Leyton Islamic Society

Discover Islam Week Events

2010-03-22T17:49:00.009Z

Click poster to see a bigger version

Also throughout the week:

FOOD SALE
RAISING MONEY FOR THE CHILDREN OF GAZA
Monday 29th march, TUESDAY 3Oth march & THURSDAY 1ST April
Venue: refectory 12pm - 1pm

'How To Behave Like A Real Princess'

2009-07-19T01:26:00.003+01:00

Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Raheem.

Assalaamu’alaykum Wa’rahmatulahi Wa’barakatahu my dear and respected brothers and sisters!!!

After pondering day after day after day about what I shall make my next post about I came to no success, for everything I thought of just did not feel right.

Amongst other posts, the message of exams already put across as well as moving on to a new chapter of our lives and so forth. So alas with no ideas I thought I would clean out my room. After all it really needed sorting out, as me any my sister had really had enough tripping over my philosophy folder and stumping our feet on my psychology books. So I thought that is what I’ll do for now.

Upon bringing all my work from my room, downstairs to the spare room, it came to my attention that even the spare room was in such a state! So I thought I have to clear this up as well otherwise I have no where to put my work. And that is when Alhumdulilah inspiration struck.

I came across a book my beloved father had gifted to me as a child, and upon finding it memories came flooding back of my childhood, and how a huge portion of it was spent…wanting to be a PRINCESS!

The book was part of the collection of Anastasia books, titled: ‘How to behave like a princess’. Stupid as I felt and thinking ‘I have no idea why I’m flicking through this’ it came to my attention that subhan’Allah, how our culture in the west is filled with fooling and corrupting the young children of our Ummah, giving young girls false hope, and the wrong ideas of life, romance and yep…PRINCE CHARMING.

As I read on “…a real princess never plays with the same toys twice…she has new ones delivered everyday”…“a real princess should ALWAYS dress like a princess…she must have dozens of wardrobes filled with elegant gowns and glittering tiaras”…“a proper princess will host wonderful parties.” …“a real princess does not wear the same clothes twice.” She lives in her castle, waiting for Prince Charming or her Knight in shinning armour to rescue her pretty self.

The more I read, the more this book began to sound like something out of Brother Baba Ali’s marriage video from Ummah Films. Many sisters, acting just like this princess, just like this damsel in distress, waiting for her knight in shinning armour to battle the fire breathing dragon, climb the tall tower and whisk her away into an happily ever after. If any of you have seen Shrek 2, it is exactly how the film starts with Prince Charming’s adventurous journey for his bride to be.

Subhan’Allah wa bi Hamdi! But if one looks at the REAL GEMS, the REAL PRINCES and PRINCESSES of the dunya and the hereafter, the Sahabah, the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam and the Umm ul’Mu’mineen, this absurd notion the west portray was not their conduct at all!!!

This question is for the sisters, be honest how many fairy tales have you seen as a child, how many times did you fink ‘Where’s my prince charming?’

Brothers, how many cartoons of superheroes did you watch and think ‘that’s gonna be me in the future, and I will be saving a pretty woman too who will be my wife’ ???

As insignificant as it may seem, what’s the harm, there only cartoons right? No! Many a times I myself have spoken to sisters looking for a spouse in marriage, and they have such deluded ideas of what marriage is like. They really are waiting for Mr Perfect to come falling into their laps!!

How many narrations are there of A’ishah radi Allahu Anha, playing with her dolls with her friends, and the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam would join in on young A’ishah’s play and games. Yet she did not complain and throw a tantrum for more dolls. One famous parable is when the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam went to A’ishah’s room on the day of Id-Ul-Adha, to find A’ishah playing a game that the prophet had not seen before, when he asked her what she was playing, A’ishah replied ‘this is Solomon’s horses’ upon which the prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam smiled.

Subhan’Allah, even when the children of the Ummah in the past played with their toys and gave performances, it was in relation to Islam and Allah’s Prophets and Messengers. A’ishah’s play, that same day the Abysinnians performance of the Battle of Badr, and Allahu’Alim how many other such plays.
Yes, plays related to Islam, not Barbie being looked away in her big Barbie house by her step-mother, and Ken climbing up to Barbie’s room to save her. (Or is it Blaine now, ‘cos apparently Barbie dumped Ken! More absurdity!!!)

As for the dress of our beloved Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam, the Sahabah, the Sahabiyaat, and the Tabi’een. Subhan’Allah so humble were they, that they only had enough cloth to shroud themselves and their families. They indulged in no extravagance nor squandering of money. So that means they didn’t have any designer jilbaabs and jubbas and so forth! (Subhan’Allah Chanel and Dior have themselves come out with designer jilbaabs!!!)

A parable of Ali Radi Allahu Anhu comes to mind, after Ali Radi Allah Anhu had passed away. Mu’awiyah bin Abu Sufyan Radi Allahu Anhu went to Dirar bin Damrah and asked him to describe Ali Radi Allahu Anhu to him.

After much deliberation and Mu’awiyah refusing to excuse Dirar, in a long citation Dirar said: “…He showed a liking to coarse garments and lower-quality food.”
&
Dirar also said: “I swear by Allah, that on certain occasions, I saw him (Ali) in his place of prayer when the night was dark and few stars could be seen; he would be holding his beard and crying the way a very sad person cries; and I would hear him saying, ‘O World, O World, are you offering yourself to me? Do you desire me? Never! Never! Deceive someone other than me. I have divorced you for the third time, so that you cannot return to me!”
[The author of the book adds: Ali is speaking metaphorically, alluding to the fact that in Islam, the third divorce is final, whereas in the case of the first or second divorce, a man may take his wife back.]
[Sifatus-Safwah 1/66 & Hilyatul-Awliya’ 1/84-85]

Subhan’Allah Wa Bi Hamdi! The cousin of the blessed Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam himself, his (Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wa Sallam) son-in-law, and Sahabi. A true prince indeed! And even the status of princehood seems so common when talking about the Messenger of Allah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam and his companions!

Yet this man, this true prince, showed a liking to coarse, crude, and rough garments over the finer, yet indeed he is more deserving to be dressed in the finer fabrics of the dunya. Ali preferred foods of inferior and lower quality though his sacrifices make him more worthy to be fed with the best of best!
These are the ‘How to…’ guides we should be reading, preaching, learning from and giving to others.

However as we learn from the Qur’an and the Sunnah, it is much more worth its weight to be the Kings and Queens in Jannah forever, over this temporary and short life. My sisters desire to be the Queens of Jannah beside your spouse with command over his Hoor Al’Ayn.

In another lengthy parable of Malik bin Dinar preaching to a King in which he described the worth of the Hoor Al’Ayn in comparison to the women of the Dunya, (this should get us off our high horse!) Malik said: “If mixed with salty water, her spit will make that water fresh and sweet. If a dead person is invited by her speech, he will answer her. If her shirt is put beside the sun, the sun will seem to be a dark object. If her sweat falls onto the earth, it will be like perfume on it. She is sweet-smelling, with beautiful eyes, and a flirtatious nature for her male companion only. And she passionately loves her male companion. Her beauty never changes; she never becomes unfaithful; and her love is everlasting.”
[Bahrud-Damu’ Pg. 91-93]

Subhan’Allah Wa Bi Hamdi, and that description is just of the male’s maidens in Jannah, so imagine what will be the status of his Queen???

Western culture will have you belive being a prince/princess is all about the amount of wealth one has accumulated, however Allah azz wa Jall indeed Might and Majesty belongs to Him clearly has stated in the Qur’an:
“Woe to every slander, and backbiter, He who gathers wealth and counts it.” [104:1-2]
Rather than accumulating wealth, the Sahabah and sahabiyat fought and competed with each other to give as much as they could. We all know of the many a times noted parable of ‘Umar trying to beat Abu Bakr in giving provisions in the path of Allah. ‘Umar bought a half of all that which he owned, leaving exactly a half for his family, but Abu Bakr surpassed ‘Umar by contributing ALL of what he owned, leaving for his family Allah and His Messenger Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam alone, such was his belief and reliance upon Allah.

Subhan’Allah Wa Bi Hamdi! This is not all! A’ishah Radi Allahu Anha, one of the wives of the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam not only in this life, but also in the hereafter, a true Queen indeed, yet look at how humbly this Queen spent her life. Urwah Radi Allahu Anha narrated: “I once saw A’ishah Radi Allahu Anha spending 70 000 dirhams in charity, while she herself was wearing a dress with patches.”

Yet subhan’Allah, we feel pain at giving even 1 penny in charity, whilst we ourselves have our own wardrobes and bellies filled with provisions!

And what of Khadija Radi Allahu Anha, a very wealthy woman from her previous marriage, she did not spend her wealth hoarding sparkling tiaras, rather she spent all of her wealth in the way of Allah, supporting the Muslims and the Messenger of Allah Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam in the early days of Islam through the Quraysh’s continous persecutions, spending to the spread the message of her husband, helping to free slaves who had embraced Islam and feeding and sheltering the community of muslims that was growing slowly but surely in numbers and strength.

Humility and humbleness is not the only trait we can learn from the Umm Ul’Mu’mineen, my sisters there is much we can adopt from the Mothers of the believers, one of which is eloquence. Too often do sisters ignore this beautiful trait and opt for being ‘rowdy’, ‘loud-mouthed’ or the ‘in your face’ characteristic, with even their speech being from a trait of the western disbelievers (i.e. colloquial slang).

Musa ibn Talha Radi Allahu Anhu, once said: “I have not seen anyone more eloquent than A’ishah” (Radi Allahu Anha).
And indeed eloquence in a woman (AND in a man) is a worthy trait often overlooked. People often speak of seeking a spouse who is attractive and beautiful, and subhan’Allah eloquence enhances one’s physical and internal beauty. And many narrations of the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam are a testament to this, as he himself (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) was so eloquent in behaviour and mannerisms, making him so awe-inspiring, even to the disbelievers in his blessed presence.

Other qualities found in the Umm Ul’Mu’mineen, are as A’ishah Radi Allahu Anha described Zaynab bint Jahsh Radi Allahu Anha: “I have never seen a woman so pure as Zaynab, so God-fearing, so truthful, so attentive to family ties, so generous, so self-sacrificing in everyday life, so charitable, and thus so close to Allah, The Exalted.”

One last example, from the best of creation himself. His (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) humbleness clear in the below parable, and ‘Umar Radi Allahu Anhu could not have termed his distress any more better than he did. It is related by ‘Umar (Radi Allahu Anhu) that he went to visit the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam, who was staying alone in a small upper room, in order to find out what was happening [the period when the companions did not know if the prophet had divorced his wives or not, over a marital problem].

After been given permission to enter, ‘Umar climbed up the ladder and into the small room: “I visited the Messenger of Allah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam and he was lying on a mat. I sat down and he drew up his lower garment over him. He had nothing else on, and the mat had left its marks on his sides. I looked around at what stores the Messenger of Allah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam had, and saw only a handful of barley equal to one Sa’ and an equal amount of mimosa leaves in the corner of the room and a tanned leather bag hanging nearby, and I was moved to tears.”

He (Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam) said, “Ibn al-Khattab, what is making you cry?” and I replied, “O Messenger of Allah, how can I not cry? This mat has left marks on your sides and I can only see what I have seen of your stores. Caesar and Chosroes are leading their lives of plenty, while you are the Messenger of Allah, His Chosen One, and look what you have!”

Subhan’Allah Wa Bi Hamdi!! What grief at the state of the Messenger of Allah, yet do we even shed one tear, upon hearing the trials and tests he (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) faced?!!!
And subhan’Allah look at the beautiful and soothing reassurance of the Messenger of Allah!!!

“Ibn al-Khattab,” He (Sallallahu 'Alayhi Wa Sallam) answered, “Isn’t it enough for you that for us there is the next world, and for them there is this world?”

“Yes.” I said.
----
These narrations and parables are only a fraction of the large amount of knowledge there is available to us, Insha’Allah I hope this post serves as a reminder to firstly myself and then to you, of how the real princes and princesses of Islam, how the real gems behaved and conducted their manners. And insha’Allah I make du’a we can imitate these blessed qualities, ameen.
With Ramadhan coming in just over a months time (5 weeks), what an excellent time to try and improve ourselves to be better Muslims and better slaves of Allah, The All-Mighty, insha’Allah.

“O Allah! Make the months of Rajab and Sha’baan blessed for us, and let us reach the month of Ramadhan.”
[Narrated by At-Tabarani & Ahmad]
Ameen, Ameen, Ameen!!!

Please Forgive me for my mistakes and hide my faults insha’Allah, Jazak’Allah Khayr. Wassalaam!

Ten Statements from the Salaf On Love and Hate for Allah’s Sake

2009-05-29T20:32:00.003+01:00

Imaam Abu Hamid al-Tusi al-Ghazali1 -

‘Umar bin al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه) said:“If one of you is blessed with affection from his brother, he should hold onto that as tightly as possible, as it is quite rare for one to be blessed with this.”

2 - ‘Umar (رضي الله عنه) also said:“Nobody is given anything, besides his Islaam, better than a righteous friend.”

3 - ‘Ali bin Abi Talib (رضي الله عنه) said:“Tend to your brothers, as they are your sustenance in this world and the next. Do you not hear the saying of the people of Hell: {”Now, we have neither intercessors nor close friends to help us!”} [ash-Shu’ara’; 100-1]?”

4 - ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar (رضي الله عنه) said:“By Allaah, if I fasted all day without eating, prayed all night without sleeping, spent all of my wealth in the Path of Allaah (سبحانه وتعالى), died the day I died, but, had no love in my heart for those who obey Allaah, and no hatred in my heart for those who disobey Allaah (سبحانه وتعالى), none of this would benefit me in the least.”

5 - ‘Abdullah bin Mas’ud (رضي الله عنه) said:“If a man were to stand for seventy years, worshipping Allaah between the Yemeni Corner and the Maqam of Ibrahim (at the Ka’bah), he would still be resurrected on the Day of Judgement with those whom he loved.”

6 - Ibn as-Sammak (رحمه الله) said, on his deathbed:“O Allaah! You Know that, even if I had disobeyed You, I loved those who obeyed You! So, make this for me a means of nearness to You!”

7 - Mujahid (رحمه الله) said:“Those who love each other for Allaah’s Sake, when they smile at each other, their sins fall from each other, just as the leaves fall from a tree before the winter.”

8 - al-Ghazali (رحمه الله) said, commenting on the hadith “The strongest bond of faith is to love for Allaah and to hate for Allaah”:“Because of this, it is a must that a person have enemies that he hates for Allaah’s Sake, just as he has friends and brothers that he loves for Allaah’s Sake.”

9 - Abu Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) said:“The slave will be brought between the Hands of Allaah - the Exalted - on the Day of Resurrection, and Allaah (سبحانه وتعالى) will Say to him: ‘Did you love one of my awliya’, so that I can join you with him?’”

10 - al-Hasan al-Basri (رحمه الله) said:“Being harsh against a fasiq brings you closer to Allaah - the Exalted.”From ‘Ihya’ ‘Ulum ad-Din’ (2/195 onwards) Iqtida’ by Imaam al-Ghazali (رحمه الله)

Questions Asked at Final Event

2009-05-28T16:57:00.002+01:00

Assalamu Alaykum,

There were a few questions from the sisters which were left unanswered in the last event. As promised, we will provide the answers on the blog insha Allah. If you have a question which you would like answered, post it as a comment and we will try answer it as soon as possible insha Allah.

Question: A lot of people do not realise or do not believe in the command of the Hijaab or the beard. Can you briefly go through its importance?

Answer: The following is an excellent book on the beard:

THE LAWS OF THE BEARD AND THE HAIR IN THE LIGHT OF THE AHADITH
by Moulana Fadhlur Rahmaan Azmi

To read a book on Hijab, visit the following two links:

The Niqaab - Duroos.net

Hijab - Inter-Islam

Questions: Please tell us what duas we can make to be successful.

Answer: Dua from the heart with sincerity will grant success. However, if one wants to read duas from the Qur'an and Ahadeeth then that is also correct. There are many duas that can be found, a very nice one is:

أللِّهُم النّفَعنِي بِمَا عَلَّمتَنِي وَ عَلِّمنِيِ مَا يَنفَعنِي
Allahumma infa'nii bimaa 'allamtanii wa'allimnii maa yanfa' unii
O Allah! Make useful for me what You taught me and teach me knowledge that will be useful to me.

However, one should not limit oneself to this dua only, and try to purchase a nice dua book and read from there, accompanying it with dua from the heart.

Question: Is tasbeeh a bid'ah? As I was told there is no proof that Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used a tasbeeh.

Answer: The idea [of using a tasbeeh] is to count the Dhikr. Be it counted with the fingers or with beads, both are permissible. It is recorded in Abu-Dawood Shareef that some Sahaaba (Radhiallaahu Anhu) had beads (seeds) which they used to use to count Dhikr. (Source: http://www.askimam.org/fatwa/fatwa.php?askid=4008fc2ed215488b12d636f6d1ac4a0 9)

Coming soon insha Allah:

Question: Is going to tabligh i.e. going out for 3 or 40 days haram?
Question: I have bought some skin care cream which has ingredients from the dead sea. Is it true that the dead sea is cursed? Should I use the cream?
Question: If I enter Paradise (Jannat) but my parents fail to do so, can I, as a Muslim ask Allah to allow them to also enter Jannat although (e.g. my father isn't a strong believer) their belief is really weak? But that also means that he will first get punished for his sins and then enter Jannat?

Memoirs from the life of Imam Ahmad

2009-05-23T18:07:00.007+01:00

By Muhammad al-Sharîf

In an interesting book, Wadâ' ar-Rasul li `Ummatihi, Shaykh Al-Qahtâni recalls the final words that Rasul Allâh said on his deathbed. After living a life of Jihad, Da'wah, and Ibâdah, Rasul Allâh (sallalahu alayhi wasalam) gathered the people around him on his deathbed and said,

“I have left two things that you shall not go astray after them so long as you stick to them: the Book of Allâh and My Sunnah.”

After Rasul Allâh (sallalahu alayhi wasalam) moved onto Ar-Rafîq al-`Alâ, the Ummah was tested with humans that tried to corrupt, discredit, or amputate the Sunnah from Islam.

And from the depths of the Ummah's men and women, Allâh ta'ala – from His mercy to the Ummah of Muhammad - raised up warriors that would stand in the face of the most vicious of the enemies of the Sunnah.

From those people that Allâh ta'ala raised was a young boy named Ahmad. Ahmad lived in Baghdad over a thousand years ago. On those cold wintry nights, his mother – the blessed Mu'minah that she was – would wake long before Fajr to warm the water for her son. Then – again long before Fajr – she would wake him to make Wudu, then she would wrap him in shawls and off through the molten dark alleys of Baghdad they would carefully make their way to the Masjid.

There was no male to escort him (he was an orphan), so Ahmad's mother would take him that early so that he could get a good seat in the Hadith halaqah after Fajr. Then she would wait for him long after the sun rose to safely escort him back home. Her son grew up to be one of these warrior defenders of the Sunnah, one of the four Imams of this Dîn, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal.

In his collection, al-Musnad alone, he narrated from over 280 teachers. He grew up under the shade of the Sunnah and he lived the Sunnah. It was reported that he said,

"I've never written a hadith that I did not try to implement."
And he raised his children like this too. When you see other fathers throwing a baseball with their young Muslims that Allâh entrusted them with, remember this example: Abdullâh, Imam Ahmad's son, taught his students that when he was young his father would play with him,

"Take any chapter you wish from the Musannaf of Wakî'. Ask me any hadith and I'll tell you the chain of narrators, or tell me any chain of narrators and I'll tell you the hadith!"
He was challenged in his Dîn like few other humans have been challenged. His name remains engraved in our admiration till today - across hundreds of years, across thousands of miles, across thousands of nations – because of his love for the Sunnah and his stand against those that would seek to corrupt it. Reading through his life, I came across an event that brought back sad memories. How do you feel when your father is swore at in public. Imam Ahmad once prayed Asr and he sat with his son in the Masjid alone with another man by the name of Muhammad ibn Sa'îd Al- Khuttalî. Al-Khuttalî then remarked,

"Did you (O Ahmad) tell the people to boycott Zayd ibn Khalaf?"
Imam Ahmad replied,

"I received a letter from his people asking about his affair, so I replied explaining his Madhhab and what he has innovated (in the Sunnah) and commanded that they not sit with him.."
Al-Khuttalî exploded in Imam Ahmad's face, red with anger,

"I'm going to make sure you go back to prison. I'm going to have them crush your ribs…"
The vulgarity grew louder and louder. Imam Ahmad turned to his son,

"Don't reply to what he says and don't speak to him."
Imam Ahmad took his sandals - al-Khuttali swearing from behind his back - and told his son,

"Tell the neighbors to not speak to him nor to reply him."
Imam Ahmad stepped away as Al-Khuttali continued in the background cursing and shouting profanity. When the Khalifah al-Mu'tasim heard that Imam Ahmad had not agreed with him and his court Muftis on a specific issue, they brought him and questioned him in the courtyard of the Khalifah. They would debate with him and like a gladiator with a spear he would hit back with bigger and stronger arguments. The Muftis would shout, "O khalifah, he has done Kufr!" Until the Al-Mu'tasim was convinced and in came the executioners. They stripped Imam Ahmad and each of the strongest guards would take turns lashing Imam Ahmad until he fell unconscious. Regardless of his state, they continued the lashing. The sun went down that day and Imam Ahmad had not relented in his faith. That day he became an icon for all followers of Sunnah. Qutaybah said,

"If you ever see someone that loves Imam Ahmad, know that they are a follower of the Sunnah."
Al Hasan ibn Arafah narrated,

"I visited Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal after he was whipped and tortured. I said to him, "O Abu Abdillâah, you have reached the station of the Prophets!" He said, "Keep quiet. Verily, I saw nothing more than people selling their Dîn. And I saw scholars that were with me sell their Faith. So I said to myself, `Who am I, what am I. What am I going to say to Allâh tomorrow when I stand in front of Him and He asks me, "Did you sell your Dîn like the others did?" So I looked at the whip and the sword and chose them. And I said, "If I die I shall return to Allâh and say: `I was told to say that one of Your Characteristics was something created but I did not.' After that, it will be up to Him - either to punish me or forgive me."
Al-Hasan ibn Arafah then asked,

"Did you feel pain when they whipped you?"
He said

"Yes, I felt the pain up to 20 lashes then I lost all feeling (They whipped him over eighty times). After it was over I felt no pain and that day I prayed Dhuhr standing."
[In fact he prayed as the blood soiled his clothes.] Al-Hasan ibn Arafah started weeping when he heard what had happened. Imam Ahmad questioned him,

"Why are you crying? I did not lose my Iman. After that why should I care if I lose my life." [Qul lan yusîbana illa mâ kataballâhu lana, huwa Mowlâna, wa ala Allâhi falyatawakkalil mutawakkilun.]

Before – when Imam Ahmad was being led off to the Khalifah – people had tried to dissuade him from a most certain execution. His student: Al-Marrudhî had told him, "O teacher, Allâh says, [Do not kill yourselves]." Imam Ahmad had replied, "O Marrudhî, go outside and tell me what you see." Al-Marrudhî went to the wall of the Khalifahs court and saw an ocean of students with their pens and scrolls in their hands.

Al-Marrudhî asked some of them, "What are you waiting here for?" They said, "We are waiting to see what Ahmad will say and then transcribe it." Al-Marrudhî went back to Imam Ahmad and told him what he had seen. "O Marrudhî,"he said, "what shall I gain by misguiding all those people?"

Imam Ahmad lived a life of poverty. When others eat lavishly remember there were days – as Abdurrazzaq recalls – that Imam Ahmad would make a mistake in Salah. When Abdurrazzaq inquired further he learnt that Imam Ahmad had not eaten for 3 days.

In this life of poverty, hardship and trials, Abdullah asked his father one day, "Abi when will we ever relax?" His father, one of the greatest revivers of the Sunnah, a role model for all Muslims, looked him in the eye and said, "With the first step we take into Jannah."

Rahim Allâhu Al-Imam Ahmad.

This is just a clip of one of the greatest imams that has ever lived. SubhanaAllah look at how he chose the whip and sword over changing his beliefs. this is true iman my brothers and sisters, standing firm on the truth no matter what. the topic they were debating on was, "Is the Qur'aan created". Imam Ahmed stood firm on the truth that the Qur'aan is the speech of Allah and the speech of Allah is not created.

May Allah makes us all as strong as Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal Ameen.

Benefits from reading this:

“I have left two things that you shall not go astray after them so long as you stick to them: the Book of Allâh and My Sunnah.”- from knowing this we know that we have to stick to the quran and Authentic sunnah and if we dont we will go astray.

understanding the love of one's mother to her son. as Imam ahmed's mother would wake long before fajr to warm the water so that her son would do wudhu with warm water. she would take him to the masjid early so that he can have a good seat in the halaqa after fajr.

"I've never written a hadith that I did not try to implement." - that Imam ahmed will practise what he preeches. this will inshaAllah encourage us to do what we say.

raising your child and playing with him. Imam ahmed will play with his son an amazing game about hadiths. this will inshaAllah encourage the child to be steadfast in the deen and grow up to be a scholar.

keeping ones distance from the innovators.

Imam ahmed's patience when al-khuttali was swearing and cursing him.

when in a debate always try to come back with something bogger and better.

standing firm on the truth- imam ahmed was lashed and lashed till he became on unconscious all knowing that this is for the sake of Allah and that he shall have a good answer when he is questioned, "Did you sell your Dîn like the others did?"

the love of his companions to imam ahmed. they would cry when they heard his story.

Abdullah asked his father one day, "Abi when will we ever relax?" His father, one of the greatest revivers of the Sunnah, a role model for all Muslims, looked him in the eye and said, "With the first step we take into Jannah." - knowing that this life is full of hardship and struggles and our time to relax in gardens were rivers are flowing beneath will never let ones head drop. this will keep inshaAllah every believer from climbing this mountain.

