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(024) Resilience of The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم
Adnaan Menk
December 21, 2024
(read time : 4 minutes)
If you’re interested in educating yourself on technology, mining, metals, and energy, Analytica Investor has some good research/articles. These articles are informative however not everything they mention may be islamically compliant. A good resource nonetheless.
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Today At A Glance
Don’t Even Come Close
A Method Of Deception Used In Business
Resilience of The Prophet ﷺ
Don’t Even Come Close To This
Allah says:
“…These are the boundaries of Allah, so do not come close to them…”
[Al-Baqarah 2:187]
After mentioning some of the rulings of halal and haram while fasting, Allah says, “these (rulings) are the boundaries of Allah, so do not come close to them.”
Here, Allah is telling you that when he has prohibited something, then this is a boundary which has been set. It is forbidden for a person to cross this boundary. In fact, he says, don’t even come close to the boundary.
Sometimes people hover over what is just borderline permissible or doubtful, not realising, their closeness to this haram, even though they may not be immediately engaged in it, is eventually the reason for them falling into haram.
Shaytan is very manipulative. Allah warns us against following his footsteps. Notice how footsteps are small and subtle, however a person eventually loses their way.
Summary
Stay far away from the prohibitions of Allah.
Ponder Over The Verse
'‘When it’s said to them, Don’t cause corruption in the land, they say, we are only reformers. Alas they are mischief makers but they perceive not. ” (2:11;12)
Reflection
When the heart is corrupted, people see wrong as right and right as wrong. They also have an arrogance that prevents them from even considering that they may be at fault.
When someone points out your fault, don’t be quick to dismiss it. There may be some truth to their criticism.
What is Najash
The Messenger ﷺ said in a long hadith:
“…Do not practise Najash (when transacting)…” [Bukahri]
This is a portion of a long hadith which mentions some of the etiquettes of business.
The word Najash has 2 meanings.
1) Praising a product with qualities not present in it. For example, a person may say that this is the best product in the market, yet it is untrue.
2) Bidding for a product in order to increase the price without the intention of buying. For example, a person at an auction who has no intention to buy, carries on bidding for a car because the owner is a friend and they want to artificially increase the price to get more money.
This word najash revolves around the meaning of subtle deception. A Muslim should be transparent in their dealings.
Summary
Deception removes the blessings of wealth
Practise Upon A Sunnah
The Messenger ﷺ said
“If the people knew what (reward) was in coming early to the masjid they would race one another to it” (Muslim)
This hadith encourages one to come early to the masjid. There are many benefits. A few are, attaining the first line, being in the most beloved place to Allah, the ability to perform voluntary salah, the ability to recite quran, being away from evil places and more
In the modern world, this may be difficult for some, especially those who are working long hours. however try to make it a point to practise upon this sunnah, even if it may be once in a while is highly encouraged.
The Messenger ﷺ Presents His Message To The Different Tribes
After receiving no positive response from the people of Taif, The Messenger ﷺ went to places where the other tribes of Arabia would gather and present his message to them.
This included the Hajj as well as famous marketplaces. These events were attended by many tribes along with their leaders and served as a great opportunity for The Messenger ﷺ to convey the message to the other tribes of Arabia.
His Uncle Abu Lahab would go behind him, telling the tribes how Muhammad wants to deviate them from the way of their forefathers.
Many of the tribes rejected the Message of the prophet ﷺ, however some of the people of Madinah found a soft spot for Islam. They promised to meet The Messenger ﷺ the following year in hajj.
Lesson
A major lesson we take from the life of the Messenger ﷺ is resilience. He just didn’t give up.
My Thought
As the years come to an end, I usually find myself asking, what are my goals for the next year. Over the years, I have generally highlighted goals etc, however this year I want to do something different.
Instead of trying to accomplish many different things, I want to work on just 2 or 3 things. As i get older, i realise time is limited, health/energy is not always guaranteed and sometimes we end up spreading ourselves too thin.
I once read a quote of a famous person who said something along the lines of, write down 20 things you want to achieve in life according to their importance. Then look at the first 5 and forget about the rest. It’ll be enough to occupy you for a lifetime.
I read this roughly ten years ago and thought this man is clueless and limiting himself to explore so many more opportunities, however as the years have passed, I’ve changed my mind and i think there is a lot of truth in this statement.
So hopefully, instead of trying to do 100 different things at a basic level or mediocre, I think I’m going to try concentrate on just 2 or 3 things and cut out the rest.
It’s just my opinion and I thought I would share. I respect anybody who wants to try something different.
Question : How to keep Imaan strong especially in these times of fitnah
Answer: There’s a lot a person can do, however I will only mention 2 things.
1) Make sure your compulsory acts of worship are in order and stay away from the prohibitions of Allah.
2) Great Company. This, I believe is probably the most important thing you can have after number 1. This is like a hack/cheat code for growth in every aspect of your life especially Imaan.
It’s just too difficult for most of us to stay focused and continue doing good deeds at a respectable level when we just rely on our motivation.
Befriend good people, Be close to them, spend time with them and watch you life improve for the better.
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See You Next Week إن شاء الله
Wassalamualaykum
Adnaan
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