous article......)

"How can I ever face You? I have committed heaps and heaps of sins. I don't think anyone could ever forgive me!"

"How can I ever face You? My sins are unforgivable! Even if I start praying now, there's no hope!"

Two different approaches, but it has the same explanation.

The answer lies in Surah Az Zumar, Verse 53

"O My servants who have transgressed against their own souls, despair not of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful."

There is hope for those who seek hope. No matter how much you've sinned or how 'corrupt' (very harsh word.. I know.. Calm down!) you are, Allah promises that He will forgive IF you seek His forgiveness. You can always take a U - turn and head back to your Creator. He is called The Most Merciful, The Beneficient, The Forgiver, The Most Kind, The Compassionate, The Loving, for a reason!

Allah calls out to His servants, a call of forgiveness, mercy and compassion. 

As we live in a world of Fitnah (temptations) and are given a free will, Allah says as long as we call on Him and seek forgiveness with sincerity and put our hope in Him, He will forgive us even if our sins were to reach the clouds of the sky or close to fill this earth.

Further a hadith declares : When a person has repented from a sin, it is as if he had never committed that sin and.. (Read this one carefully) his sins become his good deeds!!

Now THAT'S what you call Mercy!! 

This statement alone can convince one to have hope and never to despair. A sincere call to Allah can change what you may have thought was impossible to change!

Now when you make dua, seek Allah's forgiveness and ask Allah from His bounties, you need be convinced and trust Allah. There's no room for doubts! Ask Allah with will and conviction for there is nothing so great to Allah that He cannot grant it! 

So the dynamic youth! No matter how far you've gone, you still have a chance to start anew. Trust me when I say this. When you raise your hands in dua and for no reason tears start to flow and you just want to let them flow till your heart is content, that's my definition for Priceless. 

Remember this. Prayer isn't a 'spare wheel' that you pull out when you're in trouble. It is a 'steering wheel' that directs the right path throughout your life.

As Salam Alykum