Assalammualaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu
May this post meet us in good health while we are tasting the sweetness of iman that is sweeter than honey and healthier than aspartame. Alhamdulillah wa shukrillah, we thank Allah al-Hakeem, ar-Rahman, ar-Raheem war-Razzaq, for the blessings of knowledge of this beautiful deen, the enlightening nur of iman, the tranquility and peace of brother/sisterhood, and the everlasting spirit of jihad that can never be separated from us, muslims & mukmineen. Masha Allah la hawlawala quwwata illa billah.
I remembered in one of the meetings that I had with my sisters, we learned about the fundamentals of tawakkul, du'a, and steps of making decisions. Seeing that our age of innocence are developing rapidly to the age of experience, there are more decisions to make and these are life-changing decisions that will shape the way we are in this world and in the hereafter. The method of decision-making is simple and it can be found from the best example for mankind, Rasulullah s.a.w. It is through istikhara and the power of syura (consultation). I thought of sharing these beautiful gems and pearls of sacred knowledge to you and as a reminder to me too. I will share this with translated excerpts from one of my favourite kitab, Madarij-us-salikeen (Steps of the Seekers) on the Chapter of The Station of Tawakkul: Trust in God by Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (rh). May Allah guides us to the straight path. Insya Allah.
In the Quran, there is a beautiful verse that were said by a believer from the people of pharoah, after fearlessly delivering the message of God to the unwilling tyrant. It goes like this:
"And I hand over my affairs over to God..."
[al-Mu'kmin:44]
This is tafweed - to hand over the affairs to God and it refers to the faith and strong belief that, what God decides for one in the matters of this world and the Hereafter is better for him than what he himself could have, and even if God's decree goes against his immediate wishes, he is pleased with it knowing that it will be in reality better for him even if its good is hidden from him at the moment. The case of the one who trusts God is thus similar to or even higher than the one who hands over his affairs to someone, because to trust God is to not only hand over his affairs to Him but also to have tranquility and peace in one's heart that whatever God decrees will be better for him. This will result in Ridha - which is being pleased with whatever God does in his matter.
Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned that an act is surrounded by two things: tawakkul (trust in God) before it and ridha (pleasure in God's decree) after it.
This is the ultimate idea and core concept of what istikhara is all about (tawakkul and ridha). This can be seen in the clarity of the du'a of istikhara itself (as narrated by Jabir bin Abdullah r.a. translated into English):
Serendipity is a blessing
I remembered in one of the meetings that I had with my sisters, we learned about the fundamentals of tawakkul, du'a, and steps of making decisions. Seeing that our age of innocence are developing rapidly to the age of experience, there are more decisions to make and these are life-changing decisions that will shape the way we are in this world and in the hereafter. The method of decision-making is simple and it can be found from the best example for mankind, Rasulullah s.a.w. It is through istikhara and the power of syura (consultation). I thought of sharing these beautiful gems and pearls of sacred knowledge to you and as a reminder to me too. I will share this with translated excerpts from one of my favourite kitab, Madarij-us-salikeen (Steps of the Seekers) on the Chapter of The Station of Tawakkul: Trust in God by Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (rh). May Allah guides us to the straight path. Insya Allah.
Choosing between blessings is a blessing in itself
In the Quran, there is a beautiful verse that were said by a believer from the people of pharoah, after fearlessly delivering the message of God to the unwilling tyrant. It goes like this:
"And I hand over my affairs over to God..."
[al-Mu'kmin:44]
This is tafweed - to hand over the affairs to God and it refers to the faith and strong belief that, what God decides for one in the matters of this world and the Hereafter is better for him than what he himself could have, and even if God's decree goes against his immediate wishes, he is pleased with it knowing that it will be in reality better for him even if its good is hidden from him at the moment. The case of the one who trusts God is thus similar to or even higher than the one who hands over his affairs to someone, because to trust God is to not only hand over his affairs to Him but also to have tranquility and peace in one's heart that whatever God decrees will be better for him. This will result in Ridha - which is being pleased with whatever God does in his matter.
Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned that an act is surrounded by two things: tawakkul (trust in God) before it and ridha (pleasure in God's decree) after it.
This is the ultimate idea and core concept of what istikhara is all about (tawakkul and ridha). This can be seen in the clarity of the du'a of istikhara itself (as narrated by Jabir bin Abdullah r.a. translated into English):
"O'Allah! I seek goodness from Your Knowledge and with Your Power (and Might) I seek strength, and I ask from You Your Great Blessings, because You have the Power and I do not have the power. You Know everything and I do not know, and You have knowledge of the unseen. Oh Allah! If in Your Knowledge this action (which I intend to do) is better for my religion and faith, for my life and end [death], for here [in this world] and the hereafter then make it destined for me and make it easy for me and then add blessings [baraka'] in it, for me. O'Allah! In Your Knowledge if this action is bad for me, bad for my religion and faith, for my life and end [death], for here [in this world] and the hereafter then turn it away from me and turn me away from it and whatever is better for me, ordain [destine] that for me and then make me satisfied with it"
[HR Bukhari]
The first line of the supplication (du'a) - "O'Allah! I seek goodness from Your Knowledge and with Your Power (and Might) I seek strength, and I ask from You Your Great Blessings, because You have the Power and I do not have the power," is tantamount to tawakkul and tafweed (trusting and handing affairs over to God respectively) and as the supplication continues to the second line - "You Know everything and I do not know, and You have knowledge of the unseen", it is to disavow any claim of one's own power in favor of God and to connect with Him (tawassul) in the best manner that is possible and dearest to Him, using one of His Beautiful Names (asma al-husna). Then one ask his Lord to accomplish that matter for him in the short and the long term and to save him from it if it is harmful for him in the short or the long term. After this, all that remains for the slave to do is ridha - being pleased with what God decides for him, so one ends the supplication with - "and whatever is better for me, ordain [destine] that for me and then make me satisfied with it."
After this, it is advised that one consults someone over the choices and decisions. Remember that there is baraqah in syura. Find a pious and trustworthy person and ask for his/her advice and du'as for this is also a sunnah in itself. This is essential for us as mukmineens as this is one of the criteria of the people whom Allah promises of the nikmah that is near to Him:
After this, it is advised that one consults someone over the choices and decisions. Remember that there is baraqah in syura. Find a pious and trustworthy person and ask for his/her advice and du'as for this is also a sunnah in itself. This is essential for us as mukmineens as this is one of the criteria of the people whom Allah promises of the nikmah that is near to Him:
"Now whatever ye have been given is but a passing comfort for the life of the world, and that which Allah hath is better and more lasting for those who believe and put their trust in their Lord; And those who shun the worst of sins and indecencies and, when they are wroth, forgive; And those who answer the call of their Lord and establish worship, and whose affairs are a matter of counsel, and who spend of what We have bestowed on them; And those who, when great wrong is done to them, defend themselves.."
[as-Shura:36-39]
All praise be to Allah, Lord of the UniverseAll in all, may the decisions we make benefits us in this world and the hereafter and also brings blessings to the ummah. Insya Allah. May Allah forgive our sins in the past, the present and the future, loves us and guides our heart to the straight path. Dear brothers and sisters, please make du'a for yourself, for me and the ummah. Allahumma arinal haqqa haqqa warzuqnat-tiba'ah, wa arinal bathila bathilaw-warzuqnaj-tinabah. Rabbana aatina fid dunya hasanah, wa fil akhirati hasanah, waqeena azhab an-naar. Ameen.
Wallahua'lam
2 comments:
"And I hand over my affairs over to God..."
[al-Mu'kmin:44
where is that ayat from ??
Salam. I apologize for the late reply, its from surah al-Mukmin/al-Ghafir verse 44. Huhu
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