Celebrating the Praises of Allah (s.w.t.)

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ 

The following is taken from the transcript of a discourse delivered by Mawlana Wafi’ Muhammad. 

The Merciful Lord Tells us in His Words: 

سُوۡرَةُ النّصر

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

إِذَا جَآءَ نَصۡرُ ٱللَّهِ وَٱلۡفَتۡحُ (١) وَرَأَيۡتَ ٱلنَّاسَ يَدۡخُلُونَ فِى دِينِ ٱللَّهِ أَفۡوَاجً۬ا (٢) فَسَبِّحۡ بِحَمۡدِ رَبِّكَ وَٱسۡتَغۡفِرۡهُ‌ۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ ڪَانَ تَوَّابَۢا (٣) 

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

When, comes the Help of Allah, and Victory, and you do see the people enter Allah’s Religion in crowds, celebrate the praises of your Lord, and pray for His Forgiveness: for He is Oft-Returning (in Grace and Mercy). (Surah an-Naswr:1-3) 

This chapter was Revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) when his mission was completed and it is amongst the last of the Revelations Sent to him.  This chapter holds a very important message for each and every one of us.  It was not only pertinent to the time of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), but it is a universal principal of life.  An example of this is the story of Joseph (a.s.).  When he reached the pinnacle of his accomplishments and achieved the mission that Allah (s.w.t.) Sent him for, instead of displaying any sort of arrogance or pride, which a lot of people display when they have achieved something, he instead made a very beautiful du’a: 

سُوۡرَةُ یُوسُف

۞ رَبِّ قَدۡ ءَاتَيۡتَنِى مِنَ ٱلۡمُلۡكِ وَعَلَّمۡتَنِى مِن تَأۡوِيلِ ٱلۡأَحَادِيثِ‌ۚ فَاطِرَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ أَنتَ وَلِىِّۦ فِى ٱلدُّنۡيَا وَٱلۡأَخِرَةِ‌ۖ تَوَفَّنِى مُسۡلِمً۬ا وَأَلۡحِقۡنِى بِٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ (١٠١) 

“O my Lord!  You have indeed Bestowed on me some power, and Taught me something of the interpretation of dreams and events ― O You Creator of the Heavens and the Earth!  You are my Protector in this world and in the hereafter.  Take You my soul (at death) as one submitting to Your Will, and Unite me with the righteous.” (Surah Yusuf:101) 

On the other hand, when Allah (s.w.t.) Saved the Children of Israel from the tyranny of Pharaoh by safely taking them across the sea; as soon as they were safe, they saw some people worshipping idols and they requested Moses (a.s.) to make for them idols of their own to worship.  They immediately forgot about the One True God and His Great Mercies on them.  Allah (s.w.t.) does not want us to behave like the Children of Israel; instead He Gave us this principle that when we have achieved success in this life and would have achieved some of our goals materially and otherwise we should celebrate the praises of our Lord, and pray for His Forgiveness. 

A lot of people work very hard to attain some sort of material success.  When they were working and striving, they were nice and humble; but unfortunately later on, when they got some material gain, they started to abuse the Blessing of Allah (s.w.t.), and instead of doing good they got mixed up in haram.  Allah (s.w.t.) Demonstrated with the life of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.), after the boycott and early hardships he was faced with, people started to accept Islam in great numbers and the beauty of Islam started flourishing; Allah (s.w.t.) Revealed to him two things that he and his followers should do; glorify our Lord and make a lot of repentance.  And we too, should engage in this as much as possible regardless of the stage of life we are in.  Because we do not know if in the process of trying to acquire we would have transgressed any of the Laws of Allah (s.w.t.).  It is a good way to make amends.  A lot of people, when they retire, do not know what to do with their time.  A nice way is to praise Allah (s.w.t.), to recite His Holy Words and seek His Forgiveness. 

We may not spend our desired time with our Lord because of our commitments to our work and family.  But when we have attained something of this world, spend a lot of time with Him; on one hand trying to get closer to Him and on the other hand trying to remove the obstacles, hurdles and weight that may be pulling us away from Him.  Then we would have benefited from what He has Provided for us.  We keep in mind that our focus and purpose should be that at every stage in life we should aim to increase the time spent with our Lord; and thank Him for His Blessings and Favours, and seek His Forgiveness.  Then, we would have attained true success, both materially and spiritually.  May Allah (s.w.t.) Bless us, Forgive us and Guide us all on the straight path, insha’Allah.