Why we Need Models
The blessed month of mercy, forgiveness, and release from the flames of Jahannam as well as liberation from ourselves and our flaws has been bestowed upon us by Allah (SWT). During this month, our sins are washed away, negative attitudes and behaviours are banished, and a new beginning is made in life. This is essentially what Ramadan offers us. The path to getting there is difficult , or at least, it seems that way from a distance. Once you start walking on this path, you realize that you will not walk on it by yourself, and Allah (SWT) will help you walk . A hadith of the prophet (SAW) states that , “Allah (SWT) tells us that if a person comes to him by a little bit, he comes to them by much more.” Like this, a little bit of effort from us is rewarded immensely by Allah (SWT). He also says, “If he comes walking to me, I come running to him.” These are some things that we should be motivated to achieve. Ramadan is the month when we can focus on this more than any other time of the year. Let us give our all for this chance and not be pulled back by our own weak tendencies. Keep in mind that everyone who has walked on this path was a human being just like you, whether it was a sahaba, the tabi’een, the great mufassireen – they were all human beings, just like us. Most of them in a regular family and societies that had all kinds of environments. They commited themselves to making those changes and taking those steps and they held themselves to it. Allah (SWT) has given you the means of changing. In older times, some did not have scholars or speeches or masjids where they lived. Today, there is nothing holding us back from accessing knowledge.
We need a good environment and people who will help and teach us along the way to becoming good Muslims. Through this series, we will try to cover our role models across many generations – people, men and women, who did great things and who will inspire us. When we start learning the stories of great Ulama and great Muslims of the past, it will motivate us and get us thinking. Hopefully, this will become a way of bringing great changes into our lives and push us onto the path of becoming better Muslims. May Allah (SWT) give us tawfiq.
