Pauses with Summer holiday and travel
By `Abdul-Muhsin ibn Muhammad Al Qasim

    Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all the Worlds and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Time passes and whoever is neglectful, his time will dearly pass and his regret will be severe. Time passes fast and a person should know its value, therefore, he should not lose a moment without doing righteous actions. A Muslim should have pauses in the beginning of his summer holiday:
    First pause:
    The best journey is the one which has been for sake of Allah, the One and Only. The journeys of the Prophet (peace be upon him) after the Mission focused on migration and Jihad (fighting in the cause of Allah) which is the most, and his journeys to Hajj (pilgrimage) and `Umrah (minor Hajj). Through journeys, a traveler sees wonders, different countries, and good scenes which increase his faith in the power of Allah and in things that encourage him to be grateful to his Lord. In journeys, your distresses and worries are removed and you take lessons from former nations and past centuries. From journeys you gain knowledge, literature, good company, and earning pennies: "He it is Who has made the earth subservient to you (i.e., easy for you to walk, to live and to do agriculture on it); so walk in the paths thereof and eat of His provision. And to Him will be the Resurrection." [Surat Al Mulk: 15].
Second pause:
    Keep up to good company during your journeys, acquire good manners, and ask for a righteous friend. If things go worse, your companion will relieve your distress. Ali ibn Abu Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Do not befriend an immoral person because he will adorn his actions to you and he would like that you do as he does, moreover, he will adorn to you his worst qualities."

    Third pause:
    Follow the example of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in traveling in the early morning. He also liked to begin his journeys on Thursday. He commanded travelers, if they are three (or more), to choose a leader. He also forbade that a man travels alone and told the people that the person who travels alone or with another person accompany devils, but the when they are three, they are a group (and Satan will be away from them).
Fourth Pause:
    Allah has bestowed His Favors upon you, such as: the favor of money and good health, whereas others were deprived of them. So, let your journey be for a permissible of lawful matter and beware of traveling to sins because such a traveler loses the company of Allah to be alone with the devil and moves from enjoying travels to bad ideas. Muhammad ibn Al Fadl (may Allah have mercy on his soul) said: “I have not moved one step for forty years for other than Allah, the Almighty.” Be grateful to Allah for He saved you from committing sins. Beware of extravagance in spending and boasting of your money before the poor Muslims because money travels fast from one to another.

    Fifth pause:
    During your journey think of scholars who suffered hardships to write down knowledge, maintaining religion, and guiding the nation. Indeed, they wrote wonderful news and faced the worst accidents; lived in poverty, hunger, and danger for the sake of reward and spreading the truth. Imam Ishaq ibn Mansur Al Marwazy (may Allah have mercy on his soul) traveled fro, Nishapur to Baghdad on foot, carrying his books on his back to ask about juristic issues. Ibn Mandah traveled for knowledge while he was twenty of age and did not return to homeland but at the age of sixty-five which he spent in writing Hadith. Abu Al `Aliyyah (may Allah have mercy on his soul) said: "We used to hear the narrations reported from the companions of Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) while we were in Basra, but we did not accept them until we travel to Madinah (Medina) and hear those narrations directly from them." It is the determination of scholars and the desire to face dangers to serve the religion. While taking your family for entertainment, you should remember your Muslim brothers who were driven out forcibly from their homes, their families scattered in countries, and saw off their homelands without finding a safe shelter. During your journey you should remember how did scholars maintained their times. Al Hasan Al Basry (may Allah have mercy on his soul) said: "I met some people who were keen to their times as you are keen to your dirhams and dinars."

    Sixth pause
    Holding the responsibility of religious duties is incumbent on you whether you travel or stay in, therefore, be a Da`iyah (caller to Allah) during your journey. Do not underestimate your effort in calling to Allah because the merit of a person is to teach knowledge wherever he is. Allah, the Almighty, says informing on the tongue of the Christ: "And He has made me blessed wheresoever I be." [Surat Maryam: 31]. Hence, your journey will be an act of worship.

    Seventh pause
    Bliss is never complete without the comfort of the soul along with the body and reciting the Qur'an and the remembrance of Allah add comfort and tranquility to your journey. Allah, the Almighty, says: "Verily, in the remembrance of Allâh do hearts find rest." [Surat Ar-Ra`d: 28]. Thus, your body enjoys and your soul finds comfort, and thereby you gain the full bliss.

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