Speaking Thigh

About a decade ago, I was blustering through a lot of new experiences. Blundering my way through, praying for help, making more mistakes, praying over and over again, … 

Once I was about to agree to something very wrong, and a sound came from, or somewhere around, my left thigh:’Game Over’. By the Grace of Allah, I was saved from agreeing to that.

At that time, I wasn’t aware of the end time hadiths of our dear Prophet Muhammad ﷺ which foretell about thighs speaking. So, when I came across this hadith, I knew that it is literally true that the thighs can, and will, speak by the permission of Allah. 

I write this to testify to the truthfulness of that hadith. 

Reference: Jami at-Tirmidi 2181 

In all earnestness

 Holy Quran 17:67

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وَإِذَا مَسَّكُمُ الضُّرُّ فِي الْبَحْرِ ضَلَّ مَن تَدْعُونَ إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ ۖ فَلَمَّا نَجَّاكُمْ إِلَى الْبَرِّ أَعْرَضْتُمْ ۚ وَكَانَ الْإِنسَانُ كَفُورًا

And when adversity touches you at sea, lost are [all] those you invoke except for Him. But when He delivers you to the land, you turn away [from Him]. And ever is man ungrateful.

Holy Quran 17:68

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أَفَأَمِنتُمْ أَن يَخْسِفَ بِكُمْ جَانِبَ الْبَرِّ أَوْ يُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ حَاصِبًا ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُوا لَكُمْ وَكِيلًا

Then do you feel secure that [instead] He will not cause a part of the land to swallow you or send against you a storm of stones? Then you would not find for yourselves an advocate.

Holy Quran 17:69

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أَمْ أَمِنتُمْ أَن يُعِيدَكُمْ فِيهِ تَارَةً أُخْرَىٰ فَيُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ قَاصِفًا مِّنَ الرِّيحِ فَيُغْرِقَكُم بِمَا كَفَرْتُمْ ۙ ثُمَّ لَا تَجِدُوا لَكُمْ عَلَيْنَا بِهِ تَبِيعًا

Or do you feel secure that He will not send you back into the sea another time and send upon you a hurricane of wind and drown you for what you denied? Then you would not find for yourselves against Us an avenger.

Holy Quran 17:70

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۞ وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ وَحَمَلْنَاهُمْ فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ وَرَزَقْنَاهُم مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ وَفَضَّلْنَاهُمْ عَلَىٰ كَثِيرٍ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِيلًا

And We have certainly honored the children of Adam and carried them on the land and sea and provided for them of the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created, with [definite] preference.

In normal city life, we generally tend to take safety for granted. However, when we travel by ship, or drive through rocky terrain, one realises the need to call upon God, especially when the going gets rough. 

By the Grace of Allah, we have taken many journeys in mountainous terrains. There have been several rough drives, and narrow escapes in rough weather conditions. A few times, we learnt that the road has been blocked and closed a little after we crossed it. 

I must admit the earnestness with which I call upon Allah at those times. Shukar Alhamdolillah for all the times He has carried us safely through land and sea, and all the wonderful memories. 

Toothache

As I study The Quran, and as I become more and more cautious about Satan and his efforts to destroy humans, I hesitate to seek medical help, well-aware of its roots in ancient greek practice, lest I end up harming myself. 

So, one day, I developed a toothache. It hurt. The problem persisted for a few days. 

As I was praying, I went down in prostration, and asked Allah what to do. I didn't want to go to a dentist for a, b, & c, reasons. I wasn't even sure if going or not going was the right thing to do. So, I spoke my heart out. I asked...  

Later on, it occurred to me, to lather the aching tooth with a spoonful of honey. I cleaned my teeth, and then applied the honey on my teeth and gums, especially putting more on the area where it was hurting. After doing this routine for a few days, the pain went away. 

Shukar Alhamdolillah 

For more on my learnings and my hesitations, 

Disease & Cure 
https://signsandscience.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_19.html  

 

Indigestion

A few days ago, I kept a fast. I had a paratha (bread made from wheat flour) for the sehri (pre-dawn meal to keep the fast). 

Throughout the morning, I was feeling uncomfortable. It felt like its just sitting in my upper stomach, and just won't get digested. 

In zuhr (the afternoon prayer), I prayed to Allah to cure the indigestion. While I was still on my prayer mat, someone came to our door asking for some atta (wheat flour). We told him that we didn't have any new (un-opened) bags. He insisted that he wanted atta. He just wouldn't take no for an answer. Eventually, we gave him a little from our home ration. 

As soon as he took it, by the Mercy of Allah, my indigestion went away.  Shukar Alhamdolillah. 

In The Quran, spending in charity is linked to the removal of the bad effects of our deeds (وَيُكَفِّرُ عَنكُم مِّن سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ) (Q2:271). The beggar and the poor have a right in our wealth (Q2:177; Q17:26-30; Q51:19; Q70:24-25; Q93:8-10). From Moses' adventure (Q18:60-82) to learn righteousness (عُلِّمْتَ رُشْدً), we know that there is so much that we really don't know, and we really cannot encompass divine wisdom with our minds. 

It is attributed to our dear Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to treat your ill by giving sadqa (spending on the poor). 

Truly, our charities are actually for our own benefit. Subhan'Allah.  

