Indeed, all praises and thanks are due to Allah. We praise Him, we seek His Help and and we seek His Forgiveness. And we take refuge in Allah from the evils of ourselves and from the bad of our actions. Whomever Allah guides, none can misguide. And whomever Allah misguides, none can guide. And I testify that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah. And I testify that Muḥammad is His slave and messenger. May blessings and peace be upon him, and upon his family and companions.
To proceed:
First and foremost, fear Allah. Fear Allah, and fear the day when all of humanity will be brought to account for their actions by the One who sees everything they do.
Know that you will be questioned about what you used to do in this life. Know that your actions will be weighed up and that you'll have to answer for them. So choose your actions wisely. You should have three things in mind whenever you're about to do something.
The first one: if Rasulullāh ﷺ was alive and watching you, would you do it? You know how if your parents are around, there are certain things you wouldn't do, right? Now ask yourself this: if the Messenger of Allah, the most beloved of all of Allah's creations, the best man to walk the face of this earth, the man via whom you were guided to the light of Islam, the man who will plead with Allah on the Day of Judgement to pardon the sins of his ummah, – of which you are a part – the man who would cry the nights for you and I, the man who was concerned for you – someone he had never even met – and your salvation until his final breaths (ﷺ) – ask yourself: if I was to be in HIS presence, would I do this action?
The second thing to have in mind: would you like death to meet you doing this action? Ask yourself: would I like to spend my last breaths doing this action? Do I mind that the Angel of Death comes to take my soul whilst I do this action? Would I want that this action be the last thing I do before I'm lowered into my grave for the questioning?
The third thing to have in mind: if you were to be questioned about this action on the Day of Judgement, would you be willing to answer for it? The day when some people will be drowning in their sweat, the day when Hellfire – which is 70 times hotter than the fire of this world, let alone the heat you're feeling right now – will be brought forth before the eyes of everyone present, the day when the nursing mother will be distracted from the child she was nursing and the pregnant woman will abort her pregnancy out of the intensity of the horror of that Day – ask yourself: would I be willing to answer for this action of mine on this terrifying day, mind you, with all of humanity watching on?
So, whenever you intend on doing something, keep these three things in mind. Whenever you're invited to an event/function, ask yourself these questions. Whenever your friends go to you, "Hey, come, let's do this...," consider these questions. If it's something you wouldn't do in front of Rasulullāh ﷺ, if it's something you wouldn't want to die doing, if it's something you wouldn't want to answer for to Allah, then DON'T DO IT. Don't let your friends/peers convince you and pressure you and persuade you to do otherwise. Who are they compared to Rasulullāh ﷺ? Will they be able to help you on the Day of Judgement? And don't let your ego and your desires get the better of you. Come on, you're stronger than that. It is people of weakness that let their egos and desires get the better of them. Be someone of true strength, for this will be the only strength that will benefit you when you are judged by Allah. And always remember: the Owner and King of the Day of Judgement sees what you do at all times, so be aware of that before that day comes when it will be too late for those who didn't.
I'll end by reminding you: whenever you intend on doing an action, ask yourself these three questions: 1) If Rasulullāh ﷺ was around, would I do it? 2) Would I like death to meet me whilst I do this? 3) If I were to be questioned about this action on the Day of Judgement, would I be willing to answer for it?
To proceed:
First and foremost, fear Allah. Fear Allah, and fear the day when all of humanity will be brought to account for their actions by the One who sees everything they do.
Know that you will be questioned about what you used to do in this life. Know that your actions will be weighed up and that you'll have to answer for them. So choose your actions wisely. You should have three things in mind whenever you're about to do something.
