Live a life like there is no tomorrow
Verily, Allah, with Him (Alone) is the knowledge of the Hour, He sends down the rain, and knows that is in the wombs. No person knows what he will earn tomorrow, and no person knows in what land he will die. Verily, Allah is All-Knower, Well Acquainted (with things). – Surah Luqman 31:34
Many of us tend to fall for this shortcoming that we will become successful tomorrow and perhaps later in the future, all due to our hard work. We have so many bright ideas, visions, plans and yet we tend to forget that only God allows it. Success and failure is only from God and those who truly believe in God will not be in despair if things didn’t work out and not be boastful or arrogant if success befalls upon them.
There are countless signs God has sent us on this world years and centuries after revelations, let it be in the on each individual, or on a society as a whole. Rather than pointing fingers at people and blaming them for the cause of our failure, it is important to reflect ourselves, where have we gone wrong? Pointing fingers is not going to improve the situation but it creates the matters worse, one couldn’t save face, the other start to behave weird, and some might have committed suicide or ended up in a mental asylum!
As a Muslim, life on this earth is full of trial (fitnah) and we have a purpose living on this world. As Sheikh Ahmad Sakr said on one of his speeches “You think God created you on this Earth accidentally?” Unfortunately, many of us do not realize the true purpose of life in this world (that includes me). Additional to that, we have slacked ourselves and worry about the worldly matters more than the hereafter, which created an unbalance for the soul. I’ve seen parents being overprotective over their child, fearing losing them to a freak accident, while they do not realize that their time is up. People weeping over their beloved ones and say “It cannot be! Why must be he/she?” but they do not realize that the hour has arrived. We will indeed lose someone whom we love somewhere in our life but accepting it as a Divine Will by God, at His Will, one wouldn’t be in despair nor arrogant.
“Everyone shall taste death. Then to Us you shall be returned”
Surah Al-Ankabut 29:57
It is irresistible that we taste death one day. It could be in a few days time, a few hours left, or a few seconds more. Death, as what we know come in various ways. Reading the newspaper alone will give you the answer. People die in earthquake, car accident, plane crash, suffocation, viral attack, rape, murder, heart attack, cancer, and so much more, yet many of us tend to be very confident that we will live till 80. However, what we don’t realize that we don’t know when and how death will fall upon us. Only God knows, not us. If we know, I think the world would be a peaceful place as many of us will be striving hard to do well. But as truth has been said in Surah Luqman 31:34, we assume that death will come upon us anytime soon.
What should we do to prepare for death? Nobody taught us about preparation of the soul for death. I’m not sure about the concept of preparation of death in other religion, but in Islam, there are various practical ways in it. Imagine you have to prepare yourself for a University Entrance Examination which is tough; you need the right book, the right knowledge, the right food for your body, the right mental state. What about death? And the post on Air Janazah will give you a clear idea how will it be.
As Muslims, we are thankful that we have 5 times a day prayers, an obligation that we are supposed to be thankful because God wants us to remember Him before sunrise till your bedtime. Of course a non Muslim would say, “Wow! You must be pious to pray 5 times a day”, or the ones who take religion a trifle issue would say,”It must be difficult and troublesome”. I don’t blame them, but we Muslims should take the effort to realize that those 5 daily prayers is part of our ticket to Paradise and a balance in life.
God has mentioned the difference between a believer and a non believer is through the 5 obligatory prayers. So basically if you don’t pray 5 times a day and don’t feel sorry about it, only God knows what is with you and hope you will get guidance some day. I’d ask you, how clear it is being a Muslim and a non-Muslim? The 5 obligatory prayers is the one that shows the difference between a Muslim and a non Muslim in terms of relationship of human being and God. In Islam, God stresses the relationship between mankind and the creator, and through his guidance, we learn a lot of things from family affairs, business, economics, law, governance etc.
