the negligence disease
Salam Alaikum...
It has been a mentally draining period and I'm not alone feeling this sentiment. I have witnessed so many people going all out, working hard and praying for success, insyaAllah. We are working creatures; our minds develop when we do things, when we think. I've been reading this book "Panduan Mencerdaskan Minda" (A Guide to Invigorate the Mind by Siti Nor Bahyah Mahamood and it has offered a lot of insights about how we can train our minds to be healthier, more productive and make us more alert.
I gathered two hadith that were mentioned in the book, relating to thoughts and how they make us better creatures.
"Berfikir sesaat itu lebih baik daripada beribadah sunnat setahun."
(To think for a second is better than a year's worth of obligatory worship.)
Hadis Riwayat Ibnu Hibban
and
"Wahai Abu Zar, tidak dinamakan seseorang itu berakal jika akalnya tidak digunakan untuk berfikir dan tidak ada usaha yang dianggap bermanfaat melainkan berakhlak mulia."
(Oh Abu Zar, an individual is not named intelligent if his mind is not used for thoughts and there is no effort which is beneficial except a pure and sound attitude/personality.)
Hadis Riwayat Al-Baihaqi dan Ibnu Hibban
It seems to me that a good mind, makes a good heart and makes a good person. And we can see from many examples; Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Buddha and the Al-Ameen Rasulullah SAW. These people were smart, intelligent and acquired a lot of knowledge in their lifetimes. Mother Theresa was a teacher and a learned nun, Buddha was a religious scholar who attained enlightenment after many years of being a disciple, Gandhi was a barrister and studied law at University College London (though he was a rather mediocre student) but gained a lot of knowledge by studying his people and became one of the most vocal political and spiritual leader in history. The Prophet SAW? Enough said. The wahyu and the fact that he was able to recite the Qur'an without actually knowing how to read and write is evidence of Allah's gift of abundant knowledge upon him. MasyaAllah. All these people used the knowledge that they have to attempt to make their world a better place.
Of course, there are people who use knowledge to forward negative causes, but there are simply too many examples in the world today that show these people end up in destruction. Haven't we heard of those people who "think too much" but never turned their words into actions? Or those who think about things very subversively and have no sound reason or logic, and hurts others through their knowledge?
It is important that we surround ourselves with people who we think are smarter and more knowledgeable than us. Of course, we are not brought into this world to always be mild-hearted; but we must learn from those who have been there, done that, and know those. As the Malay proverb has it, "berkata dengan yang tahu, berjalan dengan yang pandai" (talk with the knowledgeable and walk with the clever).
Nonetheless, there are times when even the cleverest can be unmotivated. The Rasul SAW himself felt down once when he gave an order to his Sahaabats, but none took his heed to shave their heads. In the end, it was his wife who suggested that he started first so that the rest will follow. Even the most knowledgeable can sometimes weaken, because we are all humans.
At the same time, faltering does not mean that we are a failure. It is just Allah's way to show us that we need to take pride in what we do and sometimes mistakes just make things sweeter, or become the cause to do something better.
Anyway, I'm writing all these to remind myself of my weaknesses and of course to share with my dear readers the beauty of thinking. So today was one of those days I felt unmotivated. Started yesterday actually, because I was in pain the whole day due to my tetanus jab. I even got a fever from it the same night, masyaAllah. I woke up this morning feeling horrid that I did not wake up for tahajjud and was not able to email the sisters before subuh. I thought I had broken an amanah and I felt really horrid.
After rushing through my work, I rushed to my dental appointment at the clinic near my house. The first thing the dentist said was "Oh dear, the last time you were here was 2 years ago! A lot of work to be done!" The thing about my teeth is that it's not level so a lot of plaque gets stuck and builds up into hard, horrid tartar. (EWWW) And I was really shocked that it was really two years ago. Thus, on the way back home, I was chiding myself. This clinic has not shifted its place for so many years yet I choose to ignore its presence and choosing to destroy my gums (which is already an amanah from Allah that I take care of it because it will help me eat and chew my food better!). And you know the phrase "All that is good comes from Allah and all that is bad comes from Mankind's shortcomings." It's true isn't it?
When things are good, especially when not much was being done by us and the fortune takes us by surprise, we still love to take the credit. But when things are bad, it's always always because of our own misgivings and shortcomings. The tartar on my teeth is a sign from God that I had been negligent in taking care of the most basic parts of my body. What makes me think that by not taking care of it, I can do other things better?
