IF YOU HAD ONE WISH, What Will You Ask Allah For?

 

If You Had One Wish

What Will You Ask

Allah For?

(M. Javed Naseem)

 

“Whoever does good, benefits himself; and

whoever does evil, harms himself…..”

(al-Quran 45:15)

As they say, “We make our own bed”, so we should be prepared to sleep in it too! But we want only comfortable, peaceful and happy life; free of problems, hurdles and worries. How much do we contribute towards it, we don’t want to ask ourselves. We are always complaining, nagging and are never satisfied.

Good and evil (or negative and positive), keep the balance of life, and at the same time bring some excitement or joy. But eventually it is our own good effort that counts. It’s only beneficial that we direct our efforts towards ‘good’ deeds and try to avoid wasting our time and energy on superficial things that won’t benefit us in the Hereafter. The Quran tells us clearly:

“And that man has only that

for which he makes effort.”

(al-Quran 53:39)

There is a positive lesson in everything negative we experience in life. Sweet are the fruits of adversity. All it needs is a little patience, cool and an honest try to get through. It is called ‘striving’, or struggle, or Jihad – not the ‘Jihad’ that the Western fake-news media presents. In this struggle we should not forget that there will be trials and tests. Nothing comes for free. With all the diversions, interruptions and distractions, we need to stay focused on course. Allah says:

“And surely We shall try you with something

of fear and hunger, and loss of wealth and lives

and crops; but give glad tidings to the steadfast.”

(al-Quran 2:155)

If God told you that you could ask Him for one (and only one) thing and you will be granted; then what would you ask Him for?

Huh ... hundred and one things to ask, so many needs, so many desires and ambitions, so many essentials of modern and comfortable life – a tough choice! You think about it and I’ll try to help you with some alternate answers.

If you ask Allah for strength, Allah will give you difficulties and hurdles to go through. And that will make you strong. But you don’t want difficulties and hurdles!

If you ask for wisdom, God will give you problems to solve. You always deal with difficult problems trying to find solutions. In the process you turn grey and become wise. Do you want that?

If you ask God for prosperity, He will give you extra brain and brawn to work. You will be working hard, day and night to achieve your goals. Oh, you don’t want to work hard or work at all!

If you ask Allah for courage, Allah will give you ‘dangers’ to overcome. You’ll be scared to death every now and then, but you’ll become courageous. Want that?

If you ask God for love – oh, yes! Love! God will give you all the troubled people of the world – les miserables, the destitute, the flood & quake victims – to help them, take care of them and love them. You share love with them and in return they’ll love you most. And you would become love personified, like Mother Theresa or Edhi.

If you ask for favors, God will give you opportunities but you should be able to recognize them and grab them. Do you have eyes to see those opportunities or the spirit to feel the chance?

And here is the best alternative: If you ask Allah for nothing except His mercy – no material wants, no needs, no worldly desires – and just be thankful to Him for whatever you have, He will give you everything you need – guaranteed! He promised:

“… And verily We shall pay those who are

steadfast, a recompense in proportion to the

best of what they used to do.”

(al-Quran 16:96)

“And turn unto Allah together, O believers,

in order that you may succeed.”

(al-Quran 24:31)

And last but not the least: Ask Allah for His forgiveness! That forgiveness contains everything you need in this world as well as in the Hereafter. In the Holy Quran, Allah tells you to do just that:

“And seek forgiveness of Allah. Lo! Allah is

ever Forgiving, Merciful.”

(al-Quran 4:106)

Now, you know what to ask for and how to ask! But, as the saying goes: First deserve, then desire! The promise of success is there and there is absolutely no doubt in that. We need to make some honest and sincere effort on our part. But in those efforts, there is no escape from pains and hurts in life. It’s a ‘must’ of life without which your life cycle cannot be complete. Therefore, we should prepare ourselves, mentally and physically, so that we don’t feel devastated. The best way to do it is to bring God into our lives.

Allah the Almighty and the Most-Merciful, has offered us a great bargain in this respect. He says:

“Therefore, remember Me, I will remember

you. Give thanks to Me, and reject not Me.”

(al-Quran 2:152)

Allah the Merciful has also given us a great prescription to seek His help. He tells us in the Quran:

“Seek help in patience and prayer; and truly

it is hard except for the humble-minded.”

(al-Quran 2:45)

The One who brought us in this world, will take care of us too, provided we do what HE tells us to do. Be grateful to Him under all circumstances. Every calamity comes from Him and HE is the One who can get us out of it. Show some perseverance and stay on course. Don’t chase your wild desires in vain, and don’t ever get greedy. Greed is the base of all evils. Try to learn to be content with whatever Allah has blessed you with.

Don’t ever forget that Allah is going to question you about everything you possessed in this world; and what you did with it. He blessed you with so many things in this world and He will ask you how you used those things to help the needy and mankind in general. Therefore, seek His forgiveness! Invoke Him with all His beautiful names and ask Him alone for help.

“O you who believe! Seek help in steadfastness

and prayer! Lo, Allah is with the steadfast.”

(al-Quran 2:153)

Remember one thing! If things are going your way, you are a very lucky person on earth. But if things are not going your way, you are even luckier, because then they are going God’s way. And His is the best way, as He knows how to run the world efficiently. Don’t look at others who are better off and richer than you. Look at those who are less fortunate than you, and I guarantee you there are millions in this world. Don’t settle for a ‘bad’ bargain! If you are striving for a comfortable, nice and luxury life, with all the pomp and show, in this world, Allah might give you that. But that is the bad bargain I am referring to. For a comfortable life of this world, you are destroying the life in the Hereafter. Allah has warned us in the Quran:

“Whoso desires the life of the world and its

pomp, We shall repay them their deeds herein,

and therein they will not be wronged. Those are

they for whom is naught in the Hereafter save the

Fire. All that they contrive here is vain and all

that they are wont to do is fruitless.”

(al-Quran 11:15-16)

Imagine those people in Africa, especially in Somalia and Ethiopia, Yemen, etc., who have nothing to eat, no clean water to drink, no nice clothes to wear, no refrigerators when the temperature is above 50c degrees, no air-conditioners, not even electricity, no cars, no vacations, no birthday parties, no cakes and cookies! Most of them are surviving on corn and muddy water. Everyday they wait for somebody to bring them some good news – some food of any kind. They look up to people like you and me to help them get out of this misery. They look up to us to give them life. They can really say that life is harsh and they are going through rough and tough times.

As Muslims, we should ask ourselves: What are we doing for our fellow human beings? Can’t we see the commands of the Almighty in the Holy Quran? He says:

“Give the kinsman his due, and the needy, and

the wayfarer, and squander not (thy wealth) in

wantonness.”

(al-Quran 17:26)

“Spend your wealth for the cause of Allah, and

cast not (yourselves) by your own hands to ruin;

and do good! Lo, Allah loves the beneficent.”

(al-Quran 2:195)

All our lives we struggle and try hard to accumulate as much wealth as possible because we believe that it is the wealth than will solve all our problems. Wealth can solve only economic problems, but at the same time can create many social and moral ills.

The best things to ask Allah for, are His mercy, forgiveness, compassion, contentment, good health and the courage to stand for truth & justice; and of course the patience to follow the ‘right path’ with steadfastness!

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