Do Your Best and Yearn for What You Cannot

Bismillaahir Rah’maanir Rah’eem. All praise to Allah. May peace and blessings be upon our beloved unlettered Prophet, his family, and his noble companions. I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan, and I begin in the name of Allah, the Mosta Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

The glory of believers lies in their commitment to excel in whatever they are capable of and their aspiration for the things they cannot accomplish. This can be compared to a person striving for wealth, putting in great effort to achieve what they can and desiring what remains beyond their reach. Both a disbeliever and a Muslim reside in this world, but their pursuits differ; the disbeliever focuses on worldly matters, while the Muslim directs their efforts towards the Hereafter. There was a righteous individual who, despite his old age, would recite the entire Quran in his voluntary prayers every single day. While we may not be able to achieve such a feat, we can still yearn and aspire to do so. In a hadith, it is narrated that a man had a wealthy neighbor who would generously spend his wealth in the way of Allah. Upon witnessing this, the man longed and wished that he too had the means to spend in the path of Allah. In the Hereafter, both the wealthy man and the yearning man were rewarded equally. The problem we face is that we often lack the longing for righteousness and good deeds.

When we possess the capability to perform certain actions, we should muster the courage to engage in them. If we can offer Sunnah prayers, engage in Tahajjud (night prayer), and prolong our voluntary prayers, then we should be resolute in performing them without negligence. Likewise, when we can reduce our sleep, we should strive to do so, and the same applies to speaking less and eating in moderation. There are individuals whose state of ablution (wudhu) frequently breaks, and if they are unable to perform additional voluntary prayers, they should at least have the yearning for it. Often, we refrain from performing righteous deeds or giving up sins because our nafs (ego) tells us that we are incapable, but this is the deception of our nafs and Satan.

Suppose there is a small boy, and his father asks him to lift 5 kg weight when he cannot. What would we think of that father? We would think it is very unjust of him to demand such a thing from a small child, and he is not in his right mind. Allah ﷻ has given each one of us the ability to abstain from committing every single sin, and that is why He ﷻ has forbidden us from carrying out such acts. Allah ﷻ, being the wisest, wouldn’t demand something we cannot do. Just as a father wouldn’t ask his child to do something beyond their capabilities, why would Allah ﷻ do so?

It is the law of Allah ﷻ that His help comes when we make efforts. Allah ﷻ knew in advance that the enemies in the Battle of Khandaq would be defeated by fierce cold winds that would uproot their tents. However, Prophet ﷺ and his companions did not simply sit calmly in the mosque without taking any action. They tied stones to their stomachs, dug the trench with great effort, and then Allah ﷻ’s help arrived. Prophet ﷺ personally dug the tunnel with his own hands, using an axe and carrying a stone on his stomach. If Yusuf AS had not made the effort to run to the door, even though it was locked, the doors would not have opened for him. It was through his actions that the doors were eventually opened.

There was a pious person who was imprisoned. Every Friday, he would perform ghusl (ritual purification), wear clean clothes, and then come to the door of the prison, praying, “Ya Allah! I have made all the efforts that I can, and now it is up to You to do as You wish.” Although as a pious person, a miracle could have happened where the door would open for him without any effort, he was given an even greater miracle. This miracle was the constant effort he made every Friday to prepare himself for the Jumu’ah prayer, even though the doors were locked. It is indeed a great miracle to carry out any deed with such determination and courage.

Many of us have become weakened by our desires (nafs) and have been deceived into thinking that we are incapable of taking action. We often fail to make any effort or show courage, simply obeying the commands of our desires. For example, when our desires tell us to sleep for 8 hours, we end up sleeping for 9 hours. A wise person once narrated a story about a road flanked by trees. From a distance, it appeared to a man that the road was completely blocked by trees. Feeling hopeless, he did not take any steps towards that road and consequently never found the path. In contrast, another man displayed courage and took steps forward despite the initial appearance of obstruction. As he continued to advance, the path gradually opened up for him, revealing the way forward.

Losing courage before taking any action will deprive us of that opportunity. We should constantly make efforts and strive for righteousness to reap its rewards. If our wives or children do not offer Salah, we should not lose courage. Imagine a situation where a man discovers that his son is stealing money from his pocket every day and his wife is planning to harm him. Wouldn’t he make any effort? Will he be unaffected after 21 days, not caring about what his son is doing, or will he worry that this has been happening every day? It is merely our ego (nafs) that deceives us, making us believe that we are incapable of taking any action.

We should constantly make efforts, and eventually things will change. Prophet Nuh (AS) serves as a remarkable example as he dedicated himself to calling people towards Islam for a staggering 950 years. We can imagine how a Prophet would approach his people with utmost care and affection, and despite facing numerous challenges, he never lost hope and continuously strived. It is astonishing to note that in the end, only around 80 people accepted his message. Whether it is the reform of ourselves or our families, we should never give up or lose hope.

We should strive to perform proper wudhu and pray with khushu, leaving the rest to Allah ﷻ. After exerting our best efforts, we should humbly say, ‘Ya Allah! I have done what I could, and it is now in Your hands to accept it.’ A person may struggle with refraining from backbiting due to that poor being afflicted with this harmful disease, but he should persevere and continue striving. Each time he succumbs to this sin, it is important for him to sincerely repent. By the grace of Allah, he will eventually achieve success. This same principle applies to individuals dealing with other spiritual ailments.

Some people can pray with khushu without much distraction, while others, even after making significant effort, may still be subjected to wasawis. Every time they experience such wasawis, they ignore them, turn back to Allah ﷻ, and keep trying. Now, these individuals will receive more ajr (reward) than the former group. So, here are two tips to beautify your life: do your best in whatever you can without being heedless and yearning for what you cannot do. If we adhere to these two tips, not only will our own lives change, but thousands of people’s lives could change through us. May Allah ﷻ help us all to act upon what we learn. Ameen.

-Sheikh Maulana Abdus Sattar (May Allah preserve him)

Morning Tarbiati Majlis dated 10.02.2012.