We have been blessed with these two months prior to Ramadan in order to prepare for Ramadan through purification of the heart and worship. It is a shame that we utilise this time enjoying ourselves and going on holidays.
Every moment of Ramadan is valuable. We are unaware of this because we are intoxicated by the world.
Allah ta'ala grants individuals the intoxication and enjoyment of wealth in order to trial them. This is a very severe test and it becomes difficult for one to return to the straight path. Such people have no value of special nights and months like Ramadan.
The Prophet ﷺ is the beloved of Allah ta'ala and Allah ta'ala took an oath by his life. Imagine how priceless his ﷺ life is!
Allah ta'ala desires that we don the attire of the Sunnah. The selection of his attire has been chosen by Allah ta'ala Himself. It is a shame that we chase those who oppose the Sunnah and we are ashamed to imitate it. In reality, the way of the Sunnah is the method to achieve the pleasure of Allah ta'ala.
We may be mocked for imitating the Sunnah, however, if we remain determined and steadfast despite the calamities we face, we will be granted a hundred martyrs reward for following a single Sunnah.
Life is unpredictable and tragedies and calamities befall us unexpectedly. None of us can predict the future and there are constantly changes occurring. This is why Allah ta'ala constantly reminds us to protect ourselves.
Unfortunately, we take this matter lightly. We oppress others and consume the rights of others without realisation. Our main purpose in life is earning wealth and chasing enjoyment.
When we visit the sick, we should take lessons from them. If we are still fit and healthy, we should utilise this opportunity to protect ourselves. We should fear Allah ta'ala and seek refuge from being an example of warning for others after being inflicted with the punishment of Allah ta'ala.
When we witness a person intoxicated by the world, we should seek refuge from Allah ta'ala from such a situation. This is a very severe disease and difficult to be removed once afflicted.
The Quran informs us of the cure for protection.
وَٱعْبُدْ رَبَّكَ حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِيَكَ ٱلْيَقِينُ
"And worship your Lord until there comes to you the certainty (Death.)" [15:99]
We should maintain and strengthen our relationship with Allah ta'ala. Allah ta'ala decorated the heavens for us and created the world and its resources for us.
Servanthood refers to the connection between man and Allah ta'ala and not worship. As long as one's relationship is strong with Allah ta'ala, he is safe from calamities and concerns in his life. This is because Allah ta'ala becomes his protector.
When two people love each other, they sacrifice for each other. The on-lookers become jealous and aim to create rift between the lovers. They seek to make them fight and eventually, the lovers become enemies.
Similarly, Shaytan is the third person in the relationship between Man and Allah ta'ala who places evil whispers in the mind of Man and he causes him to become distant from Allah ta'ala.
Shaytan vowed to take revenge and lead Man to Hellfire when he became jealous of humanity, specifically Hadhrat Adam عليه السلام. Thus, it is Shaytan who seeks to sever our relationship with Allah ta'ala and when our connection weakens with Him, then we fall into hardship. Thereafter, one feels insecure and anxious without the protection of Allah ta'ala which he stripped himself of.
Whoever maintains his relationship with Allah ta'ala, he will enjoy his time in this world, as well as in the Hereafter as he has protected his Deen.
Only when a person has a strong connection with Allah ta'ala, he is able to assign his affairs over to Him and fully rely upon Him for all his matters.
Allah ta'ala will not grant us happiness, comfort and protection in this world if we do not have a strong connection with him.
Allah ta'ala has granted us worship which continuously strengthens our relationship with Allah ta'ala. Those who abandon prayer, have broken this relationship and become deserving of punishment.
Allah ta'ala has granted us the five time prayers so that our connection with Him is constantly re-established throughout the day.
Instead of commanding us to simply 'Pray', Allah ta'ala commands us to 'Establish prayer,' as there a
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Not every believer will be granted the vision of Allah ta'ala in the afterlife. Only those believers who consistently established the Fajr and Asr prayers will be granted this bounty. This is because we are most negligent towards these two prayers. A person is slow and lazy at Fajr time and Asr time is the prime time for laziness, to eat or work. Thus, Shaytan attacks the believers greatly during these times to deviate him from prayer.
Shaytan makes us lazy towards fulfilling prayers as he desires to lead Mankind to Hellfire. He is the cause of our weak connection with Allah ta'ala and he deploys many tactics to deviate a person. Shaytan has deviated many pious personalities, so we should never feel confident and safe from him as we do not have a guarantee over our faith. He is sat upon our heart and has pierced our heart. This is how he inclines us towards wrongdoing.
He will inevitably attack us and he may grant one evil temptations even at the time of death. Thus, we should fear Allah ta'ala and not rely upon ourselves and our faith.
Only those who lived their lives practicing the Deen according to Allah ta'ala's expectations, will be able to recite the Kalimah at the time of death.
If a person is put to test, it is essential he speaks the truth and in this way, Allah ta'ala will remove him from his challenge and protect him even when hope and an escape is not in sight.
In a Hadith in Baihaqi Shareef, Hadhrat Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه narrates that Nabi ﷺ said, "I order you to perform Dhikr in abundance otherwise, you will not be safe."
Dhikr is the only thing which grants a person protection at the time of the death. We do not perform Dhikr to become a WaliAllah or to gain titles. Rather, it is so that we can protect our faith up until the time of our death.
Shaytan is our enemy and he constantly seeks to weaken our faith. If we wish to be safe from him, we must lock ourselves in the fort of Dhikr. As a result, Allah ta'ala will become our saviour. If we wish to die upon Imaan, we must be steadfast upon Dhikr.
Even if we are high level Muslims, we should submit ourselves to a WaliAllah and learn Dhikr, otherwise, we cannot succeed.
If we wish to be protected from Shaytan and calamities, we must perform Dhikr in abundance. Thereafter, we will be granted the path to success. We should also bring our children to the path of Dhikr.
We should seek the straight path from Allah ta'ala and He will direct us towards a WaliAllah.
May Allah ta'ala allow us to implement these precious pearls. Ameen
