The rich man agreed and they started traveling.  On the way, the two stopped at a Bedouin’s tent.

The Bedouin was a generous host, serving his guests and making the comfortable.  The two travelers stayed overnight at the Bedouin’s tent.

In the morning, the rich man awoke to find that the poor man had passed away in the evening.  He asked the Bedouin to help him wash and bury the poor man.

Before they buried the poor man, the rich man asked the Bedouin to lead him in the funeral prayer.  The Bedouin declined, saying that he didn’t know how to make du’a for the poor man.

So the rich man led the prayer.  They buried the poor man and then the rich man continued on his way.

After he had left the Bedouin’s tent, the rich man had a dream in which he was told that Allah had forgiven the poor man’s sins because of the du’a of the Bedouin.

The rich man was so curious that he went back to the Bedouin’s tent to ask him what his du’a was.

The Bedouin insisted that he didn’t say anything special.  The rich man described his dream to the Bedouin and asked him again to tell him the du’a.

The Bedouin told him he just said, “Oh Allah, this man was my guest and I was generous to him.  Now he is Your guest, so please be generous to him.”

When you make prayers, you always remember them, you always make du’a for them. You are mindful of them and you wish them well wether its verbal or in your heart. You just can’t seem to make du’a without wishing best for them. You often make du’a overtime you are reminded of them.

“The supplication of a Muslim man for his absent brother is answered. At his head there is a guardian angel. Whenever he asks Allah to give his brother good, the angel says, ‘Amen, and may you have the same.” -Bukhari 

Ask yourself who do you make du’a for and how often ? who is present in your du’as ? how often you make prayer for forgiveness for your deceased relatives and friends?

Interests, Interests, Interests:

You take the time to find out their interest, and proactively take interest in their interests. We have examples of this with the prophet Mohammad peace be upon him, taking time to play with Aisha R.A. and helping her out in her household chores, holding meaningful conversations. all these things make the other person feel valued, loved and cared for.

We also have example of the Prophet Mohammad peace be upon him taking the time to play with Husaain and Hassan R.A. taking interest in their interests playing with them shows care and shows your love. So think about last time you took interest in your loved ones interests or asked your loved one about their interests. One of the things you can do is ask someone a question about something that interests them and watch them go on and on about it. People love talking about their interests so ask them?

Think about people who take interest in your interest, these are the people who love you say thank you, show your appreciation, make du’a for them.

“Lovers find secret places
inside this violent world
where they make transactions
with beauty.”
― Rumi

Acknowledge Greatness: 

You are aware of their great qualities and you appreciate and revere them for them. You love them because of these great qualities in them and they are in some sense a role model to you. They give you inspiration, you look unto them and you try to adapt the principles that you appreciate in them.

Here are some characteristics  you might find inspiring from your loved ones:

• Truthfulness
• Courageous
• Loving
• Boldness
• Caring
• Wisdom
• Knowledge
• Ability to act (Execution of ideas)
• Imaginative
• Supportive
• Encouraging
• Authentic
• Loyal
• Merciful
• Forgivness
• Inspiring
• Determined
• Light Hearted (Humorous)
• Informative
• Admirer
• A Great friend who’s always been there

Source of happiness:

You take time and consideration to make them happy, you know what makes them happy. This could be very simple and doesn’t have to be complicated. For example if you know your spouse or loved one loves flowers, if you just bring flowers for them once in a while to make them more happy to create excitement, that works. You can take someone out for lunch or cook their favourite food. For children you can take them to their favourite place, or just partake in their favourite activity, devote an evening to playing with them.

Its all about being empathetic and aware of people you love, I personally find it fascinating when I find out about something that my loved ones enjoy or get happiness because this makes it easy for me to share happiness. Over the time you can  accumulate a bag with tools of happiness that make your loved ones happy.

Also think about what makes you happy and give yourself the gift of love and do something special for yourself every once in a while, go ahead its allowed ;). Appreciate the happiness that Allah Ta’Allah blesses you with through others as well and always be thankful.

Growth and love:

You accept the person as they are, you accept their imperfection and their shortcomings and accept them as they are, a human. You support them in growth, you guide them without insisting on changing them. More than their shortcomings you focus on their strengths and goodness and you support that instead of taunting them over their shortcomings.

You support their growth and you help them find and define themselves, instead of imposing your image of them on them. To do this ask your loved one how can i support you? Find out what is something challenging they are doing and provide support and feedback. Things change when you become more committed to their success than they themselves are.

Always make du’a for their and your own success, always ask Allah Ta’Allah to support you and help you in all of your endeavours.

“Moonlight floods the whole sky from horizon to horizon;
How much it can fill your room depends on its windows.”
― Rumi,

Ask yourself how often is it that you want to draw nearer to Allah Ta’Allah?

Do you remind yourself or are you reminded by external factors?

Do you intent to get closer to Allah Ta’Allah or does it happen unintentionally?

