This Life is not our Real Life

Many people think that they can make a perfect life for themselves in
this world. They think that if they can acquire enough material
possessions, theywill experience total personal satisfaction and
happiness. According to the most widespread opinion, a person's life
will be perfect after he or she has attained material wealth, gotten
married with this intention in mind, and is respected by society
because of his or her influential and well-established career.
The Qur'an does not support this view, for it states that this present
life will never be perfect and without problems, as it is designed
like that.
The root of dunya (world) has a very important meaning in this sense:
It is a derivative of the adjective "daniy": low, unrefined, basic and
worthless. "World" meansa space characterized by these traits. So, the
Qur'anoften emphasizes this worldly life's worthlessness and
unimportance. It refers to such things as wealth, family, status, and
success,which are thought to make for a good life, as nothing more
than transitory and deceptive. In one verse, Allah says:
Know that the life of the world is merely a game and a diversion and
ostentation, and a cause of boasting among yourselves and trying to
outdo one another in wealth and children, like the plant-growth after
rain, which delights the cultivators. But then it withers, you see it
turningyellow, and then it becomes broken stubble. In the hereafter
there is terrible punishment, but also forgiveness from Allah and His
good pleasure. The life of the world is nothing but the enjoyment of
delusion. (Surat al-Hadid, 20)
Another verse explains how people are blinded by illusion because of
this earthly life:
Yet still you prefer the lifeof the world, when the hereafter is
better and longer lasting. (Surat al-A'la, 16-17)
As this verse says, such people regard the life of this world as
superior to the afterlife. Such a mistaken view causes them to turn
away from faith in Allah and His Book. The Qur'an describes such
people as"those who do not expectto meet Us and are content with the
life of the world and at rest in it,and those who are heedless of Our
Signs" (Surah Yunus, 7) and reveals that they will find themselves in
Hell's eternal agony. Surely, this imperfection does not mean that
this world contains no beautiful things. On the contrary, Allah filled
the world withbeautiful things to remindus of Paradise. But mixed in
with these beautiful things are the imperfection and ugliness of Hell.
The qualities of Paradise and Hell are mixed together here, for this
world is really a place of testing. Thus believers canget an idea of
those two places and, instead of getting caught up in this world's
short and transitory life, can direct themselves toward the real,
perfect, and endless life of the hereafter. As a result, the Qur'an
describes the afterlife as each person's true and eternal land.
But despite this truth, many people think they can make a perfect life
in this world. They view this life's imperfections and deficiencies
(e.g., getting sick, becoming tired, and suffering from pain and
worry) as something totally natural. However, Allah has created all
theseimperfections with many hidden meanings, and people have to think
seriously about these meanings and learn the appropriate lessons.
It could have been possible would never get sick or feel so tired that
they would need to rest or sleep. They could have had so much stamina
and energy that they would not feel fatigued. If Allah had willed, He
could have created us without such flaws and deficiencies. ButHe
created us with them so that we might understand that we are helpless
and weak.
Each individual must come face to face with hisor her helplessness and
weakness at every moment of life. His body, upon which he lays so much
value, constantly reminds him of his situation. When he wakes up every
morning and starts his day, his face is swollen and distorted, his
mouth has a bad taste, and there is an uncomfortable dirty feeling on
his skin, hair, and body. If he does not clean himself carefully, he
cannot leave this unpleasant state. This cleaning must be repeated
several times during the day, because after a few hours have passed,
the dirt returns. After not washing for a few days, his need to wash
himself becomes all the more obvious, comingto a point where he makes
those around him very uncomfortable.
The human body is not as strong or resilient as a stone or a piece of
metal; rather, it is made of an extremely perishable material: flesh.
The body is covered with a thin skinthat could be torn at any moment
by the slightest accident. Structurally speaking, flesh is very
vulnerable...:-> 1a]