“Pray before you will be prayed upon ( funeral prayers)”
This saying is true; we will never know when we will die. You may not realize death will come in a few moments away. It is always stressed by God that one should perform their obligatory prayers on time. Why? The phrase “Pray before you will be prayed upon” means that one should hasten his Fajr, Dhuhr, Asar, Maghrib, Isya’ before his/her time runs out. Imagine if you would have been busy playing Counter Strike while the Prayer for Asar hits in, yet you’re so excited with the game, fragging every opponent with your Arctic Warfare and Desert Eagle. Suddenly, the Angel of Death, Azrael fragged your soul while you were fragging every regenerable opponents. By then, you’re fragged for good, BIG TIME… no Arctic Warfare, no Desert Eagle, no M-4 Carbine, but the Angel of Death just came upon you.
So my advice, perform your prayers as soon as possible before the inevitable happens. I realized this when I was asleep last night, somewhat it was in my dream that there is an urge for me to type this out. I felt like the Angel of Death is coming closer and closer, and without delay, I have my prayers as soon as I woke up again. Yes, I had my Isya’ prayers late because I was mentally stressed last night due to some excessive thinking. Thank God I had my prayers and had a good night sleep.
The ultimate way of enjoining good and avoiding evil is through taqwa (Acute awareness of God).
This is what I try to uphold upon so that I could avoid doing evil deeds; let it be in the heart, in the soul, and in the eyes. With acute awareness of God, or taqwa, one will definitely avoid doing corruption in this world. When one is in the state that he is aware that God is forever watching his / her act, hearing his / her heart and words, and observing his / her intention, he / she will not get into the act of performing deeds which are forbidden by God.
Putting in a simple analogy by imagining your parents are together with you in your room. You wouldn’t dare to do anything funny by flipping some porn magazine which you are tempted to do so. So, putting parents apart, think of God who is always watching you from His throne above. Just be mindful that God is observing you.
One of the easiest examples of it is about drinking. God has forbidden us to drink for various reasons which He knows best for us. But that doesn’t mean if we drink we will get instantaneous punishment. That is not the point. You have a choice having booze or not. Many tend to have this misconception that if I drink, I will have an inevitable punishment bound to fall upon me. Okay, here’s the truth...
Everyone wants to be pure. But they don’t have the definition of being pure. Many would say, bathing everyday is pure, drinking lots of water is pure, being vegetarian is pure, and etc. Depending on cultures and traditions, the idea of being pure can be very subjective. Based on the divine revelations, intoxicants (drugs, alcoholic drinks etc), blood, flesh of swine is considered impure in God’s revelation. Many would argue about it but would one want to argue with God? It’s not my idea, it’s not Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) idea, it is not Jesus’ (PBUH) idea, and not Moses’ (PBUH) idea. But it is God Himself said so. It is not even the ideas of scholars and sages and wise men but it is from God himself.
But knowing that it is impure, it is not good to have it in our body as it causes our body to be impure and God doesn’t accept one’s prayers in an impure state. I’d ask you, would an emperor/leader/king/sultan accept your wishes if you’re in a state of drunk and intoxicated as well being in dirty clothes and haven’t had a bath for a day?
In the end, you have a choice to drink and get your prayers nullified (that only at God’s will) or not to drink and earn bigger rewards from God. I’d take the latter because I believe that if God gives me something that is best for me and He would give it in folds. God doesn’t give 2nd best, He gives the best.
In relation with taqwa, I would certainly think of God is watching over me although there are no religious officers. With this awareness, one will not need to worry about the law because he/she will eventually would not commit crime or cause corruption in the land. I don’t need pamphlets on how to avoid alcoholism or health book on “how to drink well”, because I know it is impure by God and I know God is observing me, thus I choose not to drink it. You don’t need to read so many science book or to be a chemist to come into this conclusion, just put 100% trust on God and 0% doubts on His revelation, you will indeed be one of the successful people on this earth.
In a nutshell,
- Live like as if you live for today
- Don’t be in despair nor arrogant when something happened unto you, let it be in happiness or sadness
- Give and take relationship between God and man.
You want so and so…the only One who can answers you is God. Ask as much as you want, but in return He asks you to worship Him alone.
