Wonders Of Allah!

Subhan’Allah wa Alhamdulillah- Kamal Uddin

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 10:18:00 +0000

Muslim Character : The Bad Consequences of the Tongue

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 15:17:00 +0000

The Heart:

The most important part of the body is the heart as has been mentioned by our noble Prophet Muhammed - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - in his saying, “Indeed there is a piece of flesh in your body that, if it be sound, then the whole body will be sound and if it be corrupt then the whole body will be corrupt. Indeed it is the heart.” - Sahih al-Bukhari [1/49] & Sahih al-Muslim [1599]The heart is thus the port where all actions stem, whether good or evil. If the heart is good then the actions will be good and if the heart is corrupt then the actions will be bad. The heart is the place where Allah scans, as the Messenger of Allah - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - says, “Allah does not look at your bodies nor your faces but He scans your heart and actions.” - Sahih al-Muslim [4/6221]

As for the heart, Allah has commanded us to love Him and His Messenger, to love the righteous people, to love that which Allah loves and to hate all which Allah hates. The tongue acts accordingly, because.... the tongue expresses what is in the heart.

The Tongue Expresses what is in the Heart:

If a person is good, it reflects in their saying. Allah has made it very easy for the tongue to move, and it is not difficult to realize that a person’s tongue moves much more as if compared to the limbs. So if a person is not careful about what he says, even a single saying of his can invalidate his actions. It is for this reason that the whole body warns the tongue saying, “Fear Allah concerning us, for we are (dependant) upon you. If you are upright then we will be upright and if you are corrupt then we will be corrupt.” - Sunan at-Tirmidhi (1912), Mishkaat (4838) and Riyaadh as-Saleheen (2/1521)

And at the same time, the tongue is a great blessing from Allah. If we look at the animals, who are unable to speak, we realize the importance of this great tool of communication.

The gratitude that we should show for this great blessing should include, using it for the obedience to Allah, for reading the Qur'aan, for seeking Knowledge, to enjoin good and forbidding evil. The prohibitions of the tongue are that you do not lie, abuse, use foul language, backbite and slander.

Allah says in the begining of Soorah al-Mumineen,

“Indeed successful are the Believers, those who in their prayer have Khushoo’ (fear of Allah) and those who refrain from vain talk.” [Soorah Mumineen : 1-3]

Here Allah mentions that refraining from vain talk is a sign of the successful believers. Allah also mentions refraining from vain talk after he mentions al-Khushoo’. This is because too much talk makes the heart hard. It is not possible to reach the level of Khushoo’ (fear of Allah) unless one refrains from vain talk.
Imaam an-Nawawee - rahimahullah - mentions “Know it is incumbent upon all to guard their tongues from most speech, except a word that has some benefit in it....” - Kitaabul-Adhkaar

And for those who take heed there is a constant reminder in the verse,

“Not a word is said except that there is a watcher by him ready to record it.” - [Soorah Qaf (50):18]

The Messenger of Allah, Muhammed - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - said, “Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good or keep silent.”

Imaam ash-Shafiee - rahimahullah - said. “If you wish to speak then it is upon you to think before you speak. If you think there is good in it then speak and if not then do not speak.”

The earlier mentioned Qur'aanic verses, Hadeeth (sayings) of our noble Prophet and advices by the scholars of Islaam are a guide for those searching for salvation against vain talk. So before we talk, should we not ask ourselves....

Will this saying of mine please Allah?

Will this saying of mine bring me closer to Allah?

Does this saying earn with it obedience to Allah?

If yes, then speak, otherwise one should keep quiet.

Guarding your tongue from all Haaram

The Messenger of Allah - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - said, “Guard your tongue, stay in your homes and weep over your sins.” - Related by Ibn Mubarak in az-Zuhd (no.134), Musnad Ahmed bin Hambal (5/259), Sunan at-Tirmidhi (2531) and authenticated by al-Albaanee in as-Saheehah (no.890)

Also the Messenger of Allah - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - said, “Most of the sins of the children of Aadam are from the tongue.” - At-Tabaraanee (3/87/1-2). Authenticated by al-Haafidh al-Mundhiri in al-Targheeb (4/8)

Narrated by Mughira bin Shu’ba - radiAllahu' anhu - : The Prophet - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - said, “Allah has forbidden for you:

(1) to be undutiful to your mothers,

(2) to bury your daughters alive,

(3) not to pay the rights of the poor and others (i.e. charity) and

(4) to beg of men.

And Allah has hated for you:

(1) Qil and Qal (sinful and useless talk, like backbiting or that one talks too much about others),

(2) to ask too many questions (in disputed religious matters, etc.),

(3) to waste your wealth (by extravagance with lack of wisdom and thinking).”

Sahih al-Bukhari [3:591]
Abu Moosa al-Asharee - radiAllahu' anhu - said, “O Messenger of Allah, which of the Muslims are better?” The Messenger of Allah said, “Those who do not harm the Muslims with their tongues and hands.” - Saheeh al-Bukhari (1/10) and Saheeh al-Muslim (1/64)

Sahl ibn Sa’ad - radiAllahu' anhu - reported that the Messenger of Allah said, “Whoever guards what is between his jaws and legs. I shall guarantee him paradise.” - Saheeh al-Bukhari (8/481). A similar narration can be found in Muwatta of Imam Malik (56/11) and Sunan at-Tirmidhi.

When the Companion of the Prophet, Mu’adh ibn Jabal - radiAllahu' anhu - asked the Prophet - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - about that which would entitle him to enter Paradise and save him from the hell-fire, he - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - mentioned the pillars of Islam and informed Mu’adh of the importance of the night prayers and of Jihaad. He - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - then said , “Should I not inform you of the sheet anchor of all this?”, and then took hold of his tongue and said, “Exercise restraint on it.”. Mu’adh - radiAllahu' anhu - enquired,“O Messenger of Allah, will we be held responsible for what we say with it?” Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah said, “Mu’adh, will anything else besides (irresponsible) talk cause the people to be thrown in the Hell-Fire upon their faces?” - Sunan at-Tirmidhi and Riyaadh as-Saaliheen (2/1522)

Most of the people who will enter the fire, will do so due to their tongues

So a Muslim must beware and learn to imprison the tongue from vain talk, for the Messenger of Allah - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - said, “Every saying of the children of Aadam is cursed, expept for the enjoining good and forbidding the evil or for the remembrance of Allah.” - Sunan at-Tirmidhi

And “The world and all that it contains is cursed, except for the remembrance of Allah and what supports it,and a scholar and a student.” - Sunan Ibn Majah (no.4112) and and authenticated by Sheikh al-Albani in Saheehul-Jaami’ (no.3414)

Abu Hurairah - radiAllahu' anhu - reports on the authority of the Prophet - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - that, “From the good Islaam of a man, is that he leaves that which does not benefit him.” - Musnad Ahmed bin Hambal (4/132), Sunan at-Tirmidhi, Sunan Ibn Majah, al-Baihaqi in Shu’ab al-Imaan

Imaam Ahmad - rahimahullaah - mentioned in his Musnad on the authority of Anas radiAllahu ‘anhu who relates that the Prophet - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - said’ "The eemaan of Allah’s servant will not be upright until his heart is upright and his heart will not be upright until his tongue is upright.” - Also mentioned in al-Mundhiri (3/234) and al-Iraqee in al-Ihya (8/1539)

One saying ! ! Subhan Allah:

“Indeed a servant (worshipper of Allah) may say a word which he doesn’t realize and it will make him fall into the fire further than the East and the West.”

Abu Hurairah - radiAllahu' anhu - also reported that the Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wa sallam said,“Indeed a servant may say a word from which Allah’s pleasure is gained and the servant does not realize it, Allah will raise him up levels. Indeed a servant may say a word from which Allah’s displeasure is gained and he does not realize it, Allah will put him in Jahanam due to it.” - Saheeh al-Bukhari (8/485), Al-Muwatta (56/6) and in Saheehul-Jaami’ of al-Albaani

Backbiting (Gheebah)

Allah says in the Qur'aan,

“Do not backbite each other, would any of you wish to eat the flesh of your dead brother, no rather you hate it!! [Soorah Hujarat :12]

The Messenger of Allah once asked his Companions, “Do you know what is backbiting?”They said, “Allah and His Messenger know best.”. He - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - said,“To mention about your brother that which he hates.” They said, “If that we see about our brother is true?” He - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - said, “If there is in him what you say about him then that is backbiting, and if you say of him that which is not true then you have slandered him.” - Saheeh al-Muslim (4/6265), Sunan Abu Dawood (3/4856) and al-Muwatta (56/10)

The Prophet - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - vigorously opposed all aspects of backbiting, even when it appeared in his own family. For example, once a woman visited Aaisha - radiAllahu' anha - and when the woman got up to leave, Aaisha made a sign with her hand indicating to the Prophet - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - that the woman was short of stature. The Prophet immediately chastised her, saying “You have backbitten!” and in another narration, “You have said a saying that if mixed with the sea it would change its color.” - Mentioned in Ibn Jareer in Tafseer al-Qur'aan al-Adheem, vol.4, p.328 (30) and Sunan Abu Dawood (3/4857)

Abu Bakra - radiAllahu' anhu - reports that the Messenger of Allah - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - said, in his khutbah on the day of Nahr, “Indeed the blood, property and honor are sacred to you, like the sacredness of this day (‘arafah), like the sacredness of this place, like the sacredness of this month; Have I conveyed the message?” - Saheeh al-Bukhari (1/105) and Saheeh al-Muslim (2/2803) and part of a lengthy narration

And by Allah he - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - has conveyed the message, so guard the right of the Believers!

Tale-Carrying (Nameema)

Allah says in the Qur'aan,

“Woe to every slanderer and backbiter.” [Soorah Humaza:1]

The Messenger of Allah - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - said, “The Gossip-monger will not enter paradise.” [Saheeh al-Bukhari (8/82), Saheeh al-Muslim (1/187) and Musnad Ahmed bin Hambal]

The Messenger - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - passed by two graves and said, “They are being punished. As regards one of them then he used to go around gossip-mongering and as regards the other then he was not careful while urinating.” - Saheeh al-Bukhari (1/215) and Saheeh al-Muslim (1/575)

On the authority of Saeed ibn Zayid that the Messenger of Allah - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - said, “Indeed the lowest form of usury is to prolong the speech about the honor of a Muslim without justice.” - Sunan Abu Dawood (3/4858)

Overcoming the evil habit of backbiting Firstly, as Imaam an-Nawawee - rahimahullaah - said that one should remember the punishment of Allah. And remember that Allah is the Lord of the heavens and the earth. He is the One, aware of ever saying, at every time. Then if one remembers this, then it is only natural that one will be modest and shy in this aspect. We need to realize that when one of us is hurt, when something wrong is said about the creation, then what about the Creator, who is the All-Seeing and All-Hearing.

Secondly, we should reflect on the Qur'aanic verse,

“Do not backbite each other, would any of you wish to eat the flesh of your dead brother, no rather you hate it!!” “[Soorah Hujarat :12]

And we surely hate even the thought of it.

Thirdly, fear that your own faults would be revealed, as the Messenger of Allah - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - said, “O you who believe with your tongues, yet eeman has not entered your hearts. Do not backbite the Muslims, nor follow their faults. For he who follows others faults then Allah will declare (disclose) his faults and he whom Allah reveals his faults, then Allah disgraces him in his own house.” - Sunan Abu Dawood (3/4862) and and authenticated by Sheikh al-Albani in Saheeh Jaami’ Sagheer

Fourthly, take the advice of the pious scholars of Islaam, among them ….

Umer ibn Khattab - radiAllahu' anhu - who said, “Be careful from remembering people for it is an illness and be in the remembrance of Allah for it is a medicine.”

A man came to al-Hasan al-Basri - rahimahullaah - and said that, he heard that al-Hassan al-Basri had backbitten him. Upon this he - rahimahullaah - said, “Who are you that I may give you my rewards?”

Fifth, and the most important thing to keep in mind is that there is a great reward to refrain from backbiting, as the Messenger of Allah - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - said, “Whoever protects the honor of his brother in his absence, Allah will protect his face from the Fire on the Day of Judgment.” - Sunan at-Tirmidhi and and authenticated by Sheikh al-Albani in Saheeh Sunan at-Tirmidhi (2/1575)

Exceptions to Backbiting

There are few exceptions to backbiting, that the scholars have classified, among them …..

• Oppression: If one has been harmed or one’s property has been unlawfully taken away by another, and this person goes to the ruler o judge in order to seek justice, this is not backbiting.

• Changing the Munkar: If one finds a person involved in evil actions or innovations, and one is unable to correct his Munkar. It is allowed to seek the help of a more knowledgeable person, even if it mean defining the Munkar of the evil-doer or innovator

• Seeking a Fatwa (religious verdict): For example, there is a dispute between a husband and his wife, and if either of them seek the advice of a religious scholar, then this situation is exempt from backbiting.

• Warning a Muslim from evil: For example, if a fellow Muslim is going to do a business with an dishonest person or if a Muslim is unaware that the person to whom he is marrying his daughter to, is an unreligious person; then to advice and guide him is exempt from backbiting.

• Advising against innovators and sinners: If a innovator is openly involved in spreading his innovative beliefs or a sinner remorselessly declares his sin and is thus being a bad example for others; then warning others against him is allowed. But if he commits a sin secretly and as such harms just himself, to openly declare his sins is still strictly prohibitted.

REMEMBER!!

