By Sajid Iqbal

Big Brother, a programme where 13 people chosen from thousands of applicants, are asked to live in a house where there are hidden cameras placed throughout the house covering their every move... and I mean every move if you know what I mean.

Every week one guy or girl is evicted by the television viewers, who are given tasks to carry out and then are judged on their success as well as their behaviour, personality and deeds. The successful person at the end of the show is rewarded £100,000.

Well, you're probably thinking what's this got to do with anything? Let me shock you by saying that our life in this world is just like the telly show Big Brother - no fatwa's please, let me explain!

Our house is this world - the dunya. Our hidden camera is none other than God Almighty, the creator of the universe who watches our every single move. Allah (swt) gives our tasks in His book, the Qur'an and by His Messenger, Muhammad (saw).

The Creator judges us on our deeds and actions and our prize at the end of the show is Paradise and eternal life. Now what do you make of that then?

Not bad eh… I know you're shaking your head and saying the blokes lost it but just think about it for a moment and it'll make sense to you … trust me. The term 'Big Brother is always watching you' has a very important meaning for Muslims.

OK, check this out - the idea that 'Big Brother is always watching you' should become clear:

You're cruising down the road in your Subaru ( or your Nissan Micra if you were honest) and you approach the lights. You think I ain't stopping and all of a sudden you see a cop car from a distance.

So what do you do? Slam your brakes, put your seat belt on and hope the coppers say nowt. Its true innit… unless you get a buzz out of being fined and visiting the nick! You see we follow the law because we know we are being watched, and if we break the law we will be punished.

Another example: will you ever light up a spliff or chat up a girl/guy in front of your parents, older brother or your local molbi (imam).You must be joking! Why? Because you know a higher authority is watching you, so you have to do 'the right thing' otherwise you will be punished big time.

Now, to get to the point- if we 'do the right thing' or follow the law of the land only to please the higher authorities in this world then why not 'do the right thing and obey the law of Allah' - the Creator of the Universe, who is the highest authority and is always watching you?

You see whether we are playing football, watching the telly, in the town center, at uni or college, at work, in the mosque or in the nightclub our every action is watched and recorded.

So next time you decide to link up with your undercover girl/boyfriend somewhere that you know that your dad, the local Imam and that big mouth auntie down the road wont see you, always remember that 'Big Brother' - the All-Seeing- is ALWAYS watching you, there is no place on Earth where you can go where you wont get clocked by Him.

'Big Brother' is always watching us so isn't it about time we faced the facts and sorted ourselves out to save our self from the embarrassment in this world and the hereafter. A couple of things might be on your mind.

You're thinking: 'OK I know Allah(swt) watches our actions but still I can't stop myself from doing what I do, even though I know its wrong. So, what do I do?'.

Fair point. To know something is wrong or haram doesn't take a genius but to stop yourself from committing sin and haram acts is the hardest thing ever. But you see that is the trick. That is the test. The test of life - pass this and you're buzzing. What we need is taqwa - the fear of God.

The only way we can do good in this world and have a good hereafter is if we fear Allah (swt). The Prophet said in his final sermon :

“Fear your Lord, pray your five prayers, fast the month of Ramadan, pay your Zakah, and obey your leaders, in doing so, you will enter your Lord‘s Paradise.”(Tirmidhi)

Read very carefully the following verses of the Qur'an on the importance of Taqwa:

1. "It is only Shaytaan that suggests to you the fear of his friends and supporters, so fear them not, but fear Me, if you are true believers." (Surah Ali Imran 3:175)
2. "Truly, Allah is with those who fear Him, keep their duty to Him, and those who are doers of good for the sake of Allah only." (Surah Nahl 16:128)
3. "Whoever fears Allah, Allah will grant him a way out of hardship; and whoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will forgive his sins from him and will enlarge his reward." (Surah Talaq 65:2, 5)
4. "Verily, those who are fearful of Allah are the people who, when an evil thought from Shaytaan comes to them, they remember Allah, and indeed they then see aright." (Surah A'raaf 7:20)

So now we know how important taqwa (fear of Allah) is so we should start to have the fear of Allah in our hearts. You're asking but how can I do that? You see taqwa is more than just having fear of Allah (swt).

Umar ibn Abdul Aziz (radiyallahu anhu) narrated:

"Taqwa is not fasting during the day and it is not praying during the night and it is not the mixing of the two of them, but taqwa is leaving what Allah has made haram (forbidden) and by doing what Allah has made fard (compulsory). After one has done this, Allah will provide good things for that person."

You see once the fear and awareness of Allah hits and enters a person, life is never the same. When a person's heart opens up to Allah (swt), the way we view life, how we see life, our ambitions in life, our expectations in life, our goals in life, all change. After this, every aspect of life is seen with an Islamic viewpoint.

Whatever you do, you know Allah (swt) is watching you yeah. So if you have this thought in your mind all the time, 24/7, then it will help you to live life according to Islam and it will help you from not doing 'dodgy' things!

Now try this out in your life:

The next time you're about to steal, lie, do fraud, smoke or sell weed, drink or sell alcohol, go on a date, watch a XXX movie etc then say to yourself 'my Allah (swt) is watching me! I ain't gonna do this. Cos when I leave this world He (swt) is gonna ask me about EVERYTHING I did and I ain't gonna have no answer, no excuses.'

The Qur'an says:

"It is Allah Who gives life and death and Allah sees EVERYTHING that you do." (Surah Al-Imran 3:156)

So rather than leading a dodgy life and getting battered in the hereafter, why not live a good life? You see in the telly show Big Brother when the house mates are evicted from the house they just go back to their normal lives or go on to do other things.

In the real world when we have to leave the house of this world then thats it my friend, your times up...its time to face 'your Creator'!

You see when a person gets evicted from the house in Big Brother, embarrassing moments from their time in the Big Brother house are replayed and watched by thousands of viewers. In the same way, after you get evicted from the

house of this world and are standing in front of the Almighty, embarrassing moments of your life will be replayed in front of Allah and absolutely everyone- No Joke!

Stuff that you don’t want anyone to find out about….. stuff that you did when you thought that no one was looking … stuff you did which you’d just die of shame if your mum or dad ever found out about!

The Qur'an sums it up by saying:

"How do you disbelieve in Allah when He gave you life when you were dead, then He will give you death, then life again, then unto Him you will return?" (Surah Baqarah 2:28)

The Prophet (pbuh) said:

Everyone will remain standing before Allah on the Day of Judgment until they have answered five questions: his/her age, how they spent it; their knowledge, how much they acted upon it; their money, how did they earn it and how did they spend it; their body and health, how they used it.' (Muslim)

The show Big Brother on Channel 4 seems to be what everyone is talking about at the moment. Is anyone talking or thinking about 'Big Brother' up above? Never forget: Big Brother is always watching you!