Mujahidah an Nafs

Thoughts...

2011-08-06T22:27:00.002Z

Assalamu alaikum,

The blessed month of Ramadhan has dawned upon us once again alhamdulillah; an opportunity to reflect & attempt to clear our minds & lives of the worldly things that we have grasped onto & become so accustomed & dependant upon & to instead replace these with love, knowledge & understanding of our beautiful deen insha'allah.

A thought crossed my mind earlier today that prompted this post (almost two years since my last) which involved a sense of realisation. Every year we are given an opportunity to experience the blessed month of Ramadhan, but do we take this opportunity for granted?

I remember someone very close to me who I lost just over two years ago; I remember the very special zeal & excitement that they had for the month of Ramadhan, in fact just before this special person left the dunya they had even prepared for their payment of zakat not knowing that very soon before the holy month would start they would be no more in this dunya...

Just remembering this made me start thinking; How well prepared are we to make this ramadhan our last? There is no guarantee that we will see the Ramadhan of next year...
How well prepared are we to leave this dunya & to answer those vital questions in our graves? Will we be able to recall the answers that we are expected to answer to the angels? Do our worldly actions reflect on how easy or hard our life of the grave will be? Life is so short that before you know it has come to an end. Not one of us is certain of when we will leave this dunya, so shouldn't we be preparing for this unexpected departure more than anything else?

The grave is a lonely place where we will all be alone with no one to help or save us; we will leave behind all our worldly assets, pleasures, family & friends...before we know it our visitors will become few and less frequent & then as generations pass we may be forgotten as someone who existed in the past; if we are remembered. The world will carry on but we will be alone, experiencing the life of the grave until akhira....

I leave you with a verse from the Holy Qur'an to contemplate upon:

“What is the life of this world but amusement and play? But verily the Home in the Hereafter, – that is life indeed, if they but knew.” (Qur’an, 29:64)

Please remember me, my family & the entire ummah in your humble dua'as during this holy month,

Wassalam

Levels of prayer

2009-09-27T20:39:00.003Z

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said,

"And mankind, with regard to their performance of prayer are in five levels."

The First:
The level of the one who is negligent and wrongs his soul. He is the one who falls short in performing ablution properly, performing the prayer upon its time and within its specified limits, and in fulfilling its essential pillars.

The Second:
The one who guards his prayers upon their proper times and within their specified limits, fulfils their essential pillars and performs his ablution with care. However, his striving is wasted due to whisperings in his prayer so he is taken away by thoughts and ideas.

The Third:
The one who guards his prayers within the specified limits, fulfils their essential pillars and strives with himself to repel the whisperings, thoughts and ideas. He is busy struggling against his enemy (Shaitan) so that he does not steal from the prayer. On account of this he is engaged in (both) prayer and jihad.

The Fourth:
The one who stands for the prayer, completes and perfects its due rights, its essential pillars, performs it within its specified limits and his heart becomes engrossed in safeguarding its rights and specified limits, so that nothing is wasted from it. His whole concern is directed towards its establishment, its completion and its perfection, as it should be. His heart is immersed in the prayer and in enslavement to his Lord, the Exalted.

The Fifth:
The one who stands for the prayer like the one mentioned above. However, on top of this, he has taken and placed his heart in front of his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, looking towards Him with his heart with anticipation, (his heart) filled with His love and His might, as if he sees and witnesses Allah. The whisperings, thoughts and ideas have vanished and the coverings which are between him and his Lord are raised. What is between this person and others with respect to the prayer, is superior and greater than what is between the heavens and the earth. This person is busy with his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, delighted with Him.

The first type will be punished, the second type will be held to account, the third will have his sins and shortcomings expiated, the fourth will be rewarded and the fifth will be close to his Lord, because he will receive the portion of the one who makes his prayer the delight and pleasure of his eye. Whoever makes his prayer the delight and pleasure of his eye, will have the nearness to his Lord, the Mighty and Majestic, made the delight and pleasure of his eye in the hereafter. He will also be made a pleasure to the eye in this world since whoever makes Allah the pleasure of his eye in this world, every other eye will become delighted and pleased with him.

Fatimah Radiallahu anha

2008-09-04T21:03:00.001Z

Fatimah (ra) was the fifth child of Muhammad (saw) and Khadijah (ra). She was born at a time when her noble father had begun to spend long periods in the solitude of mountains around Makkah, meditating and reflecting on the great mysteries of creation.

This was the time, before the Bi'thah, when her eldest sister Zaynab (ra) was married to her cousin, al-'As ibn ar-Rabi'ah. Then followed the marriage of her two other sisters, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum (ra), to the sons of Abu Lahab, a paternal uncle of the Prophet (saw). Both Abu Lahab and his wife Umm Jamil turned out to be flaming enemies of the Prophet (saw) from the very beginning of his public mission.

The little Fatimah (ra) thus saw her sisters leave home one after the other to live with their husbands. She was too young to understand the meaning of marriage and the reasons why her sisters had to leave home. She loved them dearly and was sad and lonely when they left. It is said that a certain silence and painful sadness came over her then.

Of course, even after the marriage of her sisters, she was not alone in the house of her parents. Barakah (ra), the maid-servant of Aminah (ra), the Prophet's mother, who had been with the Prophet (saw) since his birth, Zayd ibn Harithah, and 'Ali (ra), the young son of Abu Talib (ra) were all part of Muhammad's household at this time. And of course there was her loving mother, the lady Khadijah (ra).

In her mother and in Barakah, Fatimah (ra) found a great deal of solace and comfort. In 'Ali (ra), who was about four years older than she, she found a "brother" and a friend who somehow took the place of her own brother al-Qasim (ra) who had died in his infancy. Her other brother 'Abdullah (ra), known as the Good and the Pure, who was born after her, also died in his infancy. However, in none of the people in her father's household did Fatimah (ra) find the carefree joy and happiness that she enjoyed with her sisters.

When she was five, she heard that her father had become Rasul Allah, the Messenger of Allah (saw). His first task was to convey the good news of Islam to his family and close relations. They were to worship Allah Almighty alone. Her mother, who was a tower of strength and support, explained to Fatimah (ra) what her father had to do. From this time on, she became more closely attached to him and felt a deep and abiding love for him. Often she would be at his side walking through the narrow streets and alleys of Makkah, visiting the Ka'bah or attending secret gatherings of the early Muslims who had accepted Islam.

One day, when she was not yet ten, she accompanied her father to the Masjid al-Haram. He stood in the place known as al-Hijr facing the Ka'bah and began to pray. Fatimah (ra) stood at his side. A group of Quraysh, by no means well-disposed to the Prophet (saw) gathered about him. They included Abu Jahl ibn Hisham, the Prophet's uncle, 'Uqbah ibn Abi Mu'ayt, Umayyah ibn Khalaf, and Shaybah and Utbah, sons of ar-Rabi'ah. Menacingly, the group went up to the Prophet (saw) and Abu Jahl, the ringleader, asked:

"Which of you can bring the entrails of a slaughtered animal and throw it on Muhammad (saw)?"

'Uqbah ibn Abi Mu'ayt, one of the vilest of the lot volunteered and hurried off. He returned with the obnoxious filth and threw it on the shoulders of the Prophet (saw) while he was still prostrating. 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (ra), a companion of the Prophet, was present but he was powerless to do or say anything.

Imagine the feelings of Fatimah (ra) as she saw her father being treated in this fashion. What could she, a girl not ten years old, do? She went up to her father and removed the offensive matter and then stood firmly and angrily before the group of Quraysh thugs and lashed out against them. They didn't say a single word to her.

The Noble Prophet (saw) raised his head on completion of the prostration and went on to complete the Salat. He then said:

"O Lord, may you punish the Quraysh!" and repeated this imprecation three times. Then he continued:

"May You punish 'Utbah, 'Uqbah, Abu Jahl and Shaybah." (These whom he named all perished many years later at the Battle of Badr.)

On another occasion, Fatimah (ra) was with the Prophet (saw) as he made tawaf around the Ka'bah. A Quraysh mob gathered around him. They seized him and tried to strangle him with his own clothes. Fatimah (ra) screamed and shouted for help. Abu Bakr (ra) rushed to the scene and managed to free the Prophet (saw). While he was doing so, he pleaded:

"Would you kill a man who says, 'My Lord is God?'"

Far from giving up, the mob turned on Abu Bakr (ra) and began beating him until blood flowed from his head and face.

Such scenes of vicious opposition and harassment against her father and the early Muslims were witnessed by the young Fatimah (ra). She did not meekly stand aside but joined in the struggle in defense of her father and his noble mission. She was still a young girl and instead of the cheerful romping, the gaiety and liveliness which children of her age are and should normally be accustomed to, Fatimah (ra) had to witness and participate in such ordeals.

Of course, she was not alone in this. The whole of the Prophet's (saw) family suffered from the mindless violence of the disbelieving Quraysh. Her sisters, Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum (ra), also suffered. They were living at this time in the very nest of hatred and intrigue against the Prophet (saw). Their husbands were 'Utbah and 'Utaybah, sons of Abu Lahab and Umm Jamil. Umm Jamil was known to be a hard and harsh woman who had a sharp and evil tongue. It was mainly because of her that Khadijah (ra) was not pleased with the marriages of her daughters to Umm Jamil's sons in the first place. It must have been painful for Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum (ra) to be living in the household of such inveterate enemies who not only joined but led the campaign against their father.

As a mark of disgrace to Muhammad (saw) and his family, 'Utbah and 'Utaybah were prevailed upon by their parents to divorce their wives. This was part of the process of ostracizing the Prophet (saw) totally. The Prophet (saw) in fact welcomed his daughters back to his home with joy, happiness and relief.

Fatimah (ra), no doubt, must have been happy to be with her sisters once again. They all wished that their eldest sister, Zaynab (ra), would also be divorced by her husband. In fact, the Quraysh brought pressure on Abu-l 'As to do so but he refused. When the Quraysh leaders came up to him and promised him the richest and most beautiful woman as a wife should he divorce Zaynab (ra), he replied:

"I love my wife deeply and passionately and I have a great and high esteem for her father even though I have not entered the religion of Islam."

Both Ruqayyah and Umm Kulthum (ra) were happy to be back with their loving parents and to be rid of the unbearable mental torture to which they had been subjected in the house of Umm Jamil. Shortly afterwards, Ruqayaah (ra) married again, to the young and shy 'Uthman ibn 'Affan (ra) who was among the first to have accepted Islam. They both left for Abyssinia among the first muhajirin who sought refuge in that land and stayed there for several years. Fatimah (ra) was not to see Ruqayyah again until after their mother had died.

The persecution of the Prophet (saw), his family and his followers continued and even became worse after the migration of the first Muslims to Abyssinia. In about the seventh year of his mission, the Prophet (saw) and his family were forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in a rugged little valley enclosed by hill on all sides and which could only be entered from Makkah by a narrow defile.

To this arid valley, Muhammad (saw) and the clans of Banu Hashim and al-Muttalib were forced to retire with limited supplies of food. Fatimah (ra) was one of the youngest members of the clans - just about twelve years old - and had to undergo months of hardship and suffering. The wailing of hungry children and women in the valley could be heard from Makkah. The Quraysh allowed no food and contact with the Muslims whose hardship was only relieved somewhat during the season of pilgrimage.

The boycott lasted for three years. When it was lifted, the Prophet (saw) had to face even more trials and difficulties. Khadijah (ra) the faithful and loving, died shortly afterwards. With her death, the Prophet (saw) and his family lost one of the greatest sources of comfort and strength, which had sustained them through the difficult period. The year in which the noble Khadijah (ra), and later Abu Talib, died is known as the Year of Sadness. Fatimah (ra), now a young lady, was greatly distressed by her mother's death. She wept bitterly and for some time was so grief-stricken that her health deteriorated. It was even feared she might die of grief.

Although her older sister, Umm Kulthum (ra), stayed in the same household, Fatimah (ra) realized that she now had a greater responsibility with the passing away of her mother. She felt that she had to give even greater support to her father. With loving tenderness, she devoted herself to looking after his needs. So concerned was she for his welfare that she came to be called "Umm Abi-ha" - the "mother of her father". She also provided him with solace and comfort during times of trial, difficulty and crisis.

Often the trials were too much for her. Once, about this time, an insolent mob heaped dust and earth upon his gracious head. As he entered his home, Fatimah (ra) wept profusely as she wiped the dust from her father's head.

"Do not cry, my daughter," he said, "for Allah (swt) shall protect your father."

The Prophet (saw) had a special love for Fatimah (ra). He once said:

"Whoever has pleased Fatimah (ra) has indeed pleased Allah (swt) and whoever has caused her to be angry has indeed angered Allah (swt). Fatimah (ra) is a part of me. Whatever pleases her pleases me and whatever angers her angers me."

He also said:

"The best women in all the world are four: the Virgin Mary, Asiyah the wife of Pharaoh, Khadijah Mother of the Believers, and Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad." Fatimah (ra) thus acquired a place of love and esteem in the Prophet's heart that was only occupied by his wife Khadijah (ra).

Fatimah (ra) was given the title of "az-Zahra" which means "the Resplendent One". That was because of her beaming face that seemed to radiate light. It is said that when she stood for prayer, the mihrab would reflect the light of her countenance. She was also called "al-Batul" because of her purity and asceticism. Instead of spending her time in the company of women, much of her time would be spent in Salat, in reading the Qur'an and in other acts of 'ibadah.

Fatimah (ra) had a strong resemblance to her father, the Messenger of Allah (saw). 'A'ishah (ra), the wife of the Prophet (saw), said of her:

"I have not seen any one of Allah's creation resemble the Messenger of Allah (saw) more in speech, conversation and manner of sitting than Fatimah. When the Prophet (saw) saw her approaching, he would welcome her, stand up and kiss her, take her by the hand and sit her down in the place where he was sitting." She would do the same when the Prophet (saw) came to her.

Fatimah's fine manners and gentle speech were part of her lovely and endearing personality. She was especially kind to poor and indigent folk and would often give all the food she had to those in need even if she herself remained hungry. She had no craving for the ornaments of this world nor the luxury and comforts of life. She lived simply, although on occasion as we shall see, circumstances seemed to be too much and too difficult for her.

She inherited from her father a persuasive eloquence that was rooted in wisdom. When she spoke, people would often be moved to tears. She had the ability and the sincerity to stir their emotions, move people to tears and fill their hearts with praise and gratitude to Allah (swt) for His grace and His inestimable bounties.

Fatimah (ra) migrated to Madinah a few weeks after the Prophet (saw) did. She went with Zayd ibn Harithah (ra) who was sent by the Prophet (saw) back to Makkah to bring the rest of his family. The party included Fatimah and Umm Kulthum, Sawda', the Prophet's wife, Zayd's wife Barakah and her son Usamah (ra). Traveling with the group also were 'Abdullah the son of Abu Bakr who accompanied his mother and his sisters, 'A'ishah and Asma' (ra).

In Madinah, Fatimah (ra) lived with her father in the simple dwelling he had built adjoining the mosque. In the second year after the Hijrah, she received proposals of marriage through her father, two of which were turned down. Then 'Ali the son of Abu Talib (ra), plucked up courage and went to the Prophet (saw) to ask for her hand in marriage. In the presence of the Prophet, however, 'Ali (ra) became over-awed and tongue-tied. He stared at the ground and could not say anything. The Prophet (saw) then asked:

"Why have you come? Do you need something?"

'Ali (ra) still could not speak and then the Prophet (saw) suggested:

"Perhaps you have come to propose marriage to Fatimah (ra)."

"Yes," replied 'Ali.

At this, according to one report, the Prophet (saw) said simply:

"Marhaban wa ahlan - Welcome to the family," and this was taken by 'Ali (ra) and a group of Ansar who were waiting outside for him as indicating the Prophet (saw) approved and went on to ask 'Ali if he had anything to give as mahr. 'Ali (ra) replied that he didn't. The Prophet (saw) reminded him that he had a shield that could be sold.

'Ali sold the shield to 'Uthman (ra) for four hundred dirhams and as he was hurrying back to the Prophet (saw) to hand over the sum as mahr, 'Uthman (ra) stopped him and said:

"I am returning your shield to you as a present from me on your marriage to Fatimah."

Fatimah and 'Ali (ra) were thus married most probably at the beginning of the second year after the Hijrah. She was about nineteen years old at the time and 'Ali (ra) was about twenty-one. The Prophet (saw) himself performed the marriage ceremony. At the walimah, the guests were served with dates, figs and hais (a mixture of dates and butter fat). A leading member of the Ansar donated a ram and others made offerings of grain. All Madinah rejoiced.

On her marriage, the Prophet (saw) is said to have presented Fatimah and Ali (ra) with a wooden bed intertwined with palm leaves, a velvet coverlet, a leather cushion filled with the leaves of the idhkhir plant, a sheepskin, a pot, a waterskin and a quern for grinding grain.

Fatimah (ra) left the home of beloved father for the first time to begin life with her husband. The Prophet (saw) was clearly anxious on her account and sent Barakah (ra) with her should she be in need of any help. And no doubt Barakah was a source of comfort and solace to her. The Prophet (saw) prayed for them:

"O Lord, bless them both, bless their house and bless their offspring."

In 'Ali's humble dwelling, there was only a sheepskin for a bed. In the morning after the wedding night, the Prophet (saw) went to 'Ali's house and knocked on the door.

Barakah (ra) came out and the Prophet said to her:

"O Umm Ayman, call my brother for me."

"Your bother? That's the one who married your daughter?" asked Barakah (ra) somewhat incredulously as if to say: Why should the Prophet (saw) call 'Ali his "brother"?

(He referred to 'Ali (ra) as his brother because just as pairs of Muslims were joined in brotherhood after the Hijrah, so the Prophet (saw) and 'Ali (ra) were linked as "brothers".)

The Prophet (saw) repeated what he had said in a louder voice. 'Ali (ra) came and the Prophet (saw) made a du'a, invoking the blessings of Allah (swt) on him. Then he asked for Fatimah (ra). She came almost cringing with a mixture of awe and shyness and the Prophet (saw) said to her:

"I have married you to the dearest of my family to me." In this way, he sought to reassure her. She was not starting life with a complete stranger but with one who had grown up in the same household, who was among the first to become a Muslim at a tender age, who was known for his courage, bravery and virtue, and whom the Prophet (saw) described as his "brother in this world and the hereafter".

Fatimah's life with 'Ali (ra) was as simple and frugal as it was in her father's household. In fact, so far as material comforts were concerned, it was a life of hardship and deprivation. Throughout their life together, 'Ali (ra) remained poor because he did not set great store by material wealth. Fatimah (ra) was the only one of her sisters who was not married to a wealthy man.

In fact, it could be said that Fatimah's life with 'Ali (ra) was even more rigorous than life in her father's home. At least before marriage, there were always a number of ready helping hands in the Prophet's household. But now she had to cope virtually on her own. To relieve their extreme poverty, 'Ali (ra) worked as a drawer and carrier of water and she as a grinder of corn. One day she said to 'Ali:

"I have ground until my hands are blistered."

"I have drawn water until I have pains in my chest," said 'Ali and went on to suggest to Fatimah (ra): "Allah (swt) has given your father some captives of war, so go and ask him to give you a servant."

Reluctantly, she went to the Prophet (saw) who said:

"What has brought you here, my little daughter?"

"I came to give you greetings of peace," she said, for in awe of him she could not bring herself to ask what she had intended.

"What did you do?" asked 'Ali (ra) when she returned alone.

"I was ashamed to ask him," she said.

So the two of them went together, but the Prophet (saw) felt they were less in need than others.

"I will not give to you," he said, "and let the Ahl as-Suffah (poor Muslims who stayed in the mosque) be tormented with hunger. I have not enough for their keep…"

'Ali and Fatimah (ra) returned home feeling somewhat dejected but that night, after they had gone to bed, they heard the voice of the Prophet (saw) asking permission to enter. Welcoming him, they both rose to their feet, but he told them:

"Stay where you are," and sat down beside them. "Shall I not tell you of something better than that which you asked of me?" he asked and when they said yes he said:

"Words which Jibril (as) taught me, that you should say 'Subhan Allah - Glory be to Allah' ten times after every prayer, and ten times 'Al hamdu lillah - All Praise is for Allah,' and ten times 'Allahu Akbar - Allah is Great.' And that when you go to bed you should say them thirty-three times each."

'Ali (ra) used to say in later years:

"I have never once failed to say them since the Messenger of Allah (saw) taught them to us."

