Letter to A Muslim Student
Assalamu'alaikum all,
Here are some excerpts from Letter to A Muslim Student by Syed Hassan al-Banna. It was written for one of his students studying in the West. I hope you will find time to read it ..Very relevant and thought-provoking for all of us..
1. O my brother, excel in your observance of Allah (swt) in all your dealings. Understand that He (swt) keeps watch over you, sees you and encompasses all that is of concern to you - wherever you are. He knows the treachery of your eyes and all that your heart conceals. Strive not to let Allah (swt) see you, except that He is pleased with you.
2. Perform the obligatory duties which Allah has enjoined upon you, at their appointed times. Do not neglect them by relying on performing them at a later time, because you are busy with work or resorting to other excuses for justification.
3. Spend whatever time you can in performing supererogatory works as duties of obedience. Perform the sunna prayers. Increase your appeal for forgiveness and the praising of your Glorified Lord. Remember, that ones supplication, during travel or in expatriation, will be answered; hence, increase your supplication in secret and in humility. Continue your remembrance of Allah (swt).
4. Increase your recitation of the Glorious Quran with understanding and deliberation. It is a healing for the soul and a comfort to the heart. Designate from it a portion to read at the beginning of the day and a portion to read at the end of it, hence the best beginning and the best end.
5. In the delights of life and pleasures of the world, you will see that which inclines the heart, impresses the mind, attracts the eye and bewilders those whose spirits are weak. Do not let these seduce you away from virtue and cause you to forget the Hereafter.
6. Dearest brother, what Allah has made Haram (unlawful) for us, those people consider it as Halal (lawful) for them. Hence, when they commit a Haram (unlawful) act, they will neither feel ashamed nor will they refrain from perpetrating it. You should neither agree with their whims nor mix with them in their sins. Otherwise, you will not be relieved from having to answer before Allah (swt) and it will not hold as an excuse on the Day of Judgment.
7. Do not take their girls for company, and do not let there develop between you and them, any special friendship or any emotional relationship. If this kind of socializing is a sin for those other than you, then it is a sin twice as great for you and you know well the meaning of this.
8. As for alcohol, do not approach it and do not use the climate as an excuse, because when Allah made it Haram (unlawful), He had full knowledge about all types of climate but did not exclude one country from another or one nation from another from this prohibition.
9. Do not taste anything in those restaurants which serve Haram (unlawful) food, like pork and dead meat. In that which is Halal (lawful) you have a substitute and enough for contentment.
10. As for casinos, night-clubs, and other such places of vanity, your time is far too precious to be wasted in them. I have looked into the saying, time is made of gold, and I do not approve of it. Time is far more precious than gold, for time is life. Is it not true that your life is nothing but a few hours and you never know when they will end? Dearest brother, be stringent with your time and do not spend it except in that which is significant, and acquire pleasure in that which is lawful.
11. Be critical, with insight, and be just and well acquainted with people. Do not let your goodness draw you to forget their bad, and their bad hurt you to forget their goodness.
(here's the part i like most)
Dearest brother, be aware that calling the people through practical example is far better than calling them through speech. It is far more fruitful and beneficial to use your commendable character, the perfection of yourself and your straight manner to defend and call them to your religion and nation.
Click here for full Letter!
Here are some excerpts from Letter to A Muslim Student by Syed Hassan al-Banna. It was written for one of his students studying in the West. I hope you will find time to read it ..Very relevant and thought-provoking for all of us..
1. O my brother, excel in your observance of Allah (swt) in all your dealings. Understand that He (swt) keeps watch over you, sees you and encompasses all that is of concern to you - wherever you are. He knows the treachery of your eyes and all that your heart conceals. Strive not to let Allah (swt) see you, except that He is pleased with you.
2. Perform the obligatory duties which Allah has enjoined upon you, at their appointed times. Do not neglect them by relying on performing them at a later time, because you are busy with work or resorting to other excuses for justification.
3. Spend whatever time you can in performing supererogatory works as duties of obedience. Perform the sunna prayers. Increase your appeal for forgiveness and the praising of your Glorified Lord. Remember, that ones supplication, during travel or in expatriation, will be answered; hence, increase your supplication in secret and in humility. Continue your remembrance of Allah (swt).
4. Increase your recitation of the Glorious Quran with understanding and deliberation. It is a healing for the soul and a comfort to the heart. Designate from it a portion to read at the beginning of the day and a portion to read at the end of it, hence the best beginning and the best end.
5. In the delights of life and pleasures of the world, you will see that which inclines the heart, impresses the mind, attracts the eye and bewilders those whose spirits are weak. Do not let these seduce you away from virtue and cause you to forget the Hereafter.
6. Dearest brother, what Allah has made Haram (unlawful) for us, those people consider it as Halal (lawful) for them. Hence, when they commit a Haram (unlawful) act, they will neither feel ashamed nor will they refrain from perpetrating it. You should neither agree with their whims nor mix with them in their sins. Otherwise, you will not be relieved from having to answer before Allah (swt) and it will not hold as an excuse on the Day of Judgment.
7. Do not take their girls for company, and do not let there develop between you and them, any special friendship or any emotional relationship. If this kind of socializing is a sin for those other than you, then it is a sin twice as great for you and you know well the meaning of this.
8. As for alcohol, do not approach it and do not use the climate as an excuse, because when Allah made it Haram (unlawful), He had full knowledge about all types of climate but did not exclude one country from another or one nation from another from this prohibition.
9. Do not taste anything in those restaurants which serve Haram (unlawful) food, like pork and dead meat. In that which is Halal (lawful) you have a substitute and enough for contentment.
10. As for casinos, night-clubs, and other such places of vanity, your time is far too precious to be wasted in them. I have looked into the saying, time is made of gold, and I do not approve of it. Time is far more precious than gold, for time is life. Is it not true that your life is nothing but a few hours and you never know when they will end? Dearest brother, be stringent with your time and do not spend it except in that which is significant, and acquire pleasure in that which is lawful.
11. Be critical, with insight, and be just and well acquainted with people. Do not let your goodness draw you to forget their bad, and their bad hurt you to forget their goodness.
(here's the part i like most)
Dearest brother, be aware that calling the people through practical example is far better than calling them through speech. It is far more fruitful and beneficial to use your commendable character, the perfection of yourself and your straight manner to defend and call them to your religion and nation.
Click here for full Letter!
posted by *mardhatillah* @ 8:30 AM
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