REMEMBRANCE OF ALLAH
Fathima
looks forward to Fajr prayers every morning. She loves the fresh smell
of dew that the morning brings. Everything is so fresh in the morning
and the two rak'ath of Fajr makes her feel really close to Allah the
most high. But she always has one nagging question in her mind. "How do I
ensure that I always remember Allah throughout the day?" she wonders.
So one day she decides to observe what her family does to remember
Allah.
First, she observes her father and she notices that right after fajr prayers he begins to recite, 'SubhanAllah, SubhanAllah'. And so Fathima repeats after him.
After
filling her tummy with a hearty breakfast, Fathima notices that grandma
says, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah ' after her meal. Grandma tells
Fathima, "Praise Allah for His Greatness for giving us this food to make
us strong". So Fathima lovingly repeats it to praise Allah for the
breakfast He has given them.
Fathima
then sits down to finish her homework with her sister, Aysha. After
finishing the homework Aysha says, "Allahu Akabar, Allahu Akabar " and
encourages Fathima to do the same. "Why?" Fathima asks. "Well, it is so
that we give praise to Allah for helping us to achieve what had we set
out to do", replied Aysha.
"Well then," asks Fathima, "When do we say a'udubillah?".
"Whenever you have a bad thought in your mind," "A'udubillah is to request protection from Allah the Almighty from bad thoughts or actions". Fahim, her brother, said.
Fathima gave Fahim a grateful smile for teaching her a new dikir to remember Allah by.
Later
that day, after praying 'Asr with her grandpa congregationally, Fathima
noticed that he repeatedly recited "asthaghfirullah, asthaghfirullah".
Curious to know why, Fathima asks, "Why do you say this 'dikr' grandpa?"
"Well," replies grandpa, "I like to say 'asthaghfirullah' so that I will always seek forgiveness from Allah the most high".
And
so for the rest of the evening, Fathima rehearsed what she had learnt
from watching her father, her grandma, her sister, her brother and her
grandpa. But as Maghrib drew near, she discovered two more useful 'diks'
for her to recite to remind her of Allah.
She learnt the value of 'Bismillah' . "This
means 'In the name of Allah'", mother had said. "Begin everything you
do in the name of Allah' or with 'Bismillah'," mother says,
"particularly before eating, so that Allah will bless you for your
actions" And so before eating her dinner, Fathima silently says
'Bismillah'.
For
Maghrib prayers, Fathima accompanied her mother and their neighbour
Mrs. Fahima to the nearby house. As they walked to the house, Mrs. Najma
kept reciting '
La ilaha illAllah'. "What does it mean?" Fathima curiously asks her.
La ilaha illAllah'. "What does it mean?" Fathima curiously asks her.
"La ilaha illAllah means there is only one God who is Allah", says Mrs. Najma. "As
Muslims we believe that Allah is one and that He has no partners. This
is the most important belief in Islam. Saying La ilaha illallah will
remind us of this very important belief in Islam. So recite it
regularly, Fathima", Mrs. Najma told her.
Fathima
thanked Mrs. Najma for his advice and in her heart gave a silent thank
you to Allah. for helping her learn the many ways that she can bring
herself closer to Him. She set it firmly in her heart to apply whatever
'dikr' she has learnt everyday. Everyday. Starting from today. Insha
Allah, Fathima will be close to Allah the most high.
The Qur'an says: "And remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt. And Allah knows the (deeds) that you do" (Ŝurat Ankabut 29:45).
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