- Perform what is good and avoid what is evil, as laid upon by God
- Pray when the time has come, as if your death is coming very soon.
- Be mindful that God is watching you all the time.
- Put trust in God to handle your affairs.
Many of us tend to fall for this shortcoming that we will become successful tomorrow and perhaps later in the future, all due to our hard work. We have so many bright ideas, visions, plans and yet we tend to forget that only God allows it. Success and failure is only from God and those who truly believe in God will not be in despair if things didn’t work out and not be boastful or arrogant if success befalls upon them.
There are countless signs God has sent us on this world years and centuries after revelations, let it be in the on each individual, or on a society as a whole. Rather than pointing fingers at people and blaming them for the cause of our failure, it is important to reflect ourselves, where have we gone wrong? Pointing fingers is not going to improve the situation but it creates the matters worse, one couldn’t save face, the other start to behave weird, and some might have committed suicide or ended up in a mental asylum!
As a Muslim, life on this earth is full of trial (fitnah) and we have a purpose living on this world. As Sheikh Ahmad Sakr said on one of his speeches “You think God created you on this Earth accidentally?” Unfortunately, many of us do not realize the true purpose of life in this world (that includes me). Additional to that, we have slacked ourselves and worry about the worldly matters more than the hereafter, which created an unbalance for the soul. I’ve seen parents being overprotective over their child, fearing losing them to a freak accident, while they do not realize that their time is up. People weeping over their beloved ones and say “It cannot be! Why must be he/she?” but they do not realize that the hour has arrived. We will indeed lose someone whom we love somewhere in our life but accepting it as a Divine Will by God, at His Will, one wouldn’t be in despair nor arrogant.
“Everyone shall taste death. Then to Us you shall be returned”
Surah Al-Ankabut 29:57
It is irresistible that we taste death one day. It could be in a few days time, a few hours left, or a few seconds more. Death, as what we know come in various ways. Reading the newspaper alone will give you the answer. People die in earthquake, car accident, plane crash, suffocation, viral attack, rape, murder, heart attack, cancer, and so much more, yet many of us tend to be very confident that we will live till 80. However, what we don’t realize that we don’t know when and how death will fall upon us. Only God knows, not us. If we know, I think the world would be a peaceful place as many of us will be striving hard to do well. But as truth has been said in Surah Luqman 31:34, we assume that death will come upon us anytime soon.
What should we do to prepare for death? Nobody taught us about preparation of the soul for death. I’m not sure about the concept of preparation of death in other religion, but in Islam, there are various practical ways in it. Imagine you have to prepare yourself for a University Entrance Examination which is tough; you need the right book, the right knowledge, the right food for your body, the right mental state. What about death? And the post on Air Janazah will give you a clear idea how will it be.
As Muslims, we are thankful that we have 5 times a day prayers, an obligation that we are supposed to be thankful because God wants us to remember Him before sunrise till your bedtime. Of course a non Muslim would say, “Wow! You must be pious to pray 5 times a day”, or the ones who take religion a trifle issue would say,”It must be difficult and troublesome”. I don’t blame them, but we Muslims should take the effort to realize that those 5 daily prayers is part of our ticket to Paradise and a balance in life.
God has mentioned the difference between a believer and a non believer is through the 5 obligatory prayers. So basically if you don’t pray 5 times a day and don’t feel sorry about it, only God knows what is with you and hope you will get guidance some day. I’d ask you, how clear it is being a Muslim and a non-Muslim? The 5 obligatory prayers is the one that shows the difference between a Muslim and a non Muslim in terms of relationship of human being and God. In Islam, God stresses the relationship between mankind and the creator, and through his guidance, we learn a lot of things from family affairs, business, economics, law, governance etc.
