Elements of success

Alhamdulillah a week ago I had my Fitness Instructor Specialist pratical exam, and I passed it. The exam required me to train 4-6 participants, and present a 45 minute class to my instructor that had 4 components: warm-up, minimum of 15 min cardio, muscular conditioning and stretching/relaxing at the end. The exam had about 30 components that I was graded on. Passing the exam was truly a miracle since this exam requires a minimum of 3 months of training! Ihad all my friends stressed out about it. My music wasn't ready until the night before (because each phase of the class had a different BMP (beat per minute) and I had to add more songs the next day 2 minutes before the class).
But, behind the scenes, what helped me succeed was...

1. Most importantly, Afroza's running shoes. I had no idea they were hers. I just saw they fit me, since I had forgotten mine, and wore them. Sorry Afroza, and thanks a million! :D
2. My parents for letting me stay the extra days in Toronto to complete my certification
3. Faiza's room booking access on campus- for 4 rehearsals we did
4. My participants who volunteered their time, and came downtown from as far as Scarborough.. love you girls!
5. The other non-participants who really wanted to be a part of my class but couldn't because of various reasons..
6. Sawitri's sweatpants (and sometimes, shirt...) since I hadn't brought enough exercise clothes!
7. Sana's access card for stuff on campus
8. Powermusic.com for their fitness music
9. Athletic centre for all the drop-in recreation classes: AC has some of the best fitness instructors! Especially Martin who's the coolest, and who told me to count the number of beats in a 10 sec music clip- I counted 9, but he counted 20....
10. Dor- My super instructor, who was my teacher through this whole course. I learnt so much from her, especially leadership, which I hope I never forget, inshallah.
11. CANFITPRO for giving me the longest extension they've ever given on the practical exam! And Dor for helping me get that!
12. And my friends- Hafsa, Sana, Sawitri, Fatima, Kahkashan for being the best supporters ever and trying their best to be resourceful... hehe
13. I'm sure there's more that I'm not thinking of right now

Pain

"Allaah knows best, but maybe it was the continuous fear and shock throughout the 9 months or the fact that she was crushed to the ground on her stomach that day in the market that took its effects. Whatever it was, the baby had died during the labour or just before. After a very long ordeal for my mother, the baby, Muhammad (as had been the planned name) finally came out stillborn, but very beautiful. As relatives took him away for janaazah and burial, I remember catching sight of him wrapped in a white cloth with his jet black hair showing. To have a miscarriage is one thing, but to go through the full 9 months expecting a child, only to deliver him stillborn in a land torn apart by war is enough to drive any mother insane. But I doubt my mother had time for that, life had to go on. "

Taken from: War - A Collage of Jagged Memories
She's a beautiful writer.

Friends

I really have the best friends in the world, Alhamdulillah. I have so many stories to share about them, that I know I'll never forget!
For example, this one night... (after a long day...), a friend of mine was dropping me to aunty Farida's place. When I got there, the concierge rang her up, but there was no answer. I figured the girls must have gone to the garden on the 7th floor, so I decided to walk around Harbourfront. Sawitri, Afroza, her sister, Fatima and Sana were all hanging out @ aunty's. She's the best, mashallah!
After some time, Sana called and apologised, and said they're home... so I started walking back. I was quite far, I should have told her that, but my phone died. It was also just after midnight by then, which means I had been out for about 40 minutes!
....
At aunty Farida's place, the girls are all tucked-in the sofa bed, and they begin to panic. They call me non-stop, and there's no answer because my phone was turned off. Sana tells the girls not to worry because "Humairah had shown me some of her wendo moves, she'll be fine if something happens". They even call Hafsa to ask her if she had any idea where I was. Fatima and Afroza declared it's an emergency. Everyone was panicking left and right, and Sawitri says:
"Girls, I'm going to take a nap".

Crazy days

Alhamdulillah I'm back now. Most days in Toronto were just crazy.

