Wishing you all tremendous amount
of peace, in your mind, home and all your endeavours.
Today I wish to provoke your
thoughts on an issue that we all usually overlook. As Muslims,
our primary mission alive is to serve the Almighty Creator. So, I think it is
only a smart move to make sure that we dedicate all our actions to worshiping him.
This been said, I would like to
draw our attention to the importance of Niyyah in everything we do by quoting
some Hadiths of our beloved prophet (SAW)
Allah's
Messenger SAW: "Verily,
all actions are but driven by intention and for everyone is what he intended." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Allah's
Messenger SAW also said: "Certainly,
Allah does not look at your shapes (appearance) or wealth. But He only looks at
your hearts and deeds." [Al-Bukhari and
Muslim]
So, here comes the question. "Why are you working?"
Maybe the question seems weird but it really isn’t. Taking time to
reflect why we do what we do may be all that is left to actually be happy and
fulfilled with our jobs.
It is not enough to answer with sentences like:
“I have to provide for my family” {yes, that is noble but may be tiring along the
way. You may start wondering why you must be responsible for all these. Isn’t all
this too much for you? Are you being appreciated enough? This intention may not be enough to get by those exhausting days}.
“I want to be the Miss/Mrs Independent” { Yeah, that’s also cool but with it comes a bit
of pride which you may have to fight so hard to keep in check, in order not to hurt
the important people in your life. Trust me, time will come you will
desperately need them, not necessarily
for money or material things but moral and emotional support that help you
through stormy work experiences}.
Now how do we renew our intention?
Let’s not forget that the best of our actions which would earn us the
greatest reward is fisabilillah (for the sake of Allah (SWT)).
It is
understandable if we have some glitches in arriving at this level and being sure
it is not superficial. We shouldn’t just say it for saying sake."I am working for for Allah's sake" *roll my eyes*
In fact, we do not have to say it at all. It is the strongest convictions in our hearts that
matters. Hence, there are some steps we can take to, Insha Allah, help us reach
the noblest intention that will earn us greatest reward in front of our
Creator. Not only will we enjoy His bounties in this world but also be saving
for the hereafter as we go.
Constant
Renewal of Knowledge:
Striving to increase our knowledge in Islam is the
first step. Allah(SWT) said in the Quran "if we do not Him, how will we know how to worship Him?". Understanding that the greatest success we can achieve is not
a measure of any of the worldly materials and status will push us to actually
achieve the real success.
Constant
Renewal of Faith:
Complete believe and submission to Allah will go a long way. We need to
understand that all our labour, sweats, sleepless night ultimately means
nothing without the mercy of Allah(SWT). Whatever we have or achieve is not by our
might but by his grace. So, why not let Him help us attain the greatest
achievement possible. In the process of genuinely leaving everything in his
hand, we will recognise there is not worth spending our time on if not for His
sake.
Outlining How the Job Benefits the Ummah:
It helps to take pen and paper and list all the ways we can think of, in which what we do, for the most hours of our days contribute to the propagation of Islam and humanity. We may be amazed at how much we will discover about our self worth after doing this. It helps you gain a strange sense of strength to keep going.
Constant
Reflection as we go:
We sure need to pause for a
moment and reflect as we go about our daily life and struggles. It is extremely
important to arrange our thoughts and put things into perspective. This helps
us retrace our step when we start to go off track with our intentions and actions. See this
as a form of check and balance we often do with our finances. (MCL TIP: this can be done daily as we retire to bed
at night before we say our supplications prior sleep. Think about your actions
that day, evaluate yourself and ask Allah for strength to be better)
May God strengthen our faith and keep us in the right
path as we go about our daily life activities. {Amin}
We will like to gain from you
too. Share with us how you stay in focus keeping your eyes on the star prize (Jannah)
InshaAllah. Sharing knowledge is an act that will definitely be recognised and
rewarded by Allah(SWT), Alhamdulilah.
