by Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Hamid
Is`haq Saheb (Daamat Barakaatuhum)
Bismihi Ta'ala
An extremely wealthy businessman has to sign a cheque of
millions. He has many pens in his pen holder, but he will choose one.
Figuratively speaking, if that pen boasts: “I have
signed a cheque of millions!” … This is the foolishness of the pen.
The businessman could have chosen any other pen.
For those of us who are in the Khidmat of Dien, we should
keep this example before us.
Allah Jalla Jalaaluhu has billions of servants. Out of His
sheer kindness and favour, He chooses someone to render some Khidmat of Dien.
…Just
like that pen is the means of a transfer of millions of Rands, Dollars or
Pounds, there are those servants who are the means of conveying and
transferring the knowledge of Dien to others, or they become the means of
transferring people from Fisq[1]
and Fujur[2]
to Taqwa[3]
and righteousness, from Kufr[4]
to Imaan, from Jahannum to Jannat. However,
the real Giver and the actual Doer is Allah Ta’ala. Let us not forget
that.
We should not boast of what work we are doing; rather we
should be most thankful and appreciative that we are being used to do some Khidmat
of Dien – that Allah Jalla Jalaaluhu selected us from amongst billions, despite
our many shortcomings and weaknesses.
Moreover, a pen is, after all, a pen. It holds a limited
amount of ink. After using it for some time, the ink dries up or finishes.
Either the cartridge is replaced or the pen is replaced.
Similarly, we have
limitations and this worldly life has to come to an end. We are used for a
certain period of time, and then we are replaced. If, like a pen, we ‘dry up’ – that is, we ‘dry up’ our intentions and carry
out our deeds for name, fame and material gain, and we ‘dry up’ the rewards of
our Khidmat of Dien, with boasting or pride and arrogance, we will be thrown
out, and replaced.
No one is indispensable.
Allah Ta’ala has many servants to serve as replacements. And Allah Ta’ala is
not in need of us; rather it is His Favour upon us.
In the same way, if, figuratively speaking, a cheque of
millions was made out, and that cheque page boasts: “I am worth millions.” …This is its folly and ignorance. That
amount of money could have been written on any other cheque.
Allah Ta’ala is using us for some Khidmat of Dien; which
is in reality, priceless. Its rewards cannot be truly explained or fathomed, but
will be enjoyed in both worlds, if there is Ikhlaas (sincerity).
We should continuously express our Shukr (gratitude) to
Allah Jalla Jalaaluhu for the bounty of serving His beautiful Dien. If we
entertain pride and conceit, and we boast of the little we do, these are big
"mistakes", which will invite big losses.
Whilst from Allah Ta’ala’s side, there is no mistake and
no error, in worldly transactions, when there is a mistake made writing a
cheque, ‘CANCELLED’ is written across the cheque. The cheque
is thrown away in the waste paper basket, and another cheque is utilized.
Similarly, if
the person considers his Khidmat, to be his achievement and boasts about it,
then ‘CANCELLED’ will also be ‘written’ - so to say - across the person's Khidmat,
and he will lose the great rewards that could have been his.
Like that cancelled cheque is thrown away in the waste
paper basket, this person is sometimes totally cut off from the Khidmat of Dien,
or his Khidmat is not accepted in the Court of Allah Jalla Jalaaluhu, and
sometimes there is even punishment which will be his lot in the Hereafter. May
Allah Ta'ala protect us all.
In a lengthy Hadith[5],
we have been told that the men who will be judged first, on the Day of
Resurrection, shall be a man who was martyred, a man who acquired knowledge and
taught it and who recited the Holy Qur'aan, and a man to whom Allah Jalla
Jalaaluhu had been generous and had given great wealth.
These men will acknowledge Allah Ta’ala's favours upon
them, and will claim that they carried out these deeds for His sake alone.
However, each one will be exposed as a liar, for their deeds were contaminated with
other intentions, and were not solely to earn the pleasure of Allah Ta’ala.
The martyr fought only to be called brave and courageous, the Scholar or reciter of the Qu'raan had
sought to gain a reputation – he sought name and fame, and the third person
acted thus, to be called generous and to be acknowledged for his generosity.
Since deeds
are according to their intentions, each one secured what he had sought through
his deeds, but will not receive any reward on the Day of Judgment. In fact, each one will have to endure the punishment of
the fire of Hell. (May Allah Jalla Jalaaluhu save us all.)
Just as a
person can easily write out another million on another cheque, so Allah Ta’ala
can easily replace with someone else.
...Allah Ta’ala uses whomsoever He wishes to. It is His
Favour upon the person. However, acceptance will only be known on the Day of
Qiyaamah.
We, who are rendering the
Khidmat of Dien, yet are caught up in sins and disobedience, should be greatly
worried by the Hadith wherein Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi
wasallam) said: "Allah will strengthen His Dien, even
if it be by the means of a sinful person."[6]
May Allah Ta'ala grant us recognition of our nafs, Taufeeq
of complete Islaah and Tazkiyyah, Ikhlaas in whatever Khidmat is undertaken,
and acceptance, despite our shortcomings and failings.
[1] Fisq: Transgression
[2] Fujur : Immorality
[3] Taqwa : Piety and
abstinence from sins
[4] Kufr : Disbelief
[5] Sahih Muslim 5032
[6] Sahih Bukhari 3062
