“I’

M NOT READY FOR IT YET, IT’S TOO DIFFICULT TO CHANGE”

The true meaning behind this excuse is that people don’t want to

leave the

haram they’re committing. They have got so used to their

lifestyle that they can’t perceive it any other way. The thought of

waking up for

fajr salah, having to continuously study Islam or not

‘chilling’ with the opposite sex is too much for them. There are

obvious contradictions in their behaviour; many of them will spend

a lot of time on things they enjoy whether its playing computer games,

physical training, sports or ‘looking good’. In reality these people are

lazy when it comes to Islam, they may spend so much effort in fitting

in with the crowd and keeping up with the latest trend yet they are not

willing to spend effort in staying away from the fire of hell and

attempting to gain

Jannah and the pleasure of Allah .

 

We need to realise that in order to become Islamic personalities we

have to live our life according to the objective that Allah

 has set for

us. Why is it that many work hard when it comes to their exams, yet

pay little attention to the true exam of life? Allah

 didn’t create us

for play.

 

Life is not all about ease and acting like spoilt teenagers who have

everything done for them. All of us have the capacity to become

Islamic personalities. Islam wasn’t revealed for angels, it was revealed

for human beings. Allah

 says,

“Allah does not place a burden upon a person except that which he is capable

of.”

[TMQ al-Baqarah: 282]

 

How can one then argue that following Islam is too difficult?

Whoever believes this should look at the example of converts to Islam

who completely transform their behaviour and may even face hardship

from their families. If they can change why can’t we? If we look to the

example of many of the Sahabah

 they used to be the worst of

people and then became the best. Take the example of ‘Umar ibn al-

Khattab

. He was a man that wanted to kill the Messenger of Allah

SAW and who had even buried his two daughters alive. When he

embraced Islam he became the best of people.

 

‘Umar  was neither a prophet nor angel; he was a person like us.

This type of complete transformation of personalities is not restricted

to the companions of the Messenger of Allah

. There are many

examples from Muslims in our own communities in the West who

used to be notorious criminals, drug dealers and alcoholics and who

became active Islamic personalities working for the return of Islam

when they received the Islamic

da’wah (call).

 

Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Messenger of Allah

 said,

“People are like mines of silver and gold; the best of them in

the days of Ignorance (jahilliyah) are the best of them in Islam

when they attain knowledge.”

[Muslim]

This hadith means that no matter how far away from Islam we are,

we all have the potential to change and become the best of people.