Nigerian-born Ireland based Muslim scholar, Ustadh Haroon Thani has called on Muslims to strive and offer sacrifices in the cause of Allah alone in order to reap bountiful rewards in life and particularly the hereafter.
Ustadh Thani made this call at at a virtual Islamic Lecture Series 1, jointly organised by Lagos State University Muslim Engineering Graduates Association (LASUMEGA) and Lagos State University College of Medicine Muslim Alumni (LMA), with the topic, “Striving in the Cause of Allah”.
Speaking at the Webinar that took place on popular social media network, Zoom, and at the same time aired on YouTube, Ustadh Thani asserted that the nature of human beings is to strive to achieve their needs.
“Whatever we get on a platter of gold will never last long like an adage says. So, the nature of man is for him to strive to get what he wants. Allah (SWT) says, life is of trials and pains. Therefore, we have to strive for whatever we want to get,” he noted.
The CEO of Basmallah Institute for Teaching Qur’an and Islam Studies, Ireland, UK, said Islam emphasizes a lot on sacrifice, adding that there are so many portions of the Holy Qur’an explaining the concept of sacrifice which he called “Mujaahadatu-n-Nafs”.
He also categorised sacrifice into two parts – tangible and intangible – nothing every other examples of sacrifice fall under the two divisions.
According to him, “The chapter that was read, Qur’an chapter 61 verses 10 and 11 is on the list. It says: ‘Strive hard in the cause of Allah with your wealth and souls’. This means sacrifice could be of two types: tangible and intangible. Tangible – what we can see, count and talk about. On the other hand, intangible – the one we cannot see nor touch. Allah (SWT) gave us an example of each; wealth which is tangible and soul which is intangible. Allah said that is the best for you if you indeed know.
”It’s the best because the rewards which emanate from you sacrificing your wealth and soul in the cause of Allah is everlasting. But the reward that would accrue from you sacrificing for something else is ephemeral and temporary. You just get it here and that’s the end. In most cases, at the time of your demise, that’s the exit of everything. The exit may not be immediate; it may be gradual, but it goes away. You can’t hold to it because it is material.
“So, Allah says when you want to strive, you should strive in the cause of Allah alone with your wealth which is tangible and your soul which is intangible. Those two represent any form of sacrifice you want to give out. If it is love, that’s intangible; sacrifice it in the cause of Allah.”
Ustadh Thani also alluded to one of the traditions of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to drive home his argument that only actions done in the cause of Allah are best for mankind.
He said, “The Hadith of the Prophet (SAW) says, people marry for four different reasons. It may be a combination of two, but at least for one of the reasons. Enumerating them, the Prophet said, people get married for the purpose of religion. He then advised that people marry for the sake of Allah. The primary reason you are getting married is for religion. If others follow, no problem; and if they do not, no problem. If the Deen is there, everything is there, and you will be blessed. That’s an intangible sacrifice. It emanates from the soul. In most cases, people won’t see what you are seeing. They may say she is not beautiful; he is not handsome. But that’s not what you are looking at.”
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