The Messenger of Allah - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - said, “Do not nurse a grudge (against a Muslim) and do not outbid him for raising the price and do not nurse aversion (strong dislike) or enmity and do not enter into a transaction when others have entered into that transaction and be as fellow-brothers and servants of Allah. A Muslim is the brother of another, he neither betrays (or deceives him), nor humiliates him, nor looks down upon him. Piety is here (and while saying so) he pointed towards his chest three times. All things of a Muslims are inviolable for his brother in faith, his blood, his wealth and his honor.” - Saheeh al-Muslim (4/6219), part of the wording being that of Sunan Abu Dawood (3/4864)

He - SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam - also said, “No (Muslim) man will desert a man who is a Muslim in a place where his respect may be violated and his honor aspersed without Allah deserting him in a place where he wishes help; and no (Muslim) man who will help a Muslim in a place where is honor may be aspersed and his respect violated without Allah helping him in a place where he wishes his help“ - Sunan Abu Dawood (3/4866) and and authenticated by Sheikh al-Albani in Saheeh Jaami’ Sagheer

Courtessy: missionislam

The Midas Touch

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 14:46:00 +0000

We all know the story of the greedy king named Midas. He had a lot of gold and the more he had the more he wanted. He stored all the gold in his vaults and used to spend time every day counting it.

One day while he was counting a mysterious stranger came from nowhere and told the King that he would grant him a wish.

The king was delighted and said, “I would like everything I touch to turn to gold.”

The stranger asked the king, “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” replied the greedy king. So the stranger said, “Starting tomorrow morning with the sun rays you will get the golden touch.”

The king thought he must be dreaming, this couldn’t be true. But the next day when he woke up, he touched the bed, his clothes, and to his surprise, everything turned to gold. Of course, the king was very delighted.

He then looked out of the window and saw his daughter playing in the garden. He decided to give her a surprise and thought she would be happy. But before he went to the garden he decided to read a book. The moment he touched it, it turned into gold and he couldn’t read it. Then he sat to have breakfast and the moment he touched the fruit and the glass of water, they turned to gold. He was getting hungry and he said to himself, “I can’t eat and drink gold.”

Just about that time his daughter came running and he hugged her and she turned into a gold statue. There were no more smiles left.

The king bowed his head and started crying. The stranger who gave the wish came again and asked the king if he was happy with his golden touch.

The king said he was the most miserable man. The stranger asked, “What would you rather have, your food and loving daughter or lumps of gold and her golden statue?”

The king cried and asked for forgiveness. He said, “I will give up all my gold. Please give me my daughter back because without her I have lost everything worth having.”

The stranger said to the king, “You have become wiser than before” and he reversed the spell. The king got his daughter back in his arms and the king learned a lesson that he never forget for the rest of his life.

Moral: Sometimes getting what you want may be a bigger tragedy than not getting what you want.

Saying and Quotes from Islamic scriptures and scholars

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 21:17:00 +0000

And whenever you give your word, say the truth [al-An’aam 6:152]
And seek help in patience and prayer [al-Baqarah 2:45]
And speak good to people [al-Baqarah 2:83]
And fulfil the Covenant of Allaah when you have covenanted [al-Nahl 16:91]
Verily! Allaah commands that you should render back the trusts to those to whom they are due [al-Nisa’ 4:58]
And let not your hand be tied (like a miser) to your neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach (like a spendthrift) [al-Isra’ 17:29]
Eat and drink, but waste not by extravagance [al-A’raaf 7:31]
And take a provision (with you) for the journey, but the best provision is al-taqwa (piety, righteousness) [al-Baqarah 2:197]
And whosoever fears Allaah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty) [al-Talaaq 65:2]
And whosoever puts his trust in Allaah, then He will suffice him [al-Talaaq 65:3]
He who obeys the Messenger has indeed obeyed Allaah [al-Nisa’ 4:80]
By no means shall you attain al-birr (righteousness) until you spend (in Allaah’s cause) of that which you love [Aal ‘Imraan 3:92]
Allaah (Alone) is Sufficient for us, and He is the Best Disposer of Affairs (for us) [Aal ‘Imraan 3:171]
And walk not on the earth with conceit and arrogance [al-Isra’ 17:37]
And turn not your face away from men with pride [Luqmaan 31:18]
And be moderate (or show no arrogance) in your walking, and lower your voice [Luqmaan 31:19]
And give not a thing in order to have more (or consider not your deeds of obedience to Allaah as a favour to Allaah) [al-Muddaththir 74:6]
“Pay attention to Allaah and He will pay attention to you.”
“If you feel no shame, then do as you wish.”
“Make sure your food is good (halaal and bought with halaal earnings), and you will be one whose prayers are answered.”
“Fear Allaah wherever you may be.”
“Follow up a bad deed with a good deed, to cancel it out.”
“Mix with people with a good attitude.”
“Keep away from prohibited things and you will be the best of worshippers.”
“Be content with what Allaah has given you, and you will be the richest of people.”
“Love for other people what you love for yourself.”
“Do not laugh too much, for excessive laughter deadens the heart.”
“Wrongdoing will be multiple darkness on the Day of Resurrection.”
“Fear Allaah and treat all your children fairly.”
“Fear the Fire, even if by giving half a date (in charity).”
“Fear the prayer of the oppressed.”
“The thing that weighs most heavily in the balance (of good deeds) is a good attitude.”
“Deliberation is from Allaah, haste is from Shaytaan.”
“The less your wealth, the less you will be called to account for.”
“Do not become angry, and Paradise will be yours.”
“The most beloved of deeds to Allaah is the one that is continuous, even if it is little.”
“The most beloved of places to Allaah are the mosques.”
“The most hated of places to Allaah are the marketplaces.”
“The most beloved of food to Allaah is that which is touched by many hands (i.e., shared among many people).”
“The most beloved of speech to Allaah is that a person should say, ‘Subhaan Allaah wa bi hamdih (Glory and praise be to Allaah)’.”
“The most beloved of people to Allaah is the one who is most helpful.”
“The most beloved deed to Allaah is making a Muslim happy.”
“Whoever restrains his anger, Allaah will conceal his faults.”
“A bad attitude spoils a good deed just as vinegar spoils honey.”
“The most beloved of people to Allaah are those who have the best attitudes.”
“Beware of this world, for it is sweet and tempting.”
“Control your tongue.”
“Trim your moustaches and let your beards grow.”
“Give back the things you have been entrusted with to the person who entrusted them to you.”
“Do not betray the one who betrays you.”
“Pray to Allaah and be confident of a response.”
“Cheer people up, do not put them off.”
“Make things easy for people, not difficult.”
“Eat with your right hand and eat from what is in front of you.”
“If Allaah gives you wealth, let the blessing of Allaah be seen on you.”
“If someone who is distinguished among his own people comes to you, then honour him.”
“If one with whose religion and character you are pleased comes to you (to seek your daughter’s hand in marriage), then marry (your daughter) to him.”
“If Allaah wills good to the people of a household, He guides them to be gentle.”
“If you do something bad, follow it by doing something good.”
“If you feel uncomfortable about something, then leave it alone.”
“If you judge (between people), then judge fairly.”
“If you enter a house, greet the inhabitants with salaam.”
“If you are reminded of Allaah, stop what you are doing (of sin).”
“If Allaah sends you some provision without you looking forward to it or asking others for it, then take it.”
“If you ask Allaah for anything, then ask Him for al-Firdaws (the highest level of Paradise).”
“If your good deeds please you and your bad deeds upset you, then you are a mu’min (believer).”
“If you hear the call to prayer, then respond to the one who is calling you to Allaah.”
“If you hear the call to prayer, then say something like the muezzin says.”
“If any one of you becomes angry, let him keep silent.”
“If a man becomes angry and says ‘A’oodhu Billaah (I seek refuge with Allaah),’ his anger will cease.”
“If a man says ‘Ya seedi (sir)’ to a munaafiq (hypocrite), he earns the wrath of his Lord.”
“When you stand up to pray, pray as if it is your last prayer.”
“When you get dressed and when you do wudoo’, start on the right.”
“When any one of you meets his brother, let him greet him with salaam.”
“Remember death when you are praying.”
“Show mercy towards those who are on earth so that the One Who is in heaven will show mercy to you.”
“Renounce pleasure in worldly things and Allaah will love you.”
“Show disinterest in what people have and people will love you.”
“Feel properly shy and modest before Allaah.”
Protect “the head and what does through it (thoughts and ideas).”
Protect “the stomach and what goes into it.”
“Seek help in whatever you do by being discreet.”
“Everyone who is given a blessing will be envied.”
“No one can keep their wudoo’ except a believer.”
“The worst thief among people is the one who steals from his prayer, by not doing rukoo’ and sujood properly.”
“Intercede and you will be rewarded.”
“The most grateful of people to Allaah are those who are most grateful to other people.”
The trouble with beauty is feelings of superiority.
The trouble with generosity is extravagance.
The trouble with noble descent is pride.
The trouble with knowledge is forgetfulness.
“Give to the one who denied you.”
“Uphold ties with the one who cuts you off.”
“Forgive the one who does you wrong.”
May Allaah have mercy on the person who said “Good” and was rewarded or who remained silent and was safe.
Wine is the key to all evil.
The one who is more daring in giving fatwas is more deserving of Hell.
Love the poor and mix with them.
It is better to err in forgiving than to err in punishment.
Do not judge between people when you are angry.
If you want to count the faults of anyone else, count your own faults instead.
If you commit a sin, say “Astaghfir-Allaah (I ask Allaah for forgiveness).”
If you are given a blessing, say, “Al-Hamdu Lillaah (praise be to Allaah).”
If some disaster befalls you, say, “Innaa Lillaahi wa innaa ilayhi raaji’oon (Truly, to Allaah we belong and truly, to Him we shall return).”
Seek rizq (provision) by giving charity
“Give food to others and speak good.”
“Seek a response to du’aa’s when the iqaamah for prayer is given and when rain is falling.”
The people with the longest necks on the Day of Resurrection will be the muezzins.
“Worship Allaah as if you see Him.”
“The most helpless of people are those who cannot make du’aa’.”
“The most miserly of people are those who are stingy with their salaams (i.e., do not greet others).”
“Pay the hired worker his wages before his sweat dries.”
“Tie up (your camel) [i.e., take the necessary precautions], and put your trust in Allaah.”
“Make the most of your life before your death.”
Make the most of “your health before your sickness.”
Make the most of “your free time before you become busy.”
Make the most of “your wealth before you become poor.”
Make the most of “your youth before you become old.”
“The best of dhikr is ‘La ilaaha ill-Allaah.’”
“The best of sadaqah (charity) is that given by one who has little.”
“The upper hand (the one that gives) is better than the lower hand (the one that takes).”
The best of earnings is a good sale.
“The best of the believers is one who is best in attitude.”
“The best of the muhaajireen is the one who forsakes (hajara) that which Allaah has prohibited.”
“The best type of jihaad is the jihaad of the one who strives against his own self (jihaad al-nafs) for the sake of Allaah.”
“Read the Qur’aan throughout every month.”
“Read the Qur’aan, for it will come and intercede for its readers on the Day of Resurrection.”
“Pray for Allaah to keep you safe and sound.”
“Most of the sins committed by the son of Adam are sins of the tongue.”
“Repeat often ‘Laa hawla wa laa quwwata illa billaah (there is no power or strength except with Allaah)’, for it is from the treasure of Paradise.”
“Always remember the destroyer of joy (physical pleasure): death.”
“Lower your gaze and guard your private parts.”
“There is no goodness in the one who is not friendly or likeable.”
“Stay with her (the mother), for Paradise is under her feet.”
“Keep saying ‘Yaa Dhaa’l-jalaali wa’l-ikraam (O Possessor of Glory and Honour)’” i.e., keep repeating it persistently.
“Islam cancels out what came before it (of sins).”
“Every bid’ah (innovation) is a going astray and every going astray will end in Hell.”
“Control your tongue, let your house be enough for you, and weep for your sins.”
“(Take care of) your mother, then your mother, then your mother, then your father, then other relatives in order of closeness.”
“Feed the poor and pat the head of the orphan (i.e., show compassion).”
“The one who points the way to good deeds is like the one who does them.”
This is a list of useful sayings and general rules, which we ask Allaah to make of benefit to people. When you have finished sending them out, if you would like more, just let us know so that we can compile some more. And Allaah is the Source of strength.

Source: Blog- iLoveAllaah.com

Thirty-Three Lessons From Surah Yusuf

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 21:01:00 +0000

Shaykh Abdur Rahmaan Naasir Al-Sa`di
“Tayseer Al-Kareem Ar-Rahmaan” Transl. Hisham Assing

As-Shaykh Abdurahmaan Ibn Naasir As-Sa’dee states in his tafseer “Tayseer Al-Kareem Ar-Rahmaan” (pg. 408 - 412) regarding the last ayah of surah Yusuf wherein Allah subhaanahu wa ta’la says,“Indeed in their stories, there is a lesson for men of understanding.”

This story is from the best of stories because of what it relates from the varying phases of life; from trial to tribulation, from being tested to being blessed, from humiliation to grandeur, from slavery to kingship, from division to unity, from grief to joy, from superfluity to famine, from famine to glut, from hardship to ease, and from denial to affirmation. So blessed be the One who revealed it in the best manner possible.

