Temptation

Asalam Alyekom,

          This entry is not a story about hijab. As you can tell from the title, it’s about temptation.  Last December I went to a Moez Masoud lecture, and I jotted down some notes, and I would like to share them with you. The lecture was given in Arabic but for those of you who know me, you know that my Arabic needs a lot of improvement. Thankfully, I was still able to follow along and write my notes in English so that I can remember the lecture. If any information is incorrect then I am the one at fault. For those of you that want to know the key to real happiness, then you should read this entry. Enjoy!
                                            - Habiba Ghanem

                                                    
                                                             Tempation

Moez starts off the lecture by saying that as an ummah we are not close to Allah because if we were close to Allah we would not be in the situation that we are in. He also says that an important message that we all must understand is that being religious does not take away our freedom. Our perception of freedom is based on nothing but misconceptions. Freedom is not giving in to the temptations of the world. We have all that we need to lead a happy life; Islam. When iman enters our heart it is then that we will know the true definition of true happiness. It is not easy and it will take a lot of effort but it is worth it.   

Why do we give in to temptation and why do we love temptation? Its only because we are empty inside, our hearts are empty. Some may choose the right path in filling their heart with iman while others give into temptations of the world. One must know that temptations are decorated. Keep in mind that we are being tested. We live in a world where temptation seems exciting and it seems inviting. But temptations are not what they appear to be. Temptation can be many things, but there are three kinds of temptations that are like an axis of evil; money, power/popularity, and lust. As humans we like temptation because we have nothing better to do. People go after temptation because they feel that it will help them deal with stress. But temptations stress us out. If people were following the right path, bad temptations would not bother them. One will never be satisfied from temptations of the world, temptations are not going to relieve a person, and the heart will always worry.

There is HOPE. The right path is sometimes hard to follow. We have gotten used to the wrong things that they have become the norm. A person will never be free unless they make the right choice. When you make a wrong choice, you aren’t free because you know that you are wrong and you are being controlled by the temptations of the world. As mentioned before the right path is sometimes not easy to follow one must have PATIENCE. The era that we are living in is called “Ayam El Sabr”. But patience is not just waiting. Our problem lies within our souls. One should not wait for the world around them to change. One should change and the world around them will. Right now we need Allah SWT more than ever, but many people do not turn to Allah for they are too preoccupied with temptations of the world. The world took us away from Allah, our creator. But keep in mind that those that influence us in a negative way are a small minority. Our problem is that we love the world and we hate death, because people are living for the world and think that the Day of Judgment is still far.

Ask yourself the following questions. Does your heart have any fear when Allah’s name is mentioned? What about when you hear Al Quran? Do you pray? Do you have Reda (acceptance)? What about the right friends, do you have friends that will help you stay on track?

The stronger that you are the stronger our ummah will be. We were created, to obey Allah SWT our creator, we were created to get Allah to love us. Sometimes we have to make sacrifices, but the sacrifices that we make will lead us to a better place.

Shakespeare once wrote, “All this the world knows but none know well to shun the heaven that leads men to this hell.” In other words, there is a fake “heaven” on earth that takes people to hell. BUT there is pain/hardship/fake “hell” when refraining from temptations that leads you to true happiness and moreover paradise.

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