Someone shared once that often, when they would read the Qur’ān, it would dawn upon them that Ubayy ibn Ka’b ra recited the same words that they recited, and they would get emotional. We hold the Qur’ān very dear to our hearts and its words ignite a spark in our lives; all of that indescribable feeling gets multiplied a trillion times when we connect its recitation to pious slaves of Allah that came before us.
The brotherhood of Islam is not bounded within the frames of tribe, race, geographical location, or timeline. When a believer believes the utmost truth, from the depths of his heart, that Lā ilāha illallāh Muhammad rasūlullah, then he has been freed eternally from the imprisonment of isolation, and has joined the elite brotherhood— a brotherhood that is built upon the love of The One, The Most High, The First, The Last, and a brotherhood that is neither broken by barriers of time or space.
When a Muslim stands to pray, he is performing an act of worship that was given to the Messenger SAW when he traveled from the Ka’bah to beyond the seventh heaven to meet his Lord, and the act of worship that the companions were engaged in as they saw the smiling face of their beloved Rasūl SAW for the last time before his death.
When a Muslim gives charity, he joins the ranks of the companions who would spend the night doing hard labor to have something to give out for the sake of their Lord.
When he performs Hajj, he has treaded the path of the companions who came from every ravine and on every lean camel to answer the call of Allah, and fulfill the sacred rites with the Prophet SAW shortly before he passed away.
The religion of Allah is bigger than just us. We are a part of a community of worshippers, and we worship the same Lord that was worshipped by all of the Prophets. Every act of worship is like a carefully shrouded blessing passed down to us, often with sweat and blood put in by those who worshipped Allah before us, one which we should value and strive to give its due right.
The muslim who finds it comfortable settling for mediocrity should ask himself: how can I not sacrifice my time and energy for the same Lord that the companions gladly sacrificed their lives for?
When we stand on the plains of ‘Arafah, and when we fast tomorrow, we follow the footsteps of the Sahāba and Tābi’ūn who would free hundreds of slaves on that day, hoping to be freed from the punishment of the fire, and spend their evenings weeping out of fear of their Lord’s punishment and hoping for His forgiveness.
As we make du’a, we hope to join the ranks of the Zaynul ‘Ābidīns, the Sufyāns and the Fudayls (رحمهم الله), and how excellent these companions are!
May Allah grant us righteous company in this life and the next.
السلام عليكم
بارك الله فيك
Baarakallaahu feeki, wa fataha alaiki, wa zawwadaki fit taqwaa, wa razaqaki bi saahibin mutamassikin bid ddiin, wa adkhalakumal Jannatal Fiirdausil A'laa.
Please how about your Siirah series? Do we have a recorded version online?
Jazakillau khairan.
We are very proud of you.