Three
questions about every favour
Sayyidunā Imām Muhammad Ghazālī has
stated that three questions would be asked about everything:
1. How did you attain it?
2. Where did you spend it?
3. With what intention did you spend
it?
(Minĥāj-ul-'Ābidīn, pp. 100)
In
the last verse of Sūraĥ At-Takāšur, Allah says:
ثُمَّ لَتُسْـَٔلُنَّ يَوْمَىِٕذٍ عَنِ
النَّعِيْمِ
Then,
undoubtedly, you will surely be asked about the favours that day.
[Kanz-ul-Īmān (Translation of Quran)]
Dear Islamic brothers! By Allah ,
fortunate are those who follow Sunnaĥ despite facing poverty and adverse
conditions compared to those who are lost in their wealth and have worldly
authority. In the Hereafter, successful is he who is obedient to Allah and His
Prophet ﷺ in spite of facing destitution, sickness
and calamities. Listen to an admonitory narration and learn some lesson.
Dive
in Hell
Sayyidunā Anas has narrated that the
Holy Prophet ﷺ has stated, 'On the
Day of Judgement, an unbeliever who possessed untold bounties in the world will
be brought. It will be ordered to submerge him into fire. Therefore, he will be
dipped into fire and will then be asked, "O so and so! Were you ever
endowed with bounties?" He will reply, "No, I was never endowed with
any bounty."' After this, the Muslim who faced the most difficulties and
trying circumstances in the world will be brought. It will be ordered to
submerge him into Paradise. Therefore, he will be submerged into Paradise and
will then be asked, 'Did you ever face any trouble and hardship?' He will
reply, 'No, I never faced any trouble and hardship.'
(Sunan Ibn Mājaĥ, vol. 4, pp.
530, Ḥadīš 4321)
The foregoing narration makes it
clear that Hell is so terrifying that a mere dip in Hell will make the person
forget all the attraction, luxuries and the comforts of the world and he would
think that he spent his worldly life in difficulties and troubles. On the other
hand, a mere immersion in Paradise is so pleasant and delightful that the
person will forget all his troubles and grief of the world and he would think
that he never faced any predicament.
صَلُّوْا عَلَى الْحَبِيْبِ ۞ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ
تَعَالٰى عَلٰى مُحَمَّد
How
to develop habit of eating less?
If the person who is accustomed to
excessive eating suddenly starts eating less and applies the Madanī guard to
his stomach, he may well become weak and, resultantly, give up hope. What one
should do is to reduce the amount of food gradually. For example, if a person
who eats 12 breads a day wants to reduce his intake by half, he should break 12
breads into 60 pieces and reduce one piece every day. He will be eating 59
pieces the first day, 58 the next and so on. If he persistently continuous to
do so, he will succeed in reducing his intake from 12 breads to six within a
month without experiencing any weakness, اِنْ
شَآءَاللّٰه عَزَّوَجَلَّ. If someone eats only rice, he can also
reduce his food in the same way by diminishing one spoon daily.
Be wary, you should not be deceived
by your Nafs when you go to any wedding feast etc. or any delicious food is
placed before you. On such occasions, your Nafs will try its best to make you
eat in excess suggesting that you can continue eating less the next day. If you
yield to your Nafs' demands, it will be difficult for you to remain steadfast.
No matter how delicious and tempting the food placed before you is, if you
stick to your regimen, you will be successful. However, if you ate a little
more on an occasion after you have become steadfast in eating less, then
occasionally eating a little more would not prove to be an obstacle in
returning to your habit of eating less, اِنْ
شَآءَاللّٰه عَزَّوَجَلَّ.
Specify
portion of your food
One should specify his share of food
prior to eating such as half a bread, a quarter plate of rice, seven pieces of
squash, one or two small pieces of meat, a small piece of potato and three
(table) spoons of gravy. After eating the specified amount of food, one should
no longer eat anything no matter how hungry he is. If possible, take your
specified amount of food in a separate plate before eating; this is probably
the most efficient way of applying the Madanī guard to the stomach. If you have
taken more food into your plate due to the desire of your Nafs, put the extra
amount of food back in the dish.
Once you have taken your fixed
amount of food, then do not take more food no matter how strong your desire is,
otherwise, Nafs will demand you to eat more things. Nafs, for instance, will
say, 'take one more piece of meat or potato; have one more spoon of rice etc.'
Be cautious on special occasions as well. If the one who has not yet become habitual
of applying the Madanī guard to his stomach keeps taking a little amount of
food from the dish repeatedly, as is the custom these days, then his Nafs may
deceive him into excessive eating by making him forget his specified amount of
food.
If many people are eating together
in the same platter, and the environment is also appropriate, such as the
environment of Dawat-e-Islami's Madanī Qāfilaĥ or that of Jāmi'a-tul-Madīnaĥ -
then the Islamic brother or the student of Jāmi'a-tul-Madīnaĥ desiring to apply
the Madanī guard to stomach should take his specified amount of food from the
platter in his own clay-plate according to Madanī In'āmāt, but should still eat
sitting with others. If others resent it, then he should eat with them in their
platter. Therefore, the most appropriate method is to specify the number of
morsels. For example, if someone is habitual of eating 12 morsels, he can
easily eat his specified 12 morsels while sitting with others counting the
number of morsels inwardly.
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