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Remember Me and I shall Remember you
By Nader Salah
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It
is a blessing that we are in this month of Ramadan. It is the month
of the Qur’an, of remembering Allah, of asking His forgiveness.
Essentially, this is the month of communicating with Allah. Of
course, we can communicate with Allah any month of the year at any
given moment.
However, many people use the blessed month of Ramadan as a
springboard to establish or reestablish their relationship with
Allah. Some people unfortunately go 2-3 years or even a lifetime
without communicating with the One who Created them.
Imagine that one day you wake up and find that your face is on the
cover of every major magazine and newspaper. You are the feature
story of every newscast in every major city of the world. Every
leader throughout the world is praising you and saying how great
you are. It turns out that you are being awarded as the Man of the
Year! Imagine the amount of pride you might have in that
achievement? Quite understandably, many people would take great
pride in this notoriety.
Now, let us ponder on how we would feel if the King of kings, the
Lord of the Heavens and the Earth and everything in between
recognized us. How would we value that achievement? How would you
feel if Allah mentioned you? If He even noticed you? Would you be
thankful? Would you feel undeserving? Would you feel proud?
If you are of those that desire for Allah to remember them, there
is a simple formula to achieve this goal. Allah says in the
Qur’an in sura 2, verse 152, “Therefore remember Me, I will
remember you. Give thanks to Me, and reject not Me.”
In a hadith Qudsi related by Imam Al-Bukhari (May Allah have mercy
on his soul), Allah said, “Whoever mentions Me by himself, I will
mention him by Myself. And whoever remembers Me in a gathering, I
will remember him in a gathering that is better.”
Therefore, it is very easy to see how we can have the Creator
remember us and mention us. However, many of us are reluctant or
lazy to put this into practice. After pondering on the idea of
Allah (SWT) remembering you by Himself or in a gathering, could you
possibly still resist having your tongue moist with the remembrance
of Allah?
In another hadith related by Imam Al-Bukhari, the Prophet (SAAWS)
said, “The similitude of the one who remembers Allah versus the
one who doesn’t is like that of the one who is alive compared to
the one who is dead.”
Oh Allah, make us of those who remember You when we are alone as
well as when we are in gatherings. Shower your mercy upon our souls
and forgive us for the sins which we have committed. Guide us on
the straight path and let us not die except in a state of Islam.
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