Is there any similiarity between Football Match and Life ?

This article is inspired by the Lecture of “Lessons from Football Match ” by Mufti Menk . Mufti Menk in his lecture very beautifully compares the test of Life with a football Match .We enjoy Football Match so much .But if we reflect deeply on Football Match , our life will not be the same .  Mufti Menk in his lecture  says that we have lots to learn from the football Match. Life is also a Field of test – a Match between Man and Shaitan .

Allah swt says in Quran  Surah Mulk that life is a test .

Blessed is He in whose hand is dominion, and He is over all things competent -(67:1)

He who created death and life to test you [as to] which of you is best in deed – and He is the Exalted in Might, the Forgiving -(67:2)

As in football, The players play according to the rules of football which is not written by them but by a higher authority , similarly We are on a testing field where the rules are set by Allah Swt. We have no authority to make our own rules but act by the set of rules which are given to us in the form of Quran. Quran is a book which is a set of rules, a guide for the Muslims which can define his/her result- Winner/Loser .

As the whistle is  blown,

• In Football Match : The Football  players dive into the pitch and tries to score a goal against the opponent team.
• In Our Life : Similiarly there is an opponent against us-“the Shaitan!” who constantly tries to prevent us from scoring a good.”A goal! “

As the Match continues and your opponent(Shaitan!) scores a goal by leading you to err -Does he win? No! as in Football you do not win when your opponent score a single goal against you. The Match continues till 90 minutes. Similarly our battle with shaitan continues till the time we are alive. So we should not get depressed and try to score more goals than the shaitan. And how do we do this- My Making up a good deed after every bad deed . If Shaitan scores a !. We should try to score more by reading Quran, Fasting, Nafil Salah ,giving Charity ,following Sunnah etc.This is the reason why Allah has set for us a “Mizaan ” on the day of Judgement . Mizan is the balance on which our good deeds and the bad deeds will be weighed and we will be rewarded accordingly.

Subhan Allah! We have lots of lessons to learn from Football . As in Football you have to follow the rules, similarly in Islam you have to follow your rules(pray,fast,believe,charity ,Hajj ) and be good, do not backbite and do not harm others etc. If You follow the rules, do not harm others (get a red card where your deeds good score will be transferred to the victim ) and do not go offside (by doing Shirk ) and you continue this till the final whistle is blown (death , or Day of Resurrection ) you are a Winner! and you get the World cup (Jannah)! Subhan Allah! May Allah grant us Jannah.

In a Way, the Rules of Allah are better than the rules of Football Match. If your Opponent Scores a goal ( the Shaitan) and you say Sorry! then Allah deletes his goal because Allah wants you to Win!It is the Mercy of Allah on to Mankind .Alhumdulillah!Prophet Muhammad SAW has said that there are two things People are decieved about – “Health ”  and “Time ” .So, as much as possible, we should make use of our good health and do ibadah while we are healthy and strong and We should not waste our time in works that do not score for us a goal. (Afterall life is short ! just like the football match.)

Like the Football team,  Muslims are also a team . We have a set of Rules(Quran ) , Our Coach is (Prophet Muhammad SAW) , We wear a specific Uniform -Hijab(Women) and Beard(Men ) so that when we see each other we identify our team mates and greet each other with Salam .We stand in a disciplined manner before our lord (in straight rows in Prayer ) and we have the best character development Curriculum (Hadeeth) and We fight our Opponent (Shaitan) to get a World cup(Jannah ).

We enjoy the football match so much .We know how it works but we forget that we are a part of a more important Match (Life) .Every one of us know that whistle will be blown(DEATH), Each of us rush in a certain direction(towards earning more good/goal ,We keep passing the ball where we are told to pass (BY INVITING OTHERS TO DO GOOD) and we have a teamwork .When we invite others to do good,Allah gives us equal rewards of that performed by the doer and we all want to win the match( GET JANNAH) . But Sadly we understand the football match for our leisure and pleasure and we ignore our serious affair.

Until your whistlle is blown-DON’T LOSE HOPE ! Try to Score before you Die. Death is Uncertain.

ACT NOW!

Earnest Request to Share this message so that we can perform better as a team !

Jazakum AllahKhair

Also See : Character Development Tips from Mufti Menk