Modesty, Du'a & Struggles

Assalammualaikum & hello..

A few things have been bothering me for quite some time. There are times where I just simply couldn't understand what is He trying to show. What is He trying to tell me? I do concur and fathom that everyone has their own struggles. Does a struggle means that He loathe me? Or does a struggle means that He is just testing the treachery water of life preceding giving me goods? Wallahu 'alam.. Only He knows... And May is already here, adding  another stratum to my struggles. 

And here's what I do; I would go to & fro browsing Virtual Mosque by Suhaib Webb looking for wisdom. Don't get me wrong by comparing this site to the Holy Quran. Not indeed. What I was meaning to say is that the articles are narrated by learned Muslim in Islamic Studies such SuhaibWebb himself, sis Yasmin Mogahed, sis Jinan Bastaki, sis Maryam Amirebrahimi and others. Yes, I adore reading females writing. And every article would steer your direction to the same path which is make an intense & heartfelt du'a to Allah SWT because du'a means supplication / appeal / plea. 

Again; I'm neither pious nor uphold an in depth knowledge in Islam. I can assure you that my knowledge is neither nor half of that. I'm still struggling to understand the religion that I was born with and enact on those belief. So today, I would love to share this beautiful piece narrated by sis Jinan Bastaki. She expounded on the fervent hopes of du'a and the importance of emulating modesty like those Muslims exemplar. Some of the circumstances she mentioned were:-

1) ‘Uthman bin Affan (ra) : There was once a poor child who came to ‘Uthman (ra) in the masjid. So what ‘Uthman (ra) did was he gave the child a garment and put a lot of money in the pocket. He told the child to show the garment to his parents and ask them what they thought of it. So the child went home to show his parents his new shirt, and they discovered the money that ‘Uthman put in the pocket. ‘Uthman was not seeking attention; he did it quietly. He was modest even in giving.  

2) Shaitan (Satan) wants us to doubt—‘Was that really an answer to my du`a’? It must be a coincidence,’ or even worse ‘Yay for ME! I’M the one who did this!’ Don’t be that person.

MODESTY.. The word sure bears a lot weight. "Immodest people usually seek their sense of worth from people around them. They love the praise or the shock from people for their behavior". Sentap seyh..... *facepalm* I don't actually seek praises but of course I love praises because it makes me feel appreciated. Apparently though, this is sooooo wrong...  I know a few people who loves praises. Once, I purposely praised a girl for her beauty and you know what she said? "Thaaaank yooooouu (with that stupid grin on the face).. I memang suka mcm nih.." And that was the last time I spoke to her... *showoff.. Another simple situation that I believe is more close to us especially mothers is when people praises your kid. How to respond with modesty and not being pompous? All mothers think their child is the cutest or the smartest or the best. It's like arguing politics..Subhanallah........

Similar to both situation above. How many people are capable to enact like 'Uthman (ra)? I know I wouldn't because there are so many dubious beggars these day. And how many people is guilty of situation number #2? I know I am. The word Alhamdulillah is lightly mentioned but I don't think I was ultimately grateful. I believed I earned them and it were my doings... And that is wrong... MasyaAllah.. I feel so terrible right now.....

In relation to a different article in the web, the author wrote "When we have modesty with Allah, our manners and behavior with His creation will naturally exude more modesty. So, outer modesty is a byproduct and manifestation of the God-consciousness and modesty we nurture within. As such, the Prophet ﷺ told a man he was advising: “I advise you to have shame with Allah as you would have shame (in the presence) of a righteous man from your people""...source

*facepalm*lackofmodesty*

"The most grateful of people are those that recognize that when they do not get exactly what they want, they know that Allah (swt) gave them something else for a wisdom." Boleh? Kau mampu? Mampu pikir lagu nih? It's kinda hard to ameliorate a broken heart as disappointments are domineering. That is why the article was highlighting on fervent hopes by supplication to Allah in du'a.

You may read the full article here but to make things easy, here are some of the salient points that left me to ponder (in summary ok?) :-

1) 1- Allah is Hayyiy, so be shy in front of Him

Imagine a Lord who is always there for you even though you bring no meaning to Him. He would give the very best of your plea even though He gains nothing in return. But you know, no matter what you asked for, He won't return your hands in sifran. So be demure by doing one thing correctly; perform your daily prayers.

2- Have hayaa with people

Be modest by not being a show-off. Be down-to-earth

3- Try not to turn people away  

If you can't resolve a man's problem, help them by directing to those who can.

4- Ask Allah for all of your needs

Supplication to Allah in du'a without the fear of disappointment.

5- Work hard, and have a good opinion of Him

The more goods you do, the more goods you get

6- Avoid the things that prevent your du`a’ being answered

Haaaaa.... Be certain that all your sustenance are permissible (halal)

 7- Know Him

 Learn His attributes. Seek to understand and be understood.

 Oh my... What an entry... If this ain't your cup of tea, you can always steer away to other blogs yea.. 

Thank you to those who spent time to read & don't forget to browse Virtual Mosque.

Jazakallahu Khayran