From amongst the lessons derived from this surah are:

The knowledge of interpreting dreams is a very important branch of knowledge that Allah gives to whom he pleases from His servants. And most of them (dreams) are based on symbols that are ambiguous in meaning and in description. For indeed the significance of the sun, the moon and twelve stars bowing to Yusuf, is that these lights are the beauty of the sky, and from them emanates benefit. Likewise the prophets and the scholars are the beauty of this earth, and by them mankind is guided through darkness just as they do by the light of the stars, the sun and the moon. Moreover, since the source of this light is his mother and father, hence it is very befitting that the moon and the sun symbolize his parents, for from them emanate the greatest light from which he and his brothers are off-springs. Thus, the sun, which is a feminine noun, symbolizes his mother and the moon, which is a masculine noun, symbolizes his father, and the stars symbolize his brothers.
The significance of the dream of his fellow prison mate who saw himself pressing wine, is that the one who does such work is usually the servant of someone else. Thus he interpreted it to mean that this prison mate would be a servant for the king, and this would guarantee his freedom from prison. Regarding the significance of the dream of the one who saw birds eating bread from the top of his head, Yusuf interpreted this dream as a indication that he will be crucified because the skull protects the brains and once a person is crucified and left in the open, the brains will become exposed, thus the bird will eat it.
Therein are evidences of the truthfulness of the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), for he narrated to his people this long story and he never read the previous books nor learned from any one.
One should distance oneself as much as possible from situations that can lead to an evil outcome. Also the permissibility of not disclosing what one fears might harm them based on the statement of Ya'qûb to Yusuf, “He (the father) said: "O my son! Relate not your vision to your brothers, lest they arrange a plot against you.”
The permissibility of a person mentioning to someone else, as a means of sincere advice, a matter that is disliked based on the ayah, “Lest they arrange a plot against you.”
The blessing that Allah bestows upon the servant is not simply restricted to that particular individual, rather it is a blessing that encompasses him, his family and his friends. And whatever good is obtained is because of that person based on the statement of Allah, "Thus will your Lord choose you and teach you the interpretation of dreams (and other things) and perfect His Favour on you and on the offspring of Ya'qûb (Jacob), as He perfected it on your fathers, Ibrahîm (Abraham) and Ishâque (Isaac) aforetime. Verily, your Lord is All-Knowing, All-Wise."
The importance of being cautious of the evil results of sins, because one sin often leads to many others. For the brothers of Yusuf tried varying plots when they wanted to separate him from his father; they lied many times, they falsified the blood on the shirt, they came at night pretending to cry, and all of this is as a result of one sin, one thing leading to a next.
The matter that really counts in the life of the servant is the successful ending and not the deficient beginning. For the children of Yacub did what they did in the beginning which was a very reprehensible act, then their affair ended in sincere repentance, complete forgiveness from Yusuf and their father, and du’a was made for them to be forgiven and have mercy upon.
Some evil are lesser then others and committing the least or lesser evil is always better. For when the brothers of Yusuf agreed to kill him or throw him in the well, one of them said,“Kill not Yûsuf (Joseph), but if you must do something, throw him down to the bottom of a well.” Thus his suggestion was better in comparison with those of his brothers (in spite of it still being an evil one) and because of this he lessened the greatness of the sin they committed.
There is no sin on a person that buys, sells, or uses anything that is considered as merchandise according to prevailing business practices. Nor is the one who is not aware how this merchandise was obtained guilty of any sin. For the brothers of Yusuf sold him, which was a haraam, impermissible transaction, then he was found by a caravan of people who took him to Egypt and sold him there as a slave, and in spite of all this Allah referred to him as ”merchandise.”
One should be careful to avoid being secluded with women whom may be a cause of fitnah, and one should also be cautious of the love for someone that may be harmful. For the wife of the king did what she did because of her infatuation with Yusuf that lead her to try to seduce him, tell lies about him and cause him to be imprisoned for a long time.
The inclination that Yusuf would have had for the woman, but resisted it for Allah’s sake is what actually brings him closer to Allah. Because this type of inclination is from amongst the soul’s evil suggestion and it is something that happens naturally to most of mankind. However, the love and fear of Allah overpowered the call of fulfilling desires. Thus, he is from amongst those “who feared standing before his Lord, and restrained himself from impure evil desires, and lusts.”And also from amongst the “seven whom Allah will shade in His Shade on the Day when there is no shade except His Shade: a man who is called by a woman of beauty and position [for illegal intercourse], but be says: ‘I fear Allaah.”
Whenever eemaan enters the heart and one makes his whole affair sincerely for Allah sake, Allah will indeed repel and defend one from all types of evil and vulgarity because of one’s eemaan and sincerity due to Allah’s statement, “Thus it was, that We might turn away from him evil and illegal sexual intercourse. Surely, he was one of Our sincere slaves.”
Whenever the servant sees a situation that might be one of fitnah or cause of sin, he should flee as far as possible from it to save himself from sin.
Yusuf was beautiful both externally and internally. As for his external beauty, it made the king’s wife did what she did, and it made the other women cut their hands while proclaiming,“How perfect is Allâh (or Allâh forbid)! No man is this! This is none other than a noble angel!" His internal beauty was because of his great chastity and self-restraint in spite the many enticement there were to commit sin. This is why the king’s wife said, “I did seek to seduce him, but he refused.”
When there is a atmosphere for sin, the servant should always return unto Allah and distance himself from his own strength and power based on the statement of Yusuf, “Unless You turn away their plot from me, I will feel inclined towards them and be one (of those who commit sin and deserve blame) of the ignorants.”
Knowledge and intelligence leads one who possesses it to do good acts and prevents him from evil. Ignorance on the other hand, calls the one who is ignorant to conform to his desires, even if it is harmful to him.
Just as the servant worships Allah during times of ease, similarly he should also worship him during times of hardship. For Yusuf (peace be upon him) was constantly calling to Allah, thus when he entered the prison he continued to make dawah. He called the two young men to at-tawheed and he warned them against as-shirk.
Hence, from his quick-wittedness he saw that they were responsive to his dawah, whereby they said to him, “We think you are one of the Muhsinun (doers of good).” So this was a golden opportunity for dawah that he seized by calling them to Allah before interpreting their dreams so his goal (of calling them to Islaam) would be more fruitful. Thus, firstly he made it clear to them that what they notice of him from his noble character and in-depth knowledge is all a result belief in Allah and singling him out for worship (tawheed), and he abandoned the path of those who do not believe in Allah and the last day. So he first gave them dawah through his actions, then he gave them dawah by his speech illustrating to them the corruption of shirk and the reality of at-tahwheed.
The importance of priorities. For when he was asked by the two young men to interpret their dreams, there were other matters of importance that they were in greater need of knowing before their questions were to be answered. This is a sign of a teacher possessing great intelligence, and the ability to correctly guide and teach, for when Yusuf was asked by the two young men about their dreams, he first called them to Allah before interpreting their dreams.
It is not considered depending on others (instead of Allah), if one happens to get into a difficult situation and one seeks the assistance of someone whom he thinks can alleviate his situation, for this person there is no blame on him if he does this. This is because it has always been the custom of people to seek each other assistance in such matters. Hence, Yusuf said to the one whom he knew would be saved, "Mention me to your lord (i.e. your king, so as to get me out of the prison)."
The one who teaches should always try to have complete sincerity when he teaches, and he should not use his position as a means to obtain wealth, status or personal benefit. Furthermore, he should not withhold from spreading knowledge or giving advice even if the one whom he taught or advised did not do what he (the teacher) requested. For indeed Yusuf (peace be upon him) advised one of the young men to mention his situation to the king, but he forgot and did not mention him. However, when the time came when he was in need of him, he sent someone to get Yusuf. In spite of this, Yusuf did not chastise him for forgetting to mention his situation to the king, rather he gave him a complete answer to his question.
There is no blame on a person for defending himself against a false accusation. Rather this is something praiseworthy. As Yusuf refused to leave the prison until his innocence was proven.
Dream interpretation is a branch of the Islamic sciences, and a person is rewarded for studying and teaching it. Dream interpretation also comes under category of giving fataawa, for he said to the two young men, “Thus is the case judged concerning which you both did inquire.” (tas’taftiyaan - sought a fatwa) The king said, “Explain (aftoonee – give me a fatwa) of my dream”, and the young man said to Yusuf,“Explain to us (aftinaa – give us a fatwa) regarding (the dream) of seven fat cows.” Thus, it is not permissible interpret dream except with (shari’ah) knowledge.
As long as a person is not pretentious or dishonest, he should not be criticized if one informs others about his praiseworthy qualities, if he intends by this to bring about a general benefit based on the statement of Yusuf, "Set me over the storehouses of the land; I will indeed guard them with full knowledge." Likewise, leadership is not something that is blameworthy if the one who is in charge fulfils the rights of Allah and the rights of His servants to the best of his ability.
Allah is very generous to his servants by giving them the best of this life and the next. The means of achieving the best of the next life is by having eemaan and taqwa. The servant should always ask Allah for his rewards and bounties and he should not be disappointed whenever he sees the people enjoying the pleasures of this world whereby he is unable to partake. Rather he should ask Allah for His great reward and bounties in the next life based on His statement, “And verily, the reward of the Hereafter is better for those who believe and used to fear Allah and keep their duty to Him.”
It is from the “sunnah” of the prophets to host guest and treat them honorably based on the statement of Yusuf, “See you not that I give full measure, and that I am the best of the hosts?”
Having negative thoughts about someone is not something that is always prohibited if there are accompanying evidences to support this suspicion. For verily, Ya'qûb said to his sons after they came to him claiming that a wolf ate Yusuf, “Nay, but your own selves have made up a tale.” And he said regarding their next brother, "Can I entrust him to you except as I entrusted his brother (Yusuf) to you aforetime?”
If one does not want another person to be aware of something one has or something one intends to do, one should use a subtle means of distraction that does not contain any lies. As Yusuf did when he put the golden bowl into his brother’s bag, and he then took the golden bowl out of his brother’s bag leading them think that their brother is the one who stole it. After which he said, "Allah forbid, that we should take anyone but him with whom we found our property.” Notice he did not say, “We found our property with him”, or“He stole our property.” Rather, he made a general statement that can apply to this situation as well as others, and there is not wrong with what he did. For all he did was made them think that their brother stole the golden bowl, so that his youngest brother can remain with him, as was objective.
It is not permissible for a person to bear witness except to that which he has sure knowledge of. He acquires this knowledge either by witnessing it himself or by being informed by a trustworthy person based on the statement of the Yusuf’s brothers, “We testify not except according to what we know.”
The permissibility of informing others of the difficulties one is enduring, as long as this is not done in a manner that indicates one is annoyed with the decree of Allah, for the brothers of Yusuf complained, “O ruler of the land! A hard time has hit us and our family,” and Yusuf did not object to their statement.
The merits of taqwah and sabr (patience), for every good in this life and the next is as result of taqwah and sabr based on the statement of Allah, “Allah has indeed been gracious to us. Verily, he who fears Allah and is patient, then surely, Allah makes not the reward of the Muhsinun (good-doers) to be lost."
The one whom Allah has blessed after being in a state of poverty or distress should acknowledge the bounties of Allah upon him by constantly remembering his previous condition. Thus he would be able to thank Allah every time he remembers his previous condition, as Yusuf (peace be upon him) said, “He was indeed good to me, when He took me out of the prison, and brought you (all here) out of the bedouin-life, after Shaitan had sown enmity between me and my brothers.”
The servant should always exalt Allah for making him remain steadfast upon eemaan by constantly doing those deeds that causes one’s eemaan to remain firm. Also one should always ask Allah to have successful ending by perfecting His Favor upon one based on the du’a of Yusuf (peace be upon him), “My Lord! You have indeed bestowed on me of the sovereignty, and taught me the interpretation of dreams; The Creator of the heavens and the earth! You are my Wali (Protector, Helper, Supporter, Guardian, etc.) in this world and in the Hereafter, cause me to die as a Muslim, and join me with the righteous."

This is by the will of Allah, this is what He has made possible for me to mention regarding the benefits and lessons obtained from this blessed story, however for the one contemplates, he is guaranteed to find other benefits from the surah than those mentioned. So we ask Allah the most high, to bless us with beneficial knowledge and actions that are acceptable to Him, indeed He is the most generous, the most gracious.

Source: Blog- iLoveAllaah.com

How to wake up for Fajr - Khalid Yasin

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 20:47:00 +0000

A Handy Plan To Behave In The Same Way As The Prophet (PBUH)‏

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 11:26:00 +0000

If you are a person who really loves the Prophet (PBUH) then you should have his qualities :

1-Avoid lewdness which is every bad speech or action.

2-Don't speak loudly and lower your voice mainly in public places such as streets, mosques, parties… etc., except if being a lecturer or advisor or being an Imam in a mosque.

3-Repel evil someone cause to you with that which is best. Forgive him and do not punish him or desert him.

4-Don't reproach or insult your servant or your colleague or your son or your student or your wife because of a mistake or an uncompleted job.
5-Do your duties very well and do not diminish others' rights in order to prevent them from reprimanding you.

6-Don't be laughing all the time and let your laugh be a nice smile.

7-Be always ready to help the weak, the indigent and the women without arrogance.

8-Helping your family in doing some of the house work even if it's something easy.

9-Wear the best of your clothes mainly for praying, on the celebration days (Aïd) .
10-Don't be prideful to eat on the ground, eat what is given to you, be satisfied with few of food and don't criticize badly what you eat.

11-Joining workers and helping them in their work ( as helping in carrying dust or digging…etc.) as a sign of humility and making the workers feel others’ sympathy and respect towards them.

