That Means that.... JUSTIFIES the End

Nothing feels better than standing before Allah: by Choice!

Zayd was following the recitation from the car stereo, his mind and soul fully immersed in the meanings of the words of his Lord, so deeply he felt his Lord was actually talking to him, this low unworthy servant he was. As the Surah came to an end, he put off the stereo to ponder over the verses he had just recited. Soon after, his thoughts shifted over to his elder sister, Zaynab, who, from all indications, was straying and moving deeper into that wrong path with the passing of each day, he sincerely prayed Allah would guide her unto the right path, so she appreciates the great blessing of Allah, Islam, so that.. It suddenly occurred to him that, up till that very moment, nobody in the family has heard as much as a word,from or about his elder sister. Now, he prayed, for her, to be safe and protected by the Most High. He was afraid -for her - and could not bear the thought of her untimely death -not in the present condition she was living, utterly unconscious of her duty to her Creator- he sincerely prayed she was safe, 'that's the most important thing right now', he thought.
The car pulled up before an apartment -his apartment - and he alighted, mumbling some words in Arabic in gratitude to Allah for letting him return safely, alhamdulilah, he said finally. Smiling broadly, he strolled to the front door and said the Tasleem, 'assalamualaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh'as he tapped gently on the door and awaited a response. When none came after about a minute wait, he assumed his friends, with whom he shared the apartment, were out, and so, he should let himself in. He brought forth his bunch of keys -one of which had only recently being removed from the Car's ignition-he said 'bismillah' and inserted the one he had identified as the right one into the keyhole. Just before stepping inside, he brought a tiny remote control from his front pocket and pressed a button on it, in the direction of his recently parked car to activate its autolock. He sighed, thanking Allah once again for keeping him safe, 'how much my mind had wandered' he thought as he stepped into the house, uttering his adhkar for entering the house, 'Bismilahi wa lajna, wa bismillahi kharajna, wa 'ala Rabbina tawakkalna, thumbs liyusallim 'ala ahlihi', meaning, 'In the name of Allah we enter, in the name of Allah we leave, and upon our Lord we depend '.
He stopped short in his tracks right about then, not sure he had 'really' heard a voice, a sound, from somewhere close,but, he was almost -just almost- sure it was from the living room, just a few steps away. Subconsciously, he murmured the words, 'Allahummak fineehim bima shi'ta' meaning 'Oh Allah, curb them as You wish', seeking solace in his Lord against the not-yet seen dangerous people. Gathering his wit and courage, he tiptoed -his shoes already off his feet and beside the foot mat- into the living room.
And there they were, laughing out their hearts at some joke either of them had made. Fuming, Zayd was almost choking on his own breath. Instantly, the words 'A'udhu billahi minash shaitaanir rajeem' meaning 'I seek refuge in Allah from Satan the outcast', was all that was on his heart and lips, as he tried really hard to cool his temper. The abrupt end of the laughter in the room brought his attention to his fellow occupants in the room -away from himself, his anger- and he found himself half-smiling as he watched the quizzical looks on both of their faces. Calmly, he greeted them, 'assalamualaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh, beloved brothers'
Recovering their senses, they responded, 'wa alaykumus salaam warahmatullahi wabarakatuh' and they asked him when he got in without either of them hearing even one of his many steps before he got into that room. Bemused, Zayd found himself explaining to them how they had let him assume there was no one in the house after waiting at the door quite long and had been scared at the sound of laughter in the room, until the moment he found -or saw- them and was almost overcome with anger.
His friends were laughing at his narrations till the point he mentioned that he got upset. Remorseful, they apologized and Zayd said, 'nah, it's fine now. I guess the test you've got tomorrow deserves that much concentration', and winked at them, while the both of them smiled.
'Does that mean our scholar is all prepared for any at all?' Abdus-Samad had asked.
'Oh, sure, is that even a question? Everyone knows Zayd needs not open even a single book to have a perfect score in any test and exam, those brains... ' Yunus teased.
'Uhm, Allah increase us all in knowledge and understanding too' Abdus-Samad uttered an earnest prayer, and Zayd who had been watching their usual drama about him being a 'genius' with a smirk on his face and a prayer in his heart, 'Allahima la ta'aakhidhni bima yaqooloona, waghfir li ma la ya lamoona waj'alni khairan mimmayazunoon' meaning ''Oh Allah, do not call me to account for what they say and forgive me for what they have no knowledge of, and make me better than they imagine', said a sincere 'aameen' alongside Yunus. Afterwards, Zayd excused himself to go take a shower and change his outfit. His friends nodded and asked him if he will be returning to the living room afterwards, to which he smiled and replied, 'sure, in shaa Allah', got on his feet and left for his room.
