And do not become like those…
…who forget Allah.
I just attended a program for a brother that recently died (inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raaji’oon, from Him we come and to Him we return) in Makkah, right after he’d completed his Hajj. I went on a last minute’s notice (with my father).
The program included a Qur’anic recitation, and the verses recited were a reminder to me. You see, I’d seen many of my friends that I hadn’t seen in a while (mostly youth). Just thinking about the lifestyle of this generation (I believe about 5 cell phones went off during the program, unfortunately all from uncles). Another thing that attributed to my thoughts was a video I watched minutes before I left my house:
I saw it from Kashif Pasta’s blog. (just have to mention that this is an amazing kinetic typography piece).
The poet is Taylor Mali, and he brings to light the speech of my generation. Honestly, what caught me was the ‘conviction’ part, do we really mean and believe the words we say? When we stand up for Salah five times, are we mumbling through the words of our Lord? Or are we proudly speaking the truth that we believe?
Now, this reminds me of a few days back. I did a small personal experiment that I invite you to do as well.
I stood up for Salah (not a real Salah), and I raised my hands and loudly said “Allah is the greatest!”, Then I began Surah Fatiha:
“All praises are due to Allah, lord of all the worlds. The Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Master of the Day of Judgement. You alone do we worship and from you alone we seek aid. Guide us onto the straight path. The path of those whom have earned your favor, and not the path of those whom have earned your anger, nor of those who have gone astray.”
Then, thinking of the first Surah, surah Duha came to mind. “By the forenoon! … um…by the foren-…”
It was an eyeopening experience. If I am to stand in front of my Lord five times daily, will I continue to speak to Him with words that I do not understand?
InshaAllah, I’m trying to study, now, the meaning behind the words, especially in Salah.
/~~~\
All of these thought tangents lead me back to my original contemplation on the following ayah:
“And do not become like those who forget Allah, and He causes them to forget themselves! It is they who are truly deprived.” -Surah Hashr, Verse 19 [59:19]
This is an ayah we easily see the effects of these days. Ask any person that doesn’t believe in God, or isn’t that ‘religious’. Are they happy? Do they feel at peace? A line from the poem (in the video above) also poses a great statement to contemplate on: “I’m just, like, inviting you to join me, on the bandwagon of my own uncertainty.” Is uncertainty where you should be in life?
The truth is, we are all creations of Allah, and our purpose in life is to worship Him. That’s who you are! If you forget that, then you’re forgetting your own self.
Simple and plain.
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