It's amazing that this short trip to the dentist (barely 15 minutes) can turn me into a motivated, spirited individual. It makes me feel that difficulties are just that, difficulties; something to overcome, something that will pass, something that challenges you to bring out the best in you. We shouldn't complain when we get challenged because there are always gifts that He brings and puts in all the challenges that come our way. Don't we always learn something after something major has happened? Don't we always count our blessings after hearing about another person's misfortunes? Don't we always feel more appreciative of things, even if it's just for one second, when something else has been taken away from us? I think challenges will continue coming because He wants us to experience the beauty of Syukur and Alhamdulillah. Because if there were no challenges, there's no purpose to continue living. And when "bad" or "undesirable" things happen to us, human nature has it that we will complain and grumble. But for once, let's take a step back.
Is there a sign He is showing us? Is there something that we are not doing right, that should be rectified? Have we offended anyone in that simple speech we made 2 minutes ago which we thought was fine, dandy and fantastic? MasyaAllah... that's the beauty of thinking. Of thoughts. We are challenged and Allah gives us brains to think about that challenge. In fact, everything we do is a challenge, from having to type till the end of the sentence, to walk to the kitchen, to conduct a meeting and to start a family.
After every challenge we have accomplished, why is it that we say Alhamdulillah? Because we have managed to accomplish one thing that Allah has ordained us to do. And even more Alhamdulillah for abled people like us. The disabled takes so much longer to complete their task and their challenge is even harder. We may laugh at them or sympathize but have we ever thought that they have gained so much more than us in the journey of learning? MasyaAllah...
Writing this has made me feel so much better. It was a challenge that I completed, Alhamdulillahi rabbil'alamin.
Perhaps being sick was a sign from Allah to me to take a rest. As a friend had put it yesterday, her getting chicken pox was a blessing in disguise because she got to rest. She was forced to rest and Allah is telling her that she has not been taking care of her body. She needs to rejuvenate so that she can continue.
I always believe that to be busy, to do work, are all forms of ibadah but we must be healthy to do ibadah. Only then can we reap the benefits.
Wallahu'alam bissawab.
Wassalam,
Nabila
It has been a mentally draining period and I'm not alone feeling this sentiment. I have witnessed so many people going all out, working hard and praying for success, insyaAllah. We are working creatures; our minds develop when we do things, when we think. I've been reading this book "Panduan Mencerdaskan Minda" (A Guide to Invigorate the Mind by Siti Nor Bahyah Mahamood and it has offered a lot of insights about how we can train our minds to be healthier, more productive and make us more alert.
I gathered two hadith that were mentioned in the book, relating to thoughts and how they make us better creatures.
"Berfikir sesaat itu lebih baik daripada beribadah sunnat setahun."
(To think for a second is better than a year's worth of obligatory worship.)
Hadis Riwayat Ibnu Hibban
and
"Wahai Abu Zar, tidak dinamakan seseorang itu berakal jika akalnya tidak digunakan untuk berfikir dan tidak ada usaha yang dianggap bermanfaat melainkan berakhlak mulia."
(Oh Abu Zar, an individual is not named intelligent if his mind is not used for thoughts and there is no effort which is beneficial except a pure and sound attitude/personality.)
Hadis Riwayat Al-Baihaqi dan Ibnu Hibban
It seems to me that a good mind, makes a good heart and makes a good person. And we can see from many examples; Gandhi, Mother Theresa, Buddha and the Al-Ameen Rasulullah SAW. These people were smart, intelligent and acquired a lot of knowledge in their lifetimes. Mother Theresa was a teacher and a learned nun, Buddha was a religious scholar who attained enlightenment after many years of being a disciple, Gandhi was a barrister and studied law at University College London (though he was a rather mediocre student) but gained a lot of knowledge by studying his people and became one of the most vocal political and spiritual leader in history. The Prophet SAW? Enough said. The wahyu and the fact that he was able to recite the Qur'an without actually knowing how to read and write is evidence of Allah's gift of abundant knowledge upon him. MasyaAllah. All these people used the knowledge that they have to attempt to make their world a better place.
Of course, there are people who use knowledge to forward negative causes, but there are simply too many examples in the world today that show these people end up in destruction. Haven't we heard of those people who "think too much" but never turned their words into actions? Or those who think about things very subversively and have no sound reason or logic, and hurts others through their knowledge?
