Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

Steadfast
Al-Rum (The Romans) - Chapter 30: Verse 60

"Therefore persevere patiently. For certain, God's promise will come true. So, let not the ones deprived of certainty trouble your mind."

Perseverance is the best policy for the believers as they go along their hard, long way that at times seem endless. They must remain confident of the fulfillment of God's promise. This will enable them to remain steadfast, free of worry and doubt. Other people may hesitate, or deny the truth, or doubt that God's promise will ever be fulfilled, because they have no true knowledge and lack the means of certainty. Believers, however, must persevere, remain steadfast and confident, even though their path may seem endless, and their goal seem concealed behind thick clouds.

History bears witness that the Prophet (peace be upon him) proved himself to be as firm and steadfast as God had wanted His last Messenger to be. If anyone challenged him, regardless of the arena of the challenger, he was unfailingly defeated by the Prophet. In the course of time, his powerful personality brought about a revolution that could not be thwarted by the combined forces of unbelief and polytheism across the Arabian Peninsula, and this despite the fact that his opponents spared no weapons available to them.

Compiled From:
"In the Shade of the Quran" - Sayyid Qutb, Vol. 13, p. 400
"Towards Understanding the Quran" - Sayyid Abul Ala Mawdudi, Vol. 8, pp. 116, 117

From Issue: 836 [Read original issue]

Understanding The Prophet's Life

God's Presence

When we study the Prophet's (peace be upon him) life, we find him glorifying God and praising Him at every moment of his life. He would wake up before dawn, leaving his bed when the dark curtain of the night still covers everything. He then says: "Praise be to God who has returned my spirit to me, given me physical strength and permitted me to glorify Him." [Tirmidhi] Consider how he welcomes life, full of optimism: "Praise be to God who has returned my spirit to me." Life is a gift from God and we are able to do many good things in a day. The Prophet expresses his gratitude for his well-being. We may reflect long on the last part of this supplication, which mentions God's permission to glorify Him. That is an expression of complete devotion that words can hardly describe.

The Prophet's awareness of God's presence never left him for a moment, and He praised Him at every juncture and before every action. The Prophet is therefore the perfect role model for all believers. Some of us may wonder whether we have to repeat all these supplications all the time. Scholars rightly make clear that although they are all recommended, none is obligatory.

Compiled From:
"Muhammad: His Character and Conduct" - Adil Salahi

From Issue: 957 [Read original issue]

Cool Tips!

Sense of Humour

One of the best things you can do for yourself when you fail is to learn to laugh. I love the comment made by a humourist who said he spoke for an organization where they always rated the previous meeting's speaker in their program using little bells. Speakers who received a standing ovation got four bells next to their name. Those who were above average got three. Merely average speakers got two bells, and poor speakers got one. The humourist said that when he spoke to them several months ago, they awarded him the no-bell prize.

There isn't a person alive who wouldn't benefit from a good laugh, especially when he's done something really stupid. When you take your mistakes too seriously, then everything seems to become life-and-death. When that happens, you sure die a lot. The way to solve that is to keep your sense of humour no matter how bad things get.

Compiled From:
"The Difference Maker" - John C. Maxwell, p. 156

From Issue: 751 [Read original issue]