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working out my Salah problems, Eid and no more birthdays
celebrating joy on Eid-ul-Adha
Date: 12/30/2006 8:08:21 AM ( 18 y ) ... viewed 2529 times Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. Qul huwa Allahu ahad Allahu samad Lam yalid walam yoolad Walam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad. [Surah 112: Al-Ikhlas] Allahu Akbar! Eid Mubarak!
(In the name of Allah, most benificent, most merciful. Say: 'He is the One, Eternal the Uncaused Cause of All Being, He begets not and neither is He begotten, and there is nothing that could be compared with Him' [Chapter 112: The Declaration of God's Perfection] Allah is the Greatest! Happy Eid!)
Eid is the name of two festivals given to Muslims by Allah. What we are celebrating on Eid days (Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha)is the opportunity Allah has given us to finish a pillar of the religion, to make sacrifices for Him and to give thanks for being guided. this is why Eid-ul-Fitr comes after Ramadan (when inshallah we finish the pillar of sawm or fasting) and Eid-ul-Adha comes at the end of Hajj or pilgrimage. Even if we are not on Hajj, we still celebrate in solidarity with our brothers and sisters who finish the pilgrimage on this day and we are celebrate the sacrifice that Ibrahim made of his son Ismail to Allah. We celebrate this because it represents something that is very fundamental to Islam: submission to the will of Allah. we are all in awe of the beauty of nature and the innocence of children because they are naturally in submission to the will of Allah. think about the biodynamics of a coral reef, or the innocent honesty of a child and you will see what i mean. As Allah said, 'Verily, in all this there are messages indeed for those who can read the signs'[Surah 15:75 Al-Hijr (The Rocky Tract)].
so Islam is about living in this beautiful way, in submission to Allah, by choice. Ibrahim was taken as a close friend to Allah because no matter the test, he always submitted to Allah's commands. So on this day, Eid-ul-Adha we celebrate Islam, submission to Allah. So many other aspects of Islam come into the celebration too, such as brother and sisterhood in the muslim community, family, remembering Allah and praising Him. This is my first Eid and although I am spending it alone, I can say i have never experienced such a joyful religious festival. Alhamdulilah for Allah has given us Eid to celebrate and come closer to Him!
So, I am extra happy today to strive to please Allah by adhering to the Quran and the Sunnah in the tests I have as a convert in a non-Muslim family. It happens that today, as well as Eid-ul-Adha, is my mom's birthday. It was hard for me to have to tell her I couldnt celebrate or tell her 'happy birthday' but I was glad to do it for the sake of Allah. Its hard to describe the feeling of being happy to doing something for Allah while it breaks your heart at the same time. To me, I have to say this must be what celebrating Eid is all about. Submitting to Allah no matter how much it hurts or how difficult it seems. What could be better for my first Eid than to have the opportunity to make a sacrifice such as this? What could better help me understand what Eid is really about, and bring me closer to Allah? Allahu Akbar! I am humbled and grateful that Allah has allowed this in my life! Qul huwa Allahu ahad Allahu samad Lam yalid walam yoolad Walam yakun lahu kufuwan ahad!!!! La Ilaha Illallah! (there is only one God!)
and another happy note is that i have come to understand my recent struggles with completing my Salah (five times daily worship). The Prophet(pbuh) described Salah as a cool stream that one dives into five times a day to become cleansed and refreshed. alhamdulilah i found that information! so i changed my perception of Salah by the grace and guidance of Allah. i learned to take refuge in Salah from the evil of this world, and the evil of myself. i learned to take refuge in Allah from the desires and emotions of my own self so as not to be distracted by them and to stop them obscuring my rememberance of Allah. and i learned to be mindful and patient before i do Wudu (ablution before Salah) and Salah itself, taking time to enjoy the beauty of these acts and the gifts they are by Allah's grace. lastly, i learned that something very important is being patient with myself. where would Ibrahim have been if he had become impatient with himself as he agonised over whether or not to obey the command he saw in a vision? (may Allah forgive me for using this as an example) Impatience with the self can only be another trick from the shaitan to confuse and dismay, to obscure Truth and certainty to the believer. And impatience is the enemy of steadfastness! learning patience is such a big part of Islam... i cant believe i didnt apply it to myself. May Allah help us all to be more patient and may Allah forgive the believers who are trying to perfect Islam. Amin!
002.255 Allah! There is no god but He,-the Living, the Self-subsisting, Eternal. No slumber can seize Him nor sleep. His are all things in the heavens and on earth. Who is there can intercede in His presence except as He permitteth? He knoweth what (appeareth to His creatures as) before or after or behind them. Nor shall they compass aught of His knowledge except as He willeth. His Throne doth extend over the heavens and the earth, and He feeleth no fatigue in guarding and preserving them for He is the Most High, the Supreme (in glory).
Al-Qur'an, 002.255 (Al-Baqara [The Cow])
Also referred to as "Ayat-ul-Kursi"
Text Copied from DivineIslam's Qur'an Viewer software v2.910
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