By Abdullahi Jamaa
In his early life, before he repented and became an honourable worshipper Fudayl ibn Iyad was a highway robber, prowling at night for victims on the road and becoming infamous for evil transgressions.
Amidst this life of sinful inducements, Fudayl was in love with a young girl. One night, out of sheer temptations to be with her, he climbed the wall of her home. As he was climbing over it, he heard a voice reciting the magnificent Qur’an:
“Has not the time arrived for the believers that their hearts in all humility should engage in the remembrance of Allah and of the truth which has been revealed…………” (Quran 57:16)
This verse melted the heart of Fudayl. He said: “O my Lord, the time has indeed come”. Fudayl immediately returned, seeking sincere repentance and forgiveness.
Later on in life, Fudayl became famous for his piety, trust and integrity. He made a complete turn from being a thief to an ardent worshipper of Allah, then to a great scholar of Hadith, calling people towards the religion.
In his book Jami’ al-Uloom wal-Hikam (A Collection of Knowledge and Wisdom) Ibn Rajab quotes Fudayl ibn Iyad to have said:
‘What Allah wants from you is only your intention and will”
This is how a sincere repentance can bring total emancipation and transformation of one’s life. Humility and remembrances of Allah are the ultimate requirement for victory and prosperity in both worlds.
The lesson from this story is that we must change for our own benefits; if not we will forever lead a life of regret. If we continue to be hard-hearted, arrogant, proud and ignorant we will miss the truth and purity of life.
As believers we are required to constantly blow away the cobwebs of life. Time and again we need to start with a clean slate. Success and victory will be in our bag as long as we put a lot of focus in understanding the purpose of life.
This involves that we address the choices we have made in the past so that we can positively change the choices we will make in the future. We can say it is about planning meticulously to win the cup of heaven at the same time leading a goodly life here on earth.
We may not be where we want to be in life but we must never believe that change is impossible. We must be on the crest of the wave all through the ocean of life. Nothing will ever go wrong as long as we nurture a brimming hope and a strong faith.
Allah (The Most High) said in the Qur’an:
“………….Verily never will Allah change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)” (Quran 13; 11)
Make a choice
The world of today is full of consternations that comes in the form of trials and test. The tenacity of our testimony all depends on how we take both the bane and boon of life. Health, wealth, family, offspring, knowledge, tragedies, sanctifications and damnations are all tests draped in different forms and shapes.
We have a choice between forgetting ourselves in the miasma of this worldly intrigues with a lot of crumps in our hearts and minds or braving the ensuing subjugation with a formidable faith and contentment.
Dealing with all the conflicting spheres of modern life requires one to be on the checkout for change and transformation. It is not an honour to just sit and twiddle our fingers with little actions while we wade behind the laxity of life.
We can easily forget ourselves in pursing fame and name for the rest of our life only to find at the end of it all that it is a hollow matter that never ends with happiness and satisfaction but rather with endless avarice and melancholy.
At the age of 60 years a man was asked ‘what is the most regretful thing in your life?’ He simply said “ I am smoking until today. It is all my fault because I did not take action the right time. It is really hard to change now”
At the age of 25 years a young man was asked: what is the most significant change you would like to make in future. He said “I was praying on time since I was 10, I would like to achieve a new feat which is praying Tahajud every single night. If I don’t start now I will not achieve it when I am old and weak?”
The consequence of not taking actions on time is costly both in this world and in the hereafter. Our inability to pick up ourselves whenever we fall means that we will keep on falling and falling until we hit a dead end-while the dooms day of death awaits.
Imam ibn Al-Jawzi said: “It is possible that an old man is humiliated, despite his old age, to the level that people feel sorry for him while he does not realise that what he suffers at old age is because of his negligence to Allah’s rights when he was at a youthful age.”
In her book, The True Secret, Dr. Amira Ayad wrote that once a fifty-year-old woman advised her friend to pursue a college degree in teaching, since her friend loved working with young children.
“Do you know what age I will be when I get my degree?” her friend exclaimed.
“Exactly the same age you would be if you didn’t get it,” the old lady replied.
Change now
The right time to change is always now. This change means improvement at both spiritual, mental, physical and emotional facets of our life. If we achieve stability in of all these important aspects, we will certainly gain more in both worlds.
It is time to change because we can never achieve success without exerting a wholesome new synergy for self-development and improvement. Our Spiritual, mental, physical and emotional strength requires constant improvements.
Success is not all about achieving materials things in life. It is not about owning a palatial home, earning a college degree, driving the latest car and having a fabulous family; because one day all these worldly gains will not benefit us.
Success is having our world on our palms and holding our hereafter in our hearts. Success is learning the art of balancing achievements without falling off the grid of life. True success is leading a life of righteousness and humility- worshipping Allah with a lot of dedication.
While we struggle to earn livelihood we must not forget about our provision for the hereafter. When we sit at our work stations we must remember about our purpose in life, the untimely death and the sod that will be our transient abode.
Formidable change therefore means improving our relationship with our Lord, increasing our worship commitments and seeking excellence in all our deeds. Our level of success will be defined by our close connection with Allah.
Fudayl ibn Iyad used to say: “If I disobey Allah, I reckon its effect in the behaviour of my wife and the camel I ride”
Practical tips to achieve a desired change is not hard. It only involves a sincere intention and a little action. For the believer having a resolute sincere intention is better than performing a load of endless deeds.
It is important that we clean our hearts and minds for a change and start doing the itsy-bitsy of Ibadah. We can start with little things that we can consistently perform with diligence even if they take as little as five minutes of our time.
Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: “Take on only as much as you can do of good deeds, for the best of deeds is that which is done consistently, even if it is little.”
Think about that little deed that you can confidently and consistently do every day without feeling a lot of pressure. A deed that takes you closer to Allah. It can be as simple as reading a page of Quran every single day, or waking up 4.00am to pray two units of prayer and plan for your day
It is that simple………..
References
English translation: Abdullah Yusuf Ali. (1934). The Meanings of the Holy Quran. New Delhi :Kutub Khana Ishayat-ul-Islam.,
Jami’ al-Uloom wal-Hikam (A Collection of Knowledge and Wisdom) Ibn Rajab, p13.
Tambeehul Ghaafileen (Admonition for the neglectful) Abu Laith, p141
Saydil Khatir (Captured Thoughts) Imam Ibn Al-Jawzi p84 & p89
Sunan Ibn Majah (English reference : Vol. 5, Book 37, Hadith 4240)
Ayad, A. (2011). The True Secret. International Islamic Publishing House (IIPH)
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Abdullahi Jamaa is a Muslim Writer with more than 12 years experience in exclusive Islamic writing.
