Reaching Heights

Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem

Waseem: No limit...

“Mus’ab.”

Despite my frame of mind, I looked up at the familiar face and grinned as the mention of my undeserved nickname was heard. I nodded and held out my hands for a handshake, slightly taken aback as he moved in for a fierce embrace, as if overtaken by emotion.

“I heard,” he said as he stepped back, looking at me sympathetically. He shook his head, and ran his hands thoughtfully through his beard.

“It will be okay,” he continued, trying to give me hope. “Allah’s tests are for His soldiers.”

I nodded, and I wondered briefly about Molvi and his own life. He spoke as if he himself had been exposed to the worst of what could have happened, and Icouldm’t help but feel that maybe my life wasn’t so bad after all. Maybe everything wasn’t so gloomy. Maybe I had just been focusing on the wrong kind of happiness.

“Soeaking of soldiers,” he said suddenly, clearing his throats and breaking me out of my thoughts. “Call me crazy, but that kind of sums up why I’m here. Right now.”

I looked at him curiously, thinking about what he may mean. I mean, jokes aside, the guy kind of looked like a soldier anyway, so I wasn’t sure why

“The call has come, Mus’ab,” he said, his face serious in the dim lighting of the hallway. “And we have to make a choice. We have to decide if we are ready to go forward and fight. I’ve come from the Eastern parts of the targeted areas last night, and a few guys want to head back with me.”

I frowned at him, wondering if this guy was feeling okay. He was talking like he was coming out of some war-stricken zone, and it took me a few minutes more to realize that he was actually being serious. The whole thing sounded sinister and surreal, that I couldn’t help but think that maybe I was still dreaming. Maybe this was all part of my illusions.

I shook my head at Molvi, trying to convey that I was really confused about this whole thing. I mean, in this day and age, it was the first time I have heard of people going out and attempting to be part of the massacre that was going on. I never thought that I coils be apart  of it too. in my mind, there were always other people around to do it. Back in the day, all I would think was: it didn’t affect me. Why did I have to risk everything and go out there?

Little did I know… there would come a time in my life like right now… where I really had nothing to lose, because then of course, he said the words that brought me down to reality. We sit in our pretty comfortable homes, chasing Duniyaa, when we forget that our aim should be quite the opposite.

“We spend our whole lives trying to reach Allah,” he said now in true Molvi style, looking more serious than usual. “And then along comes an opportunity. We hear about it all the time. We know about the blood of our brothers. The cries of our sisters. The massacre of our children. We don’t understand what it is that really goes down there until we see it with our own eyes. We are blind to their suffering because we are too caught up in the temporary world.”

He shifted in his seat, his bright eyes shining in the darkness of the night as the we headed outside again. I swear this guy was probably nocturnal. He was so alive right then.

“But with them,” he continued, running his hand through his beard and shaking his head. “Their Jannah is being made as their blood is spilt. You can feel the strength of even our small armies as the guys swear they can feel the Malaaikah come in for assistance. You actually witness the smiles on the faces of the Shaheed, as they are probably meeting the hoors they are promised. You can literally smell the scent of musk as their blood is shed. And of course, they are still alive, as Allah promises. They are alive in their death… and it’s a most unimaginable thing. You want to see miracles, Mus’ab… You see them there.”

I looked at him almost unbelievably, wondering if what I was hearing was really true. I mean, he was speaking of such amazing experiences… but I couldn’t fathom them because I lived in a completely different world.

“The question is, Waseem,” Molvi said, addressing me by my name for probably the first time ever.

“Are you ready to reach for that?”

Amd of course, I never thought it would be possible, but those words were probably the ones that brought back the memories that made my decision for me. Visions of Zaynah in the latter part of last year, as she watched me with my laptop on one spring evening, came flooding back.

“How much longer?” She was asking, and I looked up at her for the fifth time that night, now getting slightly impatient with her questioning. A man had to make a living too, right?

“Sweets,” I replied, trying to hide my irritation at her. “I need to finish this memo. Big meeting tomorrow, and I have to sort it out. I promise I’m all yours after that.”

“But it’s been two hours!” She exclaimed, widening her eyes at me, and grabbing another  jelly baby from the packet next to her.

“Work is a work,” I said, slightly impatiently. “This has to be perfect. I can’t just go in there and talk.”

She didn’t know how these people were. I had to set up slide shows and make a proposal that would appeal to them. I can’t just rely on my charm. These were big time guys.

“Of course you can!” She said, looking at me obviously, with a slight pout on her stubborn face. “You’ve done what you need to… and if you have faith that Allah will take you through it from now, you’ll get all the business you need. And if you don’t get this one, there’s a better time and place. You just need to change your focus.”

I looked back at her and swallowed, licking my dry lips thoughtfully as a smile slowly crept on my face. I wanted to hug her. And then, of course, she said words I knew that I would probably remember for a long time to come.

“You aim for Duniyaa, and you’re always limited,” she said, as she got up to sit next to me.”Duniyaa is just what you can see. Just cheap promises and limited resources.

I shrugged, knowing all that. But why didn’t I stop?

Zaynah wasn’t finished. Her eyes are were dancing in that way they sometimes did, and  I knew that she was still to knock the nail on the head.

“But when you reaching for beyond that, Was,” she said in her matter-of-fact voice. “That’s when you get the real gold. When you focus on Aakhirah… The options are infinite. Limitless. There are no bounds.”