I pray that Allah keeps us all strong on the truth. Ameen

A Righteous Predecessor Advises his Son

2009-05-18T01:37:00.000+01:00

Mohammad ibn al Mundhir ibn sa’eed related to me that Abu Hatim Muhammad ibn Idrees al Hanthalee said…that al Khataab ibn al Ma’laa al Makhzumee al Qurashee advised his son saying:My son, fear Allaah and be obedient to Him. Avoid sinning by following His Sunnah and teachings in order to rectify your faults and attain bliss, indeed nothing whatsoever is hidden from Allaah. I put some directions together and drew out a plan for you. If you memorize, understand and act upon them, you would fill the eyes of kings and even the vagabond would be obedient to you. You would continue to be needed and honoured, people would continue to be in need of what you posses. So obey your father, suffice yourself with his advice and open your mind and heart to it.Beware of excessive talking, joking, laughing and fooling around with brothers, indeed this removes respect / esteem and causes disputes. It is upon you to be tranquil and calm without having pride, which may be attributed to you, and without being arrogant, which may be said about you. Treat both friends and enemies pleasantly, prevent their harms without belittling them or holding them in high regard.Take the middle path in all your affairs, for indeed the best affairs are the intermediary ones [i.e. between extremism and excessive lenience]. Speak little, spread the Salaam, and walk firmly and purposefully. Do not stamp your feet, drag your tail [i.e: Isbaal], raise your neck, robes or be conceited. Do not look around too much, stop at crowds or linger in the market.Do not debate a lot and do not get into arguments with the foolish. When you speak, keep it short and limit joking. If you sit, cross your legs and avoid interlocking your fingers, playing with your beard, ring or sword handle. Do not clean between your teeth [while sitting in public], pick your nose or busy yourself with chasing flies away. Do not spy on others and so forth, which would cause people to belittle or insult you. Sit calmly in gatherings and speak proportionately. Listen attentively to those who speak about good without displaying amazement or asking them to repeat themselves and refrain from telling jokes or funny stories.Do not speak about how impressed you are of your children, servants, means of transportation or weapons. Beware of drawing ‘The Eye’ upon yourself, for if you display your admiration for these things, the foolish would desire them. They would then make up stories about you and question your intellect.Do not behave like women, and do not be as subservient as a servant. Do not puff up your beard or pat it down to hide it. Refrain from trimming it and pulling out grey hairs. Do not excessively use Kuhl and oils/lotion, use Kuhl occasionally.Do not plead for your needs, and do not be demanding of your requests.Do not tell your family how much wealth you have, let alone others. For if they perceive it to be little, you would be trivial in their eyes, and if it were a lot, you wouldn’t gain their satisfaction through it anyway. Discipline them without using force and be lenient to them without being weak and do not mock your servants.If you were to ever argue, be respectful and safeguard yourself from your own ignorance. Avoid being hasty and contemplate over your argument. Show the judge your forbearance, refrain from pointing a lot, shuffling your feet, reddening your face and sweating. If you are insulted by your adversary, be forbearing and only speak when calm.When you make a promise, abide by it, and when you speak be truthful. Do not raise your voice when arguing, as if you were debating with a deaf person, but at the same time do not be hushed like a mute, and select the best of speech, saying things that are accepted.If you relate something that you have heard, refer it to the initial speaker. Beware of telling atrocious tales that are disliked by the hearts and cause the skin to tremble, and refrain from being repetitive such as saying ‘yes, yes’, ‘no, no’, ‘hurry up, hurry up’ and so on. When you practice ablution, scrub your palms well and place glasswort (a strong-pleasant smelling succulent shrub) in your mouth as you would when using Siwaak (brushing your teeth). Do not clear your throat into the wash basin. Remove water from your mouth gently, do not spit it so as not to accidentally spray the closest person to you.Do not take a bite from a meal and then replace the rest [when eating with others from the same dish], indeed this is disliked. Do not frequently as for drinks at the kings table, and do not fiddle with bones. Do not fault anything that is offered to you at the table by saying things such as there is not enough seasoning, vegetables or honey and so on.Do not grasp onto your money like a miser, and do not spend it like a foolish deluded spendthrift. Know what obligatory rights others have over your wealth, the sacredness of friends, do not be dependant on people and they would be in need of you. Know that greed leads to an attribute [i.e would lead it be one of your attributes], and desire, as is it said, knocks at the door of slavery/servitude [i.e would lead you to be subservient to others]. Tasting it may prevent you from tasting a lot of other meals.Being self-sufficient is an immense treasure/wealth and an honorable mannerism. A man knowing himself/his standing...“My son, indeed a man’s wife is his home/livelihood, he has no life with other than her, so when you decide to take a wife, inquire about her family, for indeed good roots yield sweet fruits.Know that women differ greatly, more so than the fingers of your hand, so shield yourself from those amongst them who are naturally prone to cause harm. Amongst them are those who are self conceited...”To be continued...

Loving Good For Your Brothers

2009-05-17T16:52:00.004+01:00

The following was taken from a lecture given by Habib Ali al-Jifri

A sign that you have begun to love good for others is that you will want the greatest good in your relationship with your brothers who are near to you. If you see that Allah (SW) singles out one of your brothers with a particular blessing, either worldly or religious, it is incumbent that you search deep into your heart and find feelings of sincere happiness for him. It is stated in a hadith, "None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother that which he loves for himself." A sign of this love is that you do not become quickly angered if your brother makes a mistake while trying to do something good. Rather than opposing or criticizing him, you should assist him in the rectification of his mistake in a gentle way. It is not easy to have this attribute become firmly planted in the heart, because envy (hasad) is subtle, even among your companions. However, by being sincere and turning to Allah Most High continuously, this affair becomes easy. So, if you see that Allah (SWT) has blessed one of your brothers with uprightness, enlightenment, or righteousness, and it weighs heavy on your heart, the cure for this is to pray that Allah increase him in what He has given him. Say:

O Allah, increase him! O Allah, give him openings!
O Allah, give him Divine success!
O Allah, guide others by means of him!

The existence of the darkness of envy in the soul is a sign of not loving good for others. If Allah bestows a blessing up someone, you might say to yourself, "Masha-Allah, Allah has blessed him with that." However, if he happens to make the slightest mistake, you become angered and say things like, "He doesn't know what he is doing! He doesn't understand! He’s not benefiting people!" Pay attention to what you are saying here. Which is greater, the good he was doing, or the mistake that he made?

Another sign that the heart does not desire good for others is hastening to mention people's errors. This does not mean that you remain silent about the mistakes. Rather, it is upon you to advise your brother and strive to rectify the fault, without diminishing their honor. Your duty when rectifying is to correct the mistake, not to diminish the stature of the one who made the blunder. There is a big difference between the two. From the subtle, evil aspects of the soul regarding this, is the claim that your self is perfect and the other is deficient. Take for instance, when one says, "I am more knowledgeable than him. How could he be the one who does that? How could he have more students? Why are people praising him?" This is claiming that the self is perfect. Or when one says, "I have been studying longer than him. I have more sincerity than him,"

Do you know who said "I?" Pay attention! The one who said, "I," was Iblis. "I am better than him. You created me of fire, while You created him of mud." (7:12) He (Iblis), laughs at you and makes you his student when you say, "I" like he did. You are students of the inheritors of the Prophet (Sallahu alayhi wassllam), not of Iblis.

As for the other aspect of seeking deficiencies in your brother, when you say things like, "He does not know. He doesn't understand. He made a mistake in that. He didn't organize this, etc." What is your intention in saying these things? If your intention is to try to rectify his mistake, may Allah bless you because loving good for people necessitates this. However, if your intention when he makes a mistake is that you don't want him to do something good, sacrifice, or work hard… look into your hearts. Do you want to stop a good action from being done? Pay attention to what is going on.

Don't say anything that your brother would dislike if he were to become aware of what you said. You may only speak to the extent that is needed to rectify a wrong and give advice. You must address him first, if you are unable to, a third person that you know could benefit the situation by influencing him, or speaking to him. But to let your tongue loose and talk negatively about him saying things like, "So and so did this. So and so doesn't know. So and so made a mistake. So and so just wants this for himself. So and so just wants to be known." What does saying these things really mean? This is backbiting (ghibah), and completely impermissible.

You can speak to the extent that is necessary to rectify the mistake, but it is not permissible to criticize or dishonor your brother. If you are able to gently allude to your brother's imperfection (‘Aib) to rectify the situation, it is better than speaking to him directly. If you are able to simply move your lips to inform the person, it is better than raising your voice so that others can hear. If you can speak directly to him, it is not permissible to speak to another about it. If there is one person that can help rectify the mistake, then it is not permissible to speak to two. If two people can rectify the mistake, then you can't speak to three. You must speak to the minimal amount of people needed to rectify the mistake. This mistake is considered to be from the nakedness (‘awrah) of your brother so you should strive to veil the mistake and not expose it. If someone was sitting, and, unintentionally, part of his nakedness became uncovered, and you happen to see this, then you should inform him. If he is far and you are unable to speak to him, don't tell a person to your right or left, or who is in front or back of you, only tell the person who is closest to him so that he can tell him. When the person tells him, he will cover his nakedness and say, "May Allah reward you." But if you were to see the nakedness of someone exposed, and then say to the one next to you, "Look! His nakedness is exposed." And then he says to the person next to him, "Look! his nakedness is exposed." And then he says to the one next to him, "Look! his nakedness is exposed." Did you rectify the situation or humiliate your brother? Is this an affair of our Din? The spiritual nakedness is more severe than the physical nakedness regarding your brother's honor.

Firstly, we need to realise that we are completely poor and in need to serve the Din and the Din does not need us. We should fear to meet Allah without having served His Din. Second, by realizing that we don't deserve to serve the Din, rather, we should hope that by the grace of Allah, He will honor us to be from among those who serve the Din. If this becomes firmly implanted in your heart, Allah will use you for the service of His Din. But, if you believe that the service of the Din is in need of you, and say things like, "Leave them! They will eventually know who I am. They don't know how to do anything. They will try, but fail, and then come running to me. I am the one who knows how to do it." Does Allah need you? Are you crazy?! You believe that Allah needs you?! The Din needs you?! Or to say, "They didn't give me a good position. I deserve a higher position than that which they gave me." What do you deserve?! Or if you say, "I have this and this." What do you really have?! Were Allah to expose your smallest sin, no one would even greet you. So, we must be humble and broken before Allah and annihilate ourselves in the love of service.

May Allah give all of us openings and prepare us to implement these meanings and place these principles firmly in our hearts and make us from the elect that adopt them and unto the presence of the Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wassallam).

Four Things You Are Unsafe From

2009-05-16T01:46:00.000+01:00

Imaam Ath Thahabi Rahimahullah mentions in his monumental book "Seer A’alaam an Nubalaa” Vol.8 P.406 on the authority of Abdullah Ibn Al Mubaarak Rahimahullah (181H.):“The people of knowledge and insight do not consider themselves safe from four things:1) A past sin he committed which he does not know what Allaah will do with it (either forgive and pardon him for it or punish him with it);2) What is left of his life, whether there is something therein waiting to destroy him;3) A favor that Allaah bestowed upon him, perhaps it is a plot which will lead him step by step to his eventual destruction and ruin;4) Deviance which is beautified for him so that he sees it to be guidance and in a split second, his heart can deviate and he will be stripped of his deen and he doesn't even realize it.”

KHUSHOO IN SALAAH

2009-05-09T18:22:00.004+01:00

The Prophet (sallalahu 'alayhi wasallam) said:
"There is no Muslim man who, when the time for a prescribed prayer comes, he does wudoo' properly, has the proper attitude of khushoo', and bows properly, but it will be an expiation for all his previous sins, so long as they were not major sins (kabeerah). And this is the case for life" (Reported by Muslim, 1/206, no. 7/4/2)

The reward recorded is in proportion to the degree of khushoo', as the Prophet (sallalahu 'alayhi wasallam) said:
"A slave may pray and have nothing recorded for it except a tenth of it, or a ninth, or an eighth, or a seventh, or a sixth, or a fifth, or a quarter, or a third, or a half." (Reported by Imam Ahmad; Sahih al-Jaami', 1626).

Only the parts of his prayer where he focused and concentrated properly will be of any avail to him. It was reported that Ibn 'Abbaas (radiyallahu 'anhu) said:
"You will only have from your prayer that which you focused on."Sins will be forgiven if you concentrate properly and have full khushoo', as the Prophet (sallalahu 'alayhi wasallam) said:
"When a slave stands and prays, all his sins are brought and placed on his head and shoulders. Every time he bows or prostrates, some of them fall from him." (Reported by al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubraa, 3/10; see also Sahih al-Jaami')

Al-Manaawi said: "What is meant is that every time a pillar (essential part) of the prayer is completed, part of his sins fall from him, until when he finishes his prayer, all his sins will be removed. This is in a prayer where all the conditions are met and the essential parts are complete. What we understand from the words "slave" and "stands" is that he is standing before the King of Kings [Allah] in the position of a humble slave." (Reported by al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubraa, 3/10; see also Sahih al-Jaami')

The one who prays with khushoo' will feel lighter when he finishes his prayer, as if his burdens have been lifted from him. He will feel at ease and refreshed, so that he will wish he had not stopped praying, because it is such a source of joy and comfort for him in this world. He will keep feeling that he is in a constricting prison until he starts to pray again; he will find comfort in prayer instead of wanting just to get it over and done with.
Those who love prayer say: we pray and find comfort in our prayer, just as their leader, example and Prophet (sallalahu 'alayhi wasallam) said, "O Bilaal, let us find comfort in prayer." He did not say "Let us get it over and done with."- The Prophet (sallalahu 'alayhi wasallam) said, "My joy has been made in prayer." So whoever finds his joy in prayer, how can he bear to look for joy anywhere else, or to keep away from it?(Al-Waabil al-Sayib, 37).

Striving to offer du'a' at the appropriate times during the prayer, especially in sujood
There is no doubt that talking to Allah, humbling oneself before Him, asking things from Him and earnestly seeking His help, all help to strengthen the slave's ties to his Lord and increase his khushoo'. Du'a' is an act of worship, and we are commanded to make du'a'. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): "… call upon Him in humility and in secret…" [al-An'aam 6:63].

The Prophet (sallalahu 'alayhi wasallam) said: "Whoever does not call on Allah, Allah will be angry with him." (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, Kitaab al-Da'waat, 1/426; classed as hasan in Sahih al-Tirmidhi, 2686).

How many of us today think of our salaah as a burden that comes 5 times a day, and we pray it so quickly that at the end of it we are huffing and puffing. it has become like a competition, the fastest wins. from reading the above we should all understand the importance of praying slowly and praying with khushoo, and think of it as a blessing and another step towards our goal, our home, PARADISE.

I pray that Allah helps us pray with more khushoo and that Allah the most high grants us Paradise. AMEEN

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

2009-05-07T12:07:00.003+01:00

A man lived with his wife, children and his elderly father

His father was demanding and always talking.
The children would not go near him
His wife would not cook for him
He was given little to eat and sat by the window out the way

The man tired of his father.
Every day was a burden Every day he had something to say
Every day he would ask for one thing or anotherWould never shut up from morning till noon
The man wished that he could be released of this old fool somehow

The idea planted in his mind and grew
The idea took shape and the way out was made clear.

One day the man placed father in a barrow and went for a walk
He walked and walked pushing the barrow all the way.
He walked till he couldn’t walk anymore
He walked for so long that the sun was beginning to set

Nobody around to see the man
His idea was workingHe took out his shovel and started to dig.
He dug and dug
Here would be the final resting place of the blabbering idiot.
Finally he would have peace and quiet

His father looked at him and looked deep into his eyes as if he knew what was coming but then he looked around and kept looking until he saw what he was looking for..

‘There, There…’ he crocked
‘What?’ said the man ‘What is it?’
‘There, There…’ his father said again.
‘It’s just a tree old man’ said the son
His father smiled and looked at him again and said…

‘That’s were I buried my Father….’

HOLD BACK YOUR TONGUE…

2009-05-07T00:01:00.002+01:00

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

Praise be to Allah in whose hand my soul lies in, the One who created the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them.
Oh slaves of Allah, take heed of what your tongue says, for that may determine your fate between Jahannam and Jannah. One of the grave problems which is taken very lightly by the Ummah at this present time, are the words that we utter. Never do we think twice before we talk. We indulge ourselves into dirty, flithy and forbidden acts. Among these forbidden things which people take often lightly are gheebah (backbiting), buhtaan (slander) and nameemah (malicious gossip).

Worst of all, we backbite about our very own brothers and sisters in Islam. And I swear by Allah this is such a dirty and deadly sin that we are falling into without even realizing it.
For Allaah subhana wa t’ala says (interpretation of the meaning):
“neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting). And fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is the One Who forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful”[al-Hujuraat 49:12]

Gheebah or backbiting means speaking about a Muslim in his absence and saying things that he would not like to have spread around or mentioned. Buhtaan or slander means saying things about a Muslim that are not true, or in other words telling lies about him. Nameemah or malicious gossip means telling one person what another said in order to cause trouble between them.

I do not understand how we even dare to talk about the sins of other people, and indulge ourselves in the discussion of the lives of people, when our life itself is so crooked. People hardly pray, or even if they do, then they pray Fajr at the time of Dhuhr, Dhuhr at the time of ‘Asr, and so forth, and one of their excuse for missing or delaying their Salah is, “I cannot find the time to pray”, but yet we find a lot of time for chit chatting about people.

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah SAWS (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do you know what gheebah (backbiting) is?” They said, “Allaah and His Messenger know best.” He said, “Saying something about your brother that he dislikes.” It was said, “What if what I say about my brother is true?” He said, “If what you say is true then you have backbitten about him, and if it is not true, then you have slandered him.” Narrated by Muslim, 2589

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) passed by two graves and said, “They are being punished, but they are not being punished for anything that was difficult to avoid. One of them used to walk about spreading malicious gossip (nameemah), and the other used not to take precautions to avoid getting urine on himself when he urinated.” Then he called for a green branch, which he split in two and planted a piece on each grave, and said, “May their torment be reduced so long as these do not dry out.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 213; Muslim, 292

Know Oh muslims that our tongue will be a witness against us on the day of Judgement. It’s the day where is there no refuge, but except in Allah Subhana wa T’ala. And if Allah Subhana wa T’ala does not look at you, then there is nothing that can save you. And it is a day where if Allah gives your records in your left hand, then everything that will come after that will be bad. Do you want to lose your hard earned good deeds within a few seconds? Do you really want to exchange your salah, saum (fasting) and charity for a big pile of bad deeds? If you do want to, then go ahead and insult people, go ahead and slander against people, for on the Day of Judgement all the people who suffered by your tongue will be rewarded with your good deeds.

Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him)reported:
Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa salam) said, "Do you know who is the bankrupt?'' They said:"The bankrupt among us is the one who has neither money with him nor any property".
He said, "The real bankrupt of my Ummah would be he who would come on the Day of Resurrection with Salat, Saum and Sadaqah (charity), (but he will find himself bankrupt on that day as he will have exhausted the good deeds) because he insulted others, slandered against others, unlawfully devoured the wealth of others, shed the blood of others and beat others; so his good deeds would be credited to the account of those (who suffered at his hand). If his good deeds fall short to clear the account, their sins would be entered in his account and he would be thrown in the (Hell) Fire". [Muslim].

Prophet Muhammed sallallahu alaihi wa salam said: “When the son of Adam gets up in the morning all the limbs humble themselves before the tongue and say: Have taqwa of Allaah for our sake, for we are dependant on you, If you are straight/upright, we are straight and If you are crooked, we are crooked.” Hasan - narrated by at-Tirmidhee, lbn Khuzaymah and Ibn Hibbaan from Abu Sa'eed al-Khudree marfoo'aan and authenticated by al-Albaanee in (( Saheeh ul-Jaami')) [351]

So brothers and sisters control your tongues as much as possible, and do no speak ill of people, either in front of them nor behind them. The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alaihi wa salam said: “If anyone guarantees me whats between his jaws and between his legs, I shall guarantee him Jannah” Saheeh - narrated by al-Bukhaaree from Sahl lbn Sa'd marfoo'aan.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah rahimullah said:
Whoever wrongs a person by slandering him, backbiting about him or insulting him, then repents, Allaah will accept his repentance, but only if the one who was wronged finds out about that, he has the right to settle the score. But if he slandered him or backbit about him and the person did not hear of that, then there are two views according to the scholars, both of which were narrated from Ahmad, the more correct of which is that he should not tell him that he spoke against him in his absence. It was said that he should rather speak well of him in his absence just as he spoke badly of him in his absence, as al-Hasan al-Basri said: the expiation for gheebah is to pray for forgiveness for the person about whom you backbit.
Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 3/291

Remember the wounds of a sword may heal one day, but the wounds of the tongue - they never may, for it may leave a mark in the heart of a person forever. So let me tell you my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, fear Allah as much He should be feared and stay steadfast in your religion. This is a reminder to firstly myself, and then to all of you. Inshallah May Allah Subhana wa T’ala help us control our tongues and maintain unity within ourselves, ameen.

And our Lord the most high knows best

"Indeed Allaah enjoins upon you justice, kindness and the giving of good to relatives and near ones. And He prohibits you from all shameful and evil deeds, oppression and transgression. Thus He admonishes you, that you may take heed and be reminded." [Soorah an-Nahl, 16:90]

A Letter From a Christian Woman...

2009-05-04T22:10:00.005+01:00

Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Raheem,
Assalaamu'alaikum Wa'rahmatulahi Wa'barkatahu, dear respected brothers and sisters.

Below is an email that was sent to me from another sister (may Allah reward her efforts, ameen), it may seem long, but subhan'Allah a LOT can be learnt from this woman's words.
------

A Letter from a Christian to a Muslim Woman By Joanna Francis*Writer, Journalist – USA

--
Between the Israeli assault on Lebanon and the Zionist "War on Terror," the Muslim world is now center stage in every home. I see the carnage, death and destruction that have befallen Lebanon, but I also see something else: I see you. I see that though you are dressed modestly, your beauty still shines through. But it's not just outer beauty that I notice. I also notice that I feel something strange inside me: I feel envy. I feel terrible for the horrible experiences and war crimes that the Lebanese people have suffered, being targeted by our common enemy. But I can't help but admire your strength, your beauty, your modesty, and most of all, your happiness.

Yes, it's strange, but it occurred to me that even under constant bombardment, you still seemed happier than we are, because you are still living the natural lives of women. The way women have always lived since the beginning of time. It used to be that way in the West until the 1960s, until we were bombarded by the same enemy, only we were not bombarded with weapons but with subtle trickery and moral corruption.

Temptation…
They bombarded us from Hollywood; they would like to bomb you in this way too, after they've finished bombing your countries. I do not want this to happen to you. You will feel degraded, just like we do. Because everything you see coming out of Hollywood is a pack of lies, a distortion of reality, smoke and mirrors. Presenting casual sex as a harmless pastime because they aim to destroy the moral fabric of the societies into which they beam their poisonous programming. I beg you not to drink their poison. There is no antidote for it once you have consumed it. You will never be the same. Better to avoid the poison altogether than to try to heal from the damage it causes.

They will tempt you with movies and music videos, falsely portraying us American women as happy and satisfied, proud of dressing like we do, and content without families. Most of us are not happy. Millions of us are on anti-depressant medication, hate our jobs, and cry at night over the men who told us they loved us, then greedily used us and walked away. They would like to destroy your families and convince you to have fewer children, by presenting marriage as a form of slavery, motherhood as a curse, and being modest and pure as old-fashioned. They want you to cheapen yourself and lose your faith. They are like the Serpent tempting Eve with the apple. DON’T BITE.

Self-Value…
You are precious gems, pure gold, or the "pearl of great value" spoken of in the Bible (Matthew 13: 45). All women are pearls of great value, but some of us have been deceived into doubting the value of our purity. Jesus said: "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend [slit, rip] you" (Matthew 7: 6). Our pearls are priceless, but they convince us that they're cheap. But trust me; there is no substitute for being able to look in the mirror and seeing purity, innocence and self-respect staring back at you.

The fashions coming out of the West are designed to make you believe that your most valuable asset is your sexuality. But your beautiful dresses and veils are actually sexier than any Western fashion, because they cloak you in mystery and show self-respect and confidence. A woman's sexuality should be guarded from unworthy eyes, since it should be your gift to the man who loves and respects you enough to marry you. And since your men are still manly warriors, they deserve no less than your best. Our men don't even want purity anymore. They don't recognize the pearl of great value, opting for the flashy rhinestone instead. Only to leave her too! Your most valuable assets are your inner beauty, your innocence, and everything that makes you who you are. But I notice that some Muslim women push the limit and try to be as Western as possible, even while wearing a veil (with some of their hair showing). Why imitate women who already regret their lost virtue? There is no compensation for that loss. You are flawless diamonds. Don't let them trick you into becoming rhinestones. Because everything you see in the fashion magazines and on TV is a lie. It is Satan's trap. It is fool's gold.

A Woman's Heart…
I’ll let you in on a secret, pre-marital sex is not even that great. We gave our bodies to the men we were “in love” with, believing that, that was the way to make them love us and want to marry us, just as we had seen on TV growing up. But without the security of marriage and the sure knowledge that he will always stay with us. It’s not even enjoyable! That’s the irony! It was just a waste! It leaves you in tears.

Only a woman can truly understand what's in another woman's heart. We really are all alike. Our race, religion or nationalities do not matter. A woman's heart is the same everywhere. We love. That's what we do best. We nurture our families and give comfort and strength to the men we love. But we have been fooled into believing that we are happiest having careers, our own homes in which to live alone, and freedom to give our love away to whomever we choose. That is not freedom. And that is not love. Only in the safe haven of marriage can a woman's body and heart be safe to love. Don't settle for anything less. It's not worth it. You won't even like it and you'll like yourself even less afterwards. Then he'll leave you.

Self-Denial…
Sin never pays. It always cheats you. There's no substitute for having been dishonored in the first place. We have been brainwashed into thinking that Muslim women are oppressed. But truly, we are the ones who are oppressed; slaves to fashions that degrade us, obsessed with our weight, begging for love from men who do not want to grow up. Deep down inside, we know that we have been cheated. We secretly admire and envy you, although we will not admit it. Please do not look down on us or think that we like things the way they are. It's not our fault. Most of us when we were young, our families have been destroyed. You know who is behind this plot. Don't be fooled, my sisters. Don't let them get you too. Stay innocent and pure. We women need to see what life is really supposed to be like for women. We need you to set the example for us, because we are lost. Hold onto your purity. Remember, you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. So guard your "toothpaste" carefully!

I hope you receive this advice in the spirit in which it is intended; the spirit of friendship, respect, and admiration.

From your Christian sister "With Love"
----------------------------------------- * This article is republished with the kind permission of the author. Joanna Francis is a writer and journalist and she manages her own blog.
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Subhan’Allah wa bi Hamdi, my dear sisters, indeed, we have all been mislead by the dunya and its temptations, with the aid of media and fashion amongst other things. Indeed this Deen of ours has come complete.

Giving women the rights and honour they deserve to be given. Modesty is the natural fitrah (disposition) women were created with, yet the media and the fashion industries have pumped society with lewdness, filth and all kinds of corruption, destroying the purity and innocence of women. Let us not be sheep my dear sisters and follow the western crowd, we have our own identity as Muslimaat (Muslim women), our own values and our own way of life.

Islam was sent down more than 1400 years ago perfect, it was perfect then, it is perfect now and it will remain perfect. The society will not change for us, so why should we change for it?

Islam, is not a sexist religion in favour of our brothers, rather it is a moral way of life, in favour of the Abdullah (male servant of Allah) and Amatullah (female servant of Allah). At the end of the day, think of it this way my sisters,
The brothers go out to work cramped on the buses and trains like in a tin of sardines, whilst the sisters can sleep in, and wake up after her beauty sleep.
…
The brothers do the same work day in, day out, whereas the sisters can do different chores and experiment with different types of cuisines.
…
The brothers give their wives money and provisions, and the sisters/their wives simply go spending.
…
The money of your husbands goes to contribute towards all the family, whereas you my dear sister can spend ALL your money on beautifying yourself and doing whatever you desire with it.
…
The men may get more from inheritance then the women, but this must be spent in providing for his wife, parent, children, and sisters, whereas the women get their share alllll to themselves.
…
The fathers have a degree of rights over the children by one, whereas the mothers have a degree of rights 3 times than that of the father.
…
The men pray 24/7 including Jum’ah being fard, whereas the women get a break during their menses and Jum’ah is a Sunnah.
…
It is better for Brothers to go to the Masjid to pray, in the cold, windy, snowy, rainy, weather, whereas it is a mercy from Allah that we as sisters can pray at home (and just laugh at those stuck outside, while we sit in our slippers next to the heater).
…
So my dear sisters, is Islam really in favour of the men? Well I don’t know about you but I’m sure glad to be a woman!

Wassalaam.

YOUR FINAL EVENT!!!

2009-05-04T21:29:00.006+01:00

DATE: Wednesday 6th May 2009

TIME: 3:15 - 5:15pm

VENUE: Main Hall

SPEAKER: Muawiyya Tucker

TOPIC: The Punishment of the Grave, Paradise and the Hellfire

BE THERE!

