Man Deludes Himself By Thinking that He is Immortal on Earth

Abu Hurairah (ra) reported that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said "Remember frequently the things that cuts off pleasure i.e. death."

[Tirmidhi]

Explanation : Death is the end for all of us : the oppressor and the oppressed , the mighty and the feeble, the rich and the poor. Your death is no novelthy. Nations before have gone and nations after will persish.

Ibn Batoota related that in the north, there is a graveyard with one thousand kings buried in it. At the entrance of this graveyard is a sign board that reads:
"The Kings : ask the dirt about them ,
And about the great leaders;
They are all bones now."

A cause for wonder is the forgetfulness of man and how he remains heedless of death, the menace of which hangs over him day and night. Man deludes himself by thinking he is immortal on this Earth. Allah (Swt) warns mankind in several places in the Glorious Qur'an , some of them are as follows :"O Mankind ! Fear your Lord and be dutiful to Him. Verily, the earthquake of the Hour (of Judgement) is a terrible thing " [Qur'an 22:1]
"Draws near for mankind their reckoning, while they turn away in heedlessness" [Qur'an 21:1]

Prophet Muhammad (saws) said ,"When a human being is laid in his grave and his companions return and he even hears their footsteps, two angels come to him and make him sit and ask him :'What did you use to say about this man , Muhammad?' . He will say 'I testify that he is Allah's slave and His Apostle.' " Then it will be said to him , 'Look at your place in the Hell-Fire. Allah has given you a place in Paradise instead of it.' Prophet Muhmmad (saws) added, "The dead person will see both his places. But a non-believer or a hypocrite will say to the angels 'I do not know , but I used to say what the people used to say.' It will be said to him, 'Neither did you know nor did you take the guidance (by reciting the Qur'an).' Then he will be hit with an iron hammer between his two ears & he will cry & that cry will be heard by whatever approaches him except human beings & jinns."

[Sahih Bukhari]

A Leader Must Possess Higher and Nobler Character Than His Followers

Allah's Messenger (saws) said :" A slave achieves, by means of the goodness of his character , great position and high honour in the Hereafter , though he may be weak in matters of worship ; but on account of wickedness of character he is thrown in the lowest recesses of Hell."

[Tabrani]

Explanation : Mere teachings and commands of Do's and Don'ts do not form the foundation of good moral character in a society, because only these things are not sufficient for developing these good qualities in the human nature, a teacher may merely order to do such and such things and not to do such and such things, and the society becomes a moralist society. The teaching of good conduct which is fruitful requires long training and constant watchfulness.

The training cannot be on the right lines if the example before the society is not such that commands full confidence, because a person having a bad moral character cannot leave a good impression on his surroundings.

The best training can be expected only from a man whose personality, by the force of its morality, would create a scene of admiration in the beholders. They would sing praises of his nobility and feel the irresistible urge to benefit from the example of his life. For nourishing and developing more and more excellent & good character among his followers it is necessary that the leader must possess higher and nobler character and attributes than his followers.

Islam has given Special Merits to Bringing Up Girls

According to Hadhrat Abdulla ibn Mas'ood (ra) the Beloved Prophet (saws) is reported to have said, "If a daughter is born to a person and he brings her up , gives her a good education and trains her in the arts of life, I shall myself stand between him and hell-fire."

[Kanz al-Ummal]

Explanation : The encouragement to seek children covers both sons and daughters, and along with this general encouragement, Islam has given special merits to bringing up girls - contrary to the thinking of the people of ignorance (age of 'Jaahiliyyah') of the past and present, since the people of ignorance - wherever and whenver found - hated (some of them 'still do') daughters and were grieved and angered by their births !

But the Messenger of Islam, Muhammad (saws) came elevating the status of this gift given by Allah (Swt) , welcoming the daughters , and raising high the importance of their upbringing with words to delight the hearts of the believing fathers and bring joy to their souls. Therefore, it is upon parents who have intellect to accept whatever Allah's (Swt) gift is with full joy and happiness, whether the gift is male or a female. Since its being male or female is only due to Allah's (Swt) order alone- He, the One free from all imperfections, and Most High says " To Allah belongs the Kingdom of the Heavens and the Earth. He bestows female (offspring) upon whom he wills, and bestwos male (offspring) upon whom He wills. Or He bestows both males and females, and He renders barren who He wills. Verily He is the All-Knower and is Able to do all things." [Surah Ash-Shura 42:49-50]

And , finally a stern warning of the 'Day of Judgement' is given to all those people who went (still go)to the extremes of killing their (nfant) daughters (or these days knowinngly go for an abortion after finding out the gender of the fetus) out of fear of poverty or shying away from the responsibility , superstitions or ignorant customs etc.

Along with the Messenger's (saws) honoring the daughters with his words, we find that he also gave us a living example in his own actions and behaviour - for example , "One day he (saw) led his Companions in prayer whilst carrying Umaamah bint Zaynab (ra) when he made rukoo' he would put her down , then when he stood , he would pick her up." [Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

Parents Need to Encourage Their Children to Attend School

Hadhrat Sa'id ibn Al-'As (ra) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said, "The best gift from a father to his children is education and upbringing."

