Abu Huraira reported that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: “The strong believer is more beloved to Allah than the weak believer, but there is goodness in both of them” (Sahih Muslim, Book 46, Number 52).

Life is ephemeral, but do we always treat it as such? It is becoming easier and easier for us to put off our religious duties until later, because we have “more important” things to focus on like academics. There is always some new excuse to delay practicing our religion, and indeed, this is how we slowly depart from Allah (swt). Eventually, we may even find ourselves falling into more and more sin, such as abandoning prayer, all while telling ourselves that we’re doing the “best we can.” forget all [the gods] you [normally] invoke, except Him. But when He delivers you [safely] to shore, you turn away. Humankind is ever ungrateful. (17:67)

And it’s not as though we actually forget about Allah (swt). Not necessarily. In fact, we may constantly be asking Allah (swt) to forgive our weaknesses. We may even start to resent ourselves.

But can this be a trap of its own? The trap of performing tawbah, without actually growing as a person, vowing to change anything, or making any real amends to get closer to our Lord. One week we beg Allah (swt) for mercy and forgiveness, and the next, we go right back to the toxic behaviour we were repenting for. The Quran warns us multiple times of this tendency that we have to be ungrateful and forgetful.

Sometimes religion can turn into this “mystical” thing where we have this “connection with Allah (swt) in our hearts,” yet we do not observe His rulings, or actually try to solve our problems related to our sin. This is not necessarily out of arrogance, nor is the tawbah done for our shortcomings necessarily ungenuine. Even for a mistake repeated over and over again, the tawbah can be genuine. It may bring tears every time. And these tears may very well bring a great sense of closeness to Allah (swt).

However, this closeness seems to eventually go away, as the person falls back into the sin. We may all have these short spurts in our lives when we feel so filled with piety, and feel so close to Allah (swt), but do we do anything to hang onto those feelings?

Allah (swt) loves the strong believer more than the weak, yet both are good. This tells me that a weak believer should never despair. However, weakness should not become its own kind of comfort or routine either. We commit sins, or neglect what is mandatory, then make tawbah and feel ashamed, and then repeat it all over again when the religious zeal starts to wear off. Sure, there may be goodness in this weak believer, but should they not try to better themselves?

Sometimes, we may be negatively influenced by slogans such as “It’s okay to not be okay” and “Mental health matters.” All of these kinds of messages that are now plastered everywhere. These are all true; however, they may have the opposite of the intended effect. Perhaps telling someone that it’s okay to not be okay will induce them to stay in that mental state. They might even start to lose hope that things could ever get better. I also strongly believe that these slogans can even inhibit a person’s ambition, since they’ll constantly just be doing what is comfortable for them. Living that way can result in a life of stinging regret.

Furthermore, we should be critical about the morals we are actually following. Are we following what everyone in society is telling us to value and worry about, or are we basing our lives on the Quran and the Sunnah? Because if we base our lives on the Quran, then trials and hardship for a believer should only increase them in faith and spirit. Just consider the mentality of the Believers against the Confederates.

When the believers saw the enemy alliance, they said, “This is what Allah and His Messenger had promised us. The promise of Allah and His Messenger has come true.” And this only increased them in faith and submission.

(33:22)

The strong believer is more beloved to Allah (swt) than the weak believer. We should earnestly pray to Allah (swt) not just for forgiveness, but also for the ability to perform better. Perhaps, we don’t really want to observe everything we know we should be observing because it’d require more effort. But as Muslims, mustn’t we have faith that this is the better path for us to take? That it’s not something we should be skipping out on? That we would be the ones losing in the end?

I think one needs to be careful not to let their life become a routine of bad habits. We must remember the fact that greater joy lies in actually solving our problems and working on becoming better, rather than just asking for forgiveness when we mess up. Life is ephemeral, so let us vow to make the most of it; for the richness of this life and the next.

Can you hear the sea of salams

Sent to the Prophet

Do you hear His name

Ripple through the ummah

Can you feel hearts beat

Glorious creations from the Mighty Creator

Hearts strumming in unity

Bound together by a declaration of submission and peace

We declare it again and again and again in our greetings

A declaration of unity and truce with every brother and sister

A bond dipped into the divinity of holiness

Do you ache for salvation amidst devastation

Ya Nabi you’ve cried for us

Do you hear our salams

Will you return our salutation

Do you hear the ache in our dua’as as we break down into the humble servants of Allah

Ya Nabi, you are a single drop of water that rippled the stagnant pond into a lively sea

Your peace has made ripples in waves that shake the core of the ummah

Ya Nabi, we lose ourselves between each salam

Your peace is our guidance back while navigating trials and tribulations

Finding sanity within the rapid tides of calamity

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the difficulties of the world

Tragedy after tragedy it gets suffocating to find peace in broken hearts and forgotten dreams

So it’s in our salams that we find sanity within this peaceful sanctuary

Oh Lord, allow that peace on our tongues to encompass our souls

Allow it to nourish our trust in You, the All-Planner Al Hakeem, the Al Mujeeb

These humble 10 fingers tremble as our struggles wash away into the tides of this dua’a

Ya Nabi, we sent our peace to you so that you may remember and ask for us in the hereafter

As-salāmu ‘alayka ayyuha n-nabiyyu wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuhu.