:: Came as a mercy ::

Assalam Alaikum,

Every minute of my breathing moment is spending being grateful to Allah, subhana wa ta'ala, for His endless mercy to guide me and to give me strength to walk on the straight path.

Being spent twenty over odd years of being a non-muslim has given me the understanding of how lost one is without the guidance of Allah, subhana wa ta'ala... There is always a hikmah behind everything... I always wonder what is the hikmah of being a 'revert', to spend the first part of my life not knowing about islam, and to be guided again~

I start to have a glimpse of that hikmah from our beloved Prophet Muhammad, sallahu alayhi wa salaam~ There are some hadiths which I wish to share...

Narrated Ata bin Yasar: I met Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'As and asked him, "Tell me about the description of Allah's Apostle which is mentioned in Torah (i.e. Old Testament.") He replied, 'Yes. By allah, he is described in Torah with some of the qualities attributed to him in the Quran as follows: "O Prophet ! We have sent you as a witness (for allah's True religion) And a giver of glad tidings (to the faithful believers), And a warner (to the unbelievers) And guardian of the illiterates. You are My slave and My messenger (i.e. Apostle). I have named you "Al-Mutawakkil" (who depends upon allah). You are neither discourteous, harsh Nor a noise-maker in the markets And you do not do evil to those Who do evil to you, but you deal with them with forgiveness and kindness. Allah will not let him (the Prophet) die till he makes straight the crooked people by making them say: "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah," With which will be opened blind eyes and deaf ears and enveloped hearts." (Bukhari Book #34, Hadith #335)

One day, the companions, as a result of pressures put on them by non-Muslims, asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) to make a prayer condemning the enemies of Islam. In response, the Prophet said: 

"I did not come for condemnation; I came as a mercy."

(Muslim, jihad 104; Abu Yaia, al-Musnad, XI, 35; al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-Kubrd, III, 352; al-Tabarabi, al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, III, 223) 

The prayer he made against his fiercest enemies was as follows: "O my Lord! They know not! Give them guidance!" 

(Bukhari, Anbiya 54; Muslim, Jihad 104; Ibn Majah, Fitan 33; Ibn Hibban, al-Sahih, III, 254)

I would love to think that someone had done this dua for me somewhere in my life... During the time when I was not aware of the teaching of islam, I really did not know what's in life... If someone could see the lose state I was in and to talk to me about the oneness of The God, I would have grabbed onto the rope of Allah, subhana wa ta'ala, long ago... Then again, Allah, subhana wa ta'ala, has the best plan for me~

I know how it is to be lost... Subhan'Allah! Allah, subhana wa ta'ala, give me the courage, the fear, the strength, the hidayat to choose this path upon knowing the sweetest of the deen... There are many out there who knows about the deen but are not following it... Why? Allah, subhana wa ta'ala, has His plans for them... Maybe just like me, to let me see and experience life lessons in order to taste the sweetest of the deen~

There are many out there, like me, who are very lost and are just following the flow of the society... Among these are some who knows about the teaching of islam but many do not... I would believe that if they know it, they would be a sincere servant of Allah, subhana wa ta'ala~ Who is going to reach out to these group of mankind?

That's where I think the 'reverts' should do the job... One, they know the feeling of being lost and the feeling of searching for meaning. Two, 'reverts' have tasted the sweetest of iman and because of that he/she refuses to go back to the dark path... Third, 'reverts' do know the process of searching for truth and could demonstrate to others, through his/her daily activities...

Of course, this is a responsibility which need time and strength from Allah, subhana wa ta'ala, to carry out~ There are people like AbdulRaheem Green, or Hussein Yee, who are taking on the da'wah project on an international level... But how many of us could take up such big responsibility? Insha'Allah, one day we would... But till the day come, we can do da'wah in whatever we can...

If we can't speak, we can show by our actions... As I believe in the phrase 'action speaks louder than words'... But where do we start? To me, I am always reminded in my salat that Allah, subhana wa ta'ala, is Al-Rahman, Al-Raheem; The most gracious, The most merciful, The most compassionate...

To let others know about Allah, suhana wa ta'ala, let traces of His attributes be reflected in us~ Among mankind, there is one who reflected on Allah, subhana wa ta'ala, attributes very well and act according to it... And that's none other than our beloved Prophet Muhammad, Peace be upon him... In the hadith below, this man decided to follow the actions/sayings of our beloved prophet, peace be upon him, and it was informed to him that Allah, subhana wa ta'ala, loves him.

'A'isha reported: The Messenger of allah (may peace be upon him) sent a man in charge of an expedition and he would recite for his Companions during their prayer, ending (recitation) with:" Say, He is God, One." When they returned mention was made of it to the Messenger of allah (may peace be upon him). He (the Holy Prophet) told them to ask him why he had done like that. So they asked him and he said: Verily, it is an attribute of the Compassionate One, and (for this reason) I love to recite it. The Messenger of allah (may peace be upon him) thereupon said: Inform him that Allah loves him. (Muslim Book #004, Hadith #1773)

Very sadly, there are muslim in our ummah who 'discriminate' against other mankind... Yes, I would agree that there are people out there who are not behaving as well as they are expected to... But who are we to look down on them when they do not have the guidance of Allah, subhana wa ta'ala yet? Who are are to look down on those who have not taste the sweetness of being patience and restraining one nafs? Didn't our Prophet show us the way to treat them? The least we could do is to make dua'a for them, instead of cursing them~

Mankind were one community and Allah sent Prophets with glad tidings and warnings, and with them He sent down the Scripture in truth to judge between people in matters wherein they differed. And only those to whom (the Scripture) was given differed concerning it after clear proofs had come unto them through hatred, one to another. Then Allah by His Leave guided those who believed to the truth of that wherein they differed. And Allah guides whom He wills to the Straight Path.

( سورة البقرة , Al-Baqara, Chapter #2, Verse #213)

Mankind is one community... Why are we not those who can show those who are not on the straight path the brightness of it? Yes, Allah, subhana wa ta'ala, guides who He wills but that does not happen by magic... There are occasions when we look at the mannerism and action of a person and recognise it as an islamic way of living, but that person is not exposed to the deen~ That is our responsibility as a muslim to inform them and to share with them~

Insha'Allah, Allah subhana wa ta'ala, let us be those who can be an positive example to others~

I wish and I pray that whoever who is reading this will reflect on surah Al-Fatihah and realised that the actual fact that we are able to reflect, is a gift from Allah, subhana wa ta'ala~

May Allah, subhana wa ta'ala, gives us the strength, the courage, the wisdom to reflect His compassion, His mercy to others, with Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, be our guide... Ameen~