[Tirmidhi]

Explanation : Is there anything better you can give to your child rather than education and a good Islamic upbringing ? Not at all. A father can give his child toys, wealth, etc and still that child will have a terrible future ahead of him without an education and an Islamic upbringing together. One also needs to raise their child on the basis of education. One needs to educate their child with the Qur'an , Hadith and the implementation of the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (saws). As well as that , one needs to encourage their children to attend school and aim for a higher education for the future.

Many Muslims believe that education is not important. It is extremely important , for the greatest scientists of the past were Muslims. Muslims invented many things such as algebra, scopes of astronomy etc. If parents feel pity towards the child and allow him to do anything thinking that this is true love, then this wil backfire on the parents when the child faces the reality of death. On the Day of Judgement, the child will ask Allah to curse his parents who raised him in sin & allowed him to do whatever he wanted and will beg Allah to send them to the fire.The child, mother and father will all be fuel for the fire.

We Should Look at Those People Who Have Less Than What We Have

Rasul Allah (saws) said "When one of you looks at one who stands at a higher level than you in regard to welath and physical structure, he should also see one who stands at a lower level than you in regard to these things. "

[Muslim]

Explanation : Comparing ourselves to people whom Allah (swt) has given better and more things than what we have been given , is a common cause for showing ingratitude to Allah. We then automatically discard the blessings Allah (swt) has bestowed on us and can think of only what we are lacking and what someone else has. There will always be something more that we could have.

However, Allah (swt) is the Originator of all Good/Khair. Nothing comes from Him that is not good. Therefore, we should not have that attitude that when we see ourselves having the blessings of this world we say "Rabbi akraman" (Allah has blessed /honored me) and when we face anything lacking in our lives, we say "Rabbi ahanan" (Allah has humiliated me). A believer always says "Rabbi Akraman" only , since in his or her every affair, Allah is honoring them.

Human beings are greedy and ungrateful by nature. Rasul Allah (saws) told us that even if we were given two valleys full of gold, we would wish for a third and there would be no end to our greed till we died. Therefore, the advice of Rasul Allah (saws) makes perfect sense that whenever we get to see people who have more or better than what we have , we should immediately look at those people too have less or worse that what he have. Only then will we be able to remain thankful to Allah (swt).

The Person Who Desires the Praise of People must Feel Some Pride in Him

Mahmood ibn Labeed (ra) reported that Allah's Messenger (saws) said , "Th thing that I fear most for you is the minor Shirk : Riyaa."

[Musnad Ahmad]

Explanation : Linguistically Riyaa comes from the root "ra'aa" which means to see, to behold, to view. The derived word 'Riyaa' means "eye service, hypocrisy, dissimulation, and dissemblance." From the Sharai point of view, "to perform acts which are pleasing to Allah, with the intention of pleasing other than Allah." Thus Riyaa originates in the heart. The primary cause of Riyaa is weakness in Emaan. When a person does not have strong faith in Allah, he will prefer the admiration of people over the pleasure of Allah.

The person who desires the praise of people must feel some pride in him, for he feels himself worthy of being praised.There is a danger, therefore, of him becoming arrogant and boastful.

If a person covets what other people possess , whether it is rank, money or power, then he will wish them to envy him similarly. For ezample, if he is jealous of a position of a certian person in society, he will try by every possible means to attain the same position. Such desires lead people to spend their lives putting on a show for people so that they will admire their rank, money or power.

Some scholars advised : "Do not differentiate in your worship between the presence of people and their absence , or between their knowledge of your actions and their ignorance. Rather be conscious of the infinite knowledge of Allah alone."

Abu Moosa al-Ash'ari (ra) reported that Allah's Messenger (saws) delivered a sermon to them one day and said "O People ! Fear this Shirk (meaning Riyaa), for it is more inconspicuous than the crawling of an ant." [Authenticated in Sahih al Targheeb wat-Tarheeb]

In another hadith Abu Sa'eed (ra) reported that the Messenger of Allah (saws) came to us while we were talking about Dajjaal and said , "Should I not inform you of that which I fear for you more than the dangers of Dajjaal ? It is the hidden Shirk; a person stands to pray and he beautifies his prayer because he sees the people looking at him." [Ibn Majah]

The Disease of Pride and Arrogance Deletes All Traces of Goodness and Piety

Abdullah ibn Mas'ood (ra) said that the Prophet (saws) said, "No one will enter Paradise who has an atom's weight of pride in his heart."

[Muslim]

Explanation : The disease of pride and arrogance deletes all traces of goodness and piety. This is the worst vice in causing havoc to Deen and a regrettable disease to have for the followers of this perfect and exalted religion. It launches a direct attack on beliefs and principles. If ignored and overlooked for sometime it becomes fatal and incurable , and gives rise to other spiritual maladies and vices.

In other words, pride and grandeur are two exclusive attributes of Allah, which none is allowed to apply and ascribe towards himself.

It is imperative to refrain from such a dangerous and deadly calamity, which leads to loss of knowledge of Allah, inability to understand the commands of Allah, His displeasure, disgrace in the world and the Hereafter and painful torment therein. No wise person can be neglectful in the matter of such a harmful and destructive calamity.

We should, therefore, try to save ourselves from this and seek refuge from Allah. How many of us are there than can honestly say, without deceiving ourselves that we are free from this hated ailment ? Not many, is the answer. It is imperative that we take heed from the abovementioned hadith and bear in mind the punishment promised by Allah to those with pride in their hearts.