We focus today on a topic that is\nseldom spoken about but is as important a reminder as any other that is given\nduring these weekly reminders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As Muslims, it is not enough to just\ndeclare ourselves as Muslims and think that it is enough. Just calling ourselves\na Muslim isn\u2019t enough and it isn\u2019t enough to guarantee paradise as only Allah\nSWT knows our final destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have to strive to live the life of\na Muslim and that in itself is more than just the rituals like Eid or attending\nthe Friday prayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christians and Jews for example also\nhave their own rituals and they also have events in the year and so if we are\nfollowing ours and they are following theirs then where is the difference? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How does someone who does not follow\nany faith understand that Islam is the only truth in life that we are all\nliving if there is no day-to-day difference in the way in which we conduct\nourselves?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The answer to that lies in the\nconduct, the behaviour and the actions that are outside of the rituals, the\nevents and the obvious actions of worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is beyond the prayers, the fasting,\nthe recitation of the Quran and the zikr. We, as Muslims, need to demonstrate\nthe religion in our everyday living. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
From the moment we wake, to the way in\nwhich we conduct ourselves in our homes, in our places of work, to neighbours\nand to random people; this is the pure living that is the focus of todays\nreminder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The imam reminded us of the following\npassages from the Quran to help illustrate this point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first is from Sura Al-Nahl, ayat 97\nwhich is translated to say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whoever does good, whether male or female, and is a believer,\nWe will surely bless them with a good life, and We will certainly reward them\naccording to the best of their deeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The next is from Sura An-Nisa, ayat 123 which\nis translated to say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It will not be according to your hopes or those of the People\nof the Book: anyone who does wrong will be requited for it and will find no one\nto protect or help him against God;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dear\nbrothers and sisters, from this ayat we can deduce that Allah SWT is warning us\nthat wishful thinking isn\u2019t what is going to give us success in front of Allah\nSWT but rather it is going to be our actions and the performing of righteous\ndeeds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the imam also referenced Sura Taha,\nayat 123 and 124 which is translated to say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Allah said, \u201cDescend, both of you, from here together \u02f9with\nSatan\u02fa as enemies to each other. Then when guidance comes to you from Me,\nwhoever follows My guidance will neither go astray \u02f9in this life\u02fa nor suffer\n\u02f9in the next\u02fa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But whoever turns away from My Reminder will certainly have a\nmiserable life, then We will raise them up blind on the Day of Judgment.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And so this\nleads us onto the final part of the reminder today and what it is that we can\ndo practically to benefit from todays reminder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Firstly, the\nfinal ayat spoke of guidance. Guidance from Allah SWT comes in many forms. We\ncan receive guidance in being aware of Allah SWT and allow Him to guide us\nthrough each day. This comes in the form of being grateful for the good times\nand being patient during the challenging times and seeking forgiveness and\nprojecting gratitude at all times, both in our duas to him and in our actions\nand our attitude to life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The imam\nemphasised this first practical application by reminding us of a hadith in\nwhich the Prophet SAWS is reported to have said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Strange are the ways of a believer for there is good in every\naffair of his and this is not the case with anyone else except in the case of a\nbeliever for if he has an occasion to feel delight, he thanks (God), thus there\nis a good for him in it, and if he gets into trouble and shows resignation (and\nendures it patiently), there is a good for him in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dear brothers\nand sisters, alongside this we seek guidance from the Quran by reflecting on\nits ayats. Even for the absolute novice to this task, begin by opening the\nQuran randomly and allow the ayats or their translation, to guide you in your\nday and your life. Reflect on the ayats you read and see how they apply to your\nlife and your day. Make it a regular habit and insha\u2019Allah you will reap the\nsweetness of the Quran and it\u2019s guidance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Secondly, we\nuse this reminder to implement the practical application of the Quran. From\nhalal income to contentment with our lives, we should remind ourselves that the\nlife we are given is both a blessing and it is an opportunity to demonstrate to\nAllah SWT that we are grateful slaves of His. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
By doing\nthis, we can be of those people who don\u2019t need to demonstrate our religion in\nperforming set acts of worship, we will be known to be Muslim by the\nmannerisms, attitude and behaviour we demonstrate to others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We focus today on a topic that is seldom spoken about but is as important a reminder as any other that is given during these weekly reminders. As Muslims, it is not enough to just declare ourselves as Muslims and think that it is enough. Just calling ourselves a Muslim isn\u2019t enough and it isn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_regular_price":[],"currency_symbol":[],"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon"],"blocksy_meta":[],"post_slider_layout_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":"","post_slider_layout_landscape_large":"","post_slider_layout_portrait_large":"","post_slider_layout_square_large":"","post_slider_layout_landscape":"","post_slider_layout_portrait":"","post_slider_layout_square":"","full":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/salahadeenmosque.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/salahadeenmosque.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/salahadeenmosque.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salahadeenmosque.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salahadeenmosque.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/salahadeenmosque.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2914\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/salahadeenmosque.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salahadeenmosque.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salahadeenmosque.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}