Towards Life's Goals

As we venture through the pathways of our life, each individual would carry an immense responsibility to build up the state of their future along. Each of us would stand with our own dreams and goals, on what to be accomplished in life, like securing a well-respected career, driving around in luxury cars, residing in elite residential,  strut in designer collections, and so on.

Along the pathways that will lead to our desired goals, we might stumble upon with these two kind of challenges :

1) Internal challenges. That existed in the form of our own lust, and the whisper of doubt from syaitan. 

2) External challenges. That existed in form of threat, set backs and something out of our own control and will.

Both kinds of challenges will always come after us, that existed in any forms possible, at around the clock. It will then come down crushing, up to the point when we could not be able to confront it anymore, unless with the help and guidance from Allah S.W.T. 

If you find absolutely no way,
Allah can make the best way.

The prime reason why Allah imposed all sorts of challenges and tests to us, nothing short of distinguishing between a particular individual as compared to the rest of His worshippers. Through the test, it will clearly show the exact individual who succeed through from His trials and those who simply gave up.

This come close in His firman of :

(al-Ankabut : 3)

For those who have placed their utmost reliance to Allah, they will have the sense of being close together with His bless. Wherever they step their foot in this world, the existence of Allah will stay blooming in their heart. This kind of connection will somehow fuse a powerful strength that exerting from the inside of that individual. 

As such, for the Muslim worshippers to be istiqamah in Islam and along the road of tarbiyah, one does not simply rely on their own good deeds and daily ibadah. Also not just by blending through their islamic surrounding, nor by placing their reliance to their own heart. 

Human heart is known to easily fall in vacillation. If we place our reliance towards something that is weak and vulnerable in nature, it cannot stay in the sturdy state and that reliance will be gradually faded in times.

But still, some of us might think that because they already veered off course from true Islam's teaching, or they already being masked with tons of sins, the guidance and forgiveness from Allah is no longer viable to attain. Besides, there is also a few who posses a thought of Allah is just too far from them, to an extent that by asking for His help is merely being a worthless act.

Find Allah first. And He will do the rest.

Furthermore, Allah clearly stated in surah an-Nas and al-Falaq, upon the importance of placing the utmost reliance to Him, regardless of the situation and hardship that we might face. Proceeding after surah an-Nas, Allah tells us about surah al-Falaq, that hold the meaning of 'The Day Break'.

If we take a closer insight into this surah, it heavily refers to the all-pervasive power of Allah which extends from the tiny creation of the young shoot to the manoeuvering of the huge planets, such as the sun and the moon, in the distant universe. By using His divine attribute of al-Falaq, the idea is to impress upon the mind of the believer that it is Allah alone Who can protect one from evils.

Besides, Allah clearly wanted us to get protection towards all sort of evils of the world. Allah created the dangers to human, so that we could seek our refuge towards Him. Among the evil things that Allah created, the emphasise are being place on these matters :

1) Evil of the intense darkness 

2) Evil of those who cast evil

3) Evil of the envier

As for these three actions, we do not have the sufficient power to stop it, unless with the sole help of Allah. This explained in His firman of :

"And they followed [instead] what the devils had recited during the reign of Solomon. It was not Solomon who disbelieved, but the devils disbelieved, teaching people magic and that which was revealed to the two angels at Babylon, Harut and Marut. But the two angels do not teach anyone unless they say, "We are a trial, so do not disbelieve [by practicing magic]." And [yet] they learn from them that by which they cause separation between a man and his wife. But they do not harm anyone through it except by permission of Allah . And the people learn what harms them and does not benefit them. But the Children of Israel certainly knew that whoever purchased the magic would not have in the Hereafter any share."

(al-Baqarah : 102)

There is no might or power, except by Allah. 

As we march through our challenging pathways of life, especially when we have chosen the road of dakwah as our destined goal, the set backs and difficulties will certainly come down tumbling toward us. These kind of difficulties will be out of our control and will try to take us down. 

So then, what will be our 'supply' in order for us to reach our goal? Simple, by taking refuge with Allah's power. It simply cannot be attained through our daily doa recitation and prayers, but also with the blazing spirit and sturdy iman being wholly nurtured into us. 

To sum up, this whole life's journey is still long to be ventured through. And there is still a lot that left stacked on our bucket list, awaiting to be accomplished by our own will. That is why the practise of istiqamah is vital among us as the Muslim individuals. Stop making the internal and external challenges as the excuse, in delaying the much needed self-improvement of ourselves and surrounding society towards the better. This is the exact time when you need to discard all of the mounting excuses away.

Written by : Inche Songkok Hitam