{"id":1335,"date":"2011-01-24T23:44:51","date_gmt":"2011-01-25T04:44:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/growmama.com\/?p=1335"},"modified":"2011-01-24T23:44:51","modified_gmt":"2011-01-25T04:44:51","slug":"roadblocks-to-mercy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/growmama\/spirituality\/roadblocks-to-mercy\/","title":{"rendered":"Roadblocks to Mercy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

If He opens a door for you, thereby making Himself known,<\/em><\/p>\n

pay no need if your deeds do not measure up to this.<\/p>\n

For, in truth, He has not opened it for you but out of<\/p>\n

a desire to make Himself known to you.<\/p>\n

(from the Hikam)<\/em><\/p>\n

Since becoming a mother I\u2019ve started to appreciate<\/strong> the incredible blessing of free time.\u00a0 (Or, as they say, \u201cyou don\u2019t know what you\u2019ve got \u2019til it\u2019s gone\u201d:P)\u00a0 Busy with daily responsibilities, it\u2019s almost impossible to maintain the same level of focus and time dedicated to worship and study as before.\u00a0 It can often lead to an overwhelming and frustrating feeling\u2026 but listening to a recent lesson on the Hikam has really helped me put things in perspective, and realize that being prevented from certain actions is not something arbitrary, but occurs purposefully, though it may be beyond our understanding.\u00a0 I also came across\u00a0an extremely beautiful\u00a0hadith<\/em><\/a> the other day, which fits in almost exactly with this same lesson.\u00a0 The entire\u00a0hadith<\/em> is amazing, but the part that was particularly striking to me was the following:<\/p>\n

\u201c(Allah the Exalted says:) Verily, from amongst My slaves is he who seeks worship by a certain act but I prevent that from him so that self-amazement does not enter his heart. Certainly, I run the affairs of My slaves by My Knowledge of what is in their hearts. Certainly, I am the All-Knower, All-Aware.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

SubhanAllah<\/em>.\u00a0 I think we often get caught up in trying to reach Allah through the way that\u00a0we<\/em> want, and forget that true seekers can only reach Him in the way that\u00a0He <\/em>wants.\u00a0 And that includes not just facilitation and opened doors, but also setbacks and obstacles on this Path (which may be for our own benefit).\u00a0 We get so attached to the act itself, that we forget that it is simply a means, and if Allah wants He can draw us close to Him through other means instead.<\/p>\n

Here is some of what the shaykh,\u00a0hafidhahullah<\/em>, said in class in his explanation of part of Hikmah #8 (quoted at the beginning of the post):<\/p>\n

When we face inevitable challenges and setbacks in our path, or encounter pressing needs or responsibilities that take us away from \u2018amal<\/em> [doing good deeds that bring us closer to Allah], this is an expression of some of Allah\u2019s attributes\u00a0 (of His being al-Qahhar, al-Fa\u2019aal, the One who does what He pleases, the Wise, the Just, etc). But oftentimes we don\u2019t see it that way \u2013 we just get angry at not getting to do what we want to do and things not going along with our expectations.\u00a0 We have this reaction because we don\u2019t see a manifestation of the attributes of Allah when things go wrong. If we are true seekers, this happening should help us internalize more about Allah \u2013 that there is nothing in this universe that happens without His control and will, the good things and the things that make us uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

Allah orders Jibreel and the angels that for a special servant, when they are sick or traveling [or otherwise genuinely incapable of performing their normal good deeds], to record for them the same beautiful deeds they used to establish before they became occupied.\u00a0 This is with the condition that one understands that this too is a way of striving to Allah, and that one is in His obedience.<\/p>\n

So don\u2019t be disappointed if your external actions have diminished, as long as Allah has given to your heart and mind avenues to knowing Him, through witnessing His creation and His attributes. As long as you are in an internal state of awareness that He is being made known to you through what happens to you, and you accept [your inability to do something]\u00a0 as the Qadaa\u2019 of Allah, then even if your pool of\u2018amal <\/em>diminishes, that should not worry you.<\/p>\n

We know Allah not only through what we do, but through what we experience \u2013 through ease and prosperity, and through hardship and difficulty.\u00a0\u00a0 You claim you want to know Him \u2013 yet this is a way of knowing Him. He is not only the One who expands, but the One who constricts. He is not only the One who is magnanimous and forgiving and loving, but also the One who calls one to task.<\/p>\n

We often ask Allah, \u2018Please make Yourself known to me\u2019 \u2013 but then we have to be ready! because He will make Himself known in ways we may not expect or know.<\/p>\n

Shazia Ahmad<\/p>\n

Shazia lives in Cairo, Egypt and is the mother of a two year old boy. She writes for SuhaibWebb.com and blogs at <\/em>cairocaprices.wordpress.com<\/em><\/a>. (reprinted with permission)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If He opens a door for you, thereby making Himself known, pay no need if your deeds do not measure up to this. For, in truth, He has not opened it for you but out of a desire to make Himself known to you. (from the Hikam) Since becoming a mother I\u2019ve started to appreciate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1572,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[62,74,140,447,528,630,652,674,828,892,893,1094,1162,1211,1225],"class_list":["post-1335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spirituality","tag-allah","tag-amal","tag-blessing","tag-free-time","tag-hardship","tag-islamic-parenting","tag-jibrael","tag-knowing-allah","tag-muslim-mom","tag-one-who-constricts","tag-one-who-expands","tag-road-blocks-to-mercy","tag-shazia-ahmed","tag-spirituality-2","tag-struggle"],"yoast_head":"\nRoadblocks to Mercy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If He opens a door for you, thereby making Himself known, pay no need if your deeds do not measure up to this. 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