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….’
Showing posts with label Lessons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lessons. Show all posts
Thursday, 7 May 2009
Sunday, 26 October 2008
The Importance of Parents in Islam...
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
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
Wednesday, 20 August 2008
Email Chain Letters - ''If You Love Allah, Please Forward...''
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.
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.
Friday, 13 June 2008
GEMS
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
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
Monday, 19 May 2008
Ayaaz and the Priceless Pearl
Moulana Jalaluddin Rumi (R.A.) mentions in his Mathnavi, a story of Sultan Mahmood : One day the Sultan decided to test his ministers and ordered them to crush the most prized pearl of his treasury. One by one, each of 65 ministers declined, stating that the pearl was far too valuable to be destroyed.The King then summoned his closest and trusted courtier, Ayaaz, and ordered him to crush the pearl. Without any delay or hesitation, Ayaaz crushed the pearl into fragments. When the ministers expressed disbelief and shock at such audacity, the King asked Ayaaz to inform them as to the reason for him having broken the pearl.
In response, Ayaaz asked these ministers : ” Which is more important, the Royal Decree or the pearl ? “
The question we pose to ourselves is : ” Which is more important, the command of my Allah or the desire of my heart ?”
The desires of the heart are akin to pearls, which appear to be quite beautiful but we should not fulfil these desires at the cost of breaking the decrees of Allah.
Ayaaz attained closeness to the king through his loyalty and faithfulness and his obedience and submission. Similarly, we will gain the extreme nearness and intimate closeness to the King of Kings through loyalty and faithfulness. This in turn is dependent upon sincere obedience and complete submission to His decrees.
(Taken from http://ahledil.wordpress.com/2008/05/03/suppressing-the-nafs/)
So You Want to be Something Huh?
Hazrat Hakim-ul-Ummah Mawlana Ashraf Ali Thanwi (rahimahullah) addressing
his students and disciples said:
“Unfortunately the condition of people (who
are treading the path of Deen) today is that they want to quickly become
“something” from the get-go before actually doing anything. I say to them, that
even the fact that Allah Ta`ala accepts us to be involved and occupied with His
Deen is a great status and bounty in itself. What more of a blessing can a
person ask for than being occupied in the Deen of Allah Ta`ala.
As for that
person who desires to become “something” and gain some name and status for
himself through Deen, then remember this well…this person is a very unfortunate
and deprived (mahroom) person. Annihilate your desires of status and name and
remain busy in His servitude, being hopeful of His grace.
Never become
hopeless of Him due to your weaknesses and shortcomings. Stand up and move
(trusting in Him alone) and see how Allah makes all the difficulties easy and
removes the obstacles.
The condition of treading this path is that one must
have talab (the fervent desire) and the problem with us today is that we do not
have the talab to attain Allah alone. DESIRE ALLAH ALONE, AND THEN SEE WHAT
HAPPENS.”
(Malfoozat-e-Hakim-ul-Ummah; Vol. 7, Pg. 74)
(Taken from http://annoor.wordpress.com/2008/01/31/so-you-want-to-be-something-huh/)
Sunday, 18 May 2008
Strengthen your Power
“Besides the usage of will power there is no other remedy for those sins which are related to passion and desire.
The respected Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanwi rahmatullahi alayh would say that if a person is not willing to use his will power then not even a Prophet can save him from committing sin.
Through the usage of will power one can achieve great things. Take the example of a smoker who stops smoking from morning till evening in Ramadhan.The smoker is able to do this because he is using the willpower which is within him.
The strengthening of will power is one of the benefits of consulting a Shaykh. By following the Shaykh’s guidance one is able to develop and rejuvenate his will power so that he is able to use this great capacity and thus refrain from sin.”
Taken from (http://shaykh.wordpress.com/2008/05/15/strengthen-your-power/)
The respected Shaykh Ashraf Ali Thanwi rahmatullahi alayh would say that if a person is not willing to use his will power then not even a Prophet can save him from committing sin.
Through the usage of will power one can achieve great things. Take the example of a smoker who stops smoking from morning till evening in Ramadhan.The smoker is able to do this because he is using the willpower which is within him.
The strengthening of will power is one of the benefits of consulting a Shaykh. By following the Shaykh’s guidance one is able to develop and rejuvenate his will power so that he is able to use this great capacity and thus refrain from sin.”
Taken from (http://shaykh.wordpress.com/2008/05/15/strengthen-your-power/)
Wednesday, 16 April 2008
Company of a Shaykh
In the weekly gathering of Molana Muhammed's islah of the nafs he narrated a situation that was very true and common. He said (to the nearest effect), "if a normal person is asked to join the company of a shaykh or spend time in his company he will most likely refuse because he will know deep down and that by spending time in the company of a shaykh will mean that he will have to give up the things his nafs love the most like singing, music, etc. However if this person was to spend time in the company of a shaykh he would realise that he wont have to give up any of his habits but instead, all his evil habits will leave him as he will just lose interest in them and this will all happen without him even noticing."
A person normally adopts the behaviour of his ustaadh and in some cases the student may even look like his own ustaadh or shaykh.
I personally would recommend every single muslim to enrol themselves at a madressah or some sort of course where a person is in the company of a religious scholar. Spending even just half an hour every other day in the presence of a scholar can help keep a person attached to the straight path and re-establish your connection with islam and more importantly, with Allah.
A person normally adopts the behaviour of his ustaadh and in some cases the student may even look like his own ustaadh or shaykh.
I personally would recommend every single muslim to enrol themselves at a madressah or some sort of course where a person is in the company of a religious scholar. Spending even just half an hour every other day in the presence of a scholar can help keep a person attached to the straight path and re-establish your connection with islam and more importantly, with Allah.
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