Question:
Salam my shaykhs may you be blessed for ever. Forgive my lack of adab.
I’m at a crossroads in my life. I want to follow my religion but I can’t because I need money, so I work. I’m not in school because I can’t afford it. I can’t get financial aid because my dad won’t file his taxes. I can’t move out because my immigration has been denied.
I want to join the military back in my country but I would have to leave my family. Ultimately, I want to pursue my deen. But no matter which path I take it seems I will close something off. My religion means a lot to me and if you advise me to take that route, I don’t care what I leave behind, I will do it. Please help me Mawlana Shaykh Nazim[q]. Please pray for me and perform istikhara for me. Salam.
Answer:
wa `alaykum salam,
Insha-Allah Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani is praying for you to be directed to what is best for your afterlife.
Dedicating oneself to Allah is not, as we murids often imagine, to drop everything and go live in the dergah, sit in the corner making our wazifa and reaching high levels of spirituality. Spirituality today means to do one’s work or study well, and then to devote part of what you earn to Allah swt. Daily, it means observing one’s duty to family, neighbors, colleagues, employer, etc. while at the same time remaining conscious of Allah in every state and station. The Naqshbandi maxim goes, “Dil ba yoru dast ba kor” – “The heart with God, and hands at work.”
Taher Siddiqui