The day before I was flying out, I had to:
9:30am- pick up my CPR card from Imran
10-11:30am- Fitness Instructor Specialist practical exam and briefing
11:30-1am- @ home, making list of things to do, phone calls, mummy's shopping list, etc
1-1:30- Lunch with a friend
1:30-2- Dhuhr @ Masjid Toronto, ran into friends
2-3:30- Biked back home, forgot something, did some more work
3:30-4:15- Hanging out @ Lubna aunty's shop in Kensington (been doing that for years now!)
4:15-5:40- @ the Big Carrot on Danforth, shopping for mummy
5:40-6:40- Went to Hafsa's place and hung out with her (she had a wisdom tooth extraction)
7:30-8:30- Appointment downtown with a TCM

Now the fun begins...
9-10:45- Memona dropped by to visit, we prayed and had dinner together- Afroza made some great food
11-12:30- We stepped out for bubble tea (I must have gone there about 10 times since my arrival in Toronto)
1am- Mido drops off stuff he wants to send for his family
1:30-2am- Ahtisham, Sana and Faraz come to see me and we hang out across the Bellevue firestation
2:30- 3- Chatting with Sana, sorting out stuff
3-4:10- Packing
4:20-7- Slept..
7:20am- called and woke up Mido
7:45-8- Weighed my suitcases (lol, that was alarming!)
8:30- reached the airport, but it took us 10 minutes to get the trolley and get out of the parking..
and yea, I had to take out 5-6 books to settle the weight...
Alhamdulillah, flight took off @ 10:20am

I miss Toronto!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A Miracle a Day

Today seemed much better, and I was eager to go sit by the rocks, and go over my thoughts as usual. And I wanted to know all about miracles.
"So?"
"Haha, alright, I'll tell you what happened", I said, "I had too many things to do, and I didn't get to think much about the miracles. But when I went to bed, can you believe this, I opened up the book I was reading, and the page had the author's version of what he thought miracles are."
"Excellent. But, you didn't just copy that answer, did you?"
"No of course not. But it did guide me a bit. So, it's your turn to tell me."
Miracles happen around you every single day. Real miracles, not just "results of decisions" in your favour. And you have to be in the state of recognising what these are.
"How do you recognise them?", I asked.
"If I tell you that, do you think you would begin to recognise them, and appreciate them are miracles? The word still has a lot of magic associated with it, that shouldn't be lost, and discovered only by the real eye."
"Hmm... the real eye is the one that sees these miracles around it every single day. Okay, I don't know how to recognise these miracles, and I also don't know... how are they related to happiness?"
"They are related to contentment. The state of mind where you love every moment of life, and you feel that with every miracle you see, no matter how many times, over and over again, you've seen every might and power of God that there is'
"Wow...I wish I could see these miracles... And, is that all a person needs? Knowing these miracles?"
"No, it's one part of life. The other part of life is the continual hard work.. And these parts are connected- Because every appreciation is only worth it after real hard work, and so is the case with recognising miracles"
"Why isn't it an effortless job?"
"It soon does. A trained eye, is a trained mind, body and soul- harmonised with the nature in which it is"...
"Oh! nature... and you, Rock, see these miracles? every single day? And being a mere rock is the greatest thing to you?"
"Mere rock? Gee thanks... Yes, I see these miracles, and that's why I've been here on this shore... for a very long time. And a large part of my life is talking to you."
"I'm beginning to realise... that you see so much more in life, when you stop to notice, stop to talk, stop to care...I notice the elderly and I help them. But... when I reflect on it, I don't see a miracle, I feel sad- Sad about the realities of old age, I always put myself in that position and wonder how would it be for me, when I get old.. yet, I should be feeling happy because I helped someone, and they were grateful for what I did... Where is the miracle here?"
"Again, don't look at situations that happen to you. If you ponder more, and more, you'll see the miracles there too- But first, you need to realise that these miracles, need to be noticed."
"Like bird watching?"
"You're almost there. What would you call an animal being able to fly without support in air?"
"A miracle?"
"hmm.....Miracles in life are your gifts to the world. When you say subhanallah at a a bird flying in the air- you are praising Allah's Might, you are feeling overwhelmed by it, and small, you are appreciating nature, you have diverted your mind from your own thoughts and issues to take a moment to notice something special... you are creating a feeling within you that is good- You are content, because you have just recognised a part of the reality of this world.."
"Beautiful..."
"Now you tell me", asked The Rock, "what else would be a miracle?"
"I know! Al Shifa honey!"
"honey??"
"Yeps. I was reading the label on the bottle a few days ago, and marvelled at the facts. Isn't it amazing that to produce 2 pounds of honey, bees travel a distance equal to 4 times around the earth, and that a single bee usually visits between 50-1000 flowers a day?"
"Yes, that truly is a miracle."
"Are you happy?"
"Yes! And thanks for your words. My distraction towards this new quest for miracles should really help ease my mind and bring me closer to Allah."
"Inshallah it will. See you soon!"

