Keeping Positive Expectations with Allah Ta'ala and Relying on Allah
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©Mufti Muhammad Noman Daji, Batley, UK – [email protected] Keeping Positive Expectations with Allah Ta’ala and Relying on Allah Ta’ala during the Holy Month of Ramadhan (By: Mufti Muhammad Noman Daji, Batley, UK - [email protected]) (Wednesday 29th April 2020 – 6th Ramadhan Al-Kareem 1441 A.H) Context of the Article It was towards the end of the day of the first fast before the Asar Salah when I was out for my daily walk through which I prefer to engage in some of my daily Zikr practices it dawned upon me the first of the 29 or 30 days of this blessed and auspicious month was about to end and how quickly the day was ending too. And like this in no time the days would pass by and the Holy month would depart us. It would be a monumental disaster (an understatement) if this month was not utilised and maximised. And on the contrary if I became smart in my thinking (mind set) and implementation of the acts of worship (devotional acts) and employed some discipline towards that I can gain tremendous benefits (an understatement too). This realisation through the taufeeq and blessing of Allah Ta’ala and due to the barakah of this holy and auspicious month kick-started a train of thoughts and inspired me to reflect further as to how I can utilise my time effectively and also be smart in the devotional practices I am engaging in due to the barakah and blessings of this auspicious and blessed month. The thoughts I am sharing in this article are the outcome of this reflection. Allah Ta’ala accept and make it beneficial for myself and all the readers. Aameen! Objective of the Article per (ت مّ مّك / The objective and aim of this article is not on sharing how you can increase the quantity (Kamiyyat say of the devotional practices you are engaging in. Instead the aim and goal is to share some thoughts and guidelines that can help you mould, train and develop your mind-set into looking at the acts of worship and of the (تّي مّك / devotional practices related to Ramadhan Kareem in a different light. So the quality (Kayfiyyat acts of worship and devotional practices will be enhanced. And, with the taufeeq and mercy of Allah Ta’ala if you truly desire and seek this then it will effectively totally change your outlook on the Ramadhan Kareem acts of worship and devotional practices you engage in; how you connect with them and perform them. The thoughts in this article are about becoming smart in your devotional practices and making life easier for yourself so you are enjoying what you are doing and finding them meaningful and worthy of engaging in them properly i.e. with your heart and soul. There is no need to force yourself to do these devotional practices even though continuing to do the devotional practices by forcing yourself has many merits too. However, the goal is to get past this barrier and threshold and start to love these devotional practices as we learn from the life of the best of all role models, the beloved of Allah Ta’ala - Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him). For example, his love of Salah we can gauge from the words to Hazrat Bilal (peace be upon him) (Arihna bis Salat Ya Bilal) and also evident from his actions that the feet of the Messenger of Allah Ta’ala (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) would get swollen due to long periods of standing in the night Salah. A similar practice of the beloved of Allah Ta’ala - Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) is evident and well documented for Fast, Charity, etc. This clearly states these devotional practices were loved by the Messenger of Allah Ta’ala (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him). They were not done out of mere necessity, obligation and to have a tick in the box. Hence, for our own success and good we need to follow in the same footsteps of the beloved 1 ©Mufti Muhammad Noman Daji, Batley, UK – [email protected] of Allah Ta’ala - Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) and aspire towards achieving this noble and beautiful goal. There is value in quantity and in the Deen and Shariah certain counts are prescribed in many acts of worship whether they are obligatory (Farz) or optional (not obligatory but could be Sunnah, etc). For example, as it’s the month of fasting there is a count of 29 or 30 days of fasting prescribed and the duration (count) of the fasting hours will be dependent on the country you reside and the season the fasting month falls in. In the case of UK the fasting days are long due to them being currently in the summer months. Similarly, the count of the obligatory Salah (5 times a day and 20 rakat with the Witr Salah) and also the Sunnah Salah associated with the obligatory Salah (12 rakats in total). There are other Sunnah Salah during the day (like Tahajjud, etc) with various counts and as it’s the month of fasting the 20 rakats of Taraweeh. Similarly, for Zakaat it has a count of 2.5% of the disposable amount. Also, due to the special connection of the Holy Quran with this blessed month the increase in the recitation (Tilawat) so the frequency of the Khatam increases to as much as the believer aspires and shows courage for. And also the increase in the Sadaqah (financial and otherwise) and whether the Sadaqah is obligatory and optional. The point here is that there is a threshold in terms of quantity in the acts of worship. However, in terms of quality and excelling in this space the scope is limitless. The most gains can be achieved in this space when some focus is applied coupled with the taufeeq and intense mercy of Allah Ta’ala. For example, there is no limit to the level and depth of Ikhlas (Sincerity in Intention) you infuse and strengthen your devotional acts with. Objective of Ramadhan Kareem In this section I want to shed light on the actual objective of Ramadhan Kareem by discussing how the objective of fasting fits in with this objective of Ramadhan Kareem and then how the objective of Ramadhan Kareem is in line and fits in with the Purpose of Human Life. It is an important section to grasp to truly gain insight into the significance of this auspicious and blessed month. Truly the Divine is at work here. Try to understand this properly. As we learn explicitly from the Holy Quran that by design fasting is prescribed so the believers can attain and develop Taqwa when they properly adhere to the requirements of fasting, Taqwa is gaining the fear and consciousness of Allah Ta’ala to that level that it prevents you from engaging in sins and also helps you to perform the obligatory acts. Sayyidina Hazrat Abu Hurairah (Allah be pleased with him) was once asked to describe Taqwa. Hazrat Abu Hurairah (Allah be pleased with him) replied that Taqwa is like treading a narrow path where both sides of the path is laden with thorns where you have to pass very carefully so your clothes do not get tangled with the thorns and you don’t hurt yourself and damage your clothing. Such a beautiful and vivid description of this abstract concept of Taqwa. Taqwa is truly treading a thorn laden path where a moment of heedlessness can cause immense damage to your Deen. As we know the objective of fasting is to develop Taqwa as mentioned above. Now the question arises as to what the objective of the Holy Month of Ramadhan is. From the study of the Ahadeeth (Prophetic sayings) and Sunnah (Prophetic practices) of the beloved of Allah Ta’ala, Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) related to this holy month we can conclude that using the fasting as the base, the and foundation and the bedrock to catapult the believer and make it easier for them to practice all the foundational and core practices of the Deen which are being trained in this holy month through various Divine mechanisms which I have discussed in detail in my “Series of Reflections on Ramadhan Kareem”. 2 ©Mufti Muhammad Noman Daji, Batley, UK – [email protected] And through all that training the ultimate goal and objective is to reconnect the believers with Allah Ta’ala and re-focus their energies towards their purpose of life i.e. total servitude towards Allah Ta’ala at all times and in all conditions and states. This means to reach the level of Ihsan in this purpose of life. I was thinking and it occurred to me that the key component of this state and level of Ihsan is Zikr i.e. where the remembrance which my beloved (ركذ) of Allah Ta’ala is embedded in the heart and mind at all times. The translation of Zikr (تشاد دای) mentor and guide Hazrat Moulana Masihullah Khan Jalalabadi (RA) used to make is Yaad-daasht .(تشاد دای) which strengthens this point and assertion. I really love this translation of Zikr as Yaad-daasht So the objective of this holy and auspicious month is to reconnect with and strengthen our purpose of life i.e. to become engaged in total servitude towards Allah Ta’ala at all times and in all conditions and states with the awareness of Allah Ta’ala at all times.