Aminah Remembers Allah
    by A Muslim sister from Singapore




    Aminah looked forward to Fajr prayers every morning. She loveed the fresh smell of dew that the morning brang. Everything is so fresh in the morning and the two rakat of subuh made her feel really close to Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta'ala).

    But she always had one nagging question in her mind. “How can I ensure that I always remember Allah throughout the day?”, she wondered.

    So one day she decided to observe what her family did to remember Allah.

    First, she watched her father carefully, to see what he did. She noticed that right after finishing his Fajr prayers he began to recite,

    Subhan'Allah, Subhan'Allah.

    And so Aminah repeated after him.


    After filling her tummy with a hearty breakfast, Aminah began seeing what her grandma was did after her meal,

    Alhamdulillah


    said Grandma.

    "Why did you say that?," asked Aminah

    "I am Praising and thanking Allah for all the wonderful food He has given us," replied Grandma. " It means 'Praise be to Allah for His Greatness for giving us this food to make us strong'."

    So Aminah lovingly repeated the dhikr to praise Allah for the breakfast He had given them.


    Later on, Aminah then sat down to finish her homework with her sister, A'isha.

    Before beginning her homework A'isha said,

    Bismillah


    and encouraged Amina to do the same.

    “Why?” Aminah asked.

    “Well, it is so that we remember Allah before anything that we do - that we Begin by mentioning Allah. So Allah may Bless us in the work that we are about to begin", replied A'isha.

    “Well then,” asked Aminah, “When do we say ‘A’udhubillah?”.

    “Whenever you have a bad thought in your mind,” jumped in Aminah’s elder brother, Rashid. "We say

    A’udhubillahi min ash-shaitan ar-rajeem


    to seek protection from Allah (subhanahu wa Ta'ala) from Shaitan, and from bad thoughts or actions”.

    Aminah gave Rashid a grateful smile for teaching her a new dhikr to remember Allah by.


    Later that day, after praying jam'ah prayers for Asr with her grandpa, Aminah noticed that he repeatedly recited

    Astarghfirullah, Astarghfirullah.


    Curious to know why, Aminah asked, “Why do you say this dhikr grandpa?”

    “Well,” replied grandpa, “I like to say astarghfirullah so that I will always seek forgiveness from Allah (subhanahu wa Ta'ala)”


    And so for the rest of the evening, Aminah rehearsed what she had learnt from watching her father, her grandma, her sister, her brother and her grandpa.

    But as Maghrib drew near, she discovered two more useful dhikrs for her to recite to remind her of Allah.


    For Maghrib prayers, Aminah accompanied her father and their neighbour, Mr. Abdul Hamid, to the nearby mosque. As they walked to the mosque, Mr Hamid kept reciting

    La ilaha illAllah.


    “What does it mean?”, Aminah curiously asked him.

    ‘La ilaha illallah’ means there is no god but Allah”, said Mr. Hamid. “As Muslims we believe that Allah is One and that He has no partners. This is the most important belief in Islam. Saying ‘La ilaha illallah’ will remind us of this very important belief in Islam. So recite it regularly, Aminah”, Mr Hamid told her.

    Aminah thanked Mr Hamid for his advise and went inside the masjid for salah. When she sat down, she saw Aunty Fatimah, making Tasbeeh. Aunty Fatimah kept on repeating,

    Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar


    "Why are you repeating 'Allahu Akbar'?," asked Aminah

    "I am saying 'God is Great'. I am Praising and Remembering Allah," replied Aunty Fatimah.

    Aminah thanked Aunty Fatimah, and then began reciting 'Allahu Akbar', praising and remembering Allah.

    In her heart, Aminah gave a silent thanks to Allah (subhanahu wa Ta'ala) for helping her learn the many ways that she could bring herself closer to Him.

    She set it firmly in her heart to apply whatever dhikr she had learnt everyday. Everyday starting from today. Insha'Allah, Aminah would be closer to Allah (subhanahu wa Ta'ala), and remember Him often.



    Learning Points The Qur’an says, 'wa ladhikrul la hi akbar wal la hu yalamu ma tasnauun'

    “And remembrance of Allah is the greatest (thing in life) without doubt. And Allah knows the (deeds) that ye do. “
    [Surah Ankabut 29: 45]

    Different ways of remembering and Praising Allah. Applying Islam to our daily lives.



    back to the beginning    stories    Mainpage


    © Copyright 2003-2004 Mutmainaa