Beacon Of Guidance
Huzoor my question is that, what is the best way we can show gratitude to Allah the Almighty? The best way to show gratitude to Allah the Almighty is that when you recite “Alhamdolilah” (All praise belongs to Allah), you should recall all the favours Allah the Almighty has bestowed upon you.
And if you face certain difficult circumstances, you should try to endure them with patience, because Allah the Almighty has also bestowed many favours upon you; you should always recall those favours. If ever one goes through a difficult time, one should remember that Allah the Almighty has also blessed them greatly.
It is said that there was once a king who was presented with a fruit, like a melon. He cut the fruit and gave it to one of his courtiers. The courtier ate it happily and praised it greatly, but in reality the fruit was very sour.
Upon seeing the courtier praise it so much, the king also ate it to see how it tasted. When the king ate one slice, he realised it was sour. He asked the courtier why he praised the fruit so much as it was extremely sour and unpleasant. The courtier replied,
“Until now you have granted me the most excellent things “and granted them in abundance. “Also you have bestowed many favours upon me. “Therefore, just because I was given something sour to eat, “I did not wish to be ungrateful for all those other times “and spit it out due to its bitterness.
“You have bestowed many favours upon me previously, “and so, unknowingly if you have given me something sour to eat, “I have no right to refuse it or to raise any objections against it, or to spit it out. “For this reason, I ate it happily. “Your beneficence towards me is so great
“that in order to be grateful for those blessings “I should happily eat even a bitter fruit such as this.” This is the thinking that one ought to adopt in order to be grateful. Okay? Yes One ought to show gratitude in this way and recall the favours of Allah the Almighty upon them.
One should bear small difficulties patiently and pray to Allah the Almighty: “O Allah! You have bestowed innumerable favours upon me! “Bestow your beneficence once again and have mercy on me “and remove this difficulty from me.” But one should never harbour any grievances and complain saying:
“O Allah! What difficulty have you placed me in! “I am not deserving of this, “do you always place people in such difficulties”, these sorts of statements are not correct, okay? Did you understand? Yes And whatever one receives, they should accept it in the best manner possible.
It is mentioned in a Hadith that in relation to worldly things, one should always look at those who are less fortunate than them. For example, if you were not able to fulfil any worldly desire of yours, and upon observing other women, who have a lot of wealth
And who can easily purchase jewellery and other items of their choice, you begin to harbour jealousy and become bitter and resentful as you do not have money, this is something that the Holy Prophet (sa) has said is wrong. In fact, true gratitude is to realise
That Allah the Almighty has granted you better conditions and circumstances than so many other people who are less fortunate than you and who are poor. There are many people in the world who do not even have food;
Some people only have enough to eat once in the day and some do not even have that. In fact, there are many people like this in Europe as well. Despite the fact that these countries are very wealthy, affluent and there is plenty of food, yet there are still people who die from hunger.
There are many people in Bangladesh, who go to sleep hungry at night. Therefore, when you eat, you should express your gratitude to Allah the Almighty for granting you food. Similarly, in other worldly matters, look at those who are less fortunate than you, and express praise and gratitude to Allah the Almighty
For granting you better circumstances. However, the Holy Prophet (sa) stated that as far as spiritual matters are concerned, you should look at those who are better than you. You should look at those who are better than you in terms of their faith,
In their relationship with Allah the Almighty and in their level of piety and then try to be like them or try to be better than them. Thus, in matters of spirituality, look at those who are better than you and in worldly matters, look at those who are less fortunate than you,
Only then will you instil the habit of becoming truly grateful. My question is, in this day and age, how can we safeguard against the negative impacts of social media? A strong will; determination. If you are determined to avoid viewing inappropriate content and to only view good content,
Then you will benefit from the good aspects on social media and avoid the bad. Social media can also be used beneficially. You should use it for its benefits. The Jama’at has its own websites, so you should visit them. There are questions and answers that can be found on Jama’at Facebook pages.
You should visit them and increase your knowledge thereby. Allah the Almighty has guided us to avoid vain and immoral things. A believer, who truly possesses faith, should safeguard against vain things. You are intelligent, MashAllah, and you are young. You should think carefully about what is good and what is evil.
Allah the Almighty has granted us a brain so we can make use of it. You are also educated. You study in schools and colleges. Now, your secondary education will conclude and you will go onto college and university. Make use of the intelligence that Allah the Almighty has granted you
And see what is good and what is evil. We must abstain from what is evil. You should be firm and resolute that you will abstain from evil. You should also recite Istighfar, as I have mentioned before. Supplicate in your prayers that Allah the Almighty protects you from evil. This is the only way.
