Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wabarakatuh,
May the peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be with you,
Quran: 9:41
Go forth, whether light or heavy, and strive with your wealth and your lives in the cause of Allah . That is better for you, if you only knew.
Everyone has something to offer in the path of Allah. Whatever we can offer we should try to give to Allah. Though the context of this ayah was regarding a battle the essential principle of using our talents and unique attributes in the path of Allah still applies.
Tafsir: Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan
Hadith:
‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “One day, the Messenger of Allah, (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), commanded us to give charity. I had some property, so I said, ‘Today I shall surpass Abu Bakr if I surpass him any day.’ I, therefore, brought half of my property. The Messenger of Allah, (sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), asked, ‘What have you left for your family?’ I replied, ‘The same amount.’ Abu Bakr brought all that he had with him. The Messenger of Allah asked him, ‘What have you left for your family?’ He replied, ‘I have left Allah and His Messenger for them.’ I said, ‘I shall never compete with him in anything.’
After the prophets as our perfect role models, we should look at the Sahaba. Here for instance, Abu Bakr has so much trust in Allah that he gives everything to his name for his sake. This is the mind set we should aspire to have. At the end of the day every breath we take is a blessing of Allah, in Abu Bakr’s case, all of his possessions would not have been able to compensate for the gratitude of Allah’s blessings. But, in saying this, it was the most he could have done to show gratitude. Our gratefulness towards Allah should become so integrated in our lifestyle, that everything we do, we do for Allah.
Ramadhan Reflection:
Linking to the point above, about doing things for the sake of Allah, if we get into the habit of taking Allah’s name before everything we do, how many sins would we commit compared to the times we wouldn’t take his name. For instance, saying ‘Bismillah’ before you turn your music on, that would stop you entirely from listening to it, no? Instead, you might listen to nasheeds, or Quran recitation. Surely remembering Allah keeps us aware of our actions, and as a result away from sin.
Momina Ullah 