“Pray before you will be prayed upon ( funeral prayers)”
This saying is true; we will never know when we will die. You may not realize death will come in a few moments away. It is always stressed by God that one should perform their obligatory prayers on time. Why? The phrase “Pray before you will be prayed upon” means that one should hasten his Fajr, Dhuhr, Asar, Maghrib, Isya’ before his/her time runs out. Imagine if you would have been busy playing Counter Strike while the Prayer for Asar hits in, yet you’re so excited with the game, fragging every opponent with your Arctic Warfare and Desert Eagle. Suddenly, the Angel of Death, Azrael fragged your soul while you were fragging every regenerable opponents. By then, you’re fragged for good, BIG TIME… no Arctic Warfare, no Desert Eagle, no M-4 Carbine, but the Angel of Death just came upon you.
So my advice, perform your prayers as soon as possible before the inevitable happens. I realized this when I was asleep last night, somewhat it was in my dream that there is an urge for me to type this out. I felt like the Angel of Death is coming closer and closer, and without delay, I have my prayers as soon as I woke up again. Yes, I had my Isya’ prayers late because I was mentally stressed last night due to some excessive thinking. Thank God I had my prayers and had a good night sleep.
The ultimate way of enjoining good and avoiding evil is through taqwa (Acute awareness of God).
This is what I try to uphold upon so that I could avoid doing evil deeds; let it be in the heart, in the soul, and in the eyes. With acute awareness of God, or taqwa, one will definitely avoid doing corruption in this world. When one is in the state that he is aware that God is forever watching his / her act, hearing his / her heart and words, and observing his / her intention, he / she will not get into the act of performing deeds which are forbidden by God.
Putting in a simple analogy by imagining your parents are together with you in your room. You wouldn’t dare to do anything funny by flipping some porn magazine which you are tempted to do so. So, putting parents apart, think of God who is always watching you from His throne above. Just be mindful that God is observing you.
One of the easiest examples of it is about drinking. God has forbidden us to drink for various reasons which He knows best for us. But that doesn’t mean if we drink we will get instantaneous punishment. That is not the point. You have a choice having booze or not. Many tend to have this misconception that if I drink, I will have an inevitable punishment bound to fall upon me. Okay, here’s the truth...
Everyone wants to be pure. But they don’t have the definition of being pure. Many would say, bathing everyday is pure, drinking lots of water is pure, being vegetarian is pure, and etc. Depending on cultures and traditions, the idea of being pure can be very subjective. Based on the divine revelations, intoxicants (drugs, alcoholic drinks etc), blood, flesh of swine is considered impure in God’s revelation. Many would argue about it but would one want to argue with God? It’s not my idea, it’s not Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) idea, it is not Jesus’ (PBUH) idea, and not Moses’ (PBUH) idea. But it is God Himself said so. It is not even the ideas of scholars and sages and wise men but it is from God himself.
But knowing that it is impure, it is not good to have it in our body as it causes our body to be impure and God doesn’t accept one’s prayers in an impure state. I’d ask you, would an emperor/leader/king/sultan accept your wishes if you’re in a state of drunk and intoxicated as well being in dirty clothes and haven’t had a bath for a day?
In the end, you have a choice to drink and get your prayers nullified (that only at God’s will) or not to drink and earn bigger rewards from God. I’d take the latter because I believe that if God gives me something that is best for me and He would give it in folds. God doesn’t give 2nd best, He gives the best.
In relation with taqwa, I would certainly think of God is watching over me although there are no religious officers. With this awareness, one will not need to worry about the law because he/she will eventually would not commit crime or cause corruption in the land. I don’t need pamphlets on how to avoid alcoholism or health book on “how to drink well”, because I know it is impure by God and I know God is observing me, thus I choose not to drink it. You don’t need to read so many science book or to be a chemist to come into this conclusion, just put 100% trust on God and 0% doubts on His revelation, you will indeed be one of the successful people on this earth.
In a nutshell,
- Live like as if you live for today
- Don’t be in despair nor arrogant when something happened unto you, let it be in happiness or sadness
- Give and take relationship between God and man.
You want so and so…the only One who can answers you is God. Ask as much as you want, but in return He asks you to worship Him alone.
- Perform what is good and avoid what is evil, as laid upon by God
- Pray when the time has come, as if your death is coming very soon.
- Be mindful that God is watching you all the time.
- Put trust in God to handle your affairs.
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