God mould me

O God let me not meet You

until You build me ready:

gentle

free from weakness

strong

free from harshness

devout

free from incapability.

The oddity of God's trading policy

"Indeed Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise..." (Al-Qur'an, 9:111)

How odd God's trading policy is.
He gives each one of us a life we did not have,
and makes clear that our provision is fixed;
we'll get what we're due to get
so no need to worry
and better to work for it than beg or swindle it.

Now here's the odd part:
any time we sell back a small part of our time, wealth or self,
we get yet more of what we sold
and along with it a share in Paradise to suit!
How strange a deal where both
what is bought and what is sold is the property of the purchaser.

Wealth and faith

How is it
I tell myself
I'll be at peace
were I to secure wealth

And yet
my mind knows
comfort is not in material
but a faith to be protected within my heart...

Friendship and Faith

In verse 9:67
the 'hypocrites' are described as
"one from from another": ba3Dhuhum min ba3Dh.
A few verses later (9:71),
the 'believers' are compared & described differently:
"awliyaa [helpers/friends] of one another"; ba3Dhuhum awliyaa'u ba3Dh.
This raises the question:
why the difference in wording?
If nothing else,
these verses release a hint about the nature of relationships
between true believers,
and relationships between those lacking in faith.
Whereas a person lacking faith in God
will tend to base his relationships on self-interest,
a person of faith
is expected to base his relationships on heart-to-heart friendship:
wishing & doing well for the other.
His friendship & concern ultimately acts of submission to God,
and thus constant,
remaining the same under all conditions.
Lasting; the mark of this faith.

Language

To increase the commitment of my message,
to be persuasive, engaging, confident,
so the advice goes,
words that water down my message,
words like "hopefully", "quite" and "I'll do my best";
negatives and baggage,
should be omitted.

This has me questioning then:
where does this put the phrase "... if God wills"?
Because,
acknowledging my weakness
and the bounds of my control,
carries the hint that I might not deliver,
and in the business world, it's promise that matters most...

Sadaqah unfolded

To give 'sadaqah', according to common usage of the word,
is to put forward a good deed in the path leading to God.
Inspecting the word deeper,
one finds its roots in the word 'sidq': truth,
& the one who gives in 'sadaqah'
does nothing but purport the truth of his faith.

Prosperity as punishment

"So let not their wealth nor their children amaze you.
In reality, Allah's Plan is to punish them with these very things
in the life of this world..." (9:55)

Question:
What does it mean that the wealth & children of those afflicted with hypocrisy
(may God protect us!)
will be a form of punishment for them?

Mufti Muhammad Shafi comments in his Ma'ariful Qur'an:
"... One starts with desires to acquire wealth,
& then goes through a series of hardships to establish the necessary channels,
day in & day out, sacrificing sleep, comfort & family life.
After that, if he succeeds, come the concerns of increasing & retaining it...
There is no respite for him...
[And if things do not go according to his desires,] despair takes over.
What is this, if not punishment?..."