Thursday, October 20, 2011

Thank God it’s Thursday!

 

If you take one step towards God, he will take two towards you. If you come to Him walking, He will come to you running.

Even though it would not harm God in the least if the whole of mankind abandoned faith and goodness, God is overjoyed when one of His servants, lost in faithlessness and sin, comes back to Him. Imagine a mother who has lost her baby in a crowd and is nervously searching for it. Imagine now her joy when she finds her lost baby. When a servant of God returns to Him after being lost in faithlessness and sin, the joy of God is more than seventy times greater than the joy of such a mother.

- “Repent, For Allah is Merciful” [Ahmad Shafaat]

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People start their Monday morning, by constantly reminding themselves that Friday is only five days away. As the week goes on, the tension builds up and we reach Wednesday with the thought: “Half way there!” We somehow manage to cut through the last couple of days to reach the long awaited Friday; and then what?

After a couple of nights out with friends, and family on the weekend I would feel relaxed momentarily, until it would hit me that it was going to be Monday again shortly! The tension would start knocking on the door, the slow rising of the stress level, the constant emails about one deadline or another, and this meeting or that. It was all a never ending vicious circle and I wanted out! The worst part of it all, I was neglecting religion. Big time! Whether those meetings and deadlines really kept me away from mosque, or it was an excuse that I had become prone to using, I couldn’t tell. All I knew was that I wasn’t getting anywhere. No matter how many papers I got rid of, my stack only got higher. No matter how many meetings I attended, my schedule only got busier, and no matter how many hours of work I put into meeting the quotas, they only increased. Ridiculous amount of work and it resulted in increasing stress level, and decreasing faith level. Maybe this goes without saying but, there was a problem.

Until one day, after a serious discussion with a friend about the work load and the stress, she advised a medication: Mosque. She said I needed a break. To put down my pen for once, push in my chair and just walk out. She asked me to attend a weekly program at the mosque with her on a Thursday night, consisting of prayers, supplications and a lecture. The amount of force and insistence she put into that offer, I didn’t dare say no.

So there we were at the mosque on a Thursday, joined together by the prayers first. [To get into the detail of how magical  it felt during the prayers is going to take you up to Fajr to read so I’m not going to go there. But those of you, who have been in my place, know exactly what I’m talking about!] We then dispersed to various spots and followed the reciter in the supplications. Again, same feeling. Lastly, the lecture. Here is the magic I want to share with you. The sheikh started off his lecture with a little something like this:

We all have a busy schedule: Kids, School, Work. And it builds up tension. We are only human, and the constant stress that builds up on us is really overwhelming. It’s a never ending cycle. But when we take those few hours out of the week, to come here and get back in touch with what is really important, the cycle doesn’t seem so intimidating anymore. You leave feeling mentally strong, solid in your Imaan, and most importantly, you feel like your questions for the week have been answered. It’s miraculous. The sheikh doesn’t know what you are thinking or worrying about, yet he says something or another that hits that spot in your heart, and leaves you wanting more, thus you keep coming back here to the same place, same time, every week.”

After leaving the mosque that night, all I could think about was the lecture. There really was something about the whole environment that had me in the zone, away from thinking about all the work load and stress, and it certainly left me wanting more. The peace. The tranquility. The relaxation. The satisfaction. It was all too profound, and nothing compared to what the two nights out with the friends could get me.

Indeed, I returned every Thursday since then. Walking in with minimum energy, and a million questions in my head, yet walking out feeling more pure and satisfied than ever. There’s still meetings ahead, but its okay. I can handle it. There’s all those papers still waiting for me on my desk, no problem I can finish them. The rush of energy and faith that flows through your body is just astounding! God bless my friend for pull me out of that vicious circle. And if any one of you is reading this and nodding your head, because you can relate. Try it! I dare you!

Hope you lovelies have a great weekend! =)

Happy Thursday!

Yours Truly x

6 comments:

  1. Hey,

    I started a tafsir class a while ago and when I first started it, I had all these questions floating around in my head and in my heart. As soon as the Imam started talking, he answered all those questions without me even asking about them through the course. Every time I went back with more questions and he answered them again. Again without me asking. I really believe that Allah (swt) was answering all my questions and anxieties through him.

    These days my Imaan is really low. My nafs and shaitaan is getting the better of me. Really pleased to read your post!

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  2. Salam SI,

    We all stumble every now and then. It's really a matter of how much you are willing to struggle to get back on the right path again!

    Jazakallah Khair!

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  3. *shocked face* HOW DID YOU KNOW?

    Thank you, and may Allah bless both your friend and yourself. I was just thinking to write a post similar to this one, but I didn't know where to start. You put together the words I was looking for, and yes, I know the feeling you speak of:D

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  4. What a lovely post to share with everyone! Everyones life seems so busy these days, Karima

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  5. I can totally relate to this post, if only we put in as much effort into our deen as we do our work life

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