DEDICATION & HARD WORK IN A MUSLIM’S LIFE

Glory be to Allah & Salutations Upon His Prophet

Just as the skies are adorned with stars, the earth is adorned with stars of piety; servants of God who have an in-built alarm that goes off whenever they near anything that might distance them from Allah.

Every competition in this world has its judges and a set of standards that differentiate the leaders from the rest. A common example of this from our times is the Intel Science Talent Search, a global competition hosted every year to pick out the top, young scientific minds from the planet. Similarly, Allah Ta’ala is the Supreme Judge and He too has a way of setting apart the top minds in terms of servant hood. The question is, what is God’s judging standard? What is the key filter that He has put forth for His creation?

Allah Ta’ala states in the Glorious Qur’an, “Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most pious amongst you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.” (49:13) Hence, it is known that “Taqwa,” or piety is the key standard in the system of “Divine Ratings” that Allah Ta’ala has put forth for mankind. The Glorious Qur’an further states, “And His friends (awliya) are not, but the pious.” (Al-Anfal) Hence, it becomes quite clear for us that if we wish to enhance our relationship with Allah, or connect to our Creator in real terms, we must adopt lives that revolve around the nucleus of Taqwa. The ultimate state of affairs then becomes: 1) What exactly is Taqwa? 2) How do we attain it?

The easiest way to define piety is through the phrase, “to be on the safe side.” The Holy Prophet (PBUH) stated, “The lawful things are clearly defined, and the unlawful things are clearly defined. In between these lie the Mushtabahat.” The term “Mushtabah” is used to denote an item that there exists divided opinion for, implying that some scholars might permit it whilst others might not. In these cases, it is better to abstain from such items, or practice Taqwa. A very common example of this is food items in the West. A plethora of edible products exist in the West eg. certain chocolates or desserts etc., the opinion in which is divided amongst scholars. Using that example, a Muslim who would abstain from such items would experience a rapid climb on the divine ratings chart, he would be considered a “Mutaqi” in the eyes of Allah Ta’ala. Hence, believers who spend their life whilst “being on the safe side”, whatever the situation might be, are considered to be pious according to the Quran and Sunnah.

The second questions lies, how can we attain this jewel? The Quran simplifies the answer by putting forth, “O ye who believe! Fear Allah and remain with the Sadiqeen” (9:119) “Sadiqeen” are those righteous servants of Allah who are true and equal in their word and deed. Their inner and exterior resonate each other and they are empty of all vice and hypocrisy. Hence, as the verse complements the fear of Allah and the company of the pious together, we should strive to remain in the company of such people.

Another solution presented forth by the Kitabullah is “O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may become pious (2:183)” Why exactly has fasting been listed as a source of Taqwa? It’s simple. What the individual, who fasts, is doing is learning to practice self-control; controlling the tongue from ill-speech, the body from ill-actions, and the heart from ill-thoughts. That mechanism becomes deep-rooted and eventually forms into habitual routine. Hence, optional fasting is usually considered a short-cut route towards attaining the connection to Allah Ta’ala by attaining Taqwa. Multiple verses of the Qur’an carry the command, “Fear Allah.” We should make a sincere effort to do so.

Our Islaaf, pious predecessors, made Taqwa the focus of their life. Increasing this spiritual element was always on their minds. Their piety and fearfulness of standing before Allah wouldn’t let them falter away from the path of righteousness. Sayyidina Abu Bakar (ra) is unanimously considered to be the most honorable of all mankind after all the Prophets (alayhimu’salam), but what would his demeanor be? He would weep and state “Alas! I wish I were a blade of grass….alas! I were a hair on the body of a Muslim.” He stated this because he was fearful of being presented before the Supreme Entity on the Supreme Day in the Supreme Court. Sayyidina Usman (ra) would visit the graveyard and cry till his beard became wet due to tears. These people had been given gladtidings of Jannah, but the fear of Allah in their hearts, Taqwa, would not let them rest.

Imam Abu Haneefa was a mountain of knowledge, as well as a prosperous businessman. People owed him great sums of monies. One such man owed him 10,000 Dirhams, but failed to pay it on the promised date. One day, the illustrious Imam was walking in the street and this defaulter appeared from the opposite side. He saw the Imam and ran into another street. Coincidentally, that street led to a dead end. Imam A'zam entered the same street and found him standing there, terribly ashamed.

The Imam asked, "How did you end up here today?" The man replied, "I am very ashamed that I owe you money and did not pay it back on the promised date. The time has passed and I do not have the money to repay you. I feared that you would demand the money from me so I ran into this street." The great Imam said, "If money is such a thing that disturbs the heart of a Muslim, then I hereby forgive you of your debt." Subhan’Allah! Only those who are fearful of Allah’s accountability are able to easily forgive the debts of His creation in this life. May Allah help us to become such pious servants of His. Ameen.