RABBANA DUA : SURAH AL-IMRAN 193-194 ِ
رَّبَّنَا إِنَّنَا سَمِعْنَا مُنَادِيًا يُنَادِي لِلْإِيمَانِ أَنْ آمِنُوا بِرَبِّكُمْ فَآمَنَّا رَبَّنَا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَكَفِّرْ عَنَّا سَيِّئَاتِنَا وَتَوَفَّنَا مَعَ الْأَبْرَار
Our Lord! surely, we have heard a preacher calling to the faith, saying: Believe in your Lord, so we did believe; Our Lord! forgive us therefore our faults, and cover our evil deeds and make us die with the righteous.
TWO LIGHTS
💎 This ️Ayah is from Surah Al-Imran. Alongside Sura Al -Baqra Surah Al-Imran are known as the two lights.
💎 Light is a beacon of guidance. It shows and unravels the way. Guidance helps us build and shape character. It teaches us how to deal with problems practically and find solutions ultimately leading us to grow and evolve.
💎 We must understand and acknowledge a simple truth that life is difficult, filled with challenges and trials Yet it is a blessing to know how to navigate these trials. It’s a gift to have the wisdom to know the steps needed to overcome obstacles. Therefore, our focus should always be on the solution and not the problem.
WE DISLIKE PROBLEMS
💎 The reality is that we naturally dislike problems and try to avoid them. They upset and disturb the heart that longs for permanent peace. But in this world such peace is unattainable. But this is not possible in this world, and that’s why we strive for Jannah, where true and lasting peace awaits. In essence we are striving for eternal tranquillity which is only in the hereafter.
ULOOL ALBAB
💎 In the previous ayahs Allah SWT tells us that there are always people in this world who understand the reason for their existence and are always able to see the Truth.
Even when everyone around them is focusing hard on denying the Truth. They are able to see it with clarity. It is crystal clear for them. These people are called the Ulool Albab: People who understand the reality of life.
They under all circumstances stand up for the Truth and uphold the Truth. No matter what life throws at them they do not let go of the Truth. They never give up. Ever. So,this Dua (prayer) is the dua of the Ulool Albab.
💎 In the first part of this dua Allah shows us how these people respond to the message of Truth. They say, we hear the caller (Rasool Allah in his life and Quran and Sunnah for anyone who calls to the message, after him SAAW) calling us to faith in one God and we listen. They embrace the message, appreciate, recognise the hard work and responsibility of the caller. They sincerely open their hearts to faith declaring “we believe in our Rabb.”
💎 Notice how simple their submission is. The moment they hear the Truth they accept it as Haqq (true)—No arguments, no ego issues, no thinking they know better. They just recognise its beauty and obey instantly reconnecting with their inner Covenant with Allah SWT
💎 Generally, what do we do in such situations? We become annoyed and irritated when someone tries to explain or correct us. We must be wary of such attitudes and question ourselves on our behaviour all the time to avoid falling into arrogance.
One way I personally find beneficial in dealing with criticisms is staying silent in the moment and listen. When challenged about anything quietly listen to when someone speaks. Don’t respond at that time. Especially if it disturbed your heart or has invoked feelings of annoyance. Hold your tongue and think about it in your own time.Check the facts for yourself and then decide.
💎 When facing any difficulties in life, no matter how hard it gets hold onto the one Truth: that we have a Creator who navigates our ship. This is exactly the internal state of the Ulool Albab. They have complete trust in Allah SWT and Divine guidance.
AN EXAMPLE OF HOW TO DEVELOP WISDOM
💎 To develop this quality of wisdom try this: put yourself in the shoes of someone who understands the nature of their existence with absolute clarity. Imagine you are one of those blessed people. Now just for a moment, imagine you are standing in themiddle of the ocean, watch its vastness and the huge amount of water in it. Now look at the water as trillions or zillions of tiny drops.
Consider this, that all the drops of water are either lies, falsehood, deception,showing off, views, opinions, ego, oppression, speculations and everyday thoughts of people. And all these drops are at war, fighting against each other,shouting,screaming, the trillions and zillions of drops all claiming that they are the Truth.
💎 Now think of these drops turning into tiny dark pebbles. Zillions of them. Imagine yourself in this ocean, all confused and muddled, upset not knowing which way to turn. Who is truthful you say to yourself?
💎 In the midst of these dark pebbles there is one little drop of water, only one that shines like a precious stone, a pearl and its light spreads everywhere. You now see it and you just know in your heart that this is the truth and there is no denying the Truth anymore.
This is the one Truth of Tawheed oneness of Allah ,and beyond that everything is fake.Once you see it there is no turning back. The heart has humbled, believed andnaturally fallen into submission.
THE GIFT OF GUIDANCE
💎 The ones who see this reality they then desperately want to hold onto this gift of guidance. It’s like this for example If I see an apple and someone keeps insisting it isan orange I’m not going to listen, am I?So those who hear and see the Truth, their hearts have moved and trembled with Allah consciousness. They never want to be lost again in the world which is full of deception and illusions.
💎 The Ulool Albab, not only believe, but once they believe they turn to Allah and pray to Allah to protect them. They realise that in this life, when they are surrounded by half-truths and lies constantly, relentlessly they don’t stand a chance alone in getting through the maze of life. They know that to remain firm they must hold onto Allah always.
💎 Thus, they say further in the dua,’O Allah forgive us our sins and weaknesses. They realise connecting with Allah is the only way to success in this life, and the hereafter, they don’t lose sight of this reality. Therefore, they beg Allah to hold them firm with other righteous people in this world and ask to be raised with them with them in the hereafter.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ZANB AND SAYYAT
When the word ‘zanb’ and ‘sayyat’ are used in the same sentence ‘zanb’ refers tomajor sins and ‘sayyat’ refers to minor sins. They ask Allah to cover (Ghaffar) themand remove major sins with His mercy and wipe out (kaffir) their minor sins. Theyask Allah to save them from the consequences of major sins in this world and thehereafter, by covering them with His mercy.
Our good deeds wipe away the minor sins for example from one prayer to the next, from one Jumma to the next Jumma etc. For the major sins we must do Tawbah(Sincere repentance) otherwise ‘hadd’ punishment applies; (fixed penalties for serious offences)
May Allah SWT make us of those people who believe, understand, uphold the Truth,submit and obey. May unwavering faith enter our heart with ease and certainty and odge there forever with firmness. Ameen
