I’ve been battling a cold for the last several days. At some point I felt like I’d just gotten from under a truck :( . I am still coughing, sniffling, sneezing, and generally feeling very miserable. I was so tired I couldn’t even blog 
. And it just got me thinking what it always gets me thinking under these circumstances :) . In high school biology they taught us that viruses were “the threshold of life” having some of the qualities of living things, but in other ways resembling non-living things. Then how feeble is the human being that is brought to a grinding halt by such a creature. And how arrogant is the human being that thinks to subjugate the Earth and all that lives upon it.
Yet, as soon as I have that thought, a kind of pessimistic needling comes along and I wonder how long I will may expect to remember <i>this</i> time? After all, how many times have I reflected upon disease and human frailty, only to forget a little while later and go back to ‘business-as-usual’. Or how often have I taken heed from the death of a loved one or a stranger, only to forget just a little bit later and return to life’s busy-ness.
There are those among the servants of God that are more constant in their remembrance even as they toil in His service in the company of others. There are those whose hearts are connected with God even as their bodies dwell on Earth, whose spirits are attached to the Latter Life even as they live out this one, and whose entire being yearns for the sight of God and the company of His messenger, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him, even as they bear witness to the labors of humanity. They struggle and then they taste the sweetness of faith and intimacy with the Divine.
But as we aspire to have that be our abiding condition, we realize that everyone forgets. Some may forget less frequently, or suffer less in the loss. Yet the nature of human beings is that we forget. Far from being a source of regret or a “calamity” to dwell upon, it is probably more accurate, more productive, and truer to our purpose to remember (since we do forget) that the prime lesson for which Adam and Eve, peace be upon them, were placed in paradise for a time was the fact of human forgetfulness.
ولقد عهدنا إلى آدم من قبل فنسي ولم نجد له عزما
(We gave Adam the covenant beforehand and he forgot and we found no resolve with him). So the real trick is not that we do not forget. Wisdom may lay in accepting that we will forget and bringing to our selves reminders as often as we need them. Perhaps this is why the Quran tells us that we will constantly be tested in a variety of ways that we may return. Perhaps this is why the Prophet, may God’s peace and blessings be upon him, was constantly giving his companions brief reminders that would affect them but not tire or bore them. Perhaps each of us should establish constant mechanisms for remembering what we are sure to forget.
So as a reminder, meant for myself before it can be of use for anyone else, I looked up the hadeeth that I have heard so frequently, “Make the best of five before five: your life before you die, your youth before you age, your health before you ail, your spare time before you get busy, and your wealth before you get poor.”
Shafak Allahu Wa3afak. Tahoor inshallah :)
Nice reflection. I think it was Ibn el Qayyem who said that the tests of Allah are four types and you know the reason you are being tested by the way you react to the test.
1- Punishment and you know it if your reaction is anger.
2- Wiping off sins and you know if you are patient and accepting.
3- Elevation of level and that’s when you are grateful to Allah for His test.
4- Chosen (اصطفاء) and that’s when you prefer your status with the test over than the normal status.
I believe that thru the test you can move from one level to another and that’s the تمحيص . do you have an English word for it? :)
You sound like you were some where between two and three. May be you are taking the stairs up already :). Make duaa for us ya akhi.
May Allah cure you on your sickness
and bless you for the excellent reminder
Salaaam Y,
yea i was like why hasn’t he updated?!?! (Lemme make some Duaa..inshallah you’ll be better in no time!!!!!!!)
those were good reminders! thanks again. (and thanks ayman for those four criterias of tests…they got me thinking…)
May this be a means of purification for you in shaa Allah :)I hope you never forget your health in sha Allah. Alhamdulillah I received my blue belt two weekends ago, having come a far way from the day of my first test two years ago, alhamdulillah. Since then I have relied on the strength of my brothers and sisters to inspire me to persist, and I hope I will always have their strength to rely on bi ithnillah. I am reminded of that wall mentioned in As-Saff :)
Jazakallah khair brother Yaser.
What’s the reference for the ayah you quoted?
Salaam Tariq,
http://www.islamicity.com/MOSQUE/ARABICSCRIPT/AYAT/20/20_115.htm
the Verse mentioned is from Sura 20 - Ayat 115. It’s surat Ta-Ha
wasalam,
abdul
Salaam Tariq,
20:115 (its from surat Ta-Ha)
wasalam,
abdul
Wa3laikum asalam,
JazakAllahu Khairan for that post.
Unfortunately, a lot of people complain when they have the slightest cold or are afflicted with a severe illness. We unfortunately do not see the ‘blessings in disguise’. There is wisdom in the affliction that Allah sw places on the believers: It brings about humility and submission to Allah sw, and makes us realize how weak we human are, how much we cannot control and how much we really need and depend on Him. It keeps us grounded, to say the least. I agree with Br. Yaser, in that we need those constant reminders of exactly who we are and what our place and purpose in this world really is. If we are always healthy and never ‘reminded’ of our weaknesses and how things could change in a heartbeat, then arrogance and insolence will creep up on us. Thus, when Allah sw blesses us with affliction, we should definetely be thankful and show our thanks by turning to Allah sw with sincerity, submission and always seeking repentance.
Just wanted to comment about the hadith that mentions we should make the best of our health before we ail. We need to stock up on our good deeds while we are healthy, because once we’re sick, we won’t be able to do what we did for Allah sw when we are ill. I read a couple narrations of a hadith, one of which was is as follows: .
Anas (RA) reported that the prophet said: “Whenever Allah afflicts a Muslim in his body, He records (his deeds) for him in accordance with what he used to do when he was well– as long as he is sick. Thus, if He takes his life, He forgives him; and if He cures him, He washes him (from sins)”. (recorded by al-Bukhari).
If I understood this hadith correctly, I think it is safe to say that the more we do while we are healthy, the better off we are when we are ill and unable to do what we used to do while healthy, as we will be rewarded with what we used to do. Wallahu a3lam
Reem