12-Don't accept exaggerated praise from someone, but some words of thank that are equal to the work done.

13-Avoid saying bad or aggressive statements even if you are joking.
14-Don't say something evil and don't commit it.

15-Don't attack your brothers evilly.

16-Speak in a correct way and let your words be nice and not hurting.

17-Decrease your jocks and don't say anything but the truth.
18-Be merciful to human beings and to animals so that Allah the Almighty keeps his mercy upon you.

19-Avoid avarice because it's repelled from Allah the Almighty and people.

20-Sleep early and wake up early starting your day with worshiping Allah, hard work and diligence.

21-Don't miss the prayers in group in the mosque.
22-Be aware of angriness and its bad results. If you become angry you should say: « Audhu Billahi Mina Shaytan ar-Rajim

’, which means, ‘I seek refuge from Satan, the devil »

23-Be aware that every single word you say is recorded ; try to be as quiet as possible.

24-When you recite the Quran you have to understand what you are reading and you should feel the verses. It's also recommended that you listen to the Holy Quran recited by others. The most important thing you have to do, is to make the Quran your way of life which means to apply every single word practically.

25-Don't reject ''permissible'' perfumes offered to you and use them especially when you pray.
26-Use the siwak (miswak : stick of arak for cleaning teeth) mainly before prayers because it's very beneficial.

27-Be courageous and say the truth even if it's against you.

28-Accept advice from anyone and never refuse it.

29-Treat your family with just, and be just in every single work you do.
30-Forgive the one who hurts you, and be patient so that Allah the Almighty forgives you.

31-You should love for the others what you love for yourself.

32-Don't forget to greet when entering and leaving your house and when you enter shops.

33-Use always the Islamic greeting form : « Assalamu Alaykom wa Rahmato Allah wa Barakatoh » which means :” Peace, blessing and mercy of Allah be upon you”

34-Pay attention to your clothes, appearance and personal cleanness.

35-Colour your grey hair in yellow or red and avoid the black colour as the Prophet ordered (PBUH).

36-May Allah guide us to practise his book and the tradition of His Prophet (PBUH) and may Allah guide us to love His Prophet (PBUH) and to merit his intercession in the Day of Judgement. Aameen

Enjoy your life at every moment

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 19:28:00 +0000

Once a fisherman was sitting near seashore, under the shadow of a tree smoking his beedi. Suddenly a rich businessman passing by approached him and enquired as to why he was sitting under a tree smoking and not working. To this the poor fisherman replied that he had caught enough fishes for the day.

Hearing this the rich man got angry and said: Why don’t you catch more fishes instead of sitting in shadow wasting your time?
Fisherman asked: What would I do by catching more fishes?
Businessman: You could catch more fishes, sell them and earn more money, and buy a bigger boat.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could go fishing in deep waters and catch even more fishes and earn even more money.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could buy many boats and employ many people to work for you and earn even more money.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could become a rich businessman like me.
Fisherman: What would I do then?
Businessman: You could then enjoy your life peacefully.
Fisherman: What do you think I’m doing right now?

MORAL – You don’t need to wait for tomorrow to be happy and enjoy your life. You don’t even need to be more rich, more powerful to enjoy life. LIFE is at this moment, enjoy it fully.

As some great men have said “My riches consist not in extent of my possessions but in the fewness of my wants”.

To Let Go..

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 19:15:00 +0000

To let go does not mean to stop caring, it means I can’t do it for someone else.

To let go is not to cut myself off, it’s the realization that I can’t control another.

To let go is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences.

To let go is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To let go is not to try to change or blame another, it’s to make the most of myself.

To let go is not to care for, but to care about.

To let go is not to fix, but to be supportive.

To let go is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.

To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to affect their own destinies.

To let go is not to be protective, it’s to permit another to face reality.

To let go is not to criticize, or regulate anyone, but to try to become what I dream I can do.

To let go is to fear less, and to love more.

Believe in Yourself

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 18:38:00 +0000

There may be days when you get up in the morning and things aren’t the way you had hoped they would be.

That’s when you have to tell yourself that things will get better. There are times when people disappoint you and let you down.

But those are the times when you must remind yourself to trust your own judgments and opinions, to keep your life focused on believing in yourself.

There will be challenges to face and changes to make in your life, and it is up to you to accept them.

Constantly keep yourself headed in the right direction for you. It may not be easy at times, but in those times of struggle you will find a stronger sense of who you are.

So when the days come that are filled with frustration and unexpected responsibilities, remember to believe in yourself and all you want your life to be.

Because the challenges and changes will only help you to find the goals that you know are meant to come true for you.

Keep Believing in Yourself!

The mouse trap

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 20:15:00 +0000

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. “What food might this contain?” the mouse wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning: “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!”

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said “Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.”

The mouse turned to the pig and told him “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!” The pig sympathized, but said “I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.”

The mouse turned to the cow and said “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!” The cow said “Wow, Mr. Mouse. I’m sorry for you, but it’s no skin off my nose.”

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer’s mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house – like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient. But his wife’s sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer’s wife did not get well; she died. So many! people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness. So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn’t concern you, remember: when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another. Each of us is a vital thread in another person’s tapestry.

The house with the golden windows

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:45:00 +0000

The little girl lived in a small, very simple, poor house on a hill and as she grew she would play in the small garden and as she grew she was able to see over the garden fence and across the valley to a wonderful house high on the hill – and this house had golden windows, so golden and shining that the little girl would dream of how magic it would be to grow up and live in a house with golden windows instead of an ordinary house like hers.

And although she loved her parents and her family, she yearned to live in such a golden house and dreamed all day about how wonderful and exciting it must feel to live there.

When she got to an age where she gained enough skill and sensibility to go outside her garden fence, she asked her mother is she could go for a bike ride outside the gate and down the lane. After pleading with her, her mother finally allowed her to go, insisting that she kept close to the house and didn’t wander too far. The day was beautiful and the little girl knew exactly where she was heading! Down the lane and across the valley, she rode her bike until she got to the gate of the golden house across on the other hill.

As she dismounted her bike and lent it against the gate post, she focused on the path that lead to the house and then on the house itself…and was so disappointed as she realized all the windows were plain and rather dirty, reflecting nothing other than the sad neglect of the house that stood derelict.

So sad she didn’t go any further and turned, heart broken as she remounted her bike … As she glanced up she saw a sight to amaze her…there across the way on her side of the valley was a little house and its windows glistened golden …as the sun shone on her little home.

She realized that she had been living in her golden house and all the love and care she found there was what made her home the ‘golden house’. Everything she dreamed was right there in front of her nose!

The important things in life

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:24:00 +0000

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in diameter.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “Yes.”

“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter – like your job, your house, your car.

The sand is everything else. The small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued “there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.

Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 13:23:00 +0000

Latest Post on ILoveAllaah.com Website - including - Arabic Nasheed: "Verily, you are an angel" A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship? The Prophet ﷺ said: Your mother. The man said, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man further asked, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your mother. The man asked again, ‘Then who?’ The Prophet said: Then your father. (Bukhari)‏

Mistakes that prevent du’aa’ from being accepted

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 13:14:00 +0000

Question:- There are many mistakes that happen with regard to du’aa’ and prevent the du’aa’ from being accepted. What are these mistakes?.

Answer:-

Praise be to Allaah.

The mistakes that may be made in du’aa’ are very many; most of them come under the heading of transgression in du’aa’, such as:

1 – When the du’aa’ includes shirk or association of others with Allaah, such as calling upon someone or something other than Allaah along with Him, whether it is a person, a tree or a grave, because du’aa’ is an act of worship and directing it towards anyone other than Allaah is shirk, and shirk is the worst of sins by which Allaah is disobeyed. In the hadeeth it says: Which sin is worst before Allaah? He said: “To appoint a rival to Allaah, when He has created you.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari and Muslim.

2 – When the du’aa’ includes some innovated means of tawassul (seeking to draw closer to Allaah), such as tawassul by means of the person of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or by his status. Islam is based on following, not on innovating.

3 – Wishing for death because of a calamity that has befallen one. In the hadeeth it is narrated that Khabbaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Were it not that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) forbade us to pray for death, I would have prayed for it.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6350) and Muslim (2681).

In the hadeeth it says: “No one of you should wish for death because of some harm that has befallen him. If he must wish for it, then let him say: ‘O Allaah, keep me alive so long as living is good for me, and cause me to die when death is good for me.’” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6531) and Muslim (2680).

4 – Praying for the punishment to be hastened. It is better to ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound in this world and in the Hereafter. When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw a Muslim man who was sick and had grown feeble like a chicken. The Messenger of Allaah (S) said to him: “Did you pray for anything or ask for it?” He said: Yes, I used to say: O Allaah, whatever punishment You would give me in the Hereafter, bring it forward in this world. The Messenger of Allaah (S) said: “Subhaan Allaah! You cannot bear it. Why didn’t you say, O Allaah, give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter and save us from the torment of the Fire?” Then he prayed to Allaah for him, and He healed him. Narrated by Muslim (2688).

5 – Du’aa’ against one’s family and wealth. In the hadeeth it says: “Do not pray against yourselves, do not pray against your children, and do not pray against your wealth, lest that coincide with an hour when Allaah is asked and He answers your prayers.” Narrated by Muslim (3009).

6 – Praying for the severing of family ties, such as praying against someone and asking that there be a rift between him and his wife or some of his relatives.

7 – Praying for a limitation of mercy, such as saying: O Allaah, send rain upon our land only, and so on.

8 – Failing to observe proper etiquette in making du’aa’ to Allaah, such as saying du’aa’ in a manner that is not appropriate. Al-Khattaabi said: It is not proper to say, O Lord of the dogs, or O Lord of the pigs and monkeys, even though all creatures are created by Him and He has complete power over all of them. Sha’n al-Du’aa’ (153).

What is appropriate when calling upon one’s Lord is to observe proper etiquette as much as possible and to avoid anything that is not befitting. The attitude should be one of humility and submission.

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to praise his Lord a great deal in his du’aa’, to such an extent that it seemed that he could not praise Him enough. He said: “I seek refuge in You from You; I cannot praise You enough.”

9 – Relying on someone else in du’aa’. You see some people who do not call upon Allaah themselves on the basis that they are sinners, so they always ask others to make du’aa’ for them. Although this is permissible in general, there are some reservations concerning it. Hence one should make a great deal of du’aa’ and think positively, and think of the greatness of Allaah’s bounty and generosity, no matter how great one’s sin, for the mercy of Allaah will encompass him. If Allaah answers the prayers of the mushrikeen when they are in dire straits, then He is more likely to answer the prayers of the believers, despite their shortcomings.

A man came to Maalik ibn Dinar and said: I ask you by Allaah to pray for me, for I am in dire straits. He said: “Then ask of Him (yourself), for He answers the one who is in dire straits.” al-Jaami’ li Ahkaam il-Qur’aan (13/223).

10 – Despair and lack of certain faith of an answer to the du’aa’. Some people, when they are afflicted with a chronic disease, think that they cannot be cured and they give up du’aa’ and fail to turn to Allaah, and perhaps the shaytaan makes them think that there is no need for du’aa’.

This is one of the most serious mistakes, and it is ignorance of Allaah and His power and kindness, for Allaah is Able to do all things, and when He wills a thing He says to it “Be!” and it is.

When Zakariya (peace be upon him) was an old man and his wife was barren, he prayed for offspring: “O my Lord! Grant me from You, a good offspring. You are indeed the All-Hearer of invocation” [Aal ‘Imraan 3:38]. And Allaah answered his prayer: “Then the angels called him, while he was standing in prayer in Al-Mihraab (a praying place or a private room), (saying): “Allaah gives you glad tidings of Yahya (John)…” –Aal ‘Imraan 3:39]. So do not despair of the help of Allaah or think that the Mercy of Allaah is limited.

11 – Going to extremes in raising the voice, especially in the presence of loudspeakers. The voices of those who are making du’aa’ may be heard from afar, and this is a mistake and transgression, and it is a form of showing-off. It is better to raise the voice only so much as is needed for the worshippers to hear if they are saying Ameen behind you.

12 – Saying, “O Allaah, I am not asking You to change the decree, rather I am asking You to help me in dealing with it.” This is wrong because Allaah has prescribed for us to ask Him to change the decree, because every calamity that befalls a person is divinely decreed.

In a well known du’aa’ it says: “Protect me from the evil of that which You have decreed, for You decree and no decree is passed over You.” al-Bukhaari said: “Chapter on one who seeks refuge with Allaah from calamity and a bad fate, and the verse in which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “Say: I seek refuge with (Allaah), the Lord of the daybreak” [al-Falaq 113:1]. Then he mentioned the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Seek refuge with Allaah from hardship, calamity and a bad fate.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (7/215).

13 – Making du’aa’ al-Qunoot lengthy. Praying in a manner that does not befit what is sought, especially at times of calamity, because Qunoot at times of calamity is only prescribed to pray for some people or against others.

Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: The one who is praying Qunoot should say at such times the du’aa’ that is suited to that calamity. Al-Fataawa 22/217.

And he said: The Sunnah is to pray Qunoot at the time of calamity and to ask for what is appropriate for those people who are at war against the Muslims. Al-Fataawa, 21/155.

These are some of the mistakes that are made in du’aa’. We ask Allaah to guide us aright and to help us to do and say the right thing... Ameen

Hadith Qudsi

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 18:47:00 +0000

Hadith Qudsi - means the Hadiths that have been revealed to the Prophet SAW by Allah Himself and nothing has been added or deducted, they are Allahs words, and the Prophet is saying what Allah has said
Hadith Qudsi 1
On the Authority of Abu Hurayrah ( May Allah be pleased with him) , who said that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Him) said:
"When Allah decreed the Creation He pledged himself by writing in His Book which is laid down with Him " My Mercy prevails My wrath"
[ Muslim and Ibn Majah]
_______________________
Hadith Qudsi 2
On the Authority of Abu Hurayrah ( May Allah be pleased with him) , who said that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Him) said:
"Allah Almighty has said
"The Son of Adam denied Me and he had no right to do so. And he reviled Me and he had no right to do so. As for his denying Me, it is his saying: "He will not remake me as He made me at first" (1) and the initial creation [of him] is no easier for Me then remaking him. As for his reviling Me, it is his saying " Allah has taken to Himself a son; while I am the One, the Everlasting Refuge. I begot not nor was i begotten, and there is none comparable to Me."
(1) - i.e. bring me back to life after death
_______________________
Hadith Qudsi 3
On the Authority of Abu Hurayrah ( May Allah be pleased with him) , who said that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Him) said:
The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Him) led the morning prayer for us at al-Hudaybiyah following rainfall during the night. When the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Him) finished, he faced the people and said to them " Do you know what your Lord has said?" they said "Allah and his Messenger know best". He said " this morning one of my servants became a believer in Me and one a disbeliever, As for him who said " We have been given the rain y virtue of Allah and His Mercy; that one is a believer in Me, a disbeliever in the stars (2) ; and as for him who said " we have been given rain by such and such a star; that one is a disbeliever in Me, a believer in the stars"
[ Bukhari and an-Nasa'i]
(2) - the pre Islamic Arabs used to believe that rain was brought about by the movement of the stars. This hadith draws attention to the fact that whtever be the direct cause of such natural phenomena as rain, it is Allah the Almighty who is the Disposer of all things!
_______________________
Hadith Qudsi 4
On the Authority of Abu Hurayrah ( May Allah be pleased with him) , who said that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Him) said:
" Allah said 'Sons of Adam inveigh against [the vicissitudes of] time, and I am time in my hand is the night and day" (1)
[ Bukhari and Muslim]
(1) - As the Almighty is the Ordainer of all things, to inveigh against misfortunes that are part of time is tantamount to inveighing against Him
vicissitudes means - A change of circumstances or fortune
tantamount means - equivalent in value / significant
_______________________
Hadith Qudsi 5
On the Authority of Abu Hurayrah ( May Allah be pleased with him) , who said that the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Him) said:
" Allah ( Glorified and Exhalted be he) said:
" I am so self - sufficient that i am in no need of having an associate. Thus he who does an action for someone elses sake as well as Mine will have that action renounced by Me to him who he associated with Me"
[Muslim and Ibn Majah]

Motherhood and Miracles

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 21:17:00 +0000

Motherhood and Miracles

By Dalia Mogahed

According to the Prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him)...God created mercy, and spread one part of it among all the mothers on the Earth, the human, the jinn and the animals, that they should love and nurture their young, from the beginning of time until the end. And He saved ninety-nine parts of mercy for Himself to use when judging the children of Adam on the Day of Resurrection.

My 2-month-old baby Tariq had been crying for the past six hours. His rhythmic plea, whah, whah, whah, whah; was a desperate cry for help, an appeal to humanity. I was pacing with my arms wrapped around his soft but strong 12-pound body as he howled; his back arched, face red, eyes pinched and mouth gaping in audible torment.

The dim night light in the open kitchen enveloped the adjoining living room in a brown film, as a fan on the counter hummed at full blast,unable to cut through the heavy humid air. It was 2:37A.M. and a blistering summer night.
I was one of those moms who wanted to do everything right; no short cuts. I took Tariq on long walks in a front carrier and pointed out every flower, every bird, every ladybug I noticed, and told him these were all gifts from God. We spent hours in the rocking chair while I read to him from colorful board books, knowing how precious this time was, and knowing that before too long I will be the one trying to squeeze into his busy schedule. I cuddled my baby, nursed him before he had to cry out of hunger, played with him, and describing every activity I did in that motherly running-commentary fashion the baby books encouraged. My sense of well-being was innately tied to his, and as long as the sun was shining, I was a capable, in control mother, with a happy, well cared for child.

This sense of competence would unravel with the fading of the daylight. It was always the same: my otherwise contented, healthy child would begin to fuss at around 6:00 p.m. and then his irritation would turn into all out war by around 8:00 p.m. and continue into the night. I dreaded the darkness, the backdrop to my weakest moments. After the third hour of trying unsuccessfully to comfort him, I would move beyond rational thought, when all that would seem real was the screaming, when it was the only sound I could imagine. No matter what anyone tried to tell me about how "normal" it was, Tariq's inconsolable crying tormented me with worry and shook my mothering confidence at the root.Doctors told me all this was "just'"colic. But with my husband working nights, to me it was no less than a test of faith.

That night, as the summer heat wrapped around my body like a heavy wool coat, I bounced Tariq, walked across the living room, and sang every song I knew. Water! The faucet had worked last night, I desperately remembered. I turned on the water in the kitchen sink full blast. The crying ceased. Tariq looked at the sparkling stream in silent surprise.Thank God, I sighed and leaned against the counter. At that moment, he started screaming again; the novelty of the water had worn off.

I turned my mind from problem solving to desperate prayer. Please God,I am so in need. Oh please God, I need strength, give my baby peace,give me patience. I have no power except by You, I have no strength except what you give me. I am your humble servant, and I need your help.I felt so vulnerable, so weak, so exposed and so painfully in need of God. Tariq continued to scream, as if begging me for help. "Something hurts me, Mommy. Rescue me," I heard him cry to his powerless mother. As a last desperate attempt and more to calm myself than Tariq, I began to say the call to prayer(Azaan) as loud as I could, Allahuakbar...Allaaaaaaaahu akbar ; "God is greater, God is greater." The profound meaning of these familiar words came alive for me in this moment of need. God is greater than this situation, I thought. God is greater than this moment of difficulty. God is greater than this weakness I feel.

Apparently startled, Tariq stopped crying and looked at me with his round black eyes glistening in the glow of the kitchen night-light.Ash-hadu aLa Ihlaha illah Allah, I went on: "I bear witness there is no god but God." He is sufficient as a helper, I told myself, He is sufficient as a friend. I was not alone.I felt the weight of Tariq's head as he rested it against my shoulder while I continued, Ash-hadu annah Muhammadan rasul allaaaaaaaah: "I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of God." I let the heavy meaning of this statement sink into my consciousness, now rendered pliant by my new found humility, ready to hear, ready to understand. He is the prophet of God, I silently repeated. What he said was Truth, absolute truth, and I must believe it whole-heartedly.

When Muhammad(peace be upon him) told a man to stay home from jihad to take care of his mother because "paradise is at her feet," that was truth, and when he advised another to honor his mother three times above his father, that was truth.

Such status cannot be easy to achieve, I realized. Such reverence is earned. There is honor in this endeavor, there is privilege in it. I was joining the ranks of some of the greatest and most important people in human history. I was a mother!

Hayaa alasalaah, hayaa ala alfalaa: "Come to prayer, come to success." The words continued to resonate within me; prayer was the model for success in life. Success was submission to God's will. Success was perseverance, was patience, was finding in myself the strength that could only be born in a trial. Success was discovering the love that my heart was capable of by giving birth to a human being that I would take a bullet for without a second thought. This experience itself was success; it was not a struggle in vain.

An immense wave of tranquility had drowned my tension. The drone of the fan seemed imposing now in the new stillness of the room. The small couch and chair in the living room, my silent witnesses, were covered with a golden blanket of soft light, thrown upon them by the tiny lamp in the kitchen. Tariq's soft cheeks were pressed against my shoulder and he was sound asleep.
I looked down at my son, the test, responsibility, and gift God had entrusted me with, and was awestruck. There in the dim light with his eyelids closed and laced with long black eyelashes, his pink cheeks bulging into his button nose, and his heart-shaped lips resting peacefully, he was a miracle, a sign of the Divine.I understood at that moment that to draw closer to the Merciful, I had to strive to eternalize His attributes as much as is possible with my limited human capacity.

This bittersweet journey called motherhood had brought me one step closer to understanding Ar-Rahman, A-Raheem; the All Merciful, the Most Benevolent. For I knew that the immense love, tenderness and compassion that I felt for my son, all my unconditional love, all my limitless giving, was infinitely dwarfed by God's love and mercy. I was just one mother, one insignificant speck in the family of creation, sharing in the mercy bestowed on mothers by God.

Recognizing my smallness erupted in me an epiphany of God's greatness,and the magnitude of His benevolence. While bestowing one part of mercy on the Earth for all mothers to share, He had saved ninety-nine parts for Himself.

I felt hot tears well up in my eyes as I whispered, Allahu akbar,Allahu akbar, La illah illa Allah;"God is greater, God is
greater,there is no god but God," completing the ancient call to prayer(Azaan) as it had been recited by billions before me for the past 1400 years. Yet on that night, I felt these words were spoken especially for me, like a personal letter from a friend.

An Interview with Umm Saalih: A Grandmother Who Completed Memorizing the Qur'an at Eighty-Two Years Old

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 20:14:00 +0000

As Read by Dr. Saleh as Saleh

Al-Hamdulillaah (All-Praise is due to Allah), the One Who said (what means): "And in truth We have made the Qur'aan easy to remember; but is there any that remembers?" Surah 54: 32

Many all over the world memorize the Qur'aan, and it is not strange to see the youth memorizing the Noble Qur'aan and an early age. Al-Hamdulillaah, the One who made the Qur'aan easy for remembrance, had made it easy for Umm Saalih age 82. In an interview with Umm Saalih, she was asked the following questions:

Q1: "What was the reason that drove you to memorize the Qur'aan after so many years?"
She said, "I always hoped to memorize the Qur'aan from the time I was young. My father always used to invoke Allaah for me to become one of the memorizers of the Qur'aan, like himself and like the elder brothers of my family who memorized it. So I memorized in the beginning about three parts and then after I completed the age of thirteen, I got married and became busy with the household and the children. After I had seven children, my husband died. They (the children) were all young so I took the time to raise them and educate them, and then after they grew up and got married, I had more time for myself. Therefore, the first thing I directed myself to focus upon was the Qur'aan.
Q2: "Tell us about your journey with the Noble Qur'aan."
She said, "My younger daughter was going to high school and she was the closest of my children to me and the most beloved, because she stayed with me after her older sisters got married and got busy with their lives, and because she was a quiet girl, upright, loving, and good. In addition, she was interested in learning the Noble Qur'aan, and her teachers encouraged her.
Furthermore, she was very enthusiastic and always told me of many women who were driven by this great motivation to memorize the Qur'aan, and this is where I started."
Q3: "Tell me about your way of memorization."
She said, "We assigned ten verses (meaning her and her daughter who was going to high school). So each day after Asr, we used to sit together. She reads and I repeat after her three times. Then she explains the meaning to me, and after a while, she repeats that three times. On the next morning, she repeats them to me before she goes to school.
She recorded also the recitations of Ash Shaykh al Husary, Rahimuhullaah, repeating each verse three times and thus I continued to listen most of the time. Therefore, the next day we would go to the next ten verses if my memorization was good. Otherwise, we would postpone taking additional verses until the day after. Moreover, we assigned the day of Friday to review the memorizations of the entire week. And this was the journey from the beginning."
Then she said, "Over four years and a half, I memorized twelve juz" according to the way I described to you. Then this young daughter got married. When her husband knew of our task concerning the memorization, he rented a house close to me, close to my house, so that he could allow the continuation of the memorization. In addition, he, May Allah reward him used to encourage us and sometimes sit with us listening, explaining and teaching.
Then after three years of her marriage, my daughter got busy with the children and the household and our schedule was interrupted, but that did not make her give up. To the contrary, she sensed that my eagerness for the memorization was still established so she looked for a special good teacher to continue the journey under her supervision. So, I completed the memorization by the success of Allaah and my daughter is still working to finish the memorization of the Glorious Qur'aan. She has a little left, In Shaa Allaah Ta'aala.
Q4: "This motivation of yours, did it have an effect on other women around you?"
She said, "It really had a good strong effect. My daughters and stepdaughters were all encouraged and worked on learning and teaching the Qur'aan to their children and learning it themselves.
Q5: "After finishing the Noble Qur'aan, don't you think about working on memorizing hadith?"
She said, "Now I have memorized ninety hadith and In Shaa Allaah I will continue the journey. I depend, in my memorization, upon the tapes and upon the Qur'aan radio station. At the end of each week, my daughter comes and checks for me the memorization of three hadith, and I am trying now to memorize more.
Q6: "Over this period of memorization of the Qur'aan, did your life change? Was it affected in one way or another?"
She said, "Yes, I went through a major change and I tried always, all praise is due to Allaah, to obey Allaah before I started the memorization. However, after I started the task of memorization, I began to feel a self-comfort, a great self-comfort and all worries began to move away from me. I even reached the stage of freeing myself from all these excessive worries concerning fearing for the children and their affairs, and my morale was boosted.
I had a noble objective to work for and this is a great Ni'mah (Favor) from Allaah . upon me, since we know that some women, when they get old and they do not have a husband, and their children got married, may be destroyed by the empty time, thoughts, worries, and so forth. But, AlHamdulillaah, I didn't go through this and I made myself busy with a great task and a great objective.
Q7: "Didn't you think at one point, to join one of the circles focusing on teaching the Noble Qur'aan?"
The answer was, "Yes, some of the women suggested this to me, but I am a woman who got used to staying at home, and I don't like to go out everyday, and Al Hamdulillaah, my daughter sufficed me from all difficulty and I was so happy while I was learning from her. My daughter had set an example in goodness and righteousness which we rarely find in our days.
She started this task and journey with me while she was an adolescent and this is a critical age many people complain of. She used to pressure herself so that she could have spare time to teach me, and she used to teach me with kindness and wisdom. Her husband was a good help to her and he exerted a lot of effort. I ask Allaah . to give them success and to bring their children up on uprightness."
Q8: "What do you say to a woman of your age who wishes to learn and memorize the Qur'aan yet she is worried about it and feeling unable to?"
She said, "I say to her there their shall be no despair with the firm, sincere and truthful determination. Begin with sincerity, firm determination and dependence on Allaah at each time. And remember that at this age you should have the time for yourself. However, do not use your time to only go out or to sleep and so forth. Rather, busy yourself with righteous work.
Q9: "Now what would you say to a woman who is still young? What would you advise her?"
She, may Allaah preserve her, said: "Preserve Allaah and He will preserve you. Make use of the favor of Allaah bestowed upon you from health and ways and means of comfort. Use that to memorize the Book of Allaah. This is the light which enlivens your heart, your life and your grave after you die.
And if you have a mother then exert the effort to teach her, and there is no better favor upon a mother than one of her righteous children aiding her to be close to Allaah."