The Rock speaks

Since that day 6 months ago, I'd get up before everyone else, and run out to the shore, by the rocks and watch the water. My parents really chose the best place to live, this was so peaceful. These rocks were the place where my reality and dreams would clash, and my dreams would often rule, which is why I'd long to go back every single day, and no one at home knew about it.

And today, I had a memorable conversation with The Rock.

"How are you today?", asked The Rock.
"I'm good. My life is so empty."
"I can see that. It's because you don't let it fill up. Why don't you find things to do?"
"But I do so much. So much, that I fall behind. And there are so many things I want to do. My two days are never the same, and that's how a believer should be. The Prophet (pbuh) said, a muslim's two days that are the same is a loser".
"That's all fine", said The Rock, "but, what's the point in all this, if you don't have time to stop and observe the miracles...".
"What miracles?", I asked.
"You tell me. When was the last time you saw one?"
"Uhhh....I lost a gold earring and found it many days later 2 months ago, last week I wrote an exam without studying a word and aced it, I found a major sponsor for the event I'm organising next year.... "
"Are those really the kind of miracles that you would stop to notice? Or that you'd go out of your way to discover them, or that they're so special that you won't forget?"
"No... they just happen to me... and it's as if Allah's being merciful."
"Exaclty. What you are talking about are miracles, but those are mundane miracles", The Rock paused, and then smiled. "That's destiny, they're meant to happen, just as bad things happen too... but the real point of life lies in, discovering miracles that happen over and over again, every single day."
"Sounds magical. What are these miracles?"
The Rock's smile grew wider. It was getting late too, I had to be back in a few minutes.
"They are not miracles that you do not know. You know them, but you just need to appreciate their beauty from the depths of your heart. So you fill yourself with that, and then you'll never feel empty again".
"I have to go, but I'll think about what you said. Maybe, I'll discover these miracles before I see you tomorrow".

Matters of The Rock

The Rock is going to be a new category on my blog, a simple experiment... that I don't have the details of yet :P
I don't really another category/label, and everytime I add a new one it's after a lot of musings and debates. But here it is, Matters of the Rock. And I'm removing some of the less used labels.

Whom to give charity?

I will post the source as soon as I remember to look for the paper in Urdu where I read this hadith next time I go downstairs, but to the best of my memory:

A man came to the Prophet (pbuh), and asked - "If someone asks us for money, how do we know if they really deserve charity or not?"
The Prophet (pbuh) replied, "Give charity to the one who deserves, and also to the one who does not deserve, so that Allah (swt) may reward you for the deeds you deserve, and also reward you that which you do not deserve".

