Sunday, July 29, 2012

Look to Allah with Fearand Hope

After the Fast has been broken, the heart should swing like a pendulum between fear and hope. For one does not know if one's Fast will be accepted,so that one will find favor with Allah, or whether it will be rejected, leaving one among those He abhors. This is how one should be at the end of any act of worship one performs. It is related of al-Hasan ibn Abil Hasan al-Basri that he once passed by a group of people who were laughingmerrily. He said: "Allah, Great and Glorious is He, has made the month of Ramadan a racecourse, on which His creatures compete in His worship. Some have come in first and won, while others have lagged behind and lost. It is absolutely amazing to find anybody laughing and playing about on the day when success attends the victors,and failure the wasters. By Allah, if the veil were liftedoff, the doer of good would surely be preoccupied with his good works and the evildoer with his evil deeds. I am too full of joy to indulge inidle sport, while for one who has suffered rejection laughter will be precluded by remorse."
Of al-Ahnaf ibn Qays it is reported that he was once told: "You are an aged elder; Fasting would enfeeble you." But he replied: "By this I am making ready for a long journey: Obedience to Allah, Glorified is He, is easier to endure than His punishment." Such are the inwardly significant meanings of Fasting./ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en