Name: The Reward of Those Who Struggle
Uploaded: 2020-05-02T08:30:00.000Z
Channel: Sh. Abdullah Oduro
Description: Sh. Abdullah Oduro reflects on the divine wisdom in striving and struggling for the sake of Allah, reminding us that Allah is pleased when we do our best. Take this as a chance to practice the Qur’an and strive to reach the goals you set.

<p>Sh. Abdullah Oduro reflects on the divine wisdom in striving and struggling for the sake of Allah, reminding us that Allah is pleased when we do our best. Take this as a chance to practice the Qur&apos;an and strive to reach the goals you set.  </p>

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Sh. Abdullah Oduro

The Prophet ﷺ said that the best of deeds are those that are done consistently, even if they are small. In the Deeds to Habit series, we explore several seemingly small deeds that when adopted as a habit can have a transformative effect on one’s life.

Whether you implement one new deed or more, set your intention, begin where you are most capable of acting consistently, and may Allah enable you along the way!

Learn more about the good habits that can bring you closer to your self-improvement goals by visiting our <a href="https://yaqeeninstitute.org/tag/self-improvement">Self-Improvement page</a>

<a href="https://yaqeeninstitute.org/read/books/habits-to-win">Download the Habits to Win workbook</a> to kickstart your journey towards implementing good habits.

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Deeds to Habit

 As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.  May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon you all.  Have you ever been in a situation to where you've told someone something and whatever you told them was so valuable to you,  you took it to heart when you've experienced it and you shared that experience or that rule of life or principle that years later,  they come back to you and they say, you know what, I remember when you told me this and I never forgot it.  And it got me through or it was something that impacted me to the degree to where I changed my mind, changed my career,  changed my crucial choice in life because I remember that statement of yours.  Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in chapter number 29, verse 69,  wa'udhu billahi minash shaitanir rajim, wal lazeena jahadu feena lanahdiyannahum subulana wa inna allaha lama'al muhsinin  And those that strive in our path, we will guide him to our way.  And verily, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is definitely with the good doers.  Now, when speaking about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, talking about those that strive in our path,  we see the two conditions here, striving, the work, the toil, the effort. For what purpose?  Why in our path? The intention. Allah will guide them to his way.  So when one struggles and goes through a part in their lives where they feel it's the limit and they keep pushing past the limit  because they have a purpose, feena, for that purpose, for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, meaning they do it for the pleasure of God.  They want God to be pleased with them, to make them better people as a reward.  And in result, they will go to Jannah by the mercy of Allah and their actions, inshallah, tabarakah wa ta'ala.  But seeing here, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says after that, and verily, Allah is with the good doers.  And it is a promise when we look at the Arabic language, wa'innallaha lama'al muhsinin,  that he is surely with the ones that are muhsinin.  When we look at the basis of the word muhsin, hasuna means to beautify.  It's opposite of something that is not pretty or not good to look at.  It is something that is beautified. So when you do ihsan, the action that you are doing is a beautiful action and Allah is pleased with it.  The Prophet salallahu alaihi wasalam said a beautiful hadith.  And I want to share this hadith with you because it ties into the verse and what I mentioned earlier.  He said, al mahiru bil quran ma'al kiramu safaratil barara.  The mahir, the one that reads the Quran and he is experienced in it, is with the noble angel scribes.  wal ladhi yaqra'u al quran wa yatata'ta'u fihi wa huwa alaihi shaqa lahu ajran  Then the Prophet salallahu alaihi wasalam said, and the one that recites the Quran and it is difficult upon him or her and they stutter, yatata'ta'u  and they stutter when reciting it in difficulty or it is difficult upon him or her, for them is two rewards.  Two rewards from what? The reward earlier from the person that may have been experienced.  So let's not think that the one that is, has jihad or that struggles and works hard in reciting the Quran is the one that you see leading in tarawih.  Or the one that you see reciting beautifully or the one that you see at the Quran competition.  No, the one that you have converted to Islam or the one that you are a renewed Muslim,  meaning that you have found this level of certainty of yaqeen in your heart and you think this is the right way.  And this is your first Ramadan that you're practicing to turn a new leaf, to try to start praying, to try to read the statements of Allah.  You want to reach that point to where there was a statement of Allah that you say, wow, I remember that statement.  And that statement got me through. I remember alhamdulillah rabbil alameen,  that Allah is deserving of all praise and human beings may be praiseworthy in some things and not praiseworthy in others.  And as a matter of fact, that is the nature of the human that shows that they are not perfect.  But Allah is perfect. Therefore, all praises are for him. And that's just the first verse of the Quran.  When remembering that, it pulls you through. So what I want to say to you is this month of Ramadan is coming.  Practice now. Let that Quran be a means of discipline for you and struggle to get to that goal that you want, that purpose.  And guess what? Even if you don't reach the goal, Allah loves the struggle.  And that's the verse. And those who strive in our path will guide them to our way.  When you struggle for the sake of Allah, this is the means of guidance.  This is religiosity. May Allah make you of those that struggle when reading this book of Allah.  May Allah make you of those that when you stutter or when you make a mistake, you go back and you try.  You ask and how to recite it correctly. That struggle is what Allah loves.  May Allah make you of those who love the struggle because the discipline is consistency with control to reach the ultimate goal.  May Allah bless you…

Deeds to Habit

Sh. Abdullah Oduro

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