Little by little

Bismillahirahmanirahim

Imagine a well. You are patiently pulling the rope, pulling the bucket of water higher and higher. You cannot stop because that bucket might just be a few metres away.

That is istiqamah. Istiqamah in doing good little by little, continuously. You don’t know if your deeds are accepted by Allah but you keep on doing it because His blessings might just be a few steps away. Wouldn’t it be a loss?

Do you know how to istiqamah in remembering Allah?
 Istiqamah in remembering Allah starts from the heart. The heart that is ceaselessly loyal to Allah, in following His orders and keep clear of His prohibitions.

In hadith 6,
“….Beware, in the body there is a flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt, and behold, it is the heart.”

The heart that always remembers Allah will bring good behaviour.
The heart that forgets is inclined to do maksiat and wrongdoings.

To be continuous in remembering him, we must always remember to put His love first. In everyday life, there is always a battle between Allah’s needs and human’s needs. For example, you are taking oral exam here in Russia and there are different teachers you can answer to. Some are strict, some more lenient and there is a tendency to compare teachers and plan to answer to one teacher or another. But really, in the end, your marks or rezeki comes from the Almighty Allah. Isn’t it better to pray than discuss the battle of the teachers?

So remember Me and I will remember you, and give thanks to Me and be not ungrateful. (2;152)

We must also learn to put emphasis on His orders and prohibitions. It is an obligation to pray but it is better to pray on time or with full khusyuk or as jemaah. You can donate to masjid but always try to be ikhlas in doing it. InsyaAllah the heart will surely be in remembrance of Allah.

Increasing your zikrullah is also a good way to have a heart that is istiqamah in remembering Allah. Our mouths can tasbih while travelling to class, while looking at the sky and be amazed how it could stand without pillars, or listening to birds chirping and know that every single makhluk in this world is remembering Allah in its own way, even your own shadow.

[O MEN!] Are you more difficult to create than the heaven which He has built? (79;27)

For it is Allah alone before Whom everything in the heavens and the earth bows down willingly or un-willingly, and the shadows of all things bow down before Him in the morning and the evening. (13;15)

When you gaze at the world through Islam, you will not forget Him.

When you were little, did your teacher tell you stories about Si Tenggang, who betrayed his mother or about the tortoise and the hare, to learn to not be so proud of yourself or how about that boy who lied and cried ‘Wolf!’

But I’m sure all of you have heard and read about the greatest storybook written by the greatest writer, although you may not realize it.
The Quran. Isn’t it full of stories and lessons to be learned?

As an example, let’s look at surah kahfi, which by the way is quoted in a hadith
"Whoever reads Sura Kahf on Friday, light shall shine forth for him between the two Fridays."

In Al-Kahfi, there are stories about Ashabul Kahfi, a group of people who ran away from the king and from the majority that worship the king. They were the minority that had faith to God and ran away to preserve their akidah, and as they hid in the cave, Allah made them sleep for 309 years. There are also stories about the Prophet Musa who searched for the Prophet Khidir to learn from him and Musa were asked to be patient and not asked questions. And also a lot more.
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From stories written from the Quran, there are many hikmah and lessons to be learned that can help increase our iman to Allah.

Istiqamah in doing good deeds
It is not easy to be istiqamah in doing good deeds. Say, reading 1 page from the quran everyday, or doing qiam 3 times a week. There are a few obstacles such as yourself, because our iman is sometimes up and sometimes down, obstacles from your own surroundings, perhaps friends.

But you are a Muslim.
“You are the best of peoples evolved for mankind, You enjoin what is right and you forbid what is wrong, and you believe in Allah…” (3;110)

You are the best ummah. The best ummah must give the best efforts. Don’t give up, be patient, always zikir and be grateful, strengthen your spirit.

Mujahadah! Mujahadah in your istiqamah until one day, appear a feeling of incompleteness when you don’t do what you have done continuously for a long time.  InsyaAllah.