Can I have some Directions Please?....

“If you do not know where you come from, then you don't know where you are, and if you don't know where you are, then you don't know where you're going. And if you don't know where you're going, you're probably going wrong.” ― Terry Pratchett

I am hopeless when it comes to road directions. Unless I have taken that particular road qizillion times, rest assured that I will get lost. My husband is always trying to make me concentrate on the roads when he is driving so I get more familiar with the roads, but I have the tendency to let my minds wander or busy talking to him, to even look at the road. Every time I need to drive to unfamiliar territory, I would bat my eyelashes at my husband and coax him into driving me to my destination.

I am also quite hopeless with maps. Don’t ever make me co-driver with a map because you might end up north instead of south. I have, on numerous times, read the map upside down. Sigh…..

Have I ever tried GPS? (Global Positioning System, I just found what it stands for!)  Of course I have! Guess what? I got lost !!! The roads here are quite badly planned and the signboards are even worst. If the signboard says turn left to a certain place, it means turn left after 2 km and NOT turn left immediately. In the end, I chucked the GPS away. There was even once, I got completely lost trying to get to a meeting place with a client that I ended up driving into the police station to ask for directions. I told the policeman to draw me a map and explain the road to me slowly .After explaining about 10 times and they saw the blank look on my face, they ended up giving me a police escort to my destination! Not bad huh? I should do the damsel in distress more often! But seriously, I was in distress!

Some people however, are completely adapted to the GPS. They have a chemistry and connection with the talking machine, that works. They rely on the GPS to get them everywhere and to find any roads.

Don’t you wish that each of us have a GPS when it comes to life?

            “Show us the straight way,” Surah Al Fatiha 1:5

How do we get to the straight path? If we have a GPS for life, we would have a voice that tells us which road to take and where to turn to find the straight path. Once we have reached the path, then, the GPS will tell us if we have swerved off course..the voice will be saying “ warning, you have gone off course, take a right here and go straight to the masjid”… If only!!! If such device exist, everyone will be saints!

I was talking to the Wise Owl about directions in life. He explained certain things to me and what he explained made sense. You see, if you think about it, we do have GPS for life.

“The foolish among the people will say, "What has turned them away from their qiblah, which they used to face?" Say, "To Allah belongs the east and the west. He guides whom He wills to a straight path."

Surah Al Baqarah 2:142

The one that guides us is Allah SWT. We just need to seek for directions and In Shaa Allah, God Al Mighty will guide us. The only difference is that we do not hear a clear robotic voice telling us what to do and not to do, but, we do have a voice.

“‘The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam) said, “Both Satan and angels are fellow-travelers of the child of Adam.  However, Satan gives his pledge about evil things and denies the truth; but the angels promise good and confirm the truth, so if someone finds the latter, then he has to thank Allah, and if he finds the former, he has to seek refuge in Allah from Satan, then he has to recite “Satan warns you about poverty and orders you to do adultery and fornication.”  [Tirmizi)

 

Our voice comes from a device called ‘conscience’. Each of us have one built in, factory fitted, when we were born. No one is born without a conscience but some choose to put it on silent mode or completely shut it off, hence they can’t hear their inner voice giving the correct directions. There is another voice that can be heard but this is one that we should not hear but instead should ignore at all cost. This voice will lead us astray and make us lose our way. If we continue listening to this voice, we will be completely lost. The voice that I’m referring to is the whispering of satan. Satan will whisper to everyone but we are given the choice to choose which voice to listen to. Sometimes, the voice of our conscience is faint so it is up to us to listen harder so that it becomes louder. Our conscience voice should be booming in our head and giving us immediate directions. Our conscience voice should be loud enough to drown out any evil whisperings.

 

“When the devil whispers to you any whisper, seek refuge in God; He is Hearer, Omniscient.”

            Surah Al-A’raf 7:200

 

We are even given maps of life. Our Map is the Quran. Study the Map and set your course and life journey in accordance to the Map. Quran is the best and most complete Map you will ever find. I can assure you that you will never get lost. If you ever trip and lose your way somehow, do not despair, just call upon Him and He will respond. He will guide you back In Shaa Allah…

 

“And your Lord says: "Call on Me; I will answer your (Prayer): but those who are too arrogant to serve Me will surely find themselves in Hell - in humiliation!"

Surah Ghafir 40:60

   Now,  listen carefully to yourself….Which voice is louder? Have you check your Map for the correct roads to take? Is your course set in the right direction? Is your destination to the 'straight path'?..........