A counsellor and a guide that never deceives
Assalamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullah.
Illness is a counsellor that never deceives, and a guide and admonisher.
The period of affliction and tribulation is very long. Days might feel like weeks; weeks might look like months. We feel it these days more due to the coronavirus pandemic. It is true that days of pandemic do not pass swiftly; but this pandemic actually makes our life fruitful.
Our life is a capital that will run out one day. If it does not produce fruit, it will have been wasted and will disappear futilely. If our life passes by in comfort and heedlessness, it will run out and pass by extremely quickly.
The minutes of our lifespan turn into hours during this pandemic. But these hours bring us a lot of profit that is related our eternal life.
One sort of worship is called negative acts of worship – which is to have patience against sins, disasters, troubles. These days it is patience against the pandemic. It makes us feel our inability and weakness through the uncontrollable spread of the disease and the days of lockdown. Realising this we need to seek refuge in our Compassionate Creator and implore Him to grant us recovery. By doing so, we can attain a type of worship that is pure, spiritual, and completely sincere.
You will find four pieces about coronavirus in this issue. I suggest you to read all of them.
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Human being only came into this world in order to strive to attain the happiness of an endlessly eternal life, by means of the trade in which he engages here. And the capital for that trade is his lifespan. This trade starts with first believing in Allah. And the profit of life is worship that is performed during lifespan.
When it comes to worship, it is the prayer (salah) that encompasses the meaning of worship in the most comprehensive way and shows that meaning on itself with its content. Five Daily Prayer is a worship that includes the meanings of all worship. The meaning of worship is to see one’s own flaw, weakness and deficiency in the presence of Allah and to prostrate in admiration and love before Allah's perfect discipline and power and mercy. Human shows the best example of obedience, reverence, dhikr, gratitude and contemplation, especially in the prayer. Because the meaning of the prayer is to glorify and thank Allah in its most concise meaning.
Every blessing demands a price. And our Lord wants thankfulness from us, not ungratefulness; and the prayer is the biggest thankfulness.
For more on Salah, you can read “Why I perform salah” – a beautiful piece on five daily prayer – in this issue.
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With the pandemic we have once again realized how helpless humans are. Every illness and every disaster remind us this, but the coronavirus pandemic has done that in an unprecedented way.
May Allah help us be saved from this calamity soon.
Hope that you benefit best from our 33rd issue.
Ma‘assalama.