Abu Musa narrated:
"The Prophet (SAW) said: "A faithful believer to a faithful believer is like the bricks of a wall, enforcing each other." While (saying that) the Prophet( SAW) clasped his hands, by interlacing his fingers." (Sahih Al-Bukhari)
I...
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Okay, story time!
I've been born into a Muslim family alhumdulillah but I guess I speak for everyone who's discovered religion through self study is that there comes a moment when you really truly choose to be Muslim.
The sad part is that today, the line between religion and culture has become muddled. Islam for a lot of us has become like our cultures, merely rituals handed down to us in inheritance. And the thing about rituals is that some times there is no reason as to why you're doing something. You just do it because a bunch of people that look like you do it too.
But Islam is the exact opposite. Everything we are commanded to do, has a purpose.
A lot of us regret understanding this earlier because we weren't told why we were doing certain things. This has led to years of us making salah and dua, a mere ritualistic custom that you just have to do as a Muslim.
I'm truly ashamed that we've reduced the two most powerful acts of worship to this level Astagfirullah.
When I had this revelation back when I was 17, my whole life changed.
Because there is nothing more beautiful than reclaiming the most powerful weapon of a believer : dua.
When I stopped being robotic to Allah, when I stopped muttering the same duas I was taught as a child over and over without any feeling, I realized how real, conscious dua can change one's life.
I just started talking to Him. I started to share my feelings, voice my struggles and talk about my misgivings to Allah and it has been absolutely liberating.
The way your chest feels lighter, the way your eyes water without your permission, the way your heart feels at home--it's truly a feeling you'd have to go through to understand.
"Indeed in the remembrance of Allah, do the hearts find rest."
I have lived these verses and my dear sister/brother, it is rejuvenating. Do not miss out on this beautiful connection.
Don't just sit there and recite your Dua.
Have a heartfelt conversation with Him.
Don't suppress your emotions, let them flow.
Talk to Him.
Tell Him how you feel, why you feel the way you feel, why you need Him to answer you.
Show Him how needy you are of Him.
Beg to Him. Cry to Him!
He is Your Lord. The Merciful one. The shy one. The one that feels shy to return you empty-handed when you lift your hands in dua.
The one that is closer to you than your jugular vein, yet still listens to you.
To the world, your tears are a sign of your weakness but to Him, they are dearer than anything else.
Abu Umamah Sudaiy bin 'Ajlan Al-Bahili (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Nothing is dearer to Allah than two drops and two marks: A drop of tear shed out of fear of Allah and a drop of blood shed in Allah's way. Regarding the two marks, they are: Marks left in the Cause of Allah and a mark left in observing one of the obligatory act of worship of Allah, the Exalted". [At-Tirmidhi]
Find somewhere quiet and pour your Heart out to the only one that truly cares.
In another beautiful hadith reported by Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) had said:
Seven are (the persons) whom Allah would give protection with His Shade on the Day when there would be no shade but that of Him (i. e. on the Day of Judgment, and they are):
-a just ruler
-a youth who grew up with the worship of Allah
-a person whose heart is attached to the mosques
-two persons who love and meet each other and depart from each other for the sake of Allah
-a man whom a beautiful woman of high rank seduces (for illicit relation), but he (rejects this offer by saying):" I fear Allah"
-a person who gives charity and conceals it (to such an extent) that the right hand does not know what the left has given
-and a person who remembered Allah in privacy and his eyes shed tears. (Sahih Muslim)
Strive to be at least one of the above persons! SubhanAllah, I find the last one the easiest. :')
Make your dua list this Ramadan and make sure you ask Allah during the peak times : -before breaking the fast -last third of the night -after azaan -laylatul Qadr
Please do include me and my family in your duas. And don't forget our oppressed brothers and sisters around the world.
