Time for the paper chase but...

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful; blessings and peace be upon Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

Reflection

The Declining Day (Al-'Asr)
1. By the declining day,
2. Lo! Man is in a state of loss,
3. Save those who believe and do good works, and exhort 
one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance.

MY youngest daughter (at the moment-lah) would be sitting for her PT3 examination which begins on Monday, October 9th. Alhamdulillah recently her school had organised a 'solat hajat' (prayer done for the fulfilment of wishes) and 'bacaan Yassin (reciting  'Surah Yassin of the Qur'an)' which many parents including the writer had attended. (THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BEFORE THE EXAMINATION)

A few days ago, an 'ustaz' who was giving his weekly 'tazkirah' at a 'masjid' near my house commented on 'this annually end of the year happening' saying it is good to perform the said religious obligations but warned the public not only to seek worldly pleasures, and in this case passing examinations with flying colours.

Subhanallah, almost everybody is busy chasing after material gain, as in the case of students they would go for the paper chase (who would purse for strings of straight A's in their public examinations) while young men and women would go for good jobs, thick wallets, branded cars and high taste fashion and accessories while matured men go for properties such as bungalows, lands and shares. 

The 'ustaz' reminded congregators to have knowledge in performing religious acts and to 'istiqamah' (steadfast) and sincere in doing them. He asked what's the point when a person performs the 'solat hajat' or reciting the Surah Yassin during such occasions when he or she is ignorant on religious obligations such as never performs his five times daily prayers or often skip them. 

"We should seek 'keredaan' (pleasing) Allah SWT in everything we do, what's the point of doing 'solat hajat' for a worldly purpose and the same time we ignore or do not care at all for our own fate in the Hereafter by abandoning the 'fadhu' in our lives such as the five times daily prayers, fasting in the month of Ramadan and so on?" he asked.

Scholars have reminded us again and again that our 'worldly pleasures and treasures' including strings of straight A-s in examination, good jobs and high status in society, own many properties and 'lots' of money would of no use in the Hereafter. The much sought items there are ‘iman’ (faith) and good deeds; unfortunately the Hereafter is not a place to do good deeds but a place to reaped ‘our best crop’ grown on earth! 

To be in Allah's straight path, begin all things with knowledge, for he who knows his own self knows God. So acquire knowledge. It enables its possessor to distinguish right from wrong; it lights the way to heaven; it is our friend in the desert, our society in solitude, our companion when friendless; it guides us in happiness; it sustains us in misery; it is an ornament amongst friends, and an armour against enemies. 

With knowledge we would know that our life in this world is not for the sake of material enjoyments of this world alone. Our temporary life here is only a life of probation, for perpetual life in the Hereafter. As we sow here, we shall reap in the Hereafter. 

To quote a saying of the Holy Prophet: “This world is the tillage for the Hereafter” i.e. we plough and sow here to reap in the next world. We, Muslims, therefore, cannot afford to live an irresponsible and reckless life.

All life ends in death. Therefore, let us remember that a certain time is fixed for us when we will be abandoned to the darkness of our graves. We should be therefore, consider the passing life of this world as a means towards our ultimate goal. 

Yes, this material world is not the main object of our life but a means towards a higher goal. The purpose of man’s life is ‘service to Allah’ and nothing else. 

This life is a preparation of what Allah has in store for us. The life of the Hereafter is eternal, and it is that which the believer should strive for. Hence let us not be deceived by the glamour and splendour around us. 

This life should never be wasted by merely seeking a comfortable and rich life of worldly happiness because Allah SWT tells us: “And surely the Hereafter is indeed better than this world.” 

Again says the Qur’an, “Every soul shall taste of death” – none shall be made to wander this world for ever. ((Pearls of the Prophet, Islamic Outreah-ABIM) 

Some time ago, over Radio IKIM.fm I heard the renowned intellectual and motivator, Prof Dr Muhaya Muhammad as saying that nowadays almost everybody are busy with their material wealth including their up to date electronic gadgets and forget about their direct relationship with their Creator, Allah SWT. 

We are always busy with our gadgets; in fact sometimes during our five times daily mass prayers (solat berjemaah) in the masjid, there are bound to be phones ringing with various tones including Gangnam style music. 

Oh, it just robs congregators of their 'khusyuk' (concentration); and to those concerned have you not seen Telekom Malaysia (TM) stickers on walls of some masjid, reminding that there are "Tiada Panggilan Sepenting Seruan Illahi" (No Calls Are More Important Than God's Call). So why not just leave your 'toys' behind or at least put them into silent mode? 

Prof Muhaya reminded that to have a good relationship with Allah SWT; the key word is to have knowledge. So gain knowledge; but the sad thing about almost all of us is that we spend (or waste?) almost our entire life chasing material wealth and do a lot of aimless thing such as; "how high (how many storeys) is your bungalow; in which country do you spend your holidays, how much money or shares do you have or how many 'As' does your son scored in his SPM examination?" 

She said almost all of us are busy or hungry for news and not knowledge "That's why we are eager to know the news posted on the internet; our gadgets are being used to seek for news...what's the latest about this artiste; whose marriage is on the brink of collapsing and so on..." 

Prof Muhaya stressed that if we can't feel good when we are alone and have the feeling of tranquility in such situation; it is a sign we do not love ourselves and have problems in our relationship with the Creator, Allah SWT. 

We are now in a frantic rat race including in education where success is about scoring strings of straight A-s in examinations, Muslims in this country is fast losing the Islamic 'roh' (spirit) in them. 

Without 'roh', Muslims are living without purpose; true some selected few and their cronies were gaining material gains such as having many properties and monies while their places of worship such as 'masjid' were big and beautiful, but had no 'barakah' (not blessed) in their lives.

Masjids are empty, while at home , 'kasih sayang' (love among family members) was on the decline; many children were without this 'kasih sayang', but instead showered with wealth. Some of these children from well off families lived on the fast lanes - with flashy cars and lots of money which they dump into pubs, clubs, casinos and into the hands of unmoral activities and women! 

Since Independence 60 years ago, we achieved leaps and bounds and saw tremendous transformation of physical developments but sadly our society has been losing out in human values at a very fast and alarming rate! 

If we were to measure our achivements based on these physical developments, in my opinion we were on the wrong track; for example societies in many Western countries are on the brink of collapsing even though they are front runners in materials terms. 

In the Qur'an, it is mentioned that great civilizations such as that of ancient Egypt and Tsamud were destroyed after their people went against the teaching of Allah SWT and His prophets. 

All of achievements and inventions of human civilization, cannot replace the human aspects of man and indeed are worthless if they are not used to enhance his humanity, purify him and make him truly happy. 

In the Qur'an, Allah The Greatest mentioned: "By the Soul, and proportion and order given to it. And its enlightenment as to its wrong and its right. Truly he succeds that purifies it. And he fails that corrupts it." (Qur'an 91: 7-10) 

The development of society is not measured solely in terms of its scientific achievements and material inventions. These are a factor, but there is another, more important, standard by which a society is also measured. That is the prevalance of human values such as love, empathy, altruism, sacrifice, uprightness and purity of thought, behaviour and dealing with others.

If individuals are the basis of a society, and the pillars upon which every social renaissance is built, then rightly-guided societies pay attention to human development and enhance the positive, constructive aspects while seeking to eliminate, evil, destructive motives, so that the individual will become a model citizen. It is from groups of such model citizens that clean, civil, strong, healthy, religious societies are formed. - The Ideal Muslim by Muhammad Ali Al-Hashimi (IIPH) 

Nowadays, if we were to look at our society beginning with ourselves and our families and 'kampung' people, we would realize that 'noble values' are fast disappearing from our lives.

The people must understand the love of the world (those material gains) is the root of all evil. The son of man grows and with him grows two things - the love of wealth and love of long life.

Ibn 'Abbas (Abdullah bin Abbas) relates, he heard the Holy Prophet saying: "Even if there were for a man two valleys full of wealth he would aspire for a third one, and nothing would fill man's belly but dust, and Allah turns to him who turns to Allah." 

So, what's the way out of this miserable life? Perhaps love would help; step one is to love yourself first, make sure that you live in His straight path so that you would not lead a miserable life in this world and the Hereafter. 

Next love you family; bring them to live in Allah SWT path, for He had mentioned in the Qur'an: "'O' you who believe! Save yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is Men and Stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who flich not (from executing) the commands the receive from Allah, but do (precisely) what they are commanded." (Qur'an 66:6) 

Then extend your love to your neighbours, relatives, friends, work mates, those in your community and society up to the highest level. Animals, plants and environments too should not be left out; but do not forget, your highest love should only be reserved to Allah SWT The Almighty and His Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.). 

Allah says, "Say: 'If it be that your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your mates, or your kindred; the wealth that ye have gained; the commerce in which ye fear a decline: or the dwellings in which ye delight - are dearer to you than Allah, or His Messenger, or the striving in His cause;- then wait until Allah brings about His decision: and Allah guides not the rebellious." (9:24) 

Those who love Allah SWT and the Prophet more than anyone else including 'their loves' would 'insya-Allah' (God willing) would receive Allah SWT blessing and His Prophet's 'syafaat' (acknowlegement). 

With Allah's blessing, life in this world would be full of love (kasih sayang) in all aspects of living life such as in family, society, countries, the world and universe and most importantly you would be safe in the Hereafter. Yes, with this 'investment of love', your will be successful in the Hereafter to enjoy the pleasure (paradise) of Allah SW