Alhamdulillah this past weekend we were able to take a trip to hear a couple of very beneficial lectures by Br. Mohammad Elshinawy. One of the lectures “Walking Alone: Bearing the Flag of the Stranger” was something that we really needed to hear.
This lecture was based on the hadeeth;
“Islam began as something strange and will revert to being strange as it began, so *tooba (glad tidings) to the strangers.”
*Tooba is a tree in Paradise promised to the strangers of this dunya. It is such a special gift because it is not something easily attainable. The strangers are the likes of the believers mentioned in Surah Al-Ahzab, in the incident of the Battle of the Ditch (Khandaq), whose faith was strengthened in the face of great adversity.
Trials and tests are necessary because they act as a mechanism to filter out those who are pure and to expose those who have the disease of doubts in their hearts.
In times of ease it is easy to claim eman, but it is only in times of trials that our true colors are revealed. Hence we only know our true selves by seeing how well or how miserably we fare while undergoing difficulties and hardships in this life.
Masha-Allah there are sooo many lessons from this lecture but one that truly struck me was when Brother Mohammad mentioned the hadeeth;
“There will come a time of patience when the one who adheres steadfastly to his religion will be like one who holds a burning coal.”
(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2260; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 957. )
And then he asked the question:
Who can ever hold a burning coal?
And then came the crystal clear answer:
With certainty that if I let go of this coal, what comes after it will be hotter….i.e. hell-fire.
Raising Muslims 
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