Imagine what your life would be if you intended to get closer to Allah Ta’Allah every day, Imagine if you made this one of your goals for week, a month, a year, a lifetime. What sort of changes would that bring in your behaviour, what sort of changes would it bring in your family life, what sort of changes would it bring in you HEART & MIND?

Take a moment or two and really reflect on these questions before reading on.

Remember these hadieths and remind yourself of these often. 

The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said, “Allah the Most High said, ‘I am as My servant thinks (expects) I am. I am with him when he mentions Me. If he mentions Me to himself, I mention him to Myself; and if he mentions Me in an assembly, I mention him in an assembly greater than it. If he draws near to Me a hand’s length, I draw near to him an arm’s length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed.’ Bukhari

“The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for.” Bukhari

Knowledge:

Learn about Allah Ta’Allah, learn more about your lord, learn to get to know him in all the ways that he has revealed himself to you through the Quran and the Sunnah and through the acts of all the prophets that he has sent. Ask yourself how often do I reflect upon his word from the Quran?

Listen to the prayer of prophet Ibraheem for his progeny:

“Our Lord, and send among them a messenger from themselves who will recite to them Your verses and teach them the Book and wisdom and purify them. Indeed, You are the Exalted in Might, the Wise.” 2:129

Allah Ta’Allah has revealed himself to us through the Quran through the Sunnah of the prophet, and had made promise to protect it from flaws, make use of this gift. Learn about his attribute, The all Seeing, The all Hearing, The Just, The one who forgives often….. 

The list goes on and on, reflect upon the gift of today, the blessing of sight which can see his gift, which allows you to see beauty. Make a decision to learn more about your creator, your lord.

Mindfulness: 

Be mindful of Allah Ta’Allah, when you wake up in the morning and feel rested, feel restored, be mindful it is the blessing of your lord. In contrast what are some of things you are mindful of ? What you largely think will determined how to act, how you act will determined your character? pay attention to your thoughts, start letting go of things that take you away from the reminder of Allah Ta’Allah. Stop dumping stuff in your mind which leads you away from his remembrance.

Know that your mind must be like a clean place beautified with beautiful thoughts that are encouraged by your lord.

heres the best advice on being mindful:

“One day I was riding (a horse/camel) behind the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, when he said, ‘Young man, I will teach you some words. Be mindful of God, and He will take care of you. Be mindful of Him, and you shall find Him at your side. If you ask, ask of God. If you need help, seek it from God. Know that if the whole world were to gather together in order to help you, they would not be able to help you except if God had written so. And if the whole world were to gather together in order to harm you, they would not harm you except if God had written so. The pens have been lifted, and the pages are dry.’ ” Tirmidhi

Thankfulness:

Being thankful is generally the best you can do for yourself, but being thankful to your creator for all  your blessing also make you rich and wealthy.

Being thankful is more than just lip service, its the recognition of the blessing that you have been blessed with. Thankfulness is when you acknowledge the value that you get from your blessing, you thankful for right choices you make, you are thankful for the guidance in your life, you are thankful for the love in your life; these are all great examples of things that provide value to you. So really think about this for a minute and come up with at least five things that you are really thankful for. Not just five things that you should be thankful for, but what you FEEL thankful for , these things, you really value these things in life.

This works great in combination with being mindful. As Allah Ta’Allah says:

“Therefore remember Me, I will remember you. Give thanks to Me, and reject not Me.” 2-152

“If you make one prayer today, let it be “Thank You”” -Rumi

Ask:

Be mindful of the pact that you have with your lord.

“It is You we worship and You we ask for help.” 1:5

Most people only make prayer or ask Allah Tallah, when they are in despair, danger, stress. Start asking Allah Ta’Allah for all your needs. In this case you really need to have an abundance mindset, ask for anything and everything. Ask Allah Ta’Allah to help you in all of your affairs small or big. Prophet Mohammad peace be upon him asked always asked for Allah Ta’Allah help for even dressing himself.

“All praise belongs to Allah who adorned me with clothing by which I cover (hide) my private areas and by which I obtain beauty in my life”. Mishkat

Mu’ath bin Jabal narrated that the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said the following.

Acquire knowledge, for surely it leads to fear of Allah. Seeking it is an act of worship (‘ibadah); studying it is praising Allah; seeking it is jihad; teaching it to whomever doesn’t known it is an act of charity (sadaqah); and giving it to its people draws one closer to them. Knowledge points to the permissible (Halaal) and the forbidden (haraam); and it is a shining light pointing the way to paradise It comforts the lonely, befriends the estranged, and talks to you in seclusion. It is a guide through prosperity and adversity; it is  a weapon against enemies; and it is the best of friends. With knowledge, Alláh raises people to high stations, making them leaders in goodness, whose steps are traced. Their example is emulated, their opinion followed. The angels like to sit with the people of knowledge, surrounding their wings; and everything dry or wet, -fish of the sea and animals on land, – will ask Allah to forgive them. Knowledge gives life to the heart in the midst of ignorance, and illumines vision in the darkness. With knowledge, God’s servants become the elite and reach the highest degrees in this life and in the hereafter. Contemplation with knowledge is equivalent to fasting (sawm); spending time to study it is equivalent to standing at night in prayer (qiyam); duties to relatives are fulfilled by it; and through it the halaal and haraam are known. Knowledge precedes action (‘amal) and action always follows it. The fortunate ones attain it and the miserable ones are deprived of it.