A simple story with a strong message...

2009-05-04T15:29:00.003+01:00

Aslaamau alikum

A simple story with a strong message....

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island.

He prayed feverishly for Allah to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and to store his few possessions.

But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger.

"Allah, how could you do this to me!" he cried. Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him.

"How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

Moral: It is easy to get discouraged when things are going badly. But we shouldn't lose heart, because Allah is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering.Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground--it just may be a smoke signal that summons The Grace of Allah.

Truly Allah is "Al-Muhaimin" -The Protector, The One who witnesses the saying and deeds of His creatures.
Allah makes ways for us that we could never ever imagine. Alhamdulilah

SHAHADAH

2009-02-11T15:46:00.005Z

By Fatima Barkatulla

MashaAllah a few weeks ago in Birmingham I had the opportunity by the grace of Allah to take a sister's Shahadah. It was the first time somebody repeated the Shahadah after me and so I found it very moving as I had been making du'a that Allah would give me that chance. It went something like this (I've called her 'D'):

D had been told that she could attend the Tarbiyah programme to get to know more about Muslims, so she was sitting in the tarbiyah programme hall and had been observing us teaching salaah, wudhu and recitation of Suratul Fatiha with Tajweed. Then after my talk I was walking past her when it looked like she wanted to say something.

So I went over to her and asked her if all was OK.
"How are you finding it?"
"Good...yeah....er...I just wanted to ask you what a person has to do to become a Muslim."
"Oh." I said, "you think you might like to?"
"Well, I don't really know how to do anything and I don't know if I could do it all..."
"Well you know, it takes time and slowly slowly you learn more everyday and do more. You can't be expected to do everything all at once or know everything all at once. Look at us....even we are still learning." I said.
She nodded.
"So look, do you believe that there is only One God and He alone deserves to be worshipped?"
"Yeah" she said...she had been reading and learning and she was definitely sure about that one.
"OK, and do you know about the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)?"
"Well, I've read about him"
"OK, so are you convinced that he was a Prophet of God, the last messenger (peace be upon him)?"
"Yes."
"You accept that?" I was getting excited by now!
"Yes."
"Then you are already a Muslim. You just need to declare it so that you acknowledge it to God and to us Muslims. That's the Shahadah, you're testifying that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah, the One and Only God and that Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is the messenger of God."
She nodded sweetly.
"So, D, are you ready? You don't have to do it on the microphone or anything."
A pause.
"The most important thing now is to declare what you believe. So that you'll be counted as a Believer. Because we don't know what could happen to any one of us when we walk out of this place tonight. May Allah protect us but we don't know when death will come."
She looked down, nodding and then raised her head and said "Yeah. I'm ready."
Then I sat down next to her. Some sisters had figured out something big was going on and had begun to congregate around us. Some sat next to her.
"Could you explain what I have to say first."
"Yeah. You say Ash hadu Allaa ilaaha illallah. Wa Ash hadu anna muhammadan rasoolullah. Which means, I bear witness or I testify that there is nothing worthy of worship except Allah. And I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). OK?"
She nodded.
"What was your religion before this?" I asked.
"Nothing" she said. I'd asked her, to make sure that if she had been a Christian, that she definitely believed that Jesus was a Prophet and not the son of God. Sometimes Christians find that concept hard to let go of, but in her case it wasn't an issue.
"OK so repeat after me. We'll say it in Arabic and then in English." Then she repeated the Shahadah after me in Arabic. In the middle of it I couldn't stop the tears flowing and had to stop for a moment to gather myself. I found it so moving at that moment to feel that the message of the Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) had indeed reached so far, over the world and that we, in the middle of Rum (Rome as the Arab's called Europe at that time) were sitting here taking a persons declaration of faith in the message that that kind shepherd, the orphan who became the leader and liberator of Arabia had come with (sallallahu 'alaihi wa sallam) How truly momentous each and every Shahadah is.
It reminds me of the Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) at his farewell pilgrimage when he was so careful to ask the people gathered at Arafah "Have I conveyed the message?" And they replied in unison "Yes!" And he said to Allah "Oh Allah bear witness!"

And in this Hadeeth: One day when the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) returned from a journey and went to Fatima’s house, Fatima welcomed him and kissed his face, his mouth and his eyes and wept.
“Why do you cry?” the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) asked.
“I see you, O Rasul Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam),” she said, “Your colour is pale and sallow and your clothes have become worn and shabby.”
“O Fatima,” the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) replied tenderly, “don’t cry for Allah has sent your father with a mission which He would cause to affect every house on the face of the earth whether it be in towns, villages or tents (in the desert) bringing either glory or humiliation until this mission is fulfilled just as night (inevitably) comes.”

How I wished I could tell the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) how far his message had come! "Yes! Oh Prophet of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)...you indeed conveyed the message! The whole world testifies!"

Then she completed repeating the Shahadah after me in Arabic and then in English. By now a large crowd of sisters had gathered around us. All silently observing this miracle. The miracle of Hidaayah or guidance. How Allah turns a person towards Him and guides them and makes them into our Sisters and Brothers in Islam. The sisters embraced her and called out Takbeers.
One sister who had embraced Islam just a few months earlier said to her "You've made the right decision sister. You won't regret it!"
I encouraged the sisters not to allow this to be the end of their love and enthusiasm for this sister. That is was our responsibility to open up our homes, to really make this sister a member of our families.
Some responsible sisters took on the role of being mentor to her and exchanged email addresses and phone numbers. We emphasised Salah to her (even just doing the actions and reciting some basic things like Subhan Allah, Alhamdulillah and Allahu Akbar during salah until she learns it properly and keeping away from Major sins....insha Allah over time, by keeping to Salah she will become stronger and do more and more.

I felt like it was the best day of my life so far and when I got home I did Sajdah of Thanks to Allah.

Are we the MASTERS of our parents?

2009-02-10T18:33:00.004Z

I remember that once upon a time, it used to feel like a big shock when I heard about news of murder cases. Every once in a while I would hear about a killing somewhere. But now, when I flick through the news channels or the Metro on the train in the morning, there are dozens of articles about murders, about deaths. It doesn’t seem like big news now, because it is so common and I read about it after each and every turn of a page of the Metro…EVERYDAY!

What has this world turned into? There is so much brutality, so much hatred, so much bloodshed! What’s even worse is that I have noticed that many of those murder cases I read about these days are about ‘a mother or father killing their child’ or ‘a child killing his parents!’ Respect has been lost almost completely for parents! They are the people who brought us into this world. They are the people who raised us up, put up with all the stress and distress we made them go through when we were young. And we, in return, disrespect our parents using foul language, cursing them, hurting them emotionally and showing not even an atom’s weight of respect for them!

I would like to mention a story that really woke me up:

There was a very loyal companion of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) whose name was Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas (radhiyallahu ‘anh). He was one of the companions who showed the most respect for his mother and he loved her greatly. But when he embraced Islam and became a Muslim, his mother was extremely angry.

She told him:

“Give up Islam, or else I will go on hunger strike until I die. Then you will feel shame before the Arabs, as they will say, ‘He killed his mother.’”

Now tell me guys, how could a son, especially a son like Sa’d (radhiyallahu ‘anh), watch his mother go on a hunger strike and eventually die? This had hurt Sa’d (radhiyallahu ‘anh) a great deal but he was just a new Muslim and believed that he cannot ever give up Islam.

So Sa’d (radhiyallahu ‘anh) responded by saying:

“You should know that, by Allah, even if you had a 100 souls, and they left your body one by one, I would never give up Islam.”

This showed how firm his belief was in Allah and the Messenger (peace be upon him) but it was the ‘wrong’ response.

Allah immediately revealed a verse from the Qur’an to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him):

“However, if they force you to ascribe partners to Me about whom you (can) have no (source of) knowledge, then do not obey them. Remain with them in this world with due fairness, but follow the way of the one who has turned himself towards Me. Then, towards Me is your return, so I shall tell you what you had been doing.” [Qur’an 31:15]

Sa’d (radhiyallahu ‘anh) was a very good companion but this incident was destined to happen in order for the rest of the Ummah to learn from it. It wasn’t right the way Sa’d (radhiyallahu ‘anh) spoke to his mother although he was put in a very uneasy and painful position. We must treat our parents with patience and thought, even if they tell us to go against Islam. But how many of us born into a Muslim family, have parents who are asking us to go completely against Islam?
Even if our parents interfere in the choice of our friends, we assume that they’re ruining our lives; hence we attack them with our loud and abusive words.

Have the parents in this world given birth to their masters?
Have they raised their children so they can be ruled by them?
If we are shouting at and arguing with our parents today, what is our next step?
A push?
A stab?
A new murder case in the Metro?
May Allah discourage these ruthless acts within our Ummah.

We need to be careful how we treat our parents, because the Satan will always be there to encourage us to take a step further towards Hell.
Always remember what our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught us that whoever pleases their parents, pleases Allah and whoever angers their parents, angers Allah.

If you feel that you haven’t done much for your parents, do something. The least we can do is make sincere du’a for our parents and this is a recommended du’a that we can recite:

“Rabbighfir lee Wa Liwaalidayyah Wa Lil Mu'mineena Yauma Yaqoomuk Hisaab.Rabbir HamHumaa Kamaa Rabbayaanee Sagheeraa.”

O Lord, forgive me, my parents and Muslims in the Hereafter. O Lord, show mercy on them as they have nourished me when I was young.

- The Sweet Smell of Lust -

2009-01-28T19:16:00.007Z

Adornment of the women series (Part 1)

- The Sweet Smell of Lust -

Asalaamu'alaikum Wa'rahamtulahi Wa'barkatahu dear respected brothers and sisters.
Alhumdulilah i am very pleased to let you all know that we will be starting a series of posts on the Adornment of Women on the blog, addressing issues we find so common in society but forget to find out the Islamic perspective (may be the brothers could do something similar for men). Yes the posts are lengthy, but need to be in order to get across the whole picture. The post is as follows...

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As one walks down the street, one can smell the piercing smell of perfume, a bit of Chanel here, a bit of Lacoste there and a bit of Givenchy everywhere.

Sisters are lathering themselves in so much perfume, layering one on top of the other, so much so that you can smell them miles off!!!

Sisters, we are too keen to waste our money on perfumes, indulging in Haraam, we forget our brothers and sisters around the world who can’t even afford to get some water just to perform ablution or ghusl!

Sisters, we wear hijaab as a means of covering our beauty, because this beauty is something pure, rare, special and only for our husbands’ insha’Allah, but that very beauty is put again on show via perfume. It may not be on show through the eyes but through the sense of smell!

Such is perfume that when smelt, even if you didn’t see the woman wearing it, or even as ugly as her physical appearance may be, to one’s mind, illustrious images are created of how beautiful and sexy she must be and naturally many feelings are aroused.

By the way, recently biologists have discovered a sexual gland in the nose, i.e., there is a direct connection between the sense of smell and the provocation of desire. If this is true, then it is one of the signs that prove even to the kuffaar how precise are the rulings of this Shari’ah, Subhan’Allah which came to preserve chastity and to block the ways that lead to immorality.

My dear sisters, we should be a means to protect our brothers and vice versa, we shouldn’t make it harder for them then it already is by applying perfume outside the home. (Perfume even in the home should only be applied amongst Mahram men.)

Furthermore sisters, wearing perfume outside was not the practice of the Umm-ul-Mu’mineen (Mothers of the Believers), i.e. the wives of the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam, wearing ‘Atr and perfume was something intimate and special only for the husband. Therefore applying perfumes and ‘Atr outside the home is an imitation of the kuffaar women, as in society it is their practice.

It was narrated that Zaynab, the wife of ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood, said: The Messenger of Allaah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam said to us: “If one of you attends the mosque, let her not put on perfume.”
[Narrated by Muslim (443)].
&
“…so A’ishah Radi Allahu Anha went to the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam and put on her khimar (a nice/special jilbab) and put on Safr on (the equivalent of what is known now days as perfume) on her hijaab/khimar and wet it with water and she brushed water over it so that the smell would come out more and she came to the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam that night and sat (intimately) close to him…”
[Muhammad Al-Shareef: How To Be An Outstanding Wife.]

My dear sisters, pay close attention to the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam:
“It was narrated from Abu Moosa Radi Allahu Anhu that the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam said: “If a woman puts on perfume and passes by people so that they can smell her fragrance, then she is such and such,” and he spoke sternly - meaning an adulteress.”
[Narrated by Abu Dawood and al-Tirmidhi]

al-Mannaawi said in Fayd al-Qadeer (1/355):

“She is an adulteress” means: because of that she is exposed to zina, and implementing the means that lead to it and calling those who seek it. Hence she is called an adulteress in a metaphorical sense, because desire may prevail and real zina may take place. Her passing by men is likened to her sitting in their path so that they pass by her. End quote.
&
The Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam said:
"Any woman who applies perfume and passes by a group of people who may smell her perfume, is an adulterous woman."
[Ahmad and An-Nasaa'i]

In the time of the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam, such were the Sahaabee (the companions of the prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam), that when the men smelt the women/a woman with perfume coming to the mosque, the Sahaabee such as Umar bin Al-Khattab Radi Allahu Anhu would chase her away, throwing pebbles, because of the Fitnah perfume presents.
Abu Hurairah said that:

A woman passed by him smelling strongly of scent. He called to her: "O slave of the powerful, are you going to the mosque?" She said that she was. He said: "Go back and wash it off. I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: 'Any woman who goes to the mosque wearing perfume will not have her prayer accepted by Allah; first she should go back home and have a bath [to wash it off].'
&
In Sahih Muslim that the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) said:
"Any woman who uses some scent should not be present with us during the night prayer".
&
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) also said:
"Do not prevent woman from praying at the mosques of Allah. And they are to go out unperfumed”.
[Ahmad and Abu Dawood].

Our ultimate role models besides the Messenger of Allah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam, for the women are the Umm-ul-Mu’mineen; the Mothers of the believers and of course the perfectly created women of Jannah: the Hoor al-Ayn.

With both, the nature of these women were/are such that they would only put on perfume/adorn themselves for their husbands in the privacy of their own homes where no stranger could be present. This is clearly evident from the previous narration of A’ishah Radi Allahu Anha going towards the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam.
&
In Mishkat, (volume three it says on pages 83-97): The Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam said: "If a houri looks down from her abode in heaven onto the earth, the whole distance (space) shall be filled with light and fragrance. A houri's face is more radiant than a mirror, and one can see one's image in her cheek. The marrow of her shins is visible to the eyes".
&
The Hour-al-Ayn do not want wives to annoy their husbands, since the houris will also be the spouses [i.e. wives] of the husbands in the afterlife; Ibn-i-Majah vol.3:2014 p.212;

My Dear sisters what do we learn from these ahadith and narrations? That the women of this Dunya and the women of Jannah merely hasten to please only their husbands, no one else, the wearing of perfume is a form of pleasure only for the husband.

The Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) has said:
“Marry pleasant and fertile women (capable of conceiving children)…” The Hadith goes further to give some detailed description of the characteristics of the good wife, saying that “she is the one if her husband looks at her; he is pleased by her appearance”.
Perfume is part of that which is pleasing, my dear sisters!

Sisters like mentioned before, part of our role in society is to help our brothers in Islam to progress further and higher in Al-Islam. This meaning, helping them to lower their gaze, as they help us to do so as well.
Now dear sisters, imagine being head-to-toe intoxicated in perfume, and walking down the street, on the street a brother is pacing towards you (as he may be late for Jam’ah or something the like), as he walks past you, despite only for a split second, your perfume reaches the brother and he can smell your scent, despite being a good practicing brother in the Deen, the brother may be aroused, because such is the smell of perfume that anyone of us can be the target of attraction to the opposite sex! (As the biologists have now realized…Subhan’Allah! What took them so long?)

(Next thing you know, your getting stalked, getting odd proposals of marriage and being chased down the street, with some bearded brother in a thoub declaring his love you!)

Subhan’Allah! As far fetched as this sounds, we live in a world where all this is possible because the Shaytaan will not rest till we bite from the fruit of temptation, our own very nafs (desires) will keep going until we commit a haraam, such as ZINA!!! …All because of the ‘Sweet smell of LUST’.

Sisters I’m not saying we should deprive our selves of perfume completely, for those of us married, Alhumdulilah it should be for the husband, for those of us still looking/single so forth, our maternal home is a fine place to indulge ourselves (providing there are only women and Mahram men present, not at family gatherings with cousins and the like.)

Neither am I saying, go round college smelling of B.O, there are many FRAGRANCE-FREE deodorants!!!

Sisters, try to think back to a hadith I mentioned in a previous post about Allah disliking the squandering of money, now sisters ask yourself, how much does ONE perfume cost??? When researching average prices I came up with: £19.50 (Intimately Beckham), £39.00 (Britney Spears-Curious), £37.00 (Lolita Lempicka), & £49.00 (Joop Femme)!!! Subhan’Allah Wa bi Hamdi!!! Add another pound and you will have enough to pay for Qurbani, have enough to get a poor child in Baluchistan an E’id gift, pay for a water pump, that same money going so much more further and it is an HALAAL investment!!!

One can simply go to ZamZam or something and buy ‘Atr/’Itr for a mere £1.50.
Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam praised musk.
At-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawood narrated from Abu Said Radi Allahu Anhu that Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam said about musk:
“It is the purest of all your perfumes”.
&
Al-Bukhari, Nasai and al-Tirmidhi narrated from Muhammad bin Ali, he said: I asked Aisha Radi Allahu Anha: “Did Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam used to put on a perfume?”.
She (Radi Allahu Anha) answered:
“Yes, with the best of the male perfume: Musk and ambergris”.

Now sisters this does not mean all the sisters start coming to college stylin’ it out with ‘Atr, saying “Oh it’s halal, I’m not wasting money, it’s the Sunnah, Mehak said so!” I am merely suggesting a cost-effective alternative for HOME-use!!! (the operant word being HOME!!!)

Sisters I would like to end this post, re-stating the one of the first hadith I mentioned:
The Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam said:
“If a woman puts on perfume and passes by people so that they can smell her fragrance, then she is such and such,” and he spoke sternly - meaning an ADULTERESS.”
[Narrated by Abu Dawood and at-Tirmidhi]
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Keep the Ummah in your du'as,

Wa'asalaam, Sister In Islam!

The Story of Luqman(A.S.) and the Melon

2009-01-02T19:45:00.001Z

Luqman(A.S.) had great love for the Almighty, that it created within him high moral character and exemplary habits. This was a clear sign of his nobility and nearness to Allah. The details of that is described in Surah(Chapter) Luqman in the Glorious Qur'an.
Luqman(A.S.) used to be in the employ of a rich man. The nobility of Luqman(A.S.)'s character had a great effect on his master, so much so that the master considered him as a great friend and a beloved companion. Although he was the master, yet in fact the master became like a slave to his employee.
It became the practice of the master that whenever he had something special to eat, he would first feed Luqman(A.S.) of it and after Luqman(A.S.) had filled himself, he would eat the left overs. Luqman(A.S.) would consider the love of the master and his habit, so he would eat moderately and send what was left over to the master.
One day, during the melon season, the master received a melon from somewhere. At that time Luqman(A.S.) was not present. The master sent one of his slaves to go and call him. When Luqman(A.S.) arrived, the master cut the melon into slices and slice by slice started giving thereof to Luqman(A.S.) to eat. As he ate the slices, the master inwardly became pleased at the effect his love was having upon Luqman(A.S.).
Luqman(A.S.) ate the slices with great PLEASURE and all the time expressed THANKS for the favour shown to him by the master. After having eaten the slices, when just one slice remained, the master said: "Let me eat this slice and see how sweet is this melon." Saying this, he put the slice into his mouth. Immediately, such bitterness spread from the tip of his tongue down to his throat, that as a result of the extreme bitterness of the meoln, he fell down unconscious and remained unconscious for a whole hour.
When he regained consciousness, he questioned Luqman(A.S.): " O Beloved one, How did you manage to, so heartily eat those slices of melon ? Just one slice of the melon had such an effect on me, then how did you manage to eat so many slices ?" Luqman(A.S.) replied: "O Friend, from your hands I have received hundreds of gifts. The burden of thanks upon me is so great, that my back has gone crooked. Hence, I felt ashamed that the hand that had granted me so much favours, if one day some distastefulness or bitterness should come, how can I turn away from it ? O Friend, the pleasure of knowing that it comes from your hands has changed the bitterness of the melon to sweetness."
LESSON:
At every given moment there are numerous bounties and favours of Allah upon mankind. But if ever for a moment some such incident takes place which brings with it, a problem and outwardly causes some difficulty, man loses patience and fails to be grateful. On the other hand, there are those who are granted understanding, so that when sorrows and difficulties touches them, they remain happy, pleased and grateful to their Lord. At such times, they draw strength from their good understanding and realise that this world is like a hospital and we are like patients in it. There are times when the doctor gives the patient " sweet " medicine and at other times " bitter" medicine. However, in both these, there are beneficial results for the patient. Similarly, Allah is the "Al Hakeem", the All-Wise and at the same time is the " Haakim"- Ruler. He is also "Ar- Raheem", the Merciful One. Hence, whether it brings out comfort or discomfort, all these are for our benefit and interest.
..................... So be Grateful and Thankful under ALL circumstances and conditions to the Almighty.

The Flower Vs. The Pearl...

2008-12-14T15:23:00.005Z

The Flower Vs. The Pearl...

Asalaamu'alaikum Warahmatulahi Wabarkatahu dear respected brothers and sisters, insha'Allah this post is more aimed towards the sisters, but the brothers can apply this to their own hijaab and whether they'd rather follow the sunnah or the society (i.e. covering for their Awrah [navel to knees]).

"One day, a brilliantly beautiful and fragrant flower with attractive colors met a pearl that lives far in the bottom of the sea and has none of these characteristics. Both got acquainted with each other.

The flower said:
"Our family is large; roses and daisies are members of the family. And there are many other species that are various and countless; each has a distinctive scent, appearance etc."

Suddenly, a tinge of distress appeared on the flower. "Nothing accounts for sorrow in your talk; so why are depressed?" The pearl asked.

"Human beings deal with us carelessly; they slight us. They don't grow us for our sake but to get pleasure from our fragrance and beautiful appearance. They throw us on the street or in the garbage can after we are dispossessed of the most valuable properties; brilliance and fragrance." The flower sighed.

And then the flower said to the pearl: "Speak to me about your life! How do you live? How do you feel it? You are buried in the bottom of the sea."

The pearl answered: "Although I have none of your distinctive colors and sweet scents, humans think I am precious. They do the impossible to procure me. They go on long journeys, dive deep in the seas searching for me. You might be astounded to know that the further I lay, the more beautiful and brilliant I become. That's what upraises my value in their thought. I live in a thick shell isolated in the dark seas. However, I'm happy and proud to be in a safe zone far from wanton and mischievous hands and still the humans consider me highly valuable."

Do you know what the flower and the pearl symbolize? Think, Think, Think... You will find that: The flower is the unveiled woman (who shows her charms) and the pearl is the veiled woman (who conceals her beauties).

Who would you like to be my dear sisters?????

Wasalaamu'alaikum Wa'rahmatulahi Wa'barkatahu.

The Beauty of a Woman

2008-11-26T19:19:00.000Z

The beauty of a woman isn't on the front covers of a magazine,
The beauty of a woman is reflected by her love for her deen.
The beauty of a woman isn't in her airbrushed smile,
its her hard work she dedicates to her family that goes a mile.
The beauty of a woman is apparent in her motherhood,
she raises her children to form a strong Muslim brotherhood.
The beauty of a woman isn't in her figure or how much she weighs,
its when she pours her heart out to Allah and prays.

The strength for every good man,
performing all the dignified roles- shes still amazing even as a gran!
The endless and tiresome nights; she raises her children in Allah's name with sheer delight People think that by working outside that gives a lot to contemporary society,
fair enough but ignoring the family isn't really piety.
The beauty of a woman lies in her unconditional love;
that Allah by His Rahman bestows from High above.
Without our mothers what would we have been,

When man cries defeat the beauty of a woman can be seen by her grace,
she aspires her husband to never leave his place.
Her hijab is for her; So why can't the media stop the slur.
She adores her coverings, its not for men and women to stare -
all this for Allah she is offering.
The beauty of a woman can be measured by her friendship
from every kind word, advice and so many tips.
The beauty of a woman can be seen in her intelligence,
not in skinny tight jeans, but modesty in my book is elegance
I'm not here condemning women- because we are all different,
but there are certain qualities that are ignored- those qualities are magnificent.

Her laughter and her beautiful smile;
is still there after she has struggled hard for miles.
She maintains her role to such perfection; of mother, daughter, sister, and wife
she has the same rights to education.
Best of all her beauty stems from Islam;
that through the chaos of this world saves her from harm.
She feels at ease, and is truly liberated,
if only other women knew how these lies about our women are fabricated.

The Key to Answered Prayers (Part II)

2008-11-19T16:43:00.003Z

Imam Ahmad, may Allah be pleased with him, was once travelling and needed to stay somewhere overnight. When he went to the masjid, the guard (not recognising Imam Ahmad) denied him entrance. Imam Ahmad tried numerous times, but the guard did not accept his requests. Frustrated, Imam Ahmad resolved to spend the night in the masjid yard. The guard became furious and dragged him away, despite the old age and weakness of Imam Ahmad. A baker, whose shop was nearby, watched this scene and took pity on Imam Ahmad. He invited the Imam to stay with him for the night. While there, Imam Ahmad noticed that the baker continually made istighfar (asking for Allah’s forgiveness) while working, and in the morning, the Imam eagerly asked his host about the latter’s continual seeking of forgiveness. The baker said it had become like second nature, and Imam Ahmad then asked whether the man had experienced any reward from this practice.

The baker answered, “By Allah! No duaa (supplication to Allah) I made except that it was answered but one.”

“And what is that duaa?” asked Imam Ahmad.

“To be able to see the famous Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal!”

Imam Ahmed interrupted, “I am Ahmad ibn Hanbal!”

He then went on to add:

“By Allah! I was dragged to your place so that you can have your duaa/wish come true.”

- Summarized from Al Jumuah magazine, vol 19, issue 7.

Aishah (radi Allahu anha) said- ‘So lucky is the one who comes on the Day of Judgment and find in his/her record a lot of astaghfurillah.’ SubhanAllah…Allah dragged Imam Ahmad to the house of the baker to answer his duaa. We need to start making istighfar and a lot of dua brothers and sisters, and not only for ourselves but also for our brothers and sisters who are suffering all over the world. Dua in itself is an act of worship, and one of the duas that quickly receives an answer is the dua that one makes for his brother/sister in their absence for the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said,

"The dua of a Muslim for his brother (in Islam) in his absence is readily accepted, an angel is appointed to his side, whenever he makes a beneficial dua for his brother the appointed angel says "aameen and may you also be blessed with the same".[Sahih Muslim)

May Allah (‘azza wajjal) guide us all and give us the ability to act upon everything that is written on this blog. May He reward all the brothers and sisters who take time out of their busy schedule to benefit us all with their knowledge and may He grant us all Imaan and Taqwa. Ameen.

p.s. please make dua for me

Wasalamu ‘alaikum warahmatullah

Muslimah

The Key to Answered Prayers (Part 1)

2008-11-19T16:33:00.005Z

Asalamu ‘alaikum warahmatullahi wabarkatuhu

My beloved brothers and sisters in Islam, have you ever made dua to Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala), didn’t get a quick reply, and despaired for a while? Brothers and sisters, know that any dua that a Muslim makes Allah will surely accept it, either in this dunya or the akhira, therefore, you should never ever despair or lose hope.
“Do not let the delay of what you are fervently praying for discourage you, or dishearten you - for He has Guaranteed you the answer in what He chooses for you (not in what you choose for yourself) and when He wills, not when you do.”(Ibn Atallah, Maxim 6, Chapter 1, The Hikam)

Your dua depends on how much you nag Allah. When you nag a human being, they eventually get annoyed and frustrated; however, Allah loves it when His servants nag him. This is why the Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam) said, ‘People will come and say ‘I made dua and I made dua but Allah didn’t respond.’ So then, they give up hope and they stop making dua, and it may have been that Allah was just about to answer that dua. Never ever give up hope in Allah my brothers and sisters, and always nag Him when you are making dua.

