Let's strive for Jannah (Paradise)

Immersed in an orthodox environment

2010-07-25T22:48:00.000-07:00

Bismillahi rahmani Raheem

First of all, I can't believe that 2 days are already gone. And this year we have a 8-day programme versus last year's 2 weekend immersion :( In no time, we will be getting ready to leave insha Allah. We have fewer subjects this year; I wish we had more time- I am sure many students are wishing for the same. Nevertheless, the classes are exciting, boosting the eman, bringing us closer to Allah alhamdulillah. I pray that Allah keeps increasing these essentials even after ilm Summit, aameen.

Before, I list the subjects and the Shuyookh who are educating us, just mentioning a gem that is on the tip of my tongue now. It is nothing new and you would have heard it before but nevertheless, it is alwas refreshing to be reminded:

Shaykh Waleed said (paraphrasing- not exact quote): All of us came out of our mother's wombs knowing nothing. Imam Bukhari, Imam Ahmed, me (Shaykh Waleed), you- we all came out knowing nothing. It is what we do, our sincerity, strong conviction, self-discipline that makes a difference. Always purify your intention.

Ok, now our subjects:
1. Tarbiyyah- Book on Zuhd from Jami' At-Tirmidhi - by Shaykh Yasir Qadhi

2. Heresiology - hot one :) and very exciting. - by Sh Yasir

3. Bid'ah- by Shaykh Waleed (I liked this the best so far. Subhana Allah, now I really really understand and appreciate why it is so important to learn Bid'ah to understand Sunnah better.

4. Maqasid- Ath-thaabit wal mutaghayyaraat (Constants and Variables)- no, not algebra. It basically deals with where in Sharia'h and Ahkaam, we can be flexible and where we have to be firm and Shariah legislation cannot be altered with time change and change in location and culture......And this was taught by.......(Islamic drumroll....or no, we were too humbled to even express our excitement by his presence amidst us....) Shaykh Salaah As-Sawy

He was basically doing a review of his book which is in Arabic. He spoke Arabic (masha Allah, very very eloquent and we had on the spot translation by Shaykh Mamdouh Mahmood masha Allah through our microphone headsets. It was cool! I don't know who is more admirable- Sh Sawy or Sh Mamdouh for the simultaneous translating expertise masha Allah, may Allah preserve them both.

Insha Allah we have more subjects (one of them being Islamic Financing taught by Shaykh Jamaal Zarabozo)- but these are what have started already alhamdulillah.

One main point I want to mention here our Shuyookh have really chosen the best topics to teach, in the sense that they have chosen each subject so wisely such that each topic, even though taught by different Instructors are in some way correlated or complement each other, and are also related to the subjects that we learnt in the previous Ilm Summits. Even the "Book of Zuhd" from Jami' At-Tirmidhi is related to the Heresiology that we are studying.

We are so blessed alhamdulillah to be in this place with these great people of our times- that were it that I couldn't attend any of the classes- I would still be obligated to be grateful. And this is because, if nothing (no note taking etc), I am still able to benefit simply from the environment and observing the akhlaq of our beloved shuyookh. It brings tears to my eyes. Subhana Allah, instead of the vice versa, they are literally pampering us. I feel this is something unprecedent in History that we are spoonfed so much, with good food (not to forget the dessert), the air-conditioned room, the liveliness of the style of teaching of the Shuyookh while in reality, we are supposed to take harships on the path of seeking ilm. I think this is a bigger hardship now- the fact that we are so spoilt makes it so hard to struggle and strive.

One incident in particular: Like mentioned before, Shaykh Sawy's class was transmitted to us in the English through individual headphones. And guess who literally sat on the floor, taking each headphone from the carton box and unwinding it, making sure it was working etc.....Shaykh Waleed! (may Allah reward him with Jannatul Firdous and give him a station very close to the Prophet Salla Allahu alaihi wasallam.) SubhanAllah....

May Allah make us among those who value knowledge and respect our Shuyookh, aameen!

Ps: In the title, I mention "orthodox" environment for lack of better words. Perhaps it is very irrelevant usage but what I mean by orthodox is the way of the righteous sahabah and scholars of the past

- the rich culture of true brotherhood where all of us are from different backgrounds, ethnicities and yet, we act like we have known each other forever- loving each other for the sake of Allah purely
- experiencing innocence and purification (the real one....:))
- if not to the level of the salaf , atleast an increase in appreciation for knowledge and authentic texts
- and more....

pps: If you happen to read this...please note that these are just my ramblings, I have no time to re-read this even.

Assalamualikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu

Train trip and now @ Houston, alhamulillah

2010-07-24T11:00:00.000-07:00

Salaam Alaikum Waraahmatullah

Alhamdulillah, we are now in Houston having enjoyed and benefitted much more at Ilm Summit 2010.

We started on Tuesday 10 pm PST from our home and reached here on Friday morning alhamdulillah. The train trip was long obviously, but not as boring or uneventful as expected. Alhamdulillah the kids kept us busy.

We have been reflecting more deeply on "IN SHA ALLAH" and that Indeed He is the best of planners. On Wednesday, 45 mins before we boarded the train, I told my daughter, "Yaay, insha Allah, we are going to get on the train soon." She asks, "Why do you haveto say 'insha Allah' now? We are here already and just in minutes, we are going to be on the train." (My daughter is 3 and a half, and just so that you get a more visual picture, she has been waiting now for over a month for this train trip, as we have been planning to the best of our ability for many months.) Anyway, I told her that we still haave to remmeber that anything will happen only if Allah wills.
As we checked in our baggage, the officer for the reason of not having a proper ID with me, denied me a boarding pass subhana Allah and cancelled my ticket.

We gave up trying not to get upset and making dua' for the khair. My daughter made a lot of dua' too. Like an answer to our dua', the lady at the information desk approached us (Subhana Allah, Allah put that thought into her heart to come and help us out; she got out of her glass cube and came to us). Alhamdulillah, she was in control of the Texas Eagle administration (may Allah guide her to Islam) and here, we are by the Mercy of Allah. In the end, i can only think of good that came out of this small predicament or problem if I may call it so. my daughter understood why and how it is so appropriate to say Insha Allah even if you are going to do something the very next minute. And also, it gave us a chance to sincerely beg for forgiveness and ask Allah for help, renewing our intentions for coming here...so on and so forth.

SubhanAllah, my second obstacle was our babysitter cancelled on us. Till last afternoon, I thought I wouldn't be able to attend classes, or we would have to take turns. Again, it made me reflect. After the hassle at the train station, you would think "ok, so now you are already at the place of the event. Unless you fall sick or Allah wishes to take your soul, you will attend". Not not having a babysitter though. Once again, Allah Azza wajal made it easy for all of us. For now, we found a babysitter. Let's wait and see what was in store for us insha Allah.

I missed few sessions yesterday but alhamdulillah I was able to attend since the babysitter arrived. May Allah bless her and reward her immensely.

The Friday "opening/ welcome session" was amazing. Just uplifted us to a whole new level of spirutiality and prepared our minds for the academia that we will be exposed to. Also humbled us greatly....for many facts, one of them being that here, we all were travelling students of knowledge who made efforts and spend our money to come here. But what we did is nothing compared to the likes of Imam Bukhari, Shafi', Malik and others (Rahimahum Allahu ta'ala). The likes of Jabir bin Abdullah radiya Allahu anh who travelled to hear one hadeeth- just one- and the probability is high that perhaps he had already heard it from the others (with longer chain of narrators and so he wanted to hear directly from the one who had heard it from the Prophet Salla Allahu alaihi wasallam). How much did they value knowledge and how much do we?

And the likes of Abu Ayyub Al-Ansari who travelled from Medina to Egypt for one hadeeth (the hadeeth of concealing your brother's fault in this world) when traveling in those days is not like our times. How much do you think he would have valued that hadeeth? That would naturally lead it to committed implementation. Today we do not value ahadeeth as it should be, otherwise we would hasten to implement it with much sincerity and conviction.

Insha Allah, I will post some gems soon. Got to run to class......

Countdown to Ilm Summit & A Big Question!

2010-07-12T02:41:00.000-07:00

Bismillah Ar-Rahmani Ar-Raheem

Assalamualikum warahmatullahi Wa Barakatuhu

I haven't been here for a long time now, 4 months or more. Alhamdulillah

I think it was because writing was becoming difficult for me due to the style of writing I had opted for, in the beginning. So, now I am going to change that...here I am mainly going to ramble, or rather I write in the style that suits my mind insha Allah. I pray only good will come out of that, for myself and for readers (if any)

Plus, the guilt of whether I am implementing what I write about. Do I have the right to preach it? (Even though I was merely sharing what I learnt and not preaching anything new)

And then now...Now, I am thinking what benefit came out of that guilt and not blogging! When I used to write, I would hold myself more accountable of my actions...

So anyway...
Alhamdulillah, my husband and I got accepted for Ilm Summit this year. And we are preparing ourselves (more mental preparation required than just packing our stuff). I am praying that I will be able to share some of the things I learn and experiences from which I benefit or hope that others can benefit insha Allah.

Last Ilm Summit was our first time. We kind of knew what to expect from the experiences of the previous year's ilm Summitters, but experience is the best teacher. This year we hope we will do better and take more advantage of this blessing insha Allah and push ourselves to greater goals. For example, last year I was not able to attend the tajweed sessions after fajr as my kids would be sleeping in the room (and I would also sleep). This year, insha Allah I plan to pack a baby monitor. And even if that doesn't work out, insha Allah I hope Shaykh Uthman (from Shatibiyyah institute) will attend this year too, and that I will be able to recite to him so that he can critique my tajweed and teach me.

Another thing I want to do better this year insha Allah is sharing what we learn with others. And blogging will help insha Allah. For me, if I know I need to share or teach someone else what I learn, then I listen better. Last year, our Shuyookh stressed so much on teaching others what we learn. The image of Sh yasir telling it still rings in my head. One may feel he/ she is not knowledgeable enough to teach, but everyone can be a mere conveyer of what someone else just told you. And in order to do so with ihsaan, record and document well.

My biggest question- my kids! They are ofcourse, coming with us insha Allah, and we don't have a baby sitter yet. It is so difficult to find a good one local in Houston when we are here. (Anyone reading this and have any leads on this, please let me know. Jazakum Allahu kahyr!) last year, we had a wonderful baby sitter alhamdulillah, may Allah reward her abundantly- I still make dua' for her. I don't think she will be able to baby sit this year, plus now that my kids are older, I hope we can get someone who can teach-and-play with more activities and crafts etc. I pray Shaykh Yasir and Br Haytham will arrange atleast a room for baby sitting so that our kids won't be confined to the hotel room all day insha Allah. May Allah make it easy for us and our kids. I really don't want to waste their time while we enjoy!

Even though I said "my biggest question" above, that is not the "A Big Question!" mentioned in the title of this post. The real big question is: have I changed after my first ilm Summit experience? Ilm Summit is supposed to be the life-changing event in many people's lives- but have I nurtured the seed that we all had sown last year and watered it and taken care of the flower buds that I had envisioned? Well, I don't want to be pessimistic about myself (even though deep inside, I am not happy with myself), so I look ahead at the future insha Allah and hope to really learn from my mistakes. May Allah guide me always and increase me and all of you, aameen!

Al-Hadiyah Issue 2 Published!!!

2010-02-08T14:18:00.000-08:00

Bismillah Ar-Rahmani Ar-Raheem

Assalamualikum warahmathullahi wabarakathuh

Bringing to you, our second issue alhamdulillah. Hope you like it, and enjoy reading it. Please forward it to anyone you think, will find it beneficial.
Al-Hadiyah, Vol 1, Issue 2 (Feb 2010)

We would like to thank everyone who contributed to Al-Hadiyah. JazakumAllahu khayran! The magazine wouldn’t exist without valuable contributions. We pray for your and our continued growth through this magazine inshAllah.

Last but not the least, please let us know if you would like to purchase the product as a hard copy. There’s nothing more relaxing than having a cup of coffee with a magazine in hand- a magazine you will love! Please email us at editor.alhadiyah@gmail.com if you would like to order a copy and we will get back to you asap. We are currently working on setting up a system where you can purchase it online.

Jazakum Allahu khayran

With prayers to see you at the highest level in both the worlds,
Al-Hadiyah team

Alhamdulillah, its all for the good

2010-01-25T21:27:00.000-08:00

Hana was a very active person in the community. She was never seen sitting at a place. Always involved in something- be it dropping somebody home, doing errands for a needy, giving her service to the masjid etc. She was that cheerful person, always ready ready to give someone her helping hand, an ear to listen to. She would never go unnoticed because of her heart-warming smile, her long strides (as she was always in a rush to complete her task at hand, so that she can jump to do the next one) and her greetings (Salam Alaikum) to anybody she passed by.

Nine months back, she met with an accident which caused her to become paralysed. She was in the hospital when we went to visit her. As we waited at the door for the nurse to come out, we looked at each other with anxious faces. We were wondering what we would tell her, how we could console her.

But, as we entered the room, we immediately fell at ease as her warm smile as ever, lit the room. After greetings between her and us, she commented, "Alhamdulillah, He gave me a chance to sit and relax, so that I can spend more time reading and memorising the Quran!" SubhanAllah, we were dumbstruck for a moment. What trust in Allah, what submission to the Lord Azza Wajal, what sincere acceptance of Qadr of Allah!

And today, she is a Hafidha-al-Qur'an. Allahu Akbar! Allah is Al-Hakim, The Wise. He took away her ability to walk and work, but He will inshAllah make easy for her, her walk to Jannah because she is a carrier of the Quran now.

(True story changed; details changed a little bit)

--------------------------------------------------------------

Another friend of mine, a true story too.

Within 2-3 months of marriage, she was diagnosed with cancer. It had spread to the whole of her leg, medication and chemotherapy wouldn't help and her whole leg had to be amputated. Anybody would have fallen into extreme depression with this and her new husband's decision to divorce her. (Can't blame him as he was also very young and he was starting his life....what good would a wife in this situation so early in marriage be?)

But she stayed tough for Allah SWT says in the Quran: Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope. (Surah Al-Baqara: 282) and so, Allah gave her strength to bear this ordeal. She knew that Allah wouldn't test her without bestowing upon her the ability to bear it.

Today she is single, she is studying; she is happy. And most of all, she has turned more to Her Lord in submission. She is learning her deen more, and appreciating Allah's wisdom. She prays Allah purifies her soul and expiates her sins for her. (Aameen)

--------------------------------------------------------------------

These sisters are amazing people mashAllah. How many people, at the strike of calamity/ difficulty turn away from their Lord, cursing their qadr. How many people actually appreciate the bounties from Allah more when something relatively bad happens to them? Or even if they are patient, how many of us take advantage of such a situation to make more dua' and become religious.

We might become religious while we are tested, and when all goes well again, we forget. We forget how feeble we are, in comparison with everything else that is happening to us, around us. We forget how helpless we are and how much in need of Our Creator, Our Sustainer we are. We forget the true essence of "Allahu Akbar"- that nothing in this world is greater than Allah. That nothing in this world is worth dying for, other than for the sake of Allah. (I don't mean, dying in the literal sense- rather, running behind worldly pleasures even though it might be against what Islam teaches.) We forget that this duniya is like the water retained on a needle when dipped in the ocean.

May Allah make us among the inhabitants of Jannathul Firdaws. May Allah make us steadfast in our religion.

The Strength Within: Youth of The Ummah

2010-01-10T00:06:00.000-08:00

Bismillahi Ar-Rahmani Ar-Raheem

Alhamdulillah, this New Year's weekend, we were able to invest our time in a very beneficial vacation. We drove to Sacramento for a conference and the theme was the title you see above. The Youth of our Ummah is our kids. As parents, one can never read or learn enough about parenting, its challenges, responsibilities, how one should tackle problems, what are the problems of today etc....A parent is always yearning to hear new techniques, methods and tips subhanAllah...And this is because of many reasons:

1. You love your kids to death. You want the best for them always. You want the best for them in this duniya, and if you yourself firmly believe in the aakhirah and its eternity, you want the best for them in the aakhirah too.

2. A muslim parent think of this blessing (the blessing of having a child to invest into) as a trust from Allah. And as with anything that has been entrusted, you want to make sure you keep it safe, protect it from external harm.

3. Having a righteous child who will make dua for you, is one of the three things mentioned in the hadeeth An-Nabiyyu Sallallahu alaihiwassalam, that the reward of which will continue to culminate. I see it as a kind of selfishness on the parent's part for wanting to have a righteous child- the greed for continuous reward.

Some pointers on how we can do our best in ensuring our kids will be on the straight path- the path that Allah wants us to tread on:

1. Proper Communication with them:

Usually, when we talk about good communication skills, we think of the best manner to convey your message, having eye contact while you speak, using the language that is easy to understand. Well, you do not have proper communication skills even if you master the art of speech till you have also mastered the art of listening. Being a good listener needs much more training than being a good speaker. And some of the elements needed are lot of patience, a sincere interest in the other person and controlling your inner force that tells you "You have to make your point". As Sheikh Yasser Fazzaqa (Hafidhahullah) said, the person is more important than the point.

Listen to your child. Only through listening will you know your child. If we do not listen to them whne they are really young, you will not be able to hear them as they enter their teens. Its going to be too late and will leave you to fret over "I cannot understand my 15 year old." Your child must be given the freedom of conveying her feelings, emotions and discussing everything that happens in his/her life.

Also, to bring them up to be a listener of what you, as a parent, say to them, you have to teach them to listen. And the only way to teach them that is by practising it yourself inshAllah.

2. Mutual respect:

Well, the goal is for them to respect you since you are the parent. But again, the best way to teach how to respect is by respecting them (and hence, the mutual respect). Respect their feelings, their visions; let them have a say in family matters especially if it is concerning them. Give them a choice, allow them to choose from within their limits.

There is one aspect of respect which can become fear of the parent. This is dangerous, and it can lead them to become liers and hypocrites. This is a scary line for myself to draw. But if parents could always remember not to be imposing or dictating, it could help inshAllah. "Because I said so" should not be the reason for their obedience. Rather there is a higher ultimate reason- it is not good for you, Allah loves for you to do that/avoid that and Allah's Magnificient promise of reward.

3. You are what your friends are:

Man, in general, is impressionable- let alone kids. We get influenced by the people we hang out with. And we always want to belong to a niche. A group where we feel comfortable and cozy at. Especially for our young ones, they sometimes feel more at home- not at home, but with their peer group. They have a lot in common. With this in mind, we need to:

a. Be a friend for them.

Lower yourself to them, where they feel comfortable establishing a friendship with you (ofcourse while being a matured parent too) Try to be in their shoes.

b. Make sure you connect them with kids whose parents share your values too.

c. Just like how "Home Sweet Home", let "Masjid Sweet Masjid" be too- because thats where they meet nice people.

Let trips to the Masjid be a way to reward your children when they have behaved well. There are many reasons for this to be a rewarding experience: Khalas and Ammus say "MashAllah, you look cute/ you are so good" etc. The Imam/ Sheikh/random people giving the child candies, lollipops (which I am starting to have a problem with). Alhamdulillah, our masjid has a nice cafeteria, a playground and it would be nice for all community builders to have structures like these built in the Islamic Center/ adjoining the masjid. (Youth rooms where they can chill, relax, read, hang out with halal friends, maybe play some halal video games etc. is another luring attraction for the youth)

Dont decide on one fine day that you need to take your child to the masjid because lately he/she is not being good, and so he needs some discipline, and so "Baba is taking you to masjid". This would sound like a punishment.

Masjid should be a frequent thing if not everyday.

Masjid should not be a rare thing like Sunday school.

4. And Sunday school is not what our beautiful deen is:

There are these 2 kids I love a lot (and my heart goes out to them). I pray that Allah increases them in their knowledge and deen, and make them a positive influence for their families and their community. So they go for Sunday school and they experience the beauty and purity of our Deen alhamdulillah. They love what they learn there. They love to try out and practise what they learn there. It makes them feel good about themselves, they feel happy when they think about pleasing Allah.

At home, its different. SubhanAllah! Their parents mashAllah give a lot of consideration in providing them with the best provisions, enrolling them in programmes that will develope their personality and can be added to their list of achievements for this Dunya. But when it comes to Deen, its a "Sunday school" thing.

Islam is too beautiful and perfect to implement only when needed. Islam is a complete way of life. Islam is the way that will beautify one's aakhirah too.

5. Which made me remember: Avoid contradictions- between what they are taught and they see in their role models- The Parents

When they see contradictions, they reduce deen to a text book science. It even promotes a hypocritic nature.

For example: They are taught the importance of Salah. And they notice the parents go to sleep before praying Isha.

6. Educate them about the challenges they will face according to their age.

Exposing them to the challenge is a risky way to teach, in my opinion. But if they are not exposed, they won't know. Or they will come to know from the very same people we do not want to hear from/ learn from. So we need to educate them in the best possible manner according to their age.

For example: Drug Abuse and addiction is fast spreading to very young kids, even to 8 year olds. So, dont hesitate to educate them about it.

Talk to them about Gender Relations, Alcohol, Music- their bad effects and how Allah has made harmful things haram for us.

Educate them that Allah wants only good for us, and He wants to protect us from harm, and that is why Islam has rules, obligations and laws which we need to follow for safguarding ourselves.

These are just some points I wanted to talk about, but in conclusion we should also remember that Allah Azza Wajal commanded us to save ourselves first and then He Subhanahu Wa ta'ala mentioned our families:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًا

"Oh you who has believed, protect yourself and your families from the Fire". (Surah At-Tahreem: 6)

So, nurturing first should start at the individual level, then the kids. On the Day of Qiyamah, we will stand alone, each accountable for what he/she has done. No matter how righteous our child would have grown upto be, it will not avail us if we are not practising righteousness ourselves.

May Allah accept our dua, and a'mal what we do for His Sake. May He make us and our children among the swaliheen, shuhada', anbiya' and give us th best companionship in Jannathul Firdaws....aameen

Wa aakhir da'wana anil hamdu lillahi rabbil 'aalameen.

When asked to talk about "The Art Of Achievement"

2009-12-02T20:50:00.000-08:00

First of all, I am not someone who has achieved the ultimate success or something that I can sit back, relax and write about this....I am only writing this as per my friend's (my sister in Islam) suggestion....

I guess nobody should feel that they have reached the ultimate success, in the first place...We are a greedy species..and so just like how we "want" more of everything, we should be wanting to "do more" too....We should be desiring to excel more in the sight of Allah, first and foremost, just as the Sahaba Radhiyallahu anhum were always seeking from the Prophet Sallallahu alaihi wasallam to know of the greatest deeds contrary to today's lazy man. We are not as ambitious as the righteous Salaf of the past when it comes to investing for the aakhirah.

Here are some reminders I go back to when I feel down or discouraged, and I have things to accomplish:

1. Sincerity and commitment:
These 2 factors in itself should be behind one's motivational drive. Your sincerity and commitment could be to your kids and family, to your job, to a good consistent deed that you are trying to keep up with- it can be anything. But the most important is sincerity to Allah SWT and commitments to your duties you do for His Sake. For example, you just started on a physical fitness program. You are driven by the fact that you have to lose 10 lbs or so, in order that you will be able to fit into that dress that's been hanging in your closet for a while now. This motivation could drive you for a while- either you become successful in losing these extra 10 lbs and then you quit caring about your physical fitness, or you become like the fox who decided that the unreachable grapes were sour anyway (you give up). But if you are focusing on your fitness so that you can become a better person for the sake of Allah and for accumulating more for your aakhirah, then you and I will be driven forever bi idnillah.

2. The right kind of tawakkul and dua = giving your best effort + relying on Allah SWT for results + optimistic about whatever comes out is from Allah and Allah knows best, and is the best of planners.

3. Get yourself prepared to face challenges and obstacles. Don't expect everything to go perfectly- if it did, you wouldn't savor the sweetness of what you have achieved. Hardwork and sweat gives you satisfaction at the end of the day.

4. Believe in yourself even if nobody else does. Don't expect support and encouragement always. Sometimes, even the people you love and turn to the most, can fail you. But keep going, for the sake of Allah.

5. Seek advice from people you know can guide you. Keep company who can benefit you.

6. When you face difficulties, remember to ask Allah alone, and again remind yourself- Allah knows what is best for you.

7. Think of great people of the past whom Allah is pleased with. (May Allah make you and me from among those with whom Allah is pleased.)

8. Laziness will just make you depressed afterward. But if you have been lazy or made any mistake, forgive yourself. Learn from your mistakes- don't allow your mistakes to cling to you like leeches and take advantage of you.

9. Eat well, Sleep (rest/relax) well and play well(have a physical activity other than regular housework).

10. Accept criticism with a good heart....Ok, don't even consider them as criticism, see them as opportunities to learn from, ponder...if it doesn't pertain to you in anyway that you can improve, forget it. Love everybody. Forgive and forget. Be happy. Be positive.

Submerge: The Art of Achievement

2009-11-30T22:37:00.000-08:00

Assalamualikum warahmathullahi wabarakathuh

To listen to Heba Alshareef's motivational talk on the subject, go to:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/i-am-sheba/2009/10/26/submerge-the-art-of-achievement

For those of who do not know Heba Alshareef, she is a teacher and author of Release Your Inner Queen of Sheba! She has been mentoring women around the world to discover their unique talents, act on their aspirations to achieve great things, and find authentic happiness. She lives with her husband and five children near Toronto, Canada. Visit her online at: iamsheba.com

She is a true "Bonafide Queen of Sheba"!

Also, there's a talk/interview of myself, on my reflections of "achievement" and how Al-Hadiyah started....And then Heba and Umm Zahrah(a hafidha who has achieved great things mashAllah and is a role model for many sisters in the Bay Area) talk...

InshAllah, I hope to post some more reflections soon...

Quality Salah Chart

2009-11-11T15:10:00.000-08:00

Bismillahi Ar-Rahmani Ar-Raheem

After I attended Divine Link, I decided that I need help in being consistent in accelerating the quality of my Salah, rather than sometimes up and other times down. So I designed this chart. Now I feel I should share this chart with you so that we can help each other out, and most of us feel more religious when we do things together and in congregation. Bi idnillah, I hope this chart will benefit us all. Please share your feedback and suggestions in the comments section.

Before you download the Quality Salah Chart here, this is how it works:

Each Salah is rated according to how good you are in praying on time, concentration, performing the rawatib etc. The maximum you can reward yourself for each of these is 2 points. The least is zero except for "praying on time".

For praying on time:

Salathul Fajr and Maghrib:
Within 15 minutes of adhan, 2 points
After that, 1 point
Just 5 minutes before Qadha time, no points

Salathu Dhuhr and Asr:
Within first one-third of the salah time, 2 points
In the second one-third, 1 point
Last one-third, no points

Salathul Isha:

The three parts here won't be calculated from the beginning of time for Isha till Fajr. But the night itself, i.e, from the time of sunset till Fajr.

Again, by end of the first third, 2 points
Second- 1 point
Last third- no points

As for Qadha, you give yourself -2 (minus two) points

Based on this, the maximum you get for each Salah is 12. For brothers, there is an additional 2 points for praying in the masjid or in congregation(if possible) during office hours if you have Muslim colleagues.

Maximum daily total for women is 60 and for men, 70.

Maximum weekly total for a Salah for sisters, is 12x7= 84
And for brothers, 14x7= 98

Maximum weekly total for all fard salah for sisters is 420 and for brothers is 490.

You can earn your bonus with witr= 1point, Duha= 3 points and Tahajjud= 5 points.

These numbers don't mean anything except that it should push us to aim higher and work for the bonuses. Please let me know if there are mistakes in calculation. Please share this with family and friends.

