Live the Moment – It’s All You Have

 Live the Moment – It’s All You Have
By Wael Abdelgawad




Try to appreciate the present moment and truly live it, rather than using it up by feeling guilty about the past, or fretting about the future. Regret for the past is a waste of spirit, and worrying about the future is pointless.

The Past

That’s not to say that contemplation of past and future is verboten. The Quran tells stories of the past in order to educate us. The Messenger of Allah (sws) told us many stories of past Prophets and the Bani Israa’il, for the same reason. We study world history, we study the seerah of our Prophet and the lives of the Sahabah, because it inspires and informs.

I taught a martial arts class several hours ago and I’m still reviewing it in my mind, examining what I could do better next time. That’s part of the learning process for me.

I have a sweet young daughter named Salma and I often think about my time with her, something funny that she said, or the small gifts that she likes to make for me. Yesterday she made me a card that says “I love Baba.” A few days ago we had a poetry reading at our local Muslim community center, and in between readings our host told jokes. For some reason Salma positioned herself in the front row, and every time our host told a joke I heard Salma laughing loudly, even though I’m sure she did not understand the jokes (“do vegetarians eat animal crackers?”). Crazy kid, ha ha. So yeah, I think about past moments. But I’m not stuck in the past. I think about those moments because they educate me or make me smile, so they become a part of my present and future.

On the other hand, I occasionally think about my former marriage, and those are usually not good thoughts, because I tend to dwell on the mistakes I made, and I feel sadness or guilt. I’ve already contemplated deeply on that period in my life, and I’ve learned my lessons. I don’t need to keep returning there in my mind, punishing myself. If I did, then I would indeed be stuck in the past, unable to move forward. That is the kind of pointless regret that weighs people down and burdens their spirits.

The Future

We plan for the future by having goals, getting an education, working hard, saving money, always learning and improving ourselves. We plan for our aakhirah by dedicating ourselves to Allah, worshiping, giving our money to the poor and orphans, and humbling ourselves. We build our futures step by step. But it’s not productive to sit around biting our nails and thinking, “What if I fail my exam, oh, when will I get married, what’s going to happen if I lose my job, how will I pay my bills…” You make yourself sick and it doesn’t help.

Don’t worry, plan. There’s a huge difference! Then acknowledge that you don’t control the future. That’s Allah’s province.  Trust in Him, let him be your guide, find your security in Him.

The security of the dunya is false security. Suffering is the lot of all Adam’s children, in one way or another, and death comes when we’re ready or not. The security of Allah is real and transcends this world.

The Moment

This moment is all we have, my friend. The past is gone, and the future never comes, because when we get there, we’re still in the present.

If you take this moment to breathe deeply and say, “SubhanAllah wa bihamdihi” – glory to Allah and all praise to Him – and then thank Allah for the blessings in your life, or sit down and play a game with your child, go for a walk in the sunshine, maybe take a few nature photos, call an old friend, write your spouse a love note, read a verse from the Quran and contemplate it – then you have lived! You have turned that moment into a precious gem, something to smile about and feel good about.

Let’s live the moment, be conscious of it, feel it, and give Allah the credit, and in doing so let’s turn the moment into a circle of sunshine and barakah.

P.S. Isn’t that the most amazing photo above? I absolutely love it. I want to roll around in that grass, bathe in that river, call the adhaan to the sky, and build a small house among those trees. SubhanAllah :-)

Allah has named Himself Al-Mujeeb

 Allah has named Himself Al-Mujeeb, which means the One who responds. Just as we are certain that the Qur’an is true, we must be certain that Allah, Al-Mujeeb, will answer our call.
We should never think that Allah will not answer, because by feeling so, we are denying this attribute of Allah. Whenever we are feeling down, we should not hesitate to ask Him over and over again, and to go into sujood and plead because that is the closest that we are to Him.

 If we realize this, the doors of mercy have been opened for us, because the Prophet PBUH said, “For whoever the door of du`a’ opened, for him the doors of mercy are opened.” (Tirmidhi). Your du`a’ is deposited with Allah, and as was narrated from the Prophet PBUH, your du`a’ does something. Either Allah will speedily answer your du`a’ or He will save it for you until the Hereafter, or He will avert something bad equal to the value of the du`a’ (Ahmad).

So we should never leave du`a’. The Prophet PBUH told us, “Do not stop making du`a’, because nobody who makes du`a’ is forsaken.” (Hakim) Insha’Allah, you will be answered. The Prophet PBUH said, “Verily your Lord is Generous and Shy. If His servant raises his hands to Him (in supplication) He becomes shy to return them empty.” (Tirmidhi) Remember: our Lord is not forgetful. Sometimes you might even forget that you once made du`a’ for something, but He might give it to you years later...

Be positive....

Hear with your heart, see with your soul, be guided by The Hand you cannot hold, trust even if you cannot see. That's how faith must be. Sometimes the things we can't change, end up changing us instead.. So let that change be a positive one .... :)

Lead a good life

Life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people.

 When things are not to our liking instead of exploding into flames of anger let us remember the good qualities in others and whisper a prayer for them.

We should recall our own imperfections first. Learning to accept each others faults and choosing to celebrate each other's differences, is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing and lasting relationship.

 Love the people who treat you right and have compassion for the ones who don't.

Live happily...

 Whenever you are faced with a situation think carefully and positively how best you can solve the issue and make things work out for the better. Even if it means saying you are sorry when you were not at fault.
 Mend your relationship with others as soon as you can, do not allow it to grow from a tiny petty seed into a huge, thorny, foul smelling cactus! By allowing that we are the ones who create problems, unhappiness and stress in our lives.

 Had we humbled ourselves immediately to fix what's broken we would save ourselves from much bitterness and sadness. There are so many ways we can make ourselves live happier lives but we refuse to by hanging onto past issues and not forgiving, forgetting and moving forward with life.

Nothing in this world is permanent, not even our troubles or sadness unless you want them to be! Ponder over the decisions you have made.. did fighting over a broken bowl achieve you anything? Did your silent treatment with your mother in law really make you feel happy?! Did your belittling comment to your daughter in law really give you some pleasing satisfaction?!

Think twice before pleasing shaytan! Life is so short, when mistakes happen, when things go wrong keep them short-lived and restore happiness and peace as soon as possible. In this way we please the Almighty and pave our way to happiness in this world as well as the next.

Why don't we Pray?

Why don't we Pray?

Sadly, many Muslims do not pray or fulfil the conditions of the prayer, despite its importance. The purpose of prayer is to strengthen your relationship with Allah; to be grateful for all His blessings; and to remind ourselves of His Greatness. Just as the body requires physical needs, such as food and water, the soul requires spiritual needs, nourished by acts of worship, the most important of which is prayer. It could be that the body of a person is healthy but the person is spiritually dead.

Prayer connects you with Allah, it is the second most important pillar after faith and in it lies our success. It keeps us humble and protects us from sin, it envelopes our hearts with peace and contentment and enriches our souls. It is the solution to our problems and the cleanser of our sins. Let us try not to be ungrateful by abandoning it, let us not please the devil by being lazy. Prayer is brimming with gifts to offer us; let's stretch out and grab them with both hands five times a day everyday inshaAllah!