by Asma Sadia
Salah is the key to success and a means of keeping away from sins
Yes! The gates of Hell are now open and Beware! the Shayateenare now loose. The month which gave us opportunities to gain a million rewards by maybe the teeniest acts of goodness has now bid us adieu!
But there is absolutely no need to lose hope and get demoralized. Allah says in the Quran:
“Say, ‘O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the Mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful’”. [Surah Zumar, verse 53]
Allah is Merciful to his servants as long as his ‘Abd (slave) returns to Him in submission. Muslims pray, fast, and strive to do good deeds in the month of Ramadan but once it ends, they become lackadaisical in their islamic approach. My dear brothers and sisters, we are here in this world for a reason, to achieve a goal which is to worship Allah and please Him in whatever we do.
“I did not create the Jinns and the humans for nothing else but that they may serve me.” [Surah Dhariyath, verse 56]
So, my dear readers, this is an ongoing process of striving to please Allah. Below are a few things to keep in mind and if done diligently these will make one get closer to Allah and keep oneself steadfast on the right path. We should strive not only inside Ramadan but even outside of it to get closer to Allah and seek His forgiveness.
Intentions
The first thing we need to keep in mind is Intention.
“Actions are based upon intentions.”
Based on the above Hadith, we can understand that every deed we do should be intended to seek Allah’s pleasure alone! There should be complete sincerity (Ikhlaas) in our actions. This is one of the conditions for a deed to be accepted. Actions done with Ikhlaas and good intentions can even lead to complete forgiveness from Allah as stated in the Hadith of Sahih Al Bukhari narrated by Abu Hurayrah that a man saw a thorny branch on the way and he removed it in case it harmed others and for this Allah thanked him for that deed and He forgave him, SubhanAllah! We may think while performing a deed that it may be really insignificant but with the right intention it can be magnified in the eyes of Allah and its reward multiplied. So always have good hopes with Allah and do your bit.
Salah
The next thing to be consistent with is the five obligatory Salah. During Ramadan, people are not only praying the five Fardprayers and Sunnah prayers but the Taraweeh / Qiyam Al laylprayers too. But once Ramadan comes to an end, they go back to sluggishness in their prayers and become blinded towards it’simportance.
Dear readers, Salah is the key to success and a means of keeping away from sins as it says in the Quran: “Verily, Salah prevents from Al Fahsha (i.e., great sins of every kind, unlawful sexual intercourse, etc.)”. [Surah Ankabut, verse 45]
Contributing about five minutes, 5 times a day should not be cumbersome at all and most importantly, Salah is the closest way one can get to Allah as the ‘Abd is in conversation with his Creator, Subhanallah!
Sadaqah
The next thing we can continue to keep doing is giving charity (Sadaqah). Sadaqah has many benefits. Some of them are:
(a) It shades a believer on the day of Resurrection (Al Tirmidhi)
(b) It protects one from calamity (Al Tirmidhi)
(c) It protects one from Hellfire (Al Bukhari – Al Muslim)
(d) It can be a Sadaqah- Jaariya (ceaseless charity) for the person (Sahih-Muslim)
(e) And Allah says: “Spend in charity O son of Adam and I will spend on you” (Sahih-Bukhari & Sahih–Muslim)
How easy is it for us to gain rewards? Sadaqah does not have to be something big. It can be something as small as half a date because of the Hadith where Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:
“Guard yourself from Hellfire, even with half a date in charity”. [Sahih-Bukhari, Sahih-Muslim]
A smile, a kind word, a morsel of food or even a glass of water can be charity of the highest rewards in the Eyes of Allah. Subhanallah!
Dhikr
The final thing I would like to remind my dear readers is about remembrance of Allah (Dhikr) at all times. This is surely not a difficult task. All we need to do is to keep our tongues moist with the Dhikr of Allah.
“Therefore, remember ME. I will remember you”. [Surah Al Baqara, verse 152]
Saying SubhanAllah, Alhamdulillah, Allahu Akbar, La ilahaillallah reaps a lot of rewards in a matter of few seconds. There are many ahadith stating the magnanimous rewards of Dhikr.
When muslims remember Allah, Glorify Him, Praise Him, Thank Him, then Allah commands His angels to include them in the people who He has forgiven. Oh! What a great achievement that would be!
My dear readers, this world is a transient stage and we are not destined to live here forever. We have to prepare ourselves for the Akhirah. Now at this moment, our goal should be to reach our eternal abode, the Hereafter!
Life is short and what we are facing now with the present pandemic situation, with family, friends, near and dear ones leaving us suddenly should be a wake-up call for all of us to revolutionize.
Hence my dear brothers and sisters, In Shaa Allah, if one strives to do the above few things with diligence and sincerity he/she will definitely experience a whole new difference in their lives, and In Shaa Allah, we will be better prepared to return to our Lord.
Asma Sadia is a student knowledge and Islamic studies based in Sharjah — UAE.
