Close Encounter of the Tabligh Jamaat: Part 6 - The Hidayah

In this day and age when materialistic prosperity is the principal aspiration, and which unfortunately surpasses Deen in terms of chief priority, live revolves entirely around carnal and sensual pleasures. Thus, the purpose of life itself has been forgotten and the gift of life wasted.

Imagine, believing that you are a Muslim and suddenly realising just the opposite. Though my parents had given me a noble Muslim name, I never lived a life of a Muslim. I never ate my food like a Muslim should. I never slept like a Muslim should. I never went to the bathroom like a Muslim should. I never dressed like a Muslim should. I did not even look like a Muslim. I never talked like a Muslim should. I never even thought and felt like a Muslim should.

I did not live a life of a Muslim. I did not have a mindset of a Muslim. I did not have a heartfelt of a Muslim. And if Allah Ta'ala take my soul away before the blessed 3 days, I do not know whether I'd die as a Muslim. I will continue to beg to Allah Ta'ala for His guidance to do righteous deeds and beg Him to grant us proper understanding. May Allah Ta'ala bestow upon us correct understanding and the light of reason.

The first thing that happened to me when I arrived home was the jolt and quiver that I felt whenever I heard the Adhaan. It never happened before that I rushed to Masaajid at the call of the Adhaan. I remember one brother said at a discourse during the 3 days, "How does a farmer get the chickens to return to his backyard chicken coop? Let the chickens roam, peck, sleep and eat in the chicken tractor within the chicken coop for three days. At the end of three days, even if the chickens are outside roaming, they will return back to their coop. Subhanallah! If Allah could do that to chickens, indeed it is not difficult for Allah to cause the hearts of His servants to be attached to Masaajid after spending 3 solid days in the Masjid." It was then that I felt the amazement and admiration to his simple yet deep simile.

By the same token, I then had impression that all the while my usual sitting position at home was improper since my feet were pointing towards the Qiblah. Similarly, I abruptly changed my sleeping position as it too cause my feet to be pointing towards the direction of the Qiblah. I would not start eating my meals without first washing both my hands and cover my head. When I entered the bathroom to ease myself, I would cover my head and sometimes I would stepped back outside whenever I forgot to enter it first with my left foot. I began to direct my attention to the daily Sunnah of Rasulullah sallalaahu alayhi wassalam, whatever that I learned and practice during the 3-days period, with the hope that I would eventually changed my erroneous routines to the blessed Sunnah routines.

For a couple of weeks, my quest for practising the daily Sunnah continued. I regard it as something basic for me to do with just a little effort. After all, who would be so foolish not to grab the opportunity of obtaining the promise of a hundred rewards of martyrdom by Allah by just reviving a Sunnah? It turned out that what I regarded as something basic and easily done has actually had a tremendous effect on other people. One night, to my puzzlement, my wife suddenly shed tears, and I was dumbfounded as she wept, "I want my husband back."