Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim
When we are planning on travelling somewhere, we make lengthy preparations in order to ensure our safety, security and a hassle-free journey. Some of the things we take care of are:
- Packing stuff which we will need, while making sure our baggage is as light as possible for ease of carrying it around. We refrain from packing unnecessary things which are not really essential for our journey.
- Making travel preparations: buying tickets, getting visa etc. in order to ensure easy travel.
- Booking hotel or wherever we intend to stay in advance.
- Being prepared and ready to go before the due time in order to avoid last minute hassle and possibility of missing our flight or train.
In fact, all this preparation is the signature of a Muslim. A Muslim always does his/her best in making preparations, and then leaves the end result to Allah.
Salman al Farisi was a Companion of the Prophet. He was especially beloved to the Prophet. Once the Prophet said that Salman belongs to his household, what an honour for a believer! Now imagine Salman al Farisi on sick and weeping.
Salman felt sick and Sa’d came to visit him, and when he saw him he wept. Sa’d said to him: ‘Why are you weeping, my brother? Are you not a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)? Are you not? Are you not?’ Salman said: ‘I am only weeping for one reason: I am not weeping because of longing for this world or for dislike of the Hereafter. But the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gave me some advice and I think that I have transgressed.’ He said: ‘What was his advice to you?’ He said: ‘He advised me that something like the provision of a rider is sufficient for anyone of you, and I think that I have transgressed that. As for you, O Sa’d, fear Allah when you pass a verdict, and when you distribute (spoils of war), and when you decide to do anything. [ibn Majah]
His companion, the person he was talking to, look around Salman’s room to see what these ‘many things’ were. These ‘many things’ were two things: a water pot and an eating vessel.
Another famous person, Abdullah ibn Umar, a renowned scholar from amongst the Companions, narrated the following from the Prophet. He said,
Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) took hold of my shoulder and said, ‘Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveler. [Sahih al Bukhari]
Abdullah ibn Umar memorized this hadith, and the manifestation of this piece of advice from the Prophet can be easy observed by the way he lead the rest of his life. He used to say, ‘If you survive till the evening, do not expect to be alive in the morning, and if you survive till the morning, do not expect to be alive in the evening, and take from your health for your sickness, and (take) from your life for your death.’
Preparing for the ultimate Journey: Packing List
A man asked the Prophet when the Day of Judgment was. He answered, ‘What have you prepared for it?’ Take a minute to think about this. This is the most important question we’ll ever ask ourselves: What have you prepared for it?
We keep our burden as light as possible when going for hiking. How about the grand hiking of life? Use as little of the world’s resources as possible, because we’ll have to answer for every drop of water we ever dropped, every bit of food we ever threw away, every single thorn’s prick of hurt we gave to another human being or animal. Make your burden easy to carry, because from the moment you die till the end of Judgment, you’ll have to carry it on your back.
Be prepared, so that when the angel of death comes to take you to the other side of the barrier of Barzakh, you are already waiting for him ready to start your journey.
The Messenger of Allah said,
Whoever is focused only on this world, Allah will confound his affairs and make him fear poverty constantly, and he will not get anything of this world except that which has been decreed for him. Whoever is focused on the Hereafter, Allah will settle his affairs for him and make him feel content with his lost, and his provision and worldly gains will undoubtedly come to him. [ibn Majah]
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- Have your child start performing the most important daily recitations (in their salah and others) with understanding
- Help them lay a strong foundation for their Relationship with Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala for the rest of their lives insha’Allah!
Tabassum Mosleh