Finally, I would like to remind myself, then everybody else that this chart is for helping us become worshippers of Allah SWT. Let's not confuse our intentions and improve our Salah for the sake of giving ourselves good points, and have a sense of false complacence. Let's also not cheat ourselves and give ourselves more points than we deserve. Remember Allah is judging us always!!

May Allah Azza Wajal always keep us on the straight path. Aameen....

"Al-Hadiyah" Magazine Vol1 Issue 1 on the stands!!

2009-10-16T07:47:00.000-07:00

Assalamualikum warahmathullahi wabarakathuh

Alhamdulillah, the Magazine of Qabeelat Haadi has been released. You can access it online at www.qabeelathaadi.org/alhadiyah Also, it will be distributed at MCA during Jumu'ah time.

I welcome your feedback and suggestions....

Email me at alhadiyah@qabeelathaadi.org

Yours sincerely,
Fathimah Zainulabideen

"Cleanse" - The Ramadan Experience

2009-08-21T00:02:00.000-07:00

Zaara grew up in the perfect Muslim home; her parents were God-fearing and religious and taught her everything they knew about Islam. They were very involved in community work, Da'wah and they always looked for opportunities to fill up their books of good deeds. As Zaara grew up, she followed in her parents' footsteps. In short, she was really proud of being blessed with such good parents, and they were proud to have brought up a daughter like her.

Living Islam and preaching Islam was something that came naturally to her. She didn't need a force that would empower her from within to live the way she did; it had never occurred to her why she did something, or stayed away from something. After she finished High School, she traveled overseas so she could pursue her Duniyawi Ilm. Her parents always reminded her of sticking to the dheen wherever she went. And in a way, she did pay heed to their advice.

But now Zaara felt there was something missing in her life; she felt as though she led 2 different lives. One: the life her Lord Almighty and her parents wanted to live. She still continued to do what she did as she grew up- holding halaqaat, calling people to the truth, encouraging people to practice. In fact, her naseeha and advice made deep impact on the people she spoke to, than on herself. Her words were always profound, made people think and ponder, she spoke with feeling, from deep within- but she always felt that there was some major core of the heart where the "Eman" just didn't touch her. And she felt that this struggle to actually feel close to Allah was her second life.

And then one day, something happened. On her way to school, as she was crossing the street, yes- that's what happened. A reckless driver who had the music system in his car in booming volume (and hence, intoxicated) hit her. Zaara became unconscious, and when she regained her senses, she was in the hospital, and her legs were in traction. She had multiple fractures in her ribs and other bruises. Her eyes felt heavy. And she drifted back to sleep, on effect of the anesthesia. The next couple of days were a blur for her. On the third day, however, she felt her renewed energy level come back to her, and she was transferred to the normal ward.

As she lay in her hospital bed, with her right leg still in traction, and her room lit because of the full moon shimmering through the curtains, she suddenly felt something that overpowered her pain and aches. An emotion so strong that it was as though the moon light had penetrated into her heart, and it reflected back. but this light was brighter than the moon light itself. She suddenly knew why she was there. She felt totally at peace and this brought a big smile on her lips. She whispered out loud: Allahu As-salaam, Huwa Al-Haakim (Allah is The Bestower of peace, He is the Wise). Of course, she always knew the meaning, and she had always said this too. But this time, it was different. She understood it in its profanity, in a deeper and a higher level. Allah SWT had chosen her to be cleansed through her trials. Allah Azza Wajal knew that her soul had been searching for knowing Her Lord more.

All of us have such moments, sometimes in situations of hardships; sometimes when things go perfectly and there is joy around. Whatever the situation, we treasure these moments and crave for more. That is the fitrah of mankind that Allah SWT has blessed him with. We find comfort in being close to our Lord, in knowing Him more, and being His sincere slave in total submission. And that is why we love Ramadan!!! In Ramadan, we experience more "cleanse"-ing moments than at other times. Ramadan burns away our sins and bad thoughts and scars in the soul just as the extreme scorching heat of the Sun burns away matter. We feel that Ramadan just peeps in, and then rushes off. We never seem to get enough of it, SubhanAllah. (Let's do some serious soul search like Zaara, and then Allah will bring us closer to Him, and cleanse our souls. Let's not just think about this in Ramadan; at the same time, lets do our best now- Alhamdulillah He has blessed us with this month now.)

We live in an age where luxury has become necessities of life. We have a lot of everything- our refrigerator is full, our wardrobe is full, every family has 2 vehicles (both the latest models in most cases)- all but lesser time to reflect upon Nature and its Creator. We need to stop ourselves from our daily, busy, monotonous flow of things happening, and really think. Think so that we can cleanse ourselves, and experience the bliss of connecting more firmly with Our Lord.

Cleanse....cleanse your souls of sins, negative thoughts and unnecessary, lingering emotions- But How?! Cleanse the way Prophet Yunus Alaihiwassalam cleansed his soul when he was inside the whale. The way he had repented to Allah Subhanahu wa tha'ala with utmost humility and proved that he was in real need of Allah's Mercy. Cleanse the way we open up to the Majesty of Our Lord Almighty.

1. Pray Qiyamu-al-Layl and make lots of duah:

We have to let go of our ego, really humble ourselves as much as we can, and talk to Allah. Raise our hands and beg Allah. Your Lord is the Only One worthy of this begging. We do not have to beg anyone else to achieve some worldly gain. Let's remember and try to visualize how we will stand before Allah in the Mahshara on the Day of Judgment (and remember that the real picture is nothing like how we visualize.)

2. Count our Blessings- how we should actually show gratitude:

Alhamdulillahi Rabb-il-'Aalameen. Isn't it one of the greatest blessings that Allah Subhanahu wa tha'ala gave us yet another chance to experience Ramadan (May Allah give us all long lives, and many more Ramadan's that will be beneficial for our Hereafter, aameen), in spite of our lack of sincerity and negligence in the other months. We have to really value it, and treat it like the most honored guest of the year. If we do so, then inshAllah we will habituate the art of treating the less honored guests (the other 11 months) also with considerable love and zeal.

3. Remember Qur'an is the theme of this month.

Fasting has been prescribed for you in order that you main acquire Taqwa (Surah Al-Baqara: 183) - so that you may become more conscious of Allah, so that we may center our lives with the love of Allah. And when we love someone, truly love someone- we pay heed to His words. The theme of Ramadan is Quran. The Quran was revealed in the month of Ramadan, and by fasting and other increased Ibadah, we show gratitude to Allah Azza Wajal for revealing the Quran to us. And The Book introduces itself to us that it is a Guidance for those who have Taqwa. (Surah Al Baqara:2)

So, Taqwa and Guidance, and Ramadan and Quran are all connected and intermingled with each other.

4. Ramadan Special goal-setting:

This is the best time to train ourselves to make our whole life surrounded by our purpose in life. It is the best time to start good habits, and make stronger the base of our old habits (the good ones). Allah has blessed this month so much that He SWT chains the devils- so isn't this the best time to get rid of bad habits too.

Set 2 special goals that we can accomplish, 2 things that will help us grow better bi idhnillah; that will raise our level in the Sight of Allah Azza Wajal. If we find it difficult, we have to keep striving. Practice, practice and more practice. What we are, is represented by what we do. Let's imagine it as mountain climbing, and bi idhnillah, if we reach this mountain peak, we have reached our goal. (till you spot another more promising mountain to climb!) We have to do what it takes to get to the pinnacle.

We have to cultivate the habit of journalis-ing our special goals. And keeping a track of it. Seeing is believing and often, a moment of realization. When we see it on paper, the result itself critiques us, it will connect with our souls and provide further motivation.

Make a Ramadan special schedule: Because of how blessed this month is, believe you me, we can do more than we ever did in the other months. Allah SWT has put so much blessing in this time. There is a special blessing in our physical strength and stamina too. Its all about the struggle to get organized and make the best use of our time, especially if one has little kids at home. The keyword is: do jihad, strive and don't give up. Maybe everything wouldn't have gone the way we wanted on the first day of Ramadan, but we learn from experience, and make each day better.

5. Don't carry excess baggage:

"Be in this world as is you are a wayfarer" - Can the one who is traveling carry more than the necessary? Can he afford to have a lot of excess baggage- most probably he will have to pay (duty/excess baggage) for it. So what all can we avoid and what should we carry, especially in Ramadan?

a. Too much food can do harm and prevent us from excelling in our Ibadah- We have to pay heed to the one-third rule- "One-third water, one-third food and one-third air". This is what the Prophet Sallallahu alaihi wassalam advised us. Too much food means too much time wasted in the kitchen- so time subtracted from "Ibadah time". Too much food will make us sleepy, and we cannot stay up late or wake up in the middle of the night to pray Taraweeh or Qiyam-u-layl. Eating too much food especially in Ramadan even opposes one of the purpose of fasting which is feeling for the poor. The generosity boost we feel in Ramadan to feed should not be directed to our own stomach, rather the poor.

Follow the sunnah of Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwassalam of having a lot of dates and water. Water is the elixir of life- the one that keeps us going. Instead of having all those oil-fried items- have ones that are water-filled-like fruits and greens.

b. Over-socialising in the month of Ramadan- Keep your conversations over the phone and or in the masjid after Taraweeh to a minimum. InshAllah, we will keep it for Eid when we will celebrate with our loved ones. Time lost in idle talk cannot be brought back. This is one of the main regrets we have when Ramadan comes to a end- the regret whether we have utilised our time well or not.

At the same time, have company around you who are the bearers of the fragrance of musk. Have a Ramadan buddy with whom you can discuss how well you are doing in your ibadah, so that you can motivate each other. Let the people we are with, be the ones who will take us with them on the journey to Allah SWT.

c. And most of all, we have to develop a good heart, a good soul and a content mind. We have to strive to push away our negative thoughts and emotions and doubts/ suspicions about others. Ramadan is a month of forgiveness, Allah SWT forgives His slaves who ask for it with sincere repentance. We have to forgive and forget others' mistakes. Forget in a way that it is completely erased from our minds. A person who has accomplished this will have the most heart warming smile, a smile that can make someone's day, a smile that is da'wah for others. Now is the best time to bring out the hidden positive attitude inside us.

Let's succeed bi idhnillah, in eliminating unnecessary stuff from our bags and fill it with good stuff that will be allowed to pass through the Siraat-ul-mustaqueem without any repurcussions. Let's hurry and race for good deeds when their reward is on sale. Let's sincerely repent to Allah Azza Wajal and erase all our bad recording with the Mercy of Our Lord. May Allah accept our humble good deeds and our fasting and prayers from us, and forgive us our sins, and enter us all into Jannathul Firdaws without any ihtisaab(questioning). May the gate of the fasters (Ar-rayyan) open to us for us to enter through it (and all the other gates too). May Allah SWT bless us with good health and long lives so that we can do more ibadah and please Our Lord more and more. Aameen...

Inspired by Sr Heba AlShareef (Her "Cleanse" talk on iamsheba radio launch)- may Allah preserve and increase her.

Leaving behind our comfort zone

2009-08-13T11:47:00.000-07:00

With less than two weeks to Ramadan, its time we did some serious re-thinking about our priorities and goals. It just so often happens that once upon a time, our goals used to be to establish the five times salah(prayer) consistently, or to start dressing up with modesty, and then that's it!! We get stuck there, and even years down the lane, the goal list is still the same!!! We do not really lose purpose, but we just confine ourselves to the false comfort....Do not we remember that once we used to feel unhappy with ourselves in regards to our relationship with Allah Azza Wajal, and we desired change? And now that, that change has come about, you are happy with yourself! Should we be content and happy, and lay back when it comes to our relationship with Our Lord, whose Ni'mah and Mercy is continually over-flowing upon us? SubhanAllah!!!

Below are few tips that will help us inshAllah, to keep striving for raising our level of emaan, and in attaining Ihsan (Al-Iman-al-Kaamil - The Perfection of Emaan; which is a ray- it has a starting point, but no end point; it keep extending to higher horizons):

1. Have a clear-cut purpose in life:

Allah Subhanahu watha'ala says:

وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالإِنسَ إِلاَّ لِيَعْبُدُونِ - مَآ أُرِيدُ مِنْهُم مِّن رِّزْقٍ وَمَآ أُرِيدُ أَن يُطْعِمُونِ - إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الرَّزَّاقُ ذُو الْقُوَّةِ الْمَتِينُ

And I created not the Jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me. I seek not any provision from them nor do I ask that they should feed Me.Verily, Allah is the All-Provider, Owner of power, the Most Strong. (Surah Adh-Dhaariyaat: 56-58)

Allah SWT reminds us in the above ayahs that we were created solely for the purpose of worshipping Him alone, in return for ALL the provisions and Blessings from Him, AND Eternal Bliss in The Hereafter...And He balances His Mercy, by reminding us that He is The Owner of All Power, He is Able to do everything, inclusive of being The Owner of the Day of Judgement when He will judge and decide man's fate depending upon his deeds and intentions.

Our ultimate goal is Jannathul Firdaws. To reach this goal, we need to find contentment with Our Lord, and the way of life He has commanded us to live. Being content with Allah means to have no complaints with whatever has been decreed for us, and submitting to Allah's will in obedience, with out questioning Him and His Commands. Being content with your Lord is the belief that He wants only good for His creation (mankind). Allah is also content with His servant who is content with his Lord- it is mutual, and we ask Allah Subhanahu watha'ala for a heart and soul that is content and filled with tranquility.

Allah says:

يأَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ - ارْجِعِى إِلَى رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَّرْضِيَّةً - فَادْخُلِى فِى عِبَادِى - وَادْخُلِى جَنَّتِى

"O tranquil soul! Come back to your Lord, -- well-pleased and well-pleasing! Enter then among My servants, And enter My Paradise!'' (Surah Al-Fajr: 27-30)

Just like a host inviting an honourable guest into his home, Allah SWT calls the servant with An-Nafsul-Muthma'innah to The Paradise that He created, and prepared for His righteous servants- where rivers flow beneath the gardens, and where there are huge mansions with all the unimaginable beds and pillows, and expensive cups to drink from, the variety of fruits which are like the fruits of this world, yet so different and delicious in taste, the drinks that will be provided for the people of lower level heaven which will be just a flavouring from the actual drink of the people of higher levels....SubhanAllah....

Isn't this life a travel to undertake, worth striving for?!

2. Keep renewing your goals and evaluating yourself: We have to keep using that goal sheet of ours.

Allah SWT says:

لاَ أُقْسِمُ بِيَوْمِ الْقِيَـمَةِ - وَلاَ أُقْسِمُ بِالنَّفْسِ اللَّوَّامَةِ- أَيَحْسَبُ الإِنسَـنُ أَلَّن نَّجْمَعَ عِظَامَهُ

Nay! I swear by the Day of Resurrection. And nay! I swear by An-Nafs Al-Lawwamah. Does man think that We shall not assemble his bones. (Surah Al-Qiyamah: 1-3)

An-Nafs Al-Lawwamah is the self-reproaching soul, that keeps questioning itself, and keeps itself on track. And this is the soul that helps us in consistent work-out to higher grounds. It questions us: "Is that enough?" "Did you do it with the right intention?" "Did you do the right thing?" "Shouldn't you ask Allah to forgive you for your sins?" "Do Isthigfar and don't repeat this mistake!" "How can you be satisfied with doing just this much, when the sahabah used to do much more?!" etc...and so on...This soul pulls you back when you feel proud of yourself, and keeps you on track.

In the first ayah, Allah swears by the Yaum-al-Qiyaamah (Day of Resurrection) and then he SWT goes on, to swear by the Reproaching soul that we must have, which in turn reminds us of the Yaum-al-Qiyaamah. The reproaching soul reminds us each time we do something that we will gathered on the Day of Resurrection and our bones will be resurrected and assembled after our death. SubhanAllah, notice the relationship between the first three ayahs?!!

We ask Allah to be the owners of Nafs-al-Muthma'innah and Nafs-al-lawwamah. We have to develop this reproaching soul within us by constantly renewing our intentions, reminding ourselves by listening to good lectures as often as we can, indulging in only beneficial talk and good deeds and being around people who care about their Hereafter and ours. These are the food and nutrition for the reproaching soul. Feed it! The main food is installation of deep-borne fear and taqwa of Allah and the Hereafter.

We have to set practical goals by carefully prioritising them. For example, if we are habituated to reciting 1 page from the Mushaf daily, lets raise the bar to 2 pages; if we are regular with our salah, then consider starting the habit of Salathul Dhuha and/or Witr. If we feel our weakness is in judging or making assumptions about others, rectify it by listening to the reproaching soul within each one of us- "Isn't Allah the judge over His creation, why don't you judge yourself before you are judged?" If one has a problem in over-spending his money, once again, listen to what the reproaching soul has to say- remember the poor, remember what the Quran has to say about over-spending!

The worst type of soul is the Nafs-al-Ammarah- the wretched soul. Allah says in the Quran:

إِنَّ النَّفْسَ لأَمَّارَةٌ بِالسُّوءِ
Verily, the self is inclined/urged to evil. (Surah Yusuf: 53)

This is the soul that in unattended, neglected or not fed properly. This soul has Shaytan as an ally- sometimes it realises that, sometimes not. Sometimes, the owner of this soul (A'oodhubillah) is so happy about it, and he is the one for whom Allah appoints Shaytan as his Qareen (friend/ partner). Allah says:

وَمَن يَعْشُ عَن ذِكْرِ الرَّحْمَـنِ نُقَيِّضْ لَهُ شَيْطَاناً فَهُوَ لَهُ قَرِينٌ

And whosoever Ya`shu (turns away blindly) from the remembrance of the Most Gracious, We appoint for him Shaytan to be a Qarin (a companion) to him. (Surah Al-Zukhruf: 36)

And this is the soul that, even in Ramadan when the Shayatin are chained and when the gates of Hell-fire are closed, tempts one to fall into disobedience of Allah SWT and sin. The reproaching soul pulls us up when we fall into mud. But the wretched soul pulls us in, like falling into quick sand. It beautifies our sins, makes us feel that it is okay to bend rules and encourages us to the traps of shaytan till we lose sense of what is right and wrong. It magnifies some little good that we may do, and overlooks the voluminous sins we commit. This soul follows its hawa(desires). This soul does not remember Allah often. May Allah SWT show Mercy upon us, protect us from all evil, and guide us always.

3. Reflecting upon Allah's names and attributes:

We should always ponder deeply upon Allah's most perfect names and attributes, His names are perfect in every sense. Very often, we find in the Tafseers of the Quran, that are not really explained as much as it should be. When we say Allah is الْعَلِيمِ, The All-Knower- it should be with such firm belief that it will lead us to be conscious of Him while doing anything, since whatever we do, He Subhanahu watha'ala is aware! He is aware of all our thoughts, so we should purify our intentions. He is aware of what we do in our homes privately, and what we do in public; so we do not be good just to impress the public. If we lie, He is aware; if we backbite, He is aware.

When we say Allah is الْغَفُورُ, The Oft-Forgiving- we have to realise that Allah loves those who seek forgiveness, and so, we should constantly remember Allah, and seek repentence from Him The Almighty.

When we say Allah is الْحَكِيمُ, The Wise- we have to really believe it and knowing that whatever happens is for the best, as it is decreed by Allah, The Most Wise. And that He decrees whatever is most fit to whomever He pleases.

Similarly, we should know Our Lord by All His perfect names, and ponder upon them, call Him by them, and supplicate to Him by calling Him by His names.

May Allah SWT make us among the righteous, Bless us with a Ramadan that we will take the most benefit from, and inshAllah rise our levels of emaan to the next higher level. May Allah accept our humble deeds from us- and verily, a sign of acceptance of our forthcoming Ramadan inshAllah is that even after Ramadan, we keep striving to please Our Lord Almighty....

And Allah knows best.

Time Management

2009-06-23T02:48:00.000-07:00

We all have heard of the Pickle Jar Theory. Imagine a large empty jar. Now we throw in big yellow lemons, we keep adding till we feel we can add no more. Try shaking the jar, and we will see that we can, in fact, add a lemon or two more. Of course, there is still space left, so lets try filling it with something smaller than lemons- maybe gooseberries, and then nutmegs. And when you can add no more, add lentils, kidney beans etc. Make it colorful. Finally, when you feel none of that will go in, add salt, sugar, some red chili powder, and other spices. And still, you will feel there is space left for lime juice, water or vinegar- maybe even some hot/ chili sauce.

The big empty jar is our time. We need to learn to prioritise our activities and goals for each day. The most important and urgent are the lemons- you have to do them whether you like them or not, the less urgent but equally important and the urgent but not-so-important things come in between. And you will still find space and time to fit in that extra cool glass of water to relax your mind and soul, and that chili sauce and other seasonings to spice up and bring excitement to your life. As a Muslim, we need to put in more of "the less urgent but equally important" gooseberries (amla). We know that gooseberries taste sour when you eat, but you feel so rewarded when you drink water after that. A Muslim, if he increases his righteous deeds in order to please His Lord, then he is rewarded highly for his struggle and perseverance in fighting his laziness and procrastinating attitude. SubhanAllah

We have the best role models in our beloved Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwassalam, his family, and his Sahabahs and Sahabiyaat. If we look into their biographies even casually, we come across the various roles they had in life, and they managed these roles in a very balanced fashion. They led stress-free lives compared to the life of an average person who has a busy and stressful life, and SubhanAllah, they were the "actual" busy people.

Take the example of Our Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwassalam: we read about him as a Prophet receiving revelations, a father who would calmly advise his daughter, a loving and dutiful husband (that too, to many wives) and even finding to play with them and have races etc, a man who would sit and teach his companions, a warrior of Islam fee sabeelIllah and a devotee of Allah The Almighty who would stand up in Qiyam and Ibadah at night. How did he manage all these roles efficiently?! Isn't it because of the deep understanding about what our purpose in life is?!

If we learn to prioritise things in our life, we wouldn't have problems with time-management. The reason we often feel stressed and overwhelmed, is due to the dissatisfaction we feel within ourselves for not having accomplished enough, utilising our potentials to the maximum. One of the reasons that one feels in the dumps or bored with his life is also this. People often complain that their life is monotonous. We have to remember that it is ourselves who make our lives the way it is; monotonous because we make it that way, eventful and interesting because we make it that way! We have no right to blame it on anybody else or our fate. Allah SWT has blessed us with a lot of potential, and we don't even use half of it to please Him and serve His Dheen. This should be our inspiration, our urgency to fit in more and more gooseberries into our time, and hence, our life. We have to make use of our health before sickness, our intelligence at its peak before it gets rusty and our time before our death.

We have to reflect upon the lives of great scholars and the beloved companions of Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwassalam- The Torch Bearers of Islam. We will also notice that age should not be a factor to do things. Be it young or old, or our prime years. We have the examples from the past and from today, of people whose stories inspire us. When you procrastinate, bring into your visual mind their images and try to picture yourself there. Think of how you want to lead your life now, and think of what you want to leave in this world when you die. And most of all, think of what you want to carry with you to stand before Allah Azza Wajal tomorrow. We have to seize the moment, before something happens and regret strikes us.

Let's all rise and shine and show off in front of Allah Subhanahu watha'ala!

Disclaimer: This is to motivate me first and then you. I am sure I need it more than you!

Principles to approach the Qur'an- Part III

2009-05-07T12:43:00.001-07:00

To read previous part, click here

4. Qur'an has been revealed for the individual "YOU"

Allah SWT says:

يَأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ جَآءَتْكُمْ مَّوْعِظَةٌ مَّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَشِفَآءٌ لِّمَا فِى الصُّدُورِ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

Oh mankind! There has come to you good advice from your Lord, and a cure for that which is in your breasts, -- a guidance and a mercy for the believers. (Surah Yunus: 57)

It doesn't matter if the other person is following the Qur'an or not; what matters and will affect you is depending how much you chose to live by the Qur'an. On the Day of Judgement, we will stand in front of Allah SWT alone, no one to help us or harm us except our deeds and how we approached the Book of Guidance. So, we cannot afford to "not follow" the Qur'an just because others are not, this should never be our excuse.

If we got an email from our most beloved, a friend or sister we love a lot, what would we do? How will you read this letter that has been addressed to none but yourself? How much haste and excitement would be there as you read it? Likewise, the Qur'an is addressed to "you", and it is from The One we claim to love the most! SubhanAllah. We say the Qur'an is the most important possession, most valuable property. But do we treat it that way? We seek Blessings for our gatherings and functions by starting with the ayahs of The Holy Qur'an; but do we follow and obey what it expects us to?! When the Qur'an was revealed, Allah SWT was either commanding to do something that is good for mankind (on an individual's level and/or for the mankind as a whole) or it was prohibiting something that is not good for us. And how much of this do we take seriously?

Allah says in Surah Aal Imran,

إِنَّ فِى خَلْقِ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ وَاخْتِلَـفِ الَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ لاّيَـتٍ لاٌّوْلِى الاٌّلْبَـبِ - الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللَّهَ قِيَـماً وَقُعُوداً وَعَلَى جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِى خَلْقِ السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ رَبَّنَآ مَا خَلَقْتَ هَذا بَـطِلاً سُبْحَـنَكَ فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the Earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding. Those who remember Allah standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and think deeply about the creation of the heavens and the earth, (saying): "Our Lord! You have not created this without purpose, glory to You! Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire. [Surah Aal Imran: 190-191]

The people of real understanding are those who remember Allah at all times, reflect upon the creations of Allah. and constantly remember the purpose of this life. May Allah Azza Wajal make us all among the people of real understanding. We have to so much to ponder and reflect upon every creation of Allah SWT; shouldn't we reflect more upon the "Word" of Allah. Isn't the word of The Lord of all those to whom it has been addressed for, more superior than all the creations?! We believe the creations have flaws and do not last forever, everything created will stop to exist and will die, but the "Kalam" of Allah is not a creation. And by the way, only the one who reflect upon the ayah of the Quran will be able to reflect upon the ayahs (signs) of the world and only he will be able to reflect/ remember the ayah of the Quran when he sees the ayahs(signs) around him. When it rains, only a person who reflects over the ayahs of the revelation will remember that just like the descending of the rain-laden clouds, the Quran descended; just as rain is a Mercy from Ar-Rahmaan, so is the Qur'an. SubhanAllah. Similarly, when plants sprout from the ground, we must remember that on the Day of Resurrection, we will also wake up in a similar fashion.

5. Living under the shade of Qur'an as long as you live:

Our efforts to become more and more closer to Allah SWT should be continuous and consistent at all times. Our Emaan is subjected to increase and decrease. Emaan is not something static; so if it isn't increasing, it decreases. Allah Azza Wajal keeps talking to us about the struggles between truth and falsehood, and the treacherous temptations of the Duniya and Shaytan. We do not know where/what we are falling into unless we strive and experience the content and the real happiness that comes with submission and obedience to the Lord Almighty.

The more we turn to the Quran with Sincerity and a strong will to live under the shade of the Guidance, the more Allah Blesses us with goodness. The more number of times we reflect upon an ayah, the more wisdom and understanding and comprehension Allah gives us.

