In the Name of Allah, the Giver of Life, the Taker of Life
Allahumma salli ‘ala Sayyidina Muhammad ﷺ wa ‘ala aalihi wa as’haabihi ajama’een.
This has really been an emotional week for me, personally. But also a wake up call. Alhamdulillah.
First of all, ‘Ali Banat.
If you don’t know who he is then I suggest you watch this video right away.
To summarize: He was a brother with a heart so pure, living the luxury life. The expensive cars, designer clothes, everything that only money can buy, until one day he was told he had cancer. Reality hit his heart, it hit his soul. He called it his ‘gift’ from Allah. Towards the Deen he walked, gave up his wealth in the cause of Allah, helping so many people and putting smiles upon so many of these innocent children’s faces, leaving behind an ongoing charity that will, In Sha Allah, help him in his Aakhirah.
When I watched his video ‘Gifted with Cancer’ in 2015, SubhanAllah, it really touched me in many ways. We often look at our sicknesses or aches and pains as something burdensome, or something ‘annoying’, but we forget the Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ:
And see how this brother looked at his sickness. As a ‘gift’. I am so amazed, SubhanAllah. We only need to change our perspective of things and like that our lives can change. By the Will of Allah.
So after watching his video I started following him on Instagram and Facebook and I saw the phenomenal work he has done over the past two and a half years. I still can’t get it over my heart how someone who was sooo attached to worldly things changed his whole life to giving everything away and helping people. MaSha Allah, it is really admirable. Sometimes many of us are sick but we still want to hold onto our possessions, or worry about worldly matters.
From the time the video was released, I’m sure many people felt as if they have gained a brother although most of us have never met him. To me, through the past three years, I felt like I’ve gained more and more of a bond with brother ‘Ali as I would always look forward to his new updated posts.
There were times where he wouldn’t post for a couple of days and I would feel concerned as if he was a family member of mine, hoping he was in good health. The following day I would see a post of his smiling face letting us know the details and developments of his new project, whilst reminding us at the same time to prepare for our Hereafter.
SubhanAllah, he dedicated the whole end of his life towards his projects and goals, until his last breath, to ensure that it would remain successful after he had departed from this world. He spent it empowering the community through so much love and kindness. He also never missed an opportunity to give beneficial advice during the last few days of his life. MaSha Allah.
Among the projects in Africa are:
• Houses for widows and orphans
• Orphanages
• A Masjid
• Schools (from nursery to high school)
• A college
• A small business/trading park with shops to create job opportunities and to sustain the people of the village
• Water wells to ensure that the people get fresh water
• A clinic with free medical treatment
• A bakery that supplies the residents of the village with free bread everyday
A number of villages also embraced Islam through this work.
To learn more about it, watch this.
The other night I was watching a video of ‘Ali on YouTube which he posted about 3 weeks before passing away. He mentioned that the cancer had spread to his nose and he could no longer breathe through there. It also spread to his lungs, his eye, his blood and bones. He mentioned as well that he would sit on his bed for hours everyday and cry. Not because of his condition, but out of gratitude that Allah SWT has chosen to purify him from sin in this world and, In Sha Allah, not the Hereafter. Wow, SubhanAllah.
His death really made me question my life. What am I doing with my life? Am I doing enough? Am I doing anything for my Aakhirah? Am I doing anything to help the Ummah? Am I doing anything to help mankind at large? Am I fulfilling my duty towards them? Am I doing anything with my health? What can I do to help people? Surely it can’t be that hard? So many questions are running through my mind.
In today’s day and age, most of us are just living for ourselves. When ‘Umar (RA) was Khalifa, he couldn’t go to sleep knowing that there were people out there who had no food to eat. And what about us? We can’t go to sleep because we might have eaten too much. May Allah forgive us.
So the time to wake up is NOW!! And I’m speaking to myself first.
May Allah grant him his high palace in Jannah. Little did we know his character resembled the like of Mussab ibn ‘Umar, a Sahaba who had so much wealth but when Islam came along he gave it all up for the sake of Allah, he gave it to those in need. A great man with a big heart indeed.
Watch ‘Ali’s final video here.
WARNING: Get a box of tissues ready beforehand.
May Allah protect us from all kinds of sicknesses and diseases, and grant miraculous shifaa to all those who are sick. Aameen.
✿ ✿ ✿ ✿ ✿
Secondly, Razan Al-Najjar.
A 21 year old Palestinian girl who dedicated her life to saving lives of others.
I’m going to be honest, I’ve never heard of her before until this tragic incident. But the little that I’ve watched and read about her over the past few days had a big impact on my heart. SubhanAllah, what a brave person she was. MaSha Allah.
The thing I admired most about her was her courage and bravery, and especially when she mentioned in an interview that they didn’t save lives for money, but rather for Allah and the love for their people.
The video of her interview has been deleted off YouTube (hmmm..I wonder why?) but here’s a few screenshots of it:
In another video, her mother spoke about her beautiful character and the type of person she was in the house. I couldn’t help but tear up. I felt this woman’s pain with her. No mother or person deserves to go through that.
May Allah have mercy on these two selfless human beings, their families, all those who died serving Him, and the entire Ummah. Aameen.
SubhanAllah, within one week we’ve lost two people with golden hearts, and I keep thinking.. if two people could do that, imagine what WE as an Ummah can achieve, together.
Let us work on leaving a legacy and investing in our Aakhirah. From TODAY. We don’t need to be a millionaire to make a difference. It can even be something small like making someone smile. Surely we can do something to follow the footsteps and advice of our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ when he said, “The best of people are those that bring the most benefit to the rest of mankind.” [Daraqutni, Hasan] Allahumma ja’alna minhum. Aameen.
L♡ve always,
Ayesha
❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤
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