بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ Bismillah hir Rahman nir Raheem
monday 4:37 pm houston
...I have three pieces of advice for you... based on my experience and what came afterwards.
- Surely, Allah is with the sabireen. If you strongly fear that you will not have sabr with whatever may come, then do not go. The Muslims I met in Filisteen have such patience that they inspired and humbled me. What they go through is extraordinary to hear about, and if you stay in al Quds as I did, you will only witness a tiny portion of their ordeal. So only go if you are ready to try and be as patient as them.
- In the time of RasoolAllah, sull Allaho alayhi wa sallam, a pious man did not make the journey to meet him and make bayah, yet RasoolAllah sull Allaho alayhi wa sallam praised him and told Omar radi Allaho anho that that man's dua would be accepted. What was the extraordinary activity of that man that he could be so loved by Allah, and yet have not traveled to meet the Prophet Muhammad, sull Allaho alayhi wa sallam? The man stayed in Yemen to care for his ailing mother, and the Prophet sull Allaho alayhi wa sallam died before the mother's illness ended.
If your parents need you to be with them, or if they would cry over your travel, do not go. There are many hadith narrated by Sh. Waleed Basyouni in his lecture, "Parents, the Middle Gate of Jannah," that support this position. WAllaho 'Alim, I believe if I had heard the lecture and been softened by it before this summer, then I may have not gone to al Quds given the extreme fears of my parents. - If neither of those considerations stop you, make istikhara no matter whether you have reached a decision or are still undecided. In "Rays of Faith," Sh. Basyouni taught us that istikhara is not just for issues in which you are undecided, but even for decisions in which you are firm. InshaAllah, making istikhara should relieve you of stress and doubt because whatever happens, you will know that it is best for you in this life and in the next.
And if there is any error in what I have said, then it came only from me, and I ask Allah subhanahu wata ala to forgive me for it, and remove from your path any harm from it. And if there is good in it, then it is from the Mercy of Allah, and may He forgive me for whatever of it I have not acted on, and may He increase the good of it for you, for me, and for the ummah.
السلام عليكم