There are many reports of the hard and difficult times that Fatimah (ra) had to face. Often there was no food in her house. Once the Prophet (saw) was hungry. He went to one after another of his wives' apartments but there was no food. He then went to Fatimah's house and she had no food either. When he eventually got some food, he sent two loaves and a piece of meat to Fatimah (ra). At another time, he went to the house of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari and from the food he was given, he saved some for her. Fatimah (ra) also knew that the Prophet (saw) was without food for long periods and she in turn would take food to him when she could. Once she took a piece of barley bread and he said to her:

"This is the first food you father has eaten in three days."

Through these acts of kindness she showed how much she loved her father; and he loved her, really loved her in return.

Once he returned from a journey outside Madinah. He went to the mosque first of all and prayed two rak'ats as was his custom. Then, as he often did, he went to Fatimah's house before going to his wives. Fatimah welcomed him and kissed his face, his mouth and his eyes and cried.

"Why do you cry?" the Prophet (saw) asked.

"I see you, O Rasul Allah," she said, "your color is pale and sallow and your clothes have become worn and shabby."

"O Fatimah," the Prophet (saw) replied tenderly, "don't cry, for Allah (swt) has sent your father with a mission which He would cause to affect every house on the face of the earth whether it be in towns, villages or tents (in the desert) bringing either glory or humiliation until this mission is fulfilled, just as night (inevitably) comes." With such comments Fatimah (ra) was often taken from the harsh realities of daily life to get a glimpse of the vast and far-reaching vistas opened up by the mission entrusted to her noble father.

Fatimah (ra) eventually returned to live in a house close to that of the Prophet (saw). The place was donated by an Ansari who knew that the Prophet (saw) would rejoice in having his daughter as his neighbor. Together they shared in the joys and triumphs, the sorrows and the hardships of the crowded and momentous Madinah days and years.

In the middle of the second year after the Hijrah, her sister Ruqayyah (ra) fell ill with fever and measles. This was shortly before the great campaign of Badr. 'Uthman (ra), her husband, stayed by her bedside and missed the campaign. Ruqayyah (ra) died just before her father returned. On his return to Madinah, one of the first acts of the Prophet (saw) was to visit her grave.

Fatimah (ra) went with him. This was the first bereavement they had suffered within their closest family since the death of Khadijah (ra). Fatimah (ra) was greatly distressed by the loss of her sister. The tears poured from her eyes as she sat beside her father at the edge of the grave. And he comforted her and sought to dry her tears with the corner of his cloak.

The Prophet (saw) has previously spoken against lamentations for the dead, but this had lead to a misunderstanding, and when they had returned from the cemetery the voice of 'Umar (ra) was heard raised in anger against the women who were weeping for the martyrs of Badr and for Ruqayyah (ra).

"'Umar, let them weep," he said and then added, "What comes from the heart and from the eye, that is from Allah and His mercy, but what comes from the hand and from the tongue, that is from Shaytan." By the hand he meant the beating of breasts and the smiting of cheeks, and by the tongue he meant the loud clamor in which women often joined as a mark of public sympathy.

'Uthman (ra) later married the other daughter of the Prophet, Umm Kulthum (ra), and on this account came to be known as Dhu-n Nurayn - Possessor of the Two Lights.

The bereavement in which the family suffered by the death of Ruqayyah (ra) was followed by happiness when, to the great joy of all the believers, Fatimah (ra) gave birth to a boy in Ramadan of the third year after the Hijrah. The Prophet (saw) spoke the words of the Adhan in to the ear of the newborn babe and called him al-Hasan, which means the Beautiful One.

One year later, she gave birth to another son who was called al-Husayn, which means "little Hasan" or the little beautiful one.

Fatimah (ra) would often bring her two sons to see their grandfather who was exceedingly fond of them. Later he would take them to the Mosque and they would climb onto his back when he prostrated. He did the same with his little granddaughter Umamah, the daughter of Zaynab (ra).

In the eighth year after the Hijrah, Fatimah (ra) gave birth to a third child, a girl whom she named after her eldest sister Zaynab (ra) who had died shortly before her birth. This Zaynab (ra) was to grow up and become famous as the "Heroine of Karbala". Fatimah's fourth child was born two years later. This child was also a girl and the Prophet (saw) chose for her the name Umm Kulum after Fatimah's sister who had died the year before after an illness.

It was only through Fatimah (ra) that the progeny of the Prophet (saw) was perpetuated. All the Prophet's male children had died in their infancy and the two children of Zaynab, named 'Ali and Umamah (ra), died young. Ruqayyah's child, 'Abdullah (ra), also died when he was yet two years old. This is an added reason for the reverence which is accorded to Fatimah (ra).

Although Fatimah was so often busy with pregnancies and giving birth and rearing children, she took as much part as she could in the affairs of the growing Muslim community of Madinah. Before her marriage, she acted as a sort of hostess to the poor and destitute Ahl al-Suffah. As soon as the Battle of Uhud was over, she went with other women to the battlefield and wept over the dead martyrs and took time to dress her father's wounds. At the Battle of the Trench, she played a major supportive role together with other women in preparing food during the long and difficult siege. In the place of her camp there stands a mosque named Masjid Fatimah, one of the seven mosques where the Muslims stood guard and performed their devotions.

Fatimah (ra) also accompanied the Prophet (saw) when he made 'Umrah in the sixth year after the Hijrah after the Treaty of Hudaybiyah. In the following year, she and her sister Umm Kulthum (ra), were among the mighty throng of Muslims who took part with the Prophet (saw) in the liberation of Makkah. It is said that on this occasion, both Fatimah and Umm Kulthum (ra) visited the home and the grave of their mother Khadijah (ra) and recalled memories of their childhood and memories of jihad, of long struggles in the early years of the Prophet's mission.

In Ramadan of the tenth year just before he went on his Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet (saw) confided to Fatimah (ra), as a secret not yet to be told to others:

"Jibril (as) recited the Qur'an to me and I to him once every year, but this year he has recited it with me twice. I cannot but think that my time has come."

On his return from the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Prophet (saw) did become seriously ill. His final days were spent in the apartment of his wife 'A'isha (ra). When Fatimah came to visit him, 'A'isha (ra) would leave father and daughter together.

One day he summoned Fatimah (ra). When she came, he kissed her and whispered some words in her ear. She wept. Then again he whispered in her ear and she smiled. 'A'isha (ra) saw and asked:

"You cry and you laugh at the same time, Fatimah? What did the Messenger of Allah say to you?" Fatimah (ra) replied:

"He first told me that he would meet his Lord after a short while and so I cried. Then he said to me: 'Don't cry, for you will be the first of my household to join me.' So I laughed."

He also said to her then:

"Aren't you pleased that you are the First Lady (Sayyidatu-n Nisa') of this Ummah?"

Not long afterwards the Noble Prophet (saw) passed away. Fatimah (ra) was grief-stricken and she would often be seen weeping profusely. One of the companions noted that he did not see Fatimah (ra) laugh after the death of her father.

One morning, early in the month of Ramadan, just less that five months after her noble father had passed away, Fatimah (ra) woke up looking unusually happy and full of mirth. In the afternoon of that day, it is said that she called Salma bint Umays (ra) who was looking after her. She asked for some water and had a bath. She then put on new clothes and perfumed herself. She then asked Salma (ra) to put her bed in the courtyard of the house. With her face looking to the heavens above, she asked for her husband 'Ali (ra).

He was taken aback when he saw her lying in the middle of the courtyard and asked her what was wrong. She smiled and said:

"I have an appointment today with the Messenger of Allah (saw)."

'Ali (ra) cried and she tried to console him. She told him to look after their sons al-Hasan and al-Husayn (ra) and advised that she should be buried without ceremony. She then turned and faced the Qiblah, closed her eyes, and slept. It was a sleep from which she did not awake.

She, Fatimah the Resplendent One, was just twenty-nine years old.

Taken from Islamicity.com

Pious children

2008-08-14T15:38:00.002Z

Hadhrat Abu Hurayra (Radhiallaahu Anhu) narrates that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said,

"Allah Ta'ala will elevate the ranks of the Muslims in paradise. A person will say, 'O My Rabb! How did I get this high rank?' Allah Ta'ala will say, 'Your children prayed for your pardon and it is due to the Du'aas of your children, I have granted you this position.'"

Hadhrat Abdullah ibn Abbaas (Radhiallaahu Anhu) narrates that Rasulullah (Saliallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, "The deceased in the grave is like a drowning person screaming for help and assistance." He waits for help from the people of the world through gifts of virtuous deeds, Du'aas, etc.

When anyone sends a gift to him, he regards the entire world insignificant in comparison to that gift. Due to the Du'aas of the living, Allah Ta'ala bestows upon the deceased rewards equivalent to the mountains.

If parents want to benefit from virtuous deeds of their children after death, they should sacrifice in making their children pious. This is generally possible by imbuing one's children with Ilm-e-Deen and instilling in them Islamic values and principles. That will be the driving force behind one benefiting from the virtuous deeds and Du'aas of one's children after death.

Marriage in Islam - Talk

2008-04-07T19:42:00.003Z

Poster Removed

Thorns

2008-01-08T12:05:00.000Z

Why should I grieve because of a thorn?
Once it had made laughter known to me.
Whatever you lost through the stroke of destiny,
know it was to save you from adversity.
One small affliction keeps off greater afflictions;
one small loss prevents greater losses.

-Rumi

Taken from here

Persistence...

2007-11-23T15:01:00.000Z

To my other half...

2007-11-15T23:40:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

To keep it short, my husband requested me to post this some time ago. Therefore this post is dedicted to my much missed other half...

Asma Radiallahu anha said to her daughter at the time of her marriage:

"You are going to spend such a life where you shall have to live long and you are going to the bed of such a person who you have no acquaintance. You are going to love one with whom you had no love before.

Make for him such a world, which will be heaven for you, prepare for him such a bed, which will be a pillar for you. Be such a slave for him that he may become your slave. Don't go willingly to him, lest you become to him an object of hatred. Don't remain far from him, lest he may forget you.

When he remains near you, be near him, when he stays distant from you save your nose, ears and eyes.

Let him not get from you except sweet smiles. Let him not hear from you except sweet words. Let him not see in you except beauty"

Ihya Uloom Din

Duas humbly requested,

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

Surah Baqarah 255-257

2007-11-05T21:18:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

The Realplayer on the right hand side bar has been paused in order to view this video.

Duas humbly requested as always,

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

The body and Heart

2007-10-06T21:11:00.001Z

The body and heart are pure and blameless in themselves.

However, when our heart becomes embodied with worldly temptations, we tend to forget the nature of our hearts. Thus, we become attached to this world and develop spiritual diseases such as greed, lust and pride.

These spiritual diseases show us the ugly attributes of the heart like thorns growing in a field.

In order to beautify yourselves, avoid these attributes and implement finer qualities which will bring you closer to Allah Ta'ala such as kind heartedness, humbleness and gratitide.

Every person yearns for a meaning to life and for that which will make his heart sound.

The only way to do this is to purify one's self.

Taken from: Tasawwuf in Brief, Shaykh Muhammad Imran

Three parts to a day...

2007-08-24T01:08:00.000Z

Bismillahir'rahman'nir-rahim.

Allahumma sali'ala sayyiddina Muhammadin wa 'ala alay sayyiddina Muhammadin wa barik wa salim.

Asalamu'alaykum wa Rahmatullah,

Sister Mujahidah an Nafs will [probably] be away for sometime...Alhamdulillah all is well...really well, so no worries. However she did ask me to make a quick guest post about something or another...

So...recently I've encountered a new set of people who it seems as if take Islam to an extreme...not a "dangeros to the well being of others" extreme but the extreme where they seem to forget that Yes, this Deen is Submission but there is also Moderation in this Deen.

Allah has indeed commanded us to worship Him; but worshipping Allah does not only come in three or four forms such as salah only, charity only, learning the deen only etc....Allah is So Great and Limitless, so then how can The ibadah of Allah ta'ala be limited? Does His ibadah not include fullfilling the rights of His creation so long as there is no displeasure to Allah? The Ibadah of Allah Most High comes not only in just these few things mentioned above but in various forms, we just haven't understood this yet.

The following small article addresses this issue well
--------
The THREE Major Phases of Prophet's Day
(taken from Islam-globe.com)

"Ordinary men generally retire to their private residence for rest and pleasure, but Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) never knew the leisure of that sort. His work did not end with his coming home-- only a new order of engagements and activities commenced which filled most of his private time. The jurists generally refer to THREE phases of his private life as follows:

(1)- The Family Phase, where he received his wives and fulfilled his duties as husband, father, father-in-law. Every day, he received all his wives in private audience, in the late afternoon, though of course he spent the night and some part of the day with one of them, by rotation.

(2)- A Personal Phase, which he took for himself. But it was during this time that he received an endless flow of guests and visitors-- some attracted no doubt, by the grace of his noble company, others seeking religious and moral guidance, still others with needs, demands, problems and disputes. Thus the Prophet (peace be upon him) had to fulfil a variety of highly diversified roles, ranging from that of gracious host, munificent giver, teacher, arbiter, governor and judge, as well as friend and companion.

(3)- The Spiritual Phase, normally placed towards the last third of the night, was perhaps the most important of his private life. Ever since he received his initial revelation at (Cave) Hira, Allah commanded him to observe and perform Qiyaam al-Layl (night vigil in prayer). Qiyaam al-Layl was prescribed as the method of self-preparation for the projected role of the Messenger of God, which the Prophet (p.b.u.h) was destined to fulfil in the remaining portion of his life. No description of the private life of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) can be adequate without taking into consideration all three of these phases of his day."

(Taken from: "Sunshine at Madinah", pp. 141-142, by Dr. Zakaria Bashier)

-----

Rasulullah Sal'Allahu'alayhiwasalam is The Greatest Example for us in all matters, and the above shows us how he fullfilled his duties to Allah by a)direct ibadah and b)indirect ibadah- fullfilling the rights of his family and companions.

Masha'Allah recently quite a few people I know have gotten married, and I felt this was important because from a bystander's view it seems that life becomes so busy during that transitional stage of newlyweds and the desire to grow in our deen even more so that we often forget the haq we have on our spouse and they have on us. eventually people become stuck in this 'rut' and this often leads to complications later in marriage... Eliminate the problem before it starts just be fair and remember that our Submission to Allah teaches us to do things in moderation.

This article above from islam-globe.com holds a great amount of wisdom for us today, as many of us have forgotten that our duty is not only to Allah but also to His creation, we all have a "right" upon one another; Friend, Family or Foe.

May Allah grant all those newlyweds patience, barakah and happiness in their lives with one another and allow them be reunited in the gardens of Jannah insha'Allah.

Allahumma sali'ala sayyiddina Muhammadin wa 'ala alay sayyiddina Muhammadin wa barik wa salim. Rawdhina billahi Rabba wa bil'islaami deena wa bi'Muhammadin nabiyaa, wa akhirud'duana anil'hamdulillahi rabbil'alameen.

Key advices to a daughter

2007-07-23T18:51:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

A few key advices that I posted a while back on this blog from a mother to a daughter which seem quite relevant at this point in time, click the link below to read Inshallah Ta'ala.

Advices

Always in need of your humble duas,
Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

The spiritual Dr

2007-07-03T20:58:00.000Z

Many are perplexed by the lack of spirituality in their lives which becomes a hindrance in their aims to gain the proximity of Allah (s.w.t). This form of anxiety is common amongst those who are punctual with their salah and adhere to the other ‘Faraaidh' (fundamental duties) such as ‘Sawm' (Fasting), ‘Hajj' (The Holy Pilgrimage), etc, but are disheartened by their apparent inability to abstain from sins and how they continually succumb to their base desires. Another great concern is the failure to recognise many of our advances, which are predominant in society and have unfortunately become accepted as the norm, as sins. Both ignorance and negligence have contributed towards the emergence of the latter.

The solution to this dilemma can be deduced from the influence of Rasullullah in terms of his sheer existence over fourteen centuries ago, his invaluable teaching, his social conduct and sagacious dealings with the respected Sahaba Radiallaho Anhum.

“Verily in the lifestyle of the Prophet there is a great example for you”

Rasullullah taught us the root cause of this problem when he said, “Behold! In the body there lies a piece of flesh. When it is reformed, the entire body is reformed, and when it becomes corrupt the entire body becomes corrupt”. Behold! This (piece of flesh) is the heart. (Bukhari)

We learn from this Hadith that the heart heavily influences our behavioural pattern and is at the centre of our actions. This also agrees with our rationale because our actions are often the result of our beliefs, opinions, and desires which lie deep within us. If we make a sincere effort to purify our souls and mould them to be submissive to the will of Allah, it will become much easier to obey him and safeguard ourselves from inviting his wrath. What many of us fail to realise is that any progress in this task demands great effort and diligence from our side along with the constant duaa (supplication), pleading with Allah for guidance, which we are so accustomed to (Alhamdulillah). Allah mentions in the Holy Quran, “And (to) those who strive in our way We undoubtedly open our paths”.

If we leave no stone unturned in confronting Shaytaan and the ‘nafs' (the soul), striving wholeheartedly not to fall prey to them, then Allah will, out of his boundless mercy, open the doors of guidance for us. He will direct us to his obedience and holding steadfast to the Sunnah of our beloved Prophet which is described in the Quran as being the key to success:
“And he who obey Allah and His Prophet has indeed achieved a great triumph”

Adopting the company of the pious and the ulama

Ok! So we have a poorly patient in need of Spiritual doctoring. But how do we diagnose its maladies? And how do we go about treating them? Where do we search for the cure?
If we study the life of Rasullullah , we will find that his social conduct and dealings with anyone he came into contact with, especially the eminent Sahaba, illustrates and clearly outlines the principles we need to assimilate and implement in order to achieve the best results. The revolution of Arabia and the renaissance of morals and good conduct was the outcome of his priceless company adopted by his companions. The examples of the Prophet and his companions allegorically sets the benchmark for self-rectification and purification of the soul. It is a great shame that we do not take lesson from this. There are still very few who regard the company of the pious, the friends of Allah to be of any importance. Hakeemul Ummah, Hadhrat Moulana Ashraf Ali Thanwi Rahmatullahi Alay emphasized that not all of the Sahaba were Ulamaa (learned scholars of religion) but they achieved whatever they had achieved merely through his company. He further stressed that the righteous friends of Allah have always held firm onto ‘Suhbat' (adopting the company of the Pious). They have never given as much attention to acquiring knowledge as they have to Suhbat and Companionship.

“O those who believe, fear Allah and seek unto Him a medium and strive in His path so that you may be successful.”

In this verse Allah instructs us to search for means through which we can reach Him. The commentary of this verse, as according to many of the Sahaba and Tabieen, suggests that the word ‘Waseelah' in this verse (translated as a medium or means) literally refers to every source which aids one in attaining the ultimate pleasure of Allah, and gaining nearness to Him. The saintly and devout servants of Allah are a great means of guidance for us. Accompanying them can open many channels directly leading to the pleasure of Allah. Therefore, it is imperative to befriend them, comply with their consultations and remain in their company.

Only then we will be able to benefit from them and taste the fruits which blossom from deep within them. The blessings of Allah constantly descend upon His friends and they are perpetually caressed with His favours. If we accompany them it is highly possible that we may be granted a portion of these bounties.

We live in an era wherein the world has been stripped of any shame or modesty. Modern ills and traits encapsulating over environments have gradually crept into those parts of the world where Muslims are densely populated, such as the Middle East , Africa and the Indian subcontinent. Not only our actions, but our thinking and frame of mind have also transformed.

The detestable traits and foul habits of the non-Muslims have become a part of us, darkening our souls, preventing the light of Imaan (faith) from penetrating the heart. Thus, we have fallen short of the remembrance of our creator and spiritually we are dying. The Prophet of Allah explained: “An example of that person who remembers His Lord and one that does not, is like that of the living and the dead” (Bukhari, Muslim)

The Ahlu-llah are sometimes referred to as ‘Ahle-dil' (people of the heart) because they are like spiritual doctors who treat the soul. These very people can diagnose ailments through insight gifted to them by Allah. They have the remedies to cure our spiritual illnesses and aid us in the struggle to change our lives. They can help us to revive the remembrance of Allah in our hearts which have become dormant due to our disobedience. It is essential to maintain a strong connection with such people as history has shown repeatedly that those who have failed to affiliate with them have deviated in someway or another.

