Sacrifices

Islam is not merely the confession of a faith which is made once in a lifetime. The path of Islam cannot therefore be anything other than the path of struggle, and therefore sacrifice. Not much comes to us in life without endeavour or struggle. We gain only what we earn by our strivings:

"We have created man into (a life of) trial and pain" (al-Balad 90:4).
"And that nought shall be accounted unto man but what he has striven for" (al-Najm 53:39).

The soil is there, the water is there, the seed is there; but the soil will not turn seeds into crops unless we dig it, plough it, sow the seeds, water the plants, protect them and harvest the crop. Without sweat and toil, the gifts of God that abound all around us will not yield their full treasures to us. Indeed the richer the treasures desired, the greater the efforts required.

Nevertheless we must prove, within our human limitations, that we are prepared not only to profess our faith in our cause, but also prepared to struggle and sacrifice what we really love for that which we declare to be dearest to us.

Sacrifices are essential for the development of all moral qualities, but especially for the development of patience, endurance, perseverance, fortitude, resolve and determina tion. These can be summed up in just one word: Sabr.

"God loves those who, fighting in His way, join ranks as if they are a wall of molten lead", says the Qur'an (al-Saff 61:4).

What a beautiful and meaningful parable. Strong and solid, fused and welded, impregnable and without cracks and fissures, that is how members of a Muslim community, joined, welded together, strive in the way of Allah.

Without some sacrifices on the part of each block a solid wall will never come to exist.

*Extracted some from youngmuslims.ca

It's really a point of reflection with the recent things that have happened. Just in time to backtrack since the beginning of it till present. Values gained, while some can still be improved. The humble servant just has to keep on learning and sow other seeds of goodness so that the plants will grow healthy and beautify the garden of the future. Hopefully, the sacrifices will bring me close to Him.