All praise is due to Allah. I thank Him and seek His aid. I ask His forgiveness, and seek His guidance. I believe in Him and do not deny Him. I am the enemy of those who reject belief in Him. I bear witness that there is no one worthy of worship, other than Allah, Him alone, without partner; and that Muhammad is His servant and messenger whom He sent with guidance, true religion, light, and advice after a long gap of time when no messengers were sent, knowledge was little, people were misguided, and time appeared to have stopped as the Day of Judgment approached.

Whoever obeys Allah and His messenger is wise and whoever disobeys them is astray, wasted, and has lost his way far from the true path. I advise you to fear Alláh and be conscious of Him. Be conscious of what Alláh warned you of Himself. There is no better advice than that or a better reminder. It is a shield for those who follow this advice carefully and cautiously and it is an aid, and the truth that will get you what you aspire for on the Day of Judgment. Whosoever establishes a good relationship between him and Allah, secretly and openly, only to seek the pleasure of Allah, will benefit in this life and be saved in the afterlife when he will be in dire need of the good deeds he earned before death. Man will then wish that there were a great distance between him and anything else other than taqwa.

Allah warns you about Himself and He is kind to his servants. Allah, who has spoken the Truth and fulfilled his promise, has said: “I do not change My words and I do not oppress My servants” (50:29). Fear Allah in your present and future affairs, in secret and in the open for (Allah has said:) “Whosoever fears Allah, his sins will be forgiven and his reward will be many fold” (65:5) and “Whosoever fears Allah will achieve great success.” Having taqwa (fearful awareness of Allah) protects man from Allah’s anger, protects him from His punishment and protects him from His wrath. Taqwa illumines the face, pleases the Lord, and elevates the rank.

Take what is determined for you and do not neglect your relationship with Allah. He has taught you His book, laid down for you His path so that He will know which of you are the truthful and which of you are the liars. Therefore, do good, just as Allah has done good to you, and be enemies to His enemies, (for Allah has said:) “And strive in the way of Allah sincerely for He has chosen you and named you Muslims” ( and “That those who have died (striving in His way) might die after a clear sign (had been given to them), and those who go on to live might live after a clear sign (had been given to them)” (8:42). There is no strength other than by Allah, thus increase the remembrance of Allah, and work for what will come after death, for whosoever builds a good relationship with Allah, Alláh will protect him from the harm or need of people. Allah surely decrees what is destined for mankind, whereas they have no control over Him, and He has in store for them what they cannot have in store for Him. Allah is great. There is no power except by Allah, Elevated, the Great.

Selfish love often appears to be unselfish, because it is willing to make any concession to the beloved in order to keep him prisoner. But it is supreme selfishness to buy what is best in a person, his liberty, his integrity, his own autonomous dignity as a person, at the price of far lesser goods. “Such selfishness is all the more abominable when it takes a complacent pleasure in its concessions, deluded that they are all acts of selfless charity.

A love, therefore, that is selfless, that honestly seeks the truth, does not make unlimited concessions to the beloved.”

Excerpt From: Merton, Thomas. “No Man Is an Island.” 

A_guide_to_your_diabetes_management_during_ramadan_082012v3[1]

Here are some of his photographs

Check out his blog here...

If you like this you might also be interested in watching his documentry called chasing ice

Very intersting watch.

Enjoy

Drawing on real-life anecdotes and scientific research that shows why the early hours of the day are so important, Vanderkam reveals how successful people use mornings to help them accomplish things that are often impossible to take care of later in the day. While many of us are still in bed, these folks are scoring daily victories to improve their health, careers, and personal lives without sacrificing their sanity. For instance, former PepsiCo chairman and CEO Steve Reinemund would rise at 5:00 a.m., run four miles, pray, and eat breakfast with his family before heading to work to run a Fortune 500 company.”

her book is here

We can take this as somewhat practical supplement to what Prophet Mohammad said centuries ago.

Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said, “If anyone among you is secure in mind in the morning, healthy in body, possessed of food for the day, it is as though the whole world has been brought into his possession.”

-Tirmidhi

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that when a man gets up in the morning, all the limbs humble themselves before the tongue and say, “Fear Allah for our sake, for we are dependent on you; if you are straight we are straight, but if you are crooked we are crooked.”

-Tirmidhi

Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said, “If anyone recites in the morning Ha-Mim al-Mu’min to ‘to Him is the final goal, and the Throne Verse, he will be guarded by them till the evening, and if anyone recites them in the evening he will be guarded by them till the morning.”

-Tirmidhi

Further readings here….

Raising Able is a book that focuses on how to empower families through chores and how to build long lasting relationship between you and your children.

the blog itself has some interesting posts which you might be interested in as a parent or a sibling. check it out at http://raisingable.com/