May Allah bless us with the company of such saints and may He grant us the capacity and the strength to benefit from them. (Ameen)

Courtesy of: Inter-Islam

An Evening of Knowledge

2007-06-04T19:13:00.000Z

Key Advice for the Newly Wed

2007-05-19T18:00:00.000Z

Based on the advices of Shaykh Muhammad Saleem Dhorat
prepared by Brother Aslam Patel

Taken from www.haqislam.org

“You have never seen anything better than marriage for those who love.”

(Ibne Mãjah)

Shaykh Muhammad Saleem Dhorat dãmat barakãtuhum advises:

1. Every action is dependant upon intention. When marrying, both partners should therefore make a firm intention to accomplish the following objectives:

Following the Sunnah of our beloved Nabee Muhammad s.
Safeguarding oneself from sins.
Parenting pious children.

2. When marrying, each becomes the other’s lifetime companion. Each should understand and appreciate that Allah S has brought them both together and that their destiny in life has now become one. Whatever the circumstances: happiness or sorrow; health or sickness; wealth or poverty; comfort or hardship; trial or ease; all events are to be confronted together as a team with mutual affection and respect. No matter how wealthy, affluent, materially prosperous and “better-off” another couple may appear, one’s circumstances are to be happily accepted with qanã‘at (contentment upon the Choice of Allah S). The wife should happily accept her husband, his home and income as her lot and should always feel that her husband is her true beloved and best friend and well-wisher in all family decisions. The husband too should accept his wife as his partner-for-life and not cast a glance towards another.

3. Nowadays, the husband reads about, and is well-informed of his rights and demands them. Similarly, the wife reads of her rights and expects them. However, both should concentrate on being aware of each other’s rights and then strive to fulfil them. This is the prescription for a prosperous marriage and everlasting love.

4. During the first year of marriage, the couple must try and spend as much time as possible together. This is especially true for the first two months as it provides an opportunity to understand each other’s temperaments and establishes a firm foundation which contributes towards securing a prosperous marriage.

5. The couple (especially the husband) must make a point to arrive home early after ‘Ishã Salãh and scrupulously avoid the habit of socialising with friends late into the evening. Wherever possible, business, employment and other activities should be concluded beforehand or curtailed in order to set aside time for spending together.

6. Mutual respect between husband and wife should not be lost. They should each be very particular about following the Deen right from the initial stages of married life. This will also ensure a religious environment for the children to be nurtured in, contributing greatly towards their successful upbringing.

7. True and everlasting prosperity is only possible for Muslims when they follow the Sunnah of Rasoolullah s in all affairs. The couple too, should adhere to the teachings of Rasoolullah s in all their matters and abstain from anything which contradicts them. Careful attention should be given to this in their intimate relationship too. Inshã’allah this will be an assured approach to acquiring the blessing of pious offspring.

8. In the initial stages of marriage, the love between the couple is a physical bond, wherein emotional changes take place all the time. Despite great passion and physical love for each other, affection between the couple is not yet well established or on a rational basis. Such rational love comes after many years together. It is therefore extremely important for the husband not to succumb to emotional weaknesses at the onset and let the marriage waver towards an irreligious direction. Both the husband and wife should make a pledge to each other to steadfastly follow the Deen, especially in the performance of Salãh and in avoiding all sins.

9. Marriage is like the weather, forever changing. Sometimes it is cloudy and rainy, life appears gloomy, then the sun appears and rays of happiness break through bringing joy. At times, one experiences rain, wind and sunshine all in one day. Such is life, and like the seasons, we go through different experiences. The secret is to remain devoted and steadfast to one’s Deen and spouse.

10. The husband should be sympathetic to the fact that his wife has left her parents, brothers and sisters to start a new life with him. Her sacrifice and her feelings should be respected and joy should be felt by both partners at the expansion of their families. Just as the wife should treat her husband’s parents as her own, he should also extend affection, courtesy and respect to his new in-laws.

11. As soon as one experiences a problem, no matter how trivial, which remains unresolved for more than three days, consult a person who is both knowledgeable and your sincere well-wisher.

Source: Islamic Da'wah Academy

Seven Persons in Allah Ta'ala's shade on the day of judgement

2007-05-14T09:22:00.000Z

Narrated Abu Huraira (Radi Allah Anhu): The Prophet (Sallalahu Alaihe Wassalam)) said:

"Allah will give shade, to seven, on the Day when there will be no shade but His. These seven persons are:

1) A just ruler,

2) A youth who has been brought up in the worship of Allah (i.e. worships Allah sincerely from childhood),

3) A man whose heart is attached to the mosques (i.e. to pray the compulsory prayers in the mosque in congregation),

4) Two persons who love each other only for Allah's sake and they meet and part in Allah's cause only,

5) A man who refuses the call of a charming woman of noble birth for illicit intercourse with her and says: I am afraid of Allah,

6) A man who gives charitable gifts so secretly that his left hand does not know what his right hand has given (i.e. nobody knows how much he has given in charity),

7) And a person who remembers Allah in seclusion and his eyes are then flooded with tears."

[Sahih Bukhari: Volume 1, Book 11, Number 629]
Know that Allah does give life to a dead heart just as He gives life to earth after its death

Taking a break...

2007-03-24T18:59:00.000Z

قَالَ يَا قَوْمِ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِن كُنتُ عَلَىَ بَيِّنَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّي وَرَزَقَنِي مِنْهُ رِزْقًا حَسَنًا وَمَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ أُخَالِفَكُمْ إِلَى مَا أَنْهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ إِنْ أُرِيدُ إِلاَّ الإِصْلاَحَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ وَمَا تَوْفِيقِي إِلاَّ بِاللّهِ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَإِلَيْهِ أُنِيبُ

Qala ya qawmi araaytum in kuntu AAala bayyinatin min rabbee warazaqanee minhu rizqan hasanan wama oreedu an okhalifakum ila ma anhakum AAanhu in oreedu illa alislaha ma istataAAtu wama tawfeeqee illa biAllahi AAalayhi tawakkaltu wailayhi oneebu
11:88 (Surah Hud)

He said: "O my people! see ye whether I have a Clear (Sign) from my Lord, and He hath given me sustenance (pure and) good as from Himself? I wish not, in opposition to you, to do that which I forbid you to do. I only desire (your) betterment to the best of my power; and my success (in my task) can only come from Allah. In Him I trust, and unto Him I look.

The real richness..

2007-03-16T23:05:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

'Plenty of provision or abundance do not make a person rich and wealthy; real richness is the benevolence of the heart'
{Sahih Bhukari}

Maulana Ibrahim Memon Madani mentioned the following in one of his dars during my stay in Buffalo:

Allah Ta'ala asks us to ponder upon the fact that He has created all things in the dunya for us. It is important for us to realise that all that we see around us has been created for us but this does not mean that we need to use all that has been created for us. We are not supposed to 'serve' these things; they were created to 'serve' us. Allah Ta'ala tells us in short, not to become slaves of these objects. When we forget the bounties that Allah Ta'ala has bestowed upon us and we become engrossed in the dunya so much so that we become slaves of these objects and begin to like, love, protect and then eventually worship them. The immense love for money that society holds is an example of how begin to worship that which has been created for us.

History has shown that at all times people have had something that they hold in great esteem e.g. respect for a certain picture on the wall or a certain idol. The respect observed for these objects sometimes reaches a point where eventually individuals begin to bow down before them. Maulana Ibrahim Memon mentioned the example of the $100 bill. Even if a person is praying salah, if he sees a $100 bill flying in front of him, he will pick up the dollar bill never mind the salah! In this case the individual has placed greater importance to the money over his salah.

When a person thinks that they will loose something e.g. wealth, status, family or friends, it is natural for the person to want to protect these things. However, at this point shaytaan finds a fine opportunity to grasp hold of us by telling us that we will definitely loose these things. Isn’t it funny how we do not worry or concern ourselves in the slightest when it comes to loosing the deen of Allah Ta’ala?

Allah Ta’ala says that He has created man and jinn for his worship alone, why do we then become the servants on the dunya?

Allah Ta’ala has created everything on the dunya with a fixed purpose. Even those things that we do not have control over such as the sun and the moon are busy in fulfilling the command of Allah Ta’ala.

Commitments of this life are many and encompass everyday of our lives but our main commitment is to Allah Ta’ala. At any moment, the angle of death will come to visit us and all schedules and commitments will disappear forever. No Money, no Family nor friends will accompany us to the grave. It will be our amaal that will remain with us in this dunya and in the hereafter.

Allah Ta’ala causes us to live and causes us to die. When we sleep we undergo the minor death but when daylight breaks we once again come back to life. Allah Ta’ala has bestowed upon us every opportunity to conduct good deeds however we have become so accustomed to waking up from this minor death that we continue to delay these good deeds until later on. How many times have we heard our friends or family remark that they will delay a good deed for later on and then make the change in their life? This is shaytaan playing with us for shaytaan is very intelligent and knows that it is a race against time. When Allah Ta’ala commands for our soul to be taken there will be no ‘later on’ for us to carry out this good deed.

‘Kal naa aye, kabhi naa ayegi yeh kal’
If tomorrow does not come, Tomorrow will never come

Whatever we need to do, we need to do it today. By postponing what we are meant to do, we are postponing our commitment to Rabbul Alameen.

Allah Ta’ala has given us everything from respect, knowledge and abilities to carry out the most skilled of tasks; yet we forget what Rabbul Alameen has given us, and succumb to the tricks of the shaytaan. We put our deen as our final and least important priority. Why is it that we prefer the ‘living idols’ such as our boss or the company over our creator and sustainer?

On a final note, I leave you with the following to ponder upon..

…real richness is the benevolence of the heart'

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

The eleven women of hijaz

2007-03-11T21:13:00.000Z

Sahih Bhukari; Volume 7, Book 62, Number 117:

Narrated by Aisha Radiallahu anha:

Eleven women sat (at a place) and promised and contracted that they would not conceal anything of the news of their husbands.

The first one said, "My husband is like the meat of a lean weak camel which is kept on the top of a mountain which is neither easy to climb, nor is the meat fat, so that one might put up with the trouble of fetching it."

The second one said, "I shall not relate my husband's news, for I fear that I may not be able to finish his story, for if I describe him, I will mention all his defects and bad traits."

The third one said, "My husband is a tall man; if I describe him (and he hears of that) he will divorce me, and if I keep quiet, he will neither divorce me nor treat me as a wife."

The fourth one said, "My husband is a moderate person like the night of Tihama which is neither hot nor cold. I am neither afraid of him, nor am I discontented with him."

The fifth one said, "My husband, when entering (the house) is a leopard, and when going out, is a lion. He does not ask about whatever is in the house."

The sixth one said, "If my husband eats. he eats too much (leaving the dishes empty), and if he drinks he leaves nothing, and if he sleeps he sleeps alone (away from me) covered in garments and does not stretch his hands here and there so as to know how I fare (get along)."

The seventh one said, "My husband is a wrong-doer or weak and foolish. All the defects are present in him. He may injure your head or your body or may do both."

The eighth one said, "My husband is soft to touch like a rabbit and smells like a Zarnab (a kind of good smelling grass)."

The ninth one said, "My husband is a tall generous man wearing a long strap for carrying his sword. His ashes are abundant and his house is near to the people who would easily consult him."

The tenth one said, "My husband is Malik, and what is Malik? Malik is greater than whatever I say about him. (He is beyond and above all praises which can come to my mind). Most of his camels are kept at home (ready to be slaughtered for the guests) and only a few are taken to the pastures. When the camels hear the sound of the lute (or the tambourine) they realize that they are going to be slaughtered for the guests."

The eleventh one said, "My husband is Abu Zar and what is Abu Zar (i.e., what should I say about him)? He has given me many ornaments and my ears are heavily loaded with them and my arms have become fat (i.e., I have become fat). And he has pleased me, and I have become so happy that I feel proud of myself. He found me with my family who were mere owners of sheep and living in poverty, and brought me to a respected family having horses and camels and threshing and purifying grain . Whatever I say, he does not rebuke or insult me. When I sleep, I sleep till late in the morning, and when I drink water (or milk), I drink my fill.

The mother of Abu Zar and what may one say in praise of the mother of Abu Zar? Her saddle bags were always full of provision and her house was spacious. As for the son of Abu Zar, what may one say of the son of Abu Zar? His bed is as narrow as an unsheathed sword and an arm of a kid (of four months) satisfies his hunger. As for the daughter of Abu Zar, she is obedient to her father and to her mother. She has a fat well-built body and that arouses the jealousy of her husband's other wife. As for the (maid) slave girl of Abu Zar, what may one say of the (maid) slavegirl of Abu Zar? She does not uncover our secrets but keeps them, and does not waste our provisions and does not leave the rubbish scattered everywhere in our house."

The eleventh lady added, "One day it so happened that Abu Zar went out at the time when the milk was being milked from the animals, and he saw a woman who had two sons like two leopards playing with her two breasts. (On seeing her) he divorced me and married her.

Thereafter I married a noble man who used to ride a fast tireless horse and keep a spear in his hand. He gave me many things, and also a pair of every kind of livestock and said, 'Eat (of this), O Um Zar, and give provision to your relatives." She added, "Yet, all those things which my second husband gave me could not fill the smallest utensil of Abu Zar's." 'Aisha then said: Allah's Apostle said to me, "I am to you as Abu Zar was to his wife Um Zar."

The power of dua

2007-02-18T16:47:00.000Z

By Khalid Baig Posted: 14 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1423, 27 May 2002 www.albalagh.net

Once Prophet Muhammad passed by a people who were suffering from some affliction. "Why don't they make dua (pray) to Allah for protection," he said. With all the suffering and disasters Muslims are facing in various parts of the world, the question can be directed to all of us today.

It is not that we have forgotten dua completely; we refer to it regularly. But, our ideas and practice regarding dua have become distorted. Often it is reduced to the level of a ritual. Generally it is considered when all our efforts have failed --- an act of last resort. It is belittled through actions and sometimes even with words. Is it any wonder that today mostly a mention of dua is meant to indicate the hopelessness of a situation.

What a tragedy, for dua is the most potent weapon of a believer. It can change fate, while no action of ours ever can. It is the essence of ibadah or worship. With it we can never fail; without it we can never succeed. In the proper scheme of things, dua should be the first and the last resort of the believer, with all his plans and actions coming in between.

Dua is conversation with Allah, out Creator, our Lord and Master, the All Knowing, the All Powerful. This act in itself is of extraordinary significance. It is the most uplifting, liberating, empowering, and transforming conversation a person can ever have. We turn to Him because we know that He alone can lift our sufferings and solve our problems. We feel relieved after describing our difficulties to our Creator. We feel empowered after having communicated with the All Mighty. We sense His mercy all around us after talking to the Most Merciful. We get a new commitment to follow His path for that is the only path for success. We feel blessed with each such commitment

In every difficulty our first action is dua, as is our last. We ask Allah to show us the way to handle that difficulty; we seek His help in following the path He shows to us; we seek His aid in making our efforts successful. When we fall sick, we know that we cannot find the right doctor without His Will; that the best doctor may not be able to diagnose our condition without His Command; that the best treatment plan will not succeed without His Permission. We make dua for all of these. We make dua before we seek medical help, while we are receiving it and after it has been delivered. The same is true of all other difficulties we may encounter.

Dua is the essence of ibadah. A person engaged in dua affirms his belief in Tawheed (monotheism) and shuns belief in all false gods. With each dua his belief in Allah grows. He beseeches Him, affirming his own powerlessness. A person seriously and sincerely engaged in dua understands exactly the relationship between himself and the Creator and affirms it through his actions. That is the essence of worship! Additionally, such a person can never become arrogant or proud, a logical result of true worship.

Dua is our most potent weapon in all struggles of life as well as in jihad in the battlefield. During the battle of Badr, the Prophet Muhammad stood up all night in prayer seeking Allah's help in the battle between unequal armies that would follow the next day. In the decisive battles against the crusaders, Sultan Salatuddin Ayyubi was busy day and night. His days were devoted to Jihad. His nights were spent making dua, crying, seeking Allah's help. This has been the practice of all true mujahideen.

We should make it a point to make dua for all things big and small. It is the beginning of wisdom to realize that big and small are arbitrary labels that are totally irrelevant in this context. Nothing is too big for Whom we are asking from; nothing is too small for the one who is asking. That is why we have been taught to ask Allah when we need something as small as shoelaces. We should ask as a beggar, as a destitute person, for that is what we in reality are in relationship to Allah. At the same time we should ask with great hope and conviction that we shall be granted our prayers. We should remember the Hadith: "There is nothing more dear to Allah than a servant making dua to Him." On the other hand, a prayer lacking concentration and conviction is no prayer at all.

We should make dua at all times, not only during times of distress. The Prophet Muhammad said: "Whosoever desires that Allah answers his duas in unfavorable and difficult conditions, he should make plentiful dua in days of ease and comfort." Also he said: "The person who does not ask from Allah, Allah becomes angry with him."

We should ask for all of our needs: those related to this world as well as those related to the Hereafter. Those who only concentrate on the former are, in effect, announcing that they don't care for their life in the permanent abode. They should blame no body but themselves for the total ruin in that world that Qur'an assures us awaits them. Those who only concentrate on the later are also showing lack of balance, for we need Allah's help to lead a good life here as well.
We should make dua not only for ourselves but also for our parents, brothers and sisters, spouses and children, relatives and friends, teachers and other benefactors, and destitute and struggling Muslims everywhere. We should pray for them for the good in this world as well as in the Hereafter. The Prophet said: "The dua of a Muslim for his brother (in Islam) in his absence is readily accepted. An angel is appointed to his side. Whenever he makes a beneficial dua for his brother the appointed angel says, 'Aameen. And may you also be blessed with the same.'" [Sahih Muslim]

In the dark ages that we are living in today, everyday brings fresh news about atrocities committed against our brothers in Palestine, Kashmir, India, Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechnya, and the list goes on. And what do we do? We can continue to just feel frustrated and depressed. We can petition the determined perpetrators or a fictional "International Community". We can just forget all this and move on to some other subject. Or we can stand up before Allah and pray for His help, who alone can help. The dua can change our life, our outlook, and our fate. It is the most potent weapon. But it works only for those who try sincerely and seriously to use it.

The Pious Husband

2007-02-08T14:56:00.000Z

author unknown

Marriage to him is one half of the deen,
To please Allah (swt) is more than a dream.

He wears his beard for his Lord, to please and obey,
He turns to Allah (swt) for Salah at least five times a day.

He prays in the night and makes sure to wake you,
And strives during daylight to provide and protect you.

He lowers his gaze with firmness because he does not desire,
To displease Allah (swt) and face His just ire,

He asks advice from the ummah, and his wife too,
Before making decisions that he might later rue.

To his wife he is humble and always most kind,
Sharing his burdens with strength and clear mind.

He opens his mouth only to say what is best,
Weighing all options ‘fore denying a request.

He takes care of himself and family too
Knowing that Allah (swt) will see them through.

He is a pleasure from Allah (swt) above
Be thankful to Allah (swt) and His blessings through love.

Courtesy of http://www.islamicpoems.blogspot.com/

Baarakallaahu lakumaa wa baaraka 'alaikumaa
'May Allah Ta'ala shower His blessings upon you' Ameen...

CABG

2007-01-28T00:33:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

It sounds like cabbage but definitely isn’t. CABG is an abbreviation for ‘Coronary Artery Bypass Graft’. Without going into too much detail or terminology, this is a surgical procedure carried out on patients who have an occlusion (blockage) or narrowing of a coronary artery which can eventually lead to a heart attack. A vein taken from another part of the body (usually the leg) is used to bypass a narrowed or blocked coronary artery; this therefore improves blood flow to the heart and reduces the chance of a person experiencing a heart attack.

So how is this related to you & me?

It is related to me because I had first hand experience monitoring the drug therapy of these patients during my cardiothoracic rotation, but besides this I had an opportunity to once more actually reflect on what I saw and how this was related to Allah Ta’ala and His creation.

The heart is an organ essential to the existence of man, just like the brain and other organs. Damage here or there will most likely result in a lifelong heart condition or potentially death depending on the severity.

Allah Ta’ala says in surah Tin

لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ
95:4 We have indeed created man in the best of moulds,

Allah Ta’ala is ‘Al-Bari’ The maker and ‘Al-Musawwir’ The fashioner. He has created all things in proportion. He is the moulder of each form and frame. He is the designer and builder of the heavens and the earth.

هُوَ اللَّهُ الْخَالِقُ الْبَارِئُ الْمُصَوِّرُ
59:24 He is Allah, the Creator, the Evolver, the Bestower of Forms

A thought to ponder upon…

The heart is essential to the existence of man. Disease can result in death. In this same way our hearts if spiritually ‘healthy’ can take us a long way in becoming closer to our creator but if our hearts become ‘diseased’ and are covered up in sin, we begin to become weak until we reach a stage where it is hard to turn back. Eventually we come to a point where our hearts become ‘spiritually dead’ and this is when we loose all sense of imaan.

There are many things that we do in our day to day lives that lead us down this road of no return. They may seem insignificant to us at the time but just as cholesterol deposits in a patients artery over a period of years and eventually comes to a point where there is complete occlusion resulting in the restriction of blood flow, and then the patient experiences a heart attack; In the same way sin accumulates in the heart until we reach a point where our hearts fail to feel any sense of remorse or regret for anything that we do. The ‘spiritual death’ of our heart is a distressing condition to be in because our heart and our existence has been created to be in sync with the commands of Allah Ta’ala. When we go against His commands, His blessings and mercy are lifted from us, our hearts fall into a state of confusion, our lives begin to fall apart and we are unable to feel the contentment that we once felt, but we remain completely oblivious to the fact that it is our self inflicted distancing from our creator that has put us in this sorry state.

This is the state of a ‘spiritually dead’ heart but what about those of us whose hearts are diseased yet not to the extent where we are ‘spiritually dead’. This means that we have a chance; one of the many chances given to us by Allah Ta’ala. A chance to rectify ourselves, an opportunity to re-establish that flow of goodness and peace to make our hearts ‘alive’ once again.

How do we achieve this?

Our beloved nabi salalahu alayhi wasallam instructed and advised the sahaba radiallahu anhum to keep their hearts illuminated with dhikr. According to our nabi salalahu alayhi wasallam the heart is the source of good and bad thoughts and deeds. When there is a degree of neglect on the part of the believer in the remembrance of Allah Ta’ala, bad ideas and thoughts occur and ultimately result in sins. When the remembrance of Allah Ta’ala is abundant, bad thoughts and ideas are suppressed and good ones occur which lead to good deeds.

Ibn Abbas Radiallahu anhu reported that our nabi salalahu alayhi wasallam said:

Satan is holding fast mans heart and when man remembers Allah Ta’ala, he leaves the heart and when man becomes careless in remembrance he begins to create ill feelings.
(Bhukari)

In addition our nabi salalahu alayhi wasallam also said that everything has a polish and that the polish of the heart is the remembrance of Allah Ta’ala.

The remembrance of Allah Ta’ala is a blessing that can never be counted and the satisfaction cannot be measured. We should ensure that we occupy ourselves in the dhikr of Allah Ta’ala during our daily lives as this will save us from bad thoughts that will disease our hearts and lead us to that road of no return. Dhikr relives us of those worries that would otherwise eat into our hearts and will ultimately improve both our spiritual and worldly life.

May Allah Ta’ala give us the inclination to act upon the beloved teachings of our habib salalahu alayhi wasallam, and may we blessed with the proximity to Allah Ta’ala. Ameen.

On a finishing note, in a few months time I will be blessed with completing a very important and special half of my deen, Inshallah Ta’ala. I therefore humbly request you to remember us in your precious duas. Jazakallahu khair.

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

The Pilgrimage of Life..

2007-01-10T19:42:00.000Z

Leaving with a mission in mind,
Self-endurance, tenacity and faith are the needed characters.
The fears of misconduct,
The excitement of observing,
And the satisfaction of completion, occupy the mind,
A new status is then gained.
Does the status live to shine, or does it gradually die?
Some return with the mission perused,
Some return with their souls renewed,
Some... Just never return.

Courtesy: Inter Islam

EID MUBARAK

2006-12-30T02:02:00.000Z

Eid Mubarak to all the readers from Sister Aaliyah and Mujahidah-an-Nafs.

I pray that Sister Mujahidah is in the best of health and Imaan and she is remembering us in her blessed journey to perform the pilgrimage. May Allah accept her efforts and give her a full and complete reward. Aameen.

Special Eid Mubarak to all my special and beloved sisters, you know who you are.

Journey Ends ~ Umm Zahra ~ Sister Sajeda ~ {Du'as Requested}

2006-12-07T15:40:00.000Z

Hajj Training Programme @ Azhar Academy

2006-12-01T13:19:00.000Z

Attachment to the world grows with age..

2006-11-25T15:12:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

A year older, a year nearer to death...

I found an important reminder by Maulana Manzur Naumani (check out right islam.com) for myself and others Alhamdulillah.. May Allah Ta'ala save us from the worthless attachment to the dunya and make us steadfast in His beautiful deen. Ameen.

(167) It is related by Anas that the Apostle of God said:

“Man grows old [and all his faculties are enfeebled], but two attributes of his nature become more young and vigorous, namely, desire for wealth and yearning for longevity.”

-Bukhari and Muslim

Commentary.-Man is a prey to countless desires and endless aspirations, some of which are positively bad and these can be realised only when one is young and has money. It is the duty of the intellect to save a man from the unhappy consequences of such wishes. But, when due to old age, the intellect, too, fails in strength and its hold on the emotions loses its firmness, some of the desires develop into a passion and begin to rule over him. Attachment to worldly possessions and the desire to have a long life, generally, grow with advancing years. But those who are truly aware of the end of this world and have disciplined their inner selves are an exception to it.

(168) Abu Hurairah narrated to us that the Apostle of God [once] said:

“The heart of an old man always remains young in respect of two things:

love of the material world and tall desires.”

-Bukhari and Muslim

Commentary.-As we have seen in the preceding Tradition, fondness for the material things of life, generally, grows with age but with those who have attained a degree of God-realisation and possess a true understanding of this world and the next, it is different. In them, the love of God and yearning for the blessings of Futurity keep developing even in old age and each day of their life marks an advance on the previous one in this respect.

Duas requested

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

Ayyub (AS) - An example of faith and patience

2006-11-17T19:41:00.000Z

The story of Ayub (Job) gives consolation to all those who are ill or deprived of wealth or children.

The angels were discussing the conditions of mankind, their obedience anddisobedience. One of them said that Ayub was the best man on earth. He was an obedient believer, always praying to Allah.

Allah blessed Ayub to be wealthy for eighty years. During this time he never forgot to worship or thank Allah. He shared his wealth with the poor and clothed the naked.Satan could not believe that there was a servant as sincere as Ayub.

Satan thought that his wealth was the reason for his sincerity, so he asked Allah for power to take away Ayub's wealth with the intentions to mislead him. He reacted to his lost by saying that the wealth belongs to Allah and I thank him for what he has granted me and I thank him for what he has taken. He then kneeled down in prayer. This made Satan angry.

Satan tried twice to mislead Ayub after losing his wealth by asking Allah for power to take away his children and health. Allah (swt) said I will give you power over his body, but I warn you against approaching his soul, tongue, and heart, because in them lies the secret of Faith.

Ayub acted in the same manner as when his wealth was taken away from him.

Satan realized that he couldn't misguide Ayub, so he went to his wife to mislead her, by reminding her of their previous life style. Satan was successful in misleading his wife. This led to her complaining to Ayub about their present state. This caused Ayub to become upset with her and he vowed that he would beat her 100 times if Allah gave him back his health.

Satan was not successful in misguiding Ayub. Allah then restored him with all that he had lost. Ayub now had to fulfill his vow of striking his wife.Allah ordered him to strike his wife once with a 100 pieces of good smelling grass, out of mercy for her. Indeed Allah is the most merciful.

The story of Ayub should be a constant reminder for us all. We should read this story often just to remind ourselves. Many of us complain about the little things in life. Allah tested Ayub in ways that we can really relate to. His faith and patience is something that we as true believing Muslims should try and implement in our lives, when Allah tests us in these situations. In the Quraan Allah says,

"Truly! We found him patient. How excellent (a) slave! Verily, he was ever oft returning in repentance (to us)." [Quran:38:4].

During these times we must remember Allah more, pray harder, and be more thankful instead of being dissatisfied with our condition. We should praise and thank Allah for every condition that he tests us with. As we know these are the times when Satan tries to work on us the most by playing with our minds, emotions, and weaknesses. Allah would never forget to reward a servant for such a great task.

"And (remember) Ayub when he cried to his Lord: Verily, distress has seized me and you are the Most Merciful of all who show mercy." [Quraan:21:83]

"So We answered his call, and We removed the distress that was on him, and We restored his family to him (that he had lost), and the like thereof along with them, as a mercy from Ourselves and a Reminder for all those who worship us." [Quraan:21:84]

May Allah give us the faith and the patience when we are tested. Ameen

Hajj - A guide for intending pilgrims

2006-11-11T18:38:00.000Z

NIYYAH

1. The person who intends to perform Hajj must do so with the express niyyah of attaining Allah’s Pleasure, and to fulfil one’s fardh, and also to diligently carry out the Commands of Allah and His Rasool sallallahu alayhi wasallam. The rewards for deeds depend greatly on the niyyah that is formed. Sincerity is extremely important.

2. The ‘ibaadah of Hajj has the exclusive status of being fardh only once a lifetime, for those who can afford it. It is therefore important that the sincerity of intention must be given due regard. In other ‘ibaadaat and devotions it is possible to gradually develop ikhlaas, whereas the time available for Hajj is usually limited. The need for ikhlaas is vital because a fardh Hajj can never be repeated. During your journey to Hajj a concerted effort towards developing this all important sincerity must be made.

3. It is important that Hajj should be kept free of ulterior and worldly motives. Joining worldly objectives with religious aims is like adding water to milk. There are three types of adulteration which are possible in the performance of Hajj;To ruin the Hajj even before departing from home by having a desire to be called a haji, and using haraam or doubtful earnings for this ‘ibaadah.To engage in improper acts while performing Hajj e.g. to commit sins during the time that one is engaged in the performance of Hajj, to have arguments, not to make tawbah (repentance).To complete the Hajj and then to indulge in such deeds that defile the Hajj, e.g. to neglect the fardh salaat, to indulge in sin etc.Perform the Hajj with all its aadaab and requisites, for anything done in keeping with this is well accomplished.

4. While in Hajj do not do things to display to others. Do not announce your Hajj to all and sundry. (To avoid riyaa which is to show off and act to gain fame). On returning from Hajj do not emphasize the difficulties which may have been endured, instead turn your attention towards the eternal benefits and rewards you will receive. One must understand that the difficulties endured during this sacred journey are insignificant compared to the high position one will receive in jannah.

TAWBAH

5. Before beginning one’s journey repent sincerely. Perform two rakaats nafl with the niyyah of tawbah. The effect of sincerely repenting and then proceeding for hajj will be, that one will be favoured by Allah Ta‘ala and blessed with the strength to continually do good deeds.

6. Develop a relationship with the pious person for guidance. This will assist you in making a true and sincere tawbah.

FULFILMENT OF DEBT

7. If you have monetary debt or are responsible for any moral transgression, then fulfil your debt or have it waived, and have your moral violations forgiven. It is important that one settles all outstanding matters and transactions, and has his faults and shortcomings forgiven.

8. All amaanaat (trusts) and anything borrowed must be returned. A detailed and final will must be made regarding all important matters.

EDUCATION

9. It is compulsory for a person who wishes to perform Hajj to learn the necessary masaail well before the time of Hajj. When a firm intention is made then first learn the necessary masaail, or acquire these from a reliable and recognized aalim (scholar).

DEPARTURE

10. Depart with happiness from home. A Hajj which is performed with a feeling of love and keenness is conducive to religious upliftment. Inconvenience during travel should not hamper this love and keenness.

11. Perform two rakaats nafl before departing. Take care that this salaat is not performed during the makrooh times. Give some sadaqah to the poor before leaving home and also after commencing your journey.

12. Ask your near and dear ones, neighbours and friends to overlook and forgive your shortcomings. Make a request for their du‘aa. Make musafahah (shake hands) using both hands when leaving. Do not make musafahah with non-mahrams (those of the opposite sex whom you can marry).

13. Be at your best behaviour amongst your companions. Assist them in their needs. The person who helps his companions on this journey will be regarded as a mujaahid (one who strives to uplift Islaam).

IBAADAH Salaat, Du‘aa, Tawaaf and Tilaawat

14. Take great care and be punctual in the performance of all salaat with jama‘at whilst visiting the sacred places. Do not delay any salaat at all.

15. After every salaat beseech from Allah ta‘aalaa that He grant you a mabroor Hajj (one that is accepted and free from sin). A Hajj which is full of Allah ta‘aalaa’s Blessings and Favours.

16. A haji is fortunate in being present at the various sacred places where du‘aa are assured acceptance. Therefore repeatedly ask Allah ta‘aalaa for your needs of this world and the Hereafter. Your du‘aa must be appropriate and made with respect and humbleness. Do not ask for meaningless and unrighteous things.

17. There are three persons whose du‘aa are assured acceptance; the oppressed, the traveller and the father’s du‘aa for his son, (meaning children).

18. The qadhaa (fulfilment in arrears) of ‘ibaadaat which are owing to Allah ta‘aalaa should be correctly fulfilled or compensated.

19. The reward for one salaat in the Masjidul Haraam (Makkah) is 100,000 fold (with jama‘at 2,700,000). The reward for salaat in the Masjidun Nabawi (Madeenah) is 50,000 fold. Each good deed done in Makkah is equivalent in reward to 100,000 good deeds done elsewhere.

20. Whenever entering either of the two masjid or any other masjid, form a niyyah for nafl i‘tikaaf.

21. Your stay in the Masjidul Haraam and Masjidun Nabawi must be with utmost dignity and honour.

22. Perform as many tawaaf, umrah and nafl salaat as you can and make du‘aa that the thawaab (reward) of this be presented to Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam.

23. Complete the Qur’aan at least once in each of the two Holy Masjid, i.e. Makkah and Madeenah.

24. Perform nafl salaat with the niyyah of expressing one’s gratitude to Allah ta‘aalaa.

MAKKAH MUKARRAMAH

25. During your stay in Makkah abundantly increase your recital of the Kalimah Tayyibah: Laa’ilaha il lal’lahu·, and istighfar: ‘Astaghfirullah·.

26. If you desire, give an excellent gift to your near dear ones, friends who are living, and especially those who have passed away. The gift of the rewards of tawaaf and umrah will please their souls very much. There will be no reduction from your own reward for these acts.

27. Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam has said that the water of Zamzam will have the desired effect of whatever intention is made at the time of drinking Zamzam. Zamzam should be drunk with the intention of quenching the thirst of the Day of Qiyaamah (resurrection). It should also be taken with the intention of shifaa (cure) from spiritual and physical ailments. It is commendable to drink Zamzam with the niyyah of being granted the tawfeeq of conforming to the sunnah of our beloved Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam.

MADEENAH MUNAWWARAH

28. It is stated in hadeeth: (i) “Whoever comes with the sole intention of visiting my grave, my intercession will become incumbent for that person”.(ii) “Whoever visits my grave after my death is like the one who has visited me during my lifetime”.

29. Recite durood (salutations) in abundance on Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, on beginning your journey to and from Madeenah Munawwarah, and during your stay there.

30. To hurt or cause inconvenience to any Muslim and especially the people of Madeenah Munawwarah is a great sin.

GENERAL

31. Choose an able pious companion who will assist you in times of need, and it is better if this companion is a reliable recognized aalim (scholar).

32. Regard the time in Hajj as a blessing. One never knows when one may be favoured with this good fortune again.

33. Since your stay there is a short one, you should value every moment there. Do not waste your time roaming in the bazaars and do not indulge in meaningless things and idle talk.

34. Do not allow your attention to drift towards the decoration and splendour of the buildings, nor indulge in humour and ridicule.

35. One must be extremely cautious with regard to the etiquette of these sacred places. Any disrespect in this regard will be a cause for retribution.

36. Do not criticize the conditions and people there. After all, the local residents are human and are prone to faults just as we are. When noticing the shortcomings of others, special attention must immediately be drawn to one’s own faults and weak points.

37. One must make a concentrated effort to avoid sin, especially casting passionate glances at female who are present at Hajj. One must keep one’s gaze lowered when women gather for tawaaf and salaat-u-salaam.

38. Hadhrat ‘Umar radhiyallahu anhu said, “For me to commit a sin in Makkah is worse than committing seventy sins outside Makkah”. Just as the rewards of good deeds are multiplied in Makkah, so too is the retribution of misconduct multiplied.

39. One must show consideration and take care that one does not trouble or inconvenience those who are present for Hajj and ziyaarah.

40. One must not deceive or trick others in buying or selling. To swindle or cheat the residents of Makkah or Madeenah would result in one’s own destruction. One must be extremely cautious in this regard. Transactions must be carried out with honesty.

NICU

2006-10-28T20:10:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I pray that you are all in the best of health and imaan. Ameen.

NICU stands for Neonatal Intensive Care. My current rotation as a pre-reg deals with two sides of a coin; the maternities where I see mothers to be, some with no complications and some with many and the other side of the coin is the paadiatrics where I see kids coming in with a variety of problems.

Today I am going to talk about my time on the neonatal intensive care unit and some of the thoughts that crossed my mind…

As I walked into NICU I could see about 12 incubators with tiny (smaller than the size of my palm) babies lying inside of them…I could hear alarms going off every now and then, I could see IV lines, TPN bags, ventilators and all sorts around each incubator…

As I walked upto an incubator to have a look at the drug, infusion and TPN charts, my eyes fell on the little inhabitant inside.

A tiny little baby perfectly formed with tiny little fingers and tiny little feet lay inside.
She looked peaceful and for some reason looking at her made me reflect on the blessings of our Creator Allah Ta’ala. I spent a good 5 minutes just watching her, how she’d move her little arms and feet whilst asleep but connected to many different lines for a baby who should have still been in her mothers womb. She looked like a doll, it was amazing seeing something so beautiful yet so small.
She had been born at 26 weeks and weighed 0.58g (A normal pregnancy is about 37 to 42 weeks) had she been born a week earlier she probably wouldn’t have survived because she would have still required the nourishment of her mother's womb. Her breathing was assisted by a ventilator since she had been born so early. The doctors were amazed at the little fighter she was and I was amazed at Allah Ta’ala’s creation…

We created man from an extract of clay.

Then We made him as a drop in a place of settlement, firmly fixed.

Then We made the drop into an alaqah (leech, suspended thing, and blood clot), then We made the alaqah into a mudghah (chewed substance)...

(Quran, 23:12-14)

Isn’t it amazing how Allah Ta’ala has created us? As babies we are totally dependant upon our parents/carers yet as we grow older that dependence diminishes and we soon become ‘independent’. During this ‘independence’ we tend to forget Allah Ta’ala’s bounties upon us. Many of us didn’t have to struggle to survive like this little baby girl, but nevertheless our existence was only due to Allah Ta’ala’s mercy.

Our formation from a clot of congealed blood into a perfect being only took place because Allah Ta’ala willed it to happen. Every breath, every heart beat, every blink and every second that we live are only due to our most Merciful Lord. When He commands our souls to be taken, in a split second our breathing, heart beats and blinking will stop and we will return to Him just as He created us.

The purpose of life is greater that the amusements of this world, we only need to ponder upon the simplest things to realize that we have been given so much and that every second, hour or day that we live is indeed a ni’mah of Allah Ta’ala.

May Allah Ta’ala bless us with the ability to live every second, every minute, hour and day in accordance to His deen. Ameen.

Duas humbly requested,

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

Eid Mubarak

2006-10-23T10:11:00.000Z

Eid Mubarak to all of our readers

May this Eid be filled with peace, happiness and joy.

---------

Aaliyah

&

Mujahidah-an-Nafs.

Don't let the sand of Ramadhan slip away- From Al-Israa

2006-10-04T19:59:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

An Excellent post taken from http://al-israa.blogspot.com/ :)

Imagine that you are on the beach. You are four years old. The camp leader has told you that you have five minutes to build a great castle. “Quickly,” your three year old Ameer tells you, “the sand here is too soft. Run closer to the water and get better sand!” Off you run and grab, with your tiny hands, as much sand as you can hold. But, as you run back, plop, plop, plop, you feel the sand slipping through your fingers. You can do nothing about it. In your haste, all the sand has slipped away. Bang. The competition is over. This is the analogy of our lives. This is the analogy of our time in Ramadan.