Allah SWT says:

الَّذِينَ يَسْتَمِعُونَ الْقَوْلَ فَيَـتَّبِعُونَ أَحْسَنَهُ أُوْلَـئِكَ الَّذِينَ هَدَاهُمُ اللَّهُ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمْ أُوْلُو الاٌّلْبَـبِ

Those who listen to the Word and follow the best thereof, those are (the ones) whom Allah has guided and those are men of understanding. (Surah Az-Zumar: 18)

And:

وَالَّذِينَ جَـهَدُواْ فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

As for those who strive hard for Us, We will surely guide them to Our paths. And verily, Allah is with the doers of good. (Surah Al-Ankaboot: 69)

And Allah SWT promises:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَاتِ يَهْدِيهِمْ رَبُّهُمْ بِإِيمَانِهِمْ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهِمُ الاٌّنْهَـرُ فِي جَنَّـتِ النَّعِيمِ

Verily, those who believe and do deeds of righteousness, their Lord will guide them through their faith; under them will flow rivers in the Gardens of delight. (Surah Yunus: 9)

How foolish would it be if we did not hold firmly to the rope of Allah, and instead chose to fall into the dark traps set up by Shaytan! How foolish would it be if we chose mere temporary excitements over the eternal bliss?! May Allah SWT make among those who are wise, and know Him, and listen and turn our hearts to His Guidance, Mercy and Blessing- The Qur'an....aameen...

Qur'an is the best Dhikr

2009-05-07T02:55:00.000-07:00

Abu Sa'eed radia Allahu Anhu narrated that the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam said,
"Allah the Most High says, 'When engrossment with the Qur'aan preoccupies a person from making Dhikr and asking from me, I grant him better than what I grant to those who ask from Me.' The Rank of the Word of Allah over other forms of speech is like the rank of Allah over all His creation." (narrated by Tirmidhi, ad-Daarimi and al-Bayhaqi)

Many Ulama' like Sheikh Albaani, Ibn Hajar RahimahumAllah have termed this hadeeth as weak. Sh Yasir Qadhi came to the conclusion that this is Hasan li-ghairih (weak hasan). Sh Jamal hasn't come to this conclusion.

Allah says in the Qur'an:

ص وَالْقُرْءَانِ ذِى الذِّكْرِ
Saaad. By the Qur'an full of reminding. (Surah Saad: 1)

Principles when approaching the Qur'an- Part II

2009-05-04T17:22:00.001-07:00

To read previous part, click here

2. Approach the Qur'an with an open mind:

Is what we want from the Qur'an consistent with what the Qur'an wants from us? Do we try to approach the Qur'an with our own personal rules and views of life, and try to bring the words of Allah SWT, in terms with our thoughts and notions. And then we claim that this is what the Qur'an teaches us?!

We should allow the Qur'an to speak for itself, to guide us, to show us the truth from falsehood, the right from wrong. If the purpose of the Qur'an is this, then why not bind ourselves, and commit to following it sincerely, instead of beating about the bush, and trying to justify our actions which do not adhere to the teachings of the Qur'an and the Sunnah? We should work hard in transforming ourselves by learning the Qur'an, and grabbing the fruits of wisdom, rather than trying to reform the Qur'an.

This is the difference between the Muslims of today, and the Sahabah Radhiyallahu anhum of the Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwassalam. They would sincerely look to walk upon the right path, without the slightest of deviations, focused in their mission to attain Jannah. If they had to eliminate some cultural acts that they had been following before Islam, out of ignorance; they would do so completely removing it off from the roots, sincerely with their hearts and actions. And today, our society has adopted customs and rituals which are not from the teachings of Qur'an or Sunnah, and we do not like to be told so. There are some cultural practices that have become so religious, and this is one of the ways by which innovation in religion (bid'ah) arises, A'oodhubillah. And when the Qur'an shows that it is wrong, some still do not want to give it up. This shows the exact similiar kind of pride in the way of the fore-fathers that the Mushrikeen(polytheists) in Makkah during the time of Muhammed Sallallahu alaihiwassalam and Ibraheem Alaihissalam showed!

Today, we pride ourselves for our so-thought-to-be-so high level of intelligence and advancements that we feel we can always make the right decisions and do the right thing. And this, gradually has started to corrupt our beliefs too. In Islam, we believe that we need Divine Guidance, that is, The Qur'an. Unlike what today's rationalists and philosophers claim that God has given us all the intelligence that is needed to guide ourselves. So why not turn to the Qur'an sincerely, and accept with full heart, all that it says, teaches, commands and prohibits?! We should not approach this Divine Book of Guidance like the way of the Orientalists who tried to establish their views and opinions, or people with feminist views, or like the deviant sects like the Mu'tazilah (who claim that Allah does not have the Attribute of Speech) etc. Basically, what happens is, they try to bend the real and true interpretations of the Qur'an to match their way of thinking. A'oodhubillah, doesn't this show arrogance?

So, let's keep a check on ourselves inshAllah, where we stand!

3. Release the Qur'an from any constraints of time and space:

The Qur'an was revealed and preserved, and will be preserved till the end of mankind for the purpose of showing the truth. We have to believe that every ayah in the Qur'an is a message for us to reflect upon and learn from it. We know the stories from the Qur'an, but do we know the messages and numerous lessons it brings to us? We just enjoy the story, and then move on with complacence, that so-and-so things happened in the past. Why did Allah SWT, The All-Knower, and The Most-Wise, preserve it in the Qur'an?

The Message is for us, so that we can check whether we share those characteristics and change for the better. The Qur'an is talking about the reality of things happening to us and around us whether or not, we realise and accept it. For example, in the story of Bani Isra'eel, there are many lessons for us to take from. And SubhanAllah, for this purpose, Allah mentions it in the Qur'an around 180 times. We learn about their insincerity to Allah and His Prophets, their laziness, how they turn back to their old ways, their ingratitude towards their Lord, their qualities of hypocrisy, their weak emaan, their inconsistency in the worship of Allah etc. And then we even curse them, view them as the worst among the disbelieving people. Period. What do we do? Part of all these qualities, or all? May Allah SWT protect us from these characteristics, aameen...We have to realise that the messages within the stories are independent of the actual stories, as the similar kind of stories still continues. And so, we have to release the messages of the Qur'an from any constraints of space and time.

Another example of ayah that we should always reflect upon:

وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ عَلَى حَرْفٍ فَإِنْ أَصَابَهُ خَيْرٌ اطْمَأَنَّ بِهِ وَإِنْ أَصَابَتْهُ فِتْنَةٌ انْقَلَبَ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ خَسِرَ الدُّنْيَا وَالاٌّخِرَةَ ذلِكَ هُوَ الْخُسْرَنُ الْمُبِينُ

And among mankind is he who worships Allah as it were upon the edge: if good befalls him, he is content therewith; but if a Fitnah strikes him, he turns back on his face. He loses both this world and the Hereafter. That is the evident loss. (Surah Al-Hajj: 11)

We learn from the tafseer that this ayah is talking about the Bedouins who used to come to Medina, and accept Islam. If their wives gave birth to sons and their mares gave birth to foals, they would say, `This is a good religion,' but if their wives and their mares did not give birth, they would say, `This is a bad religion.' They would feel content, and say that they have not experienced anything bad ever since they accepted Islam. But if they had become afflicted with something bad, then they would blame it on the religion.

What is the lesson for us in this ayah? There are among us who have this attitude towards Our religion of Islam. Sometimes, we fear following Islam thinking that it will bring us bad. For example: we deal with interest fearing that otherwise, we will not be able to purchase a car, a house, or sometimes even petty things like clothes etc. We sometimes fear to wear our Hijab fearing that people will stereotype us as being backward people, we fear that having a beard will be a hindrance to get a good job etc. We join in unnecessary conversations (their weekend party experiences etc) with our colleagues or classmates fearing that we will be considered boring. This is due to lack of strong belief. We turn our backs on Islam, instead of placing complete thawakkul upon Allah Azza Wajal.

May Allah SWT always us on the straight path, and may He bless us with the true understanding of the Quran, aameen...

To read next part, click here

Tips to memorize the Qur'an (Let's become the carriers of the Qur'an)

2009-05-04T17:21:00.000-07:00

Memorizing the Qur'an should be one of the goals of a Muslim. Each and every one of us should have this deep desire to become a haafidh and work towards it inshAllah. This is irrespective of our age. It is a wrong notion to think that one can memorize the Qur'an only at a very young age. It is true that it could be easier when one is young, and for that, inshAllah, we should encourage young children, whether your siblings or kids, to memorize the Qur'an. As for us, come up with a plan, and start immediately, without procrastination, without further delay, and with isthiqama (steadfastness).

Let's not come with reasons such as we do not have enough time, or we do not have a good memory power. We have to fit this noble project into our schedule, as the virtues and bounties that comes with are numerous, and inshAllah, if done with Ikhlaas, then Allah will reward us in both the worlds. And, about lack of memory, yeah it could be true if one had to memorize any other text of science or poetry, but not for the Qur'an. We should have a firm belief and understanding that it is the Power of The Kalam (speech) of Allah that enables anybody on the face of earth, who desires to memorize it, shall be able to. We should concentrate on doing our part, and Allah will make it more and more easy as we go along further. Allah says in the Qur'an to Our Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwassalam:

سَنُقْرِئُكَ فَلاَ تَنسَى

We shall make you recite, so you shall not forget. (Surah Al-A'laa: 6)

Which other book in the world has been memorized by people, word to word, verse to verse, exactly with the same intonations that our Prophet recited, to whom Allah SWT had revealed it so! Which other book is read so repeatedly and the reciter never gets bored of it, unless Shaytan overpowers him- and the more it is recited, the more beautiful it is, and the reciter is in more awe than ever! SubhanAllah, this is one of the many miracles of the Qur'an. No matter what some enemies of Allah and His Dheen do (like burning of the copies of Qur'an etc), there are many thousands of people (even non-muslims) on the other hand, who learn and understand the Qur'an. Even disbelievers like Abu Jahl, Al-Waleed Al-Mughirah were addicted to its beauty, and would go and listen to the recitation of The Prophet hidden in the darkness of the night. SubhanAllah.

Imagine that more of us become carriers of the Qur'an, the guidance to our life. Surely, the status of our Ummah would rise, due to the establishment of stronger connection to The Words of Allah Azza Wajal. So, this is our duty as a muslim, it is a collective duty of the Muslims that more of us learn, understand and memorize this book. This will help us in boosting the level of eman more than we can imagine.

SubhanAllah, isn't it the priveledge of our Ummah that no other nation before us enjoyed, that we actually have the words of Our Lord preserved, that Allah has made the understanding and learning it easy upon the person who strives towards it?! So, shouldn't we show gratitude to Allah for this blessing!

Alhamdulillah...

Here are some very beneficial tips that Sheikh Yasir Qadhi shared with us, on how to memorize the Qur'an (some of them are my opinions depending upon what works for me, as Sheikh is a man, and sometimes, for women, things work slightly differently, especially if you are a wife and mother):

1. The First and Foremost, Sincereity and Ikhlaas: The Niyyah that we are making sincere effort only for the sake of Allah SWT, only to seek His Pleasure so that inshAllah, with His Mercy, we will be rewarded in the Aakhirah. And that it is not to show off in front of others that we have memorized a lot.

2. Consistency: The more frequently we memorize, the easier it becomes to memorize. To this, I testify. SubhanAllah, this is a miracle, no doubt.

It is very essential to be consistent, and not to skip even one day. Our brain, soul and mind needs consistent feeding to work more efficiently and with ease. It is just like how machines need constant lubrication and care, and the machines that is not used more often, starts to rust. And the car that is not used more often, starts to give problems. Taking a break can slow down the process, as our brain is programmed in such a way that it needs new raw materials in order to make strong the older ones. And if we do skip a day, then Shaytan squeezes himself through and tries to discourage you the next day, and then ultimately, it comes to a complet halt. The bare minimum that one should memorize is atleast 3 lines, five is more ideal. If we continue in this way, inshAllah, we will be able to be huffadh in 5-6 years. SubhanAllah- isn't that so inspiring?! It really feels easy when we think of it this way.

3. Timing: Early morning after Fajr Salah is the ideal time, as Allah has blessed the morning hours the most. This, I am sure, all of us agree upon, that it is the morning hours that we are able to get most work done. And even to study, it is the ideal time, as your mind is free from other thoughts since your day is just beginning. Whereas, in a later time of the day, there is more chance that your subconscious mind is preoccupied with other thoughts like who you would have met, the dialogue that took place, the food you had was yummy, and other things that you would have done.

Personally, I feel that even if this time of the day doesn't work out for us, we can dedicate some other time- just that we will have to work harder and longer- Wa Allahu A'lam. And if it usually does, and for some reason, we miss it one day, we should make some time in the later part of the day, and still keep up with the consistent flow. It is more important that we do not skip a day.

4. Atmosphere: We should try our best to avoid all kinds of distractions like phone calls, children, munching on some nuts or crackers during this time. This again takes us back to the previous point where the morning hours are the best, since there is less distraction at that time.

5. Familiarity: This is more of a psychological advantage. So use the same Mushaf, listen to the same recitation, sit to learn in the same place and same time. This way, the brain will relate better. Like for example: the advantage of using the same Mushaf is, the part of the brain that is responsible for vision records it, and we will be able to remember this stored vision where a particular word comes, where a new ayah begins etc.

6. There are no tricks or short-cuts. It is just repititive recitation and/or listening that will help to memorize.

7. Understand what you memorize: Read the translation before one starts, correlate some words. We do not have to necessarily try to learn the entire tafseer, but we need to have some idea. Tafseer should be learnt at a different time so that we can achieve this goal of becoming Huffadh in a shorter time. And then when inshAllah, that happenes, we can learn more deeply into the Tafseer of the Qur'an.

8. Surround oneself with recitation: Keep listening to what one is currently memorizing.

9. Find a memorizing buddy: This will be a huge encouragement for each other, and this will add a psychological pressure that we have to recite to each other what we learnt.

10. Recite daily in Salah, and at all times that you can, what you have memorized most recently.

11. The triple daily dose of the Qur'an:

a) New memorization at your assigned time of the day

b) Revision of the previous 7 days, just before you start the new memorization: This is because the fastest thing you forget is the new memorization. And doing so, will also build the connector between the old ones and the new portion you are going to memorize. Plus, it will be a good warm up for the brain when you recall from your memory and recite, before you go into the real exercise of doing the new memorization.

c) At a later/another time of the day, revise those before the recent 7 days. The bare minimum should be 4-5 pages.

12. Do not jump around: When we feel a particular surah is tough, do not go to another. Stick to the order. That way, you will have the satisfaction of having completed a juz rather than leaving unmemorized portions here and there.

13. The three chunks:
a) Juz 28, 29, 30 or just Juz 29, 30
b) Surah Al-Kahf till Juz 28
c) Surah Al-Baqara to Surah Al-Kahf

I feel that after the last 2-3 Juz, we should start from Al-Baqara as the ayahs are much easier to learn, since there are Madani verses (verses and surahs revealed after the Hijrah of The Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwassalam and the Sahaba Radhiyallahu anhum- Makki verses are more poetic and SubhanAllah, very beautiful, and a little more complex, I feel. The Verses are shorter and so, more powerful), and hence, more eloquent, and it flows automatically and with more ease. And it is from Surah Al-Baqara where we start to read our Khatm-al-Qur'an from, and so we are more familiar with it.

InshAllah, I hope that we all benefit from these tips, and Allah SWT makes this a sadaqathul jaariah for Sheikh Yasir Qadhi, and all Shuyookh who would have inspired many to make a memorization plan, and myself for writing this here. And I hope that we all stick to this most important project till we finish inshAllah, with determination, consistency and increased Taqwa. Let's dream of the day when we will recite from Surah Al-Fathiha to Surah An-Naas, without looking into the Mus'haf, InshAllahu Ta'ala.....Aameen, aameen, Thumma aameen...

Dua'h from last ayah of Surah Al-Baqara

2009-05-03T05:28:00.001-07:00

رَبَّنَا لاَ تُؤَاخِذْنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا

"Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error!"

رَبَّنَا وَلاَ تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَآ إِصْرًا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا

"Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did lay on those before us!"

رَبَّنَا وَلاَ تُحَمّلْنَا مَا لاَ طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ وَاعْفُ عَنَّا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَآ أَنتَ مَوْلَـنَا فَانْصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَـفِرِينَ

"Our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Pardon us and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. You are our Mawla (Patron, Supporter and Protector) and give us victory over the disbelieving people.''

[Surah Al-Baqara: 286]

It has been recorded in Sahih Al-Bukhari, Muslim and others that Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwassalam said: Whoever recites the last two Ayat in Surat Al-Baqarah at night, they will suffice for him.

`Abdullah said, "When the Messenger of Allah went on the Isra journey, he ascended to the Sidrat Al-Muntaha in the sixth heaven, where whatever ascends from the earth ends at, and whatever descends from above it ends at. The Messenger of Allah was then given three things: the five prayers, the last Ayat in Surat Al-Baqarah and forgiveness for whoever did not associate anything or anyone with Allah from his Ummah.'' (Muslim)

Weight of "La ilaaha illa Allah" on the scales

2009-05-03T05:02:00.001-07:00

Narrated Anas bin Malik Radhiyallahu anh:
"Once Mu'adh was along with Allah's Apostle as a companion rider. Allah's Apostle said, "O Mu'adh bin Jabal." Mu'adh replied, "Labbaik and Sa'daik. O Allah's Apostle!" Again the Prophet said, "O Mu'adh!" Mu'adh said thrice, "Labbaik and Sa'daik, O Allah's Apostle!" Allah's Apostle said, "There is none who testifies sincerely that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is his Apostle, except that Allah, will save him from the Hell-fire." Mu'adh said, "O Allah's Apostle ! Should I not inform the people about it so that they may have glad tidings?" He replied, "When the people hear about it, they will solely depend on it." Then Mu'adh narrated the above-mentioned Hadith just before his death, being afraid of committing sin (by not telling the knowledge).

Narrated Anas Radhiyallahu anh:
I was informed that the Prophet had said to Mu'adh, "Whosoever will meet Allah without associating anything in worship with Him will go to Paradise." Mu'adh asked the Prophet, "Should I not inform the people of this good news?" The Prophet replied, "No, I am afraid, lest they should depend upon it (absolutely)."

(Sahih Al-Bukhari)

Lessons:

- The believer who testifies to the Shahada (Ash'hadu an La Ilaaha Illa Allah, Wa Ash'hadu anna Muhammedan Rasoolullah) should do so with Uttermost sincerity, Knowledge, Submission and Obedience to Allah SWT, Love for Him and His Rasool, complete acceptance and 100% certainty with truthfulness and by negating any other Lord besides Allah.

- Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwassalam was afraid that if people knew this, they would lag in striving towards excelling more in doing righteous deeds and acts of worship. This shows that we have to do act upon our shahada too.

- The value of the speech of Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwassalam that the sahaba Mu'adh Ibn Jabal had, is subhanAllah a big lesson for us to learn from. The sahabahs and the scholars were so afraid that knowledge would be lost. Do we sincerely pass on what we learn?! Are we selfish when it comes to sharing ilm?!

- And most importantly, the fact, that this hadeeth was preserved even though Muhammed Sallallahu alaihiwassalam was feeling skeptical to let his Ummah know of this- to me, this shows that Allah Azza Wajal has preserved of His Dheen everything that we need to know, the dheen is perfect, there is no need for us to add anything, or bring in any new traditions (which are termed as bid'ah- innovations) If we do try to bring in any new practice, thinking it is for good, then it is like saying that The Prophet could have added it to our religion.

And Allah knows best.

2009-05-02T18:03:00.001-07:00

رَبَّنَآ أَفْرِغْ عَلَيْنَا صَبْرًا وَثَبّتْ أَقْدَامَنَا وَانصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَـفِرِينَ

"Our Lord! Pour forth on us patience, and set firm our feet and make us victorious over the disbelieving people.'' (Surah-Al-Baqara: 250)

This is the Duah that Prophet Dawud Alaihissalam and his followers invoked to Allah when they advanced to meet Jalut (Goliath) and his forces.

The Greatest Blessing of Allah upon the people of Jannah

2009-05-02T17:38:00.000-07:00

On the authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (Radhiyallahu anh), who said that the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu alihiwassalam) said:
Allah will say to the inhabitant of Paradise: O inhabitants of Paradise! They will say: O our Lord, we present ourselves and are at Your pleasure, and goodness rests in Your hands. Then He will say: Are you contented? And they will say: And how should we not be contented, O Lord, when You have given to us that which You have given to no one else of Your creation? Then He will say: Would not like Me to give you something better than that? And they will say: O Lord and what thing is better than that? And He will say: I shall cause My favour to descend upon you and thereafter shall never be displeased with you.

Sahih Al-Bukhari, Muslim, At-Tirmidhi)

SubhanAllah, the Greatest Blessing and reward that the believers will experience in Jannah will be when Allah Azza Wajal will say: I shall cause My favour to descend upon you and thereafter shall never be displeased with you. (InshAllah, may He grant us all this gretest Blessing, aameen) and when we will be able to see Our Lord, The Most Majestic, The Most Gracious.

Invoking Allah for good for The Duniya and The Hereafter

2009-04-29T23:22:00.000-07:00

رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا فِى الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الاٌّخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

"Our Lord! Give us in this world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good, and save us from the torment of the Fire!'' (Surah Al-Baqara: 201)

In another Ayah, Allah SWT talks about people who pray only for the bounties of this world, and do not remember the affairs of The Hereafter. Sa`id bin Jubayr said that Ibn `Abbas said, "Some bedouins used to come to the standing area (`Arafat) and supplicate saying, `O Allah! Make it a rainy year, a fertile year and a year of good child bearing.' The believers whould make supplication with this dua'h. This Sunnah is greatly recommended as it covers all aspects of good in both the world, and seeks safety from the Hellfire. And SubhanAllah, it is one simple duah that we all know.

Qur'an- The Miracle

2009-04-26T23:26:00.000-07:00

Narrated Abu Hurairah Radhiyallahu anh:
The Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwassalam said, "Every Prophet was given miracles because of which people believed, but what I have been given, is Divine Inspiration which Allah has revealed to me. So I hope that my followers will outnumber the followers of the other Prophets on the Day of Resurrection."

(Sahih Al-Bukhari)

This hadeeth signifies the power of the Speech of Allah SWT. That the unlettered Prophet was the one chosen to be given the Divine Inspiration itself is the greatest miracle among all other miracles (Mu'jizath) given to him, and all other Prophets. Qur'an is the only miracle that has no constraints of place or time. All the other miracles were witnessed only by the people who were present then. But Qur'an will be continue to be a miracle till the end of this world, for all the people, no matter where they live, as there is no place in the world, where the Qur'an is not being recited. And, because The Qur'an is the greatest miracle of all times, Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwassalam hoped that he will have the greatest number of followers on the Day of Resurrection. And this will be so, inshAllah, as we know from other ahadeeth.

All other miracles given to other Prophets and our Prophet (May Allah be pleased with them) were miracles shown to prove or strengthen the true message, but the Qur'an is a miracle in itself to prove what is says. SubhanAllah...

And Allah knows best.

Important principles to make our relationship with the Qur'an blossom

2009-04-26T23:24:00.000-07:00

To read previous part, click here

1. Renew and redefine our intentions:

When we read a book for a course study or for work or for an exam, what is our intention? We want to understand and take maximum benefit from it so that it help us better when we need to apply it where it has to be applied. Even when we read a novel at our leisure, we want to understand the plot, the important characters etc, and we even try to take lessons from them and even movies we watch. When we read the ingredients on the grocery before buying it, we look for the key words, like Gelatin etc. We rarely read anything mindlessly, and even if we do, we realise that we haven't gained anything out of it, and turn back the pages and re-read it.

Qur'an is the book of Guidance for those who fear Allah, and this is what we should take from it. The Key word is "Guidance". Allah SWT says:

ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لاَ رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ

That is The Book in which there is no doubt, guidance for the Muttaqin. (Surah Al-Baqara: 2)

And Allah SWT says:

كِتَابٌ أَنزَلْنَـهُ إِلَيْكَ لِتُخْرِجَ النَّاسَ مِنَ الظُّلُمَـتِ إِلَى النُّورِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ

A Book which We have revealed unto you (Oh Muhammad) in order that you might lead mankind out of darkness into the light by their Lord's leave. (Surah Ibraheem: 2)

Our intention should be to take this guidance, and hence draw closer to Allah Azza Wajal, to obey and follow what the Qur'an is guiding us to, and to not fall into the category of people Allah is displeased with. With this intention, inshAllah Allah will make easy upon us to learn and understand His Book. Sometimes, our mind while reciting it, will wander off, since we don't know and understand Arabic. For this reason, we should all make sincere efforts to learn Qur'anic Arabic, and translations with the explanation inshAllah. This will help us in reflecting better on ayahs that talk about the punishments in the Hellfire, the Graciousness and Most Supreme Power or Our Lord, His Wisdom etc.

How much should we reflect on ayahs such as:

قُلْ أَرَءَيْتُمْ إِنْ أَهْلَكَنِىَ اللَّهُ وَمَن مَّعِىَ أَوْ رَحِمَنَا فَمَن يُجِيرُ الْكَـفِرِينَ مِنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ - قُلْ هُوَ الرَّحْمَـنُ ءَامَنَّا بِهِ وَعَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْنَا فَسَتَعْلَمُونَ مَنْ هُوَ فِى ضَلَـلٍ مُّبِينٍ

Say: "Tell me! If Allah destroys me, and those with me, or He bestows His mercy on us - who can save the disbelievers from a painful torment''. Say: "He is the Most Gracious, in Him we believe, and upon Him we rely. So, you will come to know who it is that is in manifest error.'' (Surah Al-Mulk:28-29)

وَقَوْمَ نُوحٍ لَّمَّا كَذَّبُواْ الرُّسُلَ أَغْرَقْنَـهُمْ وَجَعَلْنَـهُمْ لِلنَّاسِ ءَايَةً وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلظَّـلِمِينَ عَذَاباً أَلِيماً

And Nuh's people, when they denied the Messengers, We drowned them, and We made them as a sign for mankind. And We have prepared a painful torment for the wrongdoers. (Surah Al-Furqan: 37)

إِلَىَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَأُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ - وَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَـتِ لَنُدْخِلَنَّهُمْ فِى الصَّـلِحِينَ

Unto Me is your return and I shall tell you what you used to do. And for those who believe and do righteous deeds, surely, We shall admit them among the righteous. (Surah Al-Ankabut: 8-9)

To read the next part, click here

Asking Allah to accept our deeds and repentence

2009-04-26T23:00:00.000-07:00

رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلْ مِنَّآ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ

"Our Lord! Accept from us. Verily, You are the Hearer, the Knower.'' [Surah Al-Baqara: 127]

وَتُبْ عَلَيْنَآ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ

"And accept our repentance. Truly, You are the One Who accepts repentance, the Most Merciful." [Surah Al-Bqara: 128]

This was the dua'h of Prophet Ibraheem and Prophet Ismaeel Alaihumassalam when they were raising the foundations of Ka'bah in Makkah. When we perform a good deed for the sake of Allah SWT alone, we should always make dua'h to Allah to accept it from us with humility, as He is The All-Hearer, and The All-Knower. He is The Most Merciful, and the One who seeks repentence, sho we should constantly ask for repentence.

Let's return to The Qur'an

2009-04-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

Alhamdulillahi Rabbi Al-'Aalameen. I testify that there is no Deity worthy of worship except Allah SubhanAllahu Wa Tha'aala, and that Muhammed is the Messenger of Allah. The Qur'an is the final book of Allah revealed to mankind, to Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam through Angel Jibreel Alaihissalam, it is our manual on how to live in this Duniya, and it is a Promise from Allah SWT that it will be preserved till the Last Day for the mankind to turn to, whether or not man turns to this Guidance, Mercy and Blessing from Allah.

The following is lessons taken from just an hour lecture of Sheikh Jamaal Zarabozo(Hafidhahullah), but SubhanAllah, it was very rich in content and gems to reflect on, and it caused wholesome amounts of emanrush in those present there, and I hope the booster will continue to change our lives towards the better inshAllah.

