*brushes dust away*
*smiles*
Alhamdulillah, tsumma alhamdulillah for yet another day to be given the chance to breath free oxygen in this temporary world of ours and most importantly surviving till now to meet again with Ramadhan.
*excited*
Well, I know it's already the fourth day of Ramadhan and maybe some of the jitters celebrating this festive month has faded in some of us, but I hope everyone still has the zeal to continue on this journey and maximise it to the fullest inshaAllah.
Ramadhan to most, is a month where we have to starve in order to complete the third pillar of our deen - Islam. It is of utmost importance that we fulfil this obligation as it is what makes us as a Muslim, be a Muslim.
Alright, enough of the factual statements.
In Surah Al-Baqarah, verse 183,
" O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint."
Let's do some simple tadabbur, shall we?
*smiles* ( You gotta agree anyways if you're continuing reading)
Allah mentioned specifically, "Ye who believe" clearly saying that this ayaah is for those who believe, the believers in Allah and Rasulullah. Not the musyrikeen, the kafirs, the non-muslims and of course not the atheists, but The Believers. Therefore, you and I, which inshaAllah are believers, must open our eyes and ears and get IN TO whatever that Allah will be saying to us after this. Also, it is only with imaan (belief) will our fast be accepted. It's especially for us special people, so focus on this aite.
Now, in the ayaah, Allah said that fasting has been prescribed to us AS it was prescribed to those before us. Meaning that we're not alone in this battle and it's not something new. It is not that only Muslims living in the 21st Century has to fast, not only Muslims in Algeria has to fast, not only those born in the period of 1988-2014 has to fast but even those before us have been fasting. So let's say that this ayaah was sent in to us approximately 1400 years ago, means that even before Rasulullah came in the picture, there are already believers of the previous prophets who are fasting. MashaAllah, we are truly connected even before then until now!
Okay, through away my awkward excitement and let's continue.
Allah continues the verse by saying, "that ye may (learn) self-restraint". In Arab, it sounds "La'allakum tattaqun". So fasting is considered a pathway for you to achieve taqwa, which in this translation means 'self-restraint.' Now what does taqwa means? Literally, it means being cautious, aware and afraid. But the best words describing taqwa are that of Thalq bin Habib Al'Anazi;
العَمَلُ بِطَاعَةِ اللهِ، عَلَى نُوْرٍ مِنَ اللهِ، رَجَاءَ ثَوَابِ اللهِ، وَتَرْكِ مَعَاصِي اللهِ، عَلَى نُوْرٍ مِنَ اللهِ، مَخَافَةَ عَذَابِ اللهِ
"Taqwa is worshipping Allah by using the light (guidance) Allah has granted, hoping only for Allah's forgiveness, restraining from wrong-doings based on His light (guidance) and being terrified of His wrath."
(If you understand it in Arabic, the words are super beautiful mashaAllah. *le cries*)
So if we put things on a timeline, we can say that,
Believers --> Fast --> Achieve Taqwa!
What's the point in achieving taqwa you say? Aha. Now aren't we all aiming for Jannah? So those who want to achieve Jannah must be those who are of taqwa and most importantly, to be considered 'high' in the sight of Allah we must be those who have taqwa. Really, when you look at the word taqwa or self-restraint, Allah isn't asking much of us. Allah is not asking us to work hard and have a bank account filled with 100 million USD before He will grant us Jannah. Nor is He decreeing that only those who have four bachelor degrees in different areas and two PhDs are allowed to be called worthy by Him. He just wants us to learn self-restraint, to be cautious of our actions and to follow His Light (see, He even provides Guidance? MashaAllah, you blind people not see how He has made it easy for us? *le cries some more) in order for us to be admitted to Jannah. He doesn't need us to do so, He is still the Almighty even if we decide to not obey Him. And hey, He could just make us all really abiding servants. Then again, why chose His wrath over His Love?
We hear a quote say "Why does a Loving God wants to give His servants Hell?"
And it continues, "Why would a servant choose Hell over a Loving God?"
So beloved people of the world, if you're a Muslim, let's make a fresh start this Ramadhan. It's never too late to come back to Allah and His doors are always wide open. If you feel that the urge has not yet risen, then keep on knocking. That's just Allah's way of wanting to hear from you more and that your reward will be a heavy sum of so many things you can never imagine of.
And to those who are starting to learn of this deen, trying to repent but don't know how, I suggest you to go try finding Mercy Mission headquarters, attending Brother Shah Kirit's talks through IIS (if you're in Malaysia) or try going to this link for Naseeha Sessions videos. InshaAllah, you'll find what you're looking for. Keep on looking and never give up.
Praying the best for all my brothers and sisters out there. Let's make extra du'a for those in Iraq, Iran, Palestine, Syria and Rohingya because they are currently in distress and the du'a is what we can give to help inshaAllah.
*waves goodbye*
References:
http://muslim.or.id/ramadhan/tafsir-surat-al-baqarah-183-berpuasa-menggapai-takwa.html
http://eminda.forumotion.com/t61-tafsir-ibn-katsir-surah-albaqarah-ayat-183-184-kewajipan-berpuasa
http://isnidalimunthe.tumblr.com/post/54919701755/q-s-al-baqarah-183-185-187
No comments:
Post a Comment