For many living in Western countries, Ramadan is passed daily with 9 to 5 jobs or school - nights where we may or may not go for Taraweeh. A peak at the TV (may Allah protect us) and the night is over. Back to work where all around us people are eating and drinking from crystal water fountains. Blink. Ramadan is over. The question of the hour is: how do we take full advantage of this gift of Allah? This is our topic, before the sands of Ramadan slip away.

How many years have we been fasting Ramadan? 10 or 15 or 40 years? Are we 10 or 15 or 40 times better? Or, does it seem like we have arrived back at the drawing board every time Ramadan comes around? All acts of worship are for our own benefit! Don’t do it and harm befalls you, which is the way life was programmed. Ramadan is no small matter. It is one of the pillars of this Deen of Islam – without it one’s Islam would not be complete. In this month, Rasul Allah – sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam – would intensify his worship of Allah ta’ala. In doing so, he laid the foundation for his Ummah after him to emulate. Ibn AlQayyim – rahimahullaah – wrote:

“From his blessed guidance – sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam – in Ramadan is that he used to intensify and diversify his actions of worship. So, for example, Jibreel used to rehearse the Qur’an with him during the nights of Ramadan. When Jibreel would visit him, he would intensify the amount of Sadaqah that he would give. He was the most generous out of all people – sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam – and Ramadan was the time when he was most generous. In Ramadan, he would fill his time with Sadaqah, treating people kindly, reciting Qur’an, performing Salah, remembering Allah, and performing I’tikaaf.”

– from the book 'Zaad AlMa’aad'

Observers described the way Allah’s Messenger– sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam – gave like Ar-Reeh AlMursalah, like the blessed wind. Why? The blessed wind, as they knew it, was a wind that brought coolness to everyone – no one was denied its blessing. The blessed wind, additionally, was not lazy in bringing its goodness to the people. It would come swiftly to all. This is how Rasul Allah – sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam – was described, and this is how our service to humanity should be: swift and encompassing. Bi idhnillah. Below are ten ideas to and help make the most of Ramadan – before it slips through our hands.

Idea one: Compound Your Siyaam! If you told your financial broker that you just want to keep money in the bank and save it, he would say, “You are wrong.” “Invest it in the stock market. That way your money will be compounded – you will earn multiple times what you put in.” So now I ask the question: Wouldn’t you love to get two times the reward of fasting Ramadan? How? Zayd ibn Khaalid AlJuhanee narrates that the Prophet – sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam – said, “Whoever gives a fasting person (food) to break his or her fast, he (the one feeding) will get the reward equivalent to the (fasting persons) reward – without diminishing anything from the reward of the (fasting person).”

How do we do this? Ask any Muslim relief agency if they have a feed a fasting person program. Subhan Allah, you may find that it only costs £1 to feed a person! So, for £30 you could come out of Ramadan having doubled your reward. And, we should not forget the needy in our city. We think that in a ‘modern’ western country or city there are no needy people. That is not true. There are many needy families that are waiting to be discovered. Ask around and you will find a gold mine of people to help, in your own backyard.

Idea two: Operation Guide the Youth Often in Ramadan, there are khaatirahs, words of wisdom, halaqahs and reminders, all geared to the adults praying Taraweeh. The youth, it seems, are being disrespectful by talking in the back of the masjid. “Shhhhhsh!” someone shouts at them. “Listen or go outside (and we prefer if you just go outside)!” So, quietly they sneak out of the Masjid and chat and chill all Ramadan. How Eman boosting is that? Remember, Allah commands that you protect your wife and children also. Try this: Just like there are things for the adults, we could have Ramadan activities and reminders geared specifically for the youth. And, it need not be ‘in’ the Masjid. Let’s say the youth like to chat and chill outside in the parking lot. Why not organize the activity there? Yes, on the basketball court or in the parking lot. Have a 5-minute Khatirah, play games with them, and give them some noble projects to complete in Ramadan. Again, making a difference like this needs a leader with vision, one who recognizes that the youth are his or her responsibility. I pray that person is you!

Idea Three: Turnoff TV Month Every parent knows that when they want their child to do well in their studies they tell them, “no TV.” If this is for Dunya, then how about someone who wants to excel in Ramadan? “Fasting and the Qur’an will come and testify on behalf of the ‘Abd on the Day of Resurrection. The Fasting will say: O my lord, I denied him food and desires, so allow me to be a means for him to enter paradise. And the Qu’ran will say:

O my Lord, I denied him sleep at night so allow me to be a means for him to enter Paradise. And (he will be entered into paradise) because of those two.” – Musnad Ahmad

Try this: Announce in your household that Ramadan is the official turnoff TV month. Be an example for others and do fun and rewarding things instead. Visit people, take on a Ramadan feeding project, increase yourself in knowledge, etc. Turn off the TV and turn on life.

Idea Four: Dua’ Time Ramadan is the month of making dua’ to Allah, an essential compliment to fasting. Rasul Allah – sal Allaahu alayhi wa sallam – said,

“There are three persons dua’ that will be accepted (by Allah). The fasting person, the oppressed one, and the traveler.”

Try this: Make a list of all your goals in life. Make a section for your a) personal goals; b) spiritual goals; c) economic goals; and d) contribution goals. Every day during Ramadan, take out your list and make dua’ to Allah to grant you the tawfeeq to accomplish your goals. Insha Allah, you will attain your goals with hard work, both during and after Ramadan.

Idea Five: Parent Appreciation Month We all know that the one who wakes us up for Suhoor is our mom. I know it was for me. If not for her alarm clock, her early morning cooking, her motherly love to go and wake everyone up … well, let’s just say our iftars would have become our suhoors. If you are living away from your parents, you know what I’m talking about. Remember the hadith of the person who doesn’t reach Ramadan with forgiveness? The end part of the Hadith says they found their parents in old age and they were not a means for him to enter Jannah! So, why not announce it loud and clear this month, “Thank you Mom! Thank you Dad!” Let’s take care of them this month with extra calls, extra hugs, and extra love.

Idea Six: Masjid Power Hour During Ramadan, why not spend a few more moments in the Masjid before taking off. This could be done after Fajr or after Asr. Sit back, grab a Qur’an and remember Allah. As your time in the Masjid increases, bi idhnillaah, your love and heart attachment will increase. Make this your personal Masjid power hour.

Idea Seven: Bad Habit Buster Many people already do this. They may have a smoking problem or a TV addiction. When Ramadan comes around they say, “I’m going to train myself to stop smoking or to stop watching excessive TV by abandoning it throughout Ramadan.” So, you don’t have a smoking problem huh? Everyone has a bad habit and everyone has a recurring sin they pray they could desist from. Make Ramadan the training month by telling yourself to go without this sin for the entire month. Then, if Allah grants one Tawfeeq to complete the month, one should continue to pray to Allah to keep them away from the sin after Ramadan.

Idea Eight: The Gift Groove Have you ever noticed how beloved a bottle of perfume is when it is handed out by a little four year old Muslim? Everyone loves a gift. Why not take this a step forward? Go to your local Islamic bookstore and request a bulk purchase of some beneficial Islamic materials, something in the £5 range. Then, hand it out to everyone that comes to your masjid. Bi idhnillaah, you will find for the little effort one may put, people all throughout Ramadan will be learning from the gift.

Idea Nine: Ramadan Muslims, Convert! It is true that on the first day of Ramadan, the number of Muslims in the local Masjid multiplies considerably. And, it is a sad moment on the first day after Ramadan that the Masjid attendance drops significantly. This idea is Operation No More Ramadan Muslims. We want people all year long!

Ibn Abbas I’tikaaf: A man came to Ibn Abbas while he was doing I’tikaaf in the masjid and asked him for his assistance. So, Ibn Abbas stood to leave and people around him warned him, ‘but you are in I’tikaaf’. He replied, “To assist my brother in fulfilling his need is more beloved to me than to perform I’tikaaf for 2 months in the Masjid of Rasul Allah – sal Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.” Try this: Make a ‘compassion crew’ that reaches out specifically to Ramadan Muslims. Extra special attention is showered on them and roles of responsibility are delegated to them so that they can participate more in the Masjid. Invite them to special Iftars where they are the center of attention. With this extra attention and responsibility, bi idhnillaah, every month will be Ramadan for them and the masjids will be full all year.

Idea Ten: Home Halaqah Muslim families often keep their worship for the Masjid, but why not make Muslim family time at home. It could work like this: After Taraweeh or Asr, the family gathers together for 15 minutes. There are many things you could do in your Halaqah, the main thing is that you set time aside for it. For example, each family member may recite a few verses of Qur’an. Or, one of the kids can read a story of the Sahaabah so that all family members can be reminded. Or, each family member can speak about the blessings of Allah upon them and what they have in their lives for which they are thankful. Just 15 minutes for the home Halaqah. For the entire family, bi idhnillah, it will be a spring of Eman.

Ten ideas to enhance your Ramadan: Idea one: Compound Your Siyaam! Idea two: Operation Guide the Youth Idea Three: Turnoff TV Month Idea Four: Dua’ Time Idea Five: Parent Appreciation Month Idea Six: Masjid Power Hour Idea Seven: Bad Habit Buster Idea Eight: The Gift Groove Idea Nine: Ramadan Muslims, Convert! Idea Ten: Home Halaqah The past saw Muslims that spent their nights of Ramadan awake praying to Allah. It saw days where people, for the sake of Allah, went thirsty. They knew that this season may never return on them and they heard Allah’s words “Ayyaman Ma’doodaat”– a limited number of days. Don’t let the sand of Ramadan slip away.

I hope this post came of benefit, dont let the month of Ramdan fly by, do as much ibadah as possible this could be your last Ramdhan ...

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

Ramadhan - A month of Mercy

2006-09-23T11:38:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I pray that you are all in the best of health and imaan. Ameen.

Firstly Ramadhan Kareem to all the readers of this blog. May Allah Ta'ala make this barakah filled month a means to attaining proximity to our Almighty Lord Allah Ta'ala. Ameen.

Please take this opportunity to turn to our Most Merciful Lord Allah Ta'ala and ask for forgiveness for the sins that our hearts are engrossed in. Take this month of Mercy to make a change that will last for longer than the month itself. Let us make firm resolution in our hearts to replace bad habits with good habits that we have picked up throughout this blessed month and to put them into practice the whole year through until next Ramadhan...Inshallah Ta'ala

Contemplate on whether we will ever have the opportunity to see and live through this blessed month ever again...death is all around you; you never know when it will come and get you..

That’s enough of me...Now for some points to contemplate on, taken from Spiritual Discourses Vol 2 By Mufti Taqi Uthmani.

Protect Your heart from sin

Take a white piece of cloth that has just been washed. If you get a small stain mark on it, it would be very prominent. In the same way, your heart is washed clean in Ramadhan from all sins. Now, try and keep it (your heart) free from sin so that you dont get any stains of sin and any stains of disobedience onto it.

Continue to recite the Quran

Allah Ta’ala has enabled you to perform certain forms of worship in Ramadhan. After the month, you may not be able to maintain them to the same extent but you must retain some of it. You recite the Quran during Ramadhan, but why shoud you now not open it through the the rest of the year? Resolve that you will not let any day go by without reciting the Quran otherwise you will deprive yourself of a blessing.

Covenant with Allah in the morning

Doctor Abdul Hayyi (RA) said “When you get up in the morning and offer the fajr salah make a covenant with Allah Saying:

قُلْ إِنَّ صَلاَتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

Say: "Behold, my prayer, and (all] my acts of worship, and my living and my dying are for God [alone], the Sustainer of all the worlds, 6:162

Everything that I do from eating and drinking, meeting wife and children, earning a livelihood, sleeping and awakening – are all for You, O Allah! I eat, O Allah because You have given my soul a right over me. I sleep because You have placed over me a right of the soul. I speak to my wife and children because You have given them a right over me. And, I earn because You have made it a fard for me.

When you make this intention, all you do will be counted as worship.

The Advantage

After this make a supplication, “O Allah! I cannot be true to this covenant without Your help and enablement. So grant me the ability to abide by the covenant”. Then go into the world and begin your daily life. It’s benefits are that when you are tempted to do a wrong, you will remember this covenant and fear violating it.

Review when sleeping

When you go to sleep at night take stock of your activities during the day and ask yourself if you abided by the covenant during the day or not. If you were true to it then thank Allah Saying Alhamdulillah. But, if you have been derelict anywhere then seek Allah’s forgiveness and say, “O Allah. I did conclude a covenant with You, but I faltered.” And seek pardon in these words:

“O Allah, I seek Your forgiveness and repent to You. O Allah, I seek forgiveness and repent to You. I seek forgiveness of Allah the High, the Mighty.”

Repeat this dua a few times and go to sleep. Do this every morning and evening. Gradually, you will give up every sin.

May Allah cause all of us to abide by these teachings. Ameen!

Please remember us in your humble duas,
Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

Making the best in Ramadhan

2006-09-16T20:57:00.000Z

By Shaikh M. Ibrahim Memon

The Holy month of Ramadan is a great opportunity for all believers to reestablish their relationship with Almighty Allah . During this month, Allah opens the doors of guidance, mercy, and forgiveness and showers His blessings on mankind. Blessed are those who avail this opportunity and work hard to obtain the pleasure of Allah .

Following are some points to remember that may help us have a better Ramadan:

Sahoor: Rasulullah said, "Allah sends blessings on those who eat Sahoor (meal before Fajr) and the angels pray for them." (Ibn Habban) We should never miss Sahoor as it is blessed food and a Sunnah of the Prophet .

Salat Al-Taraweeh: Perform twenty raka’ah of Taraweeh every night.

Salat Al-Tahajud: Other than Taraweeh, perform some raka’ah of Tahajud prayer.

Dua: After Tahajud, spend some time making Dua for yourself, your family, the community, and the whole Muslim Ummah. This is extremely needed and very few do it. Every person in the family should engage in Dua and prayers in the darkness of the night and in isolation. Cry before Allah for forgiveness and for all of your needs.

Also wake up your children and teach them how to make Dua to Allah . Teach them how to cry before Allah , for those who do not cry before Allah will have to cry before people like themselves.

Crying and begging to Allah attracts His Mercy. Rasulullah encouraged his followers to cry when making Dua.

Salah in the Masjid: Try your best to perform every Salah in the Masjid with congregation (jama'ah)

Perform the additional following ibadah:

1. Recite Istighfaar 100 times a day (i.e. Astaghfirallah)
2. Send blessing on Rasulullah 100 times a day
3. Tasbeehaat 100 times a day (i.e. Subhanallah Wal-Hamdulillah wala Illaha Illallah Wallahu Akbar)
4. Recite at least one Juz of the Qur’an every day

Avoid all kinds of sins: Rasulullah said, "Many of those who fast get nothing out of it except hunger" (Nasa’ee) Advising his wife, once Rasulullah said, "O Aishah, refrain from even the minor sins because Allah will question you about them also." (Ibn Majah)

Do not become angry: Avoid all quarrels, fights, and arguments which may lead you to anger.

Use only Halal food bought by Halal earnings. Avoid all doubtful items.
Reduce the amount of:

1. Eating
2. Sleeping
3. Talking

Unfortunately, it is very common in many Masajid to sit and chat after iftaar. This time should be used for Nawafil prayers, recitation of the Holy Qur’an, Tasbeeh, and Dua. Masjid is the House of Allah . It must be given its due respect. Disrespecting the house of Allah is disrespect to Allah .

Raising the voice or talking of worldly matters in the Masjid is forbidden. It is the responsibility of every Muslim to maintain the order, silence, respect, and cleanliness in the Masjid.

May Allah bless and guide all of us.

Virtues of Ramadhan

2006-09-11T21:20:00.000Z

By Shaykh Manzoor Naumani (RA)

It is related by Abu Hurairah (RAA) that the Apostle of God (sallallaho alaihi wa sallam) said "When the month of Ramadhan comes, the Gates of Heaven are thrown open and the Gates of Hell are shut, and the devils are put behind bars" (In another report, the "Gates of Mercy" are mentioned in place of the "Gates of Heaven". (Bukhari and Muslim)

Commentary - Commenting of this Tradition, Shah Wali-ullah remarks that as the devout bondsmen apply themselves to worship and good-doings during the month of Ramadhan and spend their days in God- remembrance and recitation of the Qur’an while Fasting, and a major part of their nights in Taraweeh and Tahajjud, supplication and repentance, under the influence of their high spirituality and devotional exertions the hearts of the common Muslims, too become more inclined towards prayer and piety and they, on the whole succeed in abstaining from good many sins. Owing to the generation of the atmosphere worship and virtue in the Islamic circles, people who are not wholly disregardful of transcendental truths develop a fondness for things that are pleasing to God and an aversion for acts that are repugnant to Him. moreover, in this blessed month the recompense on even smaller acts of moral goodness is made much greater by God than on other days. In consequence of all this, the gates of Paradise are opened and of Hell are closed for such people and the devils are not left free to tempt and mislead them.

It would be clear that all the three things - the throwing open of the gates of Heaven, the shutting up of the gates of Hell and the binding of the devils in chains - are in respect only of the bondsmen who feel disposed towards good-doing in the month of Ramadhan, and out of the keenness to partake of its blessings engage themselves enthusiastically in worship and other religious duties. As for the Apostates, the negligent and the heedless who care little for Divine injunctions and produce no change in their daily lives at the advent of Ramadhan, these tidings do not apply to them,. When they have opted out, of their own accord , for the path of error and omission and taken willingly to follow Satan and doing his bidding there is nothing for them except disappointment with God as well.

It is related by Abu Hurairah that the Apostle of God (sallallaho alaihi wa sallam) said : "When the first night of the month of Ramadhan (comes), the devil s and defiant Jinn are bound in chains and all the Gates of Hell are closed and non of the remains open and all the Gates of Heaven are thrown open and none of the remains closed and the heavenly herald announces, "O seeker of goodness and virtue! come forward; and O lover of wickedness and evil-doing! Halt, and do not come forward" and a large number of (sinning) bondsmen are released from Hell at the command of God (i.e., decision of forgiveness and deliverance is taken for them), and all this takes place on every night of Ramadhan." (Tirmizi and Ibn-i-Maja)

Abdullah Bin Abbas narrates that the Apostle of God (sallallaho alaihi wa sallam) was superior to all men in generosity and the doing of good to the people in general, but in the month of Ramadhan his benevolence knew no bounds. In Ramadhan, Gabriel came to him every night and the Prophet (sallahu alaihi wa sallam) recited the Qur’an to him. During those the Prophet (sallaho alaihi wa sallam) appeared to be faster than the wind in generosity and benevolence (Bukhari and Muslim).

The science in Dhikr

2006-09-02T12:12:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I pray that you are all in the best of health and imaan. Ameen.

I came across this wonderful article on Mutmainaa and I thought it would be beneficial to share Inshallah Ta'ala.

Life is pretty much hectic at the moment so I'm trying my best to post artciles of interest. When I do come across some spare time I have a long list of posts I need to finish off Inshallah Ta'ala.

Before I leave, a small request Inshallah Ta'ala..I would appreciate it greatly if you could remember two very dear sisters of mine in your humble duas...their health has failed them but duas never will...May Allah Ta'ala grant them shifaa and grant them shade under His shade of mercy. Ameen.

Now for the article Inshallah Ta'ala...

This article will examine the scientific proofs supporting the effects that dhikr has on the human brain.

What is the brain itself? All the activity of the brain is nothing but bio-electrical activity in several distinct parts of it, amongst various sets of neurons (cellular groups) where each are assigned a specific duty, functioning as a whole. Each and everyday 14 million neurons that make up the brain, are in constant interaction with 16 billion neighbouring neurons. All our activities and our understanding, that is all the functioning of the brain is the result of countless bio-electrical flows, are brought to existence in these sets of neurons occurring as a result of these interactions.

Now, when dhikr is practised you continuously repeat a given name of Allah (subhanahu wa Ta'ala) a specific number of times and therefore reflecting a meaning that belongs to Allah (subhanahu wa Ta'ala) During the repetition of dhikr, certain regions of the brain are engaged and become active. There occurs a bio-electrical flow in those neural groups of the brain. After that task is performed repeatedly (as you repeat on the same name or a group of names) the neural activity increases, and so does the bioelectrical energy. In turn, this overflows and new sets of neurons are put to work and so, some other regions of the brain become active. Therefore the brain begins to expand. The brain starts to bring out new meanings, perspectives and commentaries which it had not previously used before the practice of dhikr. It is opening to receive the Truth. So just think what the effect that dhikr has on the heart to receive Truth!

