Anas (May Allah be pleased with him) reported that: The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu álayhi wa sallam) said, “Let not one of you wish for death because of a misfortune which befalls him. If he cannot help doing so, he should say: ‘O Allah, keep me alive as long as You know that life is better for me, and make me die when death is better for me”.
Al-Bukhari and Muslim
seinedoll replied to your post: seinedoll replied to your quote: Our past only…
This is exactly what I mean. Perhaps I’m paying for the past with living in perpetual anxiety. Perhaps it will resurface too. Who knows. Either way I’ll pay for it.
We always pay for it, one way or another. So it’s hardly necessary for us to torment ourselves about it in the process because I believe that if we’re sincere, the trials that befall us in life is a direct result of that which we previously perpetrated against others. It always reminds me of that verse from Surah Baqara that says:
Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned. ~ Qur’an 2:286
The verse that immediately follows it is probably the most important plea to Allah that any believer can make (in my opinion anyway):
“Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred. Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us. Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear. And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people.” ~ Qur’an 2:286
Feeling guilty or expecting to pay for what you did, and letting it show in the way you handle similar situations in future is reflective of remorse. Those that lack remorse are usually arrogant, condescending and inconsiderate in their demeanour. The world is full of people like that. Excessive guilt over past mistakes can be unnecessarily damaging to the point where it prevents us from pursuing good actions as well. It’s a vicious cycle that usually has no end in sight, which is why it’s important to remain grounded about it. That’s why we’re taught that:
None of you should die without expecting good from Allah.
[Sahih Muslim, Book 40, Number 6877]
This is starting to sound like a bayaan. 🙂 But I guess I need these reminders more than anyone else, since like many others, I am my own worst enemy. Besides, we live in a world where there is no shortage of people that want to rub your nose in your past mistakes, so why do it to yourself?
seinedoll replied to your quote: Our past only rules our hearts and minds as long…
What if the past can resurface at any moment?
I know what you mean. It happens to me often. The only time it ever knocks me off balance (so to speak) is when it’s related to an incident that didn’t have closure. I’m usually quite pedantic in getting the truth out of others when it comes to disagreements that lead to people going their separate ways, because that way, I’m not left wondering about what-if’s forever. But, unfortunately, more often than not, the more important issues are rarely accompanied by the closure we need, in which case I just keep reminding myself that Allah saved me from something that would have been detrimental to my being. And I also remind myself that (in the case of an unpleasant relationship experience) the actions that played out were reflective of who they were, and not who I am. Either way, it sucks. :-/
The sweetness of this month of Ramadaan is always tainted at the beginning and at the end because of the stubborn insistence and double standards of the people that proclaim themselves to be the leaders of the Ummah. Their very own offices will release perpetual salaah time tables that can be used throughout the year, publish calendars that include to-the-minute exact times for starting and ending fast, all based on scientifically calculated methods, while still insisting that the moon for Ramadaan cannot be accurately predicted and therefore must be sighted with the naked eye.
But the ridiculous double standards don’t stop there. They go on further to accept that if someone in another part of the country sights the moon, we can accept that as sufficient proof that the month of Ramadaan has started and therefore we can act on that. However, what they fail to acknowledge is that once again, a double standard exists. On the one hand, they’re trying to leverage off the permissibility of acting on the sighting of the moon in another town close to your own, but fail to acknowledge the practicality of the time taken for travel between the two towns during the time of the sahaba relative to our own experiences now.
For example, in South Africa, if I’m living in Johannesburg and the moon is not sighted in time for Esha salaah, it is common practice to check with the Muslim communities in Cape Town if they possibly sighted the moon since sunset is usually 45 minutes to 2 hours later than Johannesburg. Given that they’re on the coast with low humidity, their skies are considerably clearer as well making the conditions perfect for sighting the moon. However, Cape Town is 1200km (750 miles) away, which means that it would have been physically impossible to travel from Cape Town to Johannesburg in a single day on horseback or camel back or any other means of transport available during the time of the sahaba. In case I’m not making sense here, the double standard that I see in this is simple. We’re willing to exercise the leniency of making news of a sighting from another town a permissible indicator to start Ramadaan, but we’re allowing scientific/technological progress to be the basis on which we confirm it? Put differently, we’re happy to apply one part of the Hadith while relying on modern technology to fulfil the means.
There’s a verse in the Qur’an that always echoes in my head when this debate comes up. It says in Surah 21 verse 33:
Sahih InternationalAnd it is He who created the night and the day and the sun and the moon; all [heavenly bodies] in an orbit are swimming.
Muhsin KhanAnd He it is Who has created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, each in an orbit floating.Yusuf AliIt is He Who created the Night and the Day, and the sun and the moon: all (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its rounded course.
Anyone want to hazard a guess as to what will happen to this earth if the moon suddenly floated in an orbit disproportionate to that of the earth or the sun? Yet we’re willing to abide by calendars that tell us to-the-minute when to start and when to stop performing each salaah, but still insist on having pointless debates about the sighting of the moon whose cycle can be predicted as accurately as the sun?
In the interests of unity, the Sunnah is that we follow the majority opinion of our community so that we don’t create divisions. For this reason only do I continue to follow the decisions published by our local masjid. But I pray that in time, this issue as well as the insanity around the use of the moon and star symbols will become a thing of the past and that Muslims around the world can move beyond the pettiness that erupts every single year without fail just because we can’t separate principles from rituals and apply them consistently. Insha-Allah. Ameen.
Comparative religion has always been an interest area of mine. This discussion is quite an interesting one, and if you don’t have enough time to watch the video, here’s a link to the dialogue referred to in the video. Such dialogues are not uncommon between leaders of various faith groups in South Africa. Although it is a lot less prevalent since the passing on of Ahmed Deedat.
Here’s the introduction to the video from the Youtube posting:
According to the Bible, God said to Moses, on whom be peace: I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. (Deuteronomy chapter 18, verse 18 – King James Version).
The prophet described in the above verse must have the following three characteristics: 1. He will be like Moses. 2. He will come from the brothers of the Israelites, i.e. the Ishmaelites. 3. God will put His words in the mouth of the prophet and he will declare what God commanded him.
The question is; who is this prophet? Let us find out…
Question: If I pray in the masjid and the Imaam prays twenty rak’ahs, should I complete twenty along with him or should I pray eight rak’ahs along with him and then pray witr alone and leave?
Answer: I advise that you pray eight rak’ahs and you pray the witr alone. Following the Sunnah is more deserving, for indeed the Prophet, salallaahu ‘alaihi wasallam, said: Pray like you have seen me pray.
Shaykh Muqbil bin Haadee
‘Fadaa’ih wa Nasaa’ih’, Al-Allaamah Al-Muhaddith Muqbil ibn Haadee al-Waadi’ee, Daarul-Haramain, Cairo. Page 86.Translated by Abu Khadeejah
This is extremely concerning. Why then do they recite 20 raka’ah in the haram in Makkah, and also in Majidun Nabawi in Madinah during Ramadaan behind the imam?
