Ihyaaud Deen An Effort to Revive Deen in Totality
Ask our children:
- What is the meaning of istiqaamat?
- What is the virtue of istiqaamat?
- How do we get istiqaamat upon good actions in our lives?
Now tell them the story:
It was the first day of madrasah after Ramadhaan, and Irshaad and his friends were seated in the classroom, waiting for their Moulana to arrive. As they waited, Irshaad and his friends spoke about the month of Ramadhaan that had passed, and how Allah Ta‘ala had favoured them and blessed them to engage in ibaadah.
Qaasim said, “Alhamdulillah, I sat in the musjid with my father everyday after Fajr, reciting the Qur’aan Majeed and making zikr. We would sit until the time of Ishraaq, and then perform Ishraaq salaah before returning home. Alhamdulillah, we did this every day!”
Ahmed said, “Alhamdulillah, my mother would wake me up half an hour before our time to eat sehri. We would perform Tahajjud salaah and make dua before eating sehri and going to the musjid for Fajr salaah.”
Zubair mentioned, “Alhamdulillah, I sat in the musjid with my father, every day, from Asr until Maghrib, reciting the Qur’aan Majeed. In this way, I managed to recite one para every day!”
Irshaad then spoke and said, “Alhamdulillah, after maghrib, I performed six rakaats of Awwaabeen salaah before going home to eat supper. Alhamdulillah, I did this every day. I also recited durood shareef one thousand times every day.”
Just then, Moulana entered the classroom, and on asking the students what they were speaking about, they told him what each of them had mentioned. Moulana said, “Everything that you did was only possible through the special help and mercy of Allah Ta‘ala. You should not be proud and boast before people, as Allah Ta‘ala does not like those who are proud and boastful.”
Thereafter, Moulana said, “I am happy that you all spent the month of Ramadhaan in a good way, but I now have a question for you. Qaasim, it is now two weeks since Ramadhaan ended. Are you still reading Ishraaq salaah every day? Ahmed, are you still performing Tahajjud salaah daily? Zubair, are you still reciting one para of the Qur’aan Majeed from Asr until Maghrib? Irshaad, are you still performing Awwaabeen salaah and reciting one thousand durood shareef daily?”
As Moulana looked at each student and asked him the question, the student lowered his head, too embarrassed to look at Moulana. The reason was that after Ramadhaan had ended, they had stopped the ibaadah that they had been doing in Ramadhaan.
Moulana then explained to the students, “What we need in our lives is istiqaamat. Istiqaamat means for a person to be committed, punctual and constant upon his ibaadaat so that he does not miss it or leave it out, and for a person to be steadfast upon staying away from sins so that he does not commit sins at any time. Istiqaamat is a very important quality in the life of a Muslim, as it shows that a Muslim is faithful and loyal to Allah Ta‘ala at all times. The people who have istiqaamat are beloved to the angels who are their friends in this world and in the Hereafter.
“In one Hadith, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said that the most beloved action to Allah Ta‘ala is the action which is carried out with the most consistency, even if it is a small action. Once, Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said to Hazrat Abdullah bin Amr (radhiyallahu ‘anhuma), ‘O Abdullah! Do not be like so-and-so person! He used to perform Tahajjud salaah, but then he left out performing Tahajjud salaah.’”
Just then, Irshaad asked, “Moulana! How can we get istiqaamat in our lives?” Moulana replied, “That is a very good question! The answer is that you must do three things. The first is to manage your time correctly. Just as you have time to go to school, and time to go to madrasah, and time to eat breakfast, lunch and supper – you must take out the time for your ibaadah. If you do not take out the time, you will always miss your ibaadah.
“The second thing is to stay away from all types of sin. When a Muslim commits sins, then he loses the special mercy and help of Allah Ta‘ala. Thereafter, it becomes difficult to carry out good deeds and make ibaadah. Finally, you must continue to make dua to Allah Ta‘ala to bless you with istiqaamat.”
Irshaad and his friends made up their minds that they would try their best to get istiqaamat in their lives. With Moulana’s help, they drew up a small timetable and saw how they could continue with the good deeds they had started in Ramadhaan. Before they left madrasah that day, Moulana reminded them, “Remember children – we must not only worship Allah Ta‘ala and stay away from sins in Ramadhaan, rather we must please Him and try to be pious every day of our lives, until we leave this world.”
Lessons:
- Istiqaamat means for a person to be committed, punctual and constant upon his ibaadaat so that he does not miss it or leave it out, and for a person to be steadfast upon staying away from sins so that he does not commit sins at any time.
- The people who have istiqaamat are beloved to the angels who are their friends in this world and in the Hereafter. The most beloved action to Allah Ta‘ala is the action which is carried out with the most consistency, even if it is a small action.
- To get istiqaamat in our lives, we must manage our time correctly, stay away from all sins, and make dua to Allah Ta‘ala to bless us with istiqaamat.
