ARE WE HELPING ISLAM???
In these times, where the world seems to be conspiring against Islam, let us try to look in our own selves as to how are we responsible for the current and future status of Islam.
Al Jabir Bin Ansari once saw a dream that a beautiful and shiny cloth was hanging from the sky.
People were tearing pieces of the cloth and taking that piece away with them. Others took bigger pieces and some took smaller. When the cloth got over a new piece of cloth reappeared and again the same treatment was given to it.
Jabir came running to Imam Ali (A.S) and asked him to interpret this dream.
Imam Ali (A.S) said, that the cloth was Islam, and the people tearing from it were Muslims who did not want to accept Islam as Whole but only liked and practiced and accepted the pieces that they were comfortable with.
This statement is true for all of us. Even though we are Muslims, we still do not “like” all the rules and regulations that make up the whole Islam. We have become so comfortable in what we have accepted that we do not even try to act upon any more than that.
In Sure Hujarat Verse 15; Allah (S.W.T) says
إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَرْتَابُوا وَجَاهَدُوا بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنفُسِهِمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الصَّادِقُونَ
49:15 [Know that true] believers are only those who have attained to faith in God and His Apostle and have left all doubt behind, and who strive hard in God’s cause with their possessions and their lives: it is they, they who are true to their word!
This clearly shows that the state of being a Muslim is an ongoing struggle, we are continuously required to better ourselves in every way, our worship, our knowledge, our behavior with fellow human beings and our struggle against our nafs (self) all have room for improvement at all times. If we do not strive to achieve perfection, perfection will never reach us!
Organize your time in such a way that there is always some time to do and learn a little more. Let us be more concerned about others and less about ourselves and pray that Allah (S.W.T) may reward us for our efforts.
Remember that as a Muslim each and every one of us is an ambassador of Islam. Our actions will reflect upon our religion.
