Back then...

Sometimes I feel like it's too hard to practice Islam correctly now. Everywhere we look- the movies, the magazines, the t.v., the Internet, everything is stocked with sinful things. If you look at the people before, like in the 1st and 6th centuries, they led such pure lives. So many times, I wish I was born back then when it was easier to be Muslim. Those people were so lucky. I sometimes wonder why Allah made me live in this time. Why couldn’t I have lived when they did and led a pure life like them?

  

Dearest Sis,

I'm sure all of us have had that thought cross our minds before. If only we could have lived with the Companions...If only we could have lived at the time with the Messenger Sallah Allahoo alyhee wa salam or the early generations. Everything would have been perfect then. We would have been perfect Muslims.

 But the question is...would we really?

Would everything really have been that easy?

Let's step back a moment and really picture what life was like back then. People back then didn't have running water or air condition. They didn't have paved roads, either. Imagine fasting in the desert with temperatures of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (40+ Celsius) and not having air condition. Imagine trying to just make wudu for the 5 prayers with no running water. Imagine walking on rocks/sand/mountains without proper shoes. There weren't any supermarkets, either…so getting food was a difficult process, too. Our beloved prophet, sallah Allahoo alyhee wa salam certainly didn't eat the way we eat today:

 Volume 8, Book 76, Number 462:

Narrated 'Aisha:

The family of Muhammad did not eat two meals on one day, but one of the two was of dates.

 What else? Well, getting from one place to another took months…..And what about giving birth back then?

 And you know what?

 The concept that we have today of "freedom of religion" did not exist back then.  People fought for the right to believe with their lives...And, they fought for the protection of Islam WITH their lives.

Among the believers are men true to what they promised Allah. Among them is he who has fulfilled his vow [to the death], and among them is he who awaits [his chance]. And they did not alter [the terms of their commitment] by any alteration - (Surat Al Ahzab 23)

 In fact, one of the companions Radiya Allah Anhoo felt that things were very difficult for them. He asked the Prophet why he didn't pray to Allah to grant them victory Think about that. Really think about it. The fact that the companion felt that the prophet should supplicate for them to have victory clearly shows that things were not easy back then. They were being sorely tested!

And wait...listen to what the Prophet sallah Allahoo alyhee wa salam responded with:

Abu 'Abdullah Khabbab ibn al-Aratt, said "We complained to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while he was using his cloak as a pillow in the shade of the Ka'ba, saying, 'Why do you not ask for victory for us? Why do you not make supplication for us?' He replied, 'Among those before you there was a man who was seized and put in a hole in the ground which was dug for him. Then a saw was brought, put to his head and he was sawed in half. Then he was raked with metal teeth through his flesh and bones. None of that turned him from his religion. Allah will complete this business so that a rider will be able to travel from San'a' to Hadramawt fearing none but Allah and wolves against his sheep, but you want to make things happen too quickly." [al-Bukhari]

 There's another story, too that occurred during the time of Fira'wan (which some scholars have authenticated and some have considered "da'ef or week"...) But it goes like this:

It was narrated that Ibn Abbas radiAllaah anhu- said: The Messenger of Allaah -

sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam said: On the night on which I was taken on the Night

Journey, a beautiful fragrance came to me. I said: O Jibreel, what is this

beautiful fragrance? He said: This is the fragrance of the hairdresser of

Pharaoh's daughter and her children. I said: What is their story? He said:

Whilst she was combing the hair of Pharaoh's daughter one day, the iron

comb fell from her hand and she said, Bismillaah (in the name of Allaah).

The daughter of Pharaoh said: You mean my father? She said: No. My Lord

and the Lord of your father is Allaah. She said: I will tell him about that. She

said: Yes.

So she told him and he summoned her and said: O So and so, do you have a

Lord other than me? She said: Yes, my Lord and your Lord is Allaah. He

ordered that a cow made of copper be heated up, then he ordered that she

and her children be thrown into it. She said: I have a request to make of

you. He said: What is your request? She said: I would like my bones and my

children's bones to be gathered together in one cloth and buried. He said:

This will be done for you.

He ordered that her children be thrown into it in front of her, one by one,

until they came to the last one who was an infant boy who was still being

breastfed. It was as if she wavered because of him, but he said: O mother,

go ahead, for the punishment of this world is easier to bear than the

punishment of the hereafter. So she went ahead.

Can you honestly even picture that?

The truth is that back then people sacrificed their lives, wealth, children, money....everything to raise the flag of La ilaha illah Allah. Women woke up in the morning and buried their husbands, sons, and brothers in the afternoon.

You see, sister, the purpose of this life is to be a test. It was a test for them. And it was a test for us.

The Qur'an says:

• "We will test you until We know the true fighters among you and those who are steadfast" (W47:30; H47:31)

• "We will test you with a certain amount of fear and hunger and loss of wealth and life and fruits. But give good news to the steadfast," (W2:154; H2:155)
•  Blessed be He in whose Hand is the Kingdom, He is powerful over all things, (1) who created death and life that He might examine which of you is best in deeds, and He is the Almighty, the Forgiving, (2) (Surat Al Mulk)

 

The truth is Allah subhanoo Wa' Tala chose the "best" time for each of us. Perhaps if we had been living in that time, we would have deserted the Prophet sallah Allahoo alyhee wa salam in Uhud, for example .

The other thing to consider is that that just as we have many opportunities to sin now, we also have equal opportunities to do good. These days, we can turn on the television and catch a lecture on an Islamic t.v. channel or website. We can search the whole of Sahih Bukhari with a click of our fingertips (Compare that to back then when they had to cross thousands of miles to learn what one scholar thought of a particular hadith). With our ipods, we can listen to the Qur'an wherever we go. With our cars, we can drive to a nearby mosque and pray Fajr/ Isha within minutes. We can start our days with an Islamic reminder on Facebook.

 I'm not denying the fact that we are bombarded with "opportunities" to sin, though. But I do want to point out that we also have many more tools available to us to allow us to do "good". The choice is ours.

 The last thing to consider is that the Prophet sallah Allahoo alyhee wa salam did tell us that a time would come when there would be many  moredifficulties but our reward would be much greater.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Ahead of you are days of patience, during which being patient will be like grasping a hot coal. The one who does good deeds then will have a reward like that of fifty people who do such deeds.” And, someone else added, they said: O Messenger of Allah, the reward of fifty of them? He said: “The reward of fifty of you (Companions)!” (Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidh).

I don't know if we made it to that time or not, but the fact still remains that Allah is Just and He rewards us according to the difficulty of the tests we are given. (The greatness of the reward is related to the greatness of the trial…) Never ever forget that!

I also want to say one more thing. Even if you've lived a "not so pure life", or made a mistake, the door of repentance is open for you just as it was open for the people before us. Allah is All Merciful and Forgiving, and He doesn't expect "perfection" from you but that you do your best and turn back to Him. So just turn back to Him :)

With love,