I raised my eyebrows at her as she sat next to me, wondering when she had become so wise. The gold. I had forgotten about that.  Sometimes I didn’t know what a rare gem I had in a wife.

“You’re amazing,” I finally said, closing my laptop emphatically, knowing that she was, as always, never off track. Besides that… she always got me back on track too.

She shook her head, clearly not agreeing with my statement. And of course, she had to prove it to me too.

In a Hadith Qudsi, Allah Almighty says:
O son of Adam, do not fear those who have authority over you as long as My Authority is enduring, and My Authority never runs out.
O son of Adam, do not be afraid of a tight livelihood when My Treasuries are full and My Treasuries never run out.
O son of Adam, do not ask anybody else except Me and I am yours, and when you ask Me you find Me; but if you ignore Me, I will turn away from you, and you will miss the whole good.
O son of Adam, I have created you to worship Me, not to play, and I ensured your sustenance so that you do not torment yourself (by worrying about it — let the physical parts of your body work but your heart and mind be in peace by putting your trust in God). I swear in My Power and Might, if you’re satisfied with what I apportioned for you, I will give your mind and body peace, but if you will not be satisfied with what I apportioned for you, I swear in My Power and Might, I will make you run after the world like the beasts run in the wild, then you will have nothing except what I had apportioned to you, and you have been disgraced.
O son of Adam, the creation of the seven heavens and the earth did not fatigue Me, will passing you a loaf of bread cause Me to tire.
O son of Adam, I did not forget whoever disobeys Me; how will I forget whoever obeys Me, and I am a Merciful Lord, and I have power over all things?
O son of Adam, do not ask Me the sustenance of tomorrow as I did not ask you the work of tomorrow.
O son of Adam, I love you so it is My Right that you love Me.

SubhaanAllah. How amazing were those promises that our Lord made?

And of course, I had been focusing my intentions on the wrong thing. Allah could turn even the heart of the most elite business man, if so He willed… because He only was the turner of hearts. And when our hearts were filled with love for Him, it was only that love that stemmed from deep within that would make us move out of what was peaceful and comfortable, to a place that we could do something solely for His pleasure.

Molvi Umar was still watching me steadily as we walked in the lit up yard, probably wondering what was going through my mind.

The thing was, my life now, as it stood, was really quite stagnant. I would go through each day with the hope that Zaynah would come back, wishing that things could just be the same again. I would work effortlessly, just as a means to an end, and thinking I was making my parents happy. I was, basically, losing the plot, until Molvi turned up at my door.

And now, all I could see this as, was Divine intervention. Maybe I didn’t have to face what that letter had to say just yet. And maybe there was more to his proposal than just the notion of running away. Maybe it was the opportunity to actually prove my self worth.

And I we may not see the signs, or recognize it’s value… But it is highly possible that everything that we live to hate, is actually better in the long run.  Not acquiring exactly what we want, when we think it is right, may actually be the best thing for us.

Of course, nothing happens without consent. It is a tough life at times, but we only move forward by the intention of hoping that the rewards thereafter will surpass the suffering before.

I had never known that I could be the kind that could actually give so much of myself, and expect nothing back, but Zaynah had taught me that. Beyond our selfish and absorbed lives, there was so much out there that we needed to take in.

Sometimes, we just need to stop with everything else. Stop the chase. Stop the pursuit. Stop our self-centered lives… and realize, that there are things out there that if we just have the catch a glimpse of…. We will literally want to kick ourselves for how deluded we had been all this time.

The huge awakening that I never saw before. And when that happens, like it did for me that day, you will reach a different kind of elevation, where you never imagined yourself to be. When you finally reach out for others, and not just yourself, that’s only when you will attain the kind of salvation that you truly need. That’s the height that defines our true worth.

You have to make a plan. You have to set a goal. You have to reach for what may even seem impossible.

Even if we don’t like it. Even if we’re afraid. Even if it seems too out there. Live for those moments, and drink them in… because once in a while, there are moments that change your life.

It’s your call. Love or hate. Be a hero or a coward. To fight or give in. To live or die.

Like that moment I stepped into the car with the hope of reaching the greatest of heights I ever could…. In a split second, those moments could change everything… And life would never be the same again.

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So sorry about the delay in posting. Apologies to all those who were waiting.

Don’t forget our Super Sunnahs!

Beautiful Sunnah!!

Eating a piece of food that falls on the floor. If a piece of food falls on the floor, then the person eating should remove any dirt that gets onto it and eat it; because he does not know where the blessing is in his food. It may be in the piece that fell, and leaving it makes a person miss out on the blessing of the food.

Anas ibn Maalik narrated that when Nabi (SAW) ate, he would lick his three fingers. Anas said: “And he said, ‘If any one of you drops a piece of food, let him remove any dirt from it and eat it, and not leave it for the Shaytaan.’ And he commanded us to clean the plate, and said, ‘For you do not know where in your food the blessing is.’” (Narrated by Muslim, 2034).

There are many bodily benefits to all Sunnah as well. Let’s try and practise regularly!

We will be doing more eating and drinking Sunnahs Insha Allah.

#RevivetheSunnahofEating

#RevivetheSunnahofDrinking

#Revive theSunnahofSpeakingGood

#RevivetheSunnahofSmiling

#RevivetheSunnahofMiswaak

#RevivetheSunnahofDu’aas

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• Fear
• Goal
• heights
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• Islam
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