The first one: if Rasulullāh ﷺ was alive and watching you, would you do it? You know how if your parents are around, there are certain things you wouldn't do, right? Now ask yourself this: if the Messenger of Allah, the most beloved of all of Allah's creations, the best man to walk the face of this earth, the man via whom you were guided to the light of Islam, the man who will plead with Allah on the Day of Judgement to pardon the sins of his ummah, – of which you are a part – the man who would cry the nights for you and I, the man who was concerned for you – someone he had never even met – and your salvation until his final breaths (ﷺ) – ask yourself: if I was to be in HIS presence, would I do this action?
The second thing to have in mind: would you like death to meet you doing this action? Ask yourself: would I like to spend my last breaths doing this action? Do I mind that the Angel of Death comes to take my soul whilst I do this action? Would I want that this action be the last thing I do before I'm lowered into my grave for the questioning?
The third thing to have in mind: if you were to be questioned about this action on the Day of Judgement, would you be willing to answer for it? The day when some people will be drowning in their sweat, the day when Hellfire – which is 70 times hotter than the fire of this world, let alone the heat you're feeling right now – will be brought forth before the eyes of everyone present, the day when the nursing mother will be distracted from the child she was nursing and the pregnant woman will abort her pregnancy out of the intensity of the horror of that Day – ask yourself: would I be willing to answer for this action of mine on this terrifying day, mind you, with all of humanity watching on?
So, whenever you intend on doing something, keep these three things in mind. Whenever you're invited to an event/function, ask yourself these questions. Whenever your friends go to you, "Hey, come, let's do this...," consider these questions. If it's something you wouldn't do in front of Rasulullāh ﷺ, if it's something you wouldn't want to die doing, if it's something you wouldn't want to answer for to Allah, then DON'T DO IT. Don't let your friends/peers convince you and pressure you and persuade you to do otherwise. Who are they compared to Rasulullāh ﷺ? Will they be able to help you on the Day of Judgement? And don't let your ego and your desires get the better of you. Come on, you're stronger than that. It is people of weakness that let their egos and desires get the better of them. Be someone of true strength, for this will be the only strength that will benefit you when you are judged by Allah. And always remember: the Owner and King of the Day of Judgement sees what you do at all times, so be aware of that before that day comes when it will be too late for those who didn't.
I'll end by reminding you: whenever you intend on doing an action, ask yourself these three questions: 1) If Rasulullāh ﷺ was around, would I do it? 2) Would I like death to meet me whilst I do this? 3) If I were to be questioned about this action on the Day of Judgement, would I be willing to answer for it?
Asalam wa Alaikom,
ReplyDeleteI think it is only necessary to contemplate and soak in the fact that Allah (The Glorified and most high) is aware of all our actions whether in the open or in the hidden. Just this fact alone is enough for us to contemplate about our decisions in life rather than imagining Rasulullāh ﷺ was infront of us watching our actions. In the end, our lives, property, wealth, children and Death are all for the Blessed Sake of Allah.
Wa alaykum assalam
ReplyDeleteYes, definitely agree with you there. But the thing is that I intended to propose to the audience questions that they could ask themselves before doing an action. Generally, posing people questions makes things more memorable as opposed to merely listing things out as posing questions during a speech gets people thinking, thereby ensuring that they're actively listening.
That's why I decided to use the example of Rasulullah ﷺ -- the man without whom we would be in the darknesses of kufr, not knowing our true purpose in life. Because to say something such as "If Allah was watching you, would you do this?" I think is rather blasphemous as it insinuates that there is a possibility that Allah may not be watching us at times (na`udhu billah). But nevertheless, I agree with you 100%. As mentioned in the khutbah, "the Owner and King of the Day of Judgement sees what you do at all times, so be aware of that before that day comes when it will be too late for those who didn't."
Jazak Allahu khayran for the input! May Allah grant us the tawfiq to have taqwa of Him at all times, in secret and in private!
Jazakallah khair for your reply,
ReplyDeleteI said what I said out of concern that someone might understand this in the wrong manner. I.e. someone fearing in doing a wrong deed out of shyness that the messenger of Allah ﷺ is in front of him. Would this then be considered taqwa?