Don't Underestimate The Blessing...

بِسْــــــــــــــــــــــمِ اﷲِارَّحْمَنِ ارَّحِيم

It's been cold a couple of days now. 0 degree celcius and below on most nights.
So much so that I spend my weekend staying at school from afternoon till night.
Can't do my work at home because it's that cold. I'd rather drag my comforter wherever and whatever I do. Along sleeps with his coat on. Yeah, our building management hasn't switched on the central heating yet.
Akush and Mukush offered to stay at theirs.

Really ya Allah...at moments like this, I wonder how my friends are doing in downtown Chicago. Let them sleep like a baby  through the what-seems-like-endless frosty nights.

I will pay them a visit soon, inshallah.

I wonder...sometimes we feel we're in complete control of a situation when we've helped taking care the affair of others. They know they can count on you at times they need you most. And you know you'll do your best to be there for them. You've created that friendship bond. But deep inside your heart, there's a pain that yearns to just ask and even beg the person to "Please, join me...Let's join Islam and be blown by the beauty of it. You won't regret it" With every little call of help from them, you answer eagerly. In the back of your head, your mind says, "This is the chance for me to set an example of good Muslim. Maybe this time is they would open up to Islam." Sinister, the intention may seem. But the agenda behind every motive offers something bigger than the world itself and everything in it.  

Itsar ini adalah akhlak khas seorang mukmin, iaitu "Mendahulukan kepentingan orang lain". Ia disimbolikkan dengan penyerahan nikmat duniawi yang kita miliki kepada saudara muslim yang lain agar dia bersenang-senang dengannya, sementara kita tidak merasakannya. Ia bererti kita menyerahkan sesuatu yang sukai kepada saudara yang lebih memerlukan. 

"Dan mereka mengutamakan (orang-orang Muhajirin), atas diri mereka sendiri, sekalipun mereka dalam kesusahan" (Al Hasyr 59 : 9)

 Itsar.

You can only do so much. The most painful part is to think that you can only help them in their worldly affairs. You can't be there for them forever although you sincerely want to. Because one day, the bonds that stay are the ones that were built on taqwa. Imagine the pain our Rasulullah sallallahualayhi wasalam went through yearning for his beloved uncle Abd Talib to accept Islam. 

Sesungguhnya engkau (wahai Muhammad) tidak berkuasa memberi hidayah petunjuk kepada sesiapa yang engkau kasihi (supaya ia menerima Islam), tetapi Allah jualah yang berkuasa memberi hidayah petunjuk kepada sesiapa yang dikehendakiNya (menurut undang-undang peraturanNya); dan Dia lah jua yang lebih mengetahui akan orang-orang yang (ada persediaan untuk) mendapat hidayah petunjuk (kepada memeluk Islam). (Al-Qasas 28 : 56) 

On the [same] Day the hypocrite men and hypocrite women will say to those who believed, "Wait for us that we may acquire some of your light." It will be said, "Go back behind you and seek light." And a wall will be placed between them with a door, its interior containing mercy, but on the outside of it is torment. 

The hypocrites will call to the believers, "Were we not with you?" They will say, "Yes, but you afflicted yourselves and awaited [misfortune for us] and doubted, and wishful thinking deluded you until there came the command of Allah . And the Deceiver deceived you concerning Allah . 

(Al-Hadid (57):13-14) 

It's like when you and your friends are running for marathon. He precedes you in the race but at the finish line, for all you know, he didn't register his name to even be in the race. So he gets discounted. His time and effort were pointless. Wasted. 

Last Monday, NIU MSA had the opportunity to invite a prominent speaker from the UK, Hamza Tzortzis. Right after the event, Sister Sarah and Bro Abdul Muqeet invited us over to their place to have dinner with him. Alhamdulillah. Amazing insights. 

My words are my aspiration.
"Empower yourself. You know you can do this."
"Whoever you are and at whatever level you consider yourself to be..."