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The best dirt cleaner

Abu Umamah (RA) narrates: Rasulullah (SAW)said: Whoever stands up to
perform his Wudhu, intending to offer Salah, then cleans his hands;
the sins of his two hands fallout with the first drop of water. Then,
when he rinses his mouth, and draws water into his noseand expels it;
the sins of his tongue and two lips fallout with the first drop of
water. Then, as he cleans his face, the sins of his hearing and seeing
fallout with the first drop (of water). Then, when he cleans his two
arms past the elbows, and his two feet past the ankles; he becomes
free of all his offences and sins, just as was his state, the day his
mother gave him birth. He(then) said: Then, when he stands for Salah;
Allah elevates his position, and if he (merely) sits (without standing
for Salah) even then his sitting is free of sins! Source: Musnad
Ahmad.
We take bath regularly to clean our body of dirts, but how many of us
offer regular prayers daily to clean the real dirts (sins)?

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Miraculous story of how Dr. Bilal Abdul Alim became a Muslim

Personally, I embraced Islam at the age of 24, in the summer of 1975,
while studying medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston,
Texas. After a long day of study, I went to bed on a Saturday night
with no intention of becoming a Muslim. However, 2 thingshappened
during that night that would change my life completely. First ofall, I
had a dream in whichI was commanded by a strong and firm voice, to
embrace Islam immediately. I was reminded of how I had previously
studied comparative religion at Wesleyan University, but refused to
accept Islam even though I felt in my heart that it was the
mostpractical way of life. WhenI woke up the next morning, I sat on
the edge of the bed contemplating what to do, when the telephone rang.
The call came from my ex-roommate from Wesleyan who had embraced Islam
after graduation and was livingin Washington, D.C. At that time, he
was studying to be an attorney at Catholic University School of Law.
This phone call was the second and final thing, that convinced me to
embrace Islam immediately.
My friend asked me, "Are you ready to become a Muslim?" I replied,
"Why are you calling me this early in the morning with such a
question?" He answered in the followingway, "Last night, I had a
dream. In that dream, I saw you smiling, surrounded by a sort of
spiritual light (called Noorin Islam). Then, I heard a strong and
powerful voicesaying, 'Allah has made this man a Muslim in the night
and Allah has given him the name, Bilal Abdul-Alim (3 times). So, your
job is to call him in the morning, and invite him to accept Islam and,
give him his new name." My friend continued by saying, "Don't play
games with me! Tell me what happened!" I then related my experience
the night before with tears in my eyes. A few days later, I drove
non-stop from Houston, Texas to Washington, D.C to accept Islam in the
presence of my dear friend, Attorney Haroun G. Cook.

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1a] Dealing with a Child's Fear

1a]
- Not satisfying his need for success. It was narrated that 'Ali (may
Allaah be pleased with him) said: "I never heard the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saying 'May my
father andmother be sacrificed for you' to anyone, except Sa'd, to
whom I heard himsay, 'Shoot, may my fatherand mother be sacrificed for
you!' And I think that was on the day of Uhud." (Narrated by
al-Bukhaari, no. 6184; Muslim, no. 2411). This shows that parents
should encouragetheir children no matter what the level of quality of
their performance, so that they will motivated to do even better.
- Going to extremes in physical punishment and dealing harshly with
them. The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: "Whoeveris deprived of gentleness is deprived of all
goodness." (Narrated by Muslim, no. 2292).
- Difficult living conditionswhich lead the parents to vent their
anger on their children - such as a lack ofharmony between the
spouses, or the mother's work, or not being happy at work. The
Messenger ofAllaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"The strong man is not the onewho can wrestle another to the ground,
rather the strong man is the one who can control himself at times of
anger." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 6116).
Finally, we must point outthat this does not mean that the child
should never be afraid. Fear is necessary in some cases, because it is
essential to the child's survival. He must fear Allaah, and fear the
harm that people maydo, and fear committing sin, etc. That should be a
natural kind of fear, not too great or too small.
From Tanshiy'at al-Fataat al-Muslimah, p. 159, by Hanaan 'Atiyah
al-Toori al-Juhani.

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