birthday - being thankful to Allah.

assalamu alaikum :)

bismillah.

two weeks ago yesterday, i turned 21. truth be told, my family didn’t really celebrate, primarily because i give no real significance to birthdays. my sister brought home a little cake and we ate dinner as a family, only because my nephews love the whole concept of blowing candles and cutting cakes. and as desi tradition goes, my mother followed that with smearing frosting across my face. that was about it. when all was said and done, man did i feel old. 21 is ancient. i miss my youth :(.

throughout that day and up till a few days afterwards, my friends would IM and email me with birthday greetings, often offering me duas and asking if there was anything i desired to have. i would always reply in the negative, because honestly there wasn’t anything that I really needed. sure there are some things id like to have, but i wasn’t in dire need of possessing these things. i mean just the other day i saw something that really moved me. i was driving through a rundown city housing complex when i saw a little girl, 5-6 years old at most, riding her bike through the pot-hole ridden parking lot. i thought to myself “she seems young, someone should be out supervising her,” because this complex wasn’t exactly the safest place for kids to play. as i rounded the corner, i saw that someone was actually out watching her - a much older lady, probably her grandmother, but she was sitting down in a chair. seeing that it was nighttime i couldn’t clearly see, so as I drove closer i was able to make out that her chair was actually a wheelchair. I continued to drive, and when I was only few feet away my heart sank. I saw that this lady had no legs. who knows, the one thing she probably wanted most in this world was to be able to play with this little girl of hers, but because of her disability she was unable to do so. though confined to the wheelchair for the rest of her life, she seemed to be thankful. every time this little girl would ride her bicycle past her, her face lit up and she waved to the smiling little girl. though her mobility was limited, thus making it impossible for her to fully enjoy playing with this little girl, she seemed fully content with her situation. after all, she probably knew it could be worse. just the smile on her little girls face was all she needed.

by witnessing this i was reminded of this one amazing story i heard in a khutbah a few years ago. upon hearing it, something took hold and shook me, and ever since ive been affected by this. now im going to narrate this strictly from memory, so forgive me for any discrepancies between this recollection and any others that you may have heard.. its been quite some time, and seeing that im human im prone to forget and commit error. there was a poverty-stricken man that lived in extremely destitute conditions, but in spite of his situation he remained a loyal slave to Allah Ta’ala. he would pray night and day, living in fear of his Creator. he owned only the clothes on his back, and on his feet he wore the sole pair of sandals he possessed. the aged sandals were in such a wretched condition that they had become ragged. tattered with rips and tears, the sandals would often break apart, causing the man to constantly repair them with a thread and a needle. he understood his situation and never got angry at anyone, until one day while he was on his way to the masjid his sandals once again came undone. he quickly returned home, but because of the amount of repair work he had done, the shoes were beyond repair. the holes had become so many, that there was no place where he could stitch the sandals together with a needle. in a state of extreme anger he blew up and began to yell and scream, voicing his disgust to Allah Ta’ala. in a fit of rage he infuriously yelled “I PRAY TO YOU DAILY, AND TO YOU IVE DEVOTED MY LIFE. AND NOW, WHILE GOING TO THE MASJID TO WORSHIP YOU, THIS HAPPENS AGAIN.WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME? IVE DONE ALL THIS, YET YOU CANT EVEN GIVE ME A PAIR OF SHOES!” he continued to express what he felt, then dejectedly he put his head down and made his way to the masjid. barefoot, he walked back to the masjid and right before he reached the entrance he looked up and began to uncontrollably weep, falling to the floor in sujood. he had seen an old, frail man without legs, crawling with great difficulty into the masjid, only to worship Allah. upon seeing this, he realized what he had done, and began to ask Allah to forgive him for his transgression. he understood that there were people out there with a lot less than him, and that perhaps they faced many for afflictions and hardships than he did. he realized that he may not have had his sandals, but he did have his legs, and for that he was extremely thankful.

i guess the whole point of this thread, is that yes, its fine that we all desire nice things. but in the process we should never forget what we have, and that our situation could always be worse. the Holy Prophet SAW stated that when it came to worldly possessions we should look at those below us for a good reminder. desire as much as you want, but always be mindful and thankful to Allah for what you have.

and Allah Almighty knows best.

masalama, your brother in islam,

sheik speare