Inspired by the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Humility

In the name of God, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful.

I heard the following words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) several times before I understood their true meaning. This hadith is mentioned in Al-Bukhari and Muslim and was told by Abu Hurayrah.

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "No one of you will be saved because of his deeds."

They (the companions) said: "Not even you, O Messenger of Allah?"

He said: "Not even me, unless Allah bestows mercy upon me. So do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately, and worship Allah in the forenoon and in the afternoon and during a part of the night, and adopt a moderate course, adopt a moderate course (he said it twice) whereby you will reach your target (Paradise)."

In this hadith the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gives us some guidelines to attain our goal of reaching Jannah, Paradise, and being saved from the Hellfire. He tells us to do good deeds with a sincere intention and to perform our ibaadah, worship, during the day and the night and to attain a moderate course in practicing our religion. With these words, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) doesn’t tell us anything new.

But what struck me the most in this hadith is the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the Best of mankind, our True example, reminds us to be humble. He tells us that nobody will be saved from Hellfire and will be allowed to enter Paradise because of his deeds. But what does this mean? Does this mean that we shouldn’t perform any good deeds? That engaging in good deeds is not necessary? No, because he explains us further in the hadith, that doing good deeds paves the way to Allah. Good deeds with a sincere intention.

By doing good deeds we choose to follow the guidelines Allah has set for us, by doing good deeds we walk a road with Allah as our destination. But we will not reach that destination by our own accord. Shaytaan and our nafs have set up a trap in this road and if we don’t pay attention, we might fall into that trap. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) points one trap out in this hadith, he reminds us of our own humbleness and Allah’s greatness.

When we perform good deeds sometimes we tend to be arrogant. We become pleased with ourselves and our worship and think we’re better than others who are not able to pray 5 times a day, or wear the hijaab or study the Qur’an. We become selfrighteous and consider good things happening in our lives as a result of us being ‘good muslims’.

When we start to think like this, Shaytaan has caught us in his trap. When we feel like this, our nafs has tricked us.

Not a single good deed performed by us, should make us feel arrogant or should make us feel better about ourselves, because these good deeds are also from Allah. If we are able to perform these good deeds, if we are able to be ‘good muslims’ than this is a blessing from Allah. It’s a mercy from Allah. Not because X is better than Y, but because Allah’s mercy is greater than anything. There can be no room for arrogance in our hearts, only thankfulness towards our Lord, who has bestowed upon us the blessing of worship. Soubhan’Allah.

Having understood the wisdom hidden in these words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) I learned a great lesson in humility. I saw my own smallness and His greatness. I understood that I will only be able to enter Jannah by His Mercy, not by my good deeds.

For my good deeds are nothing more than a gift from Him.

Even the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who performed more good deeds than any of us, understood that he would only enter Jannah by Allah’s Mercy, so how than could we? 

Ever toiling...

Sometimes our hearts feel heavy.

We carry a burden of sorrow and distress in our hearts.

A heavy weight tries to crush our lungs and we find it hard to breathe.

Worries seem to cloud our vision as tears well up in our eyes.

Sometimes our hearts feel so heavy, the weight breaks us and we fall down on our path through life.

When we find the courage to stand up, we stumble and fall again. And again.

We seem to trip over every rock or bump in the road.

At those times it’s hard to feel close to Allah and to connect with Him in our prayers.

We feel like we’re the only ones who have ever experienced such a trial and don’t know how to keep carrying this massive weight on our shoulders.

At such times we seem to forget that Allah is in fact the Only One who can lift that burden from our hearts and remove the load we carry.

One day I felt like the load I was carrying for some time became unbearable.

My heart felt heavy and my soul tormented by the worries I felt.

I couldn’t seem to find anything that could relieve my heart from this crushing weight.

Until…

I remembered a verse in the Qur’an.

A verse I read in a book some months before.

A verse that had inspired me, but that I did not fully understand until this moment.

I didn’t remember the chapter or number of the verse in the Qur’an, so I looked for the book in which I was sure it was mentioned.

But was it mentioned in the beginning, the middle or the end? I had no clue.

Hoping to find the soothing words of Allah, most Exalted is He, I opend the book at random.

Soubhan’Allah.

I opened the book and found the title of that chapter in which I knew I would find that specific verse I was looking for.

I turned one page and there it was. The comforting words of my Lord.

“Oh mankind! Verily you are ever toiling on towards your Lord – painfully toiling – but you shall meet Him.” (Qur’an 84:6)

Tears sprung into my eyes as I felt the heavy load being lifted from my chest.

As the understanding of this beautiful verse dawned on me,  Allah replaced my sorrow with strength to help me carry the burden, I thought I had to carry alone.

He loosened the chain around my tormented soul.

All praise is due to Allah.

As humans we are always stumbling on our path through life.

We break, we stumble, we fall.

We are ever toiling.

Our path through life isn’t made easy.

There are rocks and bumps in the road.

Our path is sometimes covered in darkness.

But…

We are not wandering this path alone. Allah is Al-Wali. Our Companion.

We are not completely covered in darkness. Allah is An-Noer. Our Light, that guides the way.

Allah recognises our pain, our suffering, our stumbling and our falling, ‘cause he tells us in the Qur’an that we are ‘ever toiling’. Painfully toiling.

And to ease our pain, our suffering, to soften the stumbling and falling, he reminds us of our destination: Allah, himself.

In these words lies the most comforting thought: we might suffer, we might stumble and we might fall on our path through life. But Ar-Rafi, the One who raises us, will lift us up. But if we persevere, we shall meet Him.

And in the meeting with Our Lord is truly found comfort.  

Awakening (Poem)

I was caught in a cave,

Covered in darkness,

Nothing more than a slave,

Of my whims and desires.

I was locked in a cage,

Hurt and alone,

I was stuck for an age,

Where I didn't belong.

One moment, one day,

Light broke through,

And it lit the way.

A new world came in view.

I unchained my soul,

Unlocked my prison.

I found the Truth as a whole,

By which I was risen.

I stepped into the Light,

And fell to my knees,

For such Power and Might,

That had given me the keys.

Unchained and freed,

Alive and awake,

I had found the True Creed,

I could never forsake.