Mustapha

My friend and I were @ the foot of Jabel Hafeet, a beautifully lit green hill, in the middle of an oasis. Maghrib fell, and we heard the azan, and walked towards the masjid, but we were too far from it. My friend and I decided to pray out in the open on the grass. We walked to a cafeteria nearby to ask for the direction of the Qiblah. I noticed there was someone already praying inside the cafeteria, and there was a collection of prayer mats. I asked the guy for it in Arabic, and he was nice enough to take the mats, go out of the cafeteria and spread them out for us. We prayed, it was beautiful, with the vast expanse of green sand in front of us. We went back into the shop. I returned the mats to him, and he told us to pray for him. My friend and I without thinking said "inshallah", instead of making a dua for him. I guess it happens when you don't speak the language.
In that moment, I felt horrible for not being sincere to what I was saying. He was sincerely asking us to pray for him, he really wanted us to, perhaps because he didn't see a lot of people performing salah, that it was something disappearing slowly from around him, and when he did meet such people, he thought it to be a very precious experience...
"My name is Mustapha. Make dua for me using my name."

Asking someone to make dua for you is routine, whether it's in person, over the phone, at the airport or your MSN nickname. But just as asking is important, so is making that dua. And, what dua do we make for someone we don't know much about?
- To give them the best in this world, and the best in the hereafter, and to save them from the hellfire.

Upside down

Really. When I got my passport renewed in November last year, I opened up the new book to find out that they had stuck my signature upside down.
One could say that because my name begins and ends with an H, the person sticking it got confused, but the form clearly says that men sign on the left and put their thumb impression on the right- (or was it right thumb for men, left for women? can't remember)
Regardless, the thumb impression was on the wrong side too.

By the way Hafsa, it's an H, not a H ;)

Dua for Ascetism

اللَّهُمَّ اجْعَلْ حُبَّكَ أََحَبَّ الأَشْيَاءِ إِلِىْ ، وَاجْعَلْ خَشْيَتَكَ أَخْوَفَ الأَشْيَاءِ عِنْدِيْ وَاقْطعْ عَنِّي حَاجَاتِ الدُّنْيَا بِالشُّوْقِ إِلى لِقَائِكَ ، وَ إِذا أَقْرَرْتَ أَعْيُنَ أَهْلِ الدُّنْيَا مِنْ دُنْيَاهُمْ ، فَاقْرِرْ عَيْنِيْ مِنْ عِبَادَتِك

O Allah! Make my love for You the most beloved thing to me, and my fear for You the most fearful thing to me, and remove from me all worldly needs and wants by instilling a passion for meeting You, and when You have given the people of the world the pleasures of their world, make the coolness of my eyes (pleasure) in worshipping You.

Allahummaj'al hubbaka a-habbal ashyaa'i illayya, waj'al khashyataka akhwafa ashyaa'i 'indi, waq-ta 'anni haajaatid-dunya bish shawqi illa liqaa'ika, wa idha aq-rarta 'a'yunna ahlid-dunya min dunnyahum, faqrir 'ayyni min 'ibaadatika.