We, the Muslim Ummah have lost in establishing the proper kind of relationship with the Qur'an. We spent most part of our life in studying other Sciences that will help us to excel in this world, some of the Sciences that are valued only because the so-called intelligent, on-top-of-the-world people have accredited it. We live according to the man-made principles that we feel, will help us to achieve our goals (and for sure, our goals are also messed up- Ihdina-As-Sirathal Musthaqueem), when in reality, isn't our goal supposed to be to please Allah SWT in this world, and hence, attain Success in the Hereafter?! We say we are proud to be Muslims, and yet, we allow ourselves to be looked down upon, and we look up and admire the disbelievers in whatever they do, the worldly achievements they have accomplished, and their ideologies like Socialism, Capitalism etc. And stillworse, we try to be like them! Aren't we the ones who should raise our standard in our code of life, and show them something to be looked up to?

Allah SWT has given us, This Qur'an, which is perfect in every sense and flawless, as not "source of guidance" alone, but "Guidance" itself. And it is preserved by Him The Most Exalted, among us, in our hands. All of us have a copy or more of The Holy and Noble Qur'an, and we say that we respect it. But are we really respecting it in the way that it deserves to be so, in the way that we ourselves deserve?! We show respect to it in the secondary and tertiary aspects like not allowing dust to settle on it, not writing in it, keeping it elevated, touching it only when we are in the state of wudu, and at the most, memorizing a little from it. Let's just really reflect upon this! Aren't our questions always centered on things like, "can we touch the Mus'haf" if we are not in the state of Wudu for studying purposes?" Another way of our limited interaction with the Qur'an is that unfortunately, we turn to it when we are struck with distress, illness etc. For sure, The Qur'an is Ash-Shifa'(The Cure), but it is mainly a cure for the diseases of the heart and soul, it helps to purify our souls and hearts from all kinds of diseases. Allah SWT says:

O mankind! There has come to you good advice from your Lord, and a cure for that which is in your breasts, -- a guidance and a mercy for the believers. (Surah Yunus: 57)

So, what is the Primary aspect of respecting the Qur'an?!

Obvious to all of us, The Qur'an is by no doubt, the most important book in our life. We all keep saying that. If it is so, we are to really take the benefit from it, by really appreciating it, appreciating the fact that Allah SWT, with His Mercy, has allowed the imperfect, sinning man to recite, read, hold onto the Perfect, Flawless speech (kalam), to make use of it. One of the main ways of not respecting the Qur'an is when we recite it, we do so only to get the Blessings, Ajar (reward), Hasanat that comes with it. Of course, this is true. And we should continue to recite it regularly and repeatedly. But our intention should be to really understand it, learn it and implement it by obeying what it guides us to, the commands of Allah, and avoiding what has been prohibited. We are supposed to be "Shuhadah" (witnesses) for the true message, against the rest of mankind who do not have this Guidance.

Let me put it in the most common way that the people of knowledge remind us with (for all of us to benefit from). For us to have a blooming career, or pass our exams in school with flying colours, we read, and read, and read. Break our heads to understand, do the practicals etc. Toil away day and night. And on the other hand, we have just this one Qur'an which continues to give and give. and continues to make it easier on the person learning it. And its rewards will be reaped in this world, for one, and last but definitely not the least, for an eternal heavenly bliss. SubhanAllah...how Merciful is our Lord Almighty?! So, let's not just wish for the Hasanat in reciting This Noble Book, let's fulfill our obligations to it, Our Lord and ourselves (ourselves as we are the ones who are really in need of The Qur'an, not the other way around. We need Allah's Mercy, Blessings, Guidance, Help ....)

Allah says:

الَّذِينَ آتَيْنَـهُمُ الْكِتَـبَ يَتْلُونَهُ حَقَّ تِلاَوَتِهِ أُوْلَـئِكَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَمن يَكْفُرْ بِهِ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْخَـسِرُونَ

Those to whom we gave the Book recite it as it should be recited (Yatlunahu Haqqa Tilawatihi) they are the ones who believe therein. And whoso disbelieve in it, those are they who are the losers. (Surah Al-Baqara:121)

What is حَقَّ تِلاَوَتِهِ (The correct recitation)? Abu Al-`Aliyah said that Ibn Mas`ud Radhiyallahu anh said, "By He in Whose Hand is my soul! The right Tilawah is allowing what it makes lawful, prohibiting what it makes unlawful, reciting it as it was revealed by Allah, not changing the words from their places, and not interpreting it with other than its actual interpretation.'' As-Suddi reported from Abu Malik from Ibn `Abbas who said about this Ayah (2:121): "They make lawful what it allows and they prohibit what it makes unlawful, and they do not alter its wordings.'' `Umar bin Al-Khattab said, "They are those who when they recite an Ayah that mentions mercy, they ask Allah for it, and when they recite an Ayah that mentions torment, they seek refuge with Allah from it.''

Allah SWT says regarding that Allah has made Quran easy for us to understand:

وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْءَانَ لِلذِّكْرِ فَهَلْ مِن مُّدَّكِرٍ

And We have indeed made the Qur'an easy to understand and remember; then is there anyone who will remember. (Surah Al-Qamar: 17)

This ayah should be an encouragement for us, we do not have to think that it is impossible to study it, memorize it. There have been people who become determined to study The Qur'an at the age of 70 years, and completed the memorization at the age of 80.

InshAllah, Let us all take the maximum benefit from The Perfect Speech of Allah that He has blessed us with, and continue to strive to learn more and more so that we can become better Muslims. Let the Noble Qur'an not be like the books a donkey carries on its back. A donkey has no use for books, as it cannot understand it. We all possess this most important Qur'an, let's not be like the donkey. This is the parable that Allah Azza Wajal mentions in the Qur'an:

مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ حُمِّلُواْ التَّوْرَاةَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَحْمِلُوهَا كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَاراً بِئْسَ مَثَلُ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُواْ بِـَايَـتِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ لاَ يَهْدِى الْقَوْمَ الظَّـلِمِينَ

The likeness of those who were entrusted with the Tawrah, but did not carry it, is as the likeness of a donkey which carries huge burdens of books. How bad is the example of people who deny the Ayat of Allah. And Allah does not guide the people who are wrongdoers. (Surah Al-Jumu'ah: 5)

And Allah knows best.

To read next part, click here

What Allah SWT does not love

2009-04-15T00:54:00.000-07:00

To read the previous part, click here.

All praise is due to Allah, Rabb-ul-'Aalameen. I testify that there is no Deity worthy of worship except Allah, and Muhammed is the Messenger of Allah. While writing this, inshAllah I will remember that this is for me to reflect upon first, and then all those who will read this. And I hope and pray that we will keep striving to stay away from the likes of these categories.

Allah does not love......

1. Al-Kaafiroon (disbelievers): Allah says in the Qur'an:

قُلْ أَطِيعُواْ اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْكَـفِرِينَ

Say: "Obey Allah and the Messenger.'' But if they turn away, then Allah does not like the disbelievers. [Surah Aal Imran:32]

Allah SWT commands us to obey Him and His Messenger, and not doing so, by turning away from the path of Rasoolullah who is the most beloved to Allah, is a way that constitutes kufr(disbelief). Indeed, Allah does not like whoever does this, even if he claims that he loves Allah and seeks a means of approach to Him, unless and until, he follows the unlettered Prophet, the Final Messenger from Allah.

2. Al-Mu'tadoon (transgressors): Allah says:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ

Verily, Allah does not like the transgressors. [Surah Al-Maa'idah: 87]

The transgressors are ones who make unlawful what Allah has made lawful, and lawful what Allah has made unlawful. For example, a Muslim should not abandon his livelihood, his family, his wealth etc, which Allah has made halal or him. Islam teaches us to simply have and enjoy these things in the duniya, in a particular code of law, that if applied sincerely, one will be rewarded. We do not have think that Dheen and Duniya are separate, both are in fact one, just like a bottle and its cap. If the bottle is the duniya, then the cap(dheen) is a means of security for the duniya. A Muslim can love The Duniya as long as he does not risk his success in his aakhirah. Keeping this mind, a Muslim should not transgress beyond what has been halal for him, and enter the zone of haram, as this will lead to decrease in his status in the Hereafter.

3. Adh-Dhaalimoon (oppressors, wrong-doers). Allah SWT says:

وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَاتِ فَيُوَفِّيهِمْ أُجُورَهُمْ وَاللَّهُ لاَ يُحِبُّ الظَّـلِمِينَ

And as for those who believe and do righteous good deeds, Allah will pay them their reward in full. And Allah does not like the wrongdoers. [Surah Aal Imran: 57]

Allah SWT talks about the wrong-doers and oppressors in many ayaat. They will face a severe torment on the day of Resurrection, and none can avail them on that Day. May Allah exclude us from among the dhaalimoon. The Dhaalimoon(oppressors) are the ones who initiate the act of wrongful action. Prophet Sallalahu alaihiwassalam said: When two persons indulge in abusing each other, the one who initiated the wrongful action is to blame, unless the one who was wronged oversteps the mark in retaliation. (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

4. Al-Mufsidoon. Allah SWT warns us:

وَابْتَغِ فِيمَآ ءَاتَاكَ اللَّهُ الدَّارَ الاٌّخِرَةَ وَلاَ تَنسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَأَحْسِن كَمَآ أَحْسَنَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ وَلاَ تَبْغِ الْفَسَادَ فِى الاٌّرْضِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْمُفْسِدِينَ

"But seek, with that which Allah has bestowed on you, the home of the Hereafter, and forget not your portion of lawful enjoyment in this world; and be generous as Allah has been generous to you, and seek not mischief in the land. Verily, Allah likes not the Mufsidoon(mischief-makers, corrupts, tyrants, oppressors, one who commits great crimes and sins).'' [Surah Al-Qasa: 77]

Allah has rights over us, and we also have rights over ourselves. Allah has blessed with infinite bounties, and is The Most Generous, we need to be generous in doing goodness to our society, community, nation and the world. Our aim should be to seek The Hereafter, and not to cause mischief in this world. This ayah may sound to us like its addressing only the tyrants and oppressors in this world, like our political leaders etc. But let's apply it to us, in our relations with our family, friends and relatives. Sometimes, even saying something against our brother in Islam can cause a lot of mischief.

5. Al-Khaa'inoon (treacherous). Allah says:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يُحِبُّ الخَـئِنِينَ

Certainly Allah likes not the treacherous. [Surah Al-Anfaal: 58]

6. Al-Mustakbiroon (proud). Allah says:

إِلَـهُكُمْ إِلهٌ وَحِدٌ فَالَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالاٌّخِرَةِ قُلُوبُهُم مُّنكِرَةٌ وَهُم مُّسْتَكْبِرُونَ - لاَ جَرَمَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا يُسِرُّونَ وَمَا يُعْلِنُونَ إِنَّهُ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْمُسْتَكْبِرِينَ

Your god is one God. But for those who believe not in the Hereafter, their hearts are in denial, and they are proud. Certainly, Allah knows what they conceal and what they reveal. Truly, He does not like the proud. [Surah An-Nahl: 22-23]

The Proud are those who feel too proud to worship Allah alone, and their hearts reject the idea of singling Him out. [taken from Tafseer Ibn Kathir]

Pride and arrogance is the first crime/sin committed, and it was by Iblees (shaytan). He knew the truth that Allah is The One, The Unique, The Only Lord worthy of worship, and yet, he chose to deny and reject and obey, out of pride; pride that he was created from a more superior matter than clay. He forgot that he was so in fact, "created", and thus, he was required to obey and submit to His Lord, The Creator. He forgot due to his pride and arrogance. And this is what will happen if one considers himself self-sufficient. We always have to remember that it is only because of The Blessings and Mercy of Our Lord that we are here, and so, to please Him, is our only purpose. InshAllah, let's fight the pride in us that makes us give more importance to the desires of our Nafs, and let's humble ourselves in front of Allah, and submit to him completely. Let's become "Slaves of Allah", and hence, become the "Masters of this Duniya". (If we become masters of the duniya, then we will control our duniya, our life, not the other way around, where we fall into the traps and mirages of this duniya, hence becoming "slaves to duniya")

7. Al-Mukhtaal and Al-Fakhoor: Allah SWT says:

وَلاَ تَمْشِ فِى الاٌّرْضِ مَرَحاً إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍ فَخُورٍ

"And turn not your face away from men with pride, nor walk in insolence through the earth. Verily, Allah likes not any arrogant boaster". [Surah Luqmaan: 18]

The arrogant boaster loves himself, and feels he is better than the others. He will look down upon others with pride and arrogance. The way he walks will also reflect his pride. The lessons that we can take from this ayah are numerous. We should humble ourselves by remembering that all mankind is from the same father and mother, Adam and Hawwa(Eve) Alaihummassalam. Wealth, status, family name or power will not make anyone in a higher position than the rest. Only our humble deeds that are for the sake of Allah alone can make our status higher. And we do not know who has a high position in the eyes of Our Lord Azza Wajal. Therefore, we cannot judge, or look down upon anyone. We should never deal with our house maids or other people who do lowly jobs (but without whom we wouldn't have comfortable lives), in an arrogant way. We should be cheerful to everyone, and smile genuinely to everyone. Our humility should be reflected in the way we walk and the way we dress.

______________________________________________________

Let us "really" love Allah. As Allah says:

قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِى يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

Say (O Muhammad to mankind): "If you (really) love Allah, then follow me (i.e. Muhammad), Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.'' [Surah Aal Imran: 31]

May Allah SWT always keep us on the path of those whom He is pleased with, and not on the path of those whom He does not like, aameen...

And Allah knows best.

Respecting and honoring the scholars

2009-04-14T19:28:00.001-07:00

'Abadah ibn As-samit narrated, RasulAllah salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam said, "He who does not respect our elders, and is not merciful with our children, and does not honor our scholars is not one of my Ummah."

(Ahmad; at-Tabaraani; al-Haakim)

SubhanAllah...especially the last line of the hadeeth...

Very often, people like to point out the flaws and weaknesses of the scholars rather than take good lessons from them. Allah SWT and Rasoolullah has given such a high status for the one who is learned and scholarly in regards to Our Dheen. And we, the students of knowledge or the laymen try to act as their judges, as though we have achieved more than them, and criticise them. SubhanAllah, this is such a grave mistake. We should always respect and honor our scholars. (This goes for anyone who is learning the Dheen, and giving Da'wah, we should never look down upon them.) They are the ones who are actually obeying the teaching of Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam of passing on and spreading of knowledge. In his Khutbah- last sermon during his Hajj, he said, "Listen to what I am saying very carefully, and take these words to those who could not be present here today". Allah SWT will preserve the Sunnah of Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam, and it is through our scholars that the religion is preserved.

Arise and Act- Surah Al-Muddatir: 1-7

2009-04-14T14:51:00.000-07:00

In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

يأَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ - قُمْ فَأَنذِرْ - وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ - وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ - وَالرُّجْزَ فَاهْجُرْ - وَلاَ تَمْنُن تَسْتَكْثِرُ - وَلِرَبِّكَ فَاصْبِرْ

1. O you enveloped in garments!
2. Arise and warn!
3. And magnify your Lord!
4. And purify your garments!
5. And keep away from Ar-Rujz (idols)!
6. And give not a thing in order to have more.
7. And be patient for the sake of your Lord!
[Surah Al-Muddathir: 1-7]

After the first Revelation, (Surah Al-Alaq: 1-5) in the cave of Hira through Jibreel Alaihissalam, Prophet Muhammed Sallallahu alihiwassalam fled in fear to his house and asked to be wrapped up. Khadeejah Radhiyallahu anha, his wife wraps him up, and consoles him and then later on, takes him to Waraqa Ibn Nawfel (her cousin), who was a Christian monk who was well-versed in The Gospels. Waraqa after hearing what had happened to Muhammed Sallallahu alihiwassalam said, "This is the same one who keeps the secrets (angel Gabriel) whom Allah had sent to Moses. I wish I were young and could live up to the time when your people would turn you out." Allah's Apostle asked, "Will they drive me out?" Waraqa replied in the affirmative and said, "Anyone (man) who came with something similar to what you have brought was treated with hostility; and if I should remain alive till the day when you will be turned out then I would support you strongly." But after a few days Waraqa died and the Divine Inspiration was also paused for a while.

Then, as narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah Al-Ansari while talking about the period of pause in revelation reporting the speech of the Prophet "While I was walking, all of a sudden I heard a voice from the sky. I looked up and saw the same angel who had visited me at the cave of Hira' sitting on a chair between the sky and the earth. I got afraid of him and came back home and said, 'Wrap me (in blankets).' And then Allah revealed the following Holy Verses (of Quran):
'O you (i.e. Muhammad)! wrapped up in garments!' Arise and warn (the people against Allah's Punishment),... up to 'and desert the idols.' (Surah Al-Muddathir: 1-5) After this the revelation started coming strongly, frequently and regularly." [Sahih Al-Bukhari, Muslim]

Thus, with this Revelation, Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam attained Messenger-ship just as he had attained Prophethood with the first revealation. And this being the Revelation after the first, shows the importance of the command of Allah mentioned in these ayahs.

Lessons:

- Even Allah Azza Wajal commanded this to His Nabi, it is applied and implied to us also, as we are the followers of Muhammed Sallallahu alihiwassalam, and his Ummah(nation).

- We should arise from our comfort lounge where we laze around and think not beyond the life of this world- and warn! (doing da'wah to ourselves and to others)

- And magnify your Lord!- meaning remembrance of Allah, and Glorifying Him The Almighty. We should always remember that it is because of Allah, that we are in this Duniya, enjoying all the bounties that Allah has provided us with. And therefore, we cannot live according to our desires, unless our desire is to please Allah SWT, by obeying His commands and staying away from what He has prohibited for us.

- And purify your garments!- Ibn Abbas said: "This means, do not let your garments that you wear be from earnings that are unlawful.'' Ibn Zayd said, "The idolaters would not clean themselves, so Allah commanded him to clean himself and his garments.'' Sa`id bin Jubayr said, "This means purify your heart and your intentions.'' Hasan Al-Basri said: "And beautify your character.''

- We should not wish for more in return, when we give something, except the Pleasure of Allah SWT. تَمْنُن- in the language of the Arabs means to become weak. So if we wish for more in return, it is a sign of weakness.

-We should be patient for the Sake of Allah, if harmed by words or physically when we give da'wah.

And Allah knows best.

Abu Bakr's interpretation of dream

2009-04-10T01:23:00.000-07:00

Narrated Abu Hurayrah Radhiyallahu anh:
A man came to the Prophet Sallallahualihiwassalam and said: I saw (in my dream) a piece of cloud from which ghee and honey were dropping. I saw the people spreading their hands. Some of them took much and some a little. I also saw a rope hanging from Heaven to Earth. I saw, Apostle of Allah, that you caught hold of it and ascended by it. Then another man caught hold of it and ascended it. Then another man caught hold of it and ascended it. Then another man caught hold of it, but it broke, and then it was joined and he ascended it.
Abu Bakr said: May my parents be sacrificed for you, if you allow, I shall interpret it.
He said: Interpret it. He said: The piece of cloud is the cloud of Islam; the ghee and honey that were dropping from it are the Qur'an, which contains softness and sweetness. Those who received much or little of it are those who learn much or little of the Qur'an. The rope hanging from Heaven to Earth is the truth which you are following. You catch hold of it and then Allah will raise you to Him. Then another man will catch hold of it and ascend it, Then another man will catch hold of it and it will break. But it will be joined and he will ascend it. Tell me. Apostle of Allah, whether I am right or wrong.
He said: You are partly right and partly wrong. He said: I adjure you by Allah, you should tell me where I am wrong.
The Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam said: Do not take an oath.

(Sunan Abi Dawood)

Lessons:

- Our Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam and Abu Bakr Radhiyallahu anh were so close that the sahabi felt free to make the dream interpretation. This shows that Rasoolullah did not make his companions fear him like how in today's time, people fear people who are in high positions. The teacher-student relationship is amazing.

- Abu Bakr As-Siddeeque's respect for the Prophet (seeking permission)- "if you allow, I shall interpret it". This is also an etiquette that we should have when asking doubts to our Sheikh, or if we want to make a comment.

- The reality of the dream. Allah will guide us more and raise our level if we take hold of the rope of the truth, and love Qur'an, and embrace its sweetness. Even if we err in between, Allah will give us a chance to ascend again, through seeking repentance.

- We should not take oaths such as "may my parents be sacrificed for you" etc. This was a custom that was present among the Arabs during the period of Jahiliyyah(ignorance).

Surah Al-Layl- Sadaqah only to please The Lord Almighty

2009-04-10T00:58:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

وَسَيُجَنَّبُهَا الاٌّتْقَى - الَّذِى يُؤْتِى مَالَهُ يَتَزَكَّى - وَمَا لاًّحَدٍ عِندَهُ مِن نِّعْمَةٍ تُجْزَى - إِلاَّ ابْتِغَآءَ وَجْهِ رَبِّهِ الاٌّعْلَى - وَلَسَوْفَ يَرْضَى

17. And those with Taqwa will be far removed from it.
18. He who gives of his wealth for self-purification.
19. And who has (in mind) no favor from anyone to be paid back.
20. Except to seek the Face of his Lord, the Most High.
21. He, surely, will be pleased.
[Surah Al-Layl]

Lessons:

-When we give charity, it purifies our wealth and ourselves and whatever Allah has bestowed upon us of religion and worldly things. That is a big blessing.

-When we help someone by giving charity, it should be only to please Allah SWT, this is a sign of Taqwa. We should not wish for a return from that person.

-Sometimes, when we give sadaqah or gifts to someone, and the, he/she treats us badly or they don't show that they are thankful to us, we feel bad. "I did this for him/her, and still, this is how I am treated in return"- this thought crosses our mind. But if we think that what we did is only to seek the face of Our Lord, we will feel content and unaffected even if the person we helped treats us badly. If we expect them to feel grateful to us, how much should we be grateful to Our Lord?! And isn't it us who should be grateful to Allah for blessing us with that wealth so that we can spend in charity?!

-The Mufassireen say that these ayah were revealed about the virtues of Abu Bakr As-Siddeeque Radhiyallahu anh. He used spent all his wealth in the cause of Islam and to please Allah Azza Wajal. He used to free slaves who were physically weak and had become feeble due to torture from their disbelieving masters, in Makkah. People would tell him to free slaves and help those who could benefit him later on, and he would not like that. Whenever he helped anyone, he would never consider it a debt or that the person he had helped him, owed him back.

Wa Allahu A'lam.

Contentment- Surah Ta Ha: 131

2009-04-09T02:49:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

وَلاَ تَمُدَّنَّ عَيْنَيْكَ إِلَى مَا مَتَّعْنَا بِهِ أَزْوَجاً مِّنْهُمْ زَهْرَةَ الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ وَرِزْقُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى

And strain not your eyes in longing for the things We have given for enjoyment to various groups of them, the splendor of the life of this world, that We may test them thereby. But the provision (good reward in the Hereafter) of your Lord is better and more lasting. (Surah Ta Ha: 131)

Lessons:

- Be content with what we have. Continue to thank Allah, Glorify Him and be patient always.

- Splendour and luxury of this world is short-lived. Wish more for the wealth and splendour of the Hereafter, and thus, work towards it.

- Wealth is a test from Allah SWT. Use it wisely to please Him.

- Allah has given us something that is better than wealth and luxury. And that is guidance of the Qur'an : the biggest wealth and treasure of the believer. So seek it.

And Allah knows best.

Be good to people even if they do not reciprocate the same

2009-04-09T02:32:00.000-07:00

Narrated by Hudhayfah Radhiyalahu anh:
Allah's Messenger Sallallahu alihiwassalam said, "Do not be people without minds of your own, saying that if others treat you well you will treat them well and that if they do wrong you will do wrong; but accustom yourselves to do good if people do good and not to do wrong if they do evil.

(Tirmidhi)

SubhanAllah, this is exactly how we think.

Lessons:

- We should be good to others and treat them well, regardless of how they treat us. Because, our intention in being good is to please Allah SWT. We often complain that so-and-so treated us bad, and so we do the same to them. What is the difference between us and them then?

- "They didn't visit me when I was ill", so "I won't visit them now"- Check your intentions then.

- Forgive, forget and do good to the one who hurts you: these are the three levels of forbearance. As Allah SWT says in the Qur'an:

وَالْكَـظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ وَالْعَـفِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

"(those)Who repress anger, and who pardon men; verily, Allah loves the Muhsinin (the good-doers)." [Surah Aal Imran: 134]

And Allah knows best.

Mercy at home= positive environment= good tarbiyah

2009-04-09T00:26:00.000-07:00

Our Lord is The Most Merciful, and Our Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam was the most merciful person to his people, especially to his family. And so this is the accepted Sunnah from each one of us, as Muslims. Mercy is the essence of Islam. We should be Merciful and kind to our children. Just as Charity starts at home, so does Mercy. What is the point when we are kind, loving and show compassion to people outside home, and we do not make it a policy at home upon which many other family values depend upon!

A'isha Radhiyallahu anha reported that Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam said: Allah is kind and gentle. He loves kindness in all affairs. (Bukhari, Muslim and many others)

She also narrated: Kindness is not found in anything, but it add beauty to it, and if it is withdrawn from anything, it defects it. (Albaani)

It was narrated that Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam said: Alah will not have mercy on one who does not have mercy on others". (Muslim)

We should be merciful not only to our kids, the husband and wife should also show Mercy to each other from which the children can reflect upon. They should not detect a least bit of harshness in their parents' relationship.

The popular hadeeth of Our Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam: The best among you is the one who is best with his family, and among you, I am the best to my family. (Albaani).

This does not mean that we cannot be firm with them. Parents can maintain firmness and mercy while implementing "tarbiyah" (Islamic nurturing) with their kids. The husband and wife should do shu'raa (consultation with each other) to decide what is best for the children, and not fight about it in front of them. They should help each other in the running of the home. The tarbiyah of the kids, the house chores etc. should be shared between both the parents. All these things reflect Mercy, and helps in being content at the end of the day. It lessens the stress that the mother would have to go through alone. At the same time, the wife (mother) shouldn't take advantage of this and leave everything to her husband.

As parents, we cannot rely on the fact that we are loving them through our actions, and so the kids will know that we love them. There should be verbal and physical affection and love towards them. Hug them, pamper them, pat them, kiss them, greet them lovingly with "Assalamu Alaikum" even if they are no more babies or toddlers. We should be nice to them, the way we are to the other kids who we meet once in a while. Our own kids are more deserving of that kind of affection.

A parent should be a friend, a playmate, an advisor, a comforter, a child, a sibling, a teacher etc. We should not feel shy or reluctant to put ourselves in these shoes. Our children should always feel comfortable to be with us, and disclose their feelings to us. When kids come and tell us they did something wrong, we should appreciate them for sharing it with us, before we reprimand them, scold or advise them. This will encourage honesty. We should always remember that we were also in their places not long ago. If we believe that as our parents, we can control them without Mercy, then we are wrong. All human beings, adults or kids are prone to making mistakes once in a while. Who shouts at us when we make mistakes? Who is there to make a big fuss when we break a cup or a glass of milk spills from our hands? No child will do these things on purpose. We should just warn them to be careful about such accidents, and get them to help in cleaning up after a mess.

