01 - Like My Last

The iHub

This Ramadan.... I will Live it like my last When Ramadan comes, we don’t really contemplate that this might be our last. Somehow because we always manage to reach the next ramadan, we expect to reach it again; taking it for granted and not preparing properly. Personally, i know alot of people that have passed away and will not have the opportunity to witness this ramadan and i think to myself; I wonder if they thought Ramadan _*of the year*_ 1440 was their last, I wonder how they spent it, I wonder if they did their ultimate best or they thought they would try harder next year. But alas, Ramadan _*of the year*_ 1441 was not written in their life spans, May Allah forgive them and have mercy on them. You and I are here Alhamdulillah, and we need to realise how great an opportunity it is for us to have another Ramadan. The hadith below reminds us _*of*_ it; Talha ibn ‘Ubaydallah (radhiallahu anhu) reported that two men came to the Prophet (sallallahualayhi wa sallam) who had accepted Islam at the same time. One of them used to partake in Jihad more-so than the other, and so (one day) he fought in a battle and was martyred therein. The other remained behind him for another year, and then he passed away. Talha said, ‘I saw in my dream that I was at the door of Paradise when behold, I was with both of them (the two men). Someone came out of Paradise and allowed the man who passed away later to enter first. Then he came out again and allowed the martyred one to enter. Then he returned and said to me, ‘Go back, for your time has not come yet.’ Talha woke up and began to inform others about this and they were all surprised. This reached the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and when they informed him of it, he said: He (sallallahualayhi wa sallam) said, ‘What are you surprised about?’ They said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Out of them both, this one strove harder (in Jihad) then he was martyred but this other one was entered into Paradise before him.’ The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, 'Did he not remain behind him for one year?’ They said, ‘Yes (he did).’ He said, ‘Did he not reach Ramadan, fast and pray with such and such number of prostrations in the year?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) said, ‘So the difference between them is greater than what is between the heavens and the earth .’ (Sahih narration from Ibn Majah (2/345, 346) and al-Albani’s ‘al-Silsilah al-Sahihah’) Subhanallah, imagine entering jannah ahead of a martyr just because you were able to reach another ramadan and worship in it. This is a wakeup call to all of us, let's utilise this ramadan to the maximum of our abilities bearing in mind that it could be our last. Realising this now, in Shaa Allah... This Ramadan, i will strive my best to make maximum use of it. This Ramadan, i won't allow worldly distractions to turn me away from the main purpose of the month. This Ramadan, i will try to make use of every second in what will bring me utmost reward and mercy from Allah. This Ramadan, in shaa Allah, i will frequently remind myself it could be my very last one so i have to capitalise on it.