All praise is truly Allah's. We praise Him, seek His help and ask His forgiveness. We take refuge in Allah from the evils of our selves and from the wrongs of our actions. Whomever Allah guides, none can lead him astray. And whomever He leads astray, there is none to guide him. I testify that there is no one worthy of worship but Allah alone, without any partner to Him. And I testify that Muḥammad is His slave and messenger. May Allah's prayers and peace be upon our master Muḥammad, and upon his family and companions.
To proceed:
Dear brothers and sisters! We've just left the month of Ramaḍān, a month where we further recognise our purpose in life: to worship Allah. Now, what we don't want is to be of those who slack off after the holy month. But how? Well, let me share with you something you can do where you can transform every single act of yours – the permissible acts that is, not the sinful ones – into rewardable acts of worship.
Now, before you do any action, think about your intention when doing it. Ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?” If you intend your everyday activities for the sake of Allah, you transform them into acts of worship, and so you actually get rewarded for them. So when you go to sleep, don't just say “I'm going to sleep because I'm sleepy.” Say, “I'm going to sleep to refresh my body for worshipping Allah tomorrow.” That way, you get ḥasanāt by literally doing nothing but intending your sleep to be for Allah's sake and then lying on your bed for six or so hours! How good is that? When you eat, don't just say “Well, I'm starving.” Say, “I'm eating to provide myself with energy to pray; I'm eating so I can express thanks over the blessings Allah has provided me; I'm eating because by body is a trust from Allah and so it's wājib for me to take care of my body.” And so when you intend these things, you get ḥasanāt for eating. Because, you're going to eat anyway, so you might as well get ḥasanāt for it, right? Even something like picking up a pen dropped by the person next to you. “Why am I doing it?” Don't just make it something you do out of habit. Intend it for the sake of Allah. Intend helping your Muslim brother/sister. Intend strengthening the brotherhood/sisterhood between the two of you. If the person's a non-Muslim, intend giving da‘wah via your good conduct. And Allah will reward you for each of these intentions, if you are sincere with them.
Ask yourself, “Why am I studying?” “Why am I picking these subjects?” “Why do I want this mark?” “Why am I aiming for this career after I leave school?” Don't just let your reasons be, “Oh, because I like it.” “Looks good.” “That job pays good money.” Sure, you can have these intentions, but have a higher intention. Your purpose in life is to worship Allah. The years you spend in your studies – you were always gonna go through them anyway. So why go through them without earning ḥasanāt from them? What a waste of a great opportunity! So have an intention when you approach your studies. “I'm studying to ensure that I can easily earn a halal income when I'm older” “I'm studying so that I can get into a career where I can serve the ummah and be a source of benefit for it.” “I'm studying so I can be a doctor, because there's a lack of and a need for Muslim doctors out there.” Or anything similar, and be sincere about your intentions.
Brothers and sisters, this is life-changing stuff. Just try this for one day where you do everything with an intention, and notice a deep change within you. A happiness, peace and joy within you. Everything you do that day – even your daily habits such as brushing your teeth, eating, drinking, charging your electronic device – will all be a source of ḥasanāt for you. Not a moment of your day will pass by without ḥasanāt rolling into your account. And the best thing is, you don't get tired from making intentions. So what do you have to lose?
I'll end with two calls to action. The next time you eat, ask yourself, “Why exactly am I doing this?” Intend it for Allah. That's the first call to action. The second one is that when you have time, sit down and think of something in your life that's important to you. Then write down the intentions you have in doing that important thing, and be sincere about them. Remember that your purpose in life is to worship Allah, and so just like how in an exam you wouldn't waste time you could use to score marks, likewise you don't want to have time pass by in this world without adding on to your ḥasanāt account.
To proceed:
Dear brothers and sisters! We've just left the month of Ramaḍān, a month where we further recognise our purpose in life: to worship Allah. Now, what we don't want is to be of those who slack off after the holy month. But how? Well, let me share with you something you can do where you can transform every single act of yours – the permissible acts that is, not the sinful ones – into rewardable acts of worship.
Now, before you do any action, think about your intention when doing it. Ask yourself, “Why am I doing this?” If you intend your everyday activities for the sake of Allah, you transform them into acts of worship, and so you actually get rewarded for them. So when you go to sleep, don't just say “I'm going to sleep because I'm sleepy.” Say, “I'm going to sleep to refresh my body for worshipping Allah tomorrow.” That way, you get ḥasanāt by literally doing nothing but intending your sleep to be for Allah's sake and then lying on your bed for six or so hours! How good is that? When you eat, don't just say “Well, I'm starving.” Say, “I'm eating to provide myself with energy to pray; I'm eating so I can express thanks over the blessings Allah has provided me; I'm eating because by body is a trust from Allah and so it's wājib for me to take care of my body.” And so when you intend these things, you get ḥasanāt for eating. Because, you're going to eat anyway, so you might as well get ḥasanāt for it, right? Even something like picking up a pen dropped by the person next to you. “Why am I doing it?” Don't just make it something you do out of habit. Intend it for the sake of Allah. Intend helping your Muslim brother/sister. Intend strengthening the brotherhood/sisterhood between the two of you. If the person's a non-Muslim, intend giving da‘wah via your good conduct. And Allah will reward you for each of these intentions, if you are sincere with them.
Ask yourself, “Why am I studying?” “Why am I picking these subjects?” “Why do I want this mark?” “Why am I aiming for this career after I leave school?” Don't just let your reasons be, “Oh, because I like it.” “Looks good.” “That job pays good money.” Sure, you can have these intentions, but have a higher intention. Your purpose in life is to worship Allah. The years you spend in your studies – you were always gonna go through them anyway. So why go through them without earning ḥasanāt from them? What a waste of a great opportunity! So have an intention when you approach your studies. “I'm studying to ensure that I can easily earn a halal income when I'm older” “I'm studying so that I can get into a career where I can serve the ummah and be a source of benefit for it.” “I'm studying so I can be a doctor, because there's a lack of and a need for Muslim doctors out there.” Or anything similar, and be sincere about your intentions.
Brothers and sisters, this is life-changing stuff. Just try this for one day where you do everything with an intention, and notice a deep change within you. A happiness, peace and joy within you. Everything you do that day – even your daily habits such as brushing your teeth, eating, drinking, charging your electronic device – will all be a source of ḥasanāt for you. Not a moment of your day will pass by without ḥasanāt rolling into your account. And the best thing is, you don't get tired from making intentions. So what do you have to lose?
I'll end with two calls to action. The next time you eat, ask yourself, “Why exactly am I doing this?” Intend it for Allah. That's the first call to action. The second one is that when you have time, sit down and think of something in your life that's important to you. Then write down the intentions you have in doing that important thing, and be sincere about them. Remember that your purpose in life is to worship Allah, and so just like how in an exam you wouldn't waste time you could use to score marks, likewise you don't want to have time pass by in this world without adding on to your ḥasanāt account.
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