Symptoms of Hope

In Karachi are you remembering death and reciting dua before leaving the house; reciting Qalima when filling in CNG (just in case someone's cylinder explodes); remembering Allah in difficult times and seeking his forgiveness; Strengthening our faith on Taqdeer in the times of uncertainty i.e. Allah s.w.t will provide rizq in due to quantity, hardships will be a test and death will not come before it due time; refraining from showing off valuables in public, restoring to a simple lifestyle to avoid getting noticed; refraining to wear revealing cloths in public (if you are a woman);  discrediting and rejecting ethnicity, sectarianism on the basis of violence; discrediting democracy (institutionalization of the herd mentality) for it being a revenge of dominant minority against the majority; helping and educating poor to save them from becoming a criminal; developing courage to stand for justice and against the criminal atrocities of the corrupt feudalism & its heinous crimes... etc. etc. etc? Then it means Allah s.w.t has brought circumstances to you to bring you closer to Him! If you are experiencing some or all of these symptoms then there is still some hope left.

When the circumstances in which we lives in goes against us, by design it is either to bring us back to righteous path, to test of our beliefs or is a punishment by Allah s.w.t. Hakeem-ul-Ummat Hazrat Ashraf Ali Thanvi has reported to have said that Allah s.w.t keep some people poor or in financial difficulty so that their difficult circumstances let them remembering Allah s.w.t, as otherwise they would go astray! Similarly the circumstances the people of Karachi (and also other places in Pakistan) are in can be assumed to be designed to have the same objective.

This is not a justification of the troubles we are in; instead this is a point of reflection for us and ponder, that had we been following the footsteps of Prophet s.a.w and his companions r.a. in letter & spirit, the worrisome circumstances prevalent today in the country wouldn't have developed in the first place. 

Allah s.w.t has created a natural order, which can only become favorable when we live as per the Divine Guidelines provides to us, and when we don't build our lives around them, the structures of our personal and communal life is bound to collapse only, just like a building whose construction violates the rules of engineering.

Look into your heart when you are faced with difficulties, if it gets filled with the remembrance of Allah s.w.t, if it motivates you to correct your mistakes etc. then in view of ulema-e-kiram, this is a test from Allah s.w.t and soon things will get better. However if your heart becomes rebellious, filled with evil thoughts or disbelief, then it is a punishment from Allah s.w.t and things might get even worse...

Now which side of the equation you find yourself, if you are doing all or some of the things highlighted in the first paragraph then this entire mayhem is turning out to be an opportunity for you in the form of a reward which is due in hereafter In.sha.Allah. If not then it’s the news isn’t good.

May be you or I do not have the capacity to change the currents of times, however by walking on the right path we might allow ourselves, encourage our family, relatives and friends etc. to walk on the righteous path of Prophet s.a.w and his companions r.a., to remain steadfast and not let the weakness of our beliefs to turn against us… 

It is indeed the faith of the Muslim, which is his greatest strength. 

Author is an academic researcher, author, blogger, social entrepreneur, activist, mentor and tweets @javaidomar