Clearly the whole brain is a centre of interpretation. Clearly there exists no picture, no sound inside the brain. To achieve a state of consciousness (i.e. heedful to Allah's (subhanahu wa Ta'ala) commands) we must use our brains to enter reality and the more we become conscious, the more benefits we will attain, insha'Allah.

The findings of complementary laboratory tests may be found in the 'Scientific American', December 1993:

Complementary findings were described this year by investigators at Washington University and which have emerged through PET scans of humans. PET measures neural activity indirectly. In the experiments, volunteers were provided with a list of nouns. They were required to read the nouns one-by-one and to propose for each noun - a related verb. When the subjects first did this task, several distinct parts of the brain, including parts of the prefrontal and cinulate cortex, displayed increased neural activity. But if the volunteers repeated the task with the same list of words several times, the brain activity shifted to different regions. When a fresh list of nouns were given to them, the neural activity increased and shifted back to the first regions again.

PET Scans completed at Washington University show certain regions of the brain engaged as a subject reads a list of nouns and suggests related verbs. Different regions become active after the first task is performed repeatedly with the same list. The original areas of the brain re-engage when the subject is given another list.

Thus we see even Western science is waking up to the benefits of dhikr which was understood by Muslims many centuries ago without scientific evidence and research to provide proof.

Two years in Captivity - Babar Ahmad

2006-08-26T20:26:00.000Z

The first minute of captivity is the hardest. Then the first hour. Then the first day.

Then the first week. Then the first year. The first minute is when you freeze in shock and disbelief (I cant believe this is really happening). The first hour is spent in anxiety about what lies ahead. The first day is when it begins to sink in that you really are in prison.

The first week is occupied in trying to reconcile a mind still thinking about the outside world (family, job, bills, car, etc.) with a body in captivity. By the end of the first month your mind starts to fall closer into line with your body as you begin to accept that you are in prison.

At the end of your first year in captivity, if you have lasted that long, your mind and body should have fully adapted to imprisonment. Such that you will feel as if you have always been in prison and can remain there for years ahead. Memories of life outside then begin to seem like dreams of another faraway existence.

My second year in captivity has flown by much quicker than the first. Years pass like minutes in prison. But sometimes minutes pass like years, especially when you are awaiting an uncertain outcome. Whilst my first year was full of adventure, naivety and novelty, the second one has brought with it enlightenment, understanding and maturity of rapture.

During the first year I analysed people and situations around me with the same clean, well-meaning heart whose bubble I used to reside in before prison. It is only now, at the end of two years imprisonment without trial in perhaps the world’s oldest ‘democracy’, that I have realised how naïve I was and why I had to come to prison to burst my bubble and to taste the reality of the world. The modern world is not a nice place and there are many evil people in it.

It is said that the beauty of things is appreciated from their opposites. You do not value wealth unless you have tasted poverty. You do not savour health until you have experienced illness. You do not appreciate family and liberty until they are taken away from you. In the same way you cannot really comprehend or desire justice, security and equality until you have experienced injustice, persecution and discrimination.

Just like the word ‘democratic’ is an essential adjective in the name of every undemocratic regime (e.g. Democratic Republic of Congo), the word ‘justice’ is an essential noun in the instruments of every unjust system. Criminal Justice Act, Court of Justice, Department of Justice, Lord Justice This, Mr Justice That…When society abuses and degrades humans it champions for ‘human rights.’ When society represses women it calls for women’s rights and international women’s days. When society is replete with racism and discrimination it boasts about multiculturalism and diversity. And when society oppresses and crushes people it does so in the name of justice. “Peace is not the absence of tension but the presence of justice,” observed Martin Luther King.

But I have also learnt this year why it is so dangerous to stereotype people according to preconceived suspicions. Not every tattooed skinhead is a racist brute. Not every black man is a violent criminal. Not every politician is a two-faced liar (thought most are). And not every police officer is a two-horned devil (though most are). People should be judged on their merits- if they have any.

As a believer in Allah, Qadr (divine destiny) is always on your side, not against you. Allah The Exalted is not a bully. He does not derive pleasure or cheap thrills by watching His obedient servants being imprisoned, tortured, humiliated or slaughtered. There is always a good reason, a wise reason, for whatever trials befall the believers.

If you want to obtain the top grade in an exam you have to answer both the easy and the difficult questions- you cannot pick and choose. Similarly, you must always be satisfied with Allah’s Qadr and His choices for you, whether they conform to your liking or not. Allah’s Choice is always better than the choice of His servant. That is iman (faith). The Prophet (SAS) described the worldly life as a garbage dump. If any parent really cares for his child he will never allow his child to jump into it. When Allah imprisons His slave and deprives him of worldly comforts He is like the parent who protects his child from a garbage dump.

Tawakkul is one of those many Arabic terms that simply have no equivalent in the English language. Tawakkul is a combination of trust and reliance. You may trust that someone wishes for your best interests but you do not rely on them because you don’t believe that they really have the power to benefit you. Or you may rely on someone because you have no choice but you don’t really trust that they wish the best for you. Tawakkul in Allah is a state whereby you both trust that Allah only desires the best for you and you rely upon Him because you know that He really does have the power to benefit you.

Tawakkul is a state of the heart that can only be reached when you are immersed into a deep-end situation requiring tawakkul. No amount of reading, learning or preparing can instil tawakkul into your heart. You must live tawakkul to develop it. Likewise with sabr (patience and constancy), yaqeen (certainty) and rida (satisfaction with Allah’s decree).

Your level of tawakkul during a lengthy trial is directly proportional to your emotions at the gain or loss of any material factors that might benefit you. If you feel content when your advocates, supporters, ‘chances’ and resources are plentiful and you feel anxious when your advocates, supporters ‘chances’ and resources decrease then this is a symptom of weak tawakkul in The All-Powerful Lord. When you feel largely indifferent to these material factors then that is a sign of sound tawakkul.

This is why it is is necessary to pass through a lengthy period of hardship, permeated with repeated setbacks and defeats, in order to truly acquire tawakkul. As the material odds in your favour crumble away one by one you stop worrying about them and instead put your tawakkul in The Omnipotent Lord. That is when His relief arrives.

Allah The All-Wise alternates the days of success. If His servants were always to have the upper hand there would be no way of distinguishing the true believers from the hypocrites. But if His servants were to always be defeated, disgraced and downtrodden then no one would enter or uphold His deen for fear of suffering a similar fate. That is why some days bring victory and others bring losses.

Moreover, Allah’s Help always arrives when the odds are stacked against you. If you were to be successful whilst all the factors were in your favour then the people would say that you won because of those factors. But when you win in the absence of any favourable factors then the entire world bears witness to the Divine assistance from above the Seven Heavens and the Earth.

This is one of the ways in which Allah establishes His deen on the earth: by subjecting some of His servants to extreme hardships. When people see Allah’s servants victorious despite having no visible means of success then it reaffirms and strengthens their faith in Allah. The sea split for Musa when there was no way out. The whale spat Yunus out into the land when there was no way out. And a spider spun a web for the Prophet (SAS) when there was no way out.

The Deen of Allah is perfect, permanent and eternally protected. The Deen of Allah does not die with the death of one, the torture of a second, the imprisonment of a third or the extradition of a fourth. The Deen of Allah does not and will never die. If it was to die then it would have died the day its scant followers were dragged through the streets of Makkah in chains and crushed beneath weighty rocks in the blazing sun. If it was to die then it would have died the day its Messenger was expelled from Makkah, fleeing for his life with nothing material but a companion and a spider’s web to aid him. If it was to die then it would have died the day when its followers were surrounded “from above and below” on the Day of Ahzab until “the eyes grew wide and the hearts reached the throats.”

But after every crush Allah gave it strength, resurgence and a new vigour of life. As Allama Iqbal the poet said, “Islam zinda hota hai har Karbala ke bad (Islam is brought to life after every Karbala, i.e. after every defeat).” Therefore, every crush brings with it the glad tidings of an imminent revival since victory always comes one step after defeat.

Two years on, the zero hour of decision is getting closer and closer. The lawyers have given their advice: expect the worst. The supporters have given up hope. The entire world’s powers (US/UK) are united against me in their determination to obliterate me. Now only the verdict of The Almighty remains. The answer to “Where is your God now?” is coming. The answer to “Where is your God now?” is on the horizon. Because Moses always defeats Pharaoh. And David always beats Goliath.

Don't loose Hope...

2006-08-13T16:14:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I pray that you are all in the best of health and imaan. Ameen.

I came across a hadith in a book entitled ‘Pearls of the Prophet’ by Maulana Ahmad Ali (Al Ma’hadul Islami) that really got me thinking about how significant and relevant it is to the current situation around the world. Maulana Ibrahim Memon Madani also made mention of this particular hadith during a Dars dealing with the tafseer of Surah Al-Hajj.

At the moment I don’t have the words to express my feelings. In every direction that I look Muslims are being oppressed; we are one ummah, and the pain of one is felt by us all. I’m sure there are many of us who feel this way, hence my reasons for posting this hadith and parts of its explanation from Pearls of the Prophet, By Maulana Ahmad Ali

“Save yourself from oppression as oppression will be the cause of much darkness on the Day of Judgment.” (Muslim)

The hadith of Ibn Umar is a clear warning to the ummah to stay away from oppression and causing injustice, whether it is by taking someone else’s belonging or by taking someone’s rights or by beating them, swearing at them, or speaking ill of them or taking advantage of those that are weaker.

The command is to refrain from oppressing anyone in all forms. Oppression will be the form of much darkness i.e. the oppressor will be drowned in the darkness of the oppression that they have caused on the Day of Judgment as opposed to those who have righteous deeds to their names. Their good deeds will be a source of light for them on that day of reckoning. In this hadith the word darkness could also be referring to the punishments of the Day of Judgment.

Do not imagine that Allah Ta’ala is unaware of the oppressors oppression; he will be called to task and will answer for his ill doing. As Allah Ta’ala says ‘Do not suppose Allah is unmindful of what the unjust do. He gives them respite until a day when their eyes will stare in terror’.

Our Nabi salalahu alayhi wasallam has also stated that Allah Ta’ala gives respite to the oppressor for some time, (he gives him a long life so that he can fully exert his bad influences) then when He wills He will seize him, (there will be no letting go). Our Nabi salalahu alayhi wasallam then read the ayah ‘ When your Lord seizes the oppressing nation, then that capture without a doubt is the most difficult and paining capture to endure’. (Bukhari/Muslim).

This hadith teaches the oppressed to be patient and remember their Lord through hardships as Allah Ta’ala will give the unjust their full desserts. In the eyes of Allah Ta’ala the oppressed are such that Nabi salalahu alayhi wasallam warned, ‘Be afraid of the invocation of the oppressed as there is no veil between them and Allah’. (Bukhari)

There is also a clear warning to the oppressing nation lest they believe they are untouchable. Allah Ta’ala grants them long lives so they commit as much evil as they can without realizing their punishment awaiting them also grows and becomes severer. So severe is it to inflict hurt upon another individual that although a person otherwise a good practicing Muslim but he has the habit of swearing or speaking ill of people, inevitably he is hurting those that he abuses and this will land him in the fire of hell…..

…Aishah Radiallahu Anha reports that Nabi salalahu alayhi wasallam said:
‘If anyone wrongfully takes even one span of another person’s land, on the Day of Judgment his neck will be encircled by it to the depths of the seven earths’. (Bukhari)

It has also been narrated that Nabi salalahu alayhi wasallam has stated Allah Ta’ala’s anger is with five people. He may punish them in this world or He may postpone their punishment by fire to the hereafter. They are:

1) A ruler of a nation who takes from the people but does not share with them nor remove anyinjustices from them.

2) A leader of a people whom they obey but he does not deal equally between the strong and the weak, and who speaks according to his own selfish desire.

3) A man who does not order his wife and children to obey Allah Ta’ala and does not teach them their religious duties.

4) A man who hires a worker and after the work is complete does not pay him his full wages.

5) A man who unjustly keeps his wife’s mahr.

All of the above are in some way oppressors and deserve punishment.

There are many cases where tyrant leaders become disillusioned by their power, begin taking liberties with those under their charge. One is to remember these are not just leaders of governments but anyone who is responsible for others i.e. a man of his wife and children, to neglect their rights is also I justice. A foreman at work is responsible for those below him. A minder of children that are in his care. A minder of animals that are reliant on him for help, to oppress these animals and mistreat them is also a sin.

When Khalid bin Barmuk and his son were imprisoned, his son asked him ‘O father after being so powerful how have we come to be imprisoned?’ Khalid replied, ‘My son the supplications of the oppressed mounted up during the night but we remained unaware’

To read further and to purchase this book please visit The Islamic Establishment

Duas humbly and sincerely requested,

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah.

An Experience..

2006-07-30T14:28:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I pray that you are all in the best of health and imaan. Ameen.

Recently I traveled to the US and was lucky enough to stay in and around the environment surrounding Darul Uloom Al-Madania, Buffalo NY, for three and a half weeks. I have to say, the time I spent there was the most 'barakah'fied break I've had since I went on the blessed pilgrimage of Umrah some years ago.

Buffalo is a city in the state of New York situated a half-hour's drive from one of the “seven natural wonders of the world,” Niagara Falls.

I must admit, it’s not somewhere a first timer to America would go, but I think the Darul Uloom and the small but growing muslim community established there is something that we “foreigners” especially from England, should go and see not for the sake of having a good time, but for the sake of helping to spread the deen and helping our brothers and sisters with the Darul Ulooms. These establishments aim to raise a generation of Muslims who are inclined to the Deen of Islam and are able to interact with the generation of English speaking Muslims who require guidance at a time where we must ‘grasp firm onto our faith’. Simply put:

Seeds of today have a chance to blossom into the flowers of tomorrow.

Taken from www.madania.org

I think my holiday has made me realize and appreciate how well our Deen is established in the UK. It has also made me realise that we are lucky enough to be able to practice our faith in its entirety. Alhamdulillah, the efforts being made in Buffalo are just an example that I know of, that should be adopted by Muslims in other regions of the US Inshallah.

Over the next few weeks or so, I shall post here and there about my journey and my experiences Inshallah Ta’ala (You may find some of my encounters with non-Muslims quite amusing). I leave you with some background about the Darul Uloom extracted from the Al Madania website. It would also be great if you could add a link to Al Madania.org on your respective sites (If you are a fellow Muslim blogger or if you own a website of your own Inshallah). Jazakallahu khair.

Please make dua for our brothers and sisters who are working to spread the beautiful deen of Islam. May Allah Ta’ala make the path of those who aim to spread His deen a barakah filled one. Ameen. Please also remember me in your humble duas, I've just started my pre-registration and have an exam tomorrow!

From: www.madania.org

“Countless praise is due to Allah , who blessed us with the gift of Islam. He sent messengers for our guidance and favoured us with the best and noble of them all, our beloved Prophet Muhammad. Islam is a perfect way of life and suitable for all times and all places. Along with peace and tranquillity it offers humanity an easy guideline towards the ultimate success of this world and the hereafter.

In order to achieve the right understanding of Islam, the pass code to all joy, educational gardens are needed in which the seeds of today have a chance to blossom into the flowers of tomorrow. It is no secret that knowledge is the first step towards human development.

With this concern in mind, by the grace of Allah, Darul-Uloom Al-Madania has been established as a humble and earnest attempt to provide authentic Islamic education in an Islamic environment.

Since 1991 Darul Uloom Al Madania has been working with Muslims from all across North America in providing various programs for all ages and people, with the sole intention to reform ourselves and society.”

فاطمة

2006-07-19T17:24:00.000Z

فاطمة
A Daughter

"On the Day of Qiyaamah you will be called by your (own) names and the names of your fathers. Therefore keep good names."

[Sunan Abi Dawood]

One of the teachings of our beloved Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم is that we should choose good names. It is also mentioned in a Hadith that to whomever a child is born to they have a responsibility of giving that child a good name.

The 'goodness' of a name determined by either its meaning or to whom the name belonged to.

The Messenger of Allah صلي الله عليه و سلم said,

"Whoever is named after me with the hope of being blessed, he will be blessed and will be in peace till the day of Qiyaamat."

The name محمد holds great spirituality, rank and status because it is the name of the most beloved and final messenger of Allah. It is due to these reasons that the name holds great rank.

Similarly, the names of the Sahaaba رضه الله عنهم also hold rank and status as well has having an influence and effect on the name-bearer.

The name and personality I want to discuss today is فاطمة, a distinguished personality in history who has set a peak example for all women. Insha Allah in this post I will mention some of her characteristics as a daughter to the Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم. Although justice cannot be done to her character and her rank cannot be described in words, I pray that the short description of her life will make us realise the qualities she possessed as a daughter and the peak she set to all daughters alike.

There are many narrations and opinions regarding the year she was born. Many say she was born before Prophethood was given to her father and many say that her birth took place before Prophethood. Those who say she was born before Prophethood vary in the amount of years. One of the strongest opinions is that she was born five years before Prophethood, when the Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم was thirty-five years of age.

Her mother was Hadraht Khadija رضي الله عنها and she had three elder sisters, Ruqayya, Umm Kulthum and Zaynab رضي الله عنهم who were all married. Although Hadhrat Khadija رضي الله عنها gave birth to three boys, Qasim, Tayyib and Tahir رضي الله عنهم, they passed away at a very young age and therefore Fatimah رضي الله عنها had no elder brothers to look after her.

In the household of the Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم lived ‘Ali رضي الله عنه who was the cousin of Hadhrat Fatimah رضي الله عنها and also Zayd ibn Haritha رضي الله عنه who was the freed slave of the Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم. Both of these were like the brothers of Fatimah رضي الله عنه. Baraka, the maid servant of Hadhrat Amina رضي الله عنها was also in the household and occasionally the house would be frequented by the elder sisters of Hadhrat Fatimah رضي الله عنها.

As a daughter, she was the closest and most beloved to our Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم. When Hadhrat Aisha رضي الله عنها was asked who the most beloved person was to our Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم she replied that it was Fatimah رضي الله عنها and from the men it was her husband, Hadhrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنه.

Her childhood was during the first years of Prophethood where the Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم had but a few followers and the enemies of Islam were at large. Many a times she would see her father being physically abused by the disbelievers as well as verbally abused.

On one occasion the disbelievers placed a load of filthy intestines on him and Hadhrat Fatimah رضي الله عنها removed it not fearing the group of enemies around her. On another occasion when the Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم was at the Ka’bah the enemies of Islam started beating him and once again Hadhrat Fatimah رضي الله عنها went to call Hadhrat Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه to his aid. In her young age Hadhrat Fatimah رضي الله عنها had seen many of the torments of the disbelievers that took place against her father, at times she would see him return home with dust all over his clothes and would hasten to clean him whilst tears would roll down from her eyes.

Her love for her father was immense and could not be described. This love was equally matched by that of the Prophet صلي الله عليه و سلم for her and he would show her equal respect. After the death of her beloved mother, Hadhrat Khadija رضي الله عنها she made a great effort to comfort her father and immediately began to take care of his affairs and needs. Her efforts were such that she became known as ام ابيها (Umm Abeeha – The mother of her father).

When the Prophet of Allah صلي الله عليه و سلم would be hungry he would frequent the house of Hadhrat Fatimah رضي الله عنها in search of food only to find that her house would also be bare of food, he صلي الله عليه و سلم would then return to his house. When receiving any food he would first go to Hadhrat Fatimah رضي الله عنها and give her whatever he صلي الله عليه و سلم had received. Hadhrat Fatimah رضي الله عنها would do the same for her father and it would be in this manner that they passed their days.

Her suffering as a child were due to the fact that she was the daughter of the Prophet of Allah صلي الله عليه و سلم and a believer in his message. However, never did she complain to the sufferings she received.

The proposal of Hadhrat ‘Ali رضي الله عنه and the silence of Hadhrat Fatimah رضي الله عنهاwas the beginning of a new life for both great personalities. The Prophet of Allah صلي الله عليه و سلم performed the Nikaah ceremony himself and told Hadhrat Fatimah رضي الله عنها that he had married her to the person in his family who was the dearest to him.

This is an attempt to provide a brief summary of the life of Hadhrat Fatimah رضي الله عنها as a daughter. Insha Allah Sister Mujahidah an Nafs will do a much greater job in providing more articles on this topic.

May Allah give us all the inclination to take lessons from the life of Hadhrat Fatimah رضي الله عنها and adopt them into our lives. Aameen.