Presented on the 1st of Muharram 1426, Feb 10th 2005. Originally published in Ad-Da'wah Magazine, no.1552, 17th of Rabee' Al-Awwal 1417,corresponding to Aug 1, 1996.

A food to thought.. Eye Opening Poem

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 17:47:00 +0000

..:: Confessions of a Sinner ::..

[Written by: Mohammed Bashar Shamshad]

Idled around watching the TV
Keeping up with each song and movie
I kept on with each latest style
Forgetting that i will be soon on trial
I had been a good singer and a good dancer
Now Answerable, but unable to answer
Even though my Lord asked me to refrain
I did all that lead me to hell fire and pain
I see those smiling faces, their results in their right hands
Why was i following actors and stupid music bands
Why did I keep non mahrems as my friends
Why did I forget the rules and follow immodest trends
Why did I do stuff forbidden in my religion
I sadly stand now in the disbeliever's legion
Ya Allah I was a muslim yet I rarely did pray
I committed indecency and I went astray
I talked and mingled with the other sex
I lied, betrayed and made my life complex
I was a hypocrite, did good for fame
Ignored Your message, when to me it came
The Holy Quran, I rarely did read
To all those warnings, I took no heed
I troubled my parents in their old age
Abused and Yelled at them in my vain rage
I lived for the worlds' luxury and its vain vanity
Late did I understand that it was pure insanity
I was given chances, which I took for granted
Now I have to reap what I have planted
I am responsible for this painful aftermath
I blindly followed on Satan's wrong path
Please don't throw me into the depths of hell
With fiery flames and each horrendous smell
Boiling water and pus to quench ones thirst
The Many Punishments, each worse then the worst
Satan mislead me to each wrongful desire
And lead me closer and closer to Hell fire
I walked on as satan misguided me and grinned
Ya Allah! I beg You for mercy as I have sinned
Forgive me for my sins and for being ungrateful
Forgive me for standing in league with the unfaithful
Forgive me and Make my soul pure and beautiful
Bestow mercy on me, You are the Most Merciful
I am Your creation, Your servant of humility
You are the Lord of the worlds, The One, The Almighty

81 ways to win your Wife’s love

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 14:50:00 +0000

1. Make her feel secure, don’t threaten her with divorce.
2. Give sincere Salaams.
3. Treat her gently, like a fragile vessel.
4. Advise in private, at the best time, in the best way and atmosphere.
5. Be generous with her.
6. Warm the seat for her, you will warm her heart.
7. Avoid anger, be in Wudhu at all times.
8. Look good and smell great for your wife.
9. Don’t be rigid or harsh-hearted or you will be broken.
10. Be a good listener.
11. Yes for flattery. No for arguing.
12. Call your wife with the best names, cute nicknames, and names she loves to hear.
13. A pleasant surprise.
14. Preserve and guard the tongue.
15. Expect, accept, and overlook her shortcomings.
16. Give sincere compliments.
17. Encourage her to keep good relations with her family.
18. Speak of the topic of her interest.
19. Express to her relatives, how wonderful she is.
20. Give each other gifts.
21. Get rid of routine, surprise her.
22. Have a good opinion of each other.
23. Have good manners, overlook small things, don’t nitpick.
24. Add a drop of patience, increase during pregnancy, menses.
25. Expect and respect her jealously.
26. Be humble.
27. Sacrifice your happiness for hers.
28. Help at home, with housework.
29. Help her love your relatives, but don’t try to force her.
30. Let her know that she is the ideal wife for you.
31. Remember your wife in Du’a.
32. Leave the past for Allah, don’t dwell on, dig into, or bring it up.
33. Don’t act as if you are doing her a favor by working or providing, Allah is the Provider, the husband is the carrier of the sustenance to the family.
34. Take Shaitan as your enemy, not your wife.
35. Put food in your wife’s mouth.
36. Treat your wife like she is the most precious pearl that you want to protect.
37. Show her your smile.
38. Don’t ignore the small things, deal with them before they be come big.
39. Avoid being harsh-hearted.
40. Respect and show that you appreciate her thinking.
41. Help her to find and build her inner strengths and skills.
42. Respect that she might not be in mood for intimacy, stay within Halaal boundaries.
43. Help her take care of the children.
44. Give her gifts with your tongue, be an artist with your compliments.
45. Sit down and eat meals together.
46. Let her know that you will be traveling or returning from travel, give her sufficient notice.
47. Don’t leave home in anger.
48. Maintain the secrecy and privacy of the home.
49. Encourage each other in worship.
50. Respect and fulfill her rights upon you.
51. Live with her in kindness, goodness, fairness in good and bad times.
52. Kiss your wife, foreplay, don’t jump on her like a bull.
53. Keep disputes between the two of you, don’t take it outside.
54. Show care for her health and well-being.
55. Remember you are not always right or perfect yourself.
56. Share your happiness and sadness with her.
57. Have mercy for her weaknesses.
58. Be a firm support for her to lean on.
59. Accept her as is, she is a package deal.
60. Have a good intention for her.
61. Cook a dish for her.
62. Designate a nice, clean, spacious area in your home for the two of you to pray at night whenever you can.
63. Women love flowers. Make a trail of them on the floor leading to the gift you made for her.
64. Give her a nice massage when she least expects it.
65. Send your wife a text message out of the blue with a message of love.
66. Send your wife an email without a reason.
67. Go out on a date or a get-away for the weekend in a nice location, preferably without kids.
68. Do something for your wife’s family, whether it is a gift, or a chat with her teen brother who needs mentoring, or whatever. It will get you lots of brownie points.
69. Do not keep reminding and demanding your rights all the time.
70. Shop groceries for her and call her from the store and ask her what she needs for the home, for herself or for her to give to people as gifts.
71. Ask her if she would like to invite her female friends over for ladies only get together and arrange for the dinner.
72. Ask her to send gifts to her parents and siblings.
73. Help her parents pay off debt. Send her poor relatives some money.
74. Write love notes or poems and place them in the book she’s been reading.
75. If she tells you something she had just learned from the Qur’an or Hadith, do not dismiss her or ridicule her effort, instead listen to her and take her word.
76. Plant her a kitchen garden with all kind of herbs she needs for cooking.
78. Update her PC or laptop with a new one or get her a new mobile phone.
79. Learn to do a special massage technique and surprise her with your new expertise.
80. Teach your children to respect and honor their mother.
81. Be humorous with her when she makes a mistake in the kitchen (like when she put too much salt or burnt her baking). – SG

Medical Benefits of Salah

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 20:18:00 +0000

There are several medical benefits of Salat (Namaz):- of offering Salah and as every Muslim knows that the best part of Salah is the sujood, that is the prostration.

No wonder the Quran has mentioned the word sujood, prostration no less then 90 times in the glorious Quran. Where [do] you do sujood in the Salah? Normally when you [stand] erect, blood does flow into the brain but it is not sufficient for a healthy brain. During Salah when you [go into] sujood extra blood flows into the brain, which is very important for [a] healthy brain. When you do sujood, this extra blood supply to the skin on the face [helps] prevent diseases such as chilblain etc.
When you do sujood there is drainage of sinuses and there are fewer chances that a person will have sinusitis, that is inflammation of the sinus, this drainage of module sinus, of the frontal sinus, and a person has less chances of having inflammation of the sinus, that is sinusitis.
There are various benefits. [For example], when a person does sujood even the bronchitis's, the secretion of the bronchitis, they get drained, there are less chances of having bronchitis.
When a person breathes normally only two thirds of the capacity of the lung is exhaled out, the remaining one third remain in the lung as a residual air, now when you do sujood the abdominal visra, they press against the diaphragm and the diaphragm presses against the lower part of the lungs, the lower lobes, and when you breath during sujood even this one third residual air is aired out and that's very important for a healthy lung. There are less chances of having diseases of the lungs.
When you do sujood, there is increased venes return there is less chance of having hernia, etc. Due to posture in sujood there is less chances of having hemorrhoid, that is piles.
In a salah we stand up and we sit down, do qayam, rukuh, sujood and when we stand up from same position the weight is localized on the bottom of the feet and the calve muscle and the thigh muscle are activated and they increase the blood supply to the lower part of the body, which is very important. Further we do various postures like standing erect, bowing down, prostrating, the vertebra column takes various postures and there are less chances of having disease of the vertebrae, of the spine.
There are medical benefits [and] you can give a talk only on this topic. But we Muslims, we offer Salah to thank Allah (SWT), to praise Him. These are just side dishes. They are like dessert. You know it may attract a person who is a non-Muslim, towards Salah but our main meal, our main biryani, our main course is to thank Allah (SWT) and to obey the commandments of Allah and the Prophet. That is the reason we offer Salah.
Why 5 times daily salat:-
As I mentioned in the earlier episode that Salah is a sort of programming towards righteousness, that we are programmed towards righteousness. And the requirement [is] that it should be repeated [a] minimum [of] 5 times a day. For example for a very healthy body, a doctor will tell you, you require [a] minimum [of] 3 meals a day. Similarly for a spiritual soul, a person is required to offer Salah 5 times a day. And the requirement is, [that] there are chances that because of the evil in the society around us, we may get de-programmed. So if we are kept on being re-programmed, there are more chances that you will remain [steadfast on the] Sirat al mustaqeem, on the straight path. Therefore it is compulsory that every Muslim should offer Salah [a] minimum [of] 5 times a day.
Doesn't Salat disturb my job productivity. If you know the rules of management, [you will know] that a person cannot work continuously for hours together. If a person comes to office at 9 o'clock in the morning and sits till 6 o'clock in the evening, continuously for 9 hours, in fact he will be less productive. That is the reason that there are some short breaks given in between. So a person can get re-created, you know we have recreation. Similarly Salah is a sort of recreation. It rejuvenates you. If someone tells me that I am losing time, I am less productive, because I waste 15 minutes having lunch break, I would say that he is not a logical person because only if he has meals regularly, can he do more work. Similarly if a person offers Salah at intervals, I do agree he may have to work for a few minutes but when he stops and he comes back to work he works with a much better frame of mind and productivity overall will be much better. So for a logical person and a modern person he has to agree that there should be breaks so that a person can get recreated and Salah is the best form of rejuvenating your mind.

By Dr Zakir Naik

How To Erase Our Sins

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 21:00:00 +0000

www.WondersOfAllah.blogspot.com

Following is a compilation of Ahadîth that speaks of ways in which we can erase our sins, InshaAllâh!

Repenting

A servant [of Allâh's] committed a sin and said: O Allâh, forgive me my sin. And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for them. Then he sinned again and said:O Lord, forgive me my sin. And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for them. Then he sinned again and said: O Lord, forgive me my sin. And He (glorified and exalted be He) said: My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for sins. Do what you wish, for I have forgiven you. [Hadîth Qudsi]

O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great at it. [Hadîth Qudsi]

Abû Bakr radhiAllâhu `anhu reported:

"I heard the Prophet sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam saying: 'Allâh forgives the man who commits a sin (then feels ashamed), purifies himself, offers a prayer and seeks His forgiveness.' Then he recited the 'ayyah: 'And those who, when they do an evil thing or wrong themselves, remember Allâh and implore forgiveness for their sins - and who can forgive sins except Allâh? - and will not knowingly repeat (the wrong) they did. The reward of such will be forgiveness from their Lord, and gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever- a bountiful reward for workers."' [al-'lmrân: 135-136]. [Abû Dawûd, an-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, al-Baihaqi, and at-Tirmidhî who calls it hasan.]

