Saving Islam from Ritual

By: Hisham Mood: Other Date: 04/13/2008 14:53:30 Music: None

These are notes I made myself from few excerpts from speech of Sheikh Saad. I have added a few things so that everyone can understand and benefit.

Saving Islam from Ritual

These days, it’s becoming common for a gathering for Islamic lectures and activities. Going, hearing and talking about the greatness of Allah have just become a habit. Although, talking and hearing about the greatness of Allah is reaching highest peak of good actions. We have to save our good actions from becoming a ritual. Since a ritual fast, a ritual hajj, ritual reading of Quran, ritual acts of worship is happening in the world but this is not of great benefit because Islam requires the attention of one’s soul.

For example: a person is praying out of habit, will pray at the right time but if his soul is not engrossed in it, he will have no concentration in his prayer. I personally observed when people are engrossed in movies; they watch them with such attention and vigor that they lose focus in everything else but the movie. If only our prayers were like that.

Sheikh Ilyas used to say that place in which an object is to be made, if the object becomes spoilt, there is no other place that the object can be made. In fact, Sheikh Ilyas used to give an example, when the bread became burnt on the stove, now no matter where you place it will never regain its prior condition. This is to explain that if a person is not able to create a strong relationship with Allah in his own good actions, then there is no other method or place through which this person can develop a relationship with Allah. In other words, there should be life in our actions, instead of them being dead exercises.

The purpose of this talk is that counting number of Islamic conferences doesn’t really matter, in fact counting how many number of people are attending and are involved in these activities doesn’t matter. But our question should be how many people have strengthened their relationship with Allah. How many people have decided to leave the disobedience of Allah?

This is an issue that we should keep it in front of us. Since, this is where the sincerity is tested. Every individual should reflect on this, that what have we achieved through our actions, has our relationship with Allah improved? That’s why one scholar said, to have high intentions. Ones intention is more beloved to Allah than one’s action. Why? This is because the building of good actions begins with the base of a good intention.

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