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~ The Ocean of Dunya ~

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Romeesa-Chan:


Yesterday, I went to the beach. As I sat watching the massive waves, I realized something strange. The ocean is so breathtakingly beautiful. But just as it is beautiful, it is also deadly. The same spellbinding waves, which we appreciate from the shore, can kill us if we enter them. Water, the same substance necessary to sustain life, can end life, in drowning. And the same ocean that holds ships afloat can shatter those ships to pieces.

This worldly life, the dunya, is just like the ocean. And our hearts are the ships. We can use the ocean for our needs and as a means to get to our final destination. But the ocean is only that: a means. It is a means for seeking food of the sea. It is a means of travel. It is a means of seeking a higher purpose. But it is something which we only pass through, but never think to remain in. Imagine what would happen if the ocean became our end – rather than just a means.

Eventually we would drown.

As long as the ocean’s water remains outside the ship, the ship will continue to float and be in control. But what happens as soon as the water creeps into the ship? What happens when the dunya is not just water outside of our hearts, when the dunya is no longer just a means? What happens when the dunya enters our heart?

That is when the boat sinks.



That is when the heart is taken hostage and becomes a slave. And that is when the dunya – which was once under ourcontrol – begins to control us. When the ocean’s water enters and overtakes a ship, that ship is no longer in control. The boat then becomes at the mercy of the ocean.

To stay afloat, we must view this world in exactly the same way, for Allah (swt) has told us that “Verily in the creation of the heavens and the earth are signs for those who reflect.” (Qur’an, 3:190) We live in the dunya, and the dunya is in fact created for our use. Detachment from dunya (zuhd) does not mean that we do not interact with this world. Rather, the Prophet (PBUH) has taught us that we must:

Anas (ra) said: “Three people came to the houses of the wives of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to ask about how the Prophet (PBUH) worshipped. When they were told, it was as if they thought it was little and said, ‘Where are we in relation to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who has been forgiven his past and future wrong actions?’” He said, “One of them said, ‘I will pray all of every night.’ Another said, ‘I will fast all the time and not break the fast.’ The other said, “I will withdraw from women and never marry.’ The Messenger of Allah came to them and said, ‘Are you the ones who said such-and-such? By Allah, I am the one among you with the most fear and awareness of Allah, but I fast and break the fast, I pray and I sleep, and I marry women. Whoever disdains my sunnah is not with me.’” [Agreed upon]

The Prophet (PBUH) did not withdraw from the dunya in order to be detached from it. His detachment was much deeper. It was the detachment of the heart. His ultimate attachment was only to Allah (swt) and the home with Him, for he truly understood the words of God:
“What is the life of this world but amusement and play? But verily the Home in the Hereafter, – that is life indeed, if they but knew.” (Qur’an, 29:64)



Detachment does not even mean that we cannot own things of the dunya. In fact many of the greatest companions were wealthy. Rather, detachment is that we view and interact with the dunya for what it really is: just a means. Detachment is when the dunya remains in our hand – not in our heart. As Imam Ali (AS) expressed beautifully, “Detachment is not that you should own nothing, but that nothing should own you.”

Like the ocean’s water entering the boat, the moment that we let the dunya enter our hearts, we will sink. The ocean was never intended to enter the boat; it was intended only as a means that must remain outside of it. The dunya, too, was never intended to enter our heart. It is only a means that must not enter or control us. This is why Allah (swt) repeatedly refers to the dunya in the Qur’an as a mata’a. The word mata’a can be translated as a “resource for transitory worldly delight.” It is a resource. It is a tool. It is the path—not the destination.

And it is this very concept that the Prophet (PBUH) spoke about so eloquently when he said:

“What relationship do I have with this world? I am in this world like a rider who halts in the shade of a tree for a short time, and after taking some rest, resumes his journey leaving the tree behind.” (Ahmad, Tirmidhi)

Consider for a moment the metaphor of a traveler. What happens when you’re traveling or you know that your stay is only temporary? When you’re passing through a city for one night, how attached do you get to that place? If you know it’s temporary, you’ll be willing to stay at Motel 6. But would you like to live there? Probably not. Suppose your boss sent you to a new town to work on a limited project. Suppose he didn’t tell you exactly when the project would end, but you knew that you could be returning home, any day. How would you be in that town? Would you invest in massive amounts of property and spend all your savings on expensive furniture and cars? Most likely not. Even while shopping, would you buy cart-loads of food and other perishables? No. You’d probably hesitate about buying any more than you need for a couple days – because your boss could call you back any day.