The Dance

I just couldn't wait. There was still so much time, but I had already started planning for the dinner. The dinner was going to be attended by the who's who in town, and of course, I was going to be one of them. And what made me even more special was.. I was travelling from very far to attend it, and many were expecting me. I was looking forward to meeting the old faces, and some new ones too.
Everything just had to be perfect. Today, I wasn't just an attendee- I had earned a respectable status, and I had to live up to him.
The biggest question was... whom would I go with? The person standing next to me should be someone who'd make a statement just by the way he walked, and posed and conversed. He should have a flashing smile, and a sense of importance reflecting in all directions around him. Tall and handsome, more from inside, than out. And he's the one who would be by my side. Just for fun, really.
This was tough, very tough. I sifted through the names of my friends... none of them seemed to be that good! If I asked them to accompany me, they would... but I had to think carefully about which one who make the impression I wanted. And of course, with the two of us together at the dinner, it just had to be a blinding light.
I had a little friend who really missed me a lot, and he held me in high regard..so I asked him casually if he'd like to go with me, and he jumped at the opportunity. That was rather an impulsive decision of mine, but perhaps I could consult a friend and ask her what to do.
Which I did, and she asked me.. "why does it have to be a guy??"
"Well..... because it's very far, and I'll need a ride... and if I'm gonna get a ride, it's most likely gonna be a guy... so if it's a guy, why not get a good guy!"
It definitely sounded hilarious. She gave me a couple of names. But really, this is absurd. I can't go with someone I don't know well enough. He just wont act right. And I didn't want to be with one person all evening, because I had many people to meet, and many conversations to make, so I wouldn't want to hurt my friend.
"Listen, I can come...let me mark my calendar".
"Are you serious? If you're coming, I don't need a guy! But all you girls are busy with something or the other; or you're not interested in the dinner, that's why I didn't ask".
Then a few days later I thought about it. I had decided the dress I was going to get tailored, and the colours too. But I had to make sure the guy I was going with wouldn't wear something that wouldn't contrast well. How would I ask him what he was going to wear? He'd think I'm making a big deal of the dinner. Hmm... I had seen him wear only two suits. A black, and a brown. What other choices do guys have anyway? Grey and blue. Perfect. All these colours would go with my beige evening dress, I just had to make sure he wouldn't wear a shirt that's coloured purple or green!
I loved my little friend, even though I never used to see him a lot, but he was always full of humour and debate. I call him little because he was younger than me, and acted like a kid all the time. But he wasn't tall. Would that be a problem? He didn't fit the description I was craving.. so I went through my MSN lists, and my emails, and also facebook. A few names popped up, but no...
It was just depressing. My glamourous idea was just going down the drain. Well, it seems as if I was just going to have go with my backup.
...
The little friend was ecstatic about her coming to visit after so long. It had been years, and she had no idea how he spent the time. He'd think of her stuck in traffic, at work, and definitely when trying to learn the Qur'an. In the last few years, he didn't realise how much he wanted to be close to her, as he collected information about her discretely. He wanted to know everything about her- her past, her deepest secrets, her desires and her future. He just didn't know why. The reality was, it had been so long, her picture was not in his mind; only what he felt about her, in his heart. And that was a big problem. She didn't have him in her heart, and he didn't have her in his mind. And the matters of the heart and mind can be very misleading. In short, he wanted to grow up, and marry her. And he felt very positive, since she asked him to accompany her to the dinner. After all these years. Why else would she ask?
Too bad there was no dance at the dinner, he thought. It's true that wont be halal, but...it could be halal if only the woman and her mehram were allowed to dance....
And his regular, unnecessary thoughts trailed off.
...
So, what's going to happen at the dinner? We'll find out July 2007.

Great events in the life of Muhammad (peace be upon him) I

From an old post of mine: [17/01/06]

---

I spent the evening today listening to the RIS III lecture: Great moments in the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), by Tareq Suwaidan

I've divided the lecture into several posts, this being the first. I had to listen to it tonight, (my first time) because I felt a sheer drop of emptiness in me. And I know this is because when you stand on a cliff, you can see vastness around you, and that's when you feel empty inside.

There's lots to be learnt- I'd appreciate detailed thoughts :) The only downside is I didn't bother editing or completing my notes, but they're still traceable.

The night of revelation
The night when Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was in the Cave of Hira. He had devoted his life to Allah (the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful). He had no messenger, no book, didn’t no know to pray. He chose to pray according to religion of Ibrahim, and all he knew was glorifying Allah, and that’s what he did for a month. Then in a human form Gabriel appeared- white clothes, green pillow, with a book on top of the pillow.
“Iqra”
He was illiterate.
“I don’t know how to read”
Gabriel hugged him so hard, and told him to read again.
“Ma ana bi qarid”
And once again.
And the 4th time he said, “What should I read?”

Iqra, bismirabbikal ladhi khalaq….
These words were the beginning of all change. He was shaking lots, he didn’t know what this meant. He started to run, towards his home, to his wife.

The heart of this beloved wife had felt something happening to her husband.

She didn’t know and sent her servants to the mountain, but there was no one. Where was he?

