Reflections of December 12, 2006

Indeed, the righteous will drink from a cup [of wine] whose mixture is of Kāfūr, A spring of which the [righteous] servants of Allāh will drink; they will make it gush forth in force [and abundance]. They [are those who] fulfill [their] vows and fear a Day whose evil will be widespread. And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive, [Saying], "We feed you only for the countenance of Allāh. We wish not from you reward or gratitude. Indeed, We fear from our Lord a Day austere and distressful." So Allāh will protect them from the evil of that Day and give them radiance and happiness And will reward them for what they patiently endured [with] a garden [in Paradise] and silk [garments]. [Al-Insaan: 5-12]

Gratefulness and Patience

Make a gratitude journal... where you write five things daily for what you are grateful for from that day... InshaAllah this will help your sense of gratitude grow

- Nabila Naz (New Jersey)

Gratefulness and patience are just like the two wings of a bird. Both are required for flight. Imagine a bird with one wing missing---would it be able to fly?

- Ayesha Ahmed (Etobicoke)

CAN YOU COUNT THE BLESSINGS ALLAH HAS BESTOWED UPON YOU?

- Faiza Bano (Texas)

Gratefulness and patience - the wings of Iman. A believer is not complete without Iman. In the walks of life, a believer suffering a lot flies with the power of gratitude and patience. These two qualities keep the believer high in the air with success after success. Both qualities are needed, if one isn’t present, the success rate is not the same. A believer calling people to Allah needs both patience and gratitude. Every step of the way, one hardship after the other, and the believer utters words only pleasing to His Rabb - being grateful and enduring with patience.

- Ayesha Ahmed (Texas)

Momin's attitude

A momin (believer) either does 'Shukr' (gratitude) or 'Sabr' (patience) in his life. He never forgets Allah in good times, and is patient (and hopeful) in bad times. This leads a momin to higher ranks.

- Salma Ghansar (Mississauga)

Paradise- everything we want in the Dunya, just better and more.

We always have the fear of anything bad happening to us in this Dunya----In Paradise there will be no evil, and Allah (s.w.t.) will protect us from all forms of Sharr.
We are always concerned about our looks, specially women want to look young and pretty----In Paradise, a special light of beauty (Nadrah) and joy will make the faces radiant and glowing. No need of expensive oils and lotions, or anti-aging creams.
We love beautiful, expensive and comfortable clothes----silk garments, light as well as thick, will be the garments in Paradise (raw silk, poth silk or any silk cannot compare to it at all)
We love unique jewelry---- The people of Paradise will be adorned with bracelets of silver. Seldom are we adorned with expensive beautiful jewelry that we like as well. We have to save our own money for that.
We like to relax and be comfortable----The people of Paradise will be reclining on raised couches, much better and comfortable than the day-beds and sofas that are loaded with cushions.
We like to maintain a perfect temperature, which is not possible in this Dunya----In Jannah, there will be neither excessive heat, nor excessive cold, just the perfect weather, and no fighting to adjust the thermostat.
We all love fresh fruit that is ripe as well----In Paradise, the bunches of ripe fruit will hang low within reach all year round, which is unimaginable in this part of the world.
We love to be served in delicate crystal and silver----In Paradise people will be served in Qawareer, which is crystal-clear, made of silver. We can only imagine the fine crystal with the silver trimming, but crystal-clear, made of silver, just imagine how beautiful that will be.
We all love mixed drinks and specially when they are cool----The purifying drinks of Jannah will be mixed with Kafoor and Zanjabil (ginger) and from the spring of Salsabeel. Strawberry Passion, and Mango delight, cannot compare to those drinks.
We love to get attention and be pampered----Young handsome boys with everlasting youth will be serving and attending to their needs in Paradise. When they will disperse to fulfill their needs, they will look like scattered pearls in a beautiful place. In this Dunya we exceed the limits, and try every trick to get attention from others, and still feel neglected.
If we want Paradise, we have to work towards it. We have to improve the quality of our deeds to get the Perfection of Jannah. The Qur'an is our guide and shows us the route to Jannah, step by step, so hold on tight and be grateful to Allah subhanahu wa ta'aala for giving it to us, and making understanding it easy as well. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'aala make us amongst the ones who will dwell in Jannah, InshaAllah.

- Fakhri Hameed (Ottawa)