Performing Wudhû

Narrated Abû Hurayrah radhiAllâhu `anhu: Allâh's Apostle sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said:

When a bondsman - a Muslim or a believer - washes his face (in course of ablution), every sin he contemplated with his eyes will be washed away from his face along with water, or with the last drop of water ; when he washes his hands, every sin they wrought will be effaced from his hands with the water, or with the last drop of water; and when he washes his feet, every sin towards which his feet have walked will be washed away with the water, or with the last drop of water, with the result that he comes out pure from all sins. [Sahîh Muslim]

Narrated Uthmân ibn AffânradhiAllâhu `anhu:

The Messenger of Allâh sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said: He who performed ablution well, his sins would come out from his body, even coming out from under his nails. [Sahîh Muslim]

Performing Prayer

Narrated Uthmân ibn Affân radhiAllâhu `anhu: "I heard Allâh's Apostle sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam say:

When the time for a prescribed prayer comes, if any Muslim performs ablution well and offers his prayer) with humility and bowing, it will be an expiation for his past sins, so long as he has not committed a major sin; and this applies to for all times. [Sahîh Muslim]

Narrated Abû Huraira radhiAllâhu `anhu: "Allâh's Apostle said,

"The congregational prayer of anyone amongst you is more than twenty (five or twenty seven) times in reward than his prayer in the market or in his house, for if he performs ablution completely and then goes to the mosque with the sole intention of performing the prayer, and nothing urges him to proceed to the mosque except the prayer, then, on every step which he takes towards the mosque, he will be raised o ne degree or o ne of his sins will be forgiven. The angels will keep o n asking Allâh's forgiveness and blessings for everyone of you so long as he keeps sitting at his praying place. The angels will say, 'O Allâh, bless him! O Allâh, be merciful to him!' as long as he does not do Hadath or a thing which gives trouble to the other." The Prophet further said, "One is regarded in prayer so long as o ne is waiting for the prayer." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari]

Narrated Abû Hurayrah radhiAllâhu `anhu:

"The Messenger of Allâh sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said: He who purified himself in his house, and then he walked to o ne of the houses of Allâh for the sake of performing a fard (obligatory act) out of the Fara'id (obligatory acts) of Allâh, both his steps (would be significant) as o ne of them would obliterate his sin and the second o ne would raise his status. [Sahîh Muslim]

Attending the Jumu'ah Salâh

Narrated Abû Hurayrah radhiAllâhu `anhu: The Messenger of Allâh sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said:

Five prayers and from o ne Friday prayer to (the next) Friday prayer is an expiation (of the sins committed in between their intervals) if major sins are not committed. [Sahîh Muslim]

Narrated by Salman Al Farsi radhiAllâhu `anhu: The Prophet sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said,

"Whoever takes a bath o n Friday, purifies himself as much as he can, then uses his (hair) oil or perfumes himself with the scent of his house, then proceeds (for the Jumua prayer) and does not separate two persons sitting together (in the mosque), then prays as much as (Allâh has) written for him and then remains silent while the Imam is delivering the Khutba, his sins in-between the present and the last Friday would be forgiven." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari]

Doing good deeds

Narrated Ibn Masud radhiAllâhu `anhu: A man kissed a woman and then came to Allâh's Apostle and told him of that, so this Divine Inspiration was revealed to the Prophet sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam:

"And offer Prayers perfectly at the two ends of the day, and in some hours of the night; (i.e. (five) compulsory prayers). Verily, the good deeds remove the evil deeds (small sins). That is a reminder for the mindful." (Qur'aan : 11.114) The man said, Is this instruction for me o nly?" The Prophet said, "It is for all those of my followers who encounter a similar situation." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari]

Performing Umrah and Hajj

Narrated by Abû Huraira : The Prophet sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said,

"Whoever performs Hajj for Allâh's pleasure and does not have sexual relations with his wife, and does not do evil or sins then he will return (after Hajj free from all sins) as if he were born anew." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari]

Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radhiAllâhu `anhu narrated that the Prophet sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said:

"Alternate between Hajj and 'Umrah (regularly), for these two remove poverty and sins just as the blacksmith's bellows removes all impurities from metals like iron, gold and silver. The reward for Hajj Mabrur is nothing short of Paradise." [Nasa'i and Tirmidhi, who regards it a sound hadîth ]

Narrated Abû Huraira radhiAllâhu `anhu: Allâh's Apostle sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said,

"(The performance of) 'Umra is an expiation for the sins committed (between it and the previous o ne). And the reward of Hajj Mabrur (the o ne accepted by Allâh) is nothing except Paradise." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari]

Saying Amîn'

Narrated by Abû Huraira radhiAllâhu `anhu: The Prophet sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said,

"When the Imâm says 'Aamîn', then you should all say ‘Aamîn’, for the angels say ‘آmîn’ at that time, and he whose ‘آmîn’ coincides with the ‘آmîn’ of the angels, all his past sins will be forgiven." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari]

Fasting and performing prayers in the night of Qadr in Ramadân

Narrated by Abû Huraira radhiAllâhu `anhu: The Prophet sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said,

"Whoever fasted the month of Ramadân out of sincere Faith (i.e. belief) and hoping for a reward from Allâh, then all his past sins will be forgiven, and whoever stood for the prayers in the night of Qadr out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allâh, then all his previous sins will be forgiven ." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari]

Sending salutations

Abû Talha Al Ansari radhiAllâhu `anhu said, "The Prophet, sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam, woke up o ne day cheerful and beaming. His companions exclaimed, 'O Prophet of Allâh, you woke up today cheerful and beaming.' He replied,

'Yes! A messenger of Allâh, the Mighty and the Glorified, came to me and said, "If anyone from your ummah sends you a salutation, Allâh will record for him ten good deeds, wipe off ten of his sins, and raise him thereby ten degrees in rank, and He will return his salutation with a similar salutation".' [Ahmad] Ibn Kathîr considers this a sound hadîth ]

Being kind to animals

Narrated Abû Huraira radhiAllâhu `anhu: Allâh's Apostle sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said,

"While a man was walking he felt thirsty and went down a well and drank water from it. o n coming out of it, he saw a dog panting and eating mud because of excessive thirst. The man said, 'This (dog) is suffering from the same problem as that of mine. So he (went down the well), filled his shoe with water, caught hold of it with his teeth and climbed up and watered the dog. Allâh thanked him for his (good) deed and forgave him." The people asked, "O Allâh's Apostle! Is there a reward for us in serving (the) animals?" He replied, "Yes, there is a reward for serving any animate." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari]

Narrated Abû Huraira radhiAllâhu `anhu: Allâh's Apostle sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said,

"A prostitute was forgiven by Allâh, because, passing by a panting dog near a well and seeing that the dog was about to die of thirst, she took off her shoe, and tying it with her head-cover she drew out some water for it. So, Allâh forgave her because of that." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari]

Leaving grey hair

Amr ibn Shu'aib related o n the authority of his father from his grandfather that the Prophet sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said,

"Do not pluck the grey hairs as they are a Muslim's light. Never a Muslim grows grey in Islam except that Allâh writes for him, due to that, a good deed. And he raises him a degree. And he erases for him, due to that, o ne of his sins." [Related by Ahmad, Abû Dawûd, at-Tirmidhi, an-Nasa'i and Ibn Majah] And Anas said, "We used to hate that a man should pluck out his white hairs from his head or beard." [Sahîh Muslim]

Some simple supplications through which we can erase our sins, Insha'Allâh!

Narrated Abû Huraira radhiAllâhu `anhu: Allâh's Apostle said,

"Whoever says, 'Subhan Allâh wa bihamdihi,' o ne hundred times a day, will be forgiven all his sins even if they were as much as the foam of the sea." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari]

Narrated Abû Huraira radhiAllâhu `anhu: Allâh's Apostle sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said,

"Whoever says: 'La ilaha illal-lah wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahu-l-mulk wa lahu-l-hamd wa huwa 'ala kulli shai'in qadir,' o ne hundred times will get the same reward as given for manumitting ten slaves; and o ne hundred good deeds will be written in his accounts, and one hundred sins will be deducted from his accounts, and it (his saying) will be a shield for him from Satan o n that day till night, and nobody will be able to do a better deed except the o ne who does more than he." [Sahîh Al-Bukhari]

Narrated Abû Hurayrah radhiAllâhu `anhu: Allâh's Apostle sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam said:

If anyone extols Allâh after every prayer thirty-three times [SubhanAllâh], and praises Allâh thirty-three times [Alhamdulillah], and declares His Greatness thirty-three times [Allâh hu Akbar], ninety-nine times in all, and say to complete a hundred: "There is no god but Allâh, having no partner with Him, to Him belongs sovereignty and to Him to praise due, and He is Potent over everything," his sins will be forgiven even if these are as Abûndant as the foam of the sea. [Sahîh Muslim]

Abû Hurairah radhiAllâhu `anhu reported that the Prophet, sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam, said,

"If anyone sits in an assembly where there is much clamor and says before getting up to leave, "Subhanaka Allâhumma wa bihamdika, ashadu an-la illaha illa-anta, astaghfiruka wa atubu ilayka" (Glory be to You, O Allâh, and I begin with declaring all praise is due to You, I testify that there is no god but You; I ask Your pardon and turn to You in repentance), he will be forgiven any sin that he might have committed while in that assembly. [Tirmidhi and Al-Baihaqi, (Kitab ad-D'wat Al-kabir)]

Mu'adh b. Anas radhiAllâhu `anhu reported that the Prophet, sallAllâhu `alayhi wa sallam, said,

"If anyone wears a new garment and says, "Alhamdu lillahillazi kasaabi hazaa wa razakabehi min ghairi hawlin minna walaa kuwwata" 'All praise be to Allâh, Who clothed me with this garment and provided it for me, with no power or strength from myself' Allâh will forgive all his previous sins." [Abû Dawûd, At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Maajah]

Source: http://blog.iloveallaah.com

Wonderful Recitation

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 20:29:00 +0000

Take Advantage of Five Before Five

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 07:14:00 +0000

Written by Yasir Birjas

The Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam has been blessed with jawaami' ul kalim, the most concise, or precise, speech. The Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam said, "I have been blessed with concise speech." Therefore, when we look at the precious pearls that came out of the Prophet’s mouth, sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam, we find that many of his ahadith are in fact treasure chests of wisdom. The words might be small, but the meanings behind them are great. The speech might be succinct, but the benefits and the blessings that can be derived from them are innumerable.

And of the ahadith that are jawaami', or comprehensive in nature, is the hadith of ibn Abbas radi Allahu anhu reported in the mustadrak of Al-Haakim, musnad Imam Ahmad, and others, with an authentic chain of narration. In this hadith the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam said to a man while he was advising him:

"Take advantage of five matters before five other matters: your youth, before you become old; and your health, before you fall sick; and your richness, before you become poor; and your free time before you become busy; and your life, before your death."

The first word, ightanam comes from same root that signifies sheep - ghanam. Sheep, in Arabic, means ghanam, and ightanam is from the same root that also signifies sheep. What exactly is the meaning of ightanam? Ightanam is used to indicate any good that can be obtained without much effort. Just like sheep, they can easily be caught if they go astray. This is why the war booty that is found on the battlefield after the army has fled is called ghaneemah. It is easy to take, just like the sheep. You can grasp it without much effort. Ghaneemah, ightanam, and ghanam are all from the same root.

So it is as if the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam is pointing out that these five matters are very easy to obtain. They are easy to prey on and catch, and very simple to benefit from. That is because they are treasures that everyone possesses but few people appreciate.

What are these five things?

#1: Take Advantage of Your Youth Before Your Old Age

The Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam started off and said shabbab or shab, a youth or young person. The Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam said, "Take advantage of your youth before your haram.” And the word haram means old age, maybe even senility. It is an age in which the person does not have the power or mental faculties that he had while he was a youth.

Youthfulness is a time when a person is the most energetic, when he lays out the foundations for his future, and when he plans his life. So the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam said to take advantage of this time before the time comes when you do not have that enthusiasm, when you do not have that zeal, or that outlook. The enthusiasm and energy that you have been blessed with will never again be given to you after this age. Therefore, the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam said to seize the moment and take advantage of it. A person should exercise this energy for the sake of Allah by procuring knowledge of Allah, obtaining halal sustenance, and worshipping Allah through acts that he might not be able to do later on in life.

Youth here does not mean the western concept of youth that youthfulness finishes when someone is eighteen or nineteen years old. In the Islamic Shari’ah, a man's life has been divided into a number of sectors or stages. Shabbab or shab, according to the strongest opinion, means before reaching the age of forty. This is because forty is the prime of life, when mental and physical capabilities have reached a peak, and after that they start to go down.

The Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam said:

"Seven are the people that will be sheltered on the Day of Judgment, the day in which there is no shade except the shade of Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala.”

One of the seven people, the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned was a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala. Remember, the youth is up to forty. So this young person, whether he is twenty or thirty or right before reaching the age of forty, he has grown up and has been raised or has raised himself busy in the worship of Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala.

Likewise, the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam said in an authentic hadith that Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala is pleased with and amazed at the youth who does not have any evil inclinations. This means he does not do evil. Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala loves such a youth who is straight in the worship of Allah and does not turn left or right to the paths of Shaytaan. Allah loves this person and is amazed at him because in general it is the youth, due to their virility and strong desires, who swerve left and right away from the path of the worship of Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala. So this is the first of the five: “your youth before your old age.”

#2: Take Advantage of Your Health, Before You Fall Sick

The second of the five matters is, "your health, before you fall sick." The fact that one lives a normal life and is not afflicted with diseases and plagues, represents a person’s health. Take advantage of this before diseases and plagues come because mankind, being mankind, will fall sick. Everyone falls sick. If we did not fall sick, we would not be humans, we would be divine.