This is the mindset of a traveler. There is a natural detachment that comes with the realization that something is only temporary. That is what the Prophet (PBUH) in his wisdom, is talking about in this profound hadith. He understood the danger of becoming engrossed in this life. In fact, there was nothing he feared for us more.

He (PBUH) said, “By Allah I don’t fear for you poverty, but I fear that the world would be abundant for you as it has been for those before you, so you compete for it as they have competed for it, so it destroys you as it has destroyed them.” (Agreed upon)

The blessed Prophet (PBUH) recognized the true nature of this life. He understood what it meant to be in the dunya, without being of it. He sailed the very same ocean that we all must. But his ship knew well from where it had come, and to where it was going. His was a boat that remained dry. He understood that the same ocean which sparkles in the sunlight, will become a graveyard for the ships that enter it.

Shoshou..Mony:
I LOVED IT! You wrote it?  :o :o

It is AWESOME! +Rep for sharing such an eye opener. =]

Romeesa, remember this?

This world is like a dream that will end at any moment and in the next world we will wake up from this dream and that is when reality will hit us but by then it will be too late to do anything about it. Our chance to act is NOW! Therefore we CANNOT waste a second more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Thy_ZIl0RdY&feature=player_embedded#at=82 << Another eye opener. =]

Romeesa-Chan:
No. I got off a site. :P

YES! Love that quote! ;D

Thank you for reading! :D

Amelia:
He gives and He withholds.




Sometimes in this Dunya (world) we are given what we do not want or ask for, and sometimes that which we wish for is just not attainable. Allah `azza wa jall keeps some things away from us, things which our hearts may ardently request, and yet He at times places the world at our feet. He chooses,  He commands and He runs our affairs out of wisdom which belongs only to Him. We thus remain suspended between being given of our wishes and being given other than that. The smart one therefore realises that he or she remains suspended between patience and gratitude…

Were He to let the Dunya loose on us and give us of our every want, will and desire, then indeed we would have forgotten Him and we would have become arrogant in the land without right. So He, Subhanahu wa Ta’ala, withholds some things and gives us others in order to keep us as believers, humble ones, constantly in a state of iftiqar (dire need) to His Majesty.

“And if Allah were to expand the provision for His slaves, they would have surely rebelled on the earth, but He sends down what He wills by a due measure. Verily! He is in respect of His slaves, the Well-Aware, the All-Seer.”

Rasulullah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) taught us to say after each prayer the following supplication, and he himself was foremost in saying it: ‘O Allah, nothing can withhold what You have given and no-one can give what You have withheld.’

It is a true beauty, which reminds every believer and renews his/her strength, belief and reliance. It’s a powerful wall for us to lean on whenever difficulties arise and it is an ascending set of stairs for us to use when we need to walk out of each and every calamity.

And it was once said to me, ‘When Allah withholds, He actually gives…’ – deep, if only we pondered.

http://fajr.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/he-gives-and-he-withholds/

Romeesa-Chan:
^Awesome, MA.

Beautiful story here:

           ~ Why was my iman low? ~



Many years ago, I was in front of my computer.

I kept going back and forth, back and forth to the computer to check if my Pre Calculus grade was posted yet or not.

I just kept thinking to myself, “ I have to get an A, I have to get an A, I have to get A”. I was becoming a bit crazy. Day after day, my other grades were being posted, except for the Pre-Calculus grade. I was becoming very impatient.

Who would ever have guessed that during this time, Allah would guide me to understanding a great lesson of life.

As I was saying, I kept jumping in and out if front of the computer waiting for my grade. I started to get very worried and distressed. “ What if I don’t get an A?..” I kept thinking to myself. I replayed in my mind how I performed in the final over and over, and kept thinking about the questions that I thought were a little confusing.

I don’t remember if at that moment, I told myself that the grade in this test doesn’t determine my status in the Akhirah, the hereafter. I didn’t question why I was getting so distressed.

