‫اسالم عليكن‬

I was inspired to write this note earlier today when a friend of mine asked me for advice.

"I just can't stop listening to music, I want too; but it's too hard!"

This is something we've all probably said to ourselves, or listened to others as they mouthed those words to us. Whether

the issue at hand is music or something else, we have a hard time letting go of the things we hold dear to our hearts. There

is a burning fire inside some of us; it makes us want to let go, change, but we just can't. Being in this situation a few times,

I can say that it isn't easy. InshAllah, I'm going to try to present my thoughts as coherently as possible.

When Islam was first delivered to the Arabs of Arabia, it was an aberrant message. At that time, people use to practice a lot

of things that we today as Muslims consider harram. The people who listened to the message had a choice. They had the

choice to choose Islam or to go on living as they normally did. The people who wanted change, the people who wanted to

do the right thing; they abandoned the actions that they were told were wrong and struggled to change their lives for the

best. If you want to change something, you have to sincerely want to change. You can’t claim that you want change and

show no effort or signs of improvement, or progress toward your goal. No one will coerce you, the choice is all yours.

As many of us know; the companions of the Prophet used to drink tons of alcohol. Alcohol is one of those things where

people become inveterate – they drink it abundantly. Nowadays, they have rehab centers and specialists to help people

overcome their addictions and problems with alcohol; it’s that hard to stop drinking once it’s a part of your life. When the

companions were told that they aren’t allowed to drink alcohol and that it was forbidden, they instantly threw the alcohol

out. If they had it in their mouth, they spit it out. If they were bringing the glass to their lips, they threw the glass down.

Some even went as far as gagging themselves to induce vomiting so they can throw out the alcohol that they just drank.

What caused these people that loved alcohol so much to do such a thing? How did they instantly stop when they were

commanded to do so? How did they accomplish something instantly when it takes people today years of rehab to stop? Well

that’s the thing; it really wasn’t instant.

The first ayat revealed to the Prophet in the early days were ayat that talked about heaven and hell. They were ayat that

increased the iman of the believers, and struck fear into their hearts. They warned the believers about what the

consequences would be if they didn’t obey their creator. These ayat rooted a connection between Allah and the believers.

This connection was the one that allowed them to overcome their obstacles and hardships. When you work on getting

closer to Allah, the way things occur around you change; it becomes easier. Whatever you may love on this earth; that love

is nothing compared to the love that you have of Allah. Whatever you fear in this world; your fear of Allah is even greater.
When the companions heard that Allah told them to stop drinking, they stopped immediately because no matter how great

their love for alcohol was; their hearts were overflowing with love for Allah. This love for Allah overtook their love for alcohol

and it didn’t leave any room for alcohol in their hearts.

After all of these years on working on the iman of the companions, when their hearts were ready; Allah commanded them

to stop and they were able to do so because of their connection with Allah. It wasn’t instant. It was a very long process.

We need to strive to establish a true connection and relationship with Allah. We need to want to fill our hearts with love for

Allah; it will benefit us greatly, myself included. When we want to let go of something, when we want to change; it should

be out of our love for Allah that we abandon these things. If we aren’t able to do it for the sake of Allah, at least we should

fear Allah and his punishments - our fear will overcome our love for these things. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter

whether we want to stop listening to Music, or if we want to start reading more Quran; our connection with Allah will

empower us to attain any goals we strive to achieve.

We should never forget to ask for Allah’s help, after all; He is the turner of hearts.

Shahr Bin Hawshab said: I asked Umm Salamah Radhiallaahu Anhaa what was the du’aa that Rasoolullaah Sallallaahu Alayhi

Wa Sallam used to make the most when he (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) was by her.

She said: The du’aa he (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) used to make the most was: Yaa Muqallibal Quloob Thabbit Qalbee

‘alaa Deenik…..

(At-Tirmidhi)

َ ِ‫ت َق ْلبِى َعلَى دِين‬

‫ك‬ ْ ّ ِ‫ّة ا ْل ُقلُوبِ ثَب‬
َ ِ‫يَا ُه َقل‬
Yaa Muqallibal Quloob Thabbit Qalbee ‘alaa Deenik.

Oh turner of hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion.