Qur'anic Reflections

Dua #6 : All's well that ends well

Assalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu!

Last 10 days have already begun! I hope you are using these days to the fullest because we don't know if there is another Ramadan written for us or not. What you have is what you need, for your salvation, for your redemption; a few more days and this beautiful season of Khair will slip away from us for another year.

So let's plan to utilise every second, cut back on duniya and finish this Ramadan on a great note in sha Allah!

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ تَوَفَّاهُمُ الْمَلَائِكَةُ ظَالِمِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ قَالُوا فِيمَ كُنْتُمْ ۖ قَالُوا كُنَّا مُسْتَضْعَفِينَ فِي الْأَرْضِ ۚ قَالُوا أَلَمْ تَكُنْ أَرْضُ اللَّهِ وَاسِعَةً فَتُهَاجِرُوا فِيهَا ۚ فَأُولَٰئِكَ مَأْوَاهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ ۖ وَسَاءَتْ مَصِيرًا

(Sahih International)
Indeed, those whom the angels take [in death] while wronging themselves - [the angels] will say, "In what [condition] were you?" They will say, "We were oppressed in the land." The angels will say, "Was not the earth of Allah spacious [enough] for you to emigrate therein?" For those, their refuge is Hell - and evil it is as a destination.

-Sura An-Nisa', Ayah 97

Context : In Makkah, certain Muslims had accepted the faith but hadn't declared it publicly as they were scared of the then ongoing persecution. So they lived their lives among the polytheists and as a result, had to go to wars with them.

When they would meet the Muslim army on the other side and were killed by them, Allah says that they had done an act of oppression on themselves by accompanying the Makkans.

In that state, when the angels come to take their souls, they're asked, " What state were you in?"

They reply, "We were weak and helpless. "

On that they're reprimanded by the angels that if they were being oppressed, they should've have migrated and settled anywhere in Allah's vast land. With this, they are given tidings of Hell Fire. Allahu Akbar!

We learn 3 very important things from this :

⚀ When you have understood the truth of Islam but you don't practise it because you live in a hostile environment, you are oppressing yourself.

Why is that?

Because Allah sent guidance to you and you know the path to salvation and if after all of that, you still do not practice what you have learnt, then it's a great oppression to deprive your soul of the sweetness of worship.

The concession is only for those people who are actually weak and have no other choice but to live among Kuffars who mete out brutality to them, but anyone else who has the ability to migrate and seek out a better living will be held accountable for the precedence they gave their life over Islam.

Now Alhumdulillah, that was what was said in the Makkan context. If you look at us now, most of us live in free countries where we have the right to practice our own religion. So how does this verse apply to us?

We all have our separate struggles. Sometimes it is a friend circle that ridicules us for rushing for prayers or maybe a work place that doesn't let us wear the hijab or let us pray during working hours.

Both of those things are real problems and sometimes we use these problems as excuses to miss practising obligatory parts of the Deen. It is scary but this really means that Islam hasn't entered our hearts fully.