Every Muslim acknowledges that this life is temporary and the eternal
life will begin in the hereafter. Allah has promised to those who
believe and do righteous deeds a more bountiful, peaceful, and
fulfilling life in the Hereafter; that is if we follow the principles of
Islam accordingly and live our lives pleasing Allah and abstaining from
sins. How can we work productively as an Ummah to achieve Allah’s Love
in this life and the next? How can we work towards a permanent abode in
Paradise?
This article is aimed to establish the various ways we
can work efficiently to gain the favour of Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala)
and working for our Hereafter.
1. Maintaining Our Salah
We
know as Muslims that one of the main acts which distinguishes a Muslim
from a non-Muslim is Salah (prayer). The importance of prayer in Islam
cannot be understated. Every Muslim is obliged by Allah (Subhanahu wa
Ta’ala) to pray five times a day, however there are many Muslims who
forget the importance of this obligation. Prayer is one of the most
essential elements of obtaining a place in Paradise.
Our Prophet (Peace be upon him) has said what means:
“
The
first matter that the slave will be brought to account for on the Day
of Judgment is the prayer. If it is sound, then the rest of his deeds
will be sound. And if it is bad, then the rest of his deeds will be bad.”(Recorded by al-Tabarani. According to al-Albani, Sahih. Al-Albani, Sahih al-Jami, vol.1, p. 503.)
Accordingly,
a Muslim must consider the consequences of neglecting prayer – will his
other good deeds be accepted? Will his neglecting of prayers lead him
to do more evil and bad deeds? Allah knows best, but we are told that
prayer is obligatory and very important. We should ensure that we
maintain our five daily prayers, performing them with enthusiasm, love,
fear, hope, and sincerity.
There are many books available on how
to perform prayer properly and how to attain kushoo; it is definitely
worth investing some time and money into learning about this most
essential act of ibadah.
“
And I have chosen
you, so listen to that which is inspired to you. Verily, I am Allah!
There is none worthy of worship but I, so worship Me and offer prayer
perfectly for My remembrance.”
[20:13-14 translation].
And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.
[51:56 translation]
Here are just a few tips:
•
If you do find it hard to get up early in the morning – try setting up
several alarms, placing your alarm clock away from you so you have to
get up to turn it off, using an alarm that will play the adhan to wake
you up (it’s difficult to not get up when you hear the name of Allah!)
•
Before you raise your hands for the opening takbir, think and believe
this is your last prayer because it very well could be. Pray each prayer
as if it is your last, death can hit us at any time and we should
always be aware of this fact.
• If you knew that you were going to
die in the evening, you would be sure to not miss any prayers during
that day and in fact you would pray sunnah and nafl (extra) prayers too.
Let’s treat every day as if it is our last in regards to performing and
cherishing our prayers. Our time of death is decreed by Allah Subhanahu
wa Ta’ala, so it doesn’t matter if we are young and in good health
walhamdulillah – death can come at any time.
• Read about the Hell Fire and consequences of missing prayer to have fear of missing a prayer
•
If you have missed prayers, Allah tells us the best of sinners are
those who repent; we are all in need of repentance, so let us turn to
Allah and repent
• Treat your prayer as a special, relaxing time – have an enthusiastic prayer towards it and let it be the highlight of your day
A lecture by Shaykh Navaid Aziz with more advice
2. Zakat (Obligatory Charity)
Allah
(Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) has made it an obligation that every Muslim must
give at least 2.5 per cent of their wealth each year to benefit the
poor. The payment of zakat is an aspect of Islam which should not be
overlooked as Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) has commanded us to give to
the less fortunate from what He has provided to us.
Charity is
another aspect of Islam which deals with kind and righteous deeds to the
less fortunate but charity in Islam also extends to the simplest of
actions. Even a smile upon greeting your sister or brother can be an act
of charity and giving. Our Prophet (Peace be upon him) is reported to
have said that, “Even meeting your brother with a cheerful face is an
act of charity.” How Merciful is Allah and how beautiful is our religion
that even a smile is counted as charity!
If you are generous and
give charity, Allah will give you the same in return or more in this
dunya and in the akhirah. Our Prophet (Peace be upon him) said that “The
best charity is to satisfy a hungry person” and also that “No wealth
(of a servant of Allah) is decreased because of charity.” (Al-Tirmidhi,
Hadith No. 2247).
Here are just a few tips:
• Next time you
feel down and are meeting your brother or sister, try to remember that
the more charity you do the better and give a big smile to them. It
could just benefit you in the hereafter and count as one step closer to
obtaining a place in Paradise bi’ithnillah.
• Maintain your obligations of Zakat
•
Remember the importance placed on charity – take a closer look at Juz
Amma in which are many ayaat linking righteousness and success with
feeding the poor and caring for the orphan
• Remember that one of
the people that will be under His Shade on the Day of Judgment is the
person who gave charity so freely (and in private) that his left hand
does not know what his right hand gave
• Be careful to give
charity in a sincere manner and not for show as it is Allah who we
should all try to please, not members of society.
3. Virtuous Deeds Establishing a Path to Paradise
Apart
from the five pillars of Islam establishing good relationships with
family and maintaining pure friendships can also help to promote good
deeds. There are many ways in which we can carry out virtuous deeds
which can please Allah as discussed in this article in relation to
prayer and charity. Other righteous deeds include being kind to others,
being hospitable to family, friends and neighbours, not backbiting or
judging others. We should rush to perform good deeds before something
hinders us from doing so. Working towards bettering ourselves will help
us improve our eman. There are many things we need to do as Muslims to
ensure that our eyes, mouth and body are in submission to Allah; we need
to constantly be checking our heart and purifying it to gain a better
life in the Hereafter.
Final thoughts to reflect on and take that step today to a better life in the hereafter ….
•
In this life we go through many ‘ups and downs’ as Allah provides us
with sustenance and loss and we should all accept what Allah has decreed
for us and this acceptance affirms our faith in Allah and our
acknowledgement that He is The All-Powerful.
• If you do suffer
from any misfortune in life, remember to remain steadfast in your prayer
as this will give you strength and Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) will
give you relief in due time.
• If there is something certain in
life, it is death – which has been decreed by Allah. Many of us have
lost our loved ones to death and this should wake us up to the fact that
one day we all will have to experience death. We should be ready for
death and working with it in mind; if we don’t wake up to this reality,
it may too late when death does arrive
• Try to make the necessary
steps in your life today to work towards a better chance of obtaining
Paradise and most importantly pleasing Allah by the way of Islam.
Author :- Tasnim Nazeer
