Hey salaam everyone!
It has definitely been a while!
The message of this post is really all in the title. As you might have been able to tell MT has been kind of not moving much the past few months. I’ve been traveling for work, Ledo has been busy with LSAT stuff, Nora summer school, and Zamin getting better – it is been tough cranking out new designs.
Unfortunately to make matters more complicated Zamin’s computer was stolen last week and along with it our new designs. I once heard a story in a juma’a that I thought of instantly when I heard of Zamin’s recent unfortunate incident.
As my memory recalls it goes like this: There was a sheikh who was a prominent merchant in a land and while in a halaqa or some gathering a messenger came to him and said, “Oh sheikh your vessel caught fire while coming to port and sunk along with all the goods on board.” The sheikh looked down for a moment and then back up and said ‘alhamdulilah.’ Later on, the messenger came back and told the sheikh that he was mistaken and it was not his boat that sank. Again the sheikh looked down for a moment and then said ‘alhamdulilah’ in the same manner as before.
A student asked him why he did that upon hearing both sets of news explaining that he himself would have been devastated when hearing the first set of news and overjoyed at the second set. The shiekh said, “When I heard that my ship and goods were lost I took a moment to see if my faith was affected. When I found that my faith had remained fully in tact I was thankful to Allah. Then when I learned my ship was safe and again went back to make sure my faith had remained unchanged. When I found that it was I was thankful to Allah.”
Like I said, I do not remember the story exact and can not find it online (if you know it please share it). But the point (which I am getting to) still remains valid. Things WILL happen in our lives, we WILL be tested by Allah! As promised in the Quran (and easily accesible by Islamicity.com’s awesome Quran search):
21:35 Every human being is bound to taste death; and We test you [all] through the bad and the good [things of life] by way of trial: and unto Us you all must return.
In the sheikhs case he was tested by both the bad (loosing the ship) and good (regaining the ship) of this life. We just have to be careful enough not to get caught up in either or.
Zamin, you my brother are being tested now, and through your tests the MT team is being tested. InshaAllah you will remain patient and inshaAllah we will remain patient along side you. If you yourself are being tested right now just keep the end in mind and remember how quick fortunes can change. Remember like life, the deen is a marathon and not a sprint.
Salaam,
AbdulAziz
5 responses so far ↓
mariam // July 10, 2008 at 12:11 am
this post is a really good reminder, alhamdulillah. i remember hearing this story from bilal m. and it’s been one of my favorites for a long time. i think it helps a lot to look at tests themselves as a major blessing, because you have the option and ability to pass. tests are opportunities to tune up patience and consciousness of the marathon vs sprint reality.
may Allah help you guys pass all your tests and increase your patience and reward!
btw-are we supposed to start calling you abdulaziz now?
Zamin // July 10, 2008 at 9:50 am
Zezo; I dont know what to say..
Jazakalllah Khayrun for this beautiful post. Thank You for reminding me that the main point of misfortunes is to see if our Faith has been tested. Alhamdulillah, I can confidently say that it hasn’t; as Day changes into Night, so does ones’ faith. Inshallah we will work harder and only then will our reward be sweeter inshallah!
Wow now im all pumped to go work! Motivational-Speaker much?
Salams.
Zamin // July 10, 2008 at 9:56 am
Ps-has anyone ever noticed that on the direct right side of the pic up top (u know; the Banner!!) it says SAMBUCA? Like the food? yumm now im hungry…sorry im fasting..
Z // July 12, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Mariam – Bilal M has some of the best, most inspirational stories I’ve heard in my life mashaAllah. May Allah grant him an ever growing database of good stories!
One of the best periods of my life was living with him and Mus’ab. Just listening to them have conversations and debate was an education in itself!
Good eye. Zezo is nice but AbdulAziz has ring to it…eventually I’ll have to make the switch.
Zamin – Keep up the good work soldier!
Salaam
Obaida Abdul-rahim // July 15, 2008 at 4:12 am
La Hawla Wa La Quoowwata Illa Billah, Inna Lillah Wa Inna Ilayhi Raji’oon.
No matter how long it takes for the new threads to drop, Insha’Allah I’ll be first in line to snag some.
And even though it might be a little late for Brother Zamin’s laptop, here are some links to check out:
Mozy (automated online backup): https://mozy.com/?ref=HGD4UI
Adeona (System for tracking stolen laptops): http://adeona.cs.washington.edu/
Assalamu Alaikum
Obaida