Sacrifice For Allah

“Ahmad, come on, let’s go!” Ahmad’s friends eagerly waved him over. He looked up at the sky, the orange and pink sunset darkening into the nighttime blue. If he went, he would surely miss his Maghrib Salah. The only way he would make it home in time to pray was if he left now.

“Come on, Ahmad, it’s just one game. One quick game and we’ll be home,” Yahya said as he bounced the ball with ease.

“Alright then.” If the rest of them were missing Salah, then it would be fine, right? One Salah here and there wouldn’t make a difference.

As they walked home after their quick game, Ahmad felt slightly smug. They would be home on time, and he had also got to play with the rest of the boys. When his mother asked him that night if he had prayed his Maghrib Salah, the lie felt heavy on his tongue.

His legs felt tired after the long day, and an internal battle raged inside him over whether he could muster the energy to pray Isha or not. Once his mother left his room that night, he drifted into a restless sleep.

He woke up the next morning with a thumping heart. As he stood to pray his Fajr Salah, a sense of shame overwhelmed him.

“Mum, can I speak to you?”

His mother was still sitting on the prayer mat. Ahmad sat beside her and leaned into her comforting presence and embrace. His head hung in shame.

“Mum, I lied to you,” he confessed. “I really did miss my Salah. But nothing happened when I missed it, Mum, and I got to join in the game with my friends too.”

“We pray for Allah, Ahmad,” his mother said gently. “Did you not feel uneasy? Did you not see how one sin led to another? Even this uneasiness you feel, my child, is a gift from Allah. For once that uneasiness fades, you are fully in Shaytaan’s grasp.”

Ahmad looked at her in wonder. That was exactly how he had been feeling, and he had never realised that his uneasiness was a blessing.

“I’m going to try my best, Mum,” he promised. “I’m going to pray my Salah even if I have to sacrifice things I love to do.”

“The greatest sacrifice was the sacrifice of our Prophet Ibrahim ‘alayhis salam. We always need to be ready to sacrifice for Allah. He was prepared to even sacrifice his beloved son for Allah. And what could be a greater sacrifice?”

Ahmad was firm in his resolve. He closed his eyes and whispered a du’a deep in his heart.

“Ya Allah, help me,” he prayed. “Ya Allah, help me sacrifice for Your sake, and not sacrifice my religion and afterlife for worldly pleasures.”

A sense of ease finally overcame him.