INNALILAHI WA INNA ILAYHI RAJIOON

We say this statement, “Innalilahi wa inna ilayhi rajioon” - “To Allah We Belong and To Him We Will Return” when someone dies, when we lose something, or suffer a setback or harm. But prior to this very moment i never really understood what it meant.

I just lost a dear cousin today - One that was always there, always did his part in making sure the family clicked. He was a brother, a friend and confidant. For a while, i basically didn’t know how to process the news. It took a while but i came to realize that nothing we have is truly ours. It all belongs to Allah.

All you have to do is look around you; everything you see, all that you have and all that there is....belongs to Allah alone. It is Allah who has given you the job you have, the cars, the house, your kids, your health and even the time that He has allocated for you to live all belong to Allah (SWT). Even the bodies we live in and the life that we have belongs to Him. He is the true Owner of them all.

“And to Allah belongs the inheritance of the heavens and the earth.....”  - (Q3:180)

“The kingdom of the heavens and the earth and everything in them belongs to Allah. He has power over all things.”  - (Q5:120)

The very souls that we think of as our self - our nafs; the very thing that distinguishes us from the rest of the world, belongs to Allah. And this is the essence of the concept of submission to Allah in Islam. Since He is the true Possessor of everything, and everything is His property, He allots what He wills to whomever He wills....and then He takes it away. No questions asked. After all, it was His to begin with.

So He may give you something and then take it back after a while. He will bless you with a family member that you love dearly and then He may take it away. He will grant you wealth, honor and social status and then He may take it away. He may give you health and then He may take it away. We all have to remember that we enter into this world empty handed and we will leave it empty handed.

“Every soul shall have a taste of death, then to us you will be ultimately returned.” - (Q29:57)

Each day that passes, each day we breathe, each day we go about our lives, is nothing but a day closer to our end, closer to our return to our Creator. Growing up death was not something we talked about. In fact, all we ever did was make plans that stretched decades into the future. Death is a fact that is hard to comprehend because we think it is not for us. Some people think they will go to Allah when they are older. But how can we be so sure that we will even live an additional day? The Prophet Muhammad (SAW) used to remember his death every day many times. After death has come - those who did wrong in this life, will surely wish they could come back to this life and to have another chance to do good, and by this time, it will be too late. Now is the time to change our lifestyle and obey Allah. Before it’s too late, let us be one of those who will be under the shade of Allah.

"Inna lillaahi maa 'akhatha, wa lahu maa 'a'taa, wa kullu shay'in 'indahu bi'ajalin musamman...faltasbir waltahtasib".

"Surely, Allah takes what is His, and what He gives is His, and to all things He has appointed a time...so have patience and be rewarded." - Al-Bukhari 2/80, Muslim 2/636.

I love you cousin and would miss you so much.