Those who seek the worldly life are indeed poor, because they depart from it without tasting the best thing in it. Had the kings and their sons been acquainted with the happiness we enjoy, they would have fought us with swords to get it. Sometimes one experiences pleasant moments when they say, “If the people of Paradise enjoy what we feel, they indeed live a good life.” The true life is the life of the Hereafter. Allah The Almighty Says (what means):
{Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured.} [Qur’an 13: 28]
{And whoever turns away from My remembrance - indeed, he will have a depressed life, and We will gather him on the Day of Resurrection blind.} [Qur’an 20: 124]
{Say, “In the bounty of Allah and in His mercy - in that let them rejoice; it is better than what they accumulate.”} [Qur’an 10: 58]
While one tries to motivate people to use their time in Ramadan in a beneficial and view it in a different way so they can achieve the purpose for which it has been prescribed, many questions arise, such as: does the truth need all these proofs? Is it not clear to a wise person? Does a wise person need someone to tell him how wonderful obedience is? How beautiful it is when you are with Allah The Almighty, and how sweet the remembrance of Allah is? How happy are the obedient! The material life weighs heavily on people’s minds to the extent that depression has become a widespread problem. The world has proven to its seekers that it is worthless and gives them only worry, anxiety and sadness -- does a wise man still need to be told, ‘You have no other resort but your Lord; you have no hope but in obeying Allah; you have no way out except from Him?’
Those who show great perseverance and determination when it comes to following their interests such as football, singing, fashion trends, seeking a livelihood and securing a good future for their children -- what do they get for their efforts and what do they reap?
If people had tasted the sweetness of prayer, they would have said, as the people of the early generations said, “Never did the time of prayer come but I was longing for it.” Or perhaps they would have said: “O Bilaal, relieve us with it (prayer).” and understood the statement of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam: “The delight of my eye has been made in prayer.” One would have said, “I crave for prayer until I become completely tired and exhausted.”
Had we tasted the sweetness of thirst for the sake of Allah The Almighty, the sweetness of giving the most precious things we have for the sake of Allah The Almighty, we would have been different people – if only if we had tasted it.
Let us then make our aim in Ramadan to taste the sweetness of prayer, fasting, performing the night voluntary prayer, reciting the Qur’an, feeling the closeness of Allah The Almighty during the pre-dawn hours, abandoning backbiting, lowering our gaze, suppressing our anger, remaining silent for longer periods and committing ourselves to remembering Allah The Almighty.
Let us attempt to taste the sweetest thing in this world this Ramadan. The seekers of the worldly life are indeed poor, because they depart from it without tasting of the best of what it has. Imagine a man who died when he was 70 years old. He tasted all the sweetness of the worldly life: position, wealth, offspring, fame, a wife, and so on, yet he left this worldly life without once enjoying the sweetness of worship in prayer, without even understanding why he should be praying. He left the worldly life without enjoying the sweetness of weeping out of fear of Allah The Almighty.
Let us strive to turn the hardship of religious obligations during Ramadan into pleasure, and the hardship of obedience into enjoyment. Let us change the desire to enjoy Ramadan into an overwhelming desire.
Let us live the days of Ramadan as if we are living 30 days in Paradise. Indeed, there is a paradise in the worldly life, and whoever does not enter it will not enter the Paradise of the Hereafter.
Article source: http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/
Zakat Fund provides QR17mn aid in May
The Zakat Fund under the Ministry of Endowment (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs continues to provide monthly and urgent aid to thousands of eligible families in Qatar. In its monthly report, the Zakat Fund pointed out that the aid to various social groups during May amounted to QR17,123,674. The aid was disbursed in accordance with the fund’s policy, which takes into account the applicable requirements governing the Zakat Fund and that beneficiaries should be among those stipulated in the Holy Qur’an, the report said. Zakat Fund stressed its commitment to conducting field research to evaluate the real need for help seekers and meet all of the documents proving the existence of needy cases.