There will come a time when we will fall sick. Some of those times the sicknesses will be more severe, and for certain people even more severe. So the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam is reminding us that we do not know when we will have full possession of our faculties, of our strength, of our mental powers, before we will fall sick. Therefore, take advantage of it before that time comes.

The Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam said:

"There are two blessings the majority of mankind have been deceived concerning." The majority of mankind do not appreciate these two blessings. They are "health," good health, "and free time."

Once a person came to Yunus ibn 'Ubayy, one of the scholars of the Salaf, and he complained of extreme poverty as he had not been blessed with much. Yunus ibn Ubayy asked him, "Would you be willing to give away your sight for a certain amount of money?" The man said, "No, of course not." Then he asked him, "Would you be willing to give your hands away?" He said, "No, of course not." He asked, "Your feet?" He said, "Of course not." When he finished he said "I see that you have hundreds of thousands of millions of blessings, yet you are complaining of poverty?"

We have our full faculties, we can see and hear. Look at someone who Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala has tested with blindness. It is a very severe test, and that is why the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam has said in an authentic hadith:

"There are two things if Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala takes them away from a person and he is patient, he is guaranteed Jannah. These two things are the two eyes."

In other words, if a person is blind, and we seek Allah's refuge from the physical and the spiritual blindness in this world and in the hereafter, then Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala is testing him. And if he is patient, then Allah will reward him with Jannah.

How about one who has been blessed not just with eyesight, but with hearing, health, arms, limbs, energy, vitality, enthusiasm, and many other things. Should we not appreciate the blessing from Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala? Do we not realize how sweet health is? It can be used for the worship of Allah. When we are blessed with these bodies, why do we not use them in the worship of Allah?

The least we can do, brothers and sisters, is the faraa'id (obligatory actions) such as salah five times a day, fasting in Ramadan, and going for the Hajj. All of these require that we use our physical bodies. That is the least that we can do, the bare minimum. Of course, the more that one does, the better it is for him.

This is the second of the five matters: “your health before you fall sick.”

#3: Take Advantage of Your Richness Before Poverty

The third is, "your richness, before poverty." One day we might not have anything, and the next we might have much more than we need. One day, a person might have the best of jobs and the largest of salaries, yet, the next day, something happens and he does not have that job anymore and loses his source of income. So the wise person uses his richness before he becomes poor. He invests for his future.

As for the investments of this dunya, then the kafir and the Muslim are both the same; they both do that. Even the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam would store staple food items even up to a year. Sometimes he would store barley and grain for a whole year for his family. So this is obviously something halaal as the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam himself did it, and we should do it too. We should make sure we have enough money for our family and our children and ourselves, so we are not poor and we are not beggars. There is no doubt that this is a part of our Shari’ah as well.

But while we are doing this, let us not forget that we also need to invest for the Akhirah. Should we not think about investing this money so we can pick it and pluck it in the Hereafter when we need it far more than we need it in this world? We need to invest for the real future, our real life after our death.

The Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam once asked his companions, "Who amongst you loves his inheritors' money more than his own money?"

The meaning of this hadith is that the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam is asking for example, does the father love the money of his son or does he love his own money? Of course, the father loves his own money. Likewise, every person will love his own money more than he loves the money of other people.

The Sahabah said, "Yaa RasulAllah, all of us love our own money more than we love the money of our inheritors. We all love our own money. We guard it and protect it more than the money of our inheritors.”

Then the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam said, "Verily, the money that you spend in charity is your money, and the money that you leave behind is the money of your inheritors."

Ponder over that hadith for a while, how true it is. As for the father who loves his own money more than the money of his son, does he not realize that one day his son will take that very money of his and he will have nothing to do with it? All that is left of his money is what he spent during his life for the sake of Allah, if there was any such money. Any of it spent in charity for the sake of Allah, is money that will be yours permanently. The Arabic word for charity includes zakah, sadaqah, waqf, and any type of monetary good that you did. Everything besides this will go into the hands of your inheritors.

Remember that feeding your family is an ibaadah if you are doing it for the sake of Allah. If you are doing it for the sake of Allah, you will be rewarded. The Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam said that, "A morsel of food," one morsel of food, one handful of food, "if you put it in your wife's mouth, this will be a reward for you on the Day of Judgment." Now everybody, Muslim or non-Muslim, feeds his family. But will everybody be rewarded for that? No. Because only the one who does it remembering Allah, thinking about Allah, and doing it for the sake of Allah will be rewarded.

Ask yourself if the last time you went shopping, Allah was in your mind? Did you think of doing this for Allah? When you picked up the milk and the bread, was your heart thinking, "Oh Allah, I am buying this food through halaal money, and this is halaal food, because I want to feed my family and this is an obligation that You have put upon me, therefore, I am doing it for your sake." Who amongst us has this in his mind?

When we say, "That is spent for the sake of Allah," we are not just talking about money, zakah, sadaqah, and charity. Of course, giving in charity is the best thing you can do with your money. But do not forget that the majority of income that we spend, and in fact for the mu'min, all of the income that he spends, can be for the sake of Allah as well. This means thinking of Allah, spending for the sake of Allah, and having the intention of pleasing Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala.

This is the third of the five things: “your richness, before poverty.”

#4: Take Advantage of Your Free Time Before You Become Busy

This is yet another great treasure that every single one of us possesses. Every single one of us must use our free time before we become busy. How much free time do we have and what do we waste it on? Think about it. Think about how much free time all of us have been blessed with. We have hours and hours every day and they go by. What do we waste it on? Primarily, in this country at least, television. It is also wasted on gossip and socialization of which there is no benefit whatsoever, in this world nor the hereafter.

Remember the hadith of the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam that we just quoted about the two blessings (health and free time) most people have been deceived by. In other words, they don't realize their blessings of health and free time. You may have to work eight hours a day, no problem. Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala has allowed this for you. He has obligated it upon you. When you come home, you have four or five hours, so spend them wisely for the sake of Allah.

Spending time wisely does not necessarily mean purely religious deeds. But spending your time wisely and even be something in this world. Learn a trade. Learn something that can benefit you in this world and that can benefit other people as well. Islam is a complete way of life, a complete code. Do not forget that all of the acts a mu'min does can be transformed into acts of worship if, and only if, he does them for the sake of Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala.

Of course that there are religious deeds which are the best deeds to do. Every one of us should recite the Qur'an everyday, even if it's only for five or ten minutes. You should have some relationship with the Qur'an. Every one of us should pray some extra prayers as well, a few sunnahs or the nafls, if not the continual sunnahs that the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam used to pray. This is the most important thing for us to do. But at the same time, do not forget that there can be many acts that can be rewarded if you change your niyyah and do them for the sake of Allah.

Do not waste your time. The greatest waster of time is the television. You turn it on, and an hour or two go by, and not only have you not gained anything for the Akhirah, you have not gained anything for this world. You have literally killed, murdered your time, and done absolutely nothing with it. And realize that you are lucky if you don't come away from those two hours without any sin. How many are the sins that are in television, with music, and the women, and other things. In my opinion, it is better for a mu'min not to even have this instrument in his house because of the evil that comes from it. Like Allah says about alcohol, the evil that comes from it is more than the good that is obtained from it.

When you have some free time, take advantage of it. The greatest thing that we can do in this free time is to worship Allah. And one of the greatest acts of worship is to seek knowledge. Take a book out to read, listen to some cassettes, or listen to some CD's. Do whatever you can do to increase your 'ilm. Attend some classes or even visit one another for the sake of Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala. Visit your Muslim brother with the proper Islamic etiquette and adab. This is an act you can do that will pass your time away, and be worthwhile.

This is the fourth of the five matters: "take advantage of your free time before you become busy."

#5: Take Advantage of Your Life Before Your Death

This one phrase summarizes it all: "take advantage of your life before your death." Every one of us has a life. That is why we are here right now. Every one of us without a doubt will die. Allah says:

You are going to die and they too are going to die.

And it is as Allah said, the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam passed away and so did the people that opposed him and believed in him. They all have passed away. And the turn came for those after them, and then those after them, until it is our turn.

The Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam therefore reminded us, "Take advantage of your life before your death." This is the greatest of foresight. Hence the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam concluded the hadith with this phrase.

How are we going to use this life before death comes? As for the kafir, he will totally waste it because he will make this life his goal. He will live only to appease and satisfy every desire of his. Then on the Day of Judgment, he will beg Allah to send him back to this life. Allah describes this in the Quran:

When death comes to them, he will say, “O my Lord!”

All of a sudden, when his Lord comes to him he remembers Allah. Whereas throughout all of the years that he lived, Allah was nowhere near him; Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala was the furthest thing from his death. On the Day of Judgment when he is resurrected, he will say:

Oh my Lord! Allow me to go back so that I may do good in the time that I had left.

Allah obviously will say, "Kalla” – no. You have only been allowed one life and you will not be able to go back and change that life. For every good you do you will be rewarded, and for every evil you do you will be punished.

Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala also describes them in the Qur’an as saying on the Day of Judgment:

O our Lord, we have seen and we have heard. Let us go back to do good deeds; we are now believers.

They claim to believe in Allah and the Day of Judgment but Allah will not allow this to happen because everyone has only one life. That is what Allah has given and this is what we must make the best of in this world so that we are compensated accordingly in the Hereafter.

These are the five things that the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam told the man to do. He advised him:

"Take advantage of five matters before five others: your youth, before your old age; and your health before you fall sick; and your wealth before you become poor; and your free time before you become busy; and your life before your death."

This hadith deals with responsibility, wisdom, foresight, long-term planning, and good strategy. Every one of us has been blessed with these five blessings. There is no one amongst us who has not been blessed with these five things. So how do we utilize them? What do we utilize them for? Why do we utilize them?

The wise person is the one who strives to achieve the pleasure of Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala and then expects the best from Allah. The wise one is one who tries to arrive at the goal and then has tawakkul in Allah. Tawakkul does not mean to sit back and say, "Oh, this will happen to me." Rather, you must strive for it. The fool is the one who follows his desires and then presumes that Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala will reward him.

We ask that Allah subhaanahu wa ta ‘aala makes us amongst those who can ightallim, those who can seize these five things, who can take advantage of them before the five will come. These five matters will inevitably be taken away from us, and substituted by the others that the Prophet sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned.

Dua’a For Exams

noreply@blogger.com (Reza) — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 19:46:00 +0000

First Watch This Inspiring Video!

اللهُمَّ لا سَهْلَ إلا مَا جَعَلتَهُ سَهْلا وَ أنتَ تَجْعَلُ الحزْنَ إذا شِئْتَ سَهْلا

Allahumma la sahla illa ma ja’altahu sahla, wa ‘anta taj-alul hazna idha shi’ta sahla
Meaning: "O Allah! There is nothing easy except what You make easy, and You make the difficult easy if it be Your Will."

Allahumma inii as'aluka fahmal-nabiyyen wa hifthal mursaleen al-muqarrabeen.
O Allah! I ask You for the understanding of the prophets and the memory of the messengers, and those nearest to You.

Allahumma ijal leesanee 'amiran bi thikrika wa qalbi bi khashyatika.
O Allah! Make my tongue full of Your remembrance, and my heart with consciousness of You.

Innaka 'ala ma-tasha'-u qadeer wa anta hasbun-allahu wa na'mal wakeel.
(O Allah!) You do whatever You wish, and You are my Availer and Protector and the best of aid.

Dua After Studying:

Allahhumma inni astaodeeuka ma qara'tu wama hafaz-tu. Faradduhu 'allaya inda hagati elayhi.Innaka 'ala ma-tasha'-u qadeer wa anta hasbeeya wa na'mal wakeel.

O Allah! I entrust You with what I have read and I have studied. (O Allah!) Bring it back to me when I am in need of it.
(O Allah!) You do whatever You wish, and You are my Availer and Protector and the best of aid.

Dua While Studying Something Difficult:

Allahumma la sahla illama ja-'altahu sahla wa anta taj 'alu al hazana etha shi'ta sahla.

O Allah! Nothing is easy except what You have made easy. If You wish, You can make the difficult easy.

There are ahaadeeth which indicate that this is to be said at times of hardship and difficulty. All of that includes exams and other difficulties.

1 – It was narrated that Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever says – when leaving his house – Bismillaah, tawakkaltu ‘ala Allaah, laa hawla wa laa quwwata illa Billaah (In the name of Allaah, I put my trust in Allaah, there is no power and no strength except with Allaah), it will be said to him: You are taken care of and you are protected, and the Shaytaan will keep away from him.”

2 – It was also narrated that Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: If something upset him, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) would say: “Yaa Hayyu yaa Qayyoom bi rahmatika astagheeth (O Ever Living, O Sustainer, by Your mercy I seek help).”

3 – It was also narrated from Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “O Allaah, nothing is easy but that which You make easy and You can make hardship easy if You will.”

4 – It was narrated that Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The prayer of Dhu’l-Noon when he was in the belly of the fish: ‘Laa ilaaha illa Anta, subhaanaka inni kuntu min al-zaalimeen (There is no god but You, glory to You, verily I was one of the wrongdoers).’ A Muslim never calls upon his Lord with these words concerning any matter, but his prayer is answered.”

References for the above:

[1]Narrated by Abu Dawood, 5095; al-Tirmidhi, 3426; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.

[2]Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3524; classed as hasan by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 3182.

[3]Narrated by Ibn Hibbaan, 3/255; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 2886.

[4]Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 3505; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1644.

Source: http://blog.iloveallaah.com