lowest of low...
So I went to the local masjid in Bmore that has a gym to play all night just like any other Friday night, but this time was different.I actually was on a winning team!!
Im not talking just winning one game, but we won 7 straight games and after I took my shoes off and retired from blisters, my team won another one without me.
But in the midst of such good times I had a moment that really grounded me, burst my bubble, and made me reflect on my maqaam with regards to closeness to Allah swt.
Allah swt indeed tests those whom He loves and to elevate our status in the afterlife we go through a purification process here on earth. Each passed test elevates us closer to Allah swt.
I was talking to one of the brothers there and I asked him if he was married, just small talk trying to do some ta'aaruf, getting to know my brothers in Islam. Im expecting a simple answer of yes, no, im working on it, something to that effect yet I get an answer that totally floors me.
This bro, not even 30 years old yet, tells me that his wife passed away 3 years ago and that he has been raising 4 children on his own for 3 years.
Subhannallahal adheem!
I would never have thought that this bro was going to give me such an answer to such a simple question and my expression on my face froze.
What kind of weak individual I am to think that I go through any kind of hardships in my life when brothers are going through struggles so real, that if this burden were to be placed on my shoulders I would crumble under pressure.
Is it because Allah swt has a test waiting for me that I have yet to encounter? Or is it that Allah swt knows how weak I am that He swt has made my life easy to the point that I do not recieve tests like everyone else?
I remember reading in al Furqaan by Imam Ibn Taymiyyah ra the difference between a Prophet/King and a Messenger/Servant. The example of a Prophet/King is Sulayman alayhis salaam who inherited a kingdom with a huge dominion, saw success in this life according to standards of this world, and whose duty was to carry on the Jihad against the idolators and to maintain order in the world with his power and vast influence. Then the example of the Messenger/Servant is that of Muhammed PBUH who never saw material success in this world. He PBUH died in such a state that as he was slipping in and out of consciousness he saw a few gold coins in his presence and asked what it was, and immediately ordered that it be distributed to the needy. This is the man who bled at Ta'if and was chased out by a mob of stone hurling individuals simply because he PBUH called them to Allah swt. He bled until his sandals had puddles of blood, yet he did not curse these people and did not want them to be punished for their actions.
The expansion of Islam came mostly under Umar ra who was the vicegerent of Muhammed PBUH to the rest of the world for the most part, while Muhammed PBUH spent 23 years purifying, sanctifying, and perfecting the people so that they would be prepared to be torch-bearing messengers of the Messenger.
Can you imagine that Muhammed PBUH was only a Prophet of Allah swt for 23 years, yet he made such an impact on the entire world?
This example of struggle and striving without seeing the fruits of it in this world makes Muhammed PBUH superior to all other Prophets and Messengers that ever were sent, and this is a sign to me of the importance of struggle in regards to our station of nearness to Allah swt.
I do not want to pray for hardship, but what does it mean when I am not being tested with anything close to what my peers deal with?
Allah doesnt burden a person beyond their scope, so should I pray that my scope be raised and my shoulders be strengthened so that I can bear a burden of a greater scope than I can right now?
May Allah swt make us all among those who realize that the tests we deal with are absoulutely nothing compared to the tests that Muhammed PBUH went through, and that we realize our trials, as significant and difficult they may seem, are nothing compared to someone else on the earth who is dealing with something much greater than us.
Ameen
posted by Iboo LaL @ 3:52 PM
Comments: 3