Jaabir Ibn Abdullah Radhiyallahu anh narrated that he heard the Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam as saying: The one who is deprived of leniency is deprived of all good". (Muslim)

Ibn Abbas Radhiyallahu anh reported as having The Prophet say to Ashaj Abdul Qais: You possess two qualities that Alah loves. These are forbearance and leniency. (Muslim)

When family talk is going on, make each member of the family, from the eldest to the youngest, feel important. Give a chance to everyone to have a say. Address them with beautiful names always. This is a way to show respect even to one's own kids, and hence, they will learn to be respectful to us, in return inshAllah. The Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalm, even when he gave advices, would address them lovingly. When Jaabir Radhiyallahu anh was young and Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalm was teaching him the proper manners of eating, he said, "Ya bunayy (oh my dear son), mention Allah's name, eat with your right hand and eat from the closest part of the dish to you". And this is also like how Luqman Al-Hakeem advised his son, by using the phrase "Ya bunayy" (Surah Luqmaan: 13)

It is natural to get angry, after all, we are human and have emotions, and anger is an emotion that is a weapon for shaytan. Our Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalm gave us tips on how to control anger.

Narrated by Abu Dharr Radhiyallahu anh: Allah's Messenger said, "When one of you becomes angry while standing he should sit down. If the anger leaves him, well and good; otherwise he should lie down." (Ahmed, Tirmidhi) There are other remedies too that Rasoolullah taught us: drink water, perform Wudu(ablution) and most importantly, seek refuge with Allah from the Shaytan (A'oodhu billahi mina shaytani rajeem).

With the infinite sources of stress factors today, sometimes we tend to ignore the feelings of our little ones with the little hearts. We become so oblivious to their emotions, and this in turn, causes a drift between us and them. In order to avoid that, the mother who stays home to take care of her kids, should give herself "Time-out"s and just relax herself with the remembrance of Allah (Tasbeeh, listening to Qur'an etc). The mother should take care of her health and be given time to take care of herself. She should not obsess herself with the task of feeding her children alone, and eating herself only after her kids eat, instead she should also eat nutritious food and take plenty of fluids. We should try to be in a state of wudu at all times, as wudu helps to relax our nerves. The father who goes out to work (or even mothers) should relax himself before entering his house. He might have had a stressful day, but that is not a justification in behaving angrily and clumsily with his children. The kids wait all day to meet their parents with high expectations. So once the father parks his car, he should relax by saying some tasbeeh, listening to Qur'an, drinking some water and then entering his home with a smile and hugs and kisses to give his children.

All this being said and reflected upon, it is still difficult at times to maintain our cool and for this, I came up with a "Mercy Chart". Mark on it each time you get angry. One can design his/her own chart according to one's weaknesses. InshAllah, this will help you. It helped me, and nowadays, I do not even use it.

May Allah SWT guide us to give the best Islamic environment possible and develop a good atmosphere at home inshAllah. And I pray that Allah blesses my parents and show them mercy always, and guide them always. Alhamdulillah, I am what I am today because of them. Shukr Allah.....

Etiquette of Seeking permission (Surah An-Nur: 27,28)

2009-04-08T02:58:00.000-07:00

In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لاَ تَدْخُلُواْ بُيُوتاً غَيْرَ بُيُوتِكُمْ حَتَّى تَسْتَأْنِسُواْ وَتُسَلِّمُواْ عَلَى أَهْلِهَا ذَلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ - فَإِن لَّمْ تَجِدُواْ فِيهَآ أَحَداً فَلاَ تَدْخُلُوهَا حَتَّى يُؤْذَنَ لَكُمُ وَإِن قِيلَ لَكُمْ ارْجِعُواْ فَارْجِعُواْ هُوَ أَزْكَى لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ عَلِيمٌ

27. O you who believe! Enter not houses other than your own, until you have asked permission and greeted those in them; that is better for you, in order that you may remember.

28. And if you find no one therein, still enter not until permission has been given. And if you are asked to go back, go back, for it is purer for you. And Allah is All-Knower of what you do.

[Surah An-Nur]

Lessons:

-Never barge into any one's house, be it our your best friend, next door neighbor or very close relatives.

- We can enter the homes of your Muslim brother/sister only with their permission. And when we do so, greet them with "Assalamu Alaikum".

-If the people in the house don't give us permission, don't hold grudges against them. They have the right to say "no". And we should remember that the people in the house are entitled to their privacy, so if they have to say "no", they might have a reason to do so.

- Respect their privacy: just because we are granted permission, doesn't mean we can wander all around in their house. (or look around)

- The Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam said: “if any one of you seeks permission to enter a house three times and he is not given permission to enter, he should go back.” (Al-Bukhaari and Muslim).

And Allah knows best.

Be careful "little" tongues and hands, and Trustworthiness

2009-04-08T02:35:00.000-07:00

Narrated byAbu Hurayrah Radhiyallahu anh: Allah's Messenger Sallallahu alihiwassalam said: A Muslim is one from whose tongue and hand the Muslims are safe from, and a believer is one in whom people place their trust in regard to their life and wealth.

(Recorded by Tirmidhi and Nasa'i)

Lessons:

- Be careful and cautious of what you speak. Be empathetic to the feelings of others. Our tongue, even though boneless, can cause a lot of fitnah, hurt feelings etc. to others. Speak less, if you fear that you will say something wrong and hurtful. Always analyse what is at the tip of your tongue. This rule is inclusive of all the people you deal with, be it kids, spouse, parents, friends, neighbors, strangers etc. We should not take even the closest of people for granted, as this sometimes causes us to hurt others.

- We should keep a check on our actions too, when dealing with people.

- One of The Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam's best qualities was trustworthiness. We should keep our promises, speak the truth, protect the dignity of our brothers and sisters. If someone places a trust in us, regarding any matter, especially with their wealth, we should live up to their expectations.

- All the above is possible if we inculcate the virtue of being cautious when we are about to do or say something, and if think before we leap, inshAllah.

And Allah knows best.

What Allah SWT loves and what He does not

2009-04-07T00:31:00.000-07:00

Our purpose and goal in this life should be please Allah SWT, and to earn His love, and avoid His wrath. InshAllah our goal should be to keep striving to become among those whom Allah loves, and to have the characteristics of the one He Azza Wajal loves. And we should avoid all the characteristics of the ones that Allah detests, dislikes or hates. And Alhamdulillah, Qur'an gives us endless guidance to nourish this purpose.

Allah loves:

1. Al-Muhsinoon (the good doers). Allah SWT says:

وَأَنفِقُواْ فِى سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَلاَ تُلْقُواْ بِأَيْدِيكُمْ إِلَى التَّهْلُكَةِ وَأَحْسِنُواْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

And spend in the cause of Allah and do not throw yourselves into destruction, and do good. Truly, Allah loves Al-Muhsinin (those who do good). [Surah Al-Baqara: 195)

The word "Muhsin" comes from the word "Ihsaaan" (Superlative of Hassan) which means Excellence in religion, in faith etc. Our Prophet Sallallahyu alihiwassalam was the best Muhsin, followed by the righteous Sahabah Radhiyallahu anhum. For us to attain this excellence in religion, in ibadah, faith, in character etc, we have to work hard with perseverance and be "Isthiqaama" (Steadfast). We have to set high goals like having the best men and women as our role models (The Prophet, Sahabahs and the rightly guided scholars).

2. At-Tawwaaboon and Al-Mutatahhiroon. Allah says:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَبِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ

Truly, Allah loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves. [Surah Al-Baqara: 222]

We should keep doing "Tawbah" to Allah SWT, even if we repeat the same sins again. With repentance, you feel closer to Allah each time, and at one point, inshAllah we will get rid of the act of sinning. That does not mean that one can feel free to keep sinning as long as he repents later. True repentance is when we seek forgiveness out of fear of the Hell-fire, and abstain ourselves from the act again. Allah loves the one who seeks repentance as the one who does it is admitting with his heart that Allah is The Most Merciful One. He is pleading to His Lord, The King of all that He has created.

Seeking repentance also purifies oneself. And Allah loves those who purify themselves. Purification is being free from physical impurities (impurities that invalidate Ibadah- Najas), spiritual impurities like diseases of heart and soul like greed, lack of trust in Allah SWT, envy, hatred for your brother, arrogance etc.

The physical purification is the two ritual purification: Wudu' (ablution) and Ghusl (ritual bath). Our clothes and surroundings like the place we perform Salah, our bed etc should be free from ritual impurities. Spending in the way of Allah, in charity (both obligatory Zakah and Sadaqah) purifies our wealth and our hearts and souls, and Allah puts more Blessings in it, for us. Doing good deeds and constant dhikr (remembrance of Allah) also purifies us spiritually.

3. Al-Muttaqoon (the pious). Allah says:

بَلَى مَنْ أَوْفَى بِعَهْدِهِ وَاتَّقَى فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَّقِينَ

Yes, whoever fulfills his pledge and fears Allah much; verily, then Allah loves the Muttaqin (the pious). [Surah Aal Imran: 76]

The command of Allah SWT "Ittaqaa" means to fear Allah and thus obey Him, and adhere to the teachings of Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam, fearing the Hereafter. Whoever avoids Allah's prohibitions, obeys Him and adheres to the Shari`ah that He sent with His Final Messenger and the master of all mankind, is the Muttaq, whom Allah loves. And Allah has prepared Paradise for The Muttaqoon. Oh Allah, Increase us in Taqwa, and make us among us the Muttaqeen!

4. As-Sabiroon (the patient ones). Allah SWT says:

وَكَأَيِّن مِّن نَّبِىٍّ قَاتَلَ مَعَهُ رِبِّيُّونَ كَثِيرٌ فَمَا وَهَنُواْ لِمَآ أَصَابَهُمْ فِى سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَمَا ضَعُفُواْ وَمَا اسْتَكَانُواْ وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الصَّـبِرِينَ

And many a Prophet fought and along with him many thousands(patient, pious scholars). But they never lost heart for that which befall them in Allah's way, nor did nor they weaken nor degrade themselves. And Allah loves the patient. [Surah Aal Imran: 146]

Patience is a very important virtue that we seriously need to work on. All the Prophets possessed this gem of a virtue, and they were able to succeed in every trial and test they had to face in this world. We should remember that our lives can never be as challenging as theirs, and if they were able to be patient, so can we. Whenever we have difficult times, we should find solace and comfort in becoming closer to Allah SWT, and seeking forgiveness for our sins. Allah expiates our sins when we have difficult times and if we be patient with it.

We should never lose heart, feel that Allah is humiliating us, revert to misguidance from guidance at times of trials. Our Emaan should not weaken, instead become strong, and believe that the trials are a blessing in disguise. Allah SWT tests us with good things and difficult times.

5. Al-Mutawakkiloon (the ones who put their trust in Allah). Allah Azza Wajal says:

فَإِذَا عَزَمْتَ فَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَوَكِّلِينَ

Then when you have taken a decision, put your trust in Allah, certainly, Allah loves those who put their trust (in Him). [Surah Aal Imran: 159]

The believer puts his complete trust in Allah Alone. Allah facilitates what is best for us. So, we take a decision that will not cause displeasure of Allah, and then we "tawakkul" (put trust) unto Him Azza Wajal. If Allah helps us, nothing can overcome that, and all victory is except from Allah: this is the attitude of a believer. Wouldn't you love people to trust you, especially your loved ones like spouse, kids, parents etc? So what about the One who deserves all our trust, The One who created us, provided for us, The Sustainer, the One who takes care of all our affairs, and has control over all matters!

6. Al-Muqsitoon (those who act justly). Allah says:

وَإِنْ حَكَمْتَ فَاحْكُم بَيْنَهُم بِالْقِسْطِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ

And if you judge, judge with justice between them. Verily, Allah loves those who act justly. [Surah Al-Maa'idah: 42]

Allah SWT is The Most Just, and He loves us also to be just. When we judge, we should do so by what Allah has revealed in The Qur'an. We should not decide according to our love for the person etc. Even if we have to be against ourselves or our loved ones, justice should prevail. In Islam, Justice is the foundation of Sharia'h (Islamic Law). We have our code of law (the sharia'h in Islam) for the preservation of human rights, and so we should practise the foundation on which it is built on.

7. Those who fight in the cause of Allah, in rows as one solid structure (the Straight Line): this is as Allah SWT says:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الَّذِينَ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِهِ صَفًّا كَأَنَّهُم بُنيَانٌ مَّرْصُوصٌ

Verily, Allah loves those who fight in His cause in rows as if they were a solid structure (building firm and compact). [Surah As-Saff: 4]

We should stick to each other, as Muslim brothers and sisters in Islam with firmness and unified, to fight to defend Islam, and work for Islam, and to do da'wah. Our Ummah should be like one body, undivided by our differences. We should not be divided by nationalities, creed, race, color, madhahibs(sects) etc. Allah loves those who fight in His cause, unified.

To read "what Allah does not love", click here

Swearing

2009-04-07T00:19:00.000-07:00

Narrated Abu Hurayrah Radhiyallahu anh:
The Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam said: Do not swear by your fathers, or by your mothers, or by rivals to Allah; and swear by Allah only, and swear by Allah only when you are speaking the truth.

(Sunan Abi Dawood)

I remember when I was in school, and I did not know about this then, and I used to say, "Mother promise" etc, hearing my peers say the same. Only Allah has the right to swear by His creations, like وَالضُّحَى, وَالتِّينِ وَالزَّيْتُونِ , وَالْعَصْرِ etc. We should swear only by Allah Azza Wajal.

Obedience to Allah and His Messenger

2009-04-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

وَأَطِيعُواْ اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ - وَسَارِعُواْ إِلَى مَغْفِرَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمَـوَتُ وَالاٌّرْضُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

132. And obey Allah and the Messenger that you may obtain mercy.
133. And march forth in the way (which leads to) forgiveness from your Lord, and for Paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the Muttaqin (the pious).
(Surah Aal Imran: 132-133)

Lesson:
-Let's not compromise on Allah SWT's Mercy by not being obedient to His commands.

Types of hearts

2009-04-06T01:11:00.001-07:00

Imam Ahmad recorded Abu Sa`id saying that the Messenger of Allah Sallallahu alihiwassalam said: The hearts are four (types): polished as shiny as the radiating lamp, a sealed heart with a knot tied around its seal, a heart that is turned upside down and a wrapped heart. As for the polished heart, it is the heart of the believer and the lamp is the light of faith. The sealed heart is the heart of the disbeliever. The heart that is turned upside down is the heart of the pure hypocrite, because he had knowledge but denied it. As for the wrapped heart, it is a heart that contains belief and hypocrisy. The example of faith in this heart, is the example of the herb that is sustained by pure water. The example of hypocrisy in it, is the example of an ulcer that thrives on puss and blood. Whichever of the two substances has the upper hand, it will have the upper hand on that heart.

SubhanAllah, I have nothing to add to this. This hadeeth is so clear even though very eloquent and filled with parables. InshAllah we should try to be the possessor of the heart that is polished as shiny as the radiating lamp. And we should not allow ulcer to grow in us. Wouldn't all of us love to STAY HEALTHY AND DISEASE-FREE?!

A hypocrite will be misguided (Surah Al-Baqara: 17, 18)

2009-04-06T01:10:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

مَثَلُهُمْ كَمَثَلِ الَّذِى اسْتَوْقَدَ نَاراً فَلَمَّآ أَضَاءَتْ مَا حَوْلَهُ ذَهَبَ اللَّهُ بِنُورِهِمْ وَتَرَكَهُمْ فِي ظُلُمَـتٍ لاَّ يُبْصِرُونَ - صُمٌّ بُكْمٌ عُمْىٌ فَهُمْ لاَ يَرْجِعُونَ

17. Their likeness is as the likeness of one who kindled a fire; then, when it illuminated all around him, Allah removed their light and left them in darkness. (So) they could not see.

18. They are deaf, dumb, and blind, so they return not (to the right path).

[Surah Al-Baqara: 17-18]

Lessons:

- This ayah is talking about the hypocrites. When Allah talks about hypocrites or disbelievers, He Azza Wajal makes us aware of the characteristics so that we can be cautious as not to have those qualities and thus, fall into that brand. This is very important, as what usually happens is, when we read such ayahs, we just assume that this is for the hypocrites and so that we can detect hypocrites amongst us (which is also true), we take it lightly since we feel it is not for the believers.

- A hypocrite, when guidance is brought to him, he first believes, and then he disbelieves. It is like when a fire is lit, there is illumination for him, he is able to see, hear and speak. He feels safe as he benefits from this fire. And then when he prefers misguidance to the guidance and deviation to righteousness, Allah takes away the fire and light, and then he is left in darkness, and he is lost.And he wanders aimlessly, not knowing where to go, what to do. And he will not be able to return to the right path.

And Allah knows best.

Surah Al-Anbiya: 1-2 (The Hour is at hand but we are heedless)

2009-04-05T00:59:00.000-07:00

In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

اقْتَرَبَ لِلنَّاسِ حِسَـبُهُمْ وَهُمْ فِى غَفْلَةٍ مُّعْرِضُونَ - مَا يَأْتِيهِمْ مِّن ذِكْرٍ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ مُّحْدَثٍ إِلاَّ اسْتَمَعُوهُ وَهُمْ يَلْعَبُونَ

1. Draws near(closer and closer) for mankind their reckoning, while they turn away in heedlessness.

2. Comes not unto them an admonition from their Lord as a recent revelation but they listen to it while they play.

This is a warning from Allah SWT of the approach of the Hour, and that people are heedless of it, that is, we are not really preparing for it. Allah warns us of what one will have to face on the Day of Reckoning, in many places in the Qur'an. But we take it lightly. We are blinded by the temporary pleasures of this world, and almost forget to think about death and Hereafter.

We should all hasten to come back to the right track, on the Sirathul Musthaqueem, and stick to this path, the path of the rightly guided ones. We do not know the time of our death, and so we cannot delay in becoming closer to Allah SWT and thus, Jannah. We cannot afford to postpone our good deeds.

Joining ties of relationship with your Muslim brothers

2009-04-05T00:39:00.000-07:00

Abu Huraira radhiyallahu anh reported Allah's Messenger Sallallahu alaihiwassalam as saying: Don't nurse grudge and don't bid him out for raising the price and don't nurse aversion or enmity and don't enter into a transaction when the others have entered into that transaction and be as fellow-brothers and servants of Allah. A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim. He neither oppresses him nor humiliates him nor looks down upon him. The piety is here, (and while saying so) he pointed towards his chest thrice. It is a serious evil for a Muslim that he should look down upon his brother Muslim. All things of a Muslim are inviolable for his brother in faith: his blood, his wealth and his honour. (Saheeh Muslim)

Lessons:
- We have no right to judge our brothers and sister in Islam. Allah is the Best Judge.
- Piety is in the hearts, and only Allah knows what is in every one's hearts. So, we cannot make conclusions of others just based on what we think and feel about a person's actions.
- Our brother's/sister's (in faith) life, possessions, dignity and honour should be protected, we should not humiliate one another and compete with each other except in 2 things: gaining knowledge and spending in charity.
- We should always try to strengthen bonds of relationship, not nurse enmity between each other. Always, forgive and forget.

Wa Allahu A'lam.

Surah Al Mu'minoon: Characteristics of the believer

2009-04-04T03:04:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ - الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِى صَلاَتِهِمْ خَـشِعُونَ - وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنِ اللَّغْوِ مُّعْرِضُونَ - وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِلزَّكَـوةِ فَـعِلُونَ - وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَـفِظُونَ - إِلاَّ عَلَى أَزْوَجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَـنُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ - فَمَنِ ابْتَغَى وَرَآءَ ذلِكَ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْعَادُونَ - وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لاًّمَـنَـتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَعُونَ- وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَى صَلَوتِهِمْ يُحَـفِظُونَ- أُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْورِثُونَ- الَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ الْفِرْدَوْسَ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـلِدُونَ

1. Successful indeed are the believers.

2. Those who with their Salah are Khashi`un.

3. And those who turn away from Al-Laghw.

4. And those who pay the Zakah.

5. And those who guard their private parts.

6. Except from their wives or their right hand possessions, for then, they are free from blame.

7. But whoever seeks beyond that, then those are the transgressors.

8. Those who are faithfully true to their Amanat and to their covenants are Ra`un.

9. And those who strictly guard their Salawat.

10. These are indeed the heirs.

11. Who shall inherit Firdaws. They shall dwell therein forever.

Lessons:

- Salah is what distinguishes between a believer and a non-believer. The believer's salah will be with Ihsan (The faith that Allah is watching you, even though you do not see him), utmost fear, tranquility and in awe to be in the presence of your Lord. Salah is the only duty of a Muslim that Allah SWT directly ordained upon Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam during the Mi'raj (night journey to the heavens). Salah is a gift that Allah presented to the believer. One finds tranquility and peace in doing the Salah five times a day, if done sincerely and with Khushoo'. A believer guards his Salah by performing them at the appointed time.

- Al-Laghw means unnecessary and idle talk or deeds that bring no benefit, sin, shirk- and a believer stays away from all this.

- After Salah comes Zakah. Abdullah bin Umar Radhiyallahu anh narrated that the messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said: "I have been ordered to fight against people until they testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah and until they perform the prayers and pay the zakat, and if they do so they will have gained protection from me for their lives and property, unless [they do acts that are punishable] in accordance with Islam, and their reckoning will be with Allah the Almighty." (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

- When a believer is entrusted with something, he does not betray that trust, but fulfills it, and when he makes a promise or makes a pledge, he is true to his word.

And Allah knows best.

Haram, Halal and what is in between/ purification of the heart

2009-04-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

On the authority of Abu 'Abdullah al-Nu'man bin Bashir, radiyallahu 'anhu, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, say: "Truly, what is lawful is evident, and what is unlawful is evident, and in between the two are matters which are doubtful which many people do not know. He who guards against doubtful things keeps his religion and honour blameless, and he who indulges in doubtful things indulges in fact in unlawful things, just as a shepherd who pastures his flock round a preserve will soon pasture them in it. Beware, every king has a preserve, and the things Allah has declared unlawful are His preserves. Beware, in the body there is a flesh; if it is sound, the whole body is sound, and if it is corrupt, the whole body is corrupt, and behold, it is the heart."

(Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

Lessons:

- It is very important to stay away from doubtful matters, as one could fall into the forbidden, if he loiters in the grey area. We cannot justify by thinking and saying that since we are ignorant of the ruling, whether it is permissible or prohibited, we can practise it.

- Imam Bukhari Rahimahullah mentioned this hadeeth in the "Book of trade". When it comes to trading there are many matters that are doubtful, matters which existed then and even now, e.g. where cheating is done professionally. Therefore we have to be careful if the matter related to trading is clear and evident, permissible or not permissible, or if it is doubtful, in which case we have to avoid it.

- The relationship between the heart and the rest of the hadeeth: if one's heart is strong and firm in Tawheed, and sound with clear understanding and wisdom, then he will be able to stay away from doubtful matters from fear of falling into the prohibited area. But if the heart is not so firm in Tawheed, then he will take matters lightly, and thus, be more prone to slowly and gradually fall into the haram. So, the main issue of this hadeeth is the purification of the heart, which all of us need to keep working on.

Wa Allahu A'lam.

Aim Real High- what one should "actually" be greedy for

2009-04-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

Our Prophet Sallallahu alaihiwassalam taught us to pray for Jannathul Firdaws Al-A'laa (High position in Jannath-ul-Firdaws), not just seek Jannah. He said: If you ask Allah for Paradise, then ask him for Al-Firdaws, for it is the highest part of Paradise, in the middle of Paradise, and from it spring the rivers of Paradise, and above it is the (Mighty) Throne of the Most Merciful. (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

We often find ourselves thinking and making dua'h: Oh Allah, at least make us at least the last person to enter Jannah. Or, Oh Allah, grant us atleast a small portion of Jannah or at least the lowest position in Jannah. Or, even "Its OK if I have to be in Jahannum for a while, my final abode should be Jannah, that's all I want." This is like how the Qur'an says about the Jews:

وَقَالُواْ لَن تَمَسَّنَا النَّارُ إِلاَّ أَيَّامًا مَّعْدُودَةً

And they (Jews) say, "The Fire shall not touch us but for a few numbered days.'' (Surah Al-Baqara: 80)

We should never wish like that, because a day in The Hereafter is equivalent to 50,000 years. Can we even bear a minor burn that comes with direct contact with fire? The intensity and heat of the fire of Jahannum is 70 or 70,000 times that of the fire in this world.

Therefore, we always pray for a very high position in Jannah. Now does it make sense that we only pray, and not try to do our part of implementing Islam(Submission to Allah) in our acts, speech and thoughts?! Is it fair? And so, we should pray such to Allah Azza Wajal, and also work towards attaining it.

Suppose, we have an exam to attend to. And we want at least a "B" or "C" grade. Don't we have to study for an "A" to get this "B" or "C"? Because, we keep in mind about the careless mistakes that could happen, and hence, lose marks. Shouldn't the same principle be applied here? In fact, shouldn't it be applied more, considering that the Hereafter is eternal; and that sometimes, when we do an act of Ibadah, our intentions keep fluctuating between the wish to please Allah alone, and the probability of wishing for the praise of others or to be a good role model to your kids or to show others that Islam is the best religion? And sometimes, we make mistakes out of ignorance or carelessness.

The popular saying goes, "Aim for the sky, and you will reach the top of the tall tree"! And this is exactly what our beloved Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam said more than 1400 years ago when he taught us to make dua'h to be granted A HIGH POSITION IN JANNAH. Another scary thought but a true fact is: What happens when we are content with just doing the minimum and sometimes even taking some commands of Allah SWT light, with the hope that "Oh, Allah will forgive me for this" (which by the way, shows that we are not having Ikhlaas- sincerity that is only for Allah) and we feel we shouldn't be greedy(considering that we are not doing a lot of deeds) and just ask for the minimum from Allah, The Almighty -And then we miss this minimal requirement because of some carelessness or due to a forgotten sin? What happens then?? We get degraded- and to where? Oh Allah, forbid it for us, aameen...On the other hand, if we were to miss the high position that we want and ask from Allah Subhanahu Watha'ala and work towards it, we would be degraded, but we would still be in a considerably good position in Jannah, InshAllah.

Let's be greedy for more and more in Jannah, just the way we feel greedy to earn more, live more comfortably, have more secular knowledge, have the latest car and a big house, have more friends etc in this world. Let's not trade the Hereafter for the amusement and play of this world. Let's be more ambitious and try to earn more and more love of Our Lord Almighty inshAllah. Let's be a better Muslim today than yesterday, and strive to be even better tomorrow. Let's love Our Lord more and more, let's love Him more through our deeds and thoughts than just saying "I love Allah the most". May Allah grant us all Jannath-ul-Firdaws-al-A'laa, aameen.

Dealing with Interest- Do we want to wage war with Allah?

2009-04-01T19:15:00.002-07:00

Interest (Usury, Riba') is haram in Islam. Allah has made permissible for us things that benefit us and prohibited things that bring harm to us or our society. And time is proving this fact. Allah SWT prohibited dealing with Interest more than 1400 years ago; and now with the downfall and recession of the economy and the financial crisis all over the world, the economists have started realising that it was due to man-made laws of financial transactions and due to businesses being built upon imaginary funds etc. SubhanAllah....

Moreover, it is an unjust and unfair system where the rich get richer and the poor, poorer. It creates problems within families, friends and other ties. Riba', indeed is a social evil, and so it has been proved. It reduces the value of money, or rather the measure of the value of money, as money is exchanged, but in different amount. In Islam, riba' (or interest, usury) can be defined as an agreement for a specific recompense whose equivalence to the merchandise is unknown according to the standards of the Shari'ah (Islamic law), at the time of the transaction, or in which the exchange of the two properties transacted is delayed, or one of them is delayed. It is an unjust increment for one person, and this is unfair to the other, therefore making it an evil for the whole society.

