Changing your life

By: Abdul Fattah Abu Mahmoud

Audience: Youth, 10-18 years old

We praise Allah for the many blessings He has bestowed on us. We thank Allah for the gift
of existence, for the gift of our senses, for the air we breathe; for the intellect he has
honoured us with over other creations.
We thank Allah for providing us with a place of worship in this town and this country.
We should thank Allah for the countless opportunities to do good deeds and gain His
pleasure.
Allah tells us in the Quran:

‫صوَه ٓ‌ۗا‬
ُ ‫ل ُت ۡح‬
َ ‫ل‬ َ ‫َوِإن َتُعّدوْا ِن ۡعَم‬
ِّ ‫ت ٱ‬

“…and if you count the Blessings of Allah, you will never be able to enumerate (count)
them.” (Ibrahim: Verse 34)

We bare witness that there is no one worthy of worship except Allah and we bare witness
that Mohammad (SAW) is His last prophet and messenger, who was sent as a mercy and a
guide and a light to mankind

Brothers …
At different times in our lives we find ourselves looking for, or in need of change.
Sometimes we hear the same from our parents and our teachers.

But to be able to change our condition effectively we must understand:

- What: Is there a problem? What is the problem?
- Why: we must understand why change is required.
- How: we must then have an effective strategy and a plan to get us on our way to a
better condition

Problem
When we talk about the problem, we are taught by our prophet not to be pessimistic – not to
look at issues with despair and hopelessness – because that comes from Shaitan; rather, we
must look any problem with optimism, realising that we are human being that fall into error
and we must understand that Allah is merciful would forgive our sins.
In a hadith, narrated by Anas, who said: I heard the messenger of Allah say:
Allah the Almighty has said (hadith Qudsi): “O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me
and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of
Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of
Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great
as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you
forgiveness nearly as great as its.”

Allah (SWT) is not expecting us to be perfect, but rather, He is expecting us to purify our
soul and work towards righteousness.
Purification of the soul and purification of the heart is Islam’s primary objective for the
Muslim individual, and with that we can achieve purification of the family and purification
of society.

We must realise that this life is going to be full of challenges and hurdles, but the ones who
can adhere to the law of Allah will be on the correct path.

Now… If we look at our lives today – how do we live our lives?

Do our actions adhere to the commandments of Allah and the teachings of His prophet?

If you and I look at what we do day-to-day, and take stock of our action, how much value are
we gaining from what we do?
Which of our actions have temporary effects and which ones make a long-lasting difference
in our lives and the lives of people we know?

For example, how much of your day do you dedicate to watching TV, listening to music,
playing video games and in chatting on the Internet?, compared to the time you invest in
reading and learning the Quran and Hadith, reading and learning about the life of the prophet
and the early Muslims – the real stars, and the real heroes.

Here’s another problem: how much influence does fashion, pop-culture and peer-pressure
have on you?
Do you find yourself giving in to peer-pressure and doing things that you would not usually
do otherwise?

ِ َ‫دون َ ُہ ۡم ع‬
‫ن‬ ُ َ ‫ ُ(ہ ۡمل َي‬٣٦
ّ ‫ص‬ ٌ ۬
ّ ‫ن )وَإ ِن‬ ‫ري‬ ُ َ‫ش ۡيط َ ٰـ ً۬نا فَهُوَ لۥ‬
ِ َ‫هق‬ ُ َ ‫ۡض ۥل‬
َ ‫ه‬
َ ‫وي ۡحسبو‬
ّ ‫قي‬
َ ُ‫ن ن‬ِ ‫م ٰـ‬
َ ‫عن ذِ ۡكرِ ٱلّر ۡح‬ ُ ‫من ي َ ۡع‬
َ ‫ش‬ َ َ‫و‬
٣٧) ‫ن‬
َ ‫دو‬ ُ َ ‫م ۡهت‬ّ ‫ن أ ن ّ ُ ہم‬ َ ُ َ ََ ‫ل‬
ِ ‫سِبي‬ ّ ) ‫ٱل‬
“And he who turns away from the remembrance of the Beneficent (Allah), We appoint him a
devil who be his comrade; (36) And they surely turn them from the way of Allah, and yet
they deem that they are rightly guided; (37)” (Az-Zukhruf: 36-37)

In this verse Allah tell us that if we choose to turn away from remembering Allah, then
Shaitaan (the devil) will turn us away from the path of Allah and confuse us about what’s
right and what’s wrong – in other words, will make right and wrong blurry so it becomes
easier to fall in sin.

Solution
You have to understand that you are not alone. There are many people who find themselves
in similar situations – young and old, just like you and me.

The best example to learn from, and the best strategy to adopt, is that of our prophet
Mohammad (SAW). He has transformed the Sahaba from the darkness of disbelief to the
light of Islam. And his teaching and way of life is transforming many people’s lives till this
day.

