The point I’m trying to put across is that we should honestly sincerely check ourselves constantly otherwise it will open doors to many dangers. At times we are so blinded by this materialistic dunya (world) that we have unconciecely disconnected ourselves from Allah (swt), or we are on the verge of disconnecting our selves with our Lord. Its worse to think that we are actually doing something for this Deen, and progressing forward, but in reality we are moving backwards, because we don’t sit down and check ourselves. We at times oversee the rules and regulations and think our way is the right way. As muslims we have to serioulsy check our intentions and be alert!! We have to make sure we are not puppets of our mere desires.
    By allowing ourselves to be indulged in this dunya and in our own nafs we can lead to our own destruction. We should honestly sit down and analyze ourselves and see which way we are steering our life. I was reading the Qu’ran, and I came across a very important ayah. It really opened up my eyes and help question my situation; it was an ayah that concerned the hypocrites:
 “ When they meet those who believe, they say, “ We believe,” but when they are alone with their evil ones, they say, “ We are really with you, we where only jesting” [2:14]
    This is a very powerful ayah. Majority of the time when we read this ayah we think that this does not apply to us. What do I mean by this? What I’m trying to say is that we proclaim that we are not the ones that say “We believe” in the open ( with good / pious people). And when we are alone we say we don’t go to the evil ones ( hypocrites, kafirs) and say “ we are really with you.” This is one way of looking at it. The other way of looking at it is that the “evil ones” referred to in the ayat doesn’t have to be restricted to people, it can refer to objects, places, materialistic things that have an evil effect. Ex. T.V. internet, music, and our own desires etc. these are also evil things that affect our daily lives. We tend not to take them seriously and think that they don’t play an important role in our life. But in reality they do, these false illusions can also create barriers between us and Allah.
     We tell the believers we believe, we tell ourselves we believe, we tell Allah we believe. But do we really believe? Do we believe when we are front of the computer screen or TV screen indulging in false actions? Do we really believe when in reality we are puppets of our own nafs, listing to our own desires rather than Allah. Yes, we are bound to make mistakes, we are weak, and we are human beings. But we also have to learn to control ourselves. There is a fine line between desires and weakness in faith. Being weak in faith in certain situations is natural, since we are made to sin. But it is different than repeating the same mistakes over and over again and telling ourselves that its is our weakness in faith, but in reality we are fulfilling our own desires.
    Correct me if I’m wrong in stating the hadith........remember what the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) said, in one hadith he told the Sahabas to chase after him and try to catch his shadow, they couldn’t catch it, then he told them to catch him, and they did. And then the Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) said that this dunya is like my shadow no matter how much you try to run after it you will never be able to get it, ( because its fake with lies and deception) and I’m like Islam the truth.
    Just like that we have to be careful not to be enslaved to these objects, to this dunya and our nafs!! If we are enslaved than our mind, body, heart, and soul will make this evil thing ilah (God) indirectly, whether we realize it or not. Then we not only are on the road to hypocricy but also commiting shirk!!!

Bottom line we have to CHECK OURSELVES before we WRECK OURSELVES!!!!

 “ A true Muslim is furthest removed from hypocrisy, flattery and false praise, because the guidance of Islam protects him / her from sinking to the lowest level, as so many people nowadays have done, with out realizing that they have sunk to the depth of disastrous, loathsome hypocrisy.” ( Hashimi, Muhammed) book The ideal Muslim 

A forgotten Promise?

1. Promise:  A declaration assuring that one will or will not do something; a vow.
2. Something promised.
3. A binding agreement; a compact.

