While doing ذِكْر in these blessed ten days of dhul hijjah, it is very important to reflect on-
ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّٰه
We say it. But do we mean it?
Do we praise Allah from a heart of genuine gratitude, or do we say it while our hearts are quietly screaming- why me? why this? why not something better?
Is it really Hamd, or is it just a mere habit dressed up as ibadah?
الله أكبر
Do we actually believe this with the eye of Yaqeen? That He is greater than our grief, greater than our loss, greater than the door that closed, greater than our plans? greater than everything that broke us?
Or have our comparisons become our Akbar? He got more. She got it easier. They were given what I deserved. We say اللهُ أكبَر with our tongues and then spend the rest of the day measuring our life against everyone else’s.
Which one is actually bigger in our heart?
سُبْحَانَ ٱللَّٰهِ
To declare Him free from every imperfection, every injustice, every wrong.
But how many of us have stood in the dark, in the silence after a loss, and whispered to ourselves-why did You do this to me? As if He owes us an explanation. As if our limited sight can judge His infinite hikmah. As if The One Who created us from nothing, The One Who knows what we do not know, made a mistake with our story. Astaghfirullah.
We say SubhanAllah and then we blame Him in the very next breath.
These words are not just phrases. They are re-orientation of the soul.
Tahmeed is the soul saying-
I trust You even when I do not understand.
Takbeer is the soul saying- You are greater than everything I am afraid of.
Tahleel is the soul saying-There is no one else Only You.
So before the words leave your lips, let them first move your heart.
Because He does not need our words. He sees what is underneath them. He is Al-A’leem, Al-Baseer.
لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا ٱللَّٰهُ
We think this Kalimah was only about smashing the stone idols of Arabia. It was not just confined to that.
The idol of your desires, the one that tells you to follow what feels good over what is right as per Islam. The idol of your ego, the one that makes your opinion the measure of all things. The idol of your whims, the one that bows to no law of Allah Al-Hakam except its own.
And then there are the idols we have dressed in suits and given podiums. Man-made systems that legislate what only Allah Al-Hakam (The Legislator) has the right to legislate. Taghoot that demands loyalty, obedience, and sacrifice from people who were only ever meant to bow to One and Only. Nation states drawn by colonial hands on stolen maps, that we defend with more passion than we defend the truth itself.
La ilaha is not just a historical statement about Lat and Uzza.
It is a living, breathing rejection of every taghoot.
But we have become selective in our Kufr bil Taghoot. We reject the idols of other civilizations while bowing to the idols of our own era without even realizing it.
And when we say La’ilaha ilalAllah then we should be aware that it is not rejecting only the idols made up of stone but also rejecting the idols of whims and desires and worship to self, and rejection of other modern day idols like man-made systems, taghoot, man made boundaries like nation states etc.
Along with the ذِكْر let’s have this فِكْر too especially in these blessed ten days of dhul hijjah which reminds us of the legacy of our father Ibrahim (a.s) who stood against the idols of his (a.s) time with unwavering conviction.
Today, the idols have simply changed form.
Just as he (a.s) refused to bow to what was unworthy, these sacred days call us to reflect, what are we prostrating to consciously or subconsciously?