Running towards Khadijah, on the way, in that small distance, one of the greatest events happened.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, I heard a sound, coming from the sky, so I looked at the most amazing scene that I have never seen (besides Mi’raj). He saw Gabriel, sitting on a throne, filling heavens, from East to West, with 600 wings, so powerful. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) saw Gabriel in that form only twice. And he spoke to Muhammad, “ya Muhammad, anta rasoolullah, wa ana jibreel” thrice. And then disappeared. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) could not move. He stood there for several hours. That’s when they were looking for him. And he went home, asked to be covered.
He said to Khadijah, when she asked him to sleep, “there’s no more sleep after this”.

Great events in the life of Muhammad (peace be upon him) II

The 10 year struggle and Isra & Mi'raj


He went through a struggle with a few companions of spreading the message, under the protection of his uncle. He was under the protection of his beloved wife, Khadijah, and who supported him financially. 10 years later, his uncle died, and then 3 days later, his wife died. The most beloved, the closest two to him, he lost them within 3 days. Quraish took the chance to oppress Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), there was no one to protect him.

And when he went home, there was no one to take Khadijah’s place.

He didn’t marry for 3 years. Pressure from outside, and loss of love from inside. He decided to go to Taif. He was met by 3 leaders of Taif on the outskirts, who asked him why he was there. They refused to believe him, so he asked permission to spread the message to the inhabitants, but they refused that too. The children were asked him to pelt him with stones, until his feet started to bleed, the greatest man on earth. He went back to Makkah, and the leader of Makkah sent him a message, “you are not allowed in Makkah”- so he stayed between Taif and Makkah, with no place to go. He was waiting for a leader to protect him, but no one did. While he waited for protection, he made a great dua:

“To whom do you leave me? To an enemy that is trying to hurt me? Or to my own tribe that is controlling me now? I seek refuge with the light of Your grace that enlightens darkness and enlightens the heavens and the earth and takes care of this life and the hereafter. Do not leave me, to myself, one blink of an eye”
I need You.

This was the hardest moment for the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) in his entire life. From that weakness, he ends his prayers, “If you are not angry with me, I do not care”

No matter what others say, I do not care, as long as Allah is with me.

Mut’im ibn Jubair was still an unbeliever, but he gave protection to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), out of pride and shame, what will people think an Arab has been outcasted? But he told him that he could not spread his message. He was restricted, and felt humiliation. He has less than 150 followers. 83 were in Ethopia.

---

Allah wanted to calm his heart, and the great journey, Al Isra wal Mi’raaj happened.
He was taken to Jerusalem, to Masjid Al Aqsa, which was built by Sulaiman (as) and at that land, all had gathered everyone- all his messengers and prophets.
Abu Dharr asked the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), “How many are the messengers and the prophets?” “There are 314 messengers and 124,000 Prophets”- not ordinary people.
And all of them waited, for the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to lead in the prayer. The greatest prayer ever on earth. Imagine the crowd. Why did they gather in Aqsa? Why not in Makkah? And from there goto heaven?

Because Allah (the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful) wanted to give a message.
Al Masjid Al Aqsa, how could you lose it? This sacred place, and let the worst people on earth lose it? What happened to you Muslims?
After this prayer, Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) went to the heavens. After he finished with the 7 heavens, he continued beyond the seven heavens. He went to a place never reached by any human or angel. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) tells us that he was Gabriel, only, and he’s the only angel Allah (the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful) would talk to directly, and give revelation to the messengers. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) turned, and he saw Gabriel- At that moment, he resumed his real form (Surah Najm), near the tree, Sidrat-il-Muntaha, The Last Tree. This was the second time.
In the first scene, Gabriel was huge and powerful. Here, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “I turned towards Gabriel and he was shaken and pale like an old rug.” The most powerful creature, and he was shaken, and Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was stable. He stopped and turned to our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). “Proceed, Muhammad, I swear by Allah, if I step one more step, I would burn.” And Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) went further to a place that was never touched by a creature, and he continued. “I saw a huge tree whose leaves were like the ears of the elephant, and its fruits were like big jars. I continued towards the tree, and the light of Allah (the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful) touches the tree” [Qur’an]

"I cannot describe what happened". In a hadith, “when it was covered with the light of Allah, the tree changed and it was surrounded with something like butterflies of gold". At that moment, the greatest moment in the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), which happened in the weakest point in his life, he talked directly with Allah (the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful).
Musa (as)- Kalimullah
Ibrahim (as)- Khalilullah
Muhammad (saw)- Kalimullah wa khalilullah

Muhammad saw the greatest miracle of Allah, that was enough for a sad heart.

