Abandoning something for the sake and pleasure of Allah

As salaamu alaikum

First, I'd like to apologize for the lack of updates.....oh alright fine, and *maybe* so sumaiya doesn't murder me when she finds out I killed her blog lol. But in all truth I've been really busy with exams and school so haven't been able to come on as much, but InshaAllah will try to keep things rolling...I hope...

So, I was reading this story I came across on qisas.com (yes, I really like reading stories and poems...and...not to mention, they're easy to post :P...) after reading it I thought to myself that this was one lesson we all tend to forget. I mean, sometimes we become so selfish that we never want to give or sacrifice any of our belongings. We think that if we give it away, we're losing something. Physically we are, but spiritually we're gaining so much reward and happiness within ourselves that's difficult to come across at times. Not only that, but this way we can feel the gratitude we need to show Allah every day of our lives for everything He's blessed us with.

We forget that Allah is Most Fair and Just and when we sacrifice something for His sake, He's not going to let that go unnoticed. Rather, He'll give us something better in return. And if your thinking, "well, I sacrificed so much and I didn't get anything so far" just know that it may or may not be in this life. Allah might be saving that reward of yours for the Akhirah where it would be way more enjoyable for you...c'mon, a temporary reward, or a reward lasting for eternity? Take your pick.

Let me just take a wild guess here, you picked a reward lasting for eternity...? That's great. But you have to remember that it doesn't work like that. You can't just pick and choose and not do anything to earn it. Therefore, strive in the path of Allah and atleast sacrifice those extra things you've got, and sooner or later that too will increase. Just remember the Sahabah (ra) and how much they sacrificed for this Deen of Allah. They knew that this Dunya is only temporary and so is everything contained in it (ie. wealth). And they'd rather have and enjoy the everlasting reward in the Akhirah instead of perishable materialistic gains in this life.

May Allah (swt) take away all the selfishness and greed from our hearts and give us the ability to spend in His way and help others. Ameen.

Before I forget...here's the story. Enjoy :)

Abandoning Something for the Sake and Pleasure of Allah

Ibn Rajab relates an account of a worshipper who ran out of resources while he was in Makkah. He became extremely hungry and was about to die from lack of nourishment. One day, as he was wandering in the precincts of Makkah, he found an expensive necklace. He put it into his sleeves and headed for the Masjid. On his way he came across a man announcing that he had lost a necklace. The poor man later said, ” I asked him to describe it to me, and he did so, perfectly, leaving no room for doubt. I gave him the necklace without taking reward from him. I said “O Allah, I have given it for You, so compensate me with what is better.”

He went to the ocean and began a journey in a small boat. Only a brief period of time passed before a storm came with heavy winds crashing into the boat. The boat smashed into pieces and the man was forced to cling to a piece of wood. The winds were violent, propelling him to the left and to the right.

Finally, he was washed ashore onto an island. He found there a Masjid filled with people who were praying, so he joined them. He found papers with parts of the Qur’an written on them and he began to recite from them.

The people of the island asked him, “Do you read the Qur’an?” He answered in the affirmative. They said, “Teach our children Qur’an.”

So he began to teach them and he took a salary for his services. One day, they saw him writing and they asked, “Will you teach our children to write?” Again he answered in the affirmative and began teaching them for a salary.

A short time later, they said to him, “There is an orphaned girl with us whose father was a good man. Will you marry her?”

He agreed to the marriage and later related, “I married her and found that she was wearing the exact same necklace. She said that her father lost it in Makkah and a man found it and returned to him. She said that her father would always supplicate while prostrating, for her daughter to become blessed with a husband similar to the honest man. I then informed her that I was that man.”

“…O Allah, I have given it for You, so compensate me with what is better…”

LESSON: Abandoning something for the sake and Pleasure of Allah (SWT) - and Allah will definitely compensate with something that is better, either sooner or later, in this world or Hereafter. [Jaami’ul-uloom wal Hikam]