Much Much More

I just finished my Islamic History course term test today. Alhamdulillah, I think I did okay, make du'a for me. Anyway, after going through some parts of Ibn Hisham's The Life of Muhammad, Tariq Ramadan's In the Footsteps of the Prophet, Al-Tabari's The Founding of the Caliphate, Montogomerry Watt's works, etcetera, my head is spinning with people's name, places names, terms, Maghazi, Fathul this and that, and maps. Doing review for the test really felt like as though I've never actually learned the sirah of the Prophet s.a.w. before this - my faulty memory. But now I feel like telling everyone about interesting events from the life of the Prophet s.a.w. Since I have killer engineering subjects tests coming up soon, I think I should contain mysef from writing something long (guys maybe I can take up one usrah slot to share with you all someday).

This is a speech given by Abu Bakr r.a. after the Prophet's s.a.w. death, when the ummah was in a state of shock and disbelief about the passing away of the beloved Prophet s.a.w.:-

After giving thanks and praise to God, Abu Bakr r.a. said "O men, if anyone worships Muhammad, Muhammad is dead: If anyone worships God, God is alive, immortal.' Then he recited this verse: "Muhammad is nothing but an apostle. Apostles have passed away before him. Can it be that if he were to die or be killed you would turn back on your heels? He who turns back does no harm to God, but God will reward the grateful” (Sura 3, 38)

*Ibn Hisham, The Life of Muhammad

Sometimes calamities strike us, but if we do our work for Him, we can transcend the need for support, recognitions, and rewards in the dunya; we are doing our work for something much... much... more than that. This psychological state is epitomized in this hadith:-

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “How wonderful is the case of a believer; there is good for him in everything and this applies only to a believer. If prosperity attends him, he expresses gratitude to Allah and that is good for him; and if adversity befalls him, he endures it patiently and that is good for him” (Muslim).

And sometimes, less is more:-

The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "He whom Allah intends good, He makes him to suffer from some affliction" (Al-Bukhari).