The Standard

﴾ وَالَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا ﴿

﴾And those who say, “Our Lord, grant us from our spouses and our children the coolness of our eyes and make us the leader of the righteous.”﴿ al-Furqān:74

When you ask Allāh to make you the ‘Leader of the Righteous’ you’re essentially asking Allāh to make you The Standard.

The standard for others to strive for, the standard for others to learn from, the standard example set to teach others, the standard to turn to in situations of darkness and doubt for some light and guidance; “What will so and so do if s/he was in this situation?”

The standard to show people the best possible application of the Dīn no matter what the circumstance may be.

The standard for people in their speech and actions, and in their ways and behaviour, and in their thought and thinking—so you BETTER make it a high standard.

When you ask Allāh to make you the leader of the righteous you better be willing to make the sacrifices and to take the leaps that will raise the bar above and beyond. The instant you lower your standards and make exceptions, others will follow suit and your next step will likely be lower than the one before it.

The instant you lower your standards, the words you parrot become fanciful wishes void of conviction, because duʿāʾ necessitates action, so when you ask Allāh to make you the leader of the righteous, you better be willing to put on those shoes and show people how it’s done.

May Allāh make us the best standard for mankind.