Last week we\nwere reminded of the beauty of our faith in that we were given hope from our\nbeloved Prophet SAWS that this life is temporary and that those who believe in\nAllah SWT and His Messenger SAWS will enter Paradise for eternity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We spoke of\nways in which this could have been achieved. The three points last week were on\nworshipping Allah SWT alone, following the Sunnah of the Prophet SAWS and\nfocusing on the prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This week we\ncontinue the reminder with other ways. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The imam\nbegan with reminding us that Repenting is a key component for entering Paradise.\nAs was mentioned last week, Shaitaan will attempt to fill us with despair by\nmaking us think that our mistakes in this world are unforgivable by Allah SWT\nand that we are therefore destined for Hell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the contrary,\nthis first point of repentance is backed by references in the Quran and the\nSunnah. The first of these is the 60th<\/sup> ayat of Sura Maryum in which\nthe earlier ayat spoke of those who did wrongdoings in this life. Allah SWT\nthen reminds us that despite those wrongdoings, there is a way to recover from\nthat and it is translated to say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Except him who repents and believes and does righteousness;\nso those will enter the Garden and they will not be done injustice in anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alongside\nthis we have the Hadith of the Prophet SAWS saying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n One who repents from sin is like\nsomeone without sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next way\nis those who seek knowledge for the sake of Allah SWT. Dear brothers and\nsisters, it\u2019s important here to note that it\u2019s not just Islamic knowledge, for\nthose here who are still studying, any form of study where your intention is to\nwork and provide for your family or even to share good knowledge with others\nafterwards, falls into this category and therefore intention is everything when\nwe set out to seek knowledge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To Build a\nMasjid is another one. The imam reminded us of the hadith of the Prophet SAWS\nin which he was reported to have said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whoever built a mosque, Allah would build for him a similar\nplace in Paradise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The next one\nmentioned today was on manners. Again, the imam reminded us of a hadith to emphasise\nthis point. It is translated to say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I guarantee a house in the surroundings of Paradise for a man\nwho avoids quarrelling even if he were in the right, a house in the middle of\nParadise for a man who avoids lying even if he were joking, and a house in the\nupper part of Paradise for a man who made his character good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dear\nbrothers and sisters, the foundation of our behaviour is manners and the starting\npoint of perfecting your manners is from the Prophet SAWS and then from your\nparents, your teachers, your elders. We live in a time and a place where bad\nmanners is considered funny and normal and we mustn\u2019t fall into this trap of being\nOK with that. Instead, we strive to go against the tide and have impeccable\nmanners in all areas of our lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Which leads\nus nicely onto the next point of Jihad. The word, despite what media will tell\nus, means to strive and to struggle, and this is all about continuously moving\nto the next level of our manners and our worship. To do jihad is to go out of\nyour comfort zone and perform that next level of worship you talk yourself out\nof doing. Whether it\u2019s more optional prayers, fasts or something else, the point\nis about continuous improvement as a Muslim and this is what it means to\nperform Jihad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other points\nmentioned by the imam were to perform Hajj as it wipes your record clean, to\nperform congregational prayers in the masjid and to look after an Orphan. All\nthese examples carry great reward and should be adhered to wherever possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And finally,\nthe imam spoke of having Taqwa. Dear brothers and sisters, this is a topic in\nitself and we have had whole reminders on the topic of Taqwa as it\u2019s that\nimportant. To summarize for today, it is to be aware of Allah SWT. Obviously, our\nfive senses cannot assist us here, but to have Taqwa goes beyond your senses,\nit is feeling Allah SWT in your heart, seeing Him through the blessings all\naround you and communicating with Him through worship and conduct in life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The imam\nreminded us of Taqwa by relaying the 133rd<\/sup> ayat of Sura Imran which\nis translated to say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Race with one another towards Forgiveness from your Lord and\ntowards a paradise the width of which spans the heavens and the earth. It has\nbeen prepared for the God-fearing,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dear\nbrothers and sisters, we are blessed to belong to the Ummah of the Prophet SAWS.\nThrough his teachings and from the Glorious Quran, we have at our disposal optimism\nand real practical steps on how to tread this life and return back to Allah SWT\nwith hope that He will admit us into Paradise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Let us use\nthe reminders of these past couple of weeks to both become the best that we can\nbe and to become role models for those around us as well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last week we were reminded of the beauty of our faith in that we were given hope from our beloved Prophet SAWS that this life is temporary and that those who believe in Allah SWT and His Messenger SAWS will enter Paradise for eternity. We spoke of ways in which this could have been achieved. 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