Where do I start?

[ummtaalib]

Where do I start?

By Abu Muhammad Yusuf

Imagine waking up one morning to find everyone smiling, just peace, harmony, tranquillity, mutual love, respect, serenity…wouldn’t it be divine? We all desire to change the world for the better, but where do we start?

A wise man once said;

When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town .I couldn’t change the town, so I tried to change my family.

Now, as an old man, I know the only thing I can change is myself. And suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.

So what is really the secret to changing world? Actually it's not such a big secret! Allah Ta’ala gives us the perfect and most wise solution:

 “Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” (Quran-Surah Rad, 13:11)

If we desire change, then let us change what is within ourselves first and have high hopes and good expectations about gaining help from our Creator. The Messenger of Allah Ta’ala (peace be upon him) is reported to have said that Allah says:

 "I treat my servant according to his expectations from Me and I am with him when he remembers Me…if he takes one step towards Me, I will take ten steps towards him. If he walks towards Me, I will run unto him.” (Hadith: Bukhari & Muslim)

Often we fear and resist change.  Boldness, courage and determination are essential components of change. The secret of change is not to fight the old, but to refocus and build the new.

We need to take it one step at a time. Rome was not built in a day and a journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step. Sometimes it's the smallest decisions we make that can change our life forever.

 If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at will Insha Allah change.

Allah,The Most Wise, is always there to Help and Guide us. So let us not delay and try to be the change that we wish to see in the world.

eislam