Pledging Organs

Throughout the early 2000s, I kept hearing about organ transplants and how it was saving lives. 

As a parent of a child with health issues, I knew I would desperately want my child to be able to receive organs if needed. So, as I would like others' organs for my child, I thought I should also pledge my organs, for the benefit of others, to be harvested when I no longer need my body. 

I asked religious scholars on the permissibility to pledge organs. Nobody had anything for or against organ transplants. Curiously, the people I asked, none of them had pledged their organs. It was strange that they would bypass such a wonderful opportunity to continue earning the rewards for a deed even after their death. 

Although unsure and hesitant, I decided that I will pledge my organs. Somehow, it didn't feel the right thing to do. So, I prayed to Allah that if this is indeed a noble deed, then let this be the 'zakat' of my body, and accept it from me. And if it is not a noble deed, then please protect me from the sin of it. I went and pledged my organs at SIUT Pakistan. I don't remember the exact date, but I think it was 2012 +/-1 year. 

In 2014, by the Grace of Allah, I started studying the science mentioned in The Quran. In 2017, I came to realise the significance of our body: its not we who no longer need our body, but that when our nafs tastes death, we transition from the living to dead state, and disintegrate. Dead is also a state of being, though we have no knowledge about it. We are made of dust, and we will be resurrected thus. We are our body! 

With that understanding, by the Grace of Allah, I un-pledged my organs, and informed my family and friends that I am no longer an organ donor, nor do I wish to be an organ-recipient, God-forbid, if such a medical situation emerges. 

I have explored the subject from various angles and have tried to share my learnings online for the benefit of the believers. The following are links to some relevant blogposts: 

Human: Body or Soul?
https://signsandscience.blogspot.com/2017/05/human-body-or-soul.html 

The Case against Organ Transplant 
https://expeditionthink.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-case-against-organ-transplant.html 
this post also contains links to other relevant learnings posted prior to it 

Our Record in Our Neck 
https://signsandscience.blogspot.com/2019/04/our-record-in-our-neck.html 

Non-Living & Living 
https://signsandscience.blogspot.com/2019/09/non-living-living.html  

Alhamdolillah! I gratefully thank Allah for the guidance, and praise Him in All His Perfection. May Allah keep us all in His Mercy and Protection, always.  

He Knows our thoughts ...

Many years ago, an old lady used to come by. She would ring the bell. She would gesture that she wants clothes. She was suffering from some kind of partial paralysis, and so couldn't speak properly. She could only manage a few sounds.  She was also very frail and petite. I used to generally honour her request, and give her some of my clothes. 

One day, the bell rang again. I picked up the intercom to ask who it was. She responded, as usual, with some sounds. So I knew it was her, and I headed towards my closet. 

In our culture, a ladies' suit is generally shalwar or pant, kameez and a dupatta.

As I went in to my closet to take out something for her, I thought to myself that I have never seen her wearing any of the clothes I part with. So, why not give her something I am not so fond of. So, I took off the hanger a suit which I didn't like and didn't want to wear. I put it in a bag and went to the gate. 

There she was, probably for the very first time, wearing a combination of three different suits of mine: a different shalwar, a different kameez and a different dupatta. All three suits I had been fond of; I had given them to her because we should give things we like when giving for the sake of Allah (Q2:267, Q3:92); and since it had been quite a while, I had even forgotten about these clothes. 

Though I had not spoken aloud, Allah knew my thoughts, and He showed me that He knows our thoughts, and remembers everything! (Q2:284, Q17:25, Q20:7)

It has been a while since the old lady passed away. I thank Allah for the opportunity to serve, and the lesson taught to me through her. May Allah forgive every opportunity we lost, or failed to use properly. May Allah accept our charities, and increase us in good thoughts and good deeds, which are accepted and invested in our eternal future. May Allah increase us in guidance and goodness. 

Diseases & Pandemics

The Quran 24:61 permits the diseased and the healthy to eat together or separately. It includes a clause to send salaam upon our own nafs... 

When the Covid-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) started affecting many people globally, countries went into lockdown. Social distancing became the norm. Everyone started wearing face masks. Those who were tested positive for the virus were put into isolation. ... The world was facing a pandemic! 

My daughter tested positive for the virus. She was in severe pain. By the Grace of Allah, we didn't have to hospitalise her or put her in isolation: a friend sent over his pulse oximeter; another sent over a portable oxygen concentrator. 

We were with her throughout her ordeal. We did not isolate her. We ate together. I even slept beside her on the same bed. I also developed a few symptoms. 

When her test first came positive, we had ourselves tested as well. By the Grace and Mercy of Allah, we tested negative. After her body had developed antibodies, I was tested again. Alhamdolillah, again my test result came negative. 

No, I'm not invincible. It was only the Mercy of Allah that He Protected me from the virus. 

The purpose to share this story is to glorify Allah and to help people realise that nothing happens without Allah decreeing it. All things good and bad happen with His Permission (Q57:22). The good is from Allah, while the bad is from our own nafs (Q4:79). We need to seek Allah's protection and forgiveness, and patiently endure whatever trials Allah decrees for us. May Allah help us, guide us, and improve our condition.

The رُوحُ الْقُدُسِ (Holy Spirit || Pure Command) has brought down The Quran in Truth from Our Lord (Q16:102). We need to learn to trust the guidance in The Quran.