On Saturday, June 21, 2008 We started 4th juzz in our Taleem al Quran class. The juzz begins with the following verses,
“You can never attain righteousness unless you spend in the cause of Allah that which you dearly love; and whatever you spend, surely, it is known to Allah” [3:92]
This ayah spoke volumes to me:
1. This ayah infers sacrifice, giving, about being charitable. After all, Allah has always been generous to us. Our every breath, our heartbeats, motivation to do good, words, actions, & everything else that we have, we received them through Him. Regardless to our unworthiness, His generosity never ceased to assist us. He never turned His goodness away from us. He has provided for all our needs and He responds positively to our supplications. In gratitute of Allah’s favours, we are to do the same to others. I learned not only to be kind & generous to my family and friends, I ought to be humble towards all people. Be patient to those who’s constantly testing me or do not live up to my expectations. Use my intelligence in an unselfish manner when dealing with people, hopefully treating with some of the generosity, love & considerations which He has shown me.
2. If what we call love doesn’t take us beyond ourselves, it is not really love. If we have the idea that love is characterized as cautious, wise, sensible, shred, and never taken to extremes, we have missed the true meaning. This may describe affection and it may bring us a warm feeling, but it is not a true and accurate description of love. Love for Allah costs our life. It demands us to totally surrender all that we are and all that we have to Him. The world believes in a form of love that expects nothing [no sincerity, sacrifice, solace] from them. Even in our duaas we mostly supplicate for our material benefit. Our greatest struggle and concern in life is to hold on to and increase whatever material goods we posses. This ayah forced me to think if I truly, deeply love Allah? Does my life look like that it has been entirely consumed by the love of Allah? Does it mirror the examples of Abu Talha, Zaid and Ibn Umar radi Allahu anhum who presented the best and dearest of their possessions to Allah as a token of their love?
3. More than anything, this ayah has intensified my love for the Quran. Whoever wants to recognize Allah, reside with His remembrance, and attain the heights of piety, let him read the Quran. Its a window to the afterlife, a dialogue between man and his Creator and food for the soul. Verily, each verse is like a date: the more I chew it, the more of its sweetness is released. Uthman radi Allahu said, “If our hearts were truly pure, we would never get enough of the Words of Rabb…”. I ask you O Allah to make us of those who love Your words and contemplate them -Aameen.