Some people think Allah has betrayed them in their dua while they worship Allah well. Don’t ever think that. Know that if Allah cares for you-which He does; if He knows what you’re asking for will cause much harm to you, then He will not respond and He will leave it till the Hereafter.

"Aisha radhiallaahu anha said, "No believer makes Dua and it is wasted. Either it is granted here in this world or deposited for him in the Hereafter as long as he does not get frustrated."

You have to rely on Allah that is the test. Do you rely on Him? Then depend on Him my brothers and sisters, and know that whatever He does is for your own good.

This post is a reminder to myself first and foremost. Any mistakes I have made are due to my own shortcomings, please do forgive me, and any good that has been addressed is from Allah alone and to Him do we return.
Wasalamu ‘alaikum warahmatullah

Muslimah

The Importance of Parents in Islam...

2008-10-26T19:41:00.007Z

PARENTS IN ISLAM…

Assalaamulaikum Warahmatulahi Wabarkatahu dear respected brothers and sisters.

Dear brothers and sisters, it is a rising concern in the Ummah, of how badly we as children treat our parents, we forget that treating our parents with kindness and being just to them is a COMMAND of Allah Subhana Wa Ta'laa, The Almighty, The Over-Powering Lord of the Worlds!!!

Dear sisters and brothers, let the below narration serve as a reminder to all of us, in how our conduct should be towards our parents, and if we do not fulfill this command, the abode of Jahanaam that awaits in the hereafter and the torment we may face!

We are Alhumdulilah currently at the age of youth in which marriage is on most of our minds, or at the back of our minds (or in most cases brothers and sisters are thinking about marriage or avoiding it), so brothers let the below narration be an advice and guide to you for your future married life Insha'Allah in how you should be as a husband and a SON, and sisters, let the below narration be a reminder to us, in how we as WIVES insha'Allah must be careful and wary of what our husbands do, and how they treat their parents!!!

Hadhrat ibn Abbas Radi Allahu Anhu said:
“At the time of the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam, there was a young man named Alkamah. He used to work very hard and give his earnings to charity. One day he became very ill. His wife sent a message to the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam. The Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam sent Bilal, Ali, Suleman and Amar Radi Allahu Anhum with these words,
‘See how he is.’

They went and found that he was indeed very ill and close to death. They spent some time trying to make him read the Kalimah, but something was holding him back. Bilal Radi Allahu Anhu returned to tell the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam about his condition.

The Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam asked,
‘Are his parents alive?’
Bilal Radi Allahu Anhu replied, ‘His father has passed away, but his mother is still alive.’ The Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam told Bilal Radi Allahu Anhu to call his mother and if she couldn't come then the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam would come to her.

As soon as Alkamah’s mother heard, she grabbed her walking stick and came right away. She did Salaam and the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam returned it and asked,
‘Tell me truthfully, if you don't, then I will learn by revelation. What sort of deeds did your son do?’
She told the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam that he was a very pious man, that he used to read prayers consistently, fast constantly and give alms abundantly. The Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam asked her how he was with her. She said, ‘I am upset with him. Instead of me, he gives preference to his wife. He used to disobey me and listened to his wife.

The Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam said to her,
‘Your displeasure has stopped Alkamah from reciting the Kalimah.’ The Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam then ordered his Companions to gather some wood and to burn him.

The mother asked whether they were really going to burn her son in front of her? The Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam told her,
‘Allah's punishment is much greater. If you want Allah to forgive Alkamah, you must first forgive him yourself. His praying, fasting and alms-giving will do him no good.’
His mother raised her hands and said, ‘I have forgiven him.’

The Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam sent Bilal Radi Allahu Anhu to check on Alkamah. He was reading the Kalimah. Alkamah died that very day. The Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam arranged his funeral and led his Janazah.
After that he stood up and addressed the people.
‘The person who prefers his wife rather then his mother, Allah’s curse be upon him. His faraaidh and nawafil will not be accepted."

SOURCE: http://www.inter-islam.org/RightsDuties/parents.html#IMPORTANCE

May Allah Subhana Wa ta'laa make us better children to our parents, and continually strive to better our characters in all aspects of life, Ameen!

Wasalaamulaikum Warahmatulahi Wabarkatahu! x

...The Plastic Woman!...

2008-09-24T20:34:00.018+01:00

…The Plastic Woman! …..

Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim.
By the Name of Allah, The Most Compassionate, The Most Merciful.

Asalaamulaikum Warahmatulahi Wabarkatahu dear respected brothers and sisters.

The focus of this post is mainly for the sisters, but a good topic for the brothers too, to be up to scratch with for future use, Insha’Allah.

My dear sisters, there is a worryingly steady increase in the world of plastic/cosmetic surgery in today’s society, and this is a problem that is not only prevalent and affecting the western world but a problem in our Muslim Ummah too!!!

Too often are we seeing and hearing, sisters turning to/or wanting to turn to plastic surgery as a solution to all their physical (and not to forget MATERIAL) problems.

My dear sisters, not a single one of us today are absolutely perfect and imperfection-free! But too many of us, rather than having reliance in what Allah has created and decreed, are instead running towards plastic surgery!

The hadith of the Prophet Muhammad Salallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam says to turn and go towards Allah Subhana Wa Ta’laa! NOT PLASTIC SURGERY! Subhan’Allah! (What’s so great about being plastic anyway!??!)

Hadith Qudsi, on the Authority of Abu Hurairah Radi Allahu Anhu, who said, that the Prophet Salallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam said, that Allah Subhana Wa Ta’laa said:
“I am as my servant thinks I am, I am with him when he makes mention of me. If he makes mention of me to himself, I make mention of him to myself, and if he makes mention of me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly better than it. And if he draws near to me an arms length, I draw near to him a fathoms length. And if he comes to me walking, I go to him at speed.”
[It was related by al-Bukhari also by Muslim, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn-Majah]

Respected sisters, just recently in fact, did a program come on TV; ‘Super Botox Me’, where a journalist went to America to poke and prod her face with Botox, in the name of journalism, only to find herself getting addicted to wanting to look younger!

Dear sister, this pursuit of eternal youth has already been answered by Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’laa more than 1400 YEARS AGO!!!!
With every disease, Allah Ta’laa has sent a cure, except old age!
Plastic surgery is majority of the time the consequence of not wanting to get old; however my dear sisters this is DECEPTION!!!
“O Servants of Allah, treat your illnesses, for Allah, Most Glorious, has not sent a disease without a cure along with it, except for old age.”

My dear sisters, it is Allah who is The Creator (Al-Khaliq) and indeed, it is only Allah who is The Fashioner of Shapes (Al-Musawwir), so who gave us the right to recreate what Allah has already created? To re-fashion what Allah has already moulded and done???
With great wisdom is the doing of our beloved Lord, even how we look, though as insignificant as it may seem to us!

My dear sisters, constantly in talks, lectures, dars, etc, we will hear ‘have faith!’ and ‘have Iman, have Taqwa!’ but where does all that go when looking at the material side of things???
Thinking logically my dear sisters, which of the two makes more sense? To have as role models, the mothers of the believers such as Khadija bint Khuwaylid, Sawda bint Zam’a, A’ishah Siddiqa bint Abu Bakr, Hafsa bint ‘Umar, Zaynab bint Khuzayma, May Allah be pleased with them all, or, to have as role models; Jordan, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce????

Dear sisters, beauty is a subjective quality found in the eye of the beholder; it varies from one person to another, something I may find beautiful, another may find repulsive and vice versa!

So what is better, physical beauty or beauty from within? The beauty of Knowledge and Iman???
Do you know the answer? Not sure?? Don’t know???
The Ahadith of the Prophet Muhammad Salallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam are sufficient as an answer; Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wasallam recommended Muslims to select those partners who are best in religion (Deen) and character;
‘The whole world is a commodity, and the most valuable of its commodities is a righteous woman.’
[Muslim]
&
‘The best properties are; a tongue which remembers Allah, a thankful heart and a believing wife who helps [to strengthen] one’s faith.’
[Imam Ahmed, at-Tirmidhi & Ibn Majah]
&
‘A woman may be married for four reasons: for her property, for her rank, for her beauty, and for her religion (and character). So marry the one who is best in the religion and character and prosper’.
[Bukhari and Muslim]
&
Furthermore in the Qur’an:
"Vile women are for vile men, and vile men are for vile women".
[Qur’an Surah An-Nur 24:26]

My sisters, the stated celebrities may have physical beauty but what is the point of possessing such a quality, when there is no Iman? When there isn’t even modesty!
A lot of the times (and I mean A LOT!), sisters use the excuse, ‘it’s for my husband’ or ‘I’m getting married soon, so I want to look my best!’, but that’s all they are sisters, just excuses!

Firstly, if something isn’t for the sake of Allah, then most likely, it isn’t worth it.

Secondly, yes pleasing your husband is pleasing to Allah, but not in disobedience or haraam matters (plastic surgery is haraam as it is changing the creation of Allah), however, why would a sister want to marry a brother who chooses the PHYSICAL BEAUTY of this MATERIAL LIFE, this TEMPORARY LIFE over a brother who searches in his spouse the beauty of Iman, the beauty which is deemed more worthy in Islam, and if he gets a wife who has physical beauty, than he is even more grateful to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’laa, in addition to what Allah has already bestowed upon him!!!

Sisters if you pick the first brother (then it’s worrying!!) then I guess there is always the worry, that in later life when you lose your beauty and youth, he’s going to run a mile from you before you can even say ‘bye!’.

The scholars, Ulama, mufti’s, (whoever you ask really) all have divided plastic surgery into two kinds. These two categories are; Cosmetic Surgery and Physical or Congenital faults (a.k.a needed surgery!).Physical or congenital faults are such that are present from birth or that which result from an illness or an abnormality, such as turned-out lips, twisted fingers, or toes, etc.
Faults which result from an illness are scars left from leprosy or other skin diseases, or scars occurring from accidents or burns, etc.
There is no doubt that such faults/scars cause physical and psychological pain and harm, therefore Islam allows people afflicted with such things to remove or reduce them by surgical means, as Islam does not burden anyone.
Therefore, in addition any cosmetic surgery which comes under this heading of ‘need’ because of the fact that the reason for the surgery is causing harm and to result in a better quality of life is permissible, and not considered to be changing the creation of Allah.

However there are some cosmetic surgical procedures which are haraam and are not excusable, since these are tampering with the creation of Allah for the sake of beauty.
Such procedures include breast enlargement or reduction, procedures aimed at reversing the signs of ageing, face-lifts, rhinoplasty, Botox injections, collagen fillers, eye-lifts, liposuction, tummy tuck, etc. (the list carries on really!)

The Islamic view is these are not permitted as there is no urgent need or necessity for them, but rather the aim is to change and tamper with the creation of Allah for human vanity. And this is haraam as it involves the two things that the Prophet Muhammad Salallahu ‘Alayhi Wasallam cursed; pursuit of beauty and changing what Allah has created.
It must be mentioned here alongside the above point, that going in pursuit of beauty being cursed, does not mean that one should not show an interest in his/her outward appearance and beauty:
Ibn Mas’ud Radi Allahu Anhu reported that the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wasallam used to have an interest in his appearance and adornment, and he also urged his companions (May Allah be pleased with them all) to follow suit.
&
From 'Abdullaah Ibn Mas'ood Radi Allahu 'Anhu, who said that the Prophet Salallahu 'Alayhi Wasallam said,

"No one will enter Paradise who has an atom's weight of pride in his heart."
A man said, "What if a man likes his clothes to look good and his shoes to look good?" He (Salallahu ‘Alayhi Wasallam) said, "Allah is beautiful and loves beauty. Pride means denying the truth and looking down on people."

However cosmetic surgery is heading for excessive beauty and it alters the creation of Allah which is forbidden and Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’laa warns us about this, that the Shaytan says:
“And I will lead them astray, and I will tempt them with false hopes, and I will command them, whereby they shall slit the ears of cattle, and I will command them, whereby they shall alter the creation of Allah.” Whoever takes the Satan for friend, instead of Allah, incurs an obvious loss."

[Surah An-Nisaa’ 4:119]

One can define that what is permitted and what is forbidden from the two by using the words of Imam al-Nawawi Radi Allahu ‘Anhu, in his commentary of this hadith;
‘Allah has cursed the women who make tattoos and the women who have this done, the women who pluck facial hair and the women who have this done, and women who widen the gap between their own or others’ teeth for the sake of beauty, changing what Allah has created.’
[Sahih Muslim, 3966]

Imam al-Nawawi Radi Allah ‘Anhu, said:
“The woman who tattoos is one who uses a needle or similar implement to prick the skin of the hand, wrist, lips or other part of a woman’s body until she draws blood, then she puts dye into the wound. It is haraam to do this or have it done by choice. Similarly, plucking or removing hair from the face is also haraam, whether one does it or asks someone else to do it for one, unless a woman has a beard or a moustache, in which case it is not haraam to remove it. Widening the gap between the teeth is done by filing between the incisors. This is done by old women to give the appearance of youth and make the teeth look beautiful, because this attractive gap between the teeth is characteristic of young girls. When a woman gets old, her teeth get big and look ugly, so she may file them to make them look more attractive and give the impression that she is younger…It is haraam to do this or have it done by another because of this hadith, and because it involves changing what Allah has created, and it is a form of deception and falsehood. Widening the gap between the teeth is something that is done to make a person look beautiful, which indicates that what is haraam, is when this is done in the pursuit of beauty, but if it is were done as a form of treatment because of some problem or deformity in the teeth, then there is nothing wrong with it. And Allah knows best.”
[Al-Nawawi, commentary on Sahih Muslim, 13/107]

In addition to this all, cosmetic surgery is a preoccupation with this Duniya and a material desire in which is no benefit or reward from Allah, instead His wrath.

“Man’s worst enemy is his own ignorance and uncontrolled passions.”
[Quote from Abu Salman Deya ud-Deen, (Tawheed Language + Information Services).]

This duniya is a means of getting nearer to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’laa and this cannot be achieved by the means of plastic surgery.
Cosmetic surgery is unnecessary and does not beautify one, more in the sight of Allah, for as Muhammad Salallahu ‘Alayhi Wasallam says in his hadith,

on the authority of Abu Hurairah Radi Allahu ‘Anhu;
‘Allah does not look at your bodies nor at your faces, but He looks at your hearts and your actions (that come from the heart).’

Furthermore cosmetic surgery results in unnecessary and extreme pain, torture and suffering after the procedure has been carried out, having to spend days in solitary confinement, and eating a dozen pills and sedatives to ease the excruciating pain! And as we know one cannot carry out his/her daily Islamic duties including Salah when intoxicated or sedated, since one is as if under a spell and has no control on ones saying, actions or limbs (for example, like with alcohol) and furthermore It has been related by Imam Ahmad Radi Allahu ‘Anhu and Abu Dawud Radi Allahu ‘Anhu on the authority of Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with her, that she said the Prophet Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wasallam prohibited every intoxicant or sedative.

In addition, cosmetic surgery is increasingly expensive, resulting in one squandering his/her money;
‘Verily Allah has forbidden you; disobedience to parents, burying alive of daughters, and demanding your rights while not giving to others, and He has hated for you: vain talk, persistent questioning and squandering of money.’
[Al-Bukhari & Muslim]
&
‘The children of Adam will not proceed on the Day of Resurrection until they are held accountable for their youth (and strength) and in what it was utilized, their time, and how they consumed it, their wealth and how they spent it and from where it was acquired.’

And last but not least, by sisters opting for cosmetic surgery, it is a way of imitation of the disbelieving women, since cosmetic surgery is a western ideology to material beauty, and therefore sharing their recompense.
“Those who have disbelieved in Our verses, We shall certainly make them enter a fire. Whenever their skins are burnt out, We shall give them other skins in their place, so that they may taste the punishment. Surely, Allah is All-Mighty, All-Wise."
[Surah An-Nisaa’:56]
&
“- and so that Allah may purify those who believe and eradicate the disbelievers.”
[Surah Al ‘Imran: 141]
&
“The strutting of the disbelievers about the land should not deceive you. It is just a little enjoyment. After that, their resort is Hell; and it is an evil abode.”
[Surah Al ‘Imran: 196 + 197]
&
“The believers must not take the disbelievers as friends instead of the believers,”
[Surah Al ‘Imran: 28]

My beautiful sisters in Islam, we are beautiful as we are, we may not feel our faces, bodies, etc are 100% perfect in our eyes but we are in the sight of Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’laa. And who is a better judge of everything including beauty than Allah?
“Is Allah not the Greatest Ruler of all the rulers?”
[Surah At-Tin: 8]

Indeed we are the fortunate ones who Allah has blessed us with physical beauty AND the beauty of Islam too, so should we not be ever grateful to Allah???
Keep remembering my dear sisters, we have well-functioning limbs, organs, all our features are in-tact, etc, truly we should be ever grateful for not having such abnormalities and faults we see today in society, where people have lost their limbs, their sight, their hearing, etc.

And my dear sisters, if we are from the ones who have such faults, then truly it is a trial from Allah, and we must be patient, for after every hardship is ease, my dear sisters;
“So, undoubtedly, along with the hardship there is ease. Undoubtedly, along with the hardship there is ease.”

[Surah Ash-Sharh 94: 5 + 6]
&
“Of course, you shall be tested in your wealth and yourselves;”
[Surah Al-‘Imran 3: 186]
&
“Surely, Allah is with the patient.”
[Surah Al-Anfal 8: 46]

My dear sisters, Allah says in the Qur’an:
“We have created man in the best composition,”
[Surah At-Tin 95: 4]
So must we continuously question Allah’s creation and ask how and why he created a certain part of us in a certain way??? If this is not ungratefulness then what is???
So my dear sisters, lets not have pride, vanity, greed, envy or jealousy amongst one another, which will only build a barrier in our hearts, and instead let’s continue to thank Allah for what we do have rather than moan about that which we don’t have.

Sisters, I speak to myself before anyone else, we only have ONE, VERY SHORT life to live, and no one knows when the time is up except Allah and who He has decreed to know, so let’s use this tiny amount of time we have to please our creator instead of pleasing and giving into our own nafs (desires) and those of the creation.

May Allah make us ever-grateful and learn to accept ourselves the way we are, Ameen! x

Wasalaamulaikum Warahmatulahi Wabarkatahu! xxx Mehak xxx

Where Did All The Muslims Go??????????....

2008-09-15T23:58:00.006+01:00

Where Did All The Muslims Go????

Asalaamulaikum Warahmatulahi Wabarkatahu Dear Respected Brothers and Sisters!

Insha’Allah I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate myself and everyone else on another blessed Ramadhan which by Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’alaa’s Great Mercy, we have been blessed with!!!

May this Ramadhan be a source of guidance for all Muslims, and may Allah give us the strength to act upon that blessed guidance, Ameen! X

This post is to serve as a reminder to firstly myself and you (my precious sisters and brothers), about all that goes on during the month of Ramadhan, and how this blessed month is abused of its beauty and robbed of its true purpose.

My dear brothers and sisters, we must not forget WHY we are fasting in the month of Ramadhan…to please Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’alaa and to attain His pleasure and blessings, and no other material reason!
I can not stress enough why intention is soooooo important! Subhan’Allah!!!
For the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam said, every deed is rewarded according to its intention!

Furthermore, it is a common misconception amongst our youth of the Ummah that the month of Ramadhan is the month to go dead religious and after the month has passed us by, we can carry on like usual!! NOOOOOOO!!!!

The month of Ramadhan, is to IMPROVE on ourselves, to BETTER ONESELF!!! And to MAINTAIN that IMPROVEMENT, after Ramadhan has gone!

It’s easy to be all good and religious in the month of Ramadhan because the Shayitan is not here and we just have to battle with our Nafs (desires), wouldn’t you agree? Indeed the real battle is when Shayitan will unfortunately come back, tempting us with even stronger whispers!!! Subhan’Allah!

Abu Hurairah Radi Allahu ‘Anhu narrates ‘The Messenger of Allah Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam said:

“There has come to you Ramadhan, a blessed month which Allah has enjoined you to fast, during which the gates of heaven are opened and the gates of Hell are closed, and the rebellious devils are chained up. In it there is a night which is better than a thousand months, and whoever is deprived of its goodness is indeed deprived.”
[Al-Nasaa’i 2106; Ahmad 8769]
&

“When Ramadhan commences, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are bound in chains.”
[Sahih Al-Bukhari & Sahih Muslim]

In addition, another common misconception is that fasting in Ramadhan is just about abstaining from food and drink. NOOOOOOOOO!!!! …again!

It is sooo much more, for we fast with our eyes, our ears, our mouths, our mentalities and our limbs!!!!
How you may ask?

Well, for your limbs, bear patience my dear brothers and sisters!!!!
For Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam said when someone is rude to you say,
“’Innee saa’imun, ‘innee saa’imun.”
(I am fasting, I am fasting)
[Al-Bukhari, Al-Asqalani, Fathul-Bari, Muslim]
&
Allah says in the Qur’an:
“O you who believe! Seek help in patience and As-Salat (the prayer). Truly! Allah is with As-Sabirun (the patient).”
[Surah Al Baqarah: 153]
&
“And Allah is with As-Sabirun (the patient).”
[Surah Al-Baqarah: 249]

Furthermore Imam Ahmad rahimahullah said:
“Allah has mentioned Sabr (patience) in over ninety places in His book.”
[Ibn al Qayyim- Madaarij us-Saalikeen]
&
The Prophet Salallahu ‘Alayhi Wassalaam said:
“The month of Patience, and the three days of every month, are times for fasting.”
[Sahih Ahmad and An-Nasaa’i]

Ibn ‘Abdur-Barr rahimahullah said:
“What is meant by the month of Patience is the month of Ramadhan…so fasting is called patience because it restrains the soul from eating, drinking, conjugal relations and sexual desires.”
[At-Tamheed- Al Haafidh ibn Abdul Barr]

For our mentalities, brothers and sisters, Ramadhan is just ONE of the tests Allah has decided to test us with, but only with patience, we shall pass, Insha’Allah, we must prepare ourselves my dear brothers and sisters, for no one knows what’s around the next corner except Allah and those who He has willed to know;
“And certainly, we shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits, but give glad tidings to As-Sabirun (the patient).”
[Surah Al-Baqarah: 155]

Our mouths and actions are also in need of control and self-restraint as usual but even more so in the month of Ramadhan,

for the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam said:
“Whoever does not leave off false speech and false conduct, Allah has no need of his leaving off food and drink.”
[Sahih Al-Bukhari]
&
He, Salallahu ‘Alayhi Wassalaam also said:
“Fasting is not merely abstaining from eating and drinking. Rather, it is also abstaining from ignorant and indecent speech. So if anyone abuses or behaves ignorantly with you, then say: I am fasting, I am fasting.”
[Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah and Al-Haakim]

And the same for our eyes and ears, we should lower our gaze (just like the other 11 months of the calendar) to protect our nafs and stay away from obscene language to maintain Iman and sincerity and to keep sexual desires at bay;
“When any one of you is observing the fast for the day, he should neither indulge in obscene language nor raise his voice. If someone insults him or quarrels with him, he should say: ‘I am fasting’.”
[Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim]

So this includes the music blasting from our phones, since in addition to being haraam, it contains words of an obscene nature and profanity (swearing), and most of the time derogatory words of a sexual nature (sexual references), both of which are haraam, but one should be extra careful to avoid such things in the month of Ramadhan.

So I ask, from amongst us, are there the ‘Ramadhan Muslims?’ paying no attention to the actual facts of Ramadhan, and instead falling into the below categories:
The streets are clear,
The lunch halls are empty.
Where did all the Muslims go???
No more music,
The caps and Hijaabs come on.
Where did all the Muslims go???
The mosques are packed,
The clubs are empty.
Where did all the Muslims go???
Fasting is here,
The smoking is gone.
Where did all the Muslims go???
The beards go untrimmed,
The eyebrows go un-plucked.
Where did all the Muslims go???
Everyone is racing for Tarawih,
And the Xbox is left untouched.
Where did all the Muslims go???
The Qur’ans recited with calm and beautiful recitation,
While the magazines laying about gathering dust.
Where did all the Muslims go???
Prayer rooms filled with Assalaamualaikum and hugs here and there,
The gossip of the women missed in the malls.
Where did all the Muslims go???
Brothers in Thoubs/Jubbahs spreading Da’wah,
Sisters found at all the Halaqahs.
Where did all the Muslims go???
…
All of a sudden,
30 days have passed; another Ramadhan has just come and gone,
The rewards gained, gone has all the hunger pains,
And life is back to usual as was once found…
…
The Masjids are empty; the clubs are packed again,
The crews are back on the streets.
The Hijaabs, caps and Thoubs are off,
Music blazing, the air filled with smoke once again.
The beards shaved to the cleanest shave, the eyebrows plucked thinner then ever before,
Completing Salah nowadays is unheard of; the Xbox is on again.
The Qur’ans placed on the highest shelf in the house, out of reach, out of sight,
The magazines are out; plainly in sight and reach.
The prayer rooms abandoned, the malls jam packed,
Gone is the Da’wah, forgotten are the Halaqahs…
…
I guess the “Muslims” are back!

Being a Muslim is not a part-time job, not a part-time hobby or something to do just to look good amongst the brothers/sisters for a change,
So I ask you…
Are You A Ramadhan Muslim???????????

So what did YOU ACTUALLY LEARN FROM RAMADHAN????

‘Erm….ooo…. that I miss my food man!! I’ll never abandon my chicken burger again!’

---‘We leave the blessed month of Ramadhan, its beautiful days and its fragrant nights. We leave the month of the Qur’an, Taqwa, patience, Jihad (striving against the sacrifices we face in Ramadhan), Mercy, Forgiveness and Freedom from the Hellfire…

Have we fulfilled the requirements of Taqwa and graduated from the Ramadhan School with the diploma of the God-fearing?

Have we fought our souls and desires and defeated them, or have we been overtaken by our customs and blind imitations?
Have we performed our actions in a way that fulfils the conditions for receiving mercy, forgiveness and release from the fire?

Many questions and numerous thoughts come to the heart of the SINCERE MUSLIM, who ASKS and ANSWERS WITH TRUTHFULNESS.’---
{Paragraph from Tayyibun Institute UK-Preparation for Ramadhan course pack-titled ‘Not just Hunger and Thirst’}

I urge you to remember this hadith of the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu ‘Alayhi Wa Sallam, my dear sisters and brothers!!!!
“Whoever does not leave off false speech and false conduct, Allah has no need of his leaving off food and drink.”
[Sahih Al-Bukhari]

I remind myself before anyone else, I apologise for any offence caused for that was not my intention, any good from this post is from Allah Subhana Wa’talaa ALONE only the mistakes have been mine.

Jazak’Allah Khairun,

Keep the Ummah in Your Du’as, (especially at the time of Iftar, for one’s Du’a at that time is accepted, Insha’Allah!)