‏عن ‏ ‏المسور بن مخرمة ‏ ‏رضي الله عنهما ‏أن رسول الله ‏ ‏صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ ‏قال
‏ ‏فاطمة ‏ ‏بضعة مني فمن أغضبها أغضبني

"Fatimah is a piece of my flesh (is my beloeved),
who ever angers her has angered me"

NOT TO BE MISSED! Maulana Yusuf Motala (DB) In London!

2006-07-15T18:13:00.000Z

Kidnapped!

2006-06-25T21:35:00.000Z

Bismillahir'rahmannir'rahim.

Allahumma sali'ala sayyiddina Muhammadin wa 'ala alay sayyiddina Muhammadin wa barik wa salim.

Asalamualaykum wa rahmatullah, insha'Allah you are in the best of imaan and health.

Alhamdulillah, yes the above mentioned bit about sister Mujahidah and myself (VeiledKnight) seeing one another soon is true, however until she is away she has allowed me the honor of making one post on her blog, insha'Allah.

"Kidnapped!" here has a double meaning. The title is in regards to sister Mujahidah's absence and the contents of this post, the image is just a lighthearted entry, insha'Allah.

If you read the image, you notice the first thing says "Ransom Notice" and then there is some information in regards to Sister Mujahidah and Nafs and then there are demands being requested, just as if it were a real ransom note. So whats the point? Before we get into that, lets cover a few bases insha'Allah.

When a real kidnapper/theif/hijacker etc is holding something, someone, or some people captive they usually require for their "demands" to be met, or else. Many leave a ransom note, call, e-mail sign, etc. In the end however you never know if they will back off and leave whatever it is in their possesion unharmed after their demands have been met or if they will harm the possesion/person at hand anyway. Sometimes the "good guys" catch the "bad guys" and sometimes they don't, but more often than not at least the effort to put a stop to the 'bad guys' is made.

Now let's take this same scenario and apply it to us and our imaan. Shaytaan, who would be the bad guy, and us who insha'Allah are striving to be the good guys.

Shaykh Husain Abdul Sattar, may Allah increase him, once said in regards to shaytaan: "He is a theif, a theif of imaan." This statement holds nothing but truth and wisdom, alhamdulillah.

There are times when we feel a low in our Imaan, and we struggle to bring it back up. Then there are times when we are falling in our Imaan, yet we pay no attention to it becasue we don't see the signs along the way, we don't notice it and we go about our ways all the while decreasing our imaan, this is where we miss the ransom notice.

On how many occasions when committing a sin, which we KNOW is a sin but we "downplay" it have we said or thought "Ohh okay just one last time, after this I won't ever do it again." For example:

- "Just this one song, its nothing bad, i just really enjoy the words, one last time and never again" "
-"Okay it's the last time i'm goign to go there, just once, thats it"
-"I'm not backbiting, what i'm saying is true! Last time okay, last time."
-"One last time, then i'll make istighfar and never will I return to this sin again"

etc, etc, etc.

These thoughts that we get, these combined thoughts of knowing somethign is wrong but our nafs also wanting to do it anyway, these are our ransom notes from shaytaan. At that point he has already managed to hold a small part of our imaan captive, he has kidnapped a portion of our imaan. By provoking us to commit these sins again, even while we remember we are wrong, these are our ransom notes. How so?

Like said earlier, ransom notes usually contain some information, a demand and a threat. Similar to that are these thoughts. The ransom is our imaan- Shaytaan tempts us and gives us teh though of "oh i'll never do ti again" etc but first we have to Compromise our faith and then we hope to be okay. The demand is our nafs wanting to step out of line and answer to shaytaan's call. With these two ingredients combined shaytaan leads us to believe that all of a sudden this sin doesnt look so bad anymore. A'udhubillahi minash'shaytaan nirr'ajim..

Shaytaan holds a portion of our imaan captive and then he sends us these "mental" ransom notes, ofcourse we jump at them and think 'okay if i do this, and then I stop in totality, my Imaan will increase." See how clever he is? Even when he can remind us that this is wrong, we may still go ahead with it, because he then backs that though up with something such as making istighfar later will make everythign alright. But of course Allah is far Greater than shaytaan, Allah is Al'Akbar and indeed He is Ar'Rahim, indeed His Mercy outstrips His Wrath, but we should not abuse it. As soon as we think of this "ransom note" our thought should stop at "This is wrong." We shouldn't allow our minds to ponder over the next few words "This is wrong-BUT if I..." And even if our minds do wander down that road, may Allah grant us the hidaya to turn around quickly insha'Allah.

Like a normal hostage/kidnapping scenario you do not know if in the end "everything will be alright," it is the same with shaytaan. Shaytaan might give us the thought of "I'll make istighfar later" yet at the same time we don't know if that will happen, what if we forget to repent? What if we died before repenting? What if we died whilst committing this sin?

In Wisdom for the Seeker Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad, may Allah increase him, said "Do not fall into the delusion that you will stop sinning after doing a sin a few times."

We cannot let shaytaan kidnapp our imaan and hold it for ransom, as Hadhrat Ali Radhi'Allahuanhu said "Your souls are precious, and can only be equal to the price of Paradise, therefore sell them only at that price."

May Allah Most High forgive us all, and let us enter into this deen completely insha'Allah. Please remember us in your duaas.

~VeiledKnight

Allahumma sali'ala sayyiddina Muhammadin wa 'ala alay sayyiddina Muhammadin wa barik wa salim. Rawdhina billahi Rabba wa bil'islaami deena wa bi'Muhammadin nabiyaa, wa akhirud'duana anil'hamdulillahi rabbil'alameen. Walaykumasalam wa rahmatullah

Preparing for a Journey...

2006-06-21T10:34:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I pray that you are all in the best of health and imaan. Ameen.

On Sunday, I shall be flying out abroad for a few weeks. Till then, Sister Veiled Knight will be taking up residence here with a few posts on Mujahidah an Nafs. I'm sure you will enjoy her posts and derive much benefit from them. She has an amazing outlook on life, Mashallah...I'm very honoured to have her on board along with sister Aaliyah :)

There will also be a very special post here in a few weeks; I don't want to give too much away, so stay tuned Inshallah!

Amongst all the running around, preparing for my journey, I managed to find a long overdue spare minute and naturally, I began to think…A journey requires so much preparation in order for it to go smoothly, it also takes much out of you physically and mentally...

The time we take preparing for the journeys of the dunya outweigh the time we take preparing for the ultimate journey of the akhira...

How much time do we dedicate to preparing for this most important journey of all; the journey of the hereafter, the journey that determines our fate as to whether we abidie in jannah or the fire of hell?

This dunya is a temporary moment; it will disappear into an insignificant memory of the past when we stand before our Lord Allah Ta'ala. Our deeds will be laid out in front of us and we will have to answer, there will be no going back.

The thought of standing in front of Allah Ta'ala with so many sins to account for cannot even be comprehended... How ungrateful are we that despite the many blessings that Allah Ta'ala has bestowed upon us we repeatedly sin, and each time we are forgiven by Allah Ta'ala. He covers our faults and gives us numerous opportunities to repent in our lives and to seek forgiveness from Him ...yet we do not hesitate to commit that sin again...a beautiful dua that brings tears to the eyes is as follows and can be found in Prayers for Forgiveness By Hasan Basri (Translated by Mufti Abdur-Rahman ibn Yusuf):

“O Allah, I seek Your forgiveness for every sin that my body empowered by the good health that You had granted, was able to commit; every sin that came within the reaches of my power only due to the grace of Your bounties; every sin to which my hand, nourished by Your ample sustenance, extended. And while sinning, I hid myself behind Your veil from the people; and when fearing You, while engrossed in my sin, I relied on Your assurance of safety and forgiveness; and I took refuge in You, with Your clemency, not to smite me, and I depended on You, with Your noble countenance and pardon, to forgive me.”

Subhanallah…

Now tell me, how will we be able to stand in front of Our Rabb Allah Ta’ala with the sins that we committed knowingly, that we committed on purpose, that we committed, knowing that Allah Ta’ala would forgive us?

A very unfinished ending, but I leave you and myself with the following to ponder over

Seek forgiveness, before it’s too late…repent…. before it’s too late

Duas requested,

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

Priorities..

2006-06-09T14:02:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I received a request to post by Umm Zahra, so this is for you Inshallah Ta'ala :)

Ibn Masud reported that the Prophet once drew a diagram on the sand to illustrate that man cannot escape death and the many accidents that befall him in his life: that is, if he escapes one he will be caught by another.

Four years of my degree have flown by quicker than I would have expected, perhaps the fastest moving years of my life.

Four years ago, completing my degree was my goal and priority; four years on a new set of priorities emerge. As we move through various life stages our priorities change. These can be age related or related to things that we may experience in life.

When an individual finishes college (Different to the American system VK :p) they may want to obtain a degree, if so obtaining their degree will become a priority for them. Once their degree has finished they may want to get a job and work or they may want to get married settle down and raise a family, if so these will become priorities.

Alongside these ever changing priorities, there is one priority that should never change; that is our main priority of serving Allah Ta’ala and the deen of Islam.
No matter what we experience in life we should aim to incorporate our deen into whatever we do whether it is working to serve the ummah or by raising our children according to Islamic tarbiyyah.

With the good times come the bad and no matter how complex life may become it is essential that we remember our Lord in all that we do. Why? We cannot escape death and the many accidents that befall us. If we have our deen intact and the flame of imaan burning inside of us it will help us through the good times and the bad.

Human fitra disposes us to blame situations, circumstances and even people to rationalise why certain things happen to us, but although this may be ok to some extent (3 days of mourning after the death of a muslim) it is for us to ensure that we do not take this so far that we may say or do something haraam and ultimately not accept that it was the will of Allah Ta’ala.

Plan, but do not plan so far ahead that if those plans do not materialise due to death or illness that you may say ‘If only I had done so and so’ or ‘ why did this happen to me?’ instead say Inna Lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajiun, because Allah Ta’ala knows what is best for you and I.

A piece of poetry by Maulana Rumi (RA), which really sums up what I am saying, is as follows (Courtesy of Umm Zahra):

Sometimes in order to help He makes us cry.

Happy the eye that sheds tears for His sake.

Fortunate the heart that burns for His sake.

Laughter always follows tears.

Blessed are those who understand.

Life blossoms wherever water flows.

Where tears are shed divine mercy is shown

Duas requested
Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

Principle Tenants of Islam

2006-05-22T10:11:00.000Z

It is related by Abdullah bin Omar that the Apostle of God said:

“Islam is built upon five things: the testimony that there is no deity but God and Muhammad (PBUH) is his bondman and apostle; and the observance of prayer, and the paying of the poor-due, and the pilgrimage to Mecca, and the fast of Ramadhan.”

-Bukhari And Muslim

Commentary:

In the above tradition the Prophet has compared Islam to a building that is built upon pillars and said that the structure of Islam is raised upon the five fundamental tenets it is, therefore, inconceivable for a Muslim to be negligent in the observance of these principles which, in fact are the foundational pillars of Islam.

It should, however be remembered that duties in Islam are not confined only by the five basic principles but extended to other matters as well, such as the sanctioning of what is rights and prohibiting of that is wrong, and Jihad in the path of Allah. Since the importance that they enjoy is not equalled by any other tenet they have been elevated to the status of fundamental doctrines ad this is identical to what been pointed out in the commentary of the proceeding tradition.

The five points are to Islam that body is to soul. Moreover they exemplify the principal aspects of worship that are an end in themselves and whose obligator-ness is not lasting only for a limited time of related to a particular situation. These are binding and compulsory at all times and in all conditions as against Jihad and the sanctioning of what is allowed and the forbidding of what in prohibited which are an obligatory duty only on certain occasions and in certain circumstances.

The Lady who spoke Nothing besides the Qur'an

2006-05-16T17:57:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

A quick post in between my revision Inshallah.

This post is an example of eloquence that women should have. An example of the fear that one woman had in saying something wrong that would result in sin, an example of something amazing..These days we women don't think twice about holding back our tounges, we lash out and say whatever, especially in this day and age where women's rights have taken away the hayaa of most muslimah's...My reaction on hearing this incident was 'Subahnallah'. Trust me it hearing it sounds better than just reading it (I recommend Shaykh Sulaiman Mulla's bayaan on 'Six sinful women')...Khair, read it for yourself and be amazed Inshallah Ta'ala.

An elderly Arab lady was sitting at the trunk of a tree, on the way to Hajj.
Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA) happened to pass that way.
He was also heading for Baitullah, for Hajj,
and to the Sacred tomb of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu -layhi Wasallam).
Seeing this lady very disturbed and in a state of despair, (distressed) he spoke to her.
The discussion is recorded as follows:

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Assalamu Alaykum wa Rahmatullah

The lady: "The word from a merciful Lord is Peace" (Surah 36 Aayat 58). She meant that the reply of salaam is from Allah, Most High, Himself. She said further: "Those whom Allah sendeth astray, there is no guide for them." (Surah 7 Aayat 186). She meant that she has lost her way.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Where are you coming from?

The lady: "Glorified be He who carried His servant by night from the Musjid-e-Aqsa (invioble place of worship) to the Musjid-e-Haraam" (Far distant place of worship) (Surah17 Aayat1). She meant that she had come from Musjid-e-Aqsa.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): How long are you in this place?

The lady: "For three nights" (Surah 19 Aayat10).

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): What arrangements are made for your food?

The lady: "And who (Allah) feedeth me and watereth me" (Surah 26 Aayat 79). She meant that somehow or the other, her food is provided to her by Allah.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Is there any water for Wudhu?

The lady: "And ye find not water, then go to high clean soil and (make tayammum) rub your faces and hands." (therewith) (Surah 4 Aayat 43). She meant that she makes tayammum, due to not finding water.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Here is some food. Partake of it.

The lady: "Strictly observe the fast till nightfall" (Surah 2 Aayat 187). She indicated that she is fasting.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): This is not the month of Ramadaan.

The lady: "And he who does good of his own accord (for him) lo! Allah is responsive, aware". (Surah 2 Aayat158) Meaning that I have observed an optional (nafl) fast.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): It is permitted to break the fast when in a journey.

The lady: "And that ye fast is better for you, if you did but know." (Surah 2 Aayat 184)

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Speak like how I speak.

The lady: "He (man) uttereth no word but there is with him an observer ready" (Surah 50 Aayat 18). She meant that since every word of a person is observed and recorded, she is taking precaution by speaking only in the words of the Holy Quran.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Which clan do you belong to?

The lady: "Follow not that whereof thou hast no knowledge, lo! The hearing and the sight and heart of each of these it will be asked" (Surah 17 Aayat36). She meant those things that you have no knowledge of, nor do they concern you, you are wasting your strength (senses) by enquiring about them.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Forgive me. I have certainly made a mistake.

The lady: "Have no fear this day. May Allah forgive you" (Surah 12 Aayat 92)

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Would you like to travel on my camel and meet your caravan?

The lady: "And whatsoever good ye do Allah knoweth it" (Surah 2 Aayat 197). Meaning that if you will do this good deeds towards me, Allah will recompense you for it.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Well, then you may mount it. Saying this he made the camel to sit down.

The lady: "Tell the believing men (when confronted by women) to lower their gaze". (Surah 24 Aayat 30).

Hadhrat Abdullah understood and (turned) looked away.

While she was mounting, the camel jerked and her clothes got strangled in the saddle (dorsers) and she proclaimed: "whatever of misfortune striketh you, it is what your hands have earned." (Surah 42 Aayat 30). In other words she was drawing Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak's (RA) attention towards this mishap.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA) understood and he tied the legs of the camel and he straightened the straps of the saddle (or dorser).

She applauded him for his proficiency and capability by saying "And we made Sulaiman to understand" (Surah 21 Aayat 79). When the journey was about to begin, the lady recited the Aayats which are read when undertaking a journey "Glorified be he who hath subdued these unto us, and we were not capable (of subduing them). And lo, unto our Lord we are returning." (Surah 43 Aayat 13).

Hadhrat Abdullh bin Mubarak (RA) held the bridle (or nose string) of the camel. He began to hum the (Huddi) famous Arabic song for travelling, and he started walking very fast.

The lady: "Be modest in thy bearing and subdue thy voice" (Surah 31 Aayat 19). Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA) understood. He began walking slower and he lowered his voice.

The lady: "Recite of the Quran that which is easy for you." She meant that instead of humming the Huddi, he should rather recite the Holy Quran.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA) began reciting the Holy Quran.

The lady became very pleased and said "but none remember (accept advice) except men of understanding" (Surah 2 Aayat 269).

After reciting the Holy Quran for a while, Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA) asked (the lady if she had a husband) (if he was alive) "O Aunt, have have you a husband? (meaning is he living)

The lady: "O you who believe, ask not of things which if they were made known unto you, would trouble you" (Surah 5 Aayat 101). She meant that no questions should be asked regarding this matter which indicated that her husband has most probably passed away. Finally they (caught up) met the caravan.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Do you have any son or relative (friend) in this caravan who has connection (contact) with you?

The lady: "Wealth and children are an ornament of life of the world" (Surah 18 Aayat 46). She meant that her sons were with this caravan and he has provisions with him.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): What work are your sons doing for the caravan? (Hadhrat Abdullah's object for asking was to make it easy for him to recognise her son).

The lady: "And landmarks, and by the star they find a way" (Surah 16 Aayat 16). She meant that he is a guide for the caravan.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): Can you tell me their name?

The lady: "Allah chose Ibrahim as (for) a friend" (Surah 4 Aayat 125). "And Allah spoke directly unto Moosa" (Surah 19 Aayat 12). By reciting these Aayats the lady informed him that her sons names were Yahya, Ibrahim and Moosa.

Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA) called out these names in the caravan and immediately three young people came forward.

The lady: (addressing her children) "Now send one of you with this your silver coin unto the city. And let him see what food is purest there and bring you a supply thereof" (Sura 18 Aayat 19) In other words she instructed them to feed Hadhrat Abdullah (RA).

When the food was brought, she told Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA): "Eat and drink at ease for that which ye sent on before you in the past days." (Surah 69 Aayat 24), and with this Aayat she recited another Aayat, the object of which was to convey (show) her gratefulness to him for his good conduct and courtesy. The Aayat was: "Is the reward of goodness aught save goodness?" (Surah 55 Aayat 60).

Their conversation terminated on this Aayat. The lady's son informed Hadhrat Abdullah bin Mubarak (RA) that his mother has been speaking in this manner, i.e. using only the Aayats of the Holy Quran in her speech, for the last forty years.

Duas requested,

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

PS: You don't need to re-subscribe, I've imported all subscribers to bloglet and you shall now receive Feedblitz updates Inshallah Ta'ala.

Subscription to Mujahidah an Nafs

2006-05-14T11:05:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I pray that you are all in the best of health and imaan. Ameen.

Just a quick post to inform those of you who have subscribed to Mujahidah an Nafs via Bloglet that Bloglet no longer seems to be up and running hence no email updates have been sent to you despite Mujahidah an Nafs being updated! If you would like to continue receiving email alerts/updates as to when Mujahidah an Nafs is updated I'd appreciate it greatly if you could enter/re-enter your email address in the Feedblitz subscription box found in the side bar Inshallah Ta'ala. The following blogs have now moved over to feedblitz, so please renew your subscriptions!

Br. Ahmed's world of Islam
Friendships Fi'sabillilah
Breathe Islam
Islamic Poems
Simply Islam
Umm Zahra
Zain121

I'll keep this list updated Inshallah Ta 'ala. Jazakallah khair, 3 weeks left til my finals...Duas pleease!

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

The sound heart

2006-05-06T14:05:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

An excerpt taken from 'Tasawwuf and Tazkiyah' by Shaykh Imran Ibn Adam, an excellent book Mashallah..The pdf version can be found @ www.khanqah.co.uk

In defining the sound heart, the following has been said:

“It is a heart cleansed from any passion that challenges what Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala commands, or disputes what He forbids. It is free from any impulses, which contradict His good. As a result, it is safeguarded against the worship of anything other than Him, and seeks the judgement of no other except that of His Messenger Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam. Its services are exclusively reserved for Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala, willingly and lovingly, with total reliance, relating all matters to Him, in fear, hope and sincere dedication. When it loves, its love is in the way of Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala. If it detests, it detests in the light of what He detests. When it gives, it gives for Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala. If it withholds, it withholds for Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala. Nevertheless, all this will not suffice for its salvation until it is free from following, or taking as its guide, anyone other than His Messenger Sallalahu Alayhi Wasallam.” A servant with a sound heart must dedicate it to its journey's end and not base his actions and speech on those of any other person except Allah’s Messenger Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam. He must not give precedence to any other faith or words or deeds over those of Allah Subhanahu Wata’ala and His Messenger Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam."