Allah says in the Qur'an about the one who consumes riba' as being resurrected as a person inflicted with insanity and having seizures or as a person possessed by demons (may Allah keep us safe from that):

الَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ الرِّبَواْ لاَ يَقُومُونَ إِلاَّ كَمَا يَقُومُ الَّذِى يَتَخَبَّطُهُ الشَّيْطَـنُ مِنَ الْمَسِّ ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَالُواْ إِنَّمَا الْبَيْعُ مِثْلُ الرِّبَواْ وَأَحَلَّ اللَّهُ الْبَيْعَ وَحَرَّمَ الرِّبَواْ فَمَن جَآءَهُ مَوْعِظَةٌ مِّنْ رَّبِّهِ فَانتَهَى فَلَهُ مَا سَلَفَ وَأَمْرُهُ إِلَى اللَّهِ وَمَنْ عَادَ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ أَصْحَـبُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـلِدُونَ

Those who eat Riba will not stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except like the standing of a person beaten by Shaytan leading him to insanity. That is because they say: "Trading is only like Riba,'' whereas Allah has permitted trading and forbidden Riba. So whosoever receives an admonition from his Lord and stops eating Riba, shall not be punished for the past; his case is for Allah (to judge); but whoever returns (to Riba), such are the dwellers of the Fire ـ they will Abide therein. (Surah Al-Baqara: 275)

This ayah also shows the Mercy of Allah SWT, that if we repent and get out of it, Allah will forgive, but if one again goes back to this, then he will be among the dwellers of the fire. Someone in the class asked to our Sheikh: What if we already bought a house or a car, and is making payments on it which involves interest (mortgage or where a third party like the bank who has lent the loan is involved)? To this, our Sheikh (may Allah protect him) said: Just sell it off, and then rent etc, if you cannot purchase it with full funds, because nothing in this world is worth the punishment one will have to face in the Hereafter. It is the only sin that is mentioned in the Qur'an that Allah SWT gives notice of war:

يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ وَذَرُواْ مَا بَقِىَ مِنَ الرِّبَواْ إِن كُنتُمْ مُّؤْمِنِين .فَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلُواْ فَأْذَنُواْ بِحَرْبٍ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَإِن تُبتُمْ فَلَكُمْ رُءُوسُ أَمْوَلِكُمْ لاَ تَظْلِمُونَ وَلاَ تُظْلَمُونَ

Oh you who believe! Have Taqwa of Allah and give up what remains from Riba, if you are (really) believers. And if you do not do it, then take a notice of war from Allah and His Messenger but if you repent,you shall have your capital sums. Deal not unjustly, and you shall not be dealt with unjustly. (Surah Al-Baqara: 278, 279)

And Allah says:

وَمَآ ءَاتَيْتُمْ مِّن رِّباً لِّيَرْبُوَاْ فِى أَمْوَالِ النَّاسِ فَلاَ يَرْبُواْ عِندَ اللَّهِ وَمَآ ءاتَيْتُمْ مِّن زَكَوةٍ تُرِيدُونَ وَجْهَ اللَّهِ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُضْعِفُونَ

And that which you give in Riba in order that it may increase from other people's property, has no increase with Allah; but that which you give in Zakah seeking Allah's Face, then those they shall have manifold increase. (Surah Ar-Rum: 39)

Narrated Samura bin Jundab Radhiyallahu anh:
The Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam said, "This night I dreamt that two men came and took me to a Holy land whence we proceeded on till we reached a river of blood, where a man was standing, and on its bank was standing another man with stones in his hands. The man in the middle of the river tried to come out, but the other threw a stone in his mouth and forced him to go back to his original place. So, whenever he tried to come out, the other man would throw a stone in his mouth and force him to go back to his former place. I asked, 'Who is this?' I was told, 'The person in the river was a Riba-eater." (Saheeh Al-Bukhari)

All of us see fornication (committing zina) as a major sin. And this is what riba has been compared to. Abdullah ibn Hanjalah related that the Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam said: A dirham of Riba (interest) knowingly taken by a man is a sin worse than committing Zina (Imam Ahmad).

Allah ceases to put Barakah in the money of one who deals with riba. So we lose the Blessings of Allah in this world along with the Blessings in The Aakhirah. This is as Allah says:

يَمْحَقُ اللَّهُ الْرِّبَواْ وَيُرْبِى الصَّدَقَـتِ وَاللَّهُ لاَ يُحِبُّ كُلَّ كَفَّارٍ أَثِيمٍ

Allah will deprive usury of all blessing, but will give increase for deeds of charity. (Surah Al-Baqara: 276)

One is prohibited from dealing with interest in any way; be it the one who takes, or gives, the one who writes it and being witnesses for such a transaction. It was narrated that Jaabir Ibn Abdullah Radhiyallahu anh said: “The Messenger of Allaah Sallallahu alihi wassalam cursed the one who consumes ribaa, the one who pays it, the one who writes it down and the two who witness it. He said they are all the same.” (Narrated by Muslim).

It is very clear from the above ayahs and ahaadeeth that dealing with interest is absolutely haram, and a Muslim should stay away from it as much as he can. Whoever is trapped in this big trap, should try to get out of it as soon as possible. Gaining anything in this world by means of interest is not at all worth forsaking our Hereafter. Wa Allahu A'lam.

Surah Al-Hashr: 21 (mountains humbling itself)

2009-04-01T19:15:00.001-07:00

In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَـذَا الْقُرْءَانَ عَلَى جَبَلٍ لَّرَأَيْتَهُ خَـشِعاً مُّتَصَدِّعاً مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ وَتِلْكَ الاٌّمْثَـلُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

Had We sent down this Qur'an on a mountain, you would surely have seen it humbling itself and rent asunder by the fear of Allah. Such are the parables which We put forward to mankind that they may reflect. (Surah Al-Hashr: 21)

Allah sets forth parables so that we reflect, ponder deeply and act accordingly. If a mountain that is so huge, firm in structure and does not have a heart or feelings were to crumble down with fear when the Qur'an is being recited, what should we (mankind) feel! We have hearts that have the ability to soften and we have brains that make us intelligent. Why do we then refuse to soften and reflect upon the truth of the message of Allah, that He revealed in the Qur'an! Why do we hesitate then when it comes to obeying the commandments that are in the Qur'an!

Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah Radhiyallahu anh:
The Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam used to stand by a stem of a date-palm tree (while delivering a sermon). When the pulpit(minbar) was placed for him we heard that stem was crying like a pregnant she-camel till the Prophet got down from the pulpit and placed his hand over it.

(Saheeh Al-Bukhari, this hadith is graded as Mutawatir). The tree trunk missed hearing the remembrance of Allah and the revelation that were being recited next to it. In one of the narrations for this Hadith, Al-Hasan Al-Basri said after narrating the Hadith, "You - mankind -- are more worthy to miss the Messenger of Allah than the tree trunk!''

Five things we will questioned about

2009-04-01T11:28:00.000-07:00

Ibn Mas’ood Radhiyallahu anh Narrated: The Prophet (SAW) said: “The son of Adam will not be dismissed from before his Lord on the Day of Resurrection until he has been questioned about five things:
1. His life and how he spent it.
2. His wealth and how earned it.
3. How he spent his wealth.
4. His youth and how he used it.
5. How he acted upon what he acquired knowledge.” (Tirmidhi)

Lessons:

- Life is the time period of our stay in this world- this shows the importance of time management, and balancing our time between affairs of the world and affairs which will benefit us in our Hereafter. Each breath we take is a Blessing and Mercy of Allah, Alhamdulillah. And so we should be grateful for it, and remember Him Azza Wajal.

- We all love money, and its OK to be rich too. But we should not earn or spend our wealth in non-halal ways. The difference between the rich and poor, on the Day of Resurrection is this: the rich will be questioned about their wealth majorly, whereas the poor won't have these questions. In order to make our questioning and weighing of our deeds (related to our wealth and how we spend it) easy, we should use it in the way Allah SWT has prescribed and Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam has taught us. So our wealth is a responsibility upon us, a trust from Allah SWT. We should spend more and more from our wealth for giving in charity, and in the way of Allah (whether to give during fund-raising for the construction of a masjid or an Islamic Center or to seek knowledge of the dheen of Allah etc.)

- Our healthy years in our life will be questioned the most, the period of our youthful days. This is the most challenging period, because one has to fight his nafs of desires the most. We should remember Our Lord (and this hadeeth) at all times, in order to be able to fight Shaytan (la'nathullahi alihi).

- Our Sheikh Waleed Basyouni(may Allah preserve him) gave us a very good comparison on how knowledge affects different people. He demonstrated 3 cases. The first: he dropped a tablet into water. The water did not show any effect. The second: when he dropped a tablet into a bottle of Pepsi, the drink just oozed out leaving the bottle half empty. The third: liquid slowly and gradually turn pink when he dropped a tablet into it. The first is similar to one when he gains knowledge, it does not change him. The second case categorises many people, they gain knowledge and momentary emanrush, which makes them excited about the ilm they gained, and then slowly die away, and sometimes when the excitement dies down, they even end up in a lower level than before. The third example is the most significant, and all of us should try to be like that. We should gain knowledge and change our lives and thoughts accordingly, for the better, enlightening our souls and everything around us. For Allah will question us about how we used our knowledge, or whether we allowed it to become rotten and worthless.

May Allah SWT make us among those who will be able to enter Paradise with ease.

And Allah knows best.

Attaining Jannah in the Duniya

2009-03-27T16:08:00.000-07:00

Alhamdulillahi Rabbi Al-'Aalameen. I testify that there is no Deity worthy of worship except Allah, and Muhammed is the Messenger of Allah SWT. The true believer feels that he is rewarded in this world itself. SubhanAllah, this is the mercy of Allah SWT, that when we obey Allah Azza Wajal, He puts peace of mind and tranquility of soul and heart in us. He puts the sense of contentment in our hearts, a satisfaction that comes with truly believing that our purpose of this life is Hereafter, and working towards its betterment. The true believer knows that Allah will keep His Promise if he does his small part of obeying His Lord in this world. He believes that His Lord is The Most Merciful and The Most Just.

Allah SWT is The Most Gracious. He promises us Eternal Paradise for the one who believes and does righteous deeds. We have so little to do to attain the ever-lasting bounties of The Hereafter, and still we fail by allowing our chances to slip away! And SubhanAllah, if one lets his numerous chances slip away, he is losing the Jannah of this world too. And only the one who attains Jannah in this world will attain the Jannah of the Hereafter.

By attaining Jannah in this world, I mean, attaining peace of mind and tranquility in our hearts. Nowadays, we have a notion that if we are physically enjoying perfect health, have wealth and all the latest technologies and facilities that come with it, we will find our inner peace and will be able to be happy. But true happiness comes with being content with The Lord and what He Azza Wajal has provided us with. It is a sense of stability that carries us throughout the trials of life.

Our Prophet said: “Whoever makes this world his goal God will confuse his affairs and place poverty before his eyes and he will be able to attain nothing from this world except for what God has already written for him. Whoever sets the Hereafter as his goal, God gathers his affairs for him, gives him richness of (faith in) the heart and the world will come to him grudgingly and submissively.” (Ibn Maajah, Ibn Hibbaan)

We can enjoy inner peace and thus enjoy happiness in this world and Paradise in the Hereafter if we can always reflect on the following:

- Surrender completely to the will of Allah SWT. Allah Azza Wajal has not commanded us to do anything that is not beneficial for ourselves and the whole mankind in this world and/or the Hereafter. We should have that trust in Him and thus, follow His Dheen (religion). For example, when someone is going for a job interview, and she removes her hijab (or he shaves his beard) fearing that she (he) won't get a job otherwise; shows the lack of trust in Allah SWT. He/she feels that following the dheen of Islam is going to be against him/her, and thus prefers to disobey Allah SWT.

Ibn Abbas Radhiyallahu anh narrated that one day he was riding behind Allah's Messenger and he said, "Young man, if you are mindful of Allah, He will be mindful of you, and if you are mindful of Allah, you will find Him before you. When you ask for anything, ask it from Allah, and if you seek help, seek help in Allah. Know that if the people were to unite to do you some benefit, they could benefit you only what Allah has recorded for you, and if they were to unite to do you some injury, they could injure you only with what Allah has recorded for you. The pens are withdrawn and the pages are dry. (Ahmad and Tirmidhi -Sahih).

Allah says:

شَهِدَ اللَّهُ أَنَّهُ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ وَالْمَلَـئِكَةُ وَأُوْلُواْ الْعِلْمِ قَآئِمَاً بِالْقِسْطِ لاَ إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ هُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ - إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِندَ اللَّهِ الإِسْلَـمُ

Allah bears witness that none has the right to be worshipped but He, and the angels, and those having knowledge (also bear witness to this); (He always) maintains His creation in justice. None has the right to be worshipped but He, the Almighty, the All-Wise. Truly, the religion with Allah is Islam. (Surah Aal Imran: 18,19)

- Total Submission and Obedience, which is required after the surrender: There is no "but"s, it is incumbent on every believing man and woman. When we fully submit to the commands of Allah, and try to excel as much as we can, we will be pleased with ourselves, for we know that we are trying to please no one but The Lord Almighty whose approval is the most important thing to us. Allah SWT says:

وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلاَ مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْراً أَن يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ وَمَن يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلَـلاً مُّبِيناً

It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed into a plain error. (Surah Al-Ahzaab: 36)

- Remembrance: The constant remembrance that it is Allah SWT who created us and sent each one of us to earth for a purpose. Each one of us is a representative of Allah (khalifah) on Earth. Each one of us should have one purpose in this life, and that is to attain Jannah in The Hereafter. And we should remember that inshAllah we will meet with Our Lord, and will be able to see Him.(Ya Allah, bless us to be among those who will be able to see You, Ar-Rahman!) And only those who surrender and submit with firm belief will be able to do so. Allah says in the Qur'an:

الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَتَطْمَئِنُّ قُلُوبُهُمْ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ أَلاَ بِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ تَطْمَئِنُّ الْقُلُوبُ - الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَاتِ طُوبَى لَهُمْ وَحُسْنُ مَـَابٍ

Those who believed and whose hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah. Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest. Those who believed, and work righteousness, happiness and comfort is for them and a beautiful place of (final) return. (Surah Ar-Ra'd: 28-29)

Everything a Muslim does will be with the remembrance of Allah, be it in his thoughts, speech or actions. This is like what Allah says:

قُلْ إِنَّ صَلاَتِى وَنُسُكِى وَمَحْيَاىَ وَمَمَاتِى للَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَـلَمِينَ - لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَبِذَلِكَ أُمِرْتُ وَأَنَاْ أَوَّلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ

Say: "Verily, my Salah, my sacrifice, my living, and my dying are for Allah, the Lord of all that exists. He has no partner. And of this I have been commanded, and I am the first of the Muslims." (Surah Al-An'aam: 162-163)

- Patience and Accepting the will of Allah SWT: We always say that we believe in the six pillars of emaan, one of them being the belief in the good and evil, that it is all from Allah. And at times of distress, we start complaining and asking Our Lord, "Why me?!" This is because we forget that we believe in the Qadr of Allah SWT by becoming impatient. A strong and firm believer will always be content with the will of Allah, and understand that there is good (khair) in every trial and difficulty, and that there is no absolute evil. And that Allah knows what is best; and sometimes, what we, as humans, comprehend as bad and evil is in reality, good for us. Allah SWT says:

وَعَسَى أَن تَكْرَهُواْ شَيْئًا وَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ وَعَسَى أَن تُحِبُّواْ شَيْئًا وَهُوَ شَرٌّ لَّكُمْ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنتُمْ لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ

And it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows but you do not know. (Surah Al-Baqara: 216)

And Allah says:

وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوفْ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الاٌّمَوَالِ وَالاٌّنفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَتِ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّـبِرِينَ - الَّذِينَ إِذَآ أَصَـبَتْهُم
مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالُواْ إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّـآ إِلَيْهِ رَجِعونَ - أُولَـئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَتٌ مِّن رَّبْهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ وَأُولَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ

And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to As-Sabirin (the patient). Who, when afflicted with calamity, say: "Truly, to Allah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return.'' They are those on whom are the Salawat (i.e., who are blessed and will be forgiven) from their Lord, and (they are those who) receive His mercy, and it is they who are the guided ones. (Surah Al-Baqara: 155-157)

Prophet Muhammed Sallallahu alihiwassalam said: Whoever pretends to be patient (with a desire to be patient) God will give him patience. (Sahih Al-Bukhari)

- Thawakkul upon Allah: The content believer does his part and then prays to Allah for the khair (good) to happen, and leaves all his affairs unto Him. He knows that Allah will facilitate the best for him. This is the meaning of the famous hadeeth of Rasoolullah: Tie your camel first and then, put your trust in Allah Azza Wajal. (At-Thirmidhi)

We should ponder upon ayahs like:

اللَّهُ خَـلِقُ كُـلِّ شَىْءٍ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُل شَىْءٍ وَكِيلٌ

Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the Trustee (Guardian and Disposer of all affairs) over all things. (Surah Az-Zumar: 62)

Let's pray to Allah with utmost humility that we become sincere Muslims putting our trust in Allah SWT alone, and find contentment within ourselves. May Allah give us tranquility of heart and soul, and purify them for us. May Allah give us happiness in both the worlds, aameen.

Good manners

2009-03-27T02:24:00.000-07:00

Abu Hurairah, radiyallahu 'anhu, reported that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said:
"Let whosoever believes in Allah and in the Last Day either speak good or be silent. Let whosoever believes in Allah and in the Last Day honour his neighbour. Let whosoever believes in Allah and in the Last Day honour his guest."

(Sahih Al-Bukhari, Muslim)

First Command in The Qur'an: Surah Al-Baqara: 21

2009-03-27T02:09:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

يَـأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُواْ رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِىْ خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

Oh mankind! Worship your Lord (Allah), Who created you and those who were before you so that you may acquire Taqwa. (Surah Al-Baqara: 21)

SubhanAllah, this is the first command in the Qur'an, and it comes only after Allah SWT educates mankind about Himself, The Most High, in Surah Al-Fathiha, about His Book (The Noble Qur'an) that it is Guidance for the believer, and the characteristics of believers, disbelievers and the hypocrites. This shows that Allah SWT has given us the free will to choose, but has given us the guidance and the truth before He commands anything from us.

SubhanAllah, the command is all mankind, and not just the believers. The Qur'an is for all mankind to pay heed to.

Our purpose in this world is to worship Allah, alone with Ikhlaas (sincerity and total submission to Him). Through worship, we can acquire taqwa- fear of Allah, love and hope, sincerity, humility in front of the Lord Almighty.

And Allah knows best.

Knowledge about our future- Death and Grave

2009-03-25T12:04:00.000-07:00

Alhamdulillah, unlike other religions, Islam gives a lot of insight into the subject of our future, The Eternal Hereafter. Allah SWT, in The Qur'an has given us a lot of descriptions in details and stages of what is going to happen in the future. And the traditions (ahadeeth) of our Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam add to this. This enables us to increase our belief in the Hereafter, with more certainty and vision- that it will happen for sure, and that we have a purpose in the life of this duniya, to work towards a great future and avoid sins and actions that will displease Our Lord. If we remember this in each breath we take, then InshAllah, with His Mercy and Blessings, we will be successful.

When someone dies, his personal yaum-al-qiyamah (Day of Judgement) has started. In fact, the recompense starts at the time of death itself. For the believer, who is waiting to meet his Lord Almighty, he is eager to leave this world; he leaves this world with high state of emaan we say, and as he dies, the angels welcome him and give him glad tidings, SubhanAllah.

Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam said: “…when the time of the death of a believer approaches, he receives the good news of God’s pleasure with him and His blessings upon him, and so at that time nothing is dearer to him than what lies ahead of him. He therefore loves meeting God, and God loves meeting him.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari)

For the one who disbelieved, and was disobedient to Allah SWT, he dreads meeting with his Lord, and knows it is not going to bring good to him. Prophet Sallallahu alihi wassalam warned us: “When the time of the death of a disbeliever approaches, he receives the evil news of God’s torment and His Requital, whereupon nothing is more hateful to him than what is before him. Therefore, he hates the meeting with God, and God too, hates the meeting with him.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari)

As death approaches the wicked disbeliever, he is made to feel something of the heat of the Hellfire. This taste of what is to come causes him to plead for a second chance on earth to do the good he knew he should have done. The evil soul leaves the body with great difficulty, drawn out by the angels as a thronged skewer is dragged through wet wool.

Allah says in the Qur'an:

حَتَّى إِذَا جَآءَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ رَبِّ ارْجِعُونِ - لَعَلِّى أَعْمَلُ صَـلِحاً فِيمَا تَرَكْتُ كَلاَّ إِنَّهَا كَلِمَةٌ هُوَ قَآئِلُهَا وَمِن وَرَآئِهِمْ بَرْزَخٌ إِلَى يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَ

“Until, when death comes to one of them, he says: ‘O my Lord. Send me back to life (on earth) in order that I may do good deeds in the things that I neglected.’ By no means! It is only an utterance that he says. And before them is a barrier (preventing them from returning: the life of the grave) until the Day (of Resurrection) they are resurrected.” (Surah Al-Mu'minoon: 99-100)

Allah says:

وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذِ الظَّـلِمُونَ فِى غَمَرَاتِ الْمَوْتِ وَالْمَلَـئِكَةُ بَاسِطُواْ أَيْدِيهِمْ أَخْرِجُواْ أَنفُسَكُمُ الْيَوْمَ تُجْزَوْنَ عَذَابَ الْهُونِ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ وَكُنتُمْ عَنْ ءَايَـتِهِ تَسْتَكْبِرُونَ

And if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the agonies of death, while the angels are stretching forth their hands (saying): "Deliver your souls! This day you shall be recompensed with the torment of degradation because of what you used to utter against Allah other than the truth. And you used to reject His Ayah with disrespect!'' (Surah Al-An'am: 93)

Allah SWT says:

وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذْ يَتَوَفَّى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ الْمَلَـئِكَةُ يَضْرِبُونَ وُجُوهَهُمْ وَأَدْبَـرَهُمْ وَذُوقُواْ عَذَابَ الْحَرِيقِ

And if you could not see when the angels take the souls of those who disbelieved… striking their faces and their backs and saying, "Taste the punishment of the Blazing Fire." (Surah Al-Anfaal: 50)

Recompense and questioning starts in the Barzakh (transition phase between this life and the Aakhirah) itself. One will go through what he/she deserves on account of his/ her deeds in this world. The questioning will be a cake walk for the true believer. It dies not matter whether one knows the answers to the questions that the Angels Munkar and Nakeer will ask, in this world. At that time, only the one who died with strong emaan, and the one who pleased Allah Azza Wajal will be able to answer the questions. There is no time factor in the Hereafter. Two people who are equal in their status of emaan and in deeds, but lived and died in different times, will experience in their Barzakh what they deserve equally. We ask Allah SWT to protect us from the 'Adhaab of the trials and horror in the Barzakh (grave), aameen. And we ask Allah to always keep us on the straight path, living by His commandments.

The true believer and the righteous, the one who will be accepted into Jannah, will have his grave roomy and spacious and filled with light. He is shown what would have been his abode in Hell - had he been a wicked sinner - before a portal is opened for him every morning and evening showing him his actual home in Paradise. He will have a blissful journey and the angels will be waiting to welcome him in the heavens. Allah SWT says:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ قَالُواْ رَبُّنَا اللَّهُ ثُمَّ اسْتَقَـمُواْ تَتَنَزَّلُ عَلَيْهِمُ الْمَلَـئِكَةُ أَلاَّ تَخَافُواْ وَلاَ تَحْزَنُواْ وَأَبْشِرُواْ بِالْجَنَّةِ الَّتِى كُنتُمْ تُوعَدُونَ - نَحْنُ أَوْلِيَآؤُكُمْ فِى الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِى الاٌّخِرَةِ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَشْتَهِى أَنفُسُكُمْ وَلَكُمْ فِيهَا مَا تَدَّعُونَ - نُزُلاً مِّنْ غَفُورٍ رَّحِيمٍ

Verily, those who say: "Our Lord is Allah,'' and then they stand firm, on them the angels will descend (saying): "Fear not, nor grieve! But receive the glad tidings of Paradise which you have been promised! We have been your friends in the life of this world and are (so) in the Hereafter. Therein you shall have (all) that your souls desire, and therein you shall have (all) for which you ask. An entertainment from the Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.'' (Surah Al-Fussilat: 30-32)

However, for the doomed, his experience in the grave will be a torturous one. The floor of his grave is set alight with some of Hell’s fierce fire, and his grave is made narrow and constricted to the extent that his ribs become intertwined as his body is crushed. Then, an incredibly ugly being, wearing ugly garments and giving off a foul and offensive odor comes to the disbelieving soul and says: “Be grieved with what displeases you, for this is your day which you have been promised.” The disbeliever will ask: “Who are you, with your face so ugly and bringing evil?” The ugly one will reply: “I am your wicked deeds!” The disbeliever is then made to taste bitter remorse as he is shown what would have been his abode in Paradise - had he lived a righteous life - before a portal is opened for him every morning and evening showing him his actual home in Hell. Allah mentions in His Book how the wicked people of Pharaoh are, at this very moment, suffering from such an exposure to Hell from within their graves:

النَّارُ يُعْرَضُونَ عَلَيْهَا غُدُوّاً وَعَشِيّاً وَيَوْمَ تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ أَدْخِلُواْ ءَالَ فِرْعَوْنَ أَشَدَّ الْعَذَابِ

The Fire, they are exposed to it, morning and afternoon. And on the Day when the Hour will be established (it will be said to the angels): "Admit Fir`awn's people into the severest torment!'' (Surah Al-Ghaafir: 46)

Zaid Ibn Thaabit Radhiyallahu anh narrates that when the Prophet Muhammad and his Companions were once passing some graves of polytheists, the Prophet’s horse bolted and almost unseated him. The Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam then said:“These people are being tortured in their graves, and were it not that you would stop burying your dead, I would ask God to let you hear the punishment in the grave which I (and this horse) can hear.” (Sahih Muslim)

May Allah SWT always guide us on the Sirathul Musthaqueem, and grant us high positions in Jannathul Firdaws. May He save us from the torment of the grave and the Hell-fire, aameen.

And Allah knows best.

Shaytan is a betrayer, so let's not listen to him

2009-03-25T01:00:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

وَقَالَ الشَّيْطَـنُ لَمَّا قُضِىَ الاٌّمْرُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَعَدَكُمْ وَعْدَ الْحَقِّ وَوَعَدتُّكُمْ فَأَخْلَفْتُكُمْ وَمَا كَانَ لِىَ عَلَيْكُمْ مِّن سُلْطَـنٍ إِلاَّ أَن دَعَوْتُكُمْ فَاسْتَجَبْتُمْ لِى فَلاَ تَلُومُونِى وَلُومُواْ أَنفُسَكُمْ مَّآ أَنَاْ بِمُصْرِخِكُمْ وَمَآ أَنتُمْ بِمُصْرِخِىَّ إِنِّى كَفَرْتُ بِمَآ أَشْرَكْتُمُونِ مِن قَبْلُ إِنَّ الظَّـلِمِينَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

And Shaytan will say when the matter has been decided: "Verily, Allah promised you a promise of truth. And I too promised you, but I betrayed you. I had no authority over you except that I called you, and you responded to me. So blame me not, but blame yourselves. I cannot help you, nor can you help me. I deny your former act in associating me (Shaytan) as a partner with Allah (by obeying me in the life of the world). Verily, there is a painful torment for the wrongdoers.'' (Surah Ibraheem: 22)

Lessons:

- Shaytan will say thus, on the Day of Resurrection to the people that will be punished in Jahannum.

- He knows the truth and still denies it out of pride and arrogance.

- He is trying to lead us astray too and earn the wrath of Allah SWT. Since, he will burn in Hell, he wants to pull in as many companions as he can.

- Whenever we do not follow what the Qur'an and Sunah teaches us, remember that we are obeying Shaytan instead and we are falling into his (the most cursed) traps.

- Let's be more aware of the works of Iblees and his associates, and let's drive him away.

And Allah knows best.

Envy to attain good characters

2009-03-25T00:43:00.000-07:00

Ibn Mas'ood Radhiya Allahu anhu said that RasulAllah salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam said, "Let there be no envy except in two things; a man to whom Allah gave wealth and guided him to spend it in a righteous way and a man to whom Allah gave wisdom and he acts wisely and teaches it to others."
(Sahih Bukhari and Muslim)

Lessons:
-Shows importance of spending your wealth in the way of Allah, and to please Him alone. We will be questioned about each and every penny. And this is the difference between the rich and the poor. The poor will not be questioned as much as the one who Allah had blessed with wealth. We should always remember that the wealth we have is a trust from Allah SWT, and that Allah has given it to us so that we give to others, and spend on good things. Possession of wealth is a big responsibility.
-Also shows the importance of seeking beneficial knowledge. The difference between knowledge and wisdom is that one can have knowledge and still not have wisdom if he does not act according to it. Da'wah (teaching others) is a very important branch of the duties of a Muslim.
- Envy is not a good quality to possess. But still, it is allowed to be envious for the above reasons, in a healthy manner, that will encourage us to excel in both these fields.

Finding alternative recreation for our children

2009-03-20T01:38:00.000-07:00

Today, most of us live in a mixed community of all kinds of people. Our kids are exposed to the good and the bad, the right and the wrong, The Islamic and the Non-Islamic. Especially for Muslim parents living in the west, it has become a big challenge in raising children, and as parents, we are constantly worried about where to draw the limits. (Oh well, it is a challenge everywhere, because unfortunately, the western culture is spreading to the East too- so it cannot be called "Western" anymore- because certain kinds of people pride themselves in aping the West.)

We cannot always keep saying "NO" to our kids, as that won't satisfy their curious minds and hence, they will become rebellious. They need explanations, and if they are too young for that, then they need alternatives.

It was narrated that Anas ibn Maalik Radhiyallahu anh said: "During the Jaahiliyyah, the people had two days each year when they would play. When the Prophet Sallallahualihiwassalam came to Madeenah he said, 'You had two days on which you would play, but Allah has given you something better than them: the day of al-Fitr and the day of al-Adha." (Narrated by Abu Dawood, An-Nasaa'i- Classified as Sahih by Sheikh Albaani)

From this hadeeth, we see that the sunnah of Allah SWT and His Prophet was to give a suitable alternative for recreation rather than simply laying down a prohibition. We should apply this technique with our kids as much as we can. This will help us in raising happier children, who will be proud to be Muslims, inshAllahu tha'ala.

Some points I can think of:

- Television and the Internet, is perhaps the biggest fitnah today for ourselves and our kids. The eyes of the one who watches it, be it a kid or an adult, is glued to it, and he/she becomes completely oblivious to the surroundings.

There are certain safe kids' cartoons and other programmes that are slow paced, and educative. The fast paced cartoons are not good for the brain development of the kids, even according to the American Pediatrics Association. Apart from these, we can also give them better alternatives that will educate them in their dheen, in a fun way. Alhamdulillah, for this, we have videos of Prophets' stories and other stories that teach Islamic mannerisms and morals. Even this practice should not be one where the kids are passively involved. We should sit with them, and discuss the stories, and talk to them while they watch.

- Music attracts everybody, and therefore, it is a "shaytan" in itself. By music, I mean the music of the pop culture etc. (and I am not saying that it is haram or halal, but just giving a better alternative.) Let them listen and learn Nasheeds, and beautiful Adhkaar of Allah SWT and Rasoolullah. Sing Dhikr for them, in tunes they will enjoy.

- Involve them in the work you do at home. Get them to help you in ways that are interesting to them, every child is different, and so, there is no rule for this; we just have to find new ways with them, that will make work a play for them. Result: you get the help that is needed, they learn family values like sharing household chores, and most importantly, they are occupied.

- Take them to Aquariums, Zoos, gardens and other nature places where they can appreciate the creation of Allah SWT. Say "SubhanAllah" aloud. (Alhamdulillah, we have a better way of saying "wow"!) Let them love the animals and be fascinated by them rather than dinosaurs etc. Seriously, do not encourage them to have a fascination of dinosaurs that don't even exist, and probably never did, and is just a theory that is against Islamic teachings. (Remember its part of the evolution theory.) When taking them outdoors, these places are better than artificial man-made wonders like amusement parks etc.(not that I am against it, and inshAllah I will have to do so too as my kids get older.)

- Take them for hiking, picnics, camping etc. While camping, remind yourself and your kids that camping is what the less privileged kids do all their life. Camping can be fun once in a year or lifetime, but it sure is not fun, if it was an everyday thing. Let them be thankful for the homes they live in, alhamdulillah.

All these activities might not be something new, or something only Muslims do. But what I am trying to say to myself and all others is, "Islamicize" every moment in your life, remember Our Lord Azza Wajal in everything we do, and make it a habit for our kids too. Let them really love Allah and Islam. And then let's pray for the best, and that Allah guides us and our children always.

Surah An-Naml: 87-90 (Day the trumpet will be blown)

2009-03-17T19:31:00.001-07:00

In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

وَيَوْمَ يُنفَخُ فِى الصُّورِ فَفَزِعَ مَن فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَمَن فِى الاٌّرْضِ إِلاَّ مَن شَآءَ اللَّهُ وَكُلٌّ أَتَوْهُ دَخِرِينَ - وَتَرَى الْجِبَالَ تَحْسَبُهَا جَامِدَةً وَهِىَ تَمُرُّ مَرَّ السَّحَابِ صُنْعَ اللَّهِ الَّذِى أَتْقَنَ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ إِنَّهُ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَفْعَلُونَ - مَن جَآءَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ خَيْرٌ مِّنْهَا وَهُمْ مِّن فَزَعٍ يَوْمَئِذٍ ءَامِنُونَ - وَمَن جَآءَ بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَكُبَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ فِى النَّارِ هَلْ تُجْزَوْنَ إِلاَّ مَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

87. And (remember) the Day on which the Trumpet (Sur) will be blown -- and all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth, will be terrified except him whom Allah wills. And all shall come to Him, humbled.

88. And you will see the mountains and think them solid, but they shall pass away as the passing away of the clouds. The work of Allah, Who perfected all things, verily, He is well-acquainted with what you do.

89. Whoever brings a good deed, will have better than its worth; and they will be safe from the terror on that Day.

90. And whoever brings an evil deed, they will be cast down on their faces in the Fire. (And it will be said to them) "Are you being recompensed anything except what you used to do?''

_____________________________________________________

Imam Muslim recorded Abdullah bin Amr, Radhiyallahu anh, said that a man came to him and said, "What is this Hadith that you are narrating, that the Hour will come upon such and such people'' He said, "Subhan Allah or `La Ilaha Illallah (or something similar), I had decided that I would not narrate anything to anyone now. I had only said that after a little while, you will see a major event which will destroy the House (Ka`bah), and such and such will happen.'' Then he said, "The Messenger of Allah said: The Dajjal will emerge in my Ummah, and will remain for forty -- I do not know whether he said forty days, or forty months, or forty years -- then Allah will send `Isa son of Maryam, who looks like `Urwah bin Mas`ud, and he will search for him and destroy him. Then mankind will remain for seven years during which there will not be any enmity between any two people. Then Allah will send a cool wind from the direction of Syria, and no one will be left on the face of the earth who has even a speck of goodness or faith in his heart, but it will take him. Even if he entered into the heart of a mountain, the wind would follow him and seize him.'' He said, "I heard it from the Messenger of Allah who said: Then the most evil of people will remain, and they will be as nimble as birds and will be more temperamental than wild beasts. They will not recognize anything good or denounce anything evil. The Shaytan will appear to them and will say, "Will you do as I tell you'' They will say, "What do you command us to do'' He will command them to worship idols but in spite of this their provision will be plentiful and they will lead comfortable lives. Then the Sur (Trumpet) will be blown, and no one will hear it but he will tilt his head to hear the sound. The first person to hear it will be a man who is setting up the tank for watering his camels. He will fall down, and all the other people will also fall down. Then Allah would send or He would cause to send rain which would be like dew and there would grow out of it the bodies of the people. Then the Trumpet will be blown again, and they will get up and look around. Then it will be said: "O mankind! Go to your Lord!'' And they will be stopped, for they are to be questioned. Then it will be said: "Bring forth the people who are to be sent to the Fire.'' It will be asked: "How many are they'' It will be said, "Out of every thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine.'' That will be the Day which will make the children grey-headed, and that would be the day about which it has been said:

يَوْمَ يُكْشَفُ عَن سَاقٍ

"On the day when the shank would be uncovered" (Surah Al- Qalam: 42) meaning, the Day of Judgement and the horrors, earthquakes, trials, tests and great matters that will occur during it.

The woman who challenged tyranny

2009-03-17T19:27:00.000-07:00

Yes, she is none other than Aasiyah Radhiyallahu anha- the wife of Firawn. Allah made her an example for the believing men and women until the Hour comes, and He praised her in His Book. She is a symbol for those who want to follow the ways of Allah in life, and thus, be guided. Allah SWT says:

وَضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلاً لّلَّذِينَ ءامَنُواْ امْرَأَةَ فِرْعَوْنَ إِذْ قَالَتْ رَبّ ابْنِ لِى عِندَكَ بَيْتاً فِى الْجَنَّةِ وَنَجّنِى مِن فِرْعَوْنَ وَعَمَلِهِ وَنَجّنِى مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّـلِمِينَ
And Allah has set forth an example for those who believe: the wife of Fir`awn, when she said: "My Lord! Build for me a home with You in Paradise, and save me from Fir`awn and his work, and save me from the people who are wrongdoers. (Surah At-Tahreem: 11)

She was a woman of great wisdom, courage and patience. She freed herself from the control of the "kafir" (Firawn) and sought a home with The Lord, which is more beautiful and ever-lasting than the luxuries in the palace of Firawn. She had strong faith in Allah, and because of her sincerity to Her Lord, she was able to speak the word of faith and truth to her tyrant husband. She was tortured, but she bore it with great patience. Because she knew that what she wanted was a better home which should be earned by following the true religion, and not by unjust means like her husband.

Allah says:
إِنَّ الْمُتَّقِينَ فِى جَنَّـتٍ وَنَهَرٍ- فِى مَقْعَدِ صِدْقٍ عِندَ مَلِيكٍ مُّقْتَدِرِ
Verily, those who have Taqwa, will be in the midst of Gardens and Rivers. In a seat of truth, near the Muqtadir(The Magnificent) King. (Surah Al-Qamar: 54-55)

May Allah SWT give us more patience, courage and wisdom to face the trials in life and be successful in The Hereafter, aameen...

Lessons:
-With strong faith and sincerity to Allah SWT, one will be able to be brave and courageous no matter what the situation. There is no power or strength except with Allah.
-Your utmost devotion should always be to Allah SWT first, only then to your husband or anybody else.
- Constant remembrance of Allah and The Hereafter will help you overcome difficulties in this world. The hereafter is better than this world for the true believer.
- We have the best women on earth like Aasiya, Maryam Alihumassalam, and the Mothers of the believers (the wives of Our beloved prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam), Fathima (daughter of The Prophet) Radhiyallahu anhum, as our role models. We have no reason to look for role models elsewhere. And to learn more about them, we have The Qur'an and the Sunnah of Rasoolullah.

And Allah knows best.

Truth of the Message, Surah Al-Kahf:110

2009-03-17T01:10:00.000-07:00

In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

قُلْ إِنَّمَآ أَنَاْ بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ يُوحَى إِلَىَّ أَنَّمَآ إِلَـهُكُمْ إِلَـهٌ وَاحِدٌ فَمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَآءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلاً صَـلِحاً وَلاَ يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدَا
Say: "I am only a man like you. It has been revealed to me that your God is One God. So whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let him work righteousness and associate none as a partner in the worship of his Lord.''

-This is the last ayah of Surah Al-Kahf, which talks about the stories of the people of cave, Dhul Qarnain etc.
-Prophet Muhammed sallallahu alihiwassalam is only a man, and he knew only what Allah SWT made known to him. He was an illiterate man, and Qur'an being revealed to him, is the wisdom of Allah SWT. Had he been among the educated people in the tribe of Quraysh, the eloquent words of The Lord would have been subjected to more doubt (whether it is the word of Muhammed or The Lord Almighty). So this is a proof that Qur'an is truly the words of Allah. And hence, Allah challenges to bring something similar like the Qur'an for those who doubt. And no one will be able to bring something so true and never-ending in the guidance.
- La ilaha illa Allah- There is no deity worthy of worship except Allah. Nothing or no one has the right to be associated to Him.
- Let him work righteousness- if one hopes for the meeting with His Lord, and a good reward and recompense, then he should be righteous only to seek the pleasure of Allah, and no one else.
-Here righteousness means practising dheen in accordance with the prescribed laws of Allah Azza Wajal.
-Associate none as a partner to Allah: Purity of intention should be there in whatever we do, it should be only for the sake of earning the pleasure of Allah (not to show others or for humanitarian cause), and in accordance with the ways of the Messenger Sallallahu alihiwassalam. Imam Ahmad recorded that Mahmud bin Labid said that the Messenger of Allah said: "What I fear the most for you is the small Shirk." They said: "What is the small Shirk, O Messenger of Allah'' He said, "Showing off (Ar-Riya')". Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection, when the people are rewarded or punished for their deeds, "Go to the one for whom you were showing off in the world and see if you will find any reward with him.''

And Allah knows best.

Disputation of The Qur'an

2009-03-17T01:09:00.000-07:00

'Abdullah ibn 'Umar Radhiyallahu anh reported: I went to Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu alihiwassalam) in the morning and he heard the voice of two persons who were having an argument with each other about a verse. Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) came to us (and) the (signs) of anger could be seen on his face. He said: Verily, the people before you were ruined because of their disputation in the Book.

Lessons:
- It is natural to have difference of opinion in everything. Even the best among people (the companions of the Prophet had). You can share and discuss your difference of opinions, but not get into arguments.
- Do not cause evil to make your point of view clear, even though you maybe be on the "right" side.
- In matters of religion, unless you are a scholar, it is better to refrain from giving conclusions regarding certain rulings, Instead we should try to seek advice or opinion of scholars, and turn to the Qur'an and Sunnah. We should always concentrate on seeking more knowledge that will benefit us in increasing our emaan, and not argue with the little knowledge we have.
- We should always remember that Allah knows best in all matters, and show humility.
- And to help us to stick to the above qualities, we should remember that the people of the book were ruined because of their nature of delving into such situations which will cause fitna.

And Allah knows best.

Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both deny?!

2009-03-16T02:13:00.000-07:00

In the Name of Allah, The Most gracious, The Most Merciful.

فَبِأَىِّ ءَالاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ

"Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both(jinns and the mankind) deny?!" (Surah Ar-Rahman)

This Ayah is repeated throughout Surah Ar-Rahman, and this shows the magnanimity of the verse, subhanAllah...Allah says this ayah after mentioning each of His Blessings and creations that only a super-natural, supreme power is capable of doing. How can one not believe in God when they see all these proofs around them? How can it all be a coincidence? Suppose there is a bucket of ink over a table and plain unwritten sheets of paper under the table. What are the possibilities that the bucket of ink spills over the papers and it forms the oxford Dictionary?! None!!! Then how can this universe and each one of the human race and animals etc. be a coincidence??

Allah is The Most Gracious,The Most Magnificent. SubhanaAllah....The world we see around ourselves, and that which we do not see, is a creation of Allah SWT, The Most High. He is the Creator, Sustainer and Nourisher of His Creations. Allah has created everything in the world as pairs. Only Allah is Unique and The One. He has created the heavens and the earth, the Sun and the Moon, Stars and all other celestial bodies. Allah created mankind and jinn, provided us with provisions (air, light, fruits, grains and water). He created mankind in pairs, the male and female so that they complement each other. He gave us death and life, and our return will be unto Him. He created Paradise and Hell-fire, as recompense for this world. He gave us descriptions of these, and gave us guidance as Qur'an and as everything that we see around us. Allah's creation alone is a miracle and guidance for those who think.

If we were to really contemplate on all this more often, we will not want to stop Glorifying Him Azza Wajal and showing Him gratitude in our actions and speech and thoughts by obeying Him at all times. Allah tells us clearly about the Hellfire and Paradise, and this is a Blessing , Mercy and Guidance.

And then how can we deny the Blessings of Allah, by not remembering Him enough?

How to free oneself

2009-03-15T15:19:00.001-07:00

On the authority of Abu Malik al-Harith bin 'Asim al-Ash'ari, radiyallahu 'anhu, who said: The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said:
"Purification is half of iman (faith). Saying 'Al-Hamdulillah' (Praise be to Allah) fills the scales. Saying 'Subhanallah wa al-Hamdulillahi' (Exhalted be Allah and Praise be to Allah) fills the space between the heavens and the earth. Salah (prayer) is a light. Sadaqah (charity) is a proof. Sabr (patience) is a shining glory. The Qur'an is an argument either for you or against you. Everybody goes out in the morning and sell themselves, thereby setting themselves free or destroying themselves."
(Sahih Muslim)

SubhanAllah, one of the most beautiful ahadeeth I have heard in my life.

Lessons:
- Purification is through ablution(wudu) as it nullifies minor sins. When you are in wudu, you also feel guilty to disobey allah SWT. We should make it a practice inshAllah to be in wudu most of the time. It was the sunnah of Our prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam to go to sleep in a state of wudu.
- Importance of Dhikr (remembrance of Allah at all times). Alhamdulillah (Praise and Gratitude be to Allah) fills the scales, showing gratitude not only in our speech but also in our actions by showing obedience to Him SWT. The reward of saying "SubhanAllahu wabihamdihi" is magnanimous. Dhikr with speech will help increase our emaan, and help us become better Muslims, by keeping our minds focused on the remembrance of The Lord, and thereby, away from sinning and disobedience. Dhikr of Allah also includes the specific duahs we say during every act.
- Salah is the coolness of the eyes of the believer. He finds comfort, satisfaction and enlightenment of his heart through Salah, and Salah is a dialogue with Allah SWT.
-Sadaqah(charity) is a proof that reflects the emaan of the believer. People usually love wealth and money and if they challenge this love and overpower their greed for the sake of Allah, they indeed have strong emaan.
- Being patient is a very difficult and painful experience. It requires a lot of effort and struggle within. So when people control themselves and overcome impatience, they develop a good habit of self-control and become masters of their own selves. When we have a disagreement with someone, or someone says something against you, we feel very tempted to say things back, to prove our point, and we try to make our voice heard louder, as though that will prove a point. And it gives us a false kind of satisfaction and a sense of victory. But in reality, true victory is when we are able to control ourselves. Sabr is also the patience one shows in perseverance in doing acts of worship and righteous deeds and in abstaining from acts of disobedience to Allah SWT. Patience is also being patient with the Qadr(decree) of Allah SWT and not complaining about it.
-Quran is a proof for you if you recite it, reflect and act upon it. It is a proof against you if you ignore it completely, or recite it, and have the knowledge, but do not enact it.
- Every morning we sell ourselves either by freeing ourselves from the punishment or leading ourselves into punishment and hence destroying ourselves. If they work for Allah and obey Him they are winners, but if they violate the rules of Allah and disobey Him then they gain nothing but loss after loss.

(Explanation taken from Imam Nawawi Rahimahullah's commentary.)

And Allah knows best.

Sura Isra': 37

2009-03-14T03:45:00.000-07:00

In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

وَلاَ تَمْشِ فِى الاٌّرْضِ مَرَحًا إِنَّكَ لَن تَخْرِقَ الاٌّرْضَ وَلَن تَبْلُغَ الْجِبَالَ طُولاً

"And walk not on the earth with conceit and arrogance. Verily, you can neither rend nor penetrate the earth nor can you attain a stature like the mountains in height."

Lessons:
- The quality of arrogance is so hateful to Allah SWT. We have no reason to be arrogant. Even if we compare ourselves to non-living creations of Allah Azza Wajal, like the mountains, we have no might and are so helpless.
- We should not walk in a boastful or pompous manner, with an air of pride.

And Allah knows best.

Characteristics of A true believer when he recites the Qur'an

2009-03-14T02:36:00.000-07:00

To read the previous part, click here

Allah mentions about how the believer is when he recites the Qur'an:

إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَـناً وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ
The believers are only those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts and when His Ayat are recited unto them, they increase their faith; and they put their trust in their Lord. (Surah Al-Anfaal: 2)

Allah SWT says:

قُلْ ءَامِنُواْ بِهِ أَوْ لاَ تُؤْمِنُواْ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْعِلْمَ مِن قَبْلِهِ إِذَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ يَخِرُّونَ لِلاٌّذْقَانِ سُجَّدًا - وَيَقُولُونَ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَآ إِن كَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّنَا لَمَفْعُولاً - وَيَخِرُّونَ لِلاٌّذْقَانِ يَبْكُونَ وَيَزِيدُهُمْ خُشُوعًا
Say: "Believe in it or do not believe (in it). Verily, those who were given knowledge before it, when it is recited to them, fall down on their chins (faces) in humble prostration.'' And they say: "Glory be to our Lord! Truly, the promise of our Lord must be fulfilled.'' And they fall down on their chins (faces) weeping and it increases their humility. (Surah Isra': 107-109)

Allah uses the parable of mountains that are so prominent, strong and fixed to the ground firmly crumbling down due to humbleness when Qur'an is sent upon them. So just imagine how we as humans, who have been placed with hearts in our chests, should be when we hear verses from the Qur'an. Allah says:

لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَـذَا الْقُرْءَانَ عَلَى جَبَلٍ لَّرَأَيْتَهُ خَـشِعاً مُّتَصَدِّعاً مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ وَتِلْكَ الاٌّمْثَـلُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
Had We sent down this Qur'an on a mountain, you would surely have seen it humbling itself and rent asunder by the fear of Allah. Such are the parables which We put forward to mankind that they may reflect. (Surah Al-Hashr: 21)

Allah SWT cautions us not to be like those before us, the disbelievers, who did not show humility and accept the guidance from The Holy Book. He says:

أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ أَن تَخْشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ وَلاَ يَكُونُواْ كَالَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْكِتَـبَ مِن قَبْلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ الاٌّمَدُ فَقَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَكَثِيرٌ مِّنْهُمْ فَـسِقُونَ
Has not the time yet come for the believers that their hearts should be humble for the remembrance of Allah And that which has been revealed of the truth, lest they become as those who received the Scripture before, and the term was prolonged for them and so their hearts were hardened And many of them were rebellious. (Surah Al-Hadeed: 16)

When we face difficulties and trials in our life, we turn to Allah, and recite the Qur'an for comfort to our hearts. And in doing so, we feel at peace, gratitude, love, patience, contentment etc. Just imagine if we were to turn to This Greatest Book at all times, and contemplate on it, and reflect it in our actions and thoughts. It would keep us away from the corruption and ruins of the heart, and it would continue to nourish and strengthen our soul, and give us a sense of complacence.

The words of the Qur'an are so powerful that when it was revealed to the Arabs who were living in ignorance (jahiliyyah), their hearts would soften. To the extent that, even the enemies of Prophet Muhammed Sallallahu alihiwassalam, like Abu Jahal (who was too proud to accept Islam) would be in awe, and hence would prevent themselves and others from listening to it. We should remember that the Arabs were very poetic people, and yet, they felt they had never heard such eloquent words before. And we also know the story of Umar Al-Khattab Radhiyallahu anh who accepted Islam even though he had been a strong enemy of Rasoolullah and Islam in the beginning. And therefore, we should work more hard to be able to appreciate the qur'an more, inshallah. May SWT give us the thawfeeque to learn more and more and attain the fruit of it, which will lead us to jannah.

_____________________________________________________

The Qur'an we recite will guard us in our grave, in the form of a handsome man. However, it can also act as a proof against us. (Oh Allah, save us from such a situation, and ease our trials in our grave for us, aameen.) Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalm said: Verily Allah raises up a people with His Book, and He abases others. It has also been affirmed that he said: And the Qur'an is either a proof for you or against you. (Both these ahadeeth have been related by Muslim)

Reciting the Qur'an without understanding is also a virtuous and has merits, but the merits increase when we try to understand it. Similarly, reciting the Noble Words with the best and correct intonation and pronunciation (tajweed) is also recommended highly, but over-burdening yourself to do that alone, without paying attention to the meaning itself is not encouraged. Similarly, it is a good act to start a function or program with the verses of the Qur'an. But when we use it to start a program, where matters that are against the teachings of the qur'an happen (like starting a function where singing, dancing, intermingling etc takes place), then we are doing injustice to the Qur'an. The words of The Lord are too great to be dishonoured like that.

And Allah knows best.

Reciting the Qur'an and comtemplating on it

2009-03-12T19:47:00.001-07:00

To read previous part, click here

This is one of the greatest branches of knowledge that can lead to increase, stability and strengthening of emaan. Allah SWT has revealed the Qur'an for the mankind as the source of guidance, light, mercy and glad tidings and as a remembrance for those who remember.

Allah Subhanahu Watha'ala says:

وَهَـذَا كِتَـبٌ أَنزَلْنَـهُ مُبَارَكٌ فَاتَّبِعُوهُ وَاتَّقُواْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ

And this is a blessed Book (the Qur'an) which We have sent down, so follow it and have Taqwa(fear Allah), so that you may receive mercy. (Surah Al-An'am: 155)

Allah says:

وَيَوْمَ نَبْعَثُ فِى كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْهِمْ مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَجِئْنَا بِكَ شَهِيدًا عَلَى هَـؤُلآءِ وَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَـبَ تِبْيَانًا لِّكُلِّ شَىْءٍ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةً وَبُشْرَى لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ

And on the Day when We resurrect a witness from each nation from among themselves, and We bring you (O Muhammad) as a witness against these. And We have revealed the Book (the Qur'an) to you as an explanation of everything, a guidance, a mercy, and good news for the Muslims. (Surah An-Nahl: 89)

Allah SWT says:

كِتَـبٌ أَنزَلْنَـهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَـرَكٌ لِّيَدَّبَّرُواْ ءَايَـتِهِ وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُوْلُو الاٌّلْبَـبِ

(This is) a Book which We have sent down to you, full of blessings, that they may ponder over its Verses, and that men of understanding may remember. (Surah Saad: 29)

Qur'an is a guidance for those who seek it with open hearts, for those who try to read and learn the qur'an with the intention of accepting the words of the Lord, Almighty with utter submission and humility. The guidance is from Allah, The Just, and so it is so Just and Right.
Qur'an is a mercy and blessing to mankind, because without its light, we would be lost in darkness and go astray.
Qur'an is a constant reminder of the Hereafter, so that we may not become blind in the following of our desires for this life.
It is a constant reminder of things that we as humans very often forget, like the importance of salah and sabr(patience).
Qur'an is a glad tiding for those who believe, it tells us about Paradise and its beautiful descriptions so that we be encouraged to strive towards the goal of our life.

The Most noble words of Our Lord softens the heart of those who has an opened heart, or gives a heedful ear, that shows acceptance. It increases, develops and strengthens the one who reads it, because he will come across within the discourse of the Qur'an, The King who possess all dominion, for whom alone is all praise. And Allah is all-aware of what is in the hearts and souls of men. He sees and hears, gives and withholds, rewards and punishes, and honours and abases. This is as Allah azza Wajal said:

إِنَّ فِى ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لِمَن كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌ
Verily, therein is indeed a reminder for him who has a heart or gives ear while he is heedful. (Surah Qaaf: 37)

Allah Azza Wajal says:

إِنَّ هَـذَا الْقُرْءَانَ يِهْدِى لِلَّتِى هِىَ أَقْوَمُ وَيُبَشِّرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ الصَّـلِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا كَبِيرًا - وأَنَّ الَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالاٌّخِرَةِ أَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا

Verily, this Qur'an guides to that which is most just and right and gives good news to those who believe, those who do righteous deeds, that they will have a great reward (Paradise). And that those who do not believe in the Hereafter, for them We have prepared a painful torment (Hell). (Surah Isra': 9-10)

Allah placed within its words a cure for illnesses, especially the illnesses and diseases of misconceptions and desires of the heart.

The Qur'an teaches us through the most beautiful and perfect parables, and stories of nations who were destroyed due to their arrogance. It makes us realise the dire need that we are in, of Allah SWT, and how helpless we are, without His Mercy and Blessings. It is us that will profit if we worship Him and be righteous, and it is us who are at loss if we do not. Allah is The Unique, The Independent, The One everything and everyone else is dependent upon (As-Sammad).

______________________________________________________

How can then we be not attached to His (Subhanahu watha'ala)'s remembrance? How can our love for Him, our desire to meet Him (InshAllah, with His Mercy) and feeling close to Him not be our nourishment and strength without which we will not benefit from this life?

Allah says:

أَفَلاَ يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْءَانَ أَمْ عَلَى قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَآ

Will they not then reflect upon the Qur'an, or are there locks upon their hearts. (Surah Muhammed: 24)

Allah says that he revealed the Qur'an only so that we ponder upon it. And He SWT explains the lack of guidance for the one who deviates from the straight path is his disregard for reflecting upon the Qur'an. He says:

قَدْ كَانَتْ ءَايَـتِى تُتْلَى عَلَيْكُمْ فَكُنتُمْ عَلَى أَعْقَـبِكُمْ تَنكِصُونَ

Indeed My Ayat used to be recited to you, but you used to turn back on your heels. (Surah Al-Mu'minoon: 66)

May Allah SWT bless us with the true understanding of the Qur'an, that will benefit us in both the worlds. May He give us the thawfeeqe to live by the Qur'an and strengthen our emaan till our last breath, aameen...

To read the next part, click here

Modesty- Character of Islam

2009-03-12T15:29:00.000-07:00

Yahya related to me from Malik from Salama ibn Safwan ibn Salama az-Zuraqi that Zayd ibn Talha ibn Rukana, who attributed it to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Every deen has an innate character. The character of Islam is modesty.'

(Imam Malik's Muwatta)

Three acts of worship advised by Our Beloved Prophet

2009-03-12T03:36:00.000-07:00

Narrated By Abu Huraira Radhiyallahu anh: My friend (the Prophet Sallallahu ailiwassalam) advised me to do three things and I shall not leave them till I die, these are: To fast three days every month, to offer the Dhuha prayer, and to offer Witr before sleeping .
(Sahih Bukhari)

- The three days are the 13th, 14th and 15th of every month of the Hijri calender.
- Dhuha prayer is the prayer to be offered after sunrise and before midday.
- Witr means "one", it is the odd raka'h that is to be offered at night. We can either pray it as 1, 3, 5, 7, 11 etc.

And Allah knows best.

Surah Isra': 36 (do not speak of which you have no knowledge)

2009-03-12T03:23:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

وَلاَ تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولـئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْؤُولاً
"And follow not that of which you have no knowledge. Verily, the hearing, and the sight, and the heart of each of those ones will be questioned (by Allah)." (Surah Isra': 36)

Lessons:
-Ibn Abbas said: This means do not say anything of which you have no knowledge.
-Al-`Awfi said: "Do not accuse anyone of that of which you have no knowledge.''
-Muhammad bin Al-Hanafiyyah said: "It means bearing false witness.''
-Qatadah said: "Do not say, `I have seen', when you did not see anything, or `I have heard', when you did not hear anything, or `I know', when you do not know, for Allah will ask you about all of that.''
- In short, it means do not speak without knowledge, and on the basis of mere suspicions.
-A hadeeth from Sunan Abi Dawud: Beware of suspicion, for suspicion is the falsest of speech.
-Allah says: Avoid much suspicion; indeed some suspicions are sins. (Surah Al-Hujaraat:12)

And Allah knows best.

Balancing matters of Duniya and Aakhirah- do we have time to work for the Hereafter

2009-03-10T16:09:00.000-07:00

Allah has sent us to This world(the duniya) for a purpose, and the purpose is nothing but to worship Him Azza Wajal and do righteous deeds to seek His pleasure. And the religion He wants us to follow, is one of total submission and obedience - and a complete way of life. Allah SWT says:

الَّذِى خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَوةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلاً وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ
He Who created death and life to test which of you is best in action. He is the Almighty, the Ever-Forgiving. (Surah Al-Mulk: 2)

And Allah says:

يَـأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُواْ رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِىْ خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ
Oh mankind! Worship your Lord (Allah), Who created you and those who were before you so that you may acquire Taqwa. (Surah Al-Baqara: 21)

Islam should be inculcated into every action and deed in our everyday routine, be it at our work, in our business transactions, our family life (with our spouse and kids), our parents, our social life among our friends, community and everything that surrounds us and to matters of our heart. And inshAllah with this in our mind, all of us will be able to balance our time between the matters of Duniya and matters of the Hereafter. For a believer, all matters of the duniya are also matters of the Hereafter. He does not keep them separate. He indulges in matters of the duniya in such a way that will benefit him and not bring harm or evil to him in The Hereafter.

Allah says in the Qur'an:

وَمَا الْحَيَوةُ الدُّنْيَآ إِلاَّ لَعِبٌ وَلَهْوٌ وَلَلدَّارُ الاٌّخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لِّلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ أَفَلاَ تَعْقِلُونَ
The life of this world is nothing but a play and amusement. The hereafter is better for those who guard against evil. So will you not use your intellect? (Surah al-An'am: 32)

A true believer will always, therefore, remember his final destination. He does not forget the Hereafter, even for a second. He will live in this life as though he is a traveller, and he has to earn and prepare for his eternal abode, a luxurious, successful life.

Ibn 'Umar Radhiyallahu anh narrated that Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam said: “Be in this life as if you were a stranger or a traveller on a path.” (Sahih Al Bukhari)

Imagine a man is travelling by road from a point 'A' to his destination 'B' and he has a prescribed time to reach 'B'. He has his GPS with him to guide him to the right place. He needs to have food on his way. What do you think? Should he stop at a point 'C', which is on the way to 'B', or should he take a completely different out-of-the-way direction and go to a restaurant at point 'D' that might be more fancier and more expensive? Should he compromise on his time at this point, and trade his time just to enjoy more fancy food? And then, he sees something else that he feels he has to check out, and he stops there also, all the while moving farther and farther away from his destination. (And hence, 'D' leads him to 'E' and 'F' and so on to greater mistakes and farther from point B) But the Mercy of Allah Azza Wajal is this, if by mistake, he does take to point 'C' or even 'D', he can re-calculate and re-route himself to 'B' again through his GPS. And similar is the believer's true repentance.

This is a parable of our life in this world. Our final destination is The Aakhirah, and we have time to accumulate ibadah(worship Allah SWT) and do good deeds only till we die. And we don't even have a known prescribed time for this, unlike the example above! It can be anytime, anywhere. If we are consistent in the remembrance of Allah, we will be prepared when Malak-ul-Mauth approaches, and it is time for us to leave. (May Allah Bless us to die in a high state of emaan, aameen) We should use our provisions that Allah has blessed us with, in a way that will please Him, all the while staying on the right path, without going farther from our road to our final abode, Jannah.

Allah SWT says in the Qur'an:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ فَالِقُ الْحَبِّ وَالنَّوَى يُخْرِجُ الْحَىَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَمُخْرِجُ الْمَيِّتِ مِنَ الْحَىِّ ذلِكُمُ اللَّهُ فَأَنَّى تُؤْفَكُونَ
Verily! It is Allah Who causes the seed grain and the fruit stone to split and sprout. He brings forth the living from the dead, and it is He Who brings forth the dead from the living. Such is Allah, then how are you deluded away from the truth. (Surah Al-An'am: 95)

The Qur'an is like The GPS and more, that keeps guiding us, and we should pay serious heed to it, with strong faith in the instructions and guidelines it provides endlessly. The Qur'an is perfect in all senses and flawless, and if we stick to it, we will never be led astray with The Mercy and Blessings of Allah Azza Wajal.

Allah says:

ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لاَ رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ
That is the Book in which there is no doubt, guidance for the Muttaqin." (Surah Al-Baqara: 2)

If a matter of Duniya that will not benefit us, attracts us from a distance away from the straight path we are on, we should not think that maybe for once, we can move towards it, and then run back to the path we are supposed to be on, as we never know what is in store for us at that point. Maybe we could end up moving further away because of other worldly mirages, and ultimately leave us in darkness and lead to Hell-fire. Shaytan has a way of making our evil thoughts and actions look like "harmless fun" and nothing more.

Allah says:

أُولَـئِكَ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوُاْ الْحَيَوةَ الدُّنْيَا بِالاٌّخِرَةِ فَلاَ يُخَفَّفُ عَنْهُمُ الْعَذَابُ وَلاَ هُمْ يُنصَرُونَ
Those are the people who trade the hereafter for the world. The punishment will not be lightened for them nor shall they be helped. (Surat al-Baqara: 86)

InshAllah, let's be cautious of ourselves so that we will not be included in this type of people, may Allah save us all. Allah says:

وَذَرِ الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُواْ دِينَهُمْ لَعِباً وَلَهْواً وَغَرَّتْهُمُ الْحَيَوةُ الدُّنْيَا
Leave alone those who take their religion to be mere play and amusement, and are deceived by the life of this world. (Surah Al-An'am: 70)

This does not mean that one cannot have fun in this world. Have fun, but within the boundaries of Islam. And keep it balanced. And now to the question: how do we balance it? I have heard people talking about the comparatively few people who try to live their life as much "Muslim" as they can: Come on, he is too orthodox. One is supposed to balance the Duniya and The Aakhirah.
Answer: For one, like mentioned above, a true believer tries to make his whole life an ibadah.And his life can be an ibadah only if he is obeying His Lord at all times. For example, at his work place, he follows the etiquettes and laws of Islam by being nice to his colleagues, trying to give Da'wah when he gets a chance (needn't be through speech, his actions speak too), abstaining from intermingling(talking unnecessarily, coming in contact like shaking hands, patting each other etc.), being sincere to his work not just for worldly gains but out of fear of Allah SWT and most of all, having a halal job. In his business transactions, he will be fair, stay away from interest and any other kind of dealings that are against the shariah of Islam. Even when he relaxes and has fun, he keeps thanking Allah SWT.

Secondly, let's weigh the time we spend to make our life here better and the time we spend to make our Aakhirah better, by keeping in mind that the Aakhirah is eternal and this world is for such a short span of life. Surely, we spend quite an amount of unavoidable time for the duniya. How can we then, be satisfied with ourselves for the amount of time we spent only to worship Allah SWT and the little or no time we spend in learning His dheen? (Indeed, He is The Most Merciful that inshAllah, we will enter Paradise, for the little we do here for our own Aakhirah's sake as gratitude for this life he has Blessed us with!)

Allah SWT says:

يأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُواْ رَبَّكُمْ وَاخْشَوْاْ يَوْماً لاَّ يَجْزِى وَالِدٌ عَن وَلَدِهِ وَلاَ مَوْلُودٌ هُوَ جَازٍ عَن وَالِدِهِ شَيْئاً إِنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ فَلاَ تَغُرَّنَّكُمُ الْحَيَوةُ الدُّنْيَا وَلاَ يَغُرَّنَّكُم بِاللَّهِ الْغَرُورُ
Oh mankind! Have Taqwa of your Lord, and fear a Day when no father can avail aught for his son, nor a son avail aught for his father. Verily, the promise of Allah is true, let not then this present life deceive you, nor let the chief deceiver deceive you about Allah. (Surah Luqman: 33)

Thirdly, let's always stop ourselves and think twice when we feel tempted to think/say, "We have no time", when it comes to doing a good deed or an act or worship. Allah has given each and everyone of us 24 hours a day and 7 days in a week. All men are equal. If the companions of The Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam and the rightly guided scholars of the Islamic Era, (may Allah be pleased with them all) were able to run homes (sometimes more than one) with many kids, run businesses or do some work in order to earn their bread, govern the nation/state, do da'wah and teach Islam to their people, recite the Qur'an and contemplate on it on a daily basis, participate in battles, travel to seek knowledge of dheen, pray thahajjud and other extra prayers etc, why cannot we find time then?

"O Lord ! Give unto us in the world that which is good and in the Hereafter that which is good and guard us from that doom of the Fire ".

Instill love of ibadah to The Creator in your child

2009-03-10T02:23:00.000-07:00

All of us as parents, constantly think about the various ways in how to bring up our children to love Allah SWT and our ways of life. The Key is in being a good muslim ourselves. Children watch and observe, and grasp every action that we do. They love to, and try to imitate that we do, atleast most of the time. The way to upbringing your children in the Islamic way is, being steadfast ourselves, and adhering to Islamic teachings as much as we can. We should start preparing for this, even before our child is born, and not wait till they come of understandable age. But then again, its never too late. As soon as we realise the need to change, we should start implemeting it in our lives, and work hard towards it.

We do not have to worry about teaching our child the concept of One God, as every child is already born with that (the natural instinct of believing in One god, and the inclination to the truth and the ability to distinguish right and wrong), and as they grow older, they understand it better, and recognise the miracles of this world, and thus, will attribute it all to Allah Subhanahu Wa Tha'ala.

The Prophet Sallallahu alihiwassalam said, "No baby is born but upon Fitra (as a Muslim)." (Sahih Bukhari)

What we need to worry about is, training them to love to do good deeds and establish acts of worship. And for this, try to involve them in what we do. Tell them, "its good to do so-and-so". Believe me, they will accept it, just as simple as that. And we do not have to wait for them to turn 3 or 4 years old for this. We can start as early as 1 year old or even younger.

Some of the things we can do are:

1. Play Qur'an recitation as often as you can, at home, or in the car. Just tell them: Isn't it so beautiful to listen to this recitation? Use simple words like Qur'an is good or nice.
2. While we do salah, just tell them casually: If you want, you can stand with me, to pray. Never enforce them when they are too young, and never command or ask them, as kids always have the tendency to do the opposite just so that they will be told again and again. They just love to repeat things and things repeated to them.
3. If they get hurt, ask them after a while, if the "boo-boo" (hurt, pain) is gone, and when they say yes, say "Alhamdulillah" loudly or even "Thank you, Allah".
4. Saying "Bismillah" before eating.
5. Say duahs loudly and make them repeat it if they seem interested. Again, do not command, just offer (do you want to say the duah?)
6. When they sneeze, let them say, "Alhamdulillah" (or Abdullah, or Ahmedulillah, lol!- let's not correct them too much when they don't say it right, ultimately, they will get frustrated and will quit saying at all)
7. When someone in the family is sick, teach them to pray to Allah. Teach them to pray for all family members and themselves before going to bed, (it can be anytime, but night time is best, as that's the only time they will be little calm, and less playful and excited about other things.) Make it a routine along with the duah that we say, before going to bed.
8. Teach them to appreciate nature, not just the names. (Instead of saying, "look, that is the moon!", say,"wow, look at how nice/beautiful the moon is!")
9. Take them to the masjid as often as we can. Take them for community programs etc. Sometimes, it can be a little testing for them, as they need to behave well in such places. So promise them a reward for it. When you reward them, do not over-do it. Reward them appropraitely, with something small.

May Allah always guide us and our kids through the Sirathul Musthaqueem. May Allah increase us in Sabr (patience) to bring our children up in the way that will please Him. We should always be consistent in our actions, only then our children will acquire it from us; may Allah help us in being consistent always in our dheen. May Allah make us and our children among the righteous. Aameen....

Sura Isra': 34-35

2009-03-10T01:35:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

وَلاَ تَقْرَبُواْ مَالَ الْيَتِيمِ إِلاَّ بِالَّتِى هِىَ أَحْسَنُ حَتَّى يَبْلُغَ أَشُدَّهُ وَأَوْفُواْ بِالْعَهْدِ إِنَّ الْعَهْدَ كَانَ مَسْؤُولاً - وَأَوْفُوا الْكَيْلَ إِذا كِلْتُمْ وَزِنُواْ بِالقِسْطَاسِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلاً

34. And come not near to the orphan's property except to improve it, until he attains the age of full strength. And fulfill (every) covenant. Verily, the covenant will be questioned about.
35. And give full measure when you measure, and weigh with a balance that is straight. That is good (advantageous) and better in the end.

Lessons:
- If we become guardians of orphans, we have no right to consume their property for ourselves.

- "Do not consume it (the orphan's property) wastefully and hastily fearing that they should grow up, and whoever (among guardians) is rich, he should take no wages, but if he is poor, let him have for himself what is just and reasonable (according to his labor)." [Surah An-Nissa': 6]

- We should always keep our promises that we have made, and covenants (contracts) that we have agreed upon. We will be accountable to Allah SWT on the Day of Reckoning.

- When dealing with weights and measures, be it food like grains, sugar etc, or gold, silver etc, we should always be fair, and not cheat in our dealings. Ibn `Abbas Radhiyallahu anh used to say: "Oh people, you are entrusted with two things for which the people who came before you were destroyed - these weights and measures.'' (Tafseer Ibn Katheer). This was about the people of Prophet Shu'aib alihissalam.

And Allah knows best.

Consistency when doing acts of worship

2009-03-10T00:45:00.000-07:00

'A'isha Radhiyallahu anha is reported to have said that the Messenger of Allah Sallallahu alihiwassalam was asked about the act most pleasing to Allah. He replied: That which is done continuously, even if it is small.
(Sahih Muslim)

Lessons:
- When we start doing an act of worship, we should observe steadfastness and continuity.
- Allah SWT loves the acts that are done continuously even it they are small. For example, reciting a page from the Qur'an or reading 2 Ayahs from the Qur'an with tafseer and contemplating on it, on a daily basis.
- For example, if we keep the niyyah of fasting "nafl" fasts, on the 13th, 14th and 15th (or on Mondays, and/or Thursdays of every month, then we should try to keep up with it. This requires some struggle in the beginning, and then Allah will make it easier for us each time.
- One lesson I got from this is, the importance of steadfastness, because we never know when our death is. InshAllah may Allah bless us to die in the high state of emaan. And for this to be possible inshallah, we should keep doing good deeds and acts of worship. We should not think of stopping it for a while. What if we die at that time?!

May Allah SWT always keep us on Hidaya, and inshAllah lets all strive to be consistent with our actions.

And Allah knows best.

Qur'an is The Ultimate Truth (How Abu Lahab could have tried to prove otherwise)

2009-03-09T01:18:00.000-07:00

When Allah SWT ordered His Messenger Sallallahu alihiwassalam to propagate Islam openly, he went out to the valley and ascended Mount Safa, and cried out to his people, "Oh people, come at once!" So the Quraysh gathered around him. Then he said, "If I told you all that the enemy was going to attack you in the morning, or in the evening, would you all believe me?" They replied, "Yes.'' Then he said, "Verily, I am a Warner (sent) to you all before the coming of a severe torment." (There is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, do not associate anyone unto Him, and Muhammed is the Messenger of Allah.)

And then Abu lahab said, "Have you gathered us for this? May you perish!''

And thus, Allah revealed:
تَبَّتْ يَدَآ أَبِى لَهَبٍ وَتَبَّ - مَآ أَغْنَى عَنْهُ مَالُهُ وَمَا كَسَبَ - سَيَصْلَى نَاراً ذَاتَ لَهَبٍ - وَامْرَأَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ - فِى جِيدِهَا حَبْلٌ مِّن مَّسَدٍ
"Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab and perish he! His wealth and his children will not benefit him! He will enter a Fire full of flames! And his wife too, who carries wood. In her neck is a twisted rope of Masad."

And this is what will happen inshAllah. During the time of the Battle of Badr, he could not take part in it against Muhammed Sallallahu alihiwassalam, along with the Quraysh, the disbelievers of that time. Sickness had taken over him, and his sickness was such that not even his children went near him, and his body became so rotten with pus and other fluid, and so his children could not benefit him at all. And when he died, his body was thrown into his grave using a stick. May Allah save us from all these punishments, aameen.

When this surah was revealed, Abu Lahab could have proven it to be wrong by accepting Islam, just to prove Allah and His Messenger wrong, and not truthful. For had he done that, then this surah would have been proven false. But Abu Lahab did not do that, and that is the Qadr (decree) of Allah Azza Wajal. He was only blinded by his hatred for Allah's Messenger and the Message of truth he brought, and this was due to his arrogance to accept the truth which was against all what he had believed and done. He feared he would lose authority and fame and name if he chose to submit to the dheen that Prophet Muhammed Sallallahu alihiwassalam had brought. And Allah chose not to give him hidaya (true guidance). True guidance is something that Allah wills, for He knows what is in the hearts of men. If one has an open heart to accept the truth with humility, then Allah blesses him with hidaya.

And Allah knows best.

Doing good to impress others will lead one to Hell-fire

2009-03-09T00:53:00.000-07:00

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah Radhiyallahu anh, who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah Sallallahu alihi wassalam say:
The first of people against whom judgment will be pronounced on the Day of Resurrection will be a man who died a martyr. He will be brought and Allah will make known to him His favours and he will recognize them. [ The Almighty] will say: And what did you do about them? He will say: I fought for you until I died a martyr. He will say: You have lied - you did but fight that it might be said [of you]: He is courageous. And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hell-fire. [Another] will be a man who has studied [religious] knowledge and has taught it and who used to recite the Quran. He will be brought and Allah will make known to his His favours and he will recognize them. [The Almighty] will say: And what did you do about them? He will say: I studied [religious] knowledge and I taught it and I recited the Quran for Your sake. He will say: You have lied - you did but study [religious] knowledge that it might be said [of you]: He is learned. And you recited the Quran that it might be said [of you]: He is a reciter. And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hell-fire. [Another] will be a man whom Allah had made rich and to whom He had given all kinds of wealth. He will be brought and Allah will make known to his His favours and he will recognize them. [The Almighty] will say: And what did you do about them? He will say: I left no path [untrodden] in which You like money to be spent without spending in it for Your sake. He will say: You have lied - you did but do so that it might be said [of you]: He is open-handed. And so it was said. Then he will be ordered to be dragged along on his face until he is cast into Hell-fire.
It was related by Muslim (also by at-Tirmidhi and an-Nasa'i). This is a Hadeeth Qudsi. (A Sacred Hadith is, as to the meaning, from Allah the Almighty; as to the wording, it is from the messenger of Allah (PBUH). It is that which Allah the Almighty has communicated to His Prophet through revelation or in dream, and he, peace be upon him, has communicated it in his own words. Thus Qur'an is superior to it because, besides being revealed, it is Allah SWT's wording.)

Oh Allah, keep my intentions and worship always pure and solely to please You, and nobody else. Protect me, Ya Allah, from the above the group of people, aameen...

- The martyr who died so that people will say he is courageous.
- The learned (who was very learned in religious studies)who wants people to say of him, "he is learned".
- The Qur'an reciter who wishes for people to say: He is a reciter.
- The one who spent his wealth in charity so that people will say: He is very open-handed.

Surah Isra': 32 (things that lead to zina)

2009-03-09T00:09:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

وَلاَ تَقْرَبُواْ الزِّنَى إِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاحِشَةً وَسَآءَ سَبِيلاً

"And come not near to unlawful sex. Verily, it is Fahishah (immoral sin) and an evil way." (Sura Isra': 32)

Lessons:
- Allah does not command "Do not commit zina (unlawful sex)". Instead Allah SWT says, do not come closer or approach zina. All the things that will lead to zina are therefore, prohibited.
- We should lower our gaze and not look at the opposite sex without a valid reason.
- We should avoid mixed gatherings.
- We should follow the prescribed dress code of Islam, both men and women, and not expose in any way that will attract the opposite sex.
- A non-mahram man and woman should never be together alone in a place. Nor should they talk to each other for no reason be it through phone, chatting etc. When it is so, a third person comes, and that is, shaytan.
- We should control our thoughts and desires by increasing your remembrance of Allah Azza Wajal and the Hereafter, and by fasting.
- A man or woman who has come of age, should realise the need to get married as soon as they can. They should not delay it for no reason.
-Narrated 'Abdullah Radhiyallahu anh:
We were with the Prophet while we were young and had no wealth whatever. So Allah's Apostle said, "O young people! Whoever among you can marry, should marry, because it helps him lower his gaze and guard his modesty (i.e. his private parts from committing illegal sexual intercourse etc.), and whoever is not able to marry, should fast, as fasting diminishes his sexual power." (Sahih Bukhari)
- There is a hadeeth narrated by Anas Radhiyallahu anh that getting married completes half your dheen. This is because when you are married, it helps you abstain from things that lead you to think of zina.

And Allah knows best.

Surah Isra': 31 (killing of children is haram)

2009-03-08T03:45:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

وَلاَ تَقْتُلُواْ أَوْلادَكُمْ خَشْيَةَ إِمْلَـقٍ نَّحْنُ نَرْزُقُهُمْ وَإِيَّاكُم إنَّ قَتْلَهُمْ كَانَ خِطْئًا كَبِيرًا
"And kill not your children for fear of poverty. We shall provide for them as well as for you. Surely, the killing of them is a great sin." (Surah Isra': 31)

Lessons:
- Allah is more compassionate towards His servants than a father to his child, because He forbids killing children just as He enjoins parents to take care of their children in matters of inheritance. The people of Jahiliyyah would not allow their daughters to inherit from them, and some would even kill their daughters lest they make them more poor.
- Always remember that Allah is The Provider, The Sustainer. Your job is just a Blessing and means bestowed by Allah SWT to the provisions you enjoy.
- We should not think that we are self-sufficient, and think we can take decisions for yourself. Allah is The One who plans and wills.
- This ayah is not just talking about killing of children literally. It is also implying that abortion is haram.

And Allah knows best.

Invocation upon going to sleep and when waking up

2009-03-08T03:33:00.000-07:00

Narrated Hudhaifa Radhiyallahu anh:
Whenever the Prophet intended to go to bed, he would recite: "Bismika Allahumma amutu wa ahya (With Your name, O Allah, I die and I live)." And when he woke up from his sleep, he would say: "Al-hamdu lil-lahil-ladhi ahyana ba'da ma amatana; wa ilaihi an-nushur (All the Praises are for Allah Who has made us alive after He made us die (sleep) and unto Him is the Resurrection). "
(Sahih Bukhari)

Good manners of a believer

2009-03-06T15:28:00.000-08:00

Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Apostle said, "Anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should not harm his neighbor, and anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should entertain his guest generously and anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should talk what is good or keep quiet. (i.e. abstain from all kinds of evil and dirty talk).
(Sahih Bukhari)