pre-pandemic times. As more families
devote more time together, they
get more time to learn more about
each other. Here, we can see that both
quantity and quality are working simultaneously
to strengthening the
relationship. This idea can extend to
any form of relationship, including
the relationship between us and Allah.
The more we occupy our time in the
worship of Allah, the more the quality
of our relationship with Allah is enhanced.
The more time we worship,
the more time we have to go beyond
the fard (compulsory) worship. When
there is a deficiency in fard (compulsory)
worship, Allah fills up its deficiency
through the Sunna and nawafil (voluntary)
worship. Thus, the more time we
have to worship Allah, the greater the
chances of that worship to enhance in
its quality.
Quantity alone cannot do much without
quality of worship. Both are crucial
in impacting worship. Quality is
critically linked to the strength of the
worshipper. Its impact on the quality
of worship is overwhelming. The
higher the strength, the higher quality
of worship that is produced. With all
the technology and the modern machinery
of our time, we still marvel
and admire the pyramids of Egypt or
the Petra of Jordan. Allah enlightens
us about the strength of the nation of
Ad in the Quran. They would compete
in chiseling out marvelous homes on
hilltops with their bare hands, not out
of necessity, but rather to boast their
strength to other peoples. The people
of Thamud would carve homes in the
mountains without the aid of machinery
or technology. Although most of
Ad and Thamud were destroyed due
to their rebelliousness and transgression,
there were still some pious and
God-fearing people among them.
These pious ones employed their
strength in the right way to guide and
help them increase the quality of their
worship. It was only the force of their
strength granted by Allah to help them
increase their quality of worship. It
baffles the mind just trying to comprehend
the might, power and strength
Allah gave to these people. The gifted
strength from Allah is a bounty that facilitates
in fulfilling the reason of our
existence to worship him.
Strength is also correlated to the degree
of endurance. The more strength
we possess, the greater the stamina in
worship. A healthy and strong person,
for instance, would run a 5K run effortlessly
due to his strong physique.
On the flip side, an unhealthy person
would find it challenging to endure
that level of stress. It is the strength
that gives the body the stamina to
continuously remain active for long
durations. There are different ways
to increase the stamina to gain more
strength and reduce the fatigue that
is experienced in a weakened state.
Changing eating habits from unhealthy
sugary foods to a healthy and
nutritious diet is a common method
of gaining physical strength. Adding
daily activities by exercising and training
is another way to increase strength.
Practicing meditation has also proven
to be very helpful to maintain a good
mental health which is directly associated
with improved stamina. Although
all of these changes act as a good initiative
in bringing about a transformation
to increase strength, it still will not
come close to matching the stamina of
the previous generations. Comparing
our endurance and stamina to previous
nations, we definitely fall behind
even if we try our best. The people of
Bani Israel had much greater stamina,
which would aid them to fight along
with their prophets for many months
at a time, simply because they were
given more strength. That level of
strength was an exclusive favor of Allah
granted specially to those nations.
Upon hearing their level of strength,
the companions of the Prophet a
would be motivated to try their best,
exerting their all to gain that level of
stamina. The Mother of the Believers,
Zaynab j, would tie ropes to the pillars
in the masjid of the Prophet a. She
would lean against these ropes when
standing for long durations, hoping to
increase her stamina and endurance.
When the Prophet a inquired of the
ropes he saw, and was informed of the
use, he responded by discouraging the
use of the rope. He said “Don’t use it.
Remove the rope. You should pray as
long as you feel active, and when you
get tired, sit down” (Bukhari). Thus, no
matter how hard we try, we cannot vie
with the stamina of previous nations.
Although our time is shorter, and our
strengths weaker, being a part of the
Umma of Muhammad a is a worthy
opportunity itself. Allah has granted
special favors to this Ummah to manifest
His love for the Prophet a. And
although Allah has not blessed our nation
with longer lifespans and strength,
Allah has granted us the opportunity
to expand our worship and fulfill our
life’s purpose a bit differently. Allah
has favored this Umma over all others.
One night of worship in Laylat
al-Qadr is greater than 1000 months
of worship, which equals 83 years and
4 months. This favor of Laylat al-Qadr
not only matches the previous nations
worship but it can even surpass
the reward of the worship of previous
nations. Even though our worship is
quantitively and qualitatively less, but
the reward is magnified that night,
surpassing the worship of previous nation.
This special opportunity arrives
once a year in the last odd nights of
Ramadan. Those who take advantage
of this opportunity are indeed the fortunate.
Challenge your limit this year
and seize this opportunity!
The Great Opportunity
continued from page 8 STRENGTH IS
ALSO CORRELATED
TO THE DEGREE OF
ENDURANCE.
22 March – April 2021 | AL-MADINAH