It is important that we surround ourselves with people who we think are smarter and more knowledgeable than us. Of course, we are not brought into this world to always be mild-hearted; but we must learn from those who have been there, done that, and know those. As the Malay proverb has it, "berkata dengan yang tahu, berjalan dengan yang pandai" (talk with the knowledgeable and walk with the clever).
Nonetheless, there are times when even the cleverest can be unmotivated. The Rasul SAW himself felt down once when he gave an order to his Sahaabats, but none took his heed to shave their heads. In the end, it was his wife who suggested that he started first so that the rest will follow. Even the most knowledgeable can sometimes weaken, because we are all humans.
At the same time, faltering does not mean that we are a failure. It is just Allah's way to show us that we need to take pride in what we do and sometimes mistakes just make things sweeter, or become the cause to do something better.
Anyway, I'm writing all these to remind myself of my weaknesses and of course to share with my dear readers the beauty of thinking. So today was one of those days I felt unmotivated. Started yesterday actually, because I was in pain the whole day due to my tetanus jab. I even got a fever from it the same night, masyaAllah. I woke up this morning feeling horrid that I did not wake up for tahajjud and was not able to email the sisters before subuh. I thought I had broken an amanah and I felt really horrid.
After rushing through my work, I rushed to my dental appointment at the clinic near my house. The first thing the dentist said was "Oh dear, the last time you were here was 2 years ago! A lot of work to be done!" The thing about my teeth is that it's not level so a lot of plaque gets stuck and builds up into hard, horrid tartar. (EWWW) And I was really shocked that it was really two years ago. Thus, on the way back home, I was chiding myself. This clinic has not shifted its place for so many years yet I choose to ignore its presence and choosing to destroy my gums (which is already an amanah from Allah that I take care of it because it will help me eat and chew my food better!). And you know the phrase "All that is good comes from Allah and all that is bad comes from Mankind's shortcomings." It's true isn't it?
When things are good, especially when not much was being done by us and the fortune takes us by surprise, we still love to take the credit. But when things are bad, it's always always because of our own misgivings and shortcomings. The tartar on my teeth is a sign from God that I had been negligent in taking care of the most basic parts of my body. What makes me think that by not taking care of it, I can do other things better?
It's amazing that this short trip to the dentist (barely 15 minutes) can turn me into a motivated, spirited individual. It makes me feel that difficulties are just that, difficulties; something to overcome, something that will pass, something that challenges you to bring out the best in you. We shouldn't complain when we get challenged because there are always gifts that He brings and puts in all the challenges that come our way. Don't we always learn something after something major has happened? Don't we always count our blessings after hearing about another person's misfortunes? Don't we always feel more appreciative of things, even if it's just for one second, when something else has been taken away from us? I think challenges will continue coming because He wants us to experience the beauty of Syukur and Alhamdulillah. Because if there were no challenges, there's no purpose to continue living. And when "bad" or "undesirable" things happen to us, human nature has it that we will complain and grumble. But for once, let's take a step back.
Is there a sign He is showing us? Is there something that we are not doing right, that should be rectified? Have we offended anyone in that simple speech we made 2 minutes ago which we thought was fine, dandy and fantastic? MasyaAllah... that's the beauty of thinking. Of thoughts. We are challenged and Allah gives us brains to think about that challenge. In fact, everything we do is a challenge, from having to type till the end of the sentence, to walk to the kitchen, to conduct a meeting and to start a family.
After every challenge we have accomplished, why is it that we say Alhamdulillah? Because we have managed to accomplish one thing that Allah has ordained us to do. And even more Alhamdulillah for abled people like us. The disabled takes so much longer to complete their task and their challenge is even harder. We may laugh at them or sympathize but have we ever thought that they have gained so much more than us in the journey of learning? MasyaAllah...
Writing this has made me feel so much better. It was a challenge that I completed, Alhamdulillahi rabbil'alamin.
Perhaps being sick was a sign from Allah to me to take a rest. As a friend had put it yesterday, her getting chicken pox was a blessing in disguise because she got to rest. She was forced to rest and Allah is telling her that she has not been taking care of her body. She needs to rejuvenate so that she can continue.
I always believe that to be busy, to do work, are all forms of ibadah but we must be healthy to do ibadah. Only then can we reap the benefits.
Wallahu'alam bissawab.
Wassalam,
Nabila