Preparing for akhirah

"Be kind to those who are unkind to you,

conclude your affairs in private

and make people your acquaintances and not your friends."

He found himself alone on a deserted island. Every single day, he would look up to the sky and beg Allah, “Ya Allah, please send me help.”

Days passed. Then weeks passed. Nothing changed.

So he tried to survive. He gathered pieces of wood and slowly built a small shelter for himself - just something to feel safe, something to protect him. That shelter became everything to him.

One day, he went out searching for food.

When he came back, he saw his shelter on fire.

It was completely burning. Everything he had was gone.

He stood there watching it burn and said, “Ya Allah… even this? This was all I had.”

That night, he slept with a heavy heart, trying to understand why. He had already gone through so much… and now even the small place that gave him protection was taken away.

But the next morning, he woke up to a sound.

A ship.

A rescue ship coming toward him.

He couldn’t believe it.

He asked them, “How did you find me?”

They said, “We saw the smoke from your fire.”

SubhanAllah.

The fire he thought was his destruction… was actually his rescue.

Sometimes, when you reach your lowest point - when it feels like everything is gone - that very moment might be the beginning of your relief.

Allah is not punishing you. He is testing your heart.

And when it fades, so does your strength to keep struggling for His sake.

So renew your faith with every day you’re given. Nurture it with dhîkr, with prayer, with the recitation of the Qur’ān, and with sincere repentance.

Imam Shuray رحمه الله said about his wife Zainab:

"I have seen men beating their women. May my right hand be paralyzed if I beat Zainab. Zainab is like a sun and other women are like stars, when the sun rises, other stars do not shine."

"Conveying knowledge is an obligation, which is an individual obligation in the current time, due to the significant amount of confusion, chaotic statements, deceptions, and different forms of misguidance which are present today."

"Allah has not put your healing in that which He has forbidden for you."

Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (رحمه الله) said about his mother:

“My mother made me memorize the Qur’an when I was ten years old.

She would wake me up before Fajr, heat water for my wudu in the cold nights of Baghdad, and dress me up.

Then she would put on her khimar, cover herself with her hijab, and walk with me to the masjid — because our house was far and the path was dark!”

What is the meaning of our being a Muslim if we don’t sacrifice perpetually?

Sacrificing our little choices for a better gain in the Akhirah.

Sacrificing a habit or a desire that Allaah dislikes.

Sacrificing a part of sleep to stand in front of the Lord of Might جل وعلا

Sacrificing the ‘urge’ to be seen and covering for His sake.

Sacrificing your cravings and living with the minimum.

Sacrificing your wealth to give in His cause.

Sacrificing your wishes and desires for the future of the Ummah.

Sacrificing your home and family to go forth to build glory and to take the revenge for the cries of the oppressed.

Sacrificing your limbs to reclaim the Shahadah you proclaimed.

Sahabah sacrificed their entire lives, yet today we are reluctant to sacrifice our comforts, little or giant.

Sacrifice is a price that needs to be paid off in full to enter the same Jannah as that of Sahabah.

Being a Muslim comes with a lot of sacrifice — this is what your Deen demands from you.