Friday Nasiha

Living The Quran

Al-Insan (Humans)
Chapter 76: Verse 3

We Choose, the Power is Ours!
"We showed him the way: whether he be grateful or ungrateful (rests on his will)."

Satan tries to convince us that we are just pawns in a plan that will play itself out. Allah is the Creator of all things, including men, women and their actions. We are the 'doers' of our actions, i.e. we choose to do certain things and not to do certain things.

While Allah has the power to control our actions, He has given us guidance and left it up to us to follow it. Once we realize that we choose our actions, it only makes sense that we are accountable for what we do.

Dupe Check

With Satan constantly attacking us, we need to check our choices so we please Allah and make it to paradise. How do we know if we are on track or headed for a wreck? We should always keep ourselves in check.

But as the saying goes, 'no one can be their own best critic'. That's why it's important to receive critiques from others with an open mind. No one likes to hear they're doing something wrong, but we should take every opportunity we can to hold ourselves to account before we are held accountable by the All Seeing, All Hearing and All Knowing God.

Compiled From:
"Don't Be Duped!" - Young Muslims Publications

Understanding The Prophet's Life

Acknowledging Prophet's Favours

It is preferable to use the lucid, yet simply-worded blessings for the Prophet which have been passed down to us by the first generations of Muslims, rather than the affected, abstruse formulas for which missals have been written, group recitations convened, and names for the Prophet invented - names for which Allah has revealed no legitimation. Surely it is not the mere repetition of eloquent phrases that is important. What matters is one's acknowledgement of the favour done by the Prophet, upon him be peace, for the betterment of the believers, one's appreciation of the jihad he waged against the forces of ignorance, and one's allegiance to the nation which he founded in the name of ultimate truth.

This is the real meaning of seeking blessings for the Prophet of Allah, upon him be peace. And only those who give practical evidence of their appreciation of this meaning will receive the rewards promised to those who seek blessings for the Prophet, upon him be peace. Certainly those self-acclaimed 'lovers of the Prophet' who hollowly echo set phrases, yet who are unable to stand in defence of the Sunnah, cannot ever be eligible for such rewards. It is with regard to the defenders of the faith, those who truly appreciate the Prophet, upon him be peace, that this hadith is related:

Whosoever seeks blessings for me will be blessed ten times over by the Almighty.

Abdullah ibn Masud related that the Prophet, upon him be peace, said:

On the Day of Judgement, the people most deserving of me will be those who have most often sought blessings for me.

Compiled From:
"Remembrance and Prayer" - Muhammad Al-Ghazali, pp. 104, 105

Blindspot!

The Opportunity Obligation

Not too far from us, a few blocks away, there are kids without enough to eat and without parents who care. A little further away, hours by plane, are people unable to reach their goals because they live in a community that just doesn't have the infrastructure to support them. A bit further away are people being brutally persecuted by their governments. And the world is filled with people who can't go to high school, never mind college, and who certainly can't spend their time focused on whether or not they get a good parking space at work.

And so, the obligation: don't settle.

To have all these advantages, all this momentum, all these opportunities and then settle for mediocre and then defend the status quo and then worry about corporate politics - what a waste.

Flynn Berry wrote that you should never use the word "opportunity." It's not an opportunity, it's an obligation.

I don't think we have any choice. I think we have an obligation to change the rules, to raise the bar, to play a different game, and to play it better than anyone has any right to believe is possible.

Compiled From:
"Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us" - Seth Godin, pp. 134, 135