Great events in the life of Muhammad (peace be upon him) III

The Battle of Trench

He came back from the Ascension. He never felt weak after that, he had a strong heart, even when the Muslims were weak.

At the Battle of Ditch. 10,000 non-Muslim army: collected, guarded, Jews. They surrounded the Quraish. Madina was totally protected on all sides. Only the South East part, were Bani Quraidah, the Jews of the Madinah, where he had a treaty that the Jews would protect that side, and 1000 left with him. At that time, the Jews broke the treaty, during the war, and they were getting ready to attach from South East. The hypocrites ran away. Many of the believers, who had weak hearts also ran away. And Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was left with 300 men- that was a weak moment. What did he do? He prayed two prayers. He led the true believers in prayer.

Whenever you’re weak, don’t weep, go and pray.
If you’re weak, and depend on yourself, you’re very weak.
But If you’re weak, and depend on the strongest of all, you’re never weak.

After the prayer, he turned to his companions, “Thank Allah”, they said, “Alhamdulillah”. Thrice. “I swear by Allah, that there is no one on this earth willing to fight for Allah, except for you”

Are you willing to do this for the sake of Allah? To be amongst those who will not leave his faith, and continue to struggle? That is the message.

He ordered Hudhaifa, in the middle of the night to go and see what’s going on in the enemy’s army on a very cold and fearful night. Imagine the scene. A very dark and cold night. They can be attacked from any direction any moment. There was fear everywhere. They were facing 10,000 from Ahzab, and 700 Jews, and there were only 300 of them. Hudhaifa was once approached by the follower of the companions, At-Tabi’een. He was telling the people about the legacy of Muhammad (pbuh)- One of the attendees was so touched, and said, “You the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) did not do enough for him. I swear by Allah, that if the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was amongst us, his feet would not touch the ground, we would carry him everywhere.”

Hudhaifa continued to speak, “It is easy to say. At the end of the battle, we were so cold and poor, I swear by Allah, I had nothing to wear because of poverty. The only thing I had was my wife’s dress that only reached my knees. And it was a fearful night, and we were shaking. It was so dark that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up to talk and we could not see him, The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) told us ‘who among you is willing to cross the ditch?’ – Abu Bakr, Uthman, Umar, Ali, Zubair: nobdy moved. The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) repeated again, who would be willing to cross the ditch and see the enemy’s army, and I promise him Jannah?’. And he asked thrice, and he would guarantee him heavens, and no one moved.” The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

When fear touches the leader, everything is gone. He was the only fearless.

The Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) moved. His foot touched my knee, and I drew back, fearing he would ask me to go. He asked, ‘Who is that?’ ‘I am Hudhaifa’ ‘Hudhaifa, get up, and go on the mission’

They are human. They were different. The real difference is, when the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) told ONE of them to stand, they had no hesitation. It is NOT that we’re not human, we will be oppressed, we will fear, we will be impoverished, endangered, but this great religion, will not be carried by those who will not obey when Muhammad says “Stand up”. The true legacy is not to talk about Muhammad. The true legacy is, despite being oppressed, sinning, desiring, bad leaders, we continue to be those who hold on to the legacy of Muhammad.

Hudhaifa left. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed unstoppably, until Hudhaifa came back and said, that the enemies were blown away by a wind so strong, only on their side, and they all ran away.

He continued to pray.
Three years later, the conquered Makkah, and spread all over Arabia.