Duas Requested,

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

Something interesting Inshallah...

2006-04-28T20:22:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I pray that you are all in the best of health and imaan. Ameen.

I recently listened to a mashallah amazing bayaan (talk/lecture) by Maulana Kamal on Rabeta-e-shaykh (You can also find it linked on the side bar if you wish to listen) and came across something that just made me think subhanallah...

Hazrat Shah Waliullah rahimahullah explains the process of purifying the heart, and this is what I would like to share with you:

Points to note:

There are two ways to purify the land from filth:

By Rain, which washes away all impurities. Flowing water takes najasat (impurity) away with it.
The sun which eliminates impurity from the land by shining upon the land for long periods of time resulting in the burning away of impurities.

The analogy

Dhikr is like the rain that washes away impurity

When a person does excessive dhikr it becomes like rain coming upon your heart and polishing it.

Keeping the company of a shaykh

The shaykh puts a lot of effort into his student. The shaykh puts so much dua, tazkiya, reformation, rectification and purification into the student that is like the heat of the sun coming onto the land, the effort of the shaykh is like the heat coming onto the heart of the student and it helps to purify the sins of that student.

VK's and my thoughts

When a believer engages in excessive dhikr Allah softens the heart of this person, these small precious drops which fall from our eyes are similar to the rain which purifies the land, rather this rain purifies our hearts. Subhanallah.....

"O Allah! Make me of the repentants, and make me of the purified, and include me among Your pious servants".

آمين آمين يا رب العالمين

The art of Happiness

2006-04-22T12:50:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I pray that you are all well and in the best of health and imaan. Ameen.

I came across the following 'Guidance of the day' via my bloglet update from 'Lessons of the day' . I've been meaning to post for a while and have written and re-written posts however, none of them truely expressed what I really wanted to say, that is of course until I read this.. Mashallah... :)

Also among the principles of the art of happiness is to value life on this earth according to its true merit and worth. This life is frivolous and does not warrant anything from you except that you turn away from it. This life is filled with calamities, aches, and wounds. If that is the description of this life, then how can one be unduly affected by its minor calamities, and how can one grieve over such material things as have passed him by?

The best moments of life are tainted, its future promises are mere mirages, the successful ones in it are envied, the one who is blessed is constantly threatened, and lovers are struck by some unexpected misfortune. Happiness is acquired by assuming it. It is acquired by constantly smiling, by hunting for the reasons that make one happy, and even by forcing it onto one's own self, however awkward that may seem.

One does all these things until happiness becomes second nature. The truth of the matter is that you cannot remove from yourself all remnants of grief. And the reason for this is life was created as a test. But you should as much as possible, reduce the amount and intensity of your grief. As for being completely free from grief, this is for the inhabitants of Paradise in the Hereafter.

So when a person knows the nature of this world and its qualities, he comes to realize that it is dry, deceitful, and unworthy; and he comes to fully understand that that is its nature and its description. It is worthy of the intelligent person not to help in its onslaught, nor to surrender to depression and anxiety. What we should do is defend ourselves from all feelings that may spoil our lives, in a war that we must wage with all the strength that we have been endowed with. [Don't be Sad] :)

Always in need of your humble duas....especially now..Jazakallah khair

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

Poetry...By Maulana Rumi

2006-04-18T14:26:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I pray that everyone reading is in the best of health and imaan. Ameen.

This post is a post of poetry by Maulana Rumi (Courtesy of My dear sis Sajeda).

Read and contemplate, find the deeper meaning behind the words, ponder and reflect Inshallah ta'ala...

"I've had enough of silent nights, of my unspoken grief, of my tired wisdom.
Come my treasure, my breath of life come and dress my wounds and be my cure.
Enough of words. Come to me without a sound."

"Love means to reach for the sky and with every breath to tear a hundred veils. Love means to step away from the ego, to open the eyes of inner vision and not to take this world so seriously. Congratulations dear heart! You have joined the circle of lovers, tell me in your own words when did all this throbbing begin? I was absorbed in my work in this world but I never lost my longing for home. One day, exhausted with no strength left, I was lifted suddenly by the grace of Love. To describe this mystery there are no words."

"Dear heart, you are so unreasonable! First you fall in love then worry about your life. You rob and steal then worry about the law. You profess to be in love yet still worry about what people say."

"I will run fast and will keep running until I catch up with the riders. I will dissolve into air and become nothing so I can reach my Beloved. I will become fire, burn my house and head for the desert. I will become all pain, so I can be healed. I will become humble and turn into soil so your flowers can grow in me. I will kiss the ground and become water so I can flow to your rose garden. I will make my face shine like a gold coin so i can become worthy of my Beloved. I came in this world helpless and fearful but at the end of this journey I will find safety. The blessing of truth is like water it flows downstream. I came to this earth so that i can find the way back to my Beloved."

"With love you cannot bargain there, the choice is not yours. Love is the mirror, it reflects only your essence, if you have the courage to look in its face."

"When you see the face of anger look behind it and you will see the face of pride. Bring anger and pride under your feet, turn them into a ladder and climb higher. There is no peace until you become their master. Let go of anger, it may taste sweet but it kills. Don't become it's victim you need humility to climb to freedom."

"My dear heart never think you are better than others. Listen to their sorrows with compassion. If you want peace don't harbour bad thoughts do not gossip and don't teach what you do not know."

"When you plant a tree every leaf that grows will tell you, what you sow will bear fruit. So if you have any sense, my friend don't plant anything but love, you show your worth by what you seek. Water flows to those who want purity wash your hands of all desires and come to the table of Love. Do you want me to tell you a secret? The flowers attract the most beautiful lover with their sweet smile and scent. If you let God weave the verse in your poem people will read it forever"

"Never linger too long with the ignorant, throw stones at their talk. Walk only with the lovers, the mirror of the soul gets rusty when dipped into muddy water"

"When something unique becomes many, it loses its value. Yet many are the sorrows of the heart but they become precious gems on the path to the Beloved."

Duas requested as always,

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

Random thoughts

2006-04-10T11:57:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I pray that everyone reading this is in the best of health and imaan. Ameen.

This post has been titled 'Random thoughts' because I really don't know what to title it...
This blog nearly came to an end for a short period of time. Those of you, who visited, found little here apart from one of my favourite hadith…one could say Mujahidah an Nafs experienced a mini death in blogistan (not that there is such a thing as a mini death, but I’ll come to that later Inshallah).

Although I don’t want to go into any details as to why I wanted to end this blog, I can say that the only reason why it is back is because of my Cousin Umm Zahra and my dear friend Veiled Knight. Jazakallah khair.

Random thought

A blog can be deleted just like that, however it’s just as easy to bring it back to life by republishing it…

This got me thinking…we are in this dunya for a temporary moment, a moment that can be compared to one crossing over a bridge to reach the final destination.
We only live life once. Once we have experienced the pangs of death that’s it, khallas we aren’t coming back to the dunya again. A blog can experience a ‘mini-death’ and be deleted and republished over and over again however our lives are a lot more complex than this…

Allah Ta’ala has given us ONE chance to live in this dunya, but do we really contemplate on how long this one chance will last? When Allah Ta’ala commands for our souls to be taken the angel of death will come and take it, we won’t be able to escape death at that point because wherever we may hide, wherever we may run the angel of death will find us.
That moment of death could come in a second, a minute, an hour, a day, a year …..Allahu alam, only Allah Ta’ala knows best when it will come, but it will surely come.

كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ وَنَبْلُوكُم بِالشَّرِّ وَالْخَيْرِ فِتْنَةً

وَإِلَيْنَا تُرْجَعُونَ

Kullu nafsin thaiqatu almawti wanablookum bialshsharri waalkhayri fitnatan wailayna turjaAAoona

Every human being is bound to taste death; and We test you [all] through the bad and the good [things of life] by way of trial: and unto Us you all must return. 21:35

We live every day in deception thinking that life is eternal, we do not hesitate to sin. We do not think that one day we will all be made accountable for our conduct and that we must all face the consequences of how we have lived our lives.

أَفَحَسِبْتُمْ أَنَّمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ عَبَثًا وَأَنَّكُمْ إِلَيْنَا لَا
تُرْجَعُونَ
Afahasibtum annama khalaqnakum AAabathan waannakum ilayna la turjaAAoona

Did you, then, think that We created you in mere idle play, and that you would not have to return to Us? 23:115

فَتَعَالَى اللَّهُ الْمَلِكُ الْحَقُّ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ رَبُّ الْعَرْشِ
الْكَرِيمِ
FataAAala Allahu almaliku alhaqqu la ilaha illa huwa rabbu alAAarshi alkareemi

[KNOW,] then, [that] God is sublimely exalted, the Ultimate Sovereign, the Ultimate Truth: there is no deity save Him, the Sustainer, in bountiful almightiness enthroned! 23:116

Subhanallah… Our ultimate destiny lies in the life of the hereafter, in the Akhira. Every good deed and every bad deed is being recorded; even the tiniest of things that we may not even recollect will be replayed before our eyes on the day of judgement. No one will be dealt with unjustly even by an atom’s weight.

So shouldn’t we then have an objective in life? An objective whereby we work for the akhira? To reap the everlasting rewards of the akhira we must work to be the people of jannah and not the people of the hell fire.

Our nabi Sallalahu alyhi wasallam has warned us not to seek only the fulfilment of our worldly and selfish desires:

“Whoever allow the world to become his biggest concern has nothing to do with Allah,

and Allah will instil four qualities into his heart:

anxiety which will never leave him, business which he will never be free from;

poverty which he will never rid himself of, an hope which he will never fulfil.

(Tabarani.)”

The reason for this is because we become forgetful of Allah Ta’ala, we forget that one day we will meet our Lord. Dhikr will help us to remember Allah Ta’ala in all that we do and prevent us from forgetting this meeting with our Lord.

Seeking forgiveness will ensure that our hearts and souls remain pure and wholesome. Our nabi salalahu alayhi wasallam has said:

“When a believer sins, a black spot appears on his heart.

But if he repents and seeks Allah’s forgiveness, his heart becomes cleansed and polished.

However if he continues to commit more and more sins (without seeking forgiveness),

the spot continues to spread and ultimately covers all of his heart.

This is the rust which Allah mentions (in the quran): What deeds they earn rust upon their hearts.”

(al-Mutaffifin 83:14) (Ahmad, Tirmidhi)

I end with the following dua,

Our Lord, make us not bear burdens which we have no strength to bear. Pardon us, and forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are our Lord Supreme: Help us against people who deny the truth. (al-Baqara 2:286)

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

Poison your Mother-in-law with......

2006-04-06T16:28:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah...

I pray you are all in the best of health and imaan. Ameen.

I'm not really encouraging you to poison your mother in-laws, honest!

Read on to find out if I really am :P

A long time ago, a girl named Li-Li got married and went to live with her husband and mother-in-law.In a very short time, Li-Li found that she couldn't get along with her mother-in-law at all. Their personalities were very different, and Li-Li was angered by many of her mother-in-law's habits. In addition, she criticized Li-Li constantly.

Days passed days, and weeks passed weeks. Li-Li and her mother-in-law never stopped arguing and fighting. But what made the situation even worse was that, according to ancient Chinese tradition, Li-Li had to bow to her mother-in-law and obey her every wish.

All the anger and unhappiness in the house was causing the poor husband great distress.
Finally, Li-Li could not stand her mother-in-law's bad temper and dictatorship any longer, and she decided to do something about it.

Li-Li went to see her father's good friend, Mr. Huang, who sold herbs. She told him the situation and asked if he would give her some poison so that she could solve the problem once and for all.

Mr. Huang thought for a while, and finally said, Li-Li, I will help you solve your problem, but you must listen to me and obey what I tell you. Li-Li said, "Yes, Mr. Huang, I will do whatever you tell me to do." Mr.Huang went into the back room, and returned in a few minutes with a package of herbs.

He told Li-Li, "You can't use a quick-acting poison to get rid of your mother-in-law, because that would cause people to become suspicious. Therefore, I have given you a number of herbs that will slowly build up poison in her body.

Every other day prepare some delicious meal and put a little of these herbs in her serving. Now, in order to make sure that nobody suspects you when she dies, you must be very careful to act very friendly towards her. Don't argue with her, obey her every wish, and treat her like a queen."

Li-Li was so happy. She thanked Mr. Huang and hurried home to start her plot of murdering her mother-in-law.

Weeks went by, and months went by, and every other day, Li-Li served the specially treated food to her mother-in-law. She remembered what Mr.Huang had said about avoiding suspicion, so she controlled her temper,obeyed her mother-in-law, and treated her like her own mother. After six months had passed, the whole household had changed.

Li-Li had practiced controlling her temper so much that she found that she almost never got mad or upset. She hadn't had an argument in six months with her mother-in-law, who now seemed much kinder and easier to get along with.

The mother-in-law's attitude toward Li-Li changed, and she began to love Li-Li like her own daughter. She kept telling friends and relatives that Li-Li was the best daughter-in-law one could ever find. Li-Li and her mother-in-law were now treating each other like a real mother and daughter. Li-Li's husband was very happy to see what was happening.

One day, Li-Li came to see Mr. Huang and asked for his help again. She said, "Dear Mr. Huang, please help me to keep the poison from killing my mother-in-law! She's changed into such a nice woman, and I love her like my own mother. I do not want her to die because of the poison I gave her."

Mr. Huang smiled and nodded his head. "Li-Li, there's nothing to worry about. I never gave you any poison. The herbs I gave you were vitimans to improve her health. The only poison was in your mind and your attitude toward her, but that has been all washed away by the love which you gave to her."

MORAL

Have you ever realized that how you treat others is exactly how they will treat you? In China it is said: The person who loves others will also be loved.

I hope you enjoyed that :)

Request for duas

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

Source: everymuslim.com

Words of Wisdom

2006-03-25T20:42:00.000Z

The Prophet of Allah Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam left for us his beautiful words of wisdom; their length may be miminal but their meaning is never ending. Following is a collection of just a few of these gems:

1.. "The best richness is the richness of the soul."

(at the field ofTabuk, Syria, Rajab 9 A.H.: Bukhari)

2.. "A Muslim who plants a tree or sows a field, from which man, birds and animals can eat, is committing an act of charity."

(Muslim)

3.. "There is a polish for everything that takes away rust; and the polish for the heart is the remembrance of Allah."

(Bukhari)

4.. "What actions are most excellent? To gladden the heart of human beings, to feed the hungry, to help the afflicted, to lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful, and to remove the sufferings of the injured."

(Bukhari)

5.. "The most excellent Jihad is that for the conquest of self."

(Bukhari)

6.. "If you put your whole trust in Allah, as you ought, He most certainly will satisfy your needs, as He satisfies those of the birds. They come out hungry in the morning, but return full to their nests."

(Tirmidhi)

7.. "When Allah created his creatures He wrote above His throne: 'Verily, my Compassion overcomes my wrath."

(Bukhari & Muslim)

8.. "Allah will not give mercy to anyone, except those who give mercy to other creatures."

(Abdullah b. Amr: Abu Daud & Tirmidhi)

9.. " 'Son, if you are able, keep your heart from morning till night and from night till morning free from malice towards anyone.' Then the Prophet said: 'O my son! This is one of my laws, and he, who loves my laws verily loves me.' "

(Bukhari)

10.. "Say what is true, although it may be bitter and displeasing to people."

(Baihaqi)

11.. "Kindness is a mark of faith, and whoever is not kind has no faith."

(Muslim)

12.. "When you see a person who has been given more than you in money and beauty, look to those, who have been given less."

(Muslim)

13.. "If you do not feel ashamed of anything, then you can do whatever you like."

(Abu-Masud: Bukhari)

14.. "O Lord, grant me your love, grant me that I love those who love you; grant me, that I might do the deeds that win your love. Make your love dearer to me than the love of myself, my family and wealth."

(Tirmidhi)

15.. "It is better to sit alone than in company with the bad; and it is better still to sit with the good than alone. It is better to speak to a seeker of knowledge than to remain silent; but silence is better than idle words."

(Bukhari)

16.. "Verily, a man teaching his child manners is better than giving one bushel of grain in alms."

(Muslim)

17.. "Whoever is kind, Allah will be kind to him; therefore be kind to man on the earth. He Who is in heaven will show mercy on you."

(Abu Daud: Tirmidhi)

18.. "It is difficult for a man laden with riches to climb the steep path, that leads to bliss."

(Muslim)

19.. "Once a man, who was passing through a road, found a branch of a tree with torns obstructing it. The man removed the thorns from the way. Allah thanked him and forgave his sins."

(Bukhari)

20.. "Who are the learned? Those who practice what they know."

(Bukhari)

21.. "Allah has revealed to me, that you must be humble. No one should boast over one another, and no one should oppress another."

(Iyad b. Hinar al-Mujashi: Muslim)

22.. "Who is the most favoured of Allah? He, from whom the greatest good comes to His creatures."

(Bukhari)

23.. "A true Muslim is thankful to Allah in prosperity, and resigned to His will in adversity."

(Muslim)

24.. "A Muslim who meets with others and shares their burdens is better than one who lives a life of seclusion and contemplation."

(Muslim)

25.. "Serve Allah, as you would if you could see Him; although you cannot see Him, He can see you.

(Umar: Muslim)

Allahumma Salli 'Ala Muhammadin Kulla Ma Dharakahudh-Dhaakiroon, Wa Kullama Ghafala 'An Dhikrihil Ghaafiloon

The evils of backbiting...

2006-03-21T14:42:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I pray that everyone reading is in the best of health and imaan. Ameen.

Alhamdullilah by the blessings and mercy of Allah Ta'ala I am feeling much better...

Rabbanaa aatinaa fid dunyaa hasana taw wafil aakhirati hasana taw wa qinaa azaaban naar

"O Allah, our Lord and Sustainer, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and save us from the Fire of Jahannam."

My dear sister Veiled Knight requested that I post, so this post is dedicated to her Inshallah..

This post will be based on an article by Hadhrat Shaykh Asif Hussain Farooqui (DB), which was originally published in Ibn ul Waqt Magazine. Although I won't be typing up the whole article I will be sharing important points that were covered in the article holding great lessons for us to learn from, especially since backbiting has become a norm that we don't even think twice about...if only we knew the consequence of letting our tongues on the loose...This article benefited me greatly which is why I will be sharing it with you today Inshallah..

'In our eyes we think backbiting is a very small illness, a little sin'

Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam was shown one night a group of people getting punished. These individuals had a very long sword like nails, which they were piercing into their intestines and then eating their flesh. Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam enquired as to why these individuals were receiving such a terrible punishment. Jibreel informed Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam, “ These are those individuals who ate the meat of others in the dunya.”

“Allah Ta’ala has stated that backbiting is equivalent to eating flesh of ones brother. This is one of the illnesses of the soul. “

“It is stated in a hadith that if you gather all the worship of man onto one side of the scale and place one instance of backbiting on the other, the backbiting will outweigh the worship.”

“Backbiting is such a great sin that it wipes out all ibadah”

“Hadhrat Shaqeeq (RA), a very great shaykh of his time, once failed to perform some of his daily dhikr. His wife said to him, “What have you done? You haven’t performed your dhikr, so you will not receive any reward tonight.” He started to laugh and replied, “ Don’t worry, in the matter of reward, there is no shortage, because I know of certain people who perform worship all night long, fast in the day and perform hajj after hajj, yet they backbite about me and in doing so they fill my account with good deeds.” That is why he wasn’t worried in the least. Hasan Basri (RA) used to send gifts to those who had backbited about him and used to thank them for the deeds which had been given to him.”

“Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam has defined for us the paupers of this ummah. We think of the person who has no money or goods as a pauper, but Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam has stated that it can be those who have carried out great acts of worship and yet have lost the wealth of their deeds through having indulged in backbiting.”

“Such an individual will stand on the Day of Judgement and see a queue of individuals in front of him. He will hear a voice saying, “You backbited about this individual so we are giving him some of your good deeds”, and one by one the line will be cleared to leave him with no good deeds whatsoever. All his good deeds will be distributed to those against whom he backbited and the sins of those people will be placed into his account of deeds.”

Hadhrat Shaykh then goes on further..

“Who saves himself from backbiting? How many of us keep ourselves away