By Ustadh Dr Adekunle Mikail
We praise the good Lord for the opportunity given to us to be alive again today, we pray to Him to make our days many in His service!
O Son and daughter! This is a duty. A religious and cultural duty it is to set your feet firm and straight now that you are about to be distinguishing a right from duty; a right from wrong; an entitlement from an alm and a kindness from an indulgence!
I’m doing this in aping the sages and wise men of the days of wisdom such as Luqman the wise in the glorious Qur’an and Ibn Quyum Al-jawsi ( may their souls be blessed) who set righteous and humane standards for their sons and children while they were growing so that they should be righteous and upright when properly formed!
Son and daughter, you may know and may not know; you are my liver walking the length and breadth of this well-spread carpet known as the earth. It is a reason I pray not you suffer any infirmity ; be it physical, social, economical or spiritual. And it is the very reason, I strive to write this letter, so that it be your glass; you watch your character with; your prop; you rest on when life comes with its fate; your talisman; you curry blessing with as well as your sword you ward off evils with it!
O you my son and daughter be upright and steadfast! See not life as a playing ground meant for playing and amusement alone but an abode to work righteousness, piety and good relationship among diverse people of the earth!
And on every account, son and daughter, believe in your Creator who Has created your forbears, Adam, from clay, and you from semen while He has created the Angels from the light of glory and the Jinn from fire of glory!
And pray the canonical daily prayers, O dear Son and Daughter for it prevents one from evil and waywardness. Hear the Lord of the worlds in the Quran:
“And pray the Sallat; indeed the Sallat prevents from evil and waywardness, and the remembrance of Allah is desirable if you know”!
Oh the cynosure of my eyes and the goodnesses of my earth, whenever Ramadan, the month of forgiveness, mercy and blessing meets you alive, strive and endeavor to observe it. For in it lies undescribable rewards, the I’tikaf and the Night of the majesty that equals in rewards, the worship of 80 years!. During this Night, destinies are changed, reformed and refined while illnesses are healed!
Oh my son and daughter, you have a duty to your Lord to fulfil if at all you are blessed with worldly properties such as money, agricultural products (with the exception of vegetables and readily spoilt fruits,) gold and silver, landed properties and other Zakatable products. O Son and Daughter, in the payment of Zakat lies human growth and his wealth, peace of mind and love of others!
My Son and Daughter, if you are blessed with enough wealth, while you have capability, and when the roads are free, i.e when your country in which you are domiciled is peaceful, you have money to settle your home and the way to Makkah is devoid of insecurity, then it is incumbent on you to go on pilgrimage to Allah’s House in Makkah!. Son and Daughter of mine, in the attendance of Hajj lies Islamic brotherhood, internalization of Islam, sacrifices that teach selflessness, and spiritual cleansing that makes a pilgrim to be like a new born baby with no sin in his neck!
Oh my representatives when I am no more, be wary of arrogance, laziness and ignorance for they are preventers of greatness. And while doing that, let your watchwords be good character, respect to people and kindness_these are harbingers of hope, peace of mind, security and paradise!
Son and daughter! Let knowledge be your guild while you guard your knowledge with work! Know that knowing without working with what you know is an effort and life waster! The people of the past had been praised high in this Quranic style :
‘‘ Allah will exalt those of you who believe, and those of you who are given knowledge, in high degrees; and Allah is well- aware of what you do”, for nothing but for matching works with their knowledge!”
Son and daughter! Knowledge without work wreaks havoc to the owner of the knowledge! It is even an harbinger of evil that which befell many giants in knowledge in this our time and that which hampers their blessing!
And in the words of Ibn Warid, the brilliant savant of Islamic studies Arabic language and sociopolitical disciplines :” the beauty of knowledge lies in the refinement of one’s deeds ” ! It goes that ,if you crave acceptance with the Lord of the universe and forever want to die not, activate your knowledge!
And if you desire knowledge indeed, be busy with it while you find time for it! Knowledge travels not with a soul that which cannot marry it as a life partner and which handles it with levity! Since it is the inheritance of the prophets of Allah, it requires sincerity of purpose and righteousness for its ripeness!
By knowledge; Oh you Son and Daughter! I don’t mean the knowledge of divinity alone. Though , it is at the highest echelon of knowledge but I meant every beneficial ones; that which can elevate man from bestial level to the level of the angels!
Son and Daughter ! Know that you can’t always get what you want or desire in life at a go or at its point of conception! You will have to combine patience with work! To tell you the bitter truth, greatness is not like the candy you munch just anyhow; you can’t attain greatness unless you combine the working of greatness with patience!
” Or it is for man all what he desires? Nay, to God is the beginning and the end of everything!’
As you can’t have what you want every time, oh dear Son and Daughter, you can’t win every argument either! So temper your argument with the respect of the opposition! Do not see everyone you exchange argument or debate or dialogue with as enemy for you do not enter dialogue, debate or argument with people with a view to killing them, maiming them or destroying them rather all those exercises are done , with a view to deepening understanding about life, phenomenon, object and matters!
Take caution with the wisdom of Imam Shafihi ( may he be pleased with) while advising his student Yunus Ibn Abdullah, after an argument with him below :
” O Yunus ! Hundreds of issues unite us and only one issues divided us! Don’t try to be triumphant in all differences ; sometimes, winning hearts is more important than situations. Don’t demolish bridges you built and crossed, for you may need them again one day for your return. Always hate what is wrong, but do not hate the one who errs. Hate sin with all your hearts but forgive and have mercy on the sinner . Criticise speech, but respect the speaker. Our job is to wipe only the disease, not the patient! ”
Son and daughter ! Always strive to eat from the halal food and abandon those that are haram ! Make sure the sources of your sustenance too are legal! Know that foods from illegal sources and substances kill their eaters faster both spiritually and prosperity wise, than poison in all its varieties.
I had been striving to feed you from a food which money emanated from a legal source too so that I will not kill your future with mine before you build one! For many are fathers who have shortchanged the future of their children in the name of earning a living through illegal money and impure food! So give to your Son and daughter, what I had striven to give to you!
Son and daughter ! Eat moderately, walk moderately, talk moderately, inculcate moderation into all your doings and elevate moderation to enviable heights when you live!
” And be moderate in your pace , and lower your voice; for the harshest of sounds without doubt is the braying of the ass!”
Above all, when you are dealing with others, pardon their foolishness, subjugate their deceits with righteousness, straight their crookedness with cool words, engage tough situations and bad fates with sincere prayer; it is the way of the righteous but do not be arrogant in any situation :
” And swell not your check
For pride at men
Nor walk in insolence
Through the earth:
For Allah loves not
Any arrogant boaster.”
While doing that, abandon who hates you for no reason, love who loves you dearly, fear no evil but seek refuge in Allah against all evils! Spread no mischief in the land, give alms, be merciful to the old and Young and bless the weak with your words, money and friendship! In every situation too, show gratitude to God and man, worship God as if you are seeing him, for if you don’t see him, he sees you! Let the Lord’s words and that of His Apostle Muhammad ( Salla-llahu Alehi salam) suffice you while copying the prophet’s examples!
Oh Son and Daughter, the above missive is part of my inheritances that you will inherit when I’m no more in this Adamic realm. Be quick in its embrace and strive to use its lessons, you are assured of greatness here and Paradise in the hereafter!