A Familiar Voice

Alhamdulillahi wahda, wa salaatu wa salaam 'ala man la nabiya ba'da.

Take a minute right now and ask yourself, how do you use your tongue? Do you use it to remember Allah, or do you use it for vain talk. And even if you do use it for dhikr, how often can your tongue be found in this state? Earlier this morning, my mother and I were taking a walk and this elderly man walked by us. "He was doing tasbeeh", my mom told me, "Look at the way his lips are moving". Subhan Allah, I felt so proud and ashamed at the same time. Proud because I just saw someone who was engrossed in the rememberance of Allah and was spending his time wisely, but ashamed because I was not doing the same.

This man reminded me of the prophet Yunus, and personally everytime I remember the story of Yunus 'alayhi salam, tears come to my eyes. When he found himself in distress, he immediately went into prostration and supplicated to Allah.

فَنَادَى فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ أَن لَّا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنتَ سُبْحَانَكَ إِنِّي كُنتُ مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ

..And he called out within the darknesses, "There is no deity except You; exalted are You. Indeed, I have been of the wrongdoers." [Surah Anbiya':87]

After hearing this du'a of Yunus, the angels gathered around the Throne of Allah and said, "Oh Allah! This is a familiar voice, from an unfamiliar place." And after Allah informed them that this was none other than Yunus, the angels began to intercede for him. "Oh Allah," they continued, "Will You not have mercy on him for what he did during his time of ease, and save him from this trial and tribulation?"

Allahu akbar! It is evident that Yunus would do dhikr so much to the extent that his voice became familiar to the angels! And not only that, Allah subhana wa ta'ala says that had Yunus not busied himself with the rememberance of Allah before this, he would have remained in the belly of the whale until the Day of Judgement.

This is a reminder for us, and a lesson that if we are among those who remember Allah constantly, then inshaa'Allah we will be given the intercession of the angels, and the Mercy of Allah.

That's one of the reasons why I chose to name my blog 'Dhakiraat', because those who remember Allah often are those that are the closest to Him and will receive the best of rewards (read verse 35 of surah Ahzaab to know what this reward is).

- Alister.