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SELF-REFINEMENT ( TAZKIYATUL-NAFS)

 

 FRIDAY KHUTBAH ON SELF-REFINEMENT(12/11/2022)



Before I share the lesson I learnt from the Khutbah( Sermon) on Friday, I would like to share with you the kind of day it was and its significance in my life. This was a Friday that was close to as 'perfect' as it gets and its journey started almost 4 months ago. I enrolled in an IT program that required me to be present 5 days a week including Friday from 9am-4pm with lunch being from 12-1pm. This made going to Friday sermons in the mosque impossible and it bothered me a lot. I had to wait for the program to end which lasted for 3 months before being able to go to the mosque. The graduation day was on a Friday at 10 am, which would give me ample time to graduate and go to the mosque, but I didn't make it for the sermon. I came in when the prayer was about to start and the reason is because of my procrastination. I cannot recall a Friday except yesterday's that I was in time for the beginning of the Khutbah( sermon). Procrastination is one of my bad habits that I intend to get rid of In Shaa Allah. To be honest, it's not like I used to go to Friday Sermons in the mosque every week but the intention to change that was there all along. I believe I just had to feel it's pain to finally snap into action. The pain and sadness of missing out on a lot of Khayr( Goodness) would make someone to really want change. 

As this blog is intended to share my daily life and it's struggles, the theme of this blog would be about change. Change is the theme of humanity and the pursuit of change has a sweetness to it that is indescribable. I have been experimenting with change for a while and I will have to write it as a separate article one of these days In Shaa Allah. The last 2 weeks have been quite interesting and liberating because I have taken the noble cause of memorizing the Quran and making the Quran a friend of mine. I can confidently say that because of the change I implemented by taking the Quran as my Guiding Light, I have been able to not only experience a blessed and worry free 2 weeks , but that I also experienced a  Friday that I have not experienced in almost 9 years . Yes, it's been a long time coming. There were many times I was heedless and Alhamdulillah that Allah did not take my soul while in that state. I ask Allah to grant us a good end and let death come to us when He has forgiven our sins and shortcomings and is pleased with us, Ameen. 
 
I started the Friday by waking up feeling energized although I did not sleep well the night before. I spent most of the night shifting from one side to the other , being half awake as I have been for the past 2 years. I take this 'lack of enough sleep' as a positive thing in my life as I spend most of the time doing Dhikr of Allah. I prayed Tahajjud using the surahs that I have been memorizing for the past 2 weeks, prayed the 2  sunnah rakas before Fajr, prayed Fajr using more of the surahs I memorized and immediately after finishing, started reading Surah Al-Kahf and finished it in one sitting. I went back to sleep and woke up at 10 am and got ready for the mosque. I got into my Khamis that I had prepared the night before and went straight to the mosque. I rode my scooter which had been gifted to me by a friend a week ago to the mosque and the ride there felt  exhilarating. I got to the mosque 1 hour before the Khutbah and it felt amazing knowing that the Angels wrote down my name in their scrolls and registered me 1 hour before the Khutbah. As you all know the hadith, The Prophet said, "When it is a Friday, the angels stand at the gate of the mosque and keep on writing the names of the persons coming to the mosque in succession according to their arrivals. The example of the one who enters the mosque in the earliest hour is that of one offering a camel (in sacrifice).
 

What is Self-Refinement?

 It is the observance of Psychological Hygiene, prevention of sins and achieving the state of natural purity( Not being contaminated with sins). Its preparing ourselves by being immersed in Good deed and preventing Immorality. It's not an easy task as it requires training and constant evaluation of yourself to be able to achieve self-refinement. Allah mentions in Surah As Shams , "Indeed he succeeds he who purifies it" "And indeed he fails he who corrupts it". Here the Nafs is being talked about as its refinement leads one to salvation and eternal bliss. May Allah make us among those people , Ameen. 

Prophet Ibrahim ( AS) made the following dua , “Our Lord! send amongst them a Messenger of their own who shall rehearse Thy Signs to them and instruct them in Scripture and Wisdom, and purify them; for Thou art the Exalted in Might the Wise.” (129)
Musa ( AS) was sent to Firaun ( Pharaoh) so that he can self- refine himself. 
 Umar ( RA) said," Hold yourself accountable before you are held accountable" 

Key takeaways

  1. Success and Salvation lies in self-refinement
  2. Hold yourself accountable before you are held accountable

Talk to yourself and blame yourself and punish yourself when you err or sin so that you can be a psychologically clean person and know that your salvation lies in how much you refine yourself. I have been practicing self- refinement for a while and in no way do I feel safe from sinning. I believe am still at the beginning stages. I will share one way I have been practicing self-refinement which is monitoring my thoughts in another article In Shaa Allah. Hope this has been of benefit to you and I ask Allah to grant us the ability to hold ourselves accountable before the day of accountability comes upon us and to make us beacons of the future generations of Muslims , Ameen

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