August 29, 2006

Even Muhammad* wavered

What's the classic comment one gets as a Muslim when life gets you down and you wanna complain about it?

"Patience brother/sister. Noah waited 900 years."

Thank you very much, that helps a lot.

Another scenario: You are going through a medical hardship or a family member is or having some sort of personal crisis, and you feel like your faith is wavering.

Reply from surrounding people: "It is a trial for you, pray to God and everything will be ok insha'Allah (God willing)."

Excuse me? Did you not hear what I just said?

Where is the humanity? It has almost become the case where if you complain or feel depressed or feel like life's a bitch, you have low iman (faith).

Ignorance is not the suffering man's bliss.

A very long time had passed in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, since Muhammad* had recieved any revelations from God. Last one he had got was Chapter 89 (Al Fajr). People around him in the hostile environment that Mecca was to Muslims at that time, started mocking him saying "Muhammad, your god has abandoned you".

Muhammad*, a prophet himself, wavered in his faith and felt he had done something wrong and God might have abandoned him. In the light of that, God sent down the following words that were to form Chapter 93 (Al Duha):

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.
[93.1]
I swear by the early hours of the day,
[93.2] And the night when it covers with darkness.
[93.3] Your Lord has not forsaken you, nor has He become displeased,
[93.4] And surely what comes after is better for you than that which has gone before.
[93.5] And soon will your Lord give you so that you shall be well pleased.
[93.6] Did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter?
[93.7] And find you lost (i.e. unrecognized by men) and guide (them to you)?
[93.8] And find you in want and make you to be free from want?
[93.9] Therefore, as for the orphan, do not oppress (him).
[93.10] And as for him who asks, do not chide (him),
[93.11] And as for the favor of your Lord, do announce (it).

So next time someone is having a hard time in life, don't keep preaching to them about saying alhamdolillah (all thanks be to God) when they are about to watch their loved one slip away from life and are feeling a bit wavered in faith. Just remind them; "Even Muhammad* wavered"... and that's OK...

*May peace and blessing be upon him.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

when praying for GOOD will, GOOD wishes and blessings man and woman is only doing the GOOD, which as i see it is the most important thing God, G-d or Allah or Mother Earth want us to do. In what name it´s ever spoken the GOOD THING itself is part of the glory, of the divinity, of the good things we should do to ourself, our brethren ans sistren.
When wishing evil we fall in our minds, but most important is not to turn it to action. Hate is ok, hurting not...
Love and be loved!
Take care and we´ll take care of you !
Jah blessings!
nice music alwyas on your blog!
Ha de !

Destitute Rebel said...

We all go through hard times, and yes we waver its just some people dont know how to be supportive and when someone has nothing to sat this is their typical response.

Baraka said...

Lovely sentiment & reminder.

Indeed, sometimes it's better to stay silent & offer a hug than to mouth platitudes.

Warmly,
Baraka

Umar said...

I agree... and if someone's iman is low, what point is it to tell them it's a test and to have faith.

btw.. thanks for the translation. We read these surahs all the time in arabic and even in english, but sometimes they just strike a certain resonance inside.

* said...

This is true when you are burning inside with your anger/pain some person comes along and mouths thesewords as if it is their duty.
Why do they not take the time to understand your situation, and say It is bad now but how can I make it better for you, or tomorrow will bring in a new day.Be strong.
People, especially the callous patronising ones are great at mouthing ineptitudes.
Many people throw around INSHALLAh at random, failing to understand the words themselves.
Then there are those who ask you how you are and their eyes are vacant.
Those who know your recent pain but do not wish to help you shoulder the burden, lessen your load with sharing, with just a bit of their precious time to hold you, and stay silent.
So much better than going into autopilot and speaking words that are meaningless.

Anonymous said...

hmm very true..
man i like to read here.. you takeup very common and important things we see around....

hope ur well :)

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira said...

Rootsman: beautiful thoughts :) The essence is realizing consequences for actions and words. A thought good or bad might be held within us, but the consequences of acting on the thought is something we need to live with.

Ha det fint :)

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira said...

D Reb: Well silence is golden in such a situation. A hug would do much better in that case just like Baraka says.

Baraka, I hope you are doing well God willing. Take care of yourself :)

Umar: Exactly.I know what you mean. I find often that by just reading the quran in arabic, onemisses out on a lot of dimensions of the words. And also, reading explanations to verses gives much more than just reading in quantity. When we see reason behind certain revealed surahs, it changes our way of reading them.

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira said...

Kaya: I believe it is something so deeply inprinted in us, by a vast majority, that belief is void of doubt, certainty void of wavering, and faith void of resignation.

The real world and life is not a tale of Prophets or sahabah. Although they are the people from which much perspective and inspiration can be gathered, we cannot equate our reactions to be those of theirs.

Khanana: Glad you like it.

Tainted Female said...

SS... What a beautiful way of explaining it, and giving some fantastic advice that many, many people can gain from.

A brilliant entry, as always.

Shaykhspeara Sha'ira said...

Thank you girl :) I hope that it helps someone out there God willing.

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