Why did I get so distressed for things with the dunya so much ? Why ?
Why is this dunya so important for me ? is this something between Heaven and Hell ?
If I did receive an A, would that gain me rewards or would I gain Allah’s love and pleasure?

All of my other grades were in the “A” range, and I had to find out what I got for math. The thought of not getting an “A” was choking me.

As I sat in front of the computer, waiting and waiting. I fell across the story of Hajir online in the book “The Ideal Muslimah”

Ironically, the very first statements of the book were : “The Believing Woman is Alert
One of the most prominent distinguishing features of the Muslim woman is her deep faith in Allah (SWT), and her sincere conviction that whatever happens in this universe, and whatever fate befalls human beings, only happens through the will and decree of Allah (SWT); whatever befalls a person could not have been avoided, and whatever does not happen to a person could not have been made to happen. A person has no choice in this life but to strive towards the right path and to do good deeds - acts of worship and other acts - by whatever means one can, putting all his trust in Allah (SWT), submitting to His will, and believing that he is always in need of Allah's (SWT) help and support.”

After I read these statements, I felt terrible about how I had been acting.

Why didn’t I have full trust and conviction in Allah ?
I studied hard for the test and the rest is up to Allah. Why was I getting so distressed about something of this dunya ?
Did I ever act this way regarding my prayers ?
Did I ever act this way for the fact that I didn’t wear the complete hijab ?
Did I ever act this way because I didn’t honor my parents enough ?
Did I ever get this distressed because I don’t have enough knowledge of Islam?

As I continued to read, it had the story of Hajir. How Hajir was left by Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) in the middle of the desert with their young baby.

The book had the statements: “Hajar had no-one with her except her infant son Isma`il. She asked Ibrahim, calmly and with no trace of panic: "Has Allah (SWT) commanded you to do this, O Ibrahim?" Ibrahim (peace be upon him) said, "Yes." Her response reflected her acceptance and optimism: "Then He is not going to abandon us."

After I read the few sentences of the book, all my senses opened up. Not only that, my heart opened.
How do I know that ? Because I started to cry. I cried and cried about how low my iman was.

Astaghfirullah, look at the way I was acting. I was waiting for a simple math grade, and I was going crazy with no patience ! Look at Hajir, left in the middle of the desert with no food and no water and she had complete trust and faith in Allah !

I realized that my iman was low. Where do I stand compared to women like Hajir ? Where do I stand compared to Asiya when she was being tortured by her husband , Fir’awn, and still had patience ? Where do I stand compared to Ayiesha when she was being wrongly slandered and rumors were spreading about her ? Where do I stand compared to Mariam when she had the miracle child without a father and had to face the people ? Why was my iman so low ? Why did I often find myself becoming extremely distressed and impatient for the things in this dunya ?

Sometime later, I discovered that I did get an “A” on Pre Calculus.
“What was all the fuss about ?” I think to myself. “ What if I didn’t get an “A” ? So what ? I could try harder next time.
Why didn’t I have patience as Allah has commanded us to have?

After that period in my life, I started to work harder on my prayers, wearing hijab correctly, learning Islam, and etc.

I finally started to try my best to putting Allah first before everything else. Brothers and Sisters, don’t forget what Allah states in the Quran: “And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine...” [al-Talaaq 65:2,3].

Look at how Allah provided for Hajir at that time ! Her response to her husband at that difficult moment was that Allah wouldn’t abandon her family. Allaahuakbar ! How many of us respond like that at times of distress?

Brothers and Sisters, don’t put the dunya before the Akhirah. Remember, if you do something for the pleasure of Allah, Allah will take care of you. We will always find ourselves in difficult situations, which is not a surprise because this is the dunya.

Insha’Allaah , let’s strive our best to struggle in worshiping Allaah according to the Qur’aan and authentic Sunnah. That is true success. Insha’Allaah, in Jannah, everything will be perfect. Remember, our goal is pleasure in Jannah, not pleasure in this dunya.

I try to remember this statement I had heard in a lecture, "Islam should not revolve around your life, your life should revolve around Islam."




Read more: http://www.islamicexperiences.com/2010/10/why-was-my-iman-low.html#ixzz1UscNeBUB

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