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The gifts of Allah are there for the taking, so grab them

The gifts of Allah are there for the taking, so grab them
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June 26, 2020
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The gifts of Allah

Nafahatullahi are the gifts of Allah Almighty. There are plenty of narrations of the Prophet (peace be on him) which mention such gifts. One of these narrations is by Anas ibn Malik, who reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) said:

Do good deeds in the time that you have and take advantage of the moments of nafahat (gifts) from the mercy of Allah. Verily, Allah has moments of nafahat from his mercy that he sends upon whomever He wills among his servants. Ask Allah to cover your faults and protect you from your anxieties. (Tabarani)

There are three beautiful pieces of advice in this hadith.

Firstly, the Prophet (peace be on us) drew our attention to the fact that Allah Almighty has offered us unlimited gifts. As he reiterated in another narration:

Your Lord Has gifts throughout your life. Seek them, it might be if you were to get them you won’t have misery afterwards. (Tabarani)

These gifts therefore keep coming throughout the year. Not just Ramadan, which of course is a torrential outpouring of gifts, but outside Ramadan, we still have a stream of gifts.

Now we have entered into Ashhur Al Hurum, the three consecutive sacred months, which are Dhul Qadah, Dhul Hijjah and Muharram. (The fourth sacred month is Rajab, which stands alone, before Sha’ban and Ramadan.)

1.      Seize the day

We are now in Dhul Qadah, and these months are classified as the gifts of Allah Almighty. Usually these are the months of Hajj, during which people prepare to go on Hajj, but due to Covid-19, international Hajj has been cancelled this year, and only locals will be able to perform it this year. May Allah lift the pandemic and bring us back to Him with kindness and safety inshallah.

Fasting is a gift

However, these nafahat are still among us so let’s take the advantage of these gifts. The Prophet (peace be on him) used to fast during these months and through the year (on Mondays and Thursdays and on the 13th,14th and 15th of the month), but fasting during these special months come with additional mercy.

Fast on the three white days

These three days in the middle of the month are called the white days because we have a full moon and the moonlight is very bright in the sky.

The Prophet (peace be on him) mentioned that fasting three days during the month takes away rancour and clouds from the heart.

Follow the sunnah

Let’s keep this sunnah and follow his footsteps.

Amr ibn Shurahbil reported: The Messenger of Allah ( peace be on him) said:

Shall I tell you about what will rid the heart of impurities? Fasting three days of every month. (Nasa’i)

Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) mentioned that the Prophet (peace be on him) said:

I am the most knowledgeable of you and have the most pious heart among you. (Musnad Ahmad)

This is why ibn Masud (may Allah be pleased with you) used to say to his companions that even though they prayed more and fasted more than the companions of the Prophet (peace be on him) because they were clinging to the akhirah and they were not attached to the dunya, as his companions were.

2.      Ask Allah to cover your faults

The Prophet (peace be on him) said at the end of the hadith, ‘Ask Allah to cover your faults’. We ask Allah Almighty to cover our faults always and not to expose us.

3.      Ask Allah to protect you from anxiety

Ask Allah Almighty to protect you from your anxieties, as we are often prone to worries. Plugged into bad memories, constantly rewinding bitter experiences, easily susceptible to magnifying our latent fears and afraid of the unknown – whether it is Covid 19 which is in our lmidst, or anything new.

Calm your fears

Some of us can ease this pressure by relying on Allah Almighty, while others will allow themselves to whip up their emotions in more of a frenzy and then take them out on those around them, getting into unnecessary arguments with their spouse and children and neighbours. This anxiety can kill you. This is why we ask Allah Almighty to protect us from our fears and troubles. Ask Allah especially in these days to enable us to control our anxiety in the best way.

Be proactive

Allah’s gifts are surrounding us now, but we need special lenses to see them. The Prophet (peace be on him) provided these lenses to us and he said be aware they are around you, go and grab them. Don’t be lazy or apathetic. Don’t sit back and say, ‘We are fine’. Go and seek them!

Now is the month of Dhul Qadah, let’s increase our siyam (fasting), recitation and good deeds. Improve your character.

Bakr Al-Muzani said: Abu Bakr, did not advance, because of his much salah and siyam, but because of the goodness of his heart.

Let’s try and fast twice a week and the three white days every month.

Let’s work on our character and be better, not just in these sacred months but throughout the year and we ask Allah to cover our faults and protect us from anxieties. Ameen.

 

Delivered by Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 26th June 2020 as his Friday Thought for the Week.

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Shaykh Haytham Tamim is the founder and main teacher of the Utrujj Foundation. He has provided a leading vision for Islamic learning in the UK, which has influenced the way Islamic knowledge is disseminated. He has orchestrated the design and delivery of over 200 unique courses since Utrujj started in 2001. His extensive expertise spans over 30 years across the main Islamic jurisprudence schools of thought. He has studied with some of the foremost scholars in their expertise; he holds some of the highest Ijazahs (certificates) in Quran, Hadith (the Prophetic traditions) and Fiqh (Islamic rulings). His own gift for teaching was evident when he gave his first sermon to a large audience at the age of 17 and went on to serve as a senior lecturer of Islamic transactions and comparative jurisprudence at the Islamic University of Beirut (Shariah College). He has continued to teach; travelling around the UK, Europe and wider afield, and won the 2015 BISCA award (British Imams & Scholars Contributions & Achievements Awards) for Outstanding Contribution to Education and Teaching.

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