Thursday

28 Mar 2024

A Message - September 2014

By - Alimah Nadia Sadiq Saturday, September 13, 2014

Alhamdulillah (All praise is for Allah ta'ala), I write this message with immense gratitude in my heart to Allah ta'ala. MashaAllah, the family of Nur ul Ilm Academy has grown tremendously over time. With this outward growth in the number of students and the teaching staff, I can also see a growth in the love within our hearts for each other. This feeling of great love, respect, care and concern which we all share with each other is beyond any words or expression. The seed of this love is sown by Allah ta'ala; it grows in the hearts and is felt by the hearts. One of the things which Allah ta'ala loves is the love which His people have for each other. I feel blessed to be part of this group of people who love each other for His sake. As according to a hadith, these people get the shade of the throne of Allah ta'ala when there will be no shade but this one shade:

Abu Huraira (may Allah ta'ala be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah salallaho alaihe wasallam said, “Verily, Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection: Where are those who love each other for the sake of My glory? Today, I will shelter them in My shade; a Day when there is no shade but Mine. (Sahih Muslim)

According to another narration, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “The strongest faith is to be sincere for the sake of Allah, to hate for the sake of Allah, to love for the sake of Allah and to discard for the sake of Allah.” (At-Tabrani)

Our beautiful religion recommends and stresses to love people and show compassion and sincerity towards them. One of the names of Allah ta'ala is Al-Wadud, The Most Loving. Indeed Allah ta'ala created us out of love. He created us with intent. He created us to succeed, not to fail. He gave us all the tools that we need to thrive. So we should reflect in our own selves what a miracle our existence is. With so much love, Allah ta'ala created us and made the whole world subjugated for us. 

Just as Allah ta'ala has loved us and bestowed great blessings on us, He also wants that we show this love towards other people. This love and attraction is not possible without having something incommon. When two human beings are attracted towards each other, their hearts connect and they desirethe companionship of one another. The reason for this is some kind of similarity and resemblance. Unless there was some kind of similarity, they would not attract towards one another and move towards this relationship of love.

As it is said: Birds of the same feather flock together.

Mawlana Rumi (may Allah ta'ala have mercy on him), in his book, mentions a fine story that illustrates this very fact. A wise man saw a raven which had great affection for a stork. They perched together and flew together. This man could not understand how two birds of two differents pecies, with no similarity in shape or in colour with each other, could be friends. He went close and discovered that both of them had only one leg.

This love which we all share with each other grows because we all share the same hearts; hearts which wish to please their Creator, hearts which desire the vision of Allah ta'ala, hearts which want to save their faith in this day and age, hearts which plead for forgiveness, hearts which move with the remembrance of Allah ta'ala. When all of these hearts get together, the love starts growing within. This makes our iman (faith) rise. It helps us out in this world by providing mutual support and concern, and it makes us worry for each other’s afterlife. This love drives us for a desire to be together in Jannah (Paradise).

It’s surprising how every student of this institute is different, yet the love I have for them is the same. We are all like parts of a building, strengthening each other. The students might be physically present in the institute or might be sitting miles away in a strange land, connecting to me through their laptop screens. The distance between our bodies does not distant our hearts. They might have spent four or five years with me in this institute, sharing their ups and downs, or they might have just joined this big family recently and have not yet tasted the sweetness of this love yet. It is strange that my love and concern for all of them stays the same.

This is a sign that Allah ta'ala loves all these beautiful gems of Nur ul Ilm.

As it is said: Verily, if Allah ta'ala has loved a servant, He calls Jibrail (peace be upon him), and says, “I love so-and-so, therefore love him.” So Jibrail (peace be upon him) loves him. Then he calls out in the Heavens, saying, “Allah ta'ala loves so-and-so, therefore love him.” Then the inhabitants of the Heavens love him. Afterwards, acceptance is established for him on Earth. (Sahih Muslim).

Every moment that we spend in this madrasah (Islamic educational institute) together, touches our hearts and souls forever. We learn and share the depth of knowledge and we keep collecting the gems of wisdom on this journey. We tread on this journey of love. On this blissful path, I stay with you and you all walk with me. Our presence touches our hearts and shows us a dream ever to depart.

I pray and hope that we keep pleasing Allah ta'ala, obeying Him and working for His beautiful religion. Due to this submission, Allah u increases us in our love for each other. InshaAllah, He will make us a group which will be standing under His shade on the Day of Judgment together, hand-in-hand, entering the House of Peace, Jannah. A group which gets a space together in the neighborhood of His beloved Prophet (peace be upon him). May Allah ta'ala protect this group, striving together for His love and for the love of each other, in this world and the next. Ameen.

I love you all from the core of my heart.

The bond we share, helps us through the day

This love in our hearts, in there to stay.

Holding us up, when we are weak

Helping us find, what our hearts seek.

Catching our tears, when we cry

Pulling us through, when the tide is high.

Comforting us with the words of cheer

Patting on our shoulders or brushing away a tear.

Sharing the joy of those little things,

Supporting us in the challenges life brings.

Consoling us through when heart is in pain,

When life looks hard and goals are to attain.

Smiling at us to touch the grieved heart

Giving us strength to take a new start.

This bond that we share is sent from above

Our hearts meet together with kindness and love

We share our hopes, our dreams and fears,

We wipe away the sadness and brush away the tears

How sweet is the thought of never being alone,

With hearts so close, it’s just like coming home.

May Allah ta'ala accept us all,

Nadia Sadiq

Always in the service of Nur ul Ilm Academy

Saturday, September 13th, 2014 | Dhu' Qa'da 18, 1435