Tuesday, August 17, 2010

7th Ramadhan 1431 Hijri

Bismillah.

O son, I am not sure if I will live long enough to be around to coach and guide you in person. You might forget most of all that has been said. But there are only two pieces of advice I hope you would take on board. Just two.

Firstly, you must realize the importance of knowledge.
Secondly, choose your friends carefully!
  
I have been studying the words of the honorable Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani and found two pieces of advice from him that's relevant to the message that I want to get across to you.  

He said: "When you hear a word of knowledge, put it into practice and teach it to someone else. You have two rewards: the reward for knowledge and the reward for the sharing of knowledge. The world is darkness and knowledge is a light within it, so he who has no knowledge is blundering about in this darkness and doing more harm than good. You must learn, practise and teach for this will give you all good things combined."

You will meet all kinds of people. There are people who like to bring other people down with negative words. Let it be. At the end of the day, your knowledge is yours, your education is yours and your experiences are all yours. Just continue learning, practising and sharing.

My second advice is very important. Choose your friends well.
Shaykh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani said: "Your devil, your passions (hawa), your natural inclinations (tab') and your bad companions are your enemies, so beware of them in case they make you fall into perdition. Acquire knowledge so that you will know how to combat them and be on your own guard against them, then you will know how to worship your Lord. From the ignorant person no worship is accepted."

As far as the devil is concerned, we can only seek refuge in Allah. A'uzubillahi minas shaytanir rajeem. That's our weapon.  Your passion (hawa) is something you can tame by way of fasting. Your tabi'i or your habits is something you must watch over. Be prepared to break a bad habit and not let habits overpower you. And the most important thing is to avoid bad companies. Choose your friends carefully. Be selective. It's not our business to be friendly to everyone and anyone.

Wallahi, if I could turn back time, I would live my youth period differently by choosing my friends well. So don't repeat my mistakes. You, you make an effort to befriend those who have good akhlak. Pray Rabbi habli hukman, wa al hiqni bis solehin. O Lord grant me wisdom and enjoin me with the righteous.

I shall pray for the same for you. O Allah, grant our children useful knowledge and keep them in good company always. Ameen Ya Allah Ya Raheem.

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