Gems Of Ramadan ✔

DAY 3 - SECRETS WITH ALLAH

All of our deeds at all times must be solely for the sake of Allah. You do not give any portion of your deeds to other than Allah, not for Riyaa' (show off) or anything else.

"And they were commanded not, but that they should worship Allah, and worship none but Him Alone (abstaining from ascribing partners to Him)."

{Surat al-Bayyinah 98: Verse 5}

One of the best cures for those who struggle or think they struggle with show off is to establish in your heart that in this simple world people run into trials and tribulations by the Qadhaa' and Qadar of Allah and everyone here and everywhere can tell you of times where people turned away, in minor and major difficulties they went through. People turned away and left them alone. If they are not going to stand in this simple world, why would you give them some of your most valuable assets (your deeds) when the only One who will be there for you and worthy of your deeds is Allah subhaanahu wa ta'aala, both in this life and in the life after. Secret, discreet, sincere deeds between you and Allah are what you ask Allah with when you are in a desperate need both in this life and for matters of the life after.

You know the story in Sahih Muslim of the three men who sought refuge in a cave when it began to rain. As they entered the cave, it closed upon them. One of the three men said get up each one of you and make Du'aa through your deeds so Allah can rescue us. So the first man got up and said O Allah my children wept at my feet because I did not deem it advisable to serve milk to them, because when I returned from work late I found my parents were sleeping. O Allah I remained at my parents' head as my children wept all night long until daylight broke out and I fed them, then I fed my kids. O Allah if I did that for Your pleasure and Your sake and Your sake only, grant us riddance from this trouble that we are in O Allah. The rock slipped away a little, but not enough for any of them to leave.

Note how he said if I did it for Your sake and Your sake only. Yes it was the deed he did but it is also the sincerity of that deed, the secretiveness of that deed. The next one gets up, he says O Allah I had a cousin that I wanted to have relationship with and she refused. One day she fell on a hardship, she said I need to borrow one hundred Dinaar and I agreed to give her one hundred Dinaar if she had relationship with me. He said O Allah when I approached her for intercourse, she said servant of Allah, fear Allah (إتق الله) and do not break this seal of chastity except by its lawful means. Yaa Allah I got up, O Allah if I did that for Your sake and Your sake only, grant us riddance from the trouble and problem that we are facing. It opened a little bit, not enough.

Likewise the third man gets up, the third one says O Allah I had a worker, he did not take his wages for that day. He left some of his rice, so I planted it and I became rich with flocks of cows and sheep from that investment. He returned to me later and he said fear Allah and give me my wages, so I told him that flock of sheep and cows are all yours. He said fear Allah and do not mock me, he said O Allah I told him I am not mocking you. Yaa Allah if I did that for Your sake and Your sake only then remove this hardship that we are facing. The rock moved away and they were finally able to leave from the cave.

You want that to happen to you? It is not impossible, that is why the Prophet sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam taught us this. If you want that to happen to you, Ramadhaan is the best time to stock up on secretive, sincere deeds. Let nobody know about them, you yourself try to forget about them. The days go by, life is pregnant with its trials and tribulations, after years maybe a child will get sick, maybe cancer, pain, poverty, may Allah safeguard all of you from all that. Then you raise your hand, you say O Allah I have that deed and I did it in secrecy and sincerely for Your sake, O Allah grant me riddance from this trouble that I am facing. Or forget about it all together and let Allah remind you of it when it is placed in your scale on the balance on Judgment Day. Wallahil-'Adheem Allah will remind you of it.