Qarun Lives....

First let me introduce you to Qarun, as in the Quran. He was a learned scholar, from the Bani Isarel and had been blessed with immense wealth of the world. I just read his story (Surah Al-Qasas) and was forced to admit that although Allah destroyed the real Qarun long ago ... his disciples exist in each one of us. He is living through us. Allow me to elaborate.

Qarun was a Muslim, as he came from the people of Musa AS and was even related to the prophet. He was a haafidh of the Torah, had been blessed with a lot of knowldege obviously; but along with that he had been given wealth of the world, so much so that it would burden big, strong men to carry just the keys to his treasure. He should have been the most grateful one around for having been given the best of both Ilm and Dunya... yet he was the most arrogant. He accredited himself for his wealth, he didnt deny it came from Allah BUT he said he deserved it. He was so close in behavior and status to the Pharoahs - they made him one of them! Can you imagine? The Bani Israel were a slave tribe and to be made a courtsman? He should have been lenient with the Bani Israel, given his authority.... yet he was the harshest on them. He refused to give zakat and did not spend on the people. He walked the earth with arrogance and pride and the same earth was commanded to eat him whole along with his wealth.

Today we, Muslims, when we are very educated or our kids manage to shine in universities or we are wealthy or even when we have ilm of the Quran - we attribute it to ourselves. Oh! we worked so hard with our kids, or our kids worked so hard for this. We say it about other people too Oh! they were so good with their finances and made all the right decisions, etc etc. All of us have had that attitude one time or another - it was ME, I did it. Wallahi you didnt! Had it not been Allah's will, you would not have anything despite making all the seemingly right choices. Crediting ourselves with our successes leads to us becoming arrogant. We may not become arrogant right away, but as people start to praise us and place on pedestals for our worldly standing; we start thinking we deserve that status. This arrogance eats away at our 'ikhlaq' like a termite and soon we are too good for our own families, our own people. We avoid meeting them too often, sometimes even say hurtful things about them. This is not true just of wealth, even those with "ilm" look down on their relatives not so endowed. We walk the earth with pride, very satified with our status.

Now if you are thinking that you arent THAT wealthy, so you're ok.... Alhamdolillah for what we have but take a look at your closets. Isnt it burdened with the treasure it holds, similar to the forces who carried Qarun's keys? Dont we have bank accounts in like 3 or 4 banks, isnt our wallet bent out of shape with the cards it carries. Dont our refrigerators and pantries boil over with food. Doesnt our heart pinch when it comes time to pay zakat or give in sadaqa? Dont we think we deserve the lifestyles we have or even our health? We have been blessed with Iman and wealth of the world - how thankful are we? Sadly, I was reminded of "us" when i read about Qarun.
So beware! Strive to be a Sulaymaan rather than a Qarun, Insha Allah.

Shukr: In sickness and in health

I've written about being thankful during the hard times. Wanting to discuss that further i wanted to address pain in particular. I'm talking of physical pain mainly like you when you fall sick and are burning up or when your joints begin to ache. I once read an article about a little 7yr old girl who felt no pain. She had a condition whereby her nerve-endings were devoid of that sensation. My first reaction was wow, thats pretty cool. So i read further, this little girl had blinded her self in one eye, wears a helmet to protect her skull because she has had so many falls, has her arm and legs are in casts most of the time; has had surgeries to insert steel clips in her joints ... all because she has never felt pain; hence does not know how to prevent injury. SubhanAllah.
Change your approach to pain. Doctors will tell you most diseases are diagnosed when people experience pain or discomfort and when they dont - usually the disease reaches a terminal stage before the doctors find out. Our rabb, Allah - who loves us more than 70 mothers, has given us this sensation of pain for our own benefit and SubhanAllah even then He washes away our sins during our time of pain. Next time you have a headache or fever, dont forget to say Alhamdolillah.Inshallah, the Almighty will not only relieve you but your ranks will be raised  because Allah is THAT merciful.

Shukr

We all know that we need to be thankful to Allah for all His blessings upon us. I learned about a new dimension of shukr today - shukr for all the "bad" things that may happen to us. Yes you read it right. When you stub you toe for you have feet, when you bang your car for you have transportation, when you fall sick for you had health, when your child falls sick for you have a child, say Alhamdolillah. If you have faith in Allah, you will believe that all your circumstances are by His command and maybe some due to your fallacies - nonetheless at His command. Even if you can see no good coming from your situation, still say Alhamdolillah. For Allah will raise your ranks and you will achieve closeness to the rabb. It is a treasure only few will get. Wont you want to be one of them?
Alhamdolillah!
(Refer to my note Daily Zikr)