Wasalaamulaikum Warahmatulahi Wabarkatahu, x Your Sister x

Farewell Isoc and Ramadhaan Mubarak!!!

2008-08-31T19:46:00.005+01:00

Assalamu ‘Alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh,

Dearest and most beloved brothers and sisters, may Allah the Most Merciful shower His grace upon you with abundance and comfort you with His Mercy and Benevolence.

I would like to take this opportunity to greet you, to congratulate you on the advent of a blessed Ramadan, to make my sincere dua for you, to express my deepest friendship and love for you and my sincere care and support for all of you. I make a sincere dua to Allah alone that He makes this month a means to ease your worries, that He replaces it with goodness and transforms your world into a Jannah in this life. May Allah give you what your heart desires and amaze you with His bounty and grace.

Alhamdulillah, as they say all good things comes to an end and the time has now come for me to resign from the blog and the Isoc. Alhamdulillah, it was Allah who enabled me to take part as an author on the blog and to be part of a really great and blessed Isoc. I’d like to say a sincere Jazakumullahu Khairan to everyone, especially the Isoc Members, particularly our beloved headbrother and headsister for making a positive influence in our lives. I truly cannot thank you enough for your generosity and the hard work and effort you have put in establishing an amazing Islamic Society for all of us. May your hard work weigh heavily on the scale of good deeds for all those who contributed to the Isoc in any way, Ameen Thuma Ameen.

These two years have truly been amazing for me. We’ve come a great way and achieved a lot of success both as students and a Society as a whole. So much has happened in these two years, I don’t even know where to start (this is the part you realize this is going to be a long post). I’m just kidding; I won’t give guys another one of my long posts. I’d just like to take this opportunity, since I won’t be seeing you guys anymore, to offer some small advice to the new A2 Students.

One of the great things about having an Islamic Society, apart from having a place to pray, is that it’s a place where you can escape to and meet people of the same beliefs as you when you’re surrounded with every type of fitnah around the campus. This makes you realize how truly blessed we are to have an Isoc, because without it, only Allah truly knows how much our Imaan would have been effected through college life. This is why it’s so important to create an Islamic environment within the campus and call all the Muslim Brothers and Sisters to join the Isoc.

This can start off by making the Islamic Society look and feel like an organisation or student body which means something. Group together as one - put aside differences and work on commonalities. Know that we are more alike than we are different! And this is because of the Bond of Islam. The Bond of Islam is stronger than the bond of blood relation. Also, create an environment in the prayer rooms (let’s pray you guys get a proper prayer room this year InshaAllah) whereby people can chill out. A relaxed area where students can come, do their work, pray, eat, make new friends, etc. This will then mean that a bond of brotherhood and sisterhood is created.

Again I want to stress the part of calling newbies to join the Isoc. You really truly have to be a good example and portray the beauty of Islam through your good behaviour because when people are thinking of joining the Isoc, they’re scared. They think they’re going to be judged. It’s something I’ve noticed. The niqabi thinks the Isoc will think she’s too hardcore. The nonhijabi thinks the Isoc will think she doesn’t belong there. The hijabi who wears jeans will think all the jilbabis are going to judge her, etc etc. So what to do??

This again, is going to seem like common sense–but I’ve observed people: people don’t do this!! —Just smile and say salaam!—to everyone. People for some reason think they should only salaam their friends. This makes the newcomers feel totally outcasted. And most of the time, they’re not thinking that you’re not salaam-ing them because you guys aren’t friends but rather because they’re “not hijabi, not jilbabi, full niqabi, etc etc.” And then that’s it. They tried it out, no one gave them salaam, so Goodbye Isoc!

People don’t realize the seriousness of such a small action. And I’m not talking about only at Isoc events. Some people won’t come to the events. They’ll just observe the Isoc members on campus. They’ll notice that you never salaam them or smile at them, and they’ll already feel judged.

I’ve heard some people say they don’t like salaam-ing new people because a lot of times that person will ignore them, or look at them like “Do I know you?” Ok. That’s sad, I agree. But! Is the reason you’re salaam-ing them because you want a response? Or is it fisabilillah? And isn’t it almost an act of arrogance to think you deserve a response? Maybe you’re not worthy of a response. Give salaams. If you don’t get a response, smile and walk away. If you see the person again, Give salaams again. The third time, maybe try and start a conversation: “Hey, assalaamu alaykum! I’ve seen you around college a couple of times, and wanted to meet you. You’re the mysterious sister running around who I don’t know! I’m [fill in name here]”

Chances are, you’ll realize the person’s not half bad. And if they still don’t respond, Hey – you did your part right? ;) And you got reward for it InshaAllah. Next time you see them, smile and say salaam again. Don’t be so full of pride.

And you know what else? It’s great da’wah too. Sometimes I’d be walking with my non-muslim friends, and a sister would smile at me and we’d exchange salaams. My friends would ask me if we knew each other, and I’d tell them we didn’t. “That’s so beautiful”, they’d remark. It showed them the unity of the Muslims. Alhamdulillah.

Speaking of da’wah, this brings me to my next point. Alhamdulillah, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world and this has only been achieved by Muslims giving da’wah, whether verbally or non-verbally. These days, us youth don’t realize the importance of giving da’wah to non-muslims and calling them to the path of Islam. I’ll admit, even am scared of approaching non-muslims and speaking to them about Islam. But one thing encouraged me and I hope it encourages you guys to do the same InshaAllah.

It just so happened that the teacher of the Islamic Studies course I was doing this summer happened to be a Revert. He just finished his studies and graduated from Madinah University after studying there for seven years. You wanna know how he reverted to Islam?? He reverted from Christianity in his second year at Leyton Sixth Form all because a brother came and sat next to him and asked him what he knew about Islam. He basically told us that he didn’t know jack about Islam and thought we were all Hindus. So the brother told him a bit about Islam and everything made sense to him so he requested a copy of the Qur’aan and said he would look into it. He went home and started to read the Qur’aan and compared the Bible with it and found out that everything in the Qur’aan was true and made sense whereas the Bible was the other way around. After that he declared his Shahadah and he told the brother that he wants to study more about Islam so I think the brother helped him in applying to Madinah University after he finished his college studies. He got a Scholarship, moved to Madinah, studied Arabic for 3years and then Shariah for another 4 yrs and Voila, he’s now MashaAllah a very knowledgeable brother and is teaching Arabic and Islamic Studies (inc Uloom ul Quran, Uloom ul Hadith, Fiqh and Usool and Shariah). He’s MashaAllah a very good teacher and if anyone is thinking of studying Arabic or Islamic Studies I would definitely recommend him.

Now going back to the topic of da’wah, can you just imagine the rewards that this brother must be receiving for presenting Islam to this revert? Not only did he receive the reward for making him a Muslim but also the ongoing reward for all the good deeds that he does. SubhanAllah if that doesn’t encourage us to do the same then I don’t know what will. May Allah give us all the ability to fulfill our obligations in doing da’wah and calling others to Allah’s Path, Ameen.

One of the ayaahs about Ramadan:

‘O you who believe! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you, so that you may gain God-consciousness.’ (Qur'an 2:183)

One lesson we can take out of this is that Ramadan and fasting is something that connects us to other faiths... i.e, a great opportunity to start giving da’wah. :)

Wow, SubhanAllah this has turned into a long post, I told you guys it’s a habit that I can’t help. I didn’t even talk about Ramadan and how we can truly maximise our Ibadah during this month. Khair InshaAllah I’m sure we’ll be hearing loads of talks regarding this anyways in this month so I’ll just mention a single point of benefit. Know that Ramadan is not a singled-out month of worship and taqwa. It is to IMPROVE ourselves, to come out as better Muslims with better characters and to ask for forgiveness for our shortcomings of the past eleven months. Ramadan comes only once a year; therefore, we should host it in the best possible way and take advantage to reap its rewards. If you don't make the best of the opportunity of Ramadan, you are truly DEPRIVED.

I ask that those who read this to forgive me if I’ve ever wronged you or offended you in any way. Please forgive my shortcomings and I humbly request to all that read this to make a sincere dua for me when breaking your fast, since the fasting person’s supplications are not rejected. Specific request are that Allah forgive all my sins, grant me taqwa and increase me in sabr and for Allah to aid me in my studies of both the dunya knowledge and the akhirah knowledge. InshaAllah you will all be in my duas.

O Allah make us and all Muslims of those who fast and stand in prayer during the month of Ramadan based on belief and truly seeking Your reward so that we are forgiven our past and future sins.

O Allah make us of those who fasted the month, attained full reward, witnessed Layatul-Qadr and attained success by permission of the Lord, Blessed and Most High.

O Allah, verily you are Forgiver, like to forgive, so forgive us.

O Lord, accept from us, verily you are the All-Hearing, All-Seeing, O Living, O Independent, O Owner of all majesty and honor.

And may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon Muhammad, his family and his Companions.

Wassalamu Alaykum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

How do I Know if I am Sincere?

2008-08-30T21:00:00.002+01:00

How do I know if I am sincere? I asked this question way back in September 2004 to some of the students of knowledge, the late Shaykh, Dr. Saleh as-Saleh (rahimahullaah) and my good friend, Mu’tasim al-Hameedee.

I was not able to catch all the points of benefit that Shaykh Saleh as-Saleh mentioned, but I will try my best to paraphrase what I managed to take of notes:

He said that his Shaykh, Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (rahimahullaah) said that: We should always be checking ourselves and asking: “Did I really do that for Allaah?” He said that we should make the du’aa where we ask Allaah (subhaanahu wa Ta’aala) to protect us from falling into shirk (and of course doing an act for other than Allaah is shirk) and that we should seek forgiveness often. He continued by saying that shaytaan is always trying to corrupt our intention and trying to take away from its purity. He then went on to say that the Salaf used to say that they found nothing more intense then striving to be sincere. He closed by saying that when you find yourself having an inclination to read the Qur’aan and seek (beneficial) knowledge then this is a sign of there being sincerity in ones actions.

Br. Mu’tasim al-Hameedee said (to paraphrase):

That there is no meter that we can attach to our heart or our body to give a reading, and that everyone knows in himself what he is doing and why he is doing it, and everyone is a proof against himself or on behalf of himself. You know when you are doing an action whether you are doing it for the sake of Allaah or for the sake of showing off, you know it in your heart, and it is not something that has to be learnt, it is something from our fitrah and we are created with this sense and we know ourselves if we are doing what we are doing for Allaah or for the people.

Some of the righteous predecessors mentioned some signs, and they where that if you find yourself more active in worship when you are in front of others and that you do not have the same zeal or strength in worship when you are by yourself then this is a sign that there is something wrong with your intention, and this is a sign you are doing it for the sake of the people, maybe not completely for the people, but at the least there is some deficiency in your intention.

There is a story about a man who was fasting, and this man used to pray very quickly at home, but on this day, the day he was fasting he went to the masjid and he prayed and the people were saying what an excellent prayer he is praying, so he turned around in his prayer and said to them: “I am fasting today too!”

The Muslim is always struggling with his intention, shaytaan will always come and try to corrupt that intention, so always have in mind that I am doing it for the sake of Allaah because Allaah ordered me to and I hope to get reward for it.

So be warned - Brother and Sister Muslim - that no action is acceptable to Allaah if somebody else is given a share in it. Reflect carefully upon the words of Yoosuf bin al Hussain ar-Raazee: "Indeed the hardest thing (to achieve) in this world is Ikhlaas. How many times have I struggled to extinguish riyaa (showing off) from my heart except that it only appeared again in a different colour" [1]

Also reflect upon the words narrated by Ibn Qudaamah al-Maqdisee in his [Mukhtasir Minhaaj il-Qaasideen] "Indeed mankind, all of them, are destroyed except those with knowledge and all those with knowledge are destroyed except those who act upon it and all those who act are destroyed except those who are sincere in their action and all those who are sincere are in great danger (of associating other than Allaah in their actions)". [2]

1 [Jaami ul-Uloom wal-Hikam] of Ibn Rajab al-Hanbalee
2 [Mukhtasir Minhaaj il- Qaasideen] of Ibn Qudaamah al-Maqdisee

Notes taken by Aboo Uthmaan

Those That are Truly Pious

2008-08-27T22:25:00.008+01:00

The truly pious sisters never do anything to ever jeopardize their haya

The truly pious sisters have a deep attachment to salah

They have noor dripping from their faces

They are never to be found in all the wrong places

The truly pious sisters are always glowing

They are not the ones that have all their limbs showing

Rather they are those that wear abayas loose and flowing

And when they are tested by Allah they increase their ibadah and keep going

They are mindful of their speech and never engage in idle talk

And they are not amongst those that wish to be noticed when they walk

They are those that have 'ilm and are constantly seeking

They have the best adab, ahklaq and manner of speaking

Just like the truly pious sisters there are only a few truly pious brothers

And the truly pious brothers take care of their sisters and mothers

The truly pious brothers have exemplary ahklaq

Pants rolled above the ankle and carrying a miswak

The truly pious brother is cautious about violating others rights

And you can hear his attachment to the Quran with every Surah he recites

His forehead has the mark that only one can get from praying tahajjud every night

Noor eminates from him, and every strand of his beard twinkles like a light

And if the time comes to fight, then he will not take flight

He will enter the battlefield strong just like a knight

The truly pious brother makes dua to Allah for his enemies to be guided

And doesn’t incite hatred towards other Muslims, lest we become more divided

The truly pious brother’s eyes are always looking toward the ground
Lowering the gaze because non-mahram women are around

He never insults or curses anyone, and never wastes time

He’s always just with others and keeps his nafs in line

The truly pious brother is always trying to learn more in the deen

Traveling for the sake of 'ilm is a regular routine

The truly pious brother is always making istighfaar for the sins that he may or may not have done.

And he is not the lazy, depressed or pessimistic one

The truly pious brother loves for his brother what he loves for himself

He is never satisfied with his condition, so he is always improving himself

And you will find that the truly pious sisters have sabr and complete tawakkul in Allah

And the truly pious brother has devoted himself to seeking the pleasure of Allah

And you will find that those that are truly pious are like the scent of perfume in the air

To the average Muslim, they just don’t compare

They are like precious jewels that are extremely rare

Remaining in their pure form because they are unfit to wear

So if you want to marry from amongst those that are truly pious, then be worthy and not obsceneAnd don’t waste your time looking for them in places that they would never dare to be seen

You would never go to a swamp to discover a pearl

Unless instead of a pious woman you want a cover girl

And if you think that you can go to a garbage dump in search of diamonds

Then that is because you’re looking for Cubic Zirconia, and not those that are truly pious

Poem by Naimah Abraham

THE ADULTERY...OF THE EYES!!! ...

2008-08-25T02:25:00.008+01:00

THE ADULTERY OF THE EYES!!!

Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim.
In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

Assalaamulaikum Warahmatulahi Wabarkatahu dear respected brothers and sisters.

“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze, and protect their private parts. That is purer for them. Verily! Allah is All-Aware of what they do.
And tell the believing women to lower their gaze, and protect their private parts and not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent…”
[Surah An-Nur 24:30-31]

Alhumdulilah, college break is here, exam results are out of the way, Allah Subhana Wa’talaa has blessed us with hot summer days, and naturally one wants to go out and have fun, so one calls up the brothers/sisters, they set a date, that day comes, so they are all preparing for the day ahead, finding nice clothes to wear, brothers combing their beards/or sisters fixing that lose bit of Hijaab, brothers drowning themselves in Atr, Sisters trying to find matching accessories to their Hijaab trying to find that lost hand bag that matches so perfectly with that green scarf, she can’t find it so she has to change into another Hijaab.

Once all ready, one gets ready to leave the house, giving their love and salaam to their parents and siblings, but as one opens the door and get ready to leave, before our eyes we see a wave of indecency, which is not accepted by the Islamic dress code.

One cannot help but look either intentionally or unintentionally, so SubhanAllah, what can one do???
One can’t just barricade themselves in their bedroom and take refuge under the bed, (where the sister finally finds that lost bag/and brothers find all their empty bottles of Atr)!!

One may question, how is the adultery of the eyes defined?

Abu Hurairah Radi Allahu Anhu narrated that the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam said “…the adultery of the eyes is looking (at [that] which is not allowed)…”
[Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

One maybe thinking, it’s only one look, what can one look do?
Indeed brothers and sisters it all begins with a lustful glance. This one glance leads to lustful talk and flirting, then meeting, then becoming “an item”, and I am sure we are all well aware of what comes next.
In his Hadith, Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam says “And the eyes commit zina (adultery). Their Zina is gazing.”
So that’s the harm it does, that one look, that one look is the zina of the eyes, the adultery of the eyes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, on the authority of Jarair Radi Allahu Anhu, who said: “I asked the Messenger of Allah Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam about the sudden glance (that is cast) on the face (of a non-Mahram). He commanded me that I should turn away my eyes.”
[Reported by Muslim]

Furthermore, Muhammad Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam said to Ali Radi Allahu Anhu: “Ali! Do not look once after another, for the first look is for you (since it happens accidentally) while the second is against you.”

A Muslim/Muslimah is decent and pure, therefore it means all of his/her body must be decent and pure, and a natural consequence of this is lowering of the gaze.
Allah Azza Wa Jall says in the Qur’an:

“O you who believe! Do not follow Satan’s footsteps: If any will follow the footsteps of Satan, he will command what is shameful and wrong…”
[Surah An-Nur 24:21]

And indeed, looking at another man/woman after Allah and His Messenger Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam have said it is wrong and evil, to do it is a shameful and wrong act.

Indeed one must not submit to his/her desires; instead remember the beautiful words of Allah, and His clear warnings:

“Do not go near fornication and adultery, it is an abomination and an evil way.”
[Surah Al-Israa’:32]

Remember, brothers and sisters that when one of us lowers our gaze, it is a good deed and Allah has promised a ten-fold reward for good deeds, so lets strive for these good deeds, these tiny acts of obedience which seem small now, but will make a huge difference, where it counts; in the Akhirah, when our scale of good and bad deeds will be measured!

“He that does good shall have ten times as much to his credit:
He that does evil shall only be recompensed according to his evil:
And no wrong shall be done unto (any of) them.”
[Surah Al-An’ am 6:160]

“So whosoever does good equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it,
And whosoever does evil equal to the weight of an atom, shall see it.”
[Surah Az-Zalzalah: 7-8]

Whilst preparing this post, a sister recommended a site where a post was put up, InshAllah the author makes some excellent points:
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Are we going beyond the limits without realizing it?
By Sikander Ziad Hashmi,

A few weeks ago, Montreal hosted the F1 Canadian Grand Prix. That weekend, my parents and I were heading west on the highway, and many of the race fans who had come from out of town were sharing the roads with us on their way back home.

One thing really caught my attention, more than anything else: almost every single one of these race fans was driving extremely fast and was zipping by us, as if they themselves were race drivers competing in a F1 race.
I found this to be interesting because here were the race fans, after only a few hours at the race track, already acting like F1 drivers. The point being that only a few hours in the racing environment (without even actually racing) had such a profound effect on them that its effect was shown in their actions.

By just being around racers, driving around 300km/h, driving fast had become a second nature for these fans.
This clearly shows the potential effects that the environment can have on a person’s thinking as well as actions.

We all know that we are members of a decaying society. Morality, decency, modesty, and the sense of shame are in a freefall, and things are progressively getting worse.

All this is very evident. It’s not hard to tell, especially in the summer. Just head downtown and you’ll notice the billboards on the highway, take a stroll at the mall, watch a few commercials on TV, take in a movie or two, and you’ll be faced with stuff that’s nowhere near being decent or modest.

So basically, indecency and immorality are rampant these days. And the worst part? We live in the midst of it, and are faced with this stuff day-in, day-out.

Unfortunately, the environment around us is bound to have some sort of effect on us. Just like on those race fans after the Grand Prix, we can easily become immune to indecency and immodesty, and used to seeing it all.

In fact, it IS so easy to get used to, and that’s extremely dangerous, because all this indecency and immodesty is clearly against the moral fabric of Islam. After all, modesty is a branch of faith.

Abu Hurairah Radi Allahu anhu narrated that the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam said: “Imaan has over seventy branches, and modesty is a branch of Islam.”
[Reported by Muslim]

Sa’eed Ibn Abu Hasan said to Hasan Radi Allahu Anhuma: “the non-Arab women bare their chests and heads (so what should I do)? The Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam said: “Turn away your eyes.”
[Reported by Al-Bukhari]

The danger is we can easily become accustomed to this haraam that we don’t realize that we are seeing something forbidden, and as a result, we knowingly go and see things we clearly shouldn’t be seeing.

So before we walk into a movie theatre, attend that social function, gaze at those billboards, flip through that magazine, chill at the beach, surf the net, or spend an evening in front of the TV, lets try to make a moment to ask ourselves, ‘are we going beyond the limits without even realizing it?’
--------This article may be reproduced on other sites freely, provided it is left intact in its entirety, and the leading "sunniforum.com" tag is NOT removed.------
Dear brothers and sisters, lowering the gaze does not mean keeping our eyes constantly glued to the ground and not looking up at all, so the next thing you know you’ve bashed your head into a street lamp post!!!
Lowering your gaze doesn’t even mean to make one anti-social, it is merely turning our faces away when we see a less-than-decently dressed woman or man walking the streets or wherever we may be, which is so much more common in the summer months.

One common mistake people make is to think that lowering the gaze is only required when one has encountered nakedness or indecency “in the flesh” or in person. No brothers and sisters, lowering the gaze must also be practiced when watching a film or television program consumed with nakedness, indecency and intimate scenes of couples, or when one feels attracted to someone on the TV, so this includes when Pamela Anderson is doing her Baywatch run, and one thinks ‘I want my wife with a figure like that’ or when an attractive Sheikh comes on the TV and one thinks ‘yeah I want a brother like that to get marred to!’

And my last advice brothers and sisters, is avoid going to places of such lewdness and indecency such as the beaches where all you’ll find is women in bikinis and guys in swimming trunks, lowering your gaze in such a place is IMPOSSIBLE!!!
The same goes for parks, where everyone is baring all and sitting out in the sun for a sun tan, this doesn’t mean never step foot in the park, just goes on days that are cooler or go later on in the day, when the peak time for sunbathing is gone.

Brothers and sisters do not put yourself in such situations by your own hand!!! And finally seek refuge in Allah Subhana Wa’talaa from such places and continuously make du’a!!!

Before leaving I would like to share with you 2 very small articles, but have a big impact!!!
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‘If a person casts lustful glances at a non-Mahram person then this feeling of momentary satisfaction is limited and restricted. Whilst if one protects his glances, one will feel the sweetness of Imaan and this feeling is eternal. And those that cast evil glances feel regret and sorrow for minutes and hours on end:
- For the religious minded: they will regret that they disobeyed Allah’s command.
- For the lustful and immoral: they feel down because they desire for such a thing that they know they’ll never get, and this feeling of despair and frustration hurts them.
http://shaykh.wordpress.com/?s=gazing
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Once, on a hot summer’s day, a few students were counting a big pile of sadaqah money, when Sheikh walked into the room. After uttering a few words of praise, he said-in Urdu-Shall I not tell you a great remedy to cure the evil gaze?

When counting this money, does any of you feel any desirous joy? Obviously not, because you all know that this money does not belong to you. In the same way, when our gaze falls upon a non-Mahram woman (or man) outside we should think that, ‘the person I am unlawfully gazing at does not belong to me,’ doing this should kill our momentary pleasure, resulting in dislike for our evil actions in the future.
http://shaykh.wordpress.com/2006/07/25/remedy-an-evil-gaze/#more-149
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May Allah Subhana Wa’talaa enable us to implement upon this tiny bit of Ilm in our lives and help others to do the same, Ameen! X

Keep the Ummah in your dua’s,

Wasalaamulaikum, XXX Sister Mehak XXX

Email Chain Letters - ''If You Love Allah, Please Forward...''

2008-08-20T22:25:00.004+01:00

By Yusuf Atiff Bin Abdel-Lateef Diab

There occurs today a very detestable practice among our Muslims in particular. It is the indulgence and participation in email chain letters. For those of us not familiar with this activity, it is where someone sends an email letter with some sort of story pertaining, in most cases but not always, to something Islamic, and then they put a condition at the end of this story to distribute this email to a certain number of people. The condition usually is a severe warning against not forwarding the email to the certain number of people in which case some calamity or mishap will occur if it is not done. In other cases the condition proposes a special benefit for forwarding the email to the certain number of people. Ordinarily this is a form of shirk that I think most people would be aware of or at least should recognize. Believing that some act not from the Qur'aan or Sunnah, if done, can cause some harm and/or benefit is indeed shirk. In doing so we set up a rival to Allaah, for truly it is only Allaah who can benefit us or harm us, and only Allaah can remove such harm.

As Allaah says in Surah Al-An'am ayah 17: "And if Allaah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He, and if He touches you with good, then He is Able to do all things."

One of the things we learn from this ayat is that any harm that afflicts us can only be removed by Allaah, so to specifically believe in bad omens, which includes bad luck and the belief that certain practices, not endorsed by Allaah or The Prophet sallAllahu 'Alayhi wa Salam, can affect the outcome of future events, is in essence the meaning of an omen. So to believe in these omens would be, belief that other than Allaah can remove such harm from us, which is setting a rival with Allaah in this removal of harm. And Allaah says in Surah al-Ma'aidah ayah 72: "Verily, whosoever sets up rivals in worship with Allaah, then Allaah has forbidden Al-Jannah for him, and the Fire will be his abode."

Imam Ahmad reports, on the authority of Ibn `Amr (radhi Allahu anhumma), that the Prophet (sallAllahu 'alayi wa Salam) said:"Whoever is turned back from his objective by a bad omen has committed Shirk." They asked: "And what is the expiation for that?" He (sallAllahu 'alayhi wa salam) replied: "It is to say: "Oh, Allah! There is no good except that which You bestow and there is no evil except that which You bestow and there is none has the right to be worshipped but You."

In many circumstances these chain emails threatens the reader that "if" the email is not sent to the certain number of people then "such and such" will occur. As reported in the above hadith this is Shirk! As is reported on the authority of Ibn Mas'ood (radhi Allahu 'anhu) in a marfoo' form, which he said: "At-tiyarah (belief in omens) is Shirk, at-tiyrah (belief in omens) is Shirk. There is none among us who is not afflicted by it, but Allah, by true dependence on Him removes it from the heart." [Abu Dawood]

So this hadeeth /athar is a rejection of belief in omens because such beliefs necessitates negation of belief in Allah's Qadr and because it causes the heart to become attached to other than Allah, which is Shirk.

Now what is even more disturbing is that these omens are presented and beautified in the form of "harmless" conditions and mere fun. No doubt a trick for shaytaan ar rajeem, wa iyaadhu billah.

The most recent one of these chain emails puts the condition that "if you love Allaah, then forward this letter to...”!!! This should indeed be a higher degree of disturbing for Muslims as it entails speaking about an attribute of Allaah without knowledge, namely Allaah's love. How is it that one can put a condition to Allaah's love based on doing an act that has no precedence in The Book of Allaah or The Sunnah of His Messenger (sallAllahu 'alayhi wa Salam)?!? This is indeed a form of ilhad (deviation) regarding the attribute of Allaah, and a form of shirk in this category of Tawheed (Asmaa wa Sifaat). The love of Allaah is attainable through many acts of ibaadah mentioned to us in the Quran and Sunnah, and thus to innovate in this noble venture is a disgusting type of bidah, pursued in most part by those of ahl kalam (The people of false rhetoric). Those people who chose not to be content with the established texts of Al-Islaam, but rather engage in exercising their intellect with regard to the deen. As we should know the Beautiful, Perfect and Lofty Names and Attributes of Allaah are tawqeefiyyah, meaning they are derived from the text of The Qur'aan and The Sunnah. Speaking about Allaah's Names and/or Attributes without knowledge that which was not mentioned by Allaah or His Messenger (sallAllahu 'alayhi wa Salam) or the righteous predecessors of this Ummah constitutes a great offense against Allaah and His Deen.