    Promise, what is a Promise? Is it just a mere verbal agreement that holds no meaning, a worthless compact that has no significance no value?  Of course not, it is more than that. When a Muslim makes a promise he should give his / her word. He has given his verbal or physical word, whether it is by him saying it, signing it on a paper, or by any others means. Islam considers one to keep his /her promise and considers it an excellent human attribute, for it is a characteristic of an ideal Muslim. There are many examples in our history and its common sense to fulfill our promises to the best of our abilities. The prophet (peace be upon him) was an astounding example of this. He was the truth and he knew how to keep his promises:

-Imam al Sadiq (as) says:
"The holy Prophet promised a man that he (i.e. the holy Prophet would sit on a stone till he came back. That man went away and the sun rose and the atmosphere became hot. The companions of the holy Prophet said: "O Prophet of Allah! What difference would it make if you leave sunshine and come under a shelter? The holy Prophet replied: 'I have promised to meet him here and if he does not turn up I will stay here till the Day of Judgment."

-The holy Prophet says:
"One who does not keep his promise has no faith."

-"Then you shall tell of Ishmael: he, too, was a prophet, a seer, and a man of his word." Surah Maryam, verse 54

These references clearly show the importance of  upholding a Promise.

    Now think for a second. When we do make a promise, we try our best to hold true to it, because it’s the right thing to do as Muslims, and just as important we also know that there are consequences that come along, if the promise is broken. Promises are huge!! For ex. On a larger scale, if we work for a multi million dollar organization and we promised the other firms that we will be there to sign a million dollar contract, it is essential to be there, for millions of dollars are at stake. Not only that, most importantly your job is at stake. If you lose that how will you provide food for your family.  So obviously we try our best to get it done. Also, if we made promises with our friends and family, we try our best to hold true to it. And if we are weak and break our promises with our friends for no valid reason, not only are we breaking are word (lying), we are also breaking that trust. We are hurting the other party’s feelings. And a severe consequence can be we end up losing that friend. And sometimes when we break our promises unintentionally, we feel bad and are guilty.

    Now Multiply this by a million times. We take these promises with friends, family, colleagues, organizations etc. So seriously. We try our best to hold true to our word and also are aware of the consequences. But has the thought ever caught our mind that we have an even bigger promise to fulfill. A bigger covenant that we have agreed to hold true too. That agreement, that covenant, is that promise we made with ALLAH (swt). The creator of the heavens and the earth, and everything that is in between. What am I talking about? I’m talking about that promise we made before we where sent on earth. Before our rooh (sprit) was blown into our bodies. That promise we made in our spiritual realm, when all of creation was gathered in front of Allah and agreed accordingly to THAT PROMISE, which is stated In the Qur’an:   

{ When your Lord drew forth from the Children of Adam-from their loins-their descendants, and made them testify concerning themselves, (saying): “ Am I not your Lord( who cherishes and sustains you)?” – They said:  “Yes, We do testify!” (This), lest you should say on the Day of Judgment: “Of this we were never mindful” :} (Surah Al-Araf 7:172)

An-fu sihim Alastu rabikum?  (Am I not your Lord?)

Qalu Balah- (yes, we do testify)

    By saying YES, our Covenant is complete, our Promise is acknowledged. We have acknowledged that Allah is our Creator, Cherisher, and Sustainer.  We have acknowledged our duty to Allah, when we testified this. We have clearly agreed to uphold the deen of Allah and have agreed to be his slaves. To establish Tauheed. We have answered in front of the lord of all the worlds, this is no ordinary promise, and the question is, are we going to living up to it? Are we taking this promise seriously!!!

    Or are we openly and shamelessly going to lie in front of our lord? And not go along with our promise. What have we done to fulfill our Promise, sin, sin, sin. We feel guilty when we break our promises and apologize for the party we have hurt. But do we have any remorse, any sign of grief when we break our Promise with our LORD. Let’s ask ourselves that, and understand where we lie in this matter. This is not joke, surely with this promise, if broken there will be severe consequences, punishments? You can always get back that friend you lost, that money you lost, that job you lost, but not Allah, if you lose him ( break his promise, go astray) you will surely be lost. Cause If you think about Allah. Then Allah will think about you, if you forget about Allah, Allah will forget you.   

And Allah doesn’t need us, or anybody!!!