About three minutes later, Zayd was back in the living room with his friends, and settled between them, taking them through the topics either or both of them had any difficulty with, despite his not being in the same faculty -or even a similar one- with them. They were on the second topic highlighted when a Masjid (mosque) nearby proclaimed the Adhan (call to prayer), and they all immediately kept quiet, and except for when they repeat the lines after the Mu'adhdhin (call-maker), with the exception of when he says 'Hayya 'ala salah' and 'Hayya 'all Falah', meaning 'hasten go the prayer' and 'hasten to salvation' respectively, and they respond 'La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah' meaning 'there is no might and no power except by Allah', there was not a single sound anyone could hear from that house. After the Mu'adhdhin's Tashahud, they all said, 'Wa Ana ashahadu an LA ilaha illa lahu wahdahu la shareeka lahu wa Ana Muhammadan abduhu wa Rosooluhu, radeetu billahi Rabban, was bi Muhammadan rasulan, wa bil Islami deenan' meaning 'I bear witness that there is no God but Allah alone, He has no partner, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. I am pleased with Allah as Lord, Muhammad as Messenger, and with Islam as (my) religion'. After replying to this call by the Mu'adhdhin, they recite Allah's blessings on the Prophet, thus, 'Allahima Rabba haadihid da'watit taamati was salaati qaa'imati, aati Muhammadanil wa silata wal fadeelata, wab'athhu maqaamam mahmooda nilladhi wa'adtahu innaka la tukhliful mee'ad' meaning 'O Allah, bring this call to the completion and assure the establishment of the prayer and grant Muhammad the means of intercession and of favour, and give him the honoured station You have promised him, verily, You do not neglect promises'. Then, they all rose to perform Wudhu (ablution), so that for every step they take till they get to the mosque, they will be getting extra rewards, as reported in some Hadiths of the Prophet, after which they headed for the Masjid immediately, taking advantage of the knowledge that invocations during this period between the Adhan and the Iqamah (call for the actual standing for the prayer in rows) was never refused by Allah, each made silent prayers: Abdus-Samad and Yunus asked for Allah's mercy and forgiveness for the Ummah, and His divine help and favour in their coming test and even future endeavors. Zayd asked for Allah's protection and absolute guidance over his elder sister, he prayed Allah guided her into the right path -the pristine Islam- before it was too late.
The mosque speakers produce a few meaningless sounds, which the three friends understood to be the Mu'adhdhin's way of announcing that prayer was about to commence, and thus, he started the Iqamah right after, just as the three friends were pulling off their shoes. Yunus rushed off to join the fast forming front row, he loved very much to be already standing when the Takbiratul Ihram would be said by the Imaam -of course, they all did, for the Prophet encouraged it greatly after all- but, the other two walked calmly and joined the second row, they kept in mind the advice of the Prophet to not rush into prayer, whatever they meet of the prayer they should pray, and whatever they missed of it, they should complete it after.... 'Allahu Akbar', the loud powerful voice of the Imaam announced the official start of prayer and so, everyone tried to drop whatever worldly thoughts to concentrate on the major act of worship - who wouldn't? Standing before The mighty Creator of all lives, and knowing this could be last time they would have the chance to stand right before their Lord, without any barrier? Who wouldn't focus solely for those few minutes filled majorly with recitations from the glorious Qur'an, the very communications of Allah, speaking to them, filling their hearts and souls with tranquility and submission......
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*N.B*:
Surah Al-Maeda, Verse 9:
وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَهُم مَّغْفِرَةٌ وَأَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ
Allah has promised to those who believe and do good deeds (that) they shall have forgiveness and a mighty reward.
(English - Shakir)
Surah Al-Maeda, Verse 120:
لِلَّهِ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا فِيهِنَّ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
Allah's is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and what is in them; and He has power over all things.
(English - Shakir)
Surah Al-Anfal, Verse 2:
إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا وَعَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ
Those only are believers whose hearts become full of fear when Allah is mentioned, and when His communications are recited to them they increase them in faith, and in their Lord do they trust.
(English - Shakir)
Surah Ar-Room, Verse 60:
فَاصْبِرْ إِنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ وَلَا يَسْتَخِفَّنَّكَ الَّذِينَ لَا يُوقِنُونَ
Therefore be patient; surely the promise of Allah is true and let not those who have no certainty hold you in light estimation.
(English - Shakir)
Surah Al-Ankaboot, Verse 57:
كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ ثُمَّ إِلَيْنَا تُرْجَعُونَ
Every soul must taste of death, then to Us you shall be brought back.
(English - Shakir)
Surah Al-Ankaboot, Verse 6:
وَمَن جَاهَدَ فَإِنَّمَا يُجَاهِدُ لِنَفْسِهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعَالَمِينَ
And whoever strives hard, he strives only for his own soul; most surely Allah is Self-sufficient, above (need of) the worlds.
(English - Shakir)
Surah Al-Qasas, Verse 88:
وَلَا تَدْعُ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَٰهًا آخَرَ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ كُلُّ شَيْءٍ هَالِكٌ إِلَّا وَجْهَهُ لَهُ الْحُكْمُ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ
And call not with Allah any other god; there is no god but He, every thing is perishable but He; His is the judgment, and to Him you shall be brought back.
(English - Shakir)
Surah Al-Qasas, Verse 56:
إِنَّكَ لَا تَهْدِي مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ وَلَٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَهْدِي مَن يَشَاءُ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ
Surely you cannot guide whom you love, but Allah guides whom He pleases, and He knows best the followers of the right way.
(English - Shakir)
Surah An-Noor, Verse 27:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتًا غَيْرَ بُيُوتِكُمْ حَتَّىٰ تَسْتَأْنِسُوا وَتُسَلِّمُوا عَلَىٰ أَهْلِهَا ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ
O you who believe! Do not enter houses other than your own houses until you have asked permission and saluted their inmates; this is better for you, that you may be mindful.
(English - Shakir)
via iQuran

It may not be very easy, but, we can all always become 'this' good, 'so' good, once we're willing to try... Goodluck to every Muslim proud to be one out there... One love!