Allaah (Subhana wa Ta'ala) says in Surah Al Ar'af ayah 33: "Say: My Lord has forbidden... and that you say about Allaah that of which you have no knowledge". And Allaah says in Surah al-Isra'a ayah 36: "Do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge." So we must be extremely careful not to attribute to Allaah or place a condition on His attributes that was not mentioned in any text of The Qur'aan and Sunnah, even if it appears to agree with our intellect. This is the methodology of the Sahabah concerning the Names and Attributes of Allaah, and it is the methodology that we in turn should adopt.

In conclusion I offer this sincere advice, and brotherly warning, if you or anyone you know is in the practice of writing these emails, or forwarding them, please revere Allaah and set not rivals with Him by spreading this fitnah of belief and indulgence in omens and superstious practices. Like so many other types of hidden shirk, it is beautified and marginalized until it enters our home as something that we take to be so minute and insignificant.

May Allah Al-Wakeel rectify the affairs of the Ummah. May He, protect us from all forms of Shirk, major and minor, hidden and apparent. May Allaah support us against the plots of shaytaan ar rajeem and our nafs and desires.

The Fever

2008-08-17T23:36:00.003+01:00

Br. Talal Sarwani

There’s a very interesting worldwide phenomena taking place among the Muslim youth of today. Everyone’s favourite bit of Sunnah has become the advice of the Prophet (salallahu ‘alayhi wasallam) to get married asap. Alhamdulillah, the wisdom of that advice is nothing short of Divine, but the abuse of that advice is causing much trouble in the Ummah today. That trouble has manifested itself into one of the hated of what is Halaal: Talaq (Divorce). Kids are getting married right and left, lost in some romanticised version of what married life seems to be about, and the second they find themselves stuck in a mud of responsiblity, it’s time to flip out the mobile and text your significant other:

I divorce you - I divorce you - I divorce you

Indeed, it is a time of cowards.

So I set out to investigate what was causing this desperate desire for the Great Hookup. What did I find? Were the beards really growin’ and the brows left un-threaded? Were the kufis being worn and the hijabs being tightened? Was the thawb and the ‘abaya truly being donned? Was the scent of ‘oud aromafying the surroundings? Read on, brothers and sisters, read on for the truth….

The number one danger towards the one who is single, is to be around those who have newly become doubles. It’s been referred to in the past as The Fever. The Fever is not just the feeling that one needs to get hitched, it’s the malady that causes such feelings simply from having attended the hitching ceremonies of all-too-many people in an all-too-short amount of time. For proof of the existence of this syndrome, please go up to any brother (Though I claim to know their perspective as well, out of respect, I shall take the fifth as far as sisters are concerned) during the summer, especially during this Summer of a Thousand Weddings. You’ll hear the usual talk of empty hearts needing companionship, of guys swooning over she who looked back and if you’re around one after someone else’s wedding, a feeling of slight dejection rather than complete happiness for his just betrothed brother and sister.

The Fever is a powerful thing, taking over the life of he or she who is stung by it, causing him or her to find themselves raising their hands to Allah every night, asking for either the filling of their empty hearts or at the very least a respite from their feelings. So, brothas and sistas, if you find yourself in this most unwanted predicament, the prescription is as follows:

Step 1: Lower your gaze
Step 2: Pray for the feeling to go away
Step 3: Lower your gaze
Step 4: Don’t talk to others about your predicament (you’ll realise they’re in the same hole, and then the both of you will wallow in each other’s misery)
Step 5: Lower your gaze
Rinse. Spit. Repeat.

InshaAllah The Fever should soon subside and all will be back to normal. HOWEVER, say the ol’ heart sparks at the just barely-sighted-glance of a certain someone, then be sure to follow the following steps. Now, keep in mind this is the ONLY acceptable follow-up to that “cue the chorus” moment. Consider this your final warning not to join certain committees of certain organisations/societies, “accidentally” finding certain someone’s sitting there.

BONUS:
Step 6: ISTIKHARA TIME!!!!!!!!
Possible Step 7 for Brothers: Be a Man. Call her parents.
Possible Step 7 for Sisters: Just sit there all coy and shy (I keed, I keed).

This prescription is signed and endorsed by Shaykh (of the Polaroid Picture kind) Ishq ibn Al-Hubbatani, so you better believe it works. There is however a lot more that contributes to the ‘I Think I Love You, Marry Me’ Ummah today. The majority of these causes rests in the realm of what a brother once said: “Blame it on the Deen”.

The Romantic Islam:
As a preface to what follows, let me say that this topic includes far more than I can write about in this space, so I’m not gonna cover anything… I mean everything. There’s literally an incredible amount of things that fall into The Romantic Islam, but I’ll just touch upon these two of varying extremes, to give you just a taste of what I mean.

I’m using the word romantic not in the sense of an ideal, but in the plain old Qais/Majnu/Romeo and their Lailas/Juliet sense. These are those bits (according to the very doubtable research done for this) of Islam that when people gain knowledge of them, at a certain time of their lives, in that certain state of mind, all havoc lets loose, the hearts open up in need, and the shaitaan is called in for playtime. ‘You… complete… me…’

When Tom Cruise uttered those words to his love in Jerry McGuire, the heart of every woman in movie theaters around the world let out a collective sigh. If only they knew what Muslimahs had already known for centuries, or at least what they did, once, know. I’m referring to the oft-repeated hadith of the Lone Hearted:

Narrated by Anas, who reported that the Prophet(salallahu ‘alayhi wasallam) said: When a man marries, he has fulfilled half of his religion…

We are the creations of a Creator who knows our innards better than we know our names, so when we experience this wisdom that has been passed down to us, our hearts yell: SUBHANALLAH!!! I NEED to get married.

Let’s just face it, this hadith makes everyone feel good about things, and is among the greatest proliferators of Wandering Heart technology. Do note the “…”, because you rarely ever hear the rest of the hadith:

...so let him fear Allah regarding the remaining half.’’ ‘Nuff said, yo.

Sweet Nothings:
Ahem, the following is a very interesting tidbit. It’s something I gleaned from a brother in whom the desire to be wed was gnawing at him from the inside. We were in a room with just pillows on the floor to chill on. It of course happened to be a time of someone else’s wedding, which is why I just sat relaxing after a long night of partying with the *cough*aunties*cough*. So, this brother comes up to me, with a copy of Sahih Bukhari of all things, and he prompts me to read:

Volume 2, Book 21, Number 258:Narrated ‘Aisha: After offering the Sunna of the Fajr prayer, the Prophet used to talk to me, if I happened to be awake; otherwise he would lie down till the Iqama call was proclaimed (for the Fajr prayer).

“Alright”, I thought, “so?” He plopped himself down onto the floor, and with a bleary-eyed look, said: “Wouldn’t it be amazing to have someone to talk to when you walk up a little early for Fajr?” Let’s just say he didn’t take too kindly at me falling over from laughter nor my suggestion that he could always give me a call anytime he feels lonely at that hour. If you’re in this state. brothers and sisters, please follow the prescription given to you above, and inshaAllah spare the rest of us from stomach-hurting hilarity.

The End of This:
Alas, all great things come to an end, as must this post. I just barely touched upon what I really wanted to talk about, but my mind is not in a state of organisation, so I leave you with this little conclusion. Realise that marriage isn’t a joke or little fling you go through. It’s a responsibility, where the third party in the trust between a husband and wife is Allah. All this talk of love and all that jazz is a distraction, so pay little attention to it. There is ONE person for whom you are meant, inshaAllah, so take care of your personal half of your deen, and Allah will provide you with the best of companionship. Take the halaal way, and you’ll feel it yourself. The second the Nikah is done, the man and woman are infused with a feeling of rahmahshaitaan lead you astray when he discovers the state of your heart and mind. Seek refuge and establish trust in Allah, for that is the only way to keep yourself on the Sirat-Al-Mustaqeem. Someone once questioned the hurried rush to marriage seen in the Ummah, and couldn’t understand how they took that step when they didn’t even have a way of supporting a family. “When you’re capable of getting her the washing machine, then you’re ready to begin a life together”.

It’s akin to that sudden mercy felt by one who has just become a parent. It’s not something you can understand beforehand. There’s lots of things in Islam that stir the hearts, but they are there to convince you of the correctness of the Straight Path.

If I offended anyone, forgive me, inshaAllah. Oh, and to those souls who recently have been, or soon will be paired back to those they were with in Fitrah, our Du’as are with you. May Allah grant you all the best in the Dunya and the Hereafter… Ameen, Ameen, Ya Rabbil ‘Alameen

You Love Muhammad (Sallalaho alayhi wasalaam) huh??? ....EDITED!!!!!!

2008-07-27T11:57:00.012+01:00

---THE TEARS OF RASULULLAH...( S.A.W) ---

InshAllah please forgive me for the incorrect version posted a couple of days ago, Alhumdulilah it was brought to attension and the post has been mended accordingly! JazakAllah Khairun,

Assalaamulaikum Warahmatulahi Wabarkatahu my dear brothers and sisters, indeed we claim to be from the Ummah of the Noble Muhammad Sallalhu alayhi Wasalaam, yes??? we do don't we??? BUT HOW MUCH DO WE KNOW ABOUT HIM???

Such a example like his Mubarak Sunnah WILL NEVER EVER BE FOUND! GUARENTEED! So how much do we strive to know about him, his life, his conduct, his character, his dealings, all that we can know about him???? and of those from us who know all these, how many of us implement Rasulullah sallalahu alayhi wasalaam's way? his rightly guided path set from Allah, HIS SUNNAH!!!!

Such a mercy was Muhammad sallalahu alayhi wasalaam, that though he was the seal of prophethood, though he was guarenteed Jannah, he kept straight to the guidelines of Allah, the command of Allah!

I'm speaking of no other than the one who lead the Muslims and gave us the Islam that WE TAKE FOR GRANTED TODAY!!! THIS VERY DAY!!! HOW MANY DIED STRIVING TO ESTABLISH ISLAM????? HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS, COUNTLESS NUMBERS!!!!

HOW MANY TIMES DO WE TAKE EXTRA TIME IN SALAH, ASKING FOR ALLAH'S BLESSINGS UPON THESE PEOPLE!!!!

Such was Muhammad sallalahu alayhi wasalaam that he would pray Tauhajjad, till his blessed ankles were swollen, such was his conduct that he was the best of mankind yet he humbled himself to Allah, his Lord like he was the lowest of the low, and today we see US MUSLIMS having so much pride, arrogance, being big-headed and ego-istic!!!!

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME WE PRAYED TAUHAJJAD TILL WE FELT LIKE WE COULD GO ON NO LONGER, TILL OUR ANKLES SWELL UP?????????????????????

Such was Muhammad sallalahu alayhi wasalaam, such was his mercy that his Mubarak face showed signs of stress, worry and distress constantly! Why? you may Ask, BECAUSE OF YOU! BECAUSE OF ME! BECAUSE OF EVERY BROTHER! EVERY SISTER! EVER MOTHER! FATHER! SON! DAUGHTER! THE UMMAH!!!! HIS UMMAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Such was Muhammad sallalahu alayhi wasalaam, that he desired Jannah for us ALL!!!! Hence constantly teaching the Sahabah the Sunnah; the rightly guided path!
How do ever even begin to show Allah how grateful we are to Rabbil Alamin for giving us such a guide as Muhammad sallalhu alayhi wasalaam?????? Despite knowing he was guarenteed Jannah he carried on the Path of Islam, the Path Allah commanded, Let's be honest if that was you or me that was given news of Jannah, we'd be partying! "YAY! FORGET SALAH, FORGET IT ALL I'M GUARENTEED JANNAH!! YIPEEE!"
How many of us would actually stop to think "SubhanAllah!!!! ALLAH has given me Jannah, should i not be ever grateful and even grow stronger in my Deen!!!" ......WELL GUESS WHAT! That's how Muhammad Sallalahu alayhi wasalaam saw it!

How many times do we recite the durood upon Muhammad sallalahu alayhi wasalaam? just because we love him fisabillah (for the sake of Allah), because he is our Prophet, our intercessor on the Day of Reckoning InshAllah!? even after knowing that you get a ten-fold hasanah (reward) for each time you recite the durood!!!!!

READ MY BROTHERS AND SISTER, READ THE TEARS OF RASULULLAH! Such a Rahmah (mercy) was Muhammad sallalhu alayhi wasalaam, and yet however ungrateful we are as mankind!
I speak to myself first and foremost before i lecture anyone else about such simple acts of Islam, InshAllah let's help one another to grow stronger in the Deen as each day goes by, as each hour goes by, as each minute goes by, as each second goes by, for this time will not return to us!!!! once it's gone, it's gone, a lot like life my brothers and sisters, life is very very very very very SHORT!!!! Let's not waste it checking out The Dark Knight in cinemas, or "Oh My God, Is Tanya from eastenders gonna dump Jack!!!"

Firstly, forget Tanya's life and look to yours, Allah won't ask you about what Tanya did with her life, Allah will ask you about YOURS!!!! so what are we going to say, "Well Allah you see Maghrib came in, but i was busy looking at so and so shacked up together on the T.V!!!" SubhanAllah!!!!
Secondly, watching such nonsense makes one think "oo its ok to go out, yipee!" leading to the bitter fruits of ZINA!!!! YES ZINA, THAT WORD THAT WHEN IT IS MENTIONED EVERONE LOOKS DOWN THINKING "UH OH"!
Thirdly, forget wasting a minute, you just wasted 30 MINUTES OF YOUR LIFE!!!!

InshAllah i'll be putting on a post about all the deeds you can do in ONE MINUTE, so i guess you will really be kicking yourself for wasting 30 WHOLE MINUTES!!!!

There is sooooooo much we can learn, even from the death of the Prophet Muhammad sallalahu alayhi wasalaam, how our conduct should be if we were facing such a situation either by ourselves or via someone else, 'A'ishah (May Allah be pleased with her) wasn't wailing and ripping her hair out, as you see so commonly today, death is inevitable, and indeed the believers should look forward to the time they will meet their Lord, "for the world is like a prison for the believers and a Paradise for the disbelievers"
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'A'ishah (May Allah be pleased with her) narrated that she was proud that when it was her turn, in her apartment, in her lap, the Prophet Sallalahu alayhi wasalaam passed away.

Her brother, 'Abdur-Rahman came in during his last moments with a Miswak* in his hand; the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasalaam looked longingly at it.

'A'ishah (May Allah be pleased with her) understood what he wanted, and asked him if she could offer one to him. When he nodded, she took it from her brother; since it was hard she softened it with her teeth and offered it to him.
He cleaned his teeth; and dipping his hand frequently into a bowl of water kept near him, he kept wiping his face again and again, repeating the words, "There is none worthy of worship but Allah. Verily, death has pains."

Then he pointed upward with his blessed hand and said, "Toward the best friend." Thus the soul soared up from the prison of the body.

Previously 'A'ishah (May Allah be pleased with her) had a dream that three moons descended into her apartment. When the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasalaam passed away he was buried in her apartment. Then her father told her that part of her dream came true that day - the first moon irradiated her apartment. Later, her father was buried next to the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasalaam and still later 'Umar Farooq.
Thus the prophecy of her dream was fulfilled.

Imam Thahbi quoted a saying of the Prophet sallahu alayhi wasalaam that a Prophet's soul leaves its body in the place that he likes the best.

{Source:Taken from "Great Woman of Islam" or "Nisa'a Jaleelat" by Mahmoud Ahmad Ghadanfar, 2001.}
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SUBHANALLAH!!! WORDS CANNOT DESCRIBE SUCH A MERCY MUHAMMAD SALLALAHU ALAYHI WASALAAM IS! WALLAH!!!

My Sisters, My Brothers, Muhammad sallalahu alayhi wasalaam faced pains at the time of death yet he remained in a state of calm.

YET FOR ALL THE PAINS MUHAMMAD SALLALAHU ALAYHI WASALAAM WAS INFLICTED WITH, ALL THE PAINS AND HARDSHIP HE ENDURED FOR US, WHILST HE WAS ALIVE, ARE WE AWARE???

DO WE WEEP AND CRY WHEN WE HEAR HIS PAINFUL STORIES OF THEBATTLES HE ENDURED???

DO OUR HEARTS BLEED WHEN WE HEAR SUCH HARDSHIP WERE FACED BY HIM????

DO WE EVEN FLINCH, TO HEAR HIS BLESSED NAME SLUNG INTO MUD IN THE DAY AND AGE WE LIVE IN TODAY???????????????????????????????

SO AGAIN I ASK, SO WE LOVE MUHAMMAD SALLAHU ALAYHI WASALAAM HUH?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

KEEP THE UMMAH IN YOUR DUAS,

WASALAAM, XXX MEHAK XXX

The Third is ALWAYS The Shaitan!!!!

2008-07-25T23:02:00.004+01:00

The third is always Shaitan.....

Men (non-mahram) + Women (non-mahram) = Shaytan (3rd Party)

Asalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakathahu beloved sisters and brothers...
I wanted to share some useful tips with you sisters and brothers in regards to the “INTERNET”…the internet is a world in its own right… You mustn't think all that you come across is real or even the truth.

The Scholars have been inundated with emails from people who have tasted the bitter taste of Zina due to online chats that has led from one thing to another...How do you know this guy/girl that you confide in, won't hesitate to offload all that to some one else or when Shaytan has his way, he will make that thing so alluring that you won't even hesitate to ask yourself is this right or wrong...

One post I came across online was that of a Saudi sister, she was chatting to some guy, as friends talking about the Deen, eventually over a period of time, they developed feelings for each other, so they started to send pictures of each other...Then one day, the guy from nowhere said to her, he doesn't want to be with her... AS EASY AS THAT!
So eventually she decides that she will get married to some one of her parents choice, to add to her stress, her ex "boyfriend"(i.e. the guy from the internet) starts sending her mails saying to not to get married otherwise he will show her parents her pictures... What’s the saying? - Alls fair in love and war!!

Fortunately for us Islam doesn't have that stance... I'm not suggesting everyone is committing Zina out there on the internet, but remember, many times people say "oh we're gonna get married and then we can repent" Not being funny but how do YOU know when your time will be up and the Angel of Death will come for your soul?????...

The is a reason why there are many rules in Islam about opposite sex mingling... Its for YOUR OWN SAFETY... Online world, anything goes, you can be anyone you want to be and dupe as many people as you can, because these people aren't thinking about anything apart from satisfying their desires, their NAFS!!!..

REMEMBER when you go out with some one there is NO REWARD IN IT, BUT SIN... But in a marriage... what ever you endure, be it good or bad, there is a reward and what is with Allah SUBHANA WA'TALAA is everlasting!!!...

When a husband and wife look at each other lovingly that is counted as Sadaqah.. When you endure hardship with Sabr know that Allah SWT out of His Mercy will expiate your sin and reward you for exercising patience…

Marriage in Islam does not have the western ideology of trying and testing your future spouse to be, some people think "how can I marry him without knowing him first?", some people go out for many years and then their marriages break up within the year... It’s all Allah SUBHANA WA'TALAA’s Hukm!!! (command), you may plan for your relationship, but know that Allah SUBHANA WA'TALAA is the Best of Planners!!!...

Ask your self what is better? a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, incurring Allah's Wrath, the Wrath of AL JABBAR (THE OVER-POWERING LORD)? or a marriage which Allah SUBHANA WA'TALAA blesses with love for each other...CAN WE? THE CREATION TAKE ON THE CREATOR???? If you think you can then SubhanAllah, you will need help on that day when there is NO SHADE BUT THE SHADEOF ALLAH....THE AKIRAH...THE DAY OF RESURRECTION!!!

"This Day, We Shall Seal Up Their Mouths & Their Hands Will Speak To Us & Their Legs Will Bear Witness To What They Used To Earn" - [36 - 65]
{Source taken from Hi.5-United Muslim.Sister Ummtwin ak}

My dear brothers and sisters, my only point from this post is to show you the realities of the internet, talking to a boy/girl is haraam, whether on the internet or whether in person!!!

So please be careful, for this is just sincere advise from a fellow sister in Islam out of my love for you Fisabillah (For the Sake of Allah).

Keep the Ummah in your duas,

Wasalaam, XXX MEHAK XXX

The Hidden Shirk....

2008-07-23T19:20:00.005+01:00

The hidden Shirk...

Assalaamulaikum Warahmatulahi Wabarkatahu, respected brothers and sisters we must ever be aware of the word "Shirk" (meaning association of others with Allah) and bare in mind that we may be protected from the major shirk due to Allah's protection and be ever grateful to our dear Lord for that, but we should also keep in mind the minor shirk such as Riyaa...

Linguistically "Riyaa" comes from the root "Ra'aa" which means to see, to behold, to view.
The derived word 'Riyaa' means "eye-service, hypocrisy, dissimulation; dissemblance."

From the Shara'i point of view, "to perform acts which are pleasing to Allah, with the intention of pleasing other than Allah" is called Riyaa.
Thus, Riyaa originates in the heart.

Such a thing is Riyaa, such a danger to us, beloved and respected Brothers and Sisters, that if one has riyaa in his/her heart it can negate one's belief and break the concept of Tauheed (Islamic Monotheism)!!!!!

Mahmood bin Labeed reported that the Allah's Messenger Muhammad (salallahu alayhi wa salam) said:
"The thing that I fear most for you is the minor Shirk; Riyaa."
(Musnad Ahmad)

Abu Saeed (Radhi Allahu anhu) reported that the Messenger of Allah Muhammad (salallahu alayhi wa salam) came to us while we were discussing about Dajjal and said:
"Should I not inform you of that which I fear for you even more than the dangers of Dajjal? It is the hidden Shirk; a person stands to pray, and he beautifies his prayer because he sees the people looking at him."
(Sunan Ibn Majah Vol 2, No 3389)

Abu Musa al-Ash'ari reported that Allah's Messenger Muhammad (salallahu alayhi wa salam) delivered a sermon to them one day and said:
"O people! Fear this Shirk (meaning Riyaa), for it is more inconspicuous (more hidden) than the crawling of an ant."
(Authenticated in Sahih al-Targheeb wat-Tarheeb, No 33)

The primary cause of Riyaa is weakness in faith!!!!

When a person does not have strong faith in Allah Subhana Wa'talaa, he will prefer the admiration of people over the pleasure of Allah. There are three symptoms that are indicative of Riyaa, and it is essential that a believer should avoid all of them.

(1). The love of praise:
As mentioned in a Hadith of the first three people being thrown into the hellfire; the scholar (who taught for fame), the martyr (who fought for fame), and the person who gave his money in charity (so that people would say he is generous). All three of these people desired the pleasure of people over the pleasure of Allah. The person who desires the praise of people must feel some pride in himself, for he feels himself worthy of being praised. There is a danger, therefore, of him becoming arrogant and boastful.

Abu Hurairah (Radhi Allahu anhu) quoted Allah's Messenger Muhammad (salallahu alayhi wa salam) as saying:
"Allah, Most Great and Glorious said: Pride is My cloak, and greatness is My robe, so whoever competes with Me, with respect to either of them, I shall cast him into Hell."
(Sahih Muslim, Vol 4, No 6349, Sunan Abu Dawood, Vol 3, No 4079)

Abu Hurairah (Radhi Allahu anhu) quoted Allah's Messenger Muhammad (salallahu alayhi wa salam) warning about a person's adoration of himself:
"There are three destructive things: desires that are followed, greediness that is obeyed, and a person's self-admiration and conceit; and this is the worst of the three."

Allah also warned against falling into the category of those Christians and Jews whom the Holy Qur’an mentions:

"Do not assume that those who rejoice in what they have done, and love to be praised for what they have not done, think not that they are absolved from punishment, (but rather) for them is a painful torment."
(Al-‘Imran: 188)

(2). Fear of Criticism:
No one likes to be criticized. The dislike of criticism regarding religious practices may be divided into two categories:-

(a) The first category is that of a person who neglects a commandment of Allah in order to avoid the criticism of his peers. However, the true believers are described in the Holy Qur’an as follows:
"...They do not fear the criticism of those who criticize. And this is the blessing of Allah; He gives it to whomsoever He wishes. Verily, Allah is Self-Sufficient, All-Knowing."
(Al-Maidah: 54)

(b) The second category is that of a person who obeys certain commandments of Islam, not for the sake of Allah, but because he fears people will look down on him and criticize him if he does not do it.

For example, a man may make his formal prayers in the mosque because he does not want people to criticize him for praying at home, or to think that he is not praying at all.

(3). Greed for people's possessions:

If a person covets what other people possess, whether it is rank, money or power, then he will wish them to envy him similarly.

For example, if he is jealous of a position of a certain person in society, he will try by every possible means to attain the same position. Such desires lead people to spend their lives putting on a show for other people so that they will admire their rank, money, or power.

These three categories are implied in the following statement of Prophet Muhammad (salallahu alayhi wa salam).
Abu Musa related that a person came to the Holy Prophet Muhammad (salallahu alayhi wa salam) and asked:
"A person fights to defend his honor, another to prove his bravery (i.e. to be praised for it), and a third to show off (i.e. so that his position can be seen); of these three, which one fights in the way of Allah?"
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (salallahu alayhi wa salam) answered:

"Whoever fights to make the word of Allah present [i.e. to bring honor to Islam, and to establish it in the land], he is the one who fights in the way of Allah."
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol 4, No 65)

Some scholars advised:
"Remove the causes of Riyaa from yourself by considering the opinion of people as important to you as animals and small children. Do not differentiate in your worship between the presence of people or their absence, or between their knowledge of your actions and their ignorance. Rather be conscious of the infinite knowledge of Allah alone."

There are several ways to avoid Riyaa, which are as follows:-

(1) Increasing knowledge of Islam

(2) Du’a: we are taught the specific Du’a for Riyaa:

"O Allah, we seek refuge in you from committing shirk knowingly, and ask your forgiveness for the shirk that we may commit unknowingly."

(3) Reflecting upon Heaven and Hell

(4) Hiding one's good deeds from others

(5) Reflection upon one's shortcomings

(6) Accompanying the pious

(7) Knowledge of Riyaa.

{By Abu Ammar Yasir, from http://jang.com.pk/thenews/jun2008-weekly/iqra-06-06-2008/index.html}

May Allah make us from amongst those weary of Riyaa, and from amongst those who do good deeds and refrain from bad deeds for the pleasure of Allah Subhana Wa'talaa alone, ameen!

Keep the Ummah in your duas,

Wasalaam, XXX MEHAK XXX

Internet Fatwahs are Fitnah

2008-07-22T22:33:00.002+01:00

I went to a friend’s salon recently to trim my hair. As I was getting my hair done, two sisters walked in (roughly around my age). One of them was getting married and wanted to book an appointment to get her hair and make-up done for the wedding. So my friend said ok and asked her what style she wanted for her hair. She said she wanted an up-do style but needs to put extensions in her hair because her hair was short and that she wanted her eyebrows to be trimmed and so on. My friend didn’t judge her and perhaps thought maybe she didn’t know having extensions put in and trimming the eyebrows were haraam so she just explained it to them. Her reaction? ‘Nuh uhh, Shaykh so-and-so on the internet said it’s not haraam’. Then she started hitting us with fatwas from left to right about what this so-called ‘Shaykh’ said (I can’t even remember his name, doesn’t matter, I just refer to them as Shaykh Google anyways).