Otherwise, nowadays, on social media, there is far more evil than there is good. To seek out good, you will have to make a great effort. Your focus should remain towards goodness and virtue. There are sites available on social media on science and other material you can visit to increase your knowledge.
You should not indulge in vain things like pulling each other’s legs, teasing one another, and raising allegations against the Jama’at and Islam. Certainly, if you have gained religious knowledge to that extent; if you are firm in your faith; If you have knowledge of the Holy Qur’an;
If you have read the books of the Promised Messiah (as) and have attained knowledge to answer allegations; if you have attained knowledge by reading the literature of the Jama’at and can answer allegations; then you can visit (such sites) and give answers. But before that, you must increase your religious knowledge.
What is even better is if you engage with such media and websites that increase your knowledge. Visit the sites of the Jama’at and see what you can learn from there. All of this depends on your individual mentality. Allah the Almighty has told us that on the one side, there are the satanic ploys,
And on the other, there are the words and guidance of Allah the Almighty. Now you must decide whether to follow these satanic notions or the guidance of Allah the Almighty. Allah the Almighty has granted you intelligence and a large brain, MashAllah. Use it and decide for yourself. My question is,
If we Ahmadis do not fulfil our responsibilities, then will Allah the Almighty bring forth another nation, will the promises made by Allah the Exalted to the Promised Messiah (as) be fulfilled with that other nation and will such a nation be Ahmadi and follow the Promised Messiah (as)?
Of course, if we do not fulfil our responsibilities, then the Promised Messiah (as) himself has said that Allah the Exalted will bring forth another nation. Allah the Almighty will fulfil the promises which He has made with the Promised Messiah (as) no matter what.
And of course, the people or nation through which those promises will be fulfilled will be Ahmadis and they will follow the Promised Messiah (as) to carry on his mission. Therefore, if we do not fulfil our responsibilities in carrying on the mission of the Promised Messiah (as), then Allah the Almighty
Will fulfil the necessary requirements through other means. There are many sincere people joining Ahmadiyyat in Africa who understand their responsibilities. They do Tabligh and convert other people to Ahmadiyyat as well. Similarly, there are various people like this in Europe, different Islands, Indonesia or in different countries in the far East.
So, this is not merely the responsibility of Pakistani or Indian people. The Holy Prophet (sa) came for the entire world as a Prophet. And his Promised Messiah has also come for the whole world. We must convey the message of Islam to the whole world.
We must bring the entire world under the flag of the Holy Prophet (sa). We must give the entire world the message of the Unity of Allah the Almighty. So, this is our duty and this was the mission that the Promised Messiah brought.
He mentioned that he had two tasks, the first which was to fulfil the rights of Allah and to make people prostrate before Allah the Almighty, to make them into those who discharge the rights of Allah the Almighty, to make them His worshippers and secondly to uphold each other’s rights,
Display high and good morals and to do good work. And to spread the teachings of Islam and to spread the innumerable commandments of Allah the Almighty as mentioned by the Holy Qur’an throughout the world. So, these are the duties that we must fulfil.
If we do not undertake them and become engrossed in materialism, if we do not act upon the Qur’anic teachings, if we do not safeguard our prayers, if we recite the Holy Qur’an, seek out its commandment, but do not try to act upon them, if we forget our fundamental morals
And if our objectives become to solely gain the world and fall into the charms of world, then Allah the Almighty shall cause other nations to come forward and he is doing so, who shall fulfil this objective, who shall complete this duty and who shall complete the mission of the Promised Messiah (as)
Which is to spread the teachings of the Holy Prophet (sa) throughout the entire world. And Allah the Almighty has vouchsafed this promise to the Promised Messiah (as) that do not think that it is the people that shall spread your message, I shall bring such people forth
And I shall cause thy message to reach the corners of the earth. And Allah the Almighty is causing it to spread and Allah the Almighty is bringing forth such people that we are not aware about, they come forward and become the very people who spread his message.
So, if we partake in this, then we shall also be included in this act of Allah the Almighty and we shall become recipients of His Blessings and Grace, just by participating in the work of Tabligh throughout the world. And if we do not play our role the way that we ought to,
Then Allah the Almighty will ultimately carry out this work but through other nations.