Now, Allah has already prescribed to us the cure to may of our problems and ailment. He has
given us the key to gain immunity against the devil’s evil work and deception, against the
miserable addiction to sin and haraam. And the answer is again in the Quran - How do we
know this?, well Allah tells us:

َ ‫ن ي َد َ ۡيهِ وََأنَز‬
‫ل‬ َ ‫ما ب َ ۡي‬
َ ّ ‫صد ّ ً۬قا ل‬
َ ‫م‬ َ ‫ب ب ِٱ ۡل‬
ُ ّ ‫حق‬ َ ‫ك ٱ ۡلك ِت َ ٰـ‬ َ ‫(عَل َ ۡي‬٢ َ )‫م َّز‬
‫ل‬ َ ‫ى ٱ ۡل‬
‫قّيو ُن‬ َ ‫ه إ ِّل هُوَ ٱ ۡل‬
ّ ‫ح‬ َ ‫ه َل ٓ إ ِل َ ٰـ‬
ُ ّ ‫ٱلل‬
٣) ‫ل‬ َ ‫جي‬ِ ‫ة وَٱ ۡلِإن‬ َ ‫ٱ)لت ّ ۡو َ ٰرٮ‬

“Allah! There is no god but He, the Ever-Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that
exists. (2) It is He Who has sent down the Book (the Quran) to you (Muhammad SAW) with
truth, confirming what came before it. And he sent down the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel
(Gospel) (3)” (Al-Emran: 2-3)

Those who read the Quran and honestly seek its guidance would know that it is a living
reality.
They realise that Allah is speaking to them.
Its beauty and eloquence appeals to their hearts as its logic and reasoning appeals to their
minds.
For the lucky ones whom Allah has blessed to choose to read and study the Quran, you will
find that their eyes overflow with tears of happiness and humility and their bodies shiver to
the realisation of Allah’s might and power.

The Quran’s verses are relevant to our lives, concerns and experiences, and only by returning
to the Quran and its teaching would our lives transform, both as individuals and as a
community.

When faith (Emaan) starts to enter your hear and wash away the sins, you will feel full of
life and energy. Your life will have meaning and purpose. Just like the early Muslims, you
will find that it will take you from the depth and darkness of ignorance and lead you to the
light of truth.

Allah tells us:

)‫ن‬ ِ ‫م ۡؤ‬
َ ‫مِني‬ ُ ‫ة ل ّ ۡل‬
ٌ ۬ ‫م‬
َ ‫ۡح‬ ‫دى وََر‬ ً ۬ ُ‫دورِ وَه‬ ُ ‫ص‬ ّ ‫ما ِفى ٱل‬ َ ّ ‫فا ٓ ٌ۬ء ل‬َ ‫ش‬ ِ َ‫من ّرب ّ ُڪ ۡم و‬ ّ ‫ة‬ ٌ ۬ َ ‫عظ‬ ِ ‫م ۡو‬ّ ‫كم‬ ُ ‫جا َٓء ۡت‬َ ‫س قَ ۡد‬
ُ
٥٨) ‫ن‬ َ ‫مُعو‬ َ ‫ۡج‬ ‫ما َي‬ ‫م‬
ّ ّ ٌ‫ر‬ ۬ ‫ي‬ ۡ ‫خ‬
َ َ ‫و‬ُ ‫ه‬ ْ ‫ا‬ ‫حو‬ ‫ر‬‫ف‬
ُ َ َۡ ‫ي‬ ‫ل‬ۡ َ ‫ف‬ َ
‫ك‬ ِ ‫ل‬ ‫ٲ‬َ ‫ذ‬ِ ‫ب‬َ ‫ف‬ ِ ‫ه‬‫ۦ‬ ِ ‫ت‬‫م‬َ ‫ح‬ ۡ ‫ر‬‫ب‬
ََِ ‫و‬ ِ ‫ه‬ ّ ‫ل‬‫ل‬ ‫ٱ‬ ‫ل‬
ِ ‫ض‬
( ۡ
٥٧ )َ ‫ف‬ِ ‫ب‬ ‫ل‬ ۡ ُ ‫ق‬

“O mankind! There has come to you a good advice from your Lord (i.e. the Qur'an, enjoining
all that is good and forbidding all that is evil), and a healing for that (disease of ignorance,
doubt, hypocrisy and differences,) – it’s a guidance and a mercy for the believers. (57) Say:
"In the Bounty of Allah, and in His Mercy let them rejoice." That is better than the wealth
they accumulate (58)” (Yunus: 57-58)

If we continue to ignore the Quran – Allah’s teachings and commands – and occupy our
lives with distractions of sinful amusement, then we have very little defence against Shaitaan
and there for we have no one else to blame but ourselves.

Dua...