Once upon a time, on the day of Eid-ul-Adha:
Abdullah: As-Salam Alykum, Eid Mubarak..Taqabal Allah minna wa minkom! (May Allah accept it, from us and from you)
Abdur-Rahman: Wa ‘Alykum As-salam. Eid Mubarak to you as well.
Abdullah: How has been your Eid day so far?
Abdur-Rahman: Man, I heard this new song today, and kept listening to it :( I know I shouldn’t have been listening to music, it’s haram, but I just can’t give it up. I just can’t. Perhaps I will give it up after I go for Hajj next year inshallah.
Abdullah: Man, seriously stop this habit now. Don’t give yourself excuses. Repent now to Allah and make firm intention. You know this act is disliked by Allah. Today is a Eid day, a perfect time for you to make niyaah to leave this habit. If Prophet Ibraheem was willing to sacrifice his own son in His path, why can’t you sacrifice this habit for His sake, to please Him?
Abdur-Rahman: You are right. Jazakallah Khair ……..
Is there something that YOU really really like, but Allah dislikes? Perhaps some action that you have been doing all these years, disobeying Allah, and find it so hard to give up. You might have been giving yourself excuses like “I will repent later once I …” (graduate? get married? old? …….) Make the intention right now to repent to Allah and sacrifice this habit for His sake.
Exercise: Find the verse in Qur’an that talks about spending your beloved thing in the way of Allah.
Jazakum Allahu khayran, very nice. I remember I read that one of the salaf used to say: don’t look at the size of the sin you are committing, rather look at the Greatness of the One you are disobeying.
And for those who are not familiar with “Khaleelullah” it means: the close friend of Allah, it was the name of Ibrahim alayhi sallam that was given to him by Allah.
Allah azza wa jal says in Surah Nisa: wa takhidu Allaha Ibraahima khaleela, and Allah took Ibrahim alayhi sallam as a close friend. A Khaleel is an intimate friend that one can share secrets with, and a friend who has a special place in one’s heart. SubhanAllah, this shows the status of Ibrahim alayhi sallam. And also the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam is Khaleelullah.