My friend apologised and told her she already consulted a Scholar on these issues and they told her it was not permissible for her to do them and if they wanted she would be more than happy to bring them proof that it’s not allowed, if not they could always go to another salon. Obviously they weren’t very happy and said they also had proof that it was permissible. One of the other hairdressers intervened and started to quote some hadiths relating to the issue. But they still wouldn’t have it. One of them went as far as to say (and I quote) ‘It’s only one night anyways, it’s my BIG DAY, I want to look pretty and make it special. I can always say Istighfaar afterwards.’ SubhanAllah! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Tears started to flow, I couldn’t even help it. What if this sister died on her wedding day and never got the chance to repent? What would she say in front of Allah? I think death was the last thing on her mind, wallahu ‘alam.

Anyways, I don’t want to go on about what happened that day or judge those sisters, that’s not the purpose of this post. What I wanna talk about is a little about internet fatwahs. It's amazing how....in these days people mostly use internet fatwahs for everything. Is something halal? "I dunno...let me ask "sh. google ibn yahoo" but what we don’t realise is these can be specific to a situation that has NOTHING to do with us.

Some people, once they gain a bit of knowledge in the deen or a specific topic, they think they’ve become scholars and can give fatwahs. I’ve seen it so many times; even my teacher told me some stories of people who have little knowledge of the deen giving fatwahs. He was telling us how it seems everyone’s become a scholar these days, hence why we have so many ‘shaykh googles’ giving internet fatawah and so many people doing ‘fatwah shopping’ (i.e., searching the net until you find a shaykh that agrees with your opinion; just like these two sisters who found a shaykh who said it was permissible to trim the eyebrows and put in extensions).

We were studying the history of the scholars of the past and found that the early imams were so cautious about speaking about [the lawful and unlawful] because one who speaks about such matters is relating information from Allah, enunciating His commandments and prohibitions, and passing on His sacred law. It was said about Ibn Sirin, "If he was asked about something regarding the lawful or the unlawful, his colour would change. He would be transformed until he no longer seemed the same person." Ata' ibn al-Saib said, "I met people who, when asked for a religious verdict, would tremble as they spoke." SubhanAllah

Imam Ahmad was extremely hesitant to speak on the lawful and unlawful, to claim that something was abrogated, or related matters which others would too readily expound. He frequently prefaced his answers with phrases such as, "I hope that..," "I fear..," or "It is more beloved to me..." He would often say on an issue with which righteous forbears had various opinions, "The most likely answer is, 'I do not know.' Similarly, Imam Malik and others would frequently say, "I do not know." It is related that when Imam Malik was asked about a legal matter, it was as if he were suspended between Heaven and Hell.

Compare this to the so-called ‘Internet Scholars’ of today. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that all the Shuyukh who give fatawah online are causing fitnah. In fact, there are many Islamic websites that have well-known scholars who give authentic fatawah based on the Quran and Sunnah. All I’m saying is we should be careful where we seek to get our fatwahs. The internet has opened a door where by EVERY SINGLE opinion in the world, and its mother, has a website. So if someone says, ‘I found this on the internet supporting my opinion’, who cares? It’s not rocket science. The concept of ‘fatwah shopping’ in Islam is not permissible.

May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala forgive us and protect us from falling into haraam. May He help us in gaining more knowledge of the Deen and help us to follow the footsteps of our Beloved Prophet Muhammad salallahu ‘alayhi wassallam, Ameen.

Check Yourself Before You Wreck Yourself

2008-07-20T12:33:00.012+01:00

Assalamu Alaykum. I wanna share with you guys an article I read on Imam Suhaib's Blog which I found really beneficial and inshaAllah a good reminder for all of us...

>>>What do you think of when you see a sister who isn’t wearing hijab? How about a brother who is laughing with a whole lot of girls?

Ever look down on them? Think you are better than them? It’s really easy to be self righteous. It’s even easier to fall prey to this attitude if you sport the ‘righteous’ look.
But let’s ask ourselves this question: has Allah written us amongst His righteous servants? Or is that a title we have only given ourselves?

Check this:

Today I was sitting at the dawah table on my campus and a female student, dressed in typical jeans and a shirt approached it. I was decked out in my hijab, and I really had no idea what she was thinking as she made the move to speak to me. She asked if she could have a Qur’an, and of course, I was happy to give one to her. Then she said, “Can I ask you a question?” “Sure,” I answered. The question sounded kind of deep, so I invited her to sit next to me on the empty chair. She took up the offer.

“Please don’t judge me,” she began. Allah! I had a feeling this was a sister. SubhanAllah, the courage it must have taken for her to come and speak to me, considering that we were dressed so differently from each other.

After reassuring her, how could I judge her? She began—

She told me that she became involved in a relationship for the first time in her life with a brother. Her intention was for long term, but she felt so terrible doing it. She told me when she is with the brother, she feels horrible, even though she is supposed to feel good. She told me that she knows that this is such a big sin, that she wants to stop, but that it is just so, so hard. And she asked me: Can Allah forgive me?

Allah… subhanAllah. While this girl was speaking, I was looking at her thinking: look at the jihad she is going through for Allah. She hates what she is doing, she asks Allah to forgive her, but it is so hard for her to leave the sin. Her desire to repent became so intense that she came to a girl she has never met before, who could easily judge her, and poured out her heart. And, the part that just hits me now as I write this, she was so desperate, she wanted to know: Can Allah forgive her? Could HE (subhanahu wa ta’ala) really forgive such a sin?

I told her, Allah is Ghafooro Raheem! He will forgive ANYTHING. Even if a person commits zina (which she Alhamdullilah has not done, and may Allah protect her and us all from falling into it) Allah will forgive this person if they repent and leave it. I kept telling her about Allah’s Mercy, about how He is so, so happy to turn and accept the repentance of His Slaves.

We kept talking about how Allah ‘Azza wa Jal must be pleased with her struggle- that she is making jihad everyday (she was like: YEAH!)… we looked at the Hadith Qudsi that talks about the servant who keeps sinning, and keeps going back to his Lord, and, what I loved so much from this conversation—we looked at WHAT dua? The same dua that was posted on the site below: sayyidul istighfar. We read the meaning together, about upholding this covenant, about how we are trying, ya Rabana, but we keep falling into error. She loved it subhanAllah.

I told her to keep strong with her salah. Because of course, Allah is Forgiving, but He is also strong in punishment, and we have to be careful not to do things that make us eligible to be punished. After some time we departed and I’m still in wonderment. I wasn’t supposed to be at the dawah table at that time, we were looking for a brother to sit there, but none were available, so we pushed back what we had planned to do and Allah destined for me to be there. How He knows, while we know not.

While the sister and I were sitting and talking, another female student walked up to the dawah table. She was intensely unclothed, and she came up and asked for a copy of the Qur’an. “I’m Muslim,” she told me. ALLAHU AKBAR. Look at the good in the Muslims. Look at how badly the Muslims desire, seek, need Allah. That the woman who comes to the dawah table could be wearing practically nothing, but she is willing to admit that she is Muslim. Before she left she asked me, “Does Ramadan start on the 13th?” SubhanAllah, how the people are seeking this Month of Mercy.

The lessons from these experiences were beyond words for me…but right now, I want you to go back to your original answer when I first posed the question. What would you be thinking of a Muslim brother or sister who has a girlfriend or boyfriend? Or who is wearing basically nothing?
Yes, they may be outwardly sinning, but perhaps internally they are struggling and fighting every time they commit the sin, and are continually seeking to turn back to Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. Perhaps in some people’s eyes, these people are ‘sinners.’ But perhaps in the Sight of Allah, they are more beloved to Him because of their struggle, than of us who can easily fall into feeling arrogant about our Islamic activism, our Islamic appearance, or our ‘hard-core’ connection with the Rabil’alameen. We need to be careful. Are we really connected? Am I really connected?

And don’t get me wrong: the struggle of those who are trying to stay straight, to dress properly, to please Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala is a weighty, honorable and noble one. May Allah make us amongst those He uses to spread His Deen, those whom He guides and keeps guided, and those who wear the dress that please Him, both externally and internally.

But for those of us who might have ‘been there’ and left it, and then feel arrogant that we’re no longer involved in the “ways of the sinners,” and perhaps even might feel better than others because we’re so pure and special, then my advice to myself is what Umar radi Allahu anhu used to say: used to say, “Take account of yourselves before you are audited.”

Put in our language it is what I’ve heard Ustadh Suhaib say numerous times:

''Check yourself before you wreck yourself.''

May Allah help us and guide us to perpetually, continually, sincerely, and endlessly please Him, and may He make it easy for all of us to eagerly and continually turn back to Him, and leave whatever sins we are committing and replace them with good works for His Sake. Ameen
The author would also appreciate if you all could give some advice on how we can humble ourselves [in our hearts] and renew our sincerity for His Sake.

Link: Check Yourself Before Your Wreck Yourself: Sr. Maryam

Lacking Khushoo' in Salaat

2008-07-12T16:00:00.006+01:00

I rushed into the room and, checked the time, only 5minutes left for my break. I guess I should just pray the fardh salah and get out of there in time. Allaahu Akbar …hey this carpet design looks awkward! Allaahu Akbar...oh man, should’ve tied my belt lower, it’s too tight! Allaahu Akbar…When is the deadline for my project? What was I supposed to do before work? I wonder if my friends are waiting for me at the mall…better call them right after salah. Oh, wait which rakah am I at? Hmm is that three or four. Probably four. May Allah forgive me, I can’t remember! Salamu alaykum wa rahmatullaah. Did I have wudoo?!! Oh man, I’m already late! I got up and wore my shoes and jolted out of the room.

Sounds familiar?

Great, plenty of time to get ready. What should I wear? Oh yes, I like this suit; looks nice and it’s comfortable as well. I even feel nice in these! Ok, what else. My portfolio, check. My watch, check. Matching shoes, check. Ok let me review some of the notes now to get their early. Thirty minutes early! No problem, just sit here patiently till they call me in. Oh, wow time almost flew, it’s my turn! Ok, just be cool, and remember to concentrate on details! Better be careful, he might be my boss. Give him all the answers to get this job…''Yes sir, I’ll learn this as well. Yes sir, I have studied these concepts as well as applied them already''.…Hmm this isn’t bad, I actually know these things! Good thing I reviewed in advance!

Wow, that interview was long! He asked me so many questions. I think I did well. I hope I get the job! I better jot down the things I wasn’t able to understand. It will help significantly towards my next interview.

Sounds familiar?

Is it any surprise that most Muslims lack khushoo in salah? As described by the above two scenarios, where does salah lie in terms of our priorities? We strive to understand and implement everything that might benefit us in this dunya, yet how meagre the effort we put in for the required duties towards our Creator! No doubt, the salah we perform in such lack of concentration and effort is doomed for rejection! How much do we benefit from our salah? Or has salah in itself has become difficult to establish? Do we even know how to come closer to Allaah? We can come close to Allaah, by following his commands, and amongst the very first command following tawheed is to establish salah.

“Successful indeed are the believers, those who offer their salah (prayers) with all solemnity and full submissiveness.” [al-Mu’minoon 23:1-2]

How can we attain Khushoo’?

In order to attain khushoo’ we must have knowledge of the main obstacles in our path. Shaytan’s number one project is diverting us from salah, as the prophet (sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam) mentioned, the first thing that our religion loses will be khushoo’.

Khushoo’ means calmness, serenity, tranquility, dignity and humility. It comes from fearing Allah in a calm manner; the heart stands before the Lord in humility and submission. Salah is extremely difficult, except for the people who have khushoo.

“And seek assistance through patience and prayer, and most surely it is a hard thing except for the humble ones.” [al-Baqarah 2:45]

Every time the slave wants to turn his thoughts towards Allaah, thoughts of other matters come sneaking into his mind. The Shaytaan is like a bandit lying in wait to launch an ambush: every time the slave wants to travel towards Allaah, the Shaytaan wants to cut off his route.

When the slave stands up to pray, the Shaytaan feels jealous of him, because he is standing in the greatest position, one that is closest [to Allaah] and most annoying and grievous to the Shaytaan. So he tries to stop him from establishing prayer in the first place, then he continues trying to entice him and make him forget, and making assaults on him with his cavalry and infantry, until he thinks of prayer as less important, so he starts to neglect it, and eventually gives it up altogether.

If the Shaytaan fails to achieve this, and the person ignores him and starts to pray, the enemy of Allaah will come and try to distract him, by reminding him of things that he did not remember or think of before he started praying. A person may have forgotten about something altogether, but the Shaytaan will remind him of it when he starts praying, so as to distract him from his prayers and take him away from Allaah, so that his heart will no longer be in his prayers, and he will lose out on the honour and reward of Allaah turning toward him, which is only attained by the one whose heart is really in his prayer. Thus he will finish his prayer no better off than when he started, with his burden of sins not reduced at all by his salaah, because prayer only expiates for sins when it is done properly, with perfect khushoo, and the person stands before Allaah in body and soul. (Al-Waabil al-Sayib, p. 36).

How the Salaf used to Pray

When Saeed al-Tanookhi prayed, there would be tears rolling down his cheeks onto his beard. We heard that one of the Taabieen, when he stood up to pray, his colour would change, and he would say, Do you know before Whom I am going to stand and with Whom I am going to talk?

Who amongst us has fear and respect like this?

Abu Bakr al-Subghi said: I lived through the time of two imaams (leaders) although I was not fortunate enough to hear them in person: Abu Haatim al-Raazi and Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Marwazi. As for Ibn Nasr, I do not know of any prayer better than his. I heard that a hornet stung him on his forehead and blood started flowing down his face, but he did not move. Muhammad ibn Yaqoob al-Akhram said: I have never seen any prayer better than that of Muhammad ibn Nasr. Flies used to land on his ears, and he did not shoo them away. We used to marvel at how good his prayer and khushoo were. His fear [of Allaah] in prayer was so great that he would put his chin on his chest as if he were a piece of wood standing up. (Tazeem Qadr al-Salaah, 1/58).

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him), when he started to pray, used to tremble so much that he would lean right and left.

Compare this with what some of us do nowadays, looking at our watches, adjusting our clothes, fiddling with our noses, thinking of deals and counting our money whilst praying, or tracing the patterns of decorations on carpets and ceilings, or trying to see who is beside us. Think of how anyone would behave before some great leader of this world, would he dare to behave in such a manner then?!

Many methods exist to help improve your khushoo'—gain knowledge about all that benefits your salah and strive harder towards it inshaAllaah!

Lastly, the following is a reflection of what we all must strive to achieve while realising that we will always require more knowledge and practice in improving our salah and ourselves. May Allaah (subhaanahu wa ta’aala) help us perform our salah with proper khushoo’ and accept them from us. (Ameen!)

We have been studying here for hours, I can’t wait to relieve myself with salah! Is it time yet? Maaan, still half an hour! All this work makes me really realize that meaning of that hadith, seek comfort in salah.

Perfect, it’s time! “Hey guys, please excuse me. I have an obligatory prayer soon. I’ll be back shortly, please do not do my section of the assignment, I’ll come and take of that myself.” They all look up from behind their books, “Sure, Fatima.” The rest nodded.

Finally! Ok, do I have enough time? Yes. Let me do wudoo’ first before the rush begins. Bismillaah. Alhamdulilaah, the water feels great! I feel fresh again. SubhanAllaah. Ok, they haven’t yet started the salah. I guess I can read my mushaf till then. “Verily with every hardship there is ease.” Alhamdulilaah. That was so relevant to me! It’s like Allaah is talking directly to me through this Qur’an! Alhamdulilaah. They are giving the aqamah, finally.

And I prayed, how soon the salah ended. Let me pray two more rakats before I go back. Wow, I actually spent 15 minutes! Alhamdulillaah that felt so great. I have to return to studies. Allaah, I know I didn’t pray enough, for You deserve much more worship then what I offered. I wonder if You will accept it from me. Astaghfirullaaah, ya Rabb. Forgive me in my shortcomings. (Ameen)

Even though I felt sad for not having more time to finish nafl salah, I feel much better then before. The Qur’an reading and salah totally opened my mind and motivated me to try harder for finishing up my work. I left to join the study session.

Ok let’s get this done. Hmm hey you know what? I know how to solve this….before we knew it, we were done! The non-muslims asked, “Fatima, what exactly did you do in your prayer? You left so tired and you returned completed hyped up! Did they drug you?” And I smiled, before giving them my answer…

I Want...I Want...I Want!!!

2008-07-10T11:47:00.000+01:00

"I want Jannah man!"; "I wanna study overseas..."; "I want to bring peace to the world..." and so on. We all have these hopes, but do we really want them to come true?

At the recent Light Upon Light class in New York, Shaykh Yasir Qadhi marvellously summarised the relationship between our wants and salaatul tahajjud:

"If you want something and don't pray tahajjud, you don't really want it."

Perplexed, you might be thinking:

“What is that supposed to mean? I don’t pray tahajjud, but I still want Jannah.”

A closer examination of the Qur’anic text and Prophetic traditions reveals the truthfulness behind Shaykh Yasir’s genuinely enlightening statement. In describing His righteous servants, Allah subhanahu wa ta’aala says: “Verily, the Muttaqoon (the pious) will be in the midst of Gardens and Springs (in Paradise), taking joy in the things which their Lord has given them. Verily, they were before this Muhsinoon (good-doers). They used to sleep but little by night [invoking their Lord and praying, with fear and hope].” [adhDhariyaat: 15-17]

And the Prophet (peace be upon him) beautifully described the golden opportunity awaiting those who forsake their beds at night: "Our Lord, the Blessed, the Superior, comes every night down on the nearest Heaven to us when the last third of the night remains, saying: "Is there anyone to invoke Me, so that I may respond to invocation? Is there anyone to ask Me, so that I may grant him his request? Is there anyone seeking My forgiveness, so that I may forgive him?" [alBukhari]

It is also reported by Imam Ahmad that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whenever a Muslim goes to bed in a pure state (with wudhu), falls asleep while mentioning Allah and then wakes up during the night and asks Allah for anything good, He grants it to him.”

So, if you really want something you will strive hard and get up in the middle of the night to ask Allah for it at that time when He is waiting to answer your prayers, and forgive your sins. If you are not willing to sacrifice some sleep, then you don’t really want it.

Think about the people who camp outside stores for a week when the new video game system is released. Why? Because they really want it, and they are doing whatever it takes to ensure that they get it, even if it means skiving off work or school.

The reasons and virtues of praying tahajjud are too numerous to mention here so Insha’Allah the aforementioned verse and hadeeth will suffice. In any case, the best way to learn about the blessings of tahajjud is to experience it yourself. Instead, the rest of this brief reminder will be better served providing helpful guidelines to facilitate the night prayer for yourself and family.

Sincerity

Every action begins with the proper intention. What makes the night prayer so beautiful is the sincerity that is innate to this act of worship: waking up in the middle of the night when everyone else is sleeping solely for the sake of Allah, weeping over your sins, seeking His Forgiveness and asking of His Infinite Bounties. Similar to fasting, nobody but Allah would know about it unless you went out of your way to advertise it, i.e. "Uncle, I'd definitely like to discuss my rishta (proposal) for your daughter, but I can't make it after midnight because I gotta pray tahajjud."

The salaf were very keen to conceal their acts of worship such as qiyaam al-layl. A man asked Tameem ibn Aws al-Daari (may Allaah be pleased with him), ‘How do you pray at night?’ He got very angry and said, ‘By Allaah, one rak’ah that I pray in secret in the small hours of the night is more beloved to me than praying the whole night long and then telling people about it.’

Ayyoob al-Sakhtiyaani used to spend the entire night in prayer, then when dawn approached, he would go back to bed and lie down, and when dawn came, he would raise his voice as if he had just woken up.

Ibn al-Qayyim brilliantly summarised the importance of sincerity: "The degree to which a person is helped and aided by Allah depends on the degree of his intention, drive, aim and hopes. Help from Allah comes to people in proportion to their drive, intention, hopes and fears, and failure comes to them in like manner."

Therefore, the greater your sincerity in praying tahajjud, the easier Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala will make it for you to wake up and perform it, and the more you will benefit from it.

Avoid Sins

Sins deaden the heart and prevent it from receiving the Mercy of Allah, thus depriving a person the opportunity to stand before Allah and ask of His Infinite Blessings. A man said to Ibraaheem ibn Adham, "I cannot pray qiyaam al-layl, so tell me the cure for this." He said, "Do not commit sin during the day, and He will help you to stand before Him at night, for your standing before Him at night is one of the greatest honours, and the sinner does not deserve that honour."

A man said to al-Hasan al-Basri: “”O Abu Sa’eed, I sleep in good health, and I love to pray qiyaam al-layl, and I prepare water with which to purify myself, so why can I not get up?” Al-Hasan said: “Your sins are restricting you.” He said, may Allaah have mercy on him, “The slave who commits a sin will be denied the opportunity to pray qiyaam at night and to fast during the day.”

Al-Fudayl ibn ‘Ayaad said: “If you cannot pray qiyaam al-layl, or fast during the day, know that you are indeed deprived and restricted, chained by your sins.”

Fear of Punishment, Hope for Mercy, Fearing the torment that awaits the inhabitants of the Hellfire will surely wipe out your sleep, as will the prospect of having your sins forgiven by Allah who is waiting in the lowest heaven for your repentance. ‘Amri ibn al ‘Aas used to say ‘Weep, and if you cannot weep, then pretend to weep. I swear by Him in Whose hand my life is, that if any of you really knew, you would plead until your voice went, and pray until your back was broken’. When Allah forgives you of your sins, Allah puts Noor in your face. Hassan al-Basri was once asked, “Why are those people who pray the night prayer so beautiful?” He responded, “Because Allah beautifies them with His light while others are sleeping in the dark.”

`Abdullah bin Rawaaha said: "Verily, when the servant of Allah is reminded of Paradise, his longing for it increases, and when he is reminded of the Fire, his sleep immediately disappears."

Daytime Nap

Taking an afternoon nap is a sunnah that has been practiced by our own Prophet (peace and blessing of Allah be upon him), his companions and scholars of all times. Even if for only 20 or 30 minutes, you will find this time-out to be vital to your ability to get up for tahajjud. It is reported by at-Tabarani that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Take a nap, for the shayaateen do not take naps.” Ishaaq ibn ‘Abd-Allaah said: “Taking a nap is one of the deeds of good people. It revitalizes the heart and helps one to pray qiyaam al-layl.”

Sleeping on Time

This point may seem elementary, but it deserves mention because it is often overlooked. Although sleeping abilities vary from person to person, it is safe to say that if you stay up until 1:00am partying, you will have difficulty waking up to pray tahajjud.

Sunnahs of Sleeping & Waking

Al-Baraa’ ibn ‘Aazib, may Allah be pleased with him, reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “When you want to go to bed, do wudoo’ as for prayer, then lie down on your right side.” Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “There is a reason for his lying on his right side, which is that the heart is located on the left, so if a person lays on his left side, he will sleep too deeply, because the heart’s position will be too comfortable, but if he sleeps on his right side, he will not be too settled, so he won’t sleep deeply.” There are many other sunnahs related to sleeping and waking up that you can easily find and should adhere to, as they will keep you in a state that is conducive for praying tahajjud.

Avoid Excessive Eating

Ever go to a wedding and eat two plates of biryani, two ladoos, and drink three mango lassis? You probably slept the night away and felt like a massive ogre afterwards. Overeating causes laziness and promotes sleep, both of which are factors that hinder the night prayer. Therefore, to help yourself pray tahajjud, it’s best to follow the sunnah of eating only as much as you need to. Imam Sufyaanal-Thawri said: “You should eat little, so that you will be able to pray qiyaamal-layl.”

Striving

Praying tahajjud requires determination because it’s not easy to leave your soft pillow-top mattress and cosy blanket. Always remember that the more you strive, the more Allah will assist you, as He says: “And as for those who strive hard in Our Cause, We will surely guide them to Our Paths. And verily, Allaah is with the muhsinoon (good-doers).”
[al‘Ankabut: 69]

Shaykh Yasir’s encouragement for the night prayer is further emphasised by the following statement of the Prophet (peace be upon him): “When a man from my ummah gets up to pray at night, striving against his own self to get up and purify himself, there are knots on him. When he washes his hands in wudoo’, one knot is undone. When he washes his face, another knot is undone. When he wipes his head another knot is undone. When he washes his feet, another knot is undone. Then Allaah says to those who are veiled (in the Unseen): ‘Look at this slave of Mine, he is striving against his own self and asking of Me. Whatever My slave asks of Me shall be his.”

One of greatest blessings that a person can have is the honour of speaking to his Lord in the depths of the night. Are you taking advantage of this opportunity, or are you sleeping
away the time about which the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The closest that the Lord is to His slave is in the later part of the night, so if you can be one of those who remember Allaah at that time, then do so.” [at-Tirmidhi]

So before you go to sleep tonight ponder the following: in the middle of the night, Allah will be there waiting for you; the question is: will you be there to meet Him?

When the night is completely dark,
It finds them staying up in the night
Fear has chased away their sleep
So they stay up
While those who feel secure in this life
Quietly sleep on.

Ibn al-Mubarak (part of a poem from 'purification of the soul')

Tajweed Classes for Sisters

2008-07-07T16:00:00.001+01:00

Assalamu 'Alaykum Warahmatullah,

Sisters, there will be a Tajweed class starting soon, Insha'Allah. If interested please email your name and contact number to the email below. This course is absolutely free and will last 4 weeks insha'Allah.

Starting: Monday 21st July 2008

Finishing: Wednesday 13th August 2008

Every Mondays, Tuesdays & Wednesdays

Time: 1.30pm - 4.00pm

Location: Newham North Islamic Association

88 Green Street> > Forest Gate> > London> > E7 8JG

(Nearest station: Upton Park, district line & Hammersmith & city line)

This course is open to all ; you can be a begginer or an advanced student.

The course is a detailed explanation of the Makhaarij (Articulation points and the attributes of the letters). This information is not available in English Tajweed Books.

Taught By: Umu Salmaan Al-Maghrabiya (A qualified Quraan teacher that has an Ijaazah from Egypt; Cairo and can issue it)

She specialises in teaching the quran the way it was revealed to non arabic speakers, and has created her own teaching methodolgy and she (umm salmaan) has written a simplified, yet very detailed book on the Makhaarij & Sifaat which is comprised from Arabic Tajweed Books which contain knowledge that are not available in the English Language. She also specialises in training and teaching Quran teachers.

The teacher mentioned that through her teaching experience she has come accross many students & teachers that have memorised the Quran also, but lack knowledge in this area and due to that they do not impliment it when reciting; & that is because they didnt study the Quran under a qualified Quran teacher, or this knowledge was rushed through or the teacher didnt spend enough time practicing with the student.

So you will learn letter by letter, learning about its attributes and articulation point, learning how to pronounce each letter correctly by the will of Allah leading to recite the way it was revealed. The teachers will practice with you. Also you will be informed of your mistakes and other common mistakes that are found in recitors so you can avoid them.

The aim in these weeks, is not how much the student will cover of knowledge, but how much they can impliment from what they learn.

There will be other teachers alongside Umm Salmaan to teach you, so more time can be spent on practicing.

Insha'Allaah this will help you prepare to read the Quran more fluently with less mistakes; the way it was revealed upon our Messenger -Peace be upon Him- by Ramadan, which is just around the corner.

