Today's Reminder
December 01, 2020 | Rabiʻ II 15, 1442
Living The Quran
Constant Striving
Surah al-Qasas (The Stories) Chapter 28: Verses 56
"You [O Muhammad] guide not whom you like but God guides whom He wills. And He knows best those who receive guidance."
Constant striving is an essential feature of delivering the Message, as well as an important element of the Prophetic method. A Prophet is, so to speak, obsessed with how to perform his duty. With that goal always uppermost, he considers all circumstances and does everything permitted. As he is not responsible for the results, he leaves them to God. He knows that he cannot cause anyone to accept the Message, for he is only sent to convey it as effectively as possible.
Many Prophets lived with no one accepting their Message. However, they did not lose heart, weaken, or resort to such improper means as violence, terror, or deception even when faced with relentless hardship and torture. When the Prophet, peace be upon him, was severely wounded at Uhud, some Companions asked him to invoke God's curse on the enemy. Instead, he prayed for them, saying: "O God, forgive my people, because they don't know." He did this while his face was covered with blood.
Compiled From:
"The Messenger of God: Muhammad" - Fethullah Gulen, p. 77
From Issue: 721 [Read original issue]
Understanding The Prophet's Life
God's Presence
When we study the Prophet's (peace be upon him) life, we find him glorifying God and praising Him at every moment of his life. He would wake up before dawn, leaving his bed when the dark curtain of the night still covers everything. He then says: "Praise be to God who has returned my spirit to me, given me physical strength and permitted me to glorify Him." [Tirmidhi] Consider how he welcomes life, full of optimism: "Praise be to God who has returned my spirit to me." Life is a gift from God and we are able to do many good things in a day. The Prophet expresses his gratitude for his well-being. We may reflect long on the last part of this supplication, which mentions God's permission to glorify Him. That is an expression of complete devotion that words can hardly describe.
The Prophet's awareness of God's presence never left him for a moment, and He praised Him at every juncture and before every action. The Prophet is therefore the perfect role model for all believers. Some of us may wonder whether we have to repeat all these supplications all the time. Scholars rightly make clear that although they are all recommended, none is obligatory.
Compiled From:
"Muhammad: His Character and Conduct" - Adil Salahi
From Issue: 957 [Read original issue]
Blindspot!
Repentance
Adam, the father of all humanity, was the most discerning of creatures, their superior in wisdom, and the most steadfast. Yet the Foe kept after him until he made him fall into that which he fell. What then of someone with the reason of a moth, whose intelligence compared to that of his father [Adam] is like a spittle in the ocean? Still, the Foe of God obtains nothing from a faithful person except by robbing him in [a moment of] inattention and carelessness. And when he causes him to fall, the servant may think that he can never again face his Lord, that this fall has carried him away and destroyed him. Yet behind it all is God's grace, mercy, clemency and forgiveness.
For if God intends what is good for His servant, He will then open for him the doors of repentance and remorse, abasement and humility, dependence and need; the doors of the request for God's help and protection; the doors of perpetual humility, supplication and the approach towards Him by means of whatever good works he can manage - so that his wrong may become a means to God's mercy. For the Foe says, 'Alas, I left him without causing him to fall!'
Compiled From:
"The Invocation of God" - Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, p. 3
From Issue: 604 [Read original issue]