If you would like to participate in this blessing from Allaah then please e-mail your full name, location, and contact details to:

esma_institute@hotmail.com

The End of Music by Sh Kamal el-Mekki

2008-07-03T22:20:00.002+01:00

Must Watch Video on what Islam says about Music!

Sheikh Kamal El Mekki points out logic, statistics, stories from our time and the time of the Sahabah and evidence from the Quran and Sunnah to explain why music is haram.

Download: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

10 USELESS MATTERS ....

2008-06-28T21:54:00.000+01:00

Assalaamulaikum Warahmatulahi Wabarkatahu dear brothers and sisters! x

I Pray that you all are well in health and Iman!
There are many things in life we do, without thinking, without thinking if it goes against Islam, if it goes against the Sunnah! And most importantly if this certain action displeases Allah SWT.
Let us take a look at 10 matters, recognize how and why its a waste of time, and refrain from doing this in the future InshAllah.

“There are ten useless matters that cannot be benefited from:
1• Knowledge that is not implemented
(i.e. reading/studying Qur'an and Sunnah but not implementing its teachings in our lives)

2• An action that is empty of sincerity, and is not based on the correct example (e.g. not giving Sadaqah at gatherings because we want to help but rather we give not to look stingy or cheap and tight with our money.)

3• Wealth that is hoarded, as the owner neither enjoys it during this life, nor obtains any reward for it in the Hereafter (e.g. having money and not spending in the path of Allah)

4• The heart that is empty of love and longing for Allāh, and empty of seeking closeness to Him (i.e. rather longing for the love of another which is haraam for us, and seeking closeness to the Duniya instead!)

5• A body that does not obey and serve Allāh (e.g. not praying Salah or submitting to Allah's commands which will bring us closer to the Creator)

6• Loving Allāh without seeking His pleasure

7• Time that is not spent in expiating sins or seizing opportunities to perform deeds of righteousness that will bring one closer to Allāh (e.g. not making Tawbah and not constantly seizing moments to achieve hasanah (rewards) for good deeds)

8• A mind that thinks about issues which bring about no benefit (e.g. stressing over petty dunya related matters)

9• Serving those who neither bring you close to Allāh or benefit you in your life (e.g. the misguided)

10• Hoping and fearing one who is under the authority of Allāh, and whose forehead is in His Hand, while he cannot bring any benefit, harm, life, death, or resurrection to himself. (e.g. fearing the creation, rather than the Creator)

However, the greatest of these matters is the wasting of the heart, and the wasting of time.
Wasting the heart is done by preferring this worldly life over the Hereafter, and wasting time is done by having incessant (persistent, never-ending) hopes.
All evil is in following one’s desires and having incessant hopes, while all goodness is found in following the right path and preparing oneself to meet Allāh, and Allāh is the source of Assistance.”

Here, the Imam summarized all evils into these two issues; wasting of the heart, and wasting of time.
Wasting the heart; done by preferring this worldly life over the Hereafter, and
Wasting time; done by having incessant hopes.

And incessant hopes and the following of one’s desires are the ultimate manifestation of evil.

{Taken from the late Imam ‘Abdullah Azzam, from his book; ‘al-Fawā’id,’}

May this tiny bit of Ilm (knowledge) be of benefit to us, and InshAllah may it be a stepping stone to reform ourselves for the sake and pleasure of Allah SWT.

Wassalaam, XXX MEHAK XXX

Easy Peasy But Only A Few Do It

2008-06-26T13:55:00.002+01:00

`Abdullah bin `Amr reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

There are two acts that no Muslim worshiper does consistently but that he will enter Jannah. And though they are easy , only few people perform them:

After each of the five prayers, say tasbih (SubhanAllah) ten times, tahmid (alhamdulillah) ten times and takbir(allahu akbar) ten times. This makes one hundred and fifty (daily extollments) by tongue, and one thousand five hundred (good deeds) in the scale.
Upon going to bed, say takbir thirty four times, tahmid thirty three times, and tasbih thirty three times. This makes one hundred extollments by tongue and and one thousand good deeds in the scale.

So who among you would commit two thousand five hundred sins in one day( to counter that)?

The Prophet then added:

Satan comes to a person while he is ready to sleep, and makes him fall asleep before he finishes saying them; and he comes to him after the prayer and reminds him of something he needs to do instead of saying them.

Recorded by Abu Dawud, at Tirmithi and others. Verified to be authentic by al-Albani (Sahih ut Targhib wat-Tarhib)

Taken from: http://cityisoc.com/islam/290/easy-peasy-but-only-a-few-do-it/

Annual Events Coming up!

2008-06-23T21:16:00.007+01:00

Alhamdulillah I'm pleased to announce the London Tarbiyyah Conference in Association with Madina Masjid (Clapton) and Masjid e Quba (Stamford Hill)
Date: Saturday 28th June 2008
Venue: Masjid e Quba, Stamford Hill, 70-72 Cazenove Road, London N16 6AA
Time : Between Zohar and Asr (1.30pm onwards)
For Brothers & Sisters (separate facility next door at NLMCC)
Confirmed Speakers:

Shaykh Abdur Raheem Limbada (Senior Hadith Lecturer, Darul Uloom Bury)
Mufti Abdur Rahman Ibn Yusuf (ZamZam Academy & White Thread Press, USA)
Shaykh Riyadh ul Haq (Al Kawther Academy, Leicester)
Mufti Mohammed Ibn Adam (Darul Iftaa, Leicester)
Shaykh Irfan Sidyot (Lantern of Knowledge)
With Qur'anic Recitation and Nasheeds from:
Qari Mehdi Rahimi
Qari Shaykh Yasser Balesaria
Delawar Ehsaan
There will be a Q&A Workshop with Mufti Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf and Mufti Muhammad ibn Adam...please send all advance questions to:
info@masjidequba.org.uk

Refreshments will be available and there will be stalls where you can buy books etc.
Bus: 67, 73, 76. 106, 149, 243, 253, 254, 276, 349, 393, 476
Tube: Seven Sisters, Finsbury Park, Manor House
Train: Stoke Newington
Supported by Turath Publishing, ZamZam Academy & White Thread Press

Hope and Inshallah Everyone can make it!

AND ALSO:

Lantern of Knowledge (Jamia Siraj al Uloom) Annual Jalsah

Sunday 29th June 2008 at 1.30pm after Zohar.

Guest Speakers:
Shaykh Muhammad Saleem Dhorat Saheb
Shaykh Saleem Nawab Saheb

Shaykh Abdur Raheem Limbada

Programme Includes:
a dars of hadith (completion of Riyad al Saliheen)
Bayan from a host of students and scholars
Qirat Nasheeds
Completion of Hifz
Students Presentation Ceremony

'The Prodigy of Creation' will also be launched on this day.

Venue:

Lantern of Knowledge Educational Institute, 30-36 Lindley Road, Leyton, London, E10 6QT
Nearest Station: Leyton
Buses: 69,97
Tel: 020 8539 5183

Brothers ONLY event but will be recorded for sisters who can't attend the event.

ALL OF THE ABOVE EVENTS A FREE FOR EVERYONE TO ATTEND!

SUMMER ARABIC AND ISLAMIC STUDIES COURSES

2008-06-22T14:08:00.009+01:00

Assalaamu 'Alaykum Warahmatullah,

Summer is here and for many of us it means a time to chill and relax before the new academic year starts. Not that there's anything wrong in that, in fact I think we all deserve to relax after the year we've had, especially since we've just finished our exams. However, we also need to make use of the time we have and to be careful not to waste our time by going to movies and hangin' out with friends doing idle stuff. Lets use this summer insha'Allah to please Allah subhanahu wa ta'la and gain more knowledge of the Deen.

Arabic-courses presents a two month summer intensive arabic and islamic studies programme in which you will be taught by a Madinah University Arabic Instructor. There will be three different courses running at different levels to cater for the varying levels of the people; all aimed at teaching the Muslims how to understand the Qur’aan and Islaam. There are lessons available for sisters only, taught by sister Hira Amin.

This is an opportunity for those who don’t know anything about the Arabic language, or those who have some knowledge to go ahead. There are lessons available with segregation and also for sisters only.

Date: 7th July-29th August *(Note: The date of the leaflet is wrong, please ignore that)

Time: 9:00am-1:00 pm

Free books and extra materials will all be provided!

Lessons will be held 4hours a day/5 days a week.

Cost: £300

ISLAMIC STUDIES COURSES:

This is a new course being offered for those who want to further their knowledge with Arabic in Islamic context. This course will run for 8 weeks in the afternoon covering the following subjects:

History of the Prophets and the Salaf
An in-depth study of the Qur’aa n, tafseer and how tafseer is done

An in-depth study of the Sunnah and the chain of narration

Science of fiqh and its usool (foundations)

Islamic economics, judicial system and politics

Date: 7th July-29th August

Time: 2:00pm-5:00pm

Venue: Southampton Row, London WC18 (near Tottenham court rd)

3hours a day/5 days a week

Cost: FREE

Upon completion of the comprehensive courses in both Arabic and Islamic lessons, all students will be presented with the following:

i) "Certificate of Achievement";

ii) Detailed description of what the student achieved;

iii) Examination results including the final exam;

iv) A "Recognised Letter of Recommendation" for those amongst the Brothers who wish to pursue further studies at the Islamic University of Madeenah. Please note, the "Recognised Letter of Recommendation" is currently only available to participating Brothers as the Islamic University of Madeenah is a male-only University.

To book or for more information please refer to their website:

E-mail: contact-us@arabic-courses.com

Website: http://www.arabic-courses.com/ or http://www.arabic-courses.com/summer2008/acis.html

Very few places left. Book your place today!!! (seriously today as in today if you're really interested)

Istiqamah (steadfastness)

2008-06-21T02:12:00.008+01:00

Istiqamah (steadfastness)

Asalaamulaikum Warahmatulahi Wabarkatahu!

Dear brothers and sisters in Islam, we suffer and struggle sooo much for this life, revising till the break of dawn for our exams, chasing after our desires and needs, working till the late hours of the night for decent wages. We struggle so much for this life.

Determination is a great thing, to have the willpower and strength to do somethig but why do we leave this determination when it comes to Islam? Why do we forget our Deen??? Where does that determination go when Fajr comes in? Where is that willpower when we must lower our gaze? Where is that strength of mind when others question our Deen???

Dear sisters and brothers of the Ummah, we are in this world for a very SHORT period, whereas the hereafter (the Akhirah) is eternal. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what we get in exams, how much we earn, what car we drive or how big our houses are. All these trivial things will not help us attain Jannah! Only our actions which we carried out will avail.

Lets look at the hardships Bilal radi Allahu anhu, the Mu’addhin of Prophet Muhammad salallahu alayhi wa salam suffered. He did not doubt Allah, betray Allah or renounce his Islamic obligations... not even ONCE!!!! But us! We watch silly old soaps and when Magrib time arrives, we say, “o.k., just another 5 more minutes!”

As Muslims our first and foremost responsibility is to Allah, not to our TV’s!!!

Bilal radi Allahu anhu was one of the most illustrious sahabah the Ummah has seen, he was the Mu’addhin of the Prophet Muhammad salallahu alayhi wa salam.

Bilal was an Abyssinian slave and belonged to a disbeliever in Mecca.

His conversion to Islam naturally brought the wrath of his owner and the other disbelievers of Mecca, and therefore he was persecuted mercilessly by him and other disbelievers.

Ummayah bin Khalaf, one of the worst enemies of Islam, would make Bilal radi Allahu anhu lie down on the burning sand of Mecca at midday and would place a heavy stone on his chest, so heavy that poor Bilal r.a couldn’t even move a limb or a muscle, finding it hard to breathe even!
Ummayah bin Khalaf would then say to him:
“Renounce Islam or swelter and die.”

Even under these brutal afflictions, Bilal r.a. would proudly exclaim:
“Ahad” – The One (Allah). “Ahad” – The One (Allah).

And this happened day in, day out, on a constant basis!

This is not all brothers and sisters!!!!

The torturers would get tired carrying out this gruesome punishment, so Ummayah would take turns with Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab and others. They would compete with one another in afflicting Bilal, but Bilal radi Allahu anhu not budge.

For such love he had for Allah and His Messenger salallahu alayhi wa salam that once he tasted the sweetness of Imaan, he would not remove its beauty from his heart!

These persecutions carried on until Abu Bakr radi Allahu anhu bought Bilal radi Allahu anhu freedom, and Bilal became a free Muslim.

This shows Bilal r.a’s love and devotion to Allah. Allah was so dear to him that no amount of persecution could distract him from reciting Allah’s Blessed name.

The urchins of Mecca would drag him in the hills of Mecca, with his words “Ahad! Ahad!” would echo in Mecca Mukarramah

SubhanAllah, look how Allah the Almighty rewarded Bilal radi Allahu anhu for his steadfastness! Allah the Almighty gave Bilal radi Allahu anhu the honour of becoming the Prophet’s salallahu alayhi wa salam Mu’addhin! Bilal was to remain with him (salallahu alayhi wa salam) at home and abroad to call out the Athaan for Salah.

SubhanAllah just imagine! Being in such blessed company 24/7!!!

After the Prophet's salallahu alayhi wa salam death, it became very hard for Bilal radi Allahu anhu to continue his stay in Madinah where he would miss his beloved Nabi salallahu alayhi wa salam. Every step, every corner reminded Bilal radi Allahu anhu of the time he spent with the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam. Bilal therefore left Madinah, and decided to pass the rest of his life striving in the path of Allah. Once he saw the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam in his dream saying to him:
“O Bilal! How is it that you never visit me?”

No sooner did Bilal get up and set out for Madinah, on reaching there he met the Prophet's salallahu alayhi wa salam grandsons Hasan and Husain radi Allahu anhuma who requested Bilal radi Allahu anhu to call out the Athaan, Bilal radi Allahu anhu could not refuse them, for they were very dear to him.

As Bilal radi Allahu anhu called out the Athaan, the people of Madinah cried out openly, bursting in tears due to the anguish at the memory of the days of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam, even the women came out from their houses weeping.

Bilal left Madinah after a few days, and died in Damascus in 20 A.H.

Look my dear brothers and sisters! Look at the tribulations Bilal radi Allahu anhu faced for Islam, Alhumdulilah, Islam is widely accepted in our society and we don’t have to face such torture. Is it tooo much to ask to pray on time? To fast in Ramadhan? To keep and revive the Sunnah of the Prophet salallahu alayhi wa salam in our lives??

Wassalaam, Mehak!

Desires, Desires, Desires

2008-06-18T17:58:00.003+01:00

An emperor was coming out of his palace for his morning walk when he met a beggar. He asked the beggar, “What do you want?” The beggar laughed and said, “You are asking me as though you can fulfill my desire!” The king was offended. He said, “Of course I can fulfill your desire. What is it? Just tell me.”And the beggar said, “Think twice before you promise anything.”“I will fulfill anything you ask. I am a very powerful emperor, what can you possibly desire that I can not give to you?” The beggar said, “It is a very simple desire. You see this begging bowl? Can you fill it with something?” The emperor said, “Of course!” He called one of his viziers and told him, “Fill this mans begging bowl with money.” The vizier went and got some money and poured it into the bowl, and it disappeared. And he poured more and more, and the moment he would pour it, it would disappear. And the begging bowl remained always empty.
The whole palace gathered. By and by the rumor went throughout the whole capital, and a huge crowd gathered. The prestige of the emperor was at stake. He said to his viziers, “If the whole kingdom is lost, I am ready to lose it, but I cannot be defeated by this beggar.” Diamonds and pearls and emeralds, his treasuries were becoming empty. The begging bowl seemed to be bottomless. Everything that was put into it — everything! — immediately disappeared, went out of existence.
Finally it was the evening, and the people were standing there in utter silence. The king dropped at the feet of the beggar and admitted his defeat. he said, “Just tell me one thing. You are victorious - but before you leave, just fulfill my curiosity. What is the begging bowl made of?”The beggar laughed and said, “It is made up of the human mind. There is no secret. It is simple made up of human desire.”
This understanding transforms life. Go into one desire — what is the mechanism of it? First there is a great excitement, great thrill, adventure. you feel a great kick. Something is going to happen, you are on the verge of it. And then you have the car, you have the yacht, you have the house, you have the woman, and suddenly all is meaningless again.
What happens? and why? its because Your mind has dematerialized it. The car is standing in the drive, but there is no excitement anymore. The excitement was only in getting it. You became so drunk with the desire than you forgot your inner nothingness. Now the desire is fulfilled, the car in the drive, the woman in your bed, the money in your bank account - again excitement disappears. Again the emptiness is there, ready to eat you up. Again you have to create another desire to escape this yawning abyss.That’s how one moves from one desire to another desire.
That’s how one remains a beggar. Your whole life proves it again and again — every desire frustrates. And when the goal is achieved, you will need another desire.The day you understand that desire as such is going to fail comes the turning point in your life.The other journey is inwards. move inwards, come back home.

Taken from Qisas.com

GEMS

2008-06-13T19:04:00.002+01:00

Assalamu ‘Alaykum,

I want to share with you some various gems I learnt from my Ustaadh whilst studying for my Islamic degree course. Insha’Allah for my own benefit first, and possibly for the benefit of some of you as well.

GEM ONE: Don’t do things which you can’t start with Bismillah!

I believe this to be a great test we all can and should apply before undertaking our actions. Because... Is there anyone who can say “Bismillah” and then watch “Eastenders” for 30 minutes when those same 30 minutes could have been used to walk to the masjid, pray ‘ishaa in jama’a, and walk back home? Is there anyone who can say “Bismillah”, hit the snooze button on his alarm clock and say “10 more minutes” when he/she knows that the same action led to missing the fajr prayer 3 times last week? Is there anyone who can say “Bismillah – with the name of ALLAH” and then spend £1000 for a laptop while knowing that there are many computers out there priced as low as £300 and knowing how many needy people out there could have used the £700 to buy food and clothing, pay the rent, etc...?

GEM TWO: Sleep does not give you strength!

I’ve come home from college too many times, very tired and exhausted, with tons of coursework and/or studying waiting for me to do. I’d eat dinner, pray maghrib and say “let me sleep for 2 hours, get some rest, regain some energy and then get up and study.” Well, probably needless to say, 2 out of 3 times I did not get up until the next morning except to pray ‘Ishaa. And too many times did I go to sleep after fajr fooling myself that I am doing that so that I could be well rested for the day and so that I could have more energy to do things when I come back from college. SubhanAllah, how tricky shaytaan is: “go to sleep now so that you can be strong in helping your deen during the day” and you never really gain any additional strength. This means that...Tiredness is IN OUR MIND!!!!!!!!!! So, we need to say isti’aadhah when we’re tired!!! Its only shaytaan messing with our brain. What we need to do is show him what we got and smash into pieces all his deceptive tricks, InshaAllah.

GEM THREE: Pleasure does not make you stronger!

We live in comfortable houses, sit on comfortable sofas, sleep on comfortable beds, eat beautifully tasting and plentiful food, drive expensive spacious cars (well some of us). Why? To make our life easier, to make it pleasant, to give us more energy to do things. The news is folks: Pleasure hasn’t made anyone any stronger. It is hardship that nurtures a strong individual. It is empty stomach that makes us truly appreciate Allah’s blessings although we also thank him when we fill our bellies with delicious food. I am not necessarily advocating we all start sleeping on the floor, buying £300 cars, selling our sofas etc. But the question is how much comfortable do our beds have to be, how fancy our living areas have to look, how many pairs of shoes we really must have. Does our lunch have to cost £8 when we could get by with £2 meal? And do we have to spend £1.75 for a milkshake every time we go to McDonalds, when water would quench our thirst even better and when £1.75 could feed an entire family for a day in, for example, Sudan.

GEM FOUR: Your du’aa should be preceded by good actions!

Allah says in Qur’aan (29:65): If they embark on a boat, they call on Allah, making their devotion sincerely (and exclusively) to Him; but when He has delivered them safely to (dry) land, behold, they give a share (of their worship to others)!

We seem to make du’aa only when we’re really pressed between a rock and a hard place. But our du’aas should be preceded with shows of dedication and devotion to this deen. Before going in front of Allah and asking something from Him, we ought to do some specific actions which will be a sign that we are really committed and we really mean business when it comes to establishing Allah’s deen on this Earth. So, before you ask Allah to help your financial situation, go and give a portion of what you already have showing that you really believe when you say that you put your trust in Allah. Similarly, before your 9am exam, don’t spend an hour and a half sleeping after fajr “gaining strength” and then making du’aa for Allah’s help at 8:59am on your way to the exam hall after you had just woke up at 7:50am. Spend that time reciting Qur’an and then ask for Allah’s help (after you had, of course, already studied for your exam in the days leading to the exam day).

Let me share with you guys something that happened to a Brother once (this is a true story). At the time he was a Uni student and he was also the Imam of his local Masjid. It was Friday and he had his final exam at uni but he also needed to give the jumu’ah khutbah and lead the salaat at the masjid. No doubt he wouldn’t back out of his religious duties so he decided to go to the Masjid, give the khutbah and lead the Friday prayer hoping he would still be able to make it for his exams afterwards. After he finished leading the salaat he made duaa asking Allah to aid him and he left for the Uni. As he was driving, however, there was bare traffic and he feared he would not make it. Finally he arrived but he missed more than half of the time of the exam. He sat down and started the exam with Bismillah. He finished half of the exam and realised he was running out of time and only had 5minutes to finish the rest. SubhanAllah, this part is really amazing. You know what he did? He picked a letter, for example, A (it was multiple choice) and he circled that letter for the rest of the answers and he put his trust fully in Allah. When results came in, he was really anxious and feared he failed. He opened his results and it said he got 110%!!! How was that possible, he couldn’t believe it? In class the lecturer told everyone that the examiners changed the exam this year due to a research study they were conducting. The last 30 questions or so had the same letter as the answer and they wanted to see if students would realise this. They were shocked when only one person got it and so they gave him 110% in his exam. SubhanAllah, as I was listening to this I remembered the beautiful ayah where Allah says:

"...Whoever fears Allah, He brings forth a way out for him, And provides for him (with what he needs) from where he does not even imagine. And whosoever places his trust in Allah, He is sufficient for him. Surely Allah is to accomplish His purpose. Allah has set a measure for everything." (Surah Talaq:2,3)

Allah tells us in many places in the Noble Qur'aan that "Allah is capable of doing anything that He Wills to do." Whenever He wants anything done, He merely says "Qun! Faya Qun!" (Be! And so it will be!)A great lesson is to be learned from this inshaAllah. I pray it has benefitted you as much it has benefitted me. There’s many more gems I would like to share with you guys but this will turn into a 10 page post. InshaAllah next time.

Can I sincerely ask you all to make duaa for my Ustaadh and his family. I just recieved an email from him informing me that his dad's brother passed away yesterday. Inna lillah wa inna ilayhi raji'oon. May Allah forgive him, have mercy on him and grant him the highest ranks in Jannah, next to our Beloved Prophet (sallallahu 'alayhi wa salaam). Ameen Ya Rabal 'Alameen

Anything good that I may have said in this post is from Allah and Allah Alone and anything bad is from my ownself and Shaytaan. I ask Allah to forgive my shortcoming and to make me among His most dearest Servants inshaAllah.

Wassalaamu ‘Alaykum

Prepare for the REAL Exam

2008-06-11T18:48:00.002+01:00

This was written by one of my friends. It’s really an amazing reflection I benefitted from. In the midst of all the stress that’s occupying our lives these past weeks, it’s good to take some time and look at the greater picture.

>>>I think time is valued the most during finals week. You hear people from every corner of the room talking about how they have 10 minutes to eat, 3 hours to sleep, and then two papers to write and an exam to study for.

Something happened today in the library and it made me think. A girl sat in the SINC site for three hours doing a project. For some reason, it didn't save on the computer she was working on, although she said she did hit "Save", and then she exited out. Three hours of hard work…down the drain. And not just during any week, no, during finals week–where every minute is important. Not only would she now not be able to hand her work in on time, it would slow down all of the other things she had to do. She freaked.

So then I thought: what if this week were the final week of the dunya? Or just of our lives? Why do we not freak out when we waste three hours doing something that will in no way help our final grade in the dunya?

We embrace distractions from friends all throughout the year but when finals week comes– "Stay away from me! No, I can't go to the mall with you. No time to waste! No, I can't eat with you either, I already ate a twinkie."

But that's the sad part. We don't know when the final week of the dunya is; or of our lives. So how can we go on and let ourselves be distracted and heedless all year long? The most successful students are those that are eating those quick lunches and refusing to go to the mall with you all year long, because they have high goals they have to meet. Then there are those who are just rolling with the ball the whole semester and wake up during finals week. But at least they wake up and at least pass their classes. But how could someone be distracted all term, and continue to be distracted during finals week and do well? In other words, the only way we can pass this grand test of the dunya…the only way we can get any success in the Hereafter is if we constantly keep ourselves awake. We don't know when the last week will be…so if we're acting like it's not the last week, every week….we're doomed for failure. One of those weeks will be the final week.

And I thought about how Allah (subhanah wa ta’ala) says in the Qur'an that on the Day of Judgement, there will be people, who when they are asked how many years they spent on this earth, they will reply, "probably a day or less than a day". And they won't be lying…they'll really believe this was the truth. Because they will have wasted all of their time on earth. They will be shown their deeds and they will not be able to fathom how they could have spent so many years on earth and done such few good deeds.

Allah (subhanah wa ta’ala) gave us so much time to beautify our hearts, to do good deeds. And on the day of judgment, when we present our hearts to Him 'azza wa jall, it is us who will look at them and our book of deeds and be mortified at how it could take so many years to make something so ugly and worthless. It is us who will look at the empty pages where good deeds were supposed to be and say, "I must have lived only a day then…how else could this be possible?" (but inshaAllah it won't be us. May Allah (subhanah wa ta’ala) protect us and save us from being amongst these people. May He (subhanah wa ta’ala) give us the tawfiq to properly avail the time we are given in this dunya. Ameen)

Let us all insha Allah (myself first before anyone else) take this time management lesson from finals. If we can get so much done for the dunya in this week, why can we not do at least half of this for the akhira during other weeks? Let us race for good deeds not only in Ramadan, but year-round, so that we don't have to look at our book of deeds on the Day of Judgement and think we only lived one Ramadan. There are so many simple things to do that don't occupy much time or effort, like dhikr. Let it occupy your tongue constantly.

And the next time we get frustrated because something really important that shouldn't have got deleted, got deleted…..maybe we should focus our energy on thinking about if we get that frustrated when some of our greatest deeds get deleted (because of insincerity to Allah (subhanah wa ta’ala) or some other reason), and if we would work as hard to retrieve those good deeds as we would to retrieve our deleted project.

Never lose hope, a core part of our belief is to have Tawakkul (trust in Allah t'ala). Many of us believe that nothing can save us but Allah mentions in Surah Talaaq,

"Whoever fears Allah, He brings forth a way out for him, And provides for him (with what he needs) from where he does not even imagine. And whosoever places his trust in Allah, He is sufficient for him. Surely Allah is to accomplish His purpose. Allah has set a measure for everything."

Always have good hope of Allah 'azza wa jal, Allah mentions in a Qudsi Hadith, "I am as my servant thinks I am." if you think Allah is bad then that is how you will be treated but if you make yourself ONE with Allah, than everything is achievable.

Allah says in another Qudsi Hadtih, "...My servant does not draw near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have imposed upon him and My servant continues to draw near to Me with superogatory works so that I shall love him. When I LOVE him I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask (something) of Me, I would surely give it to him and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it."

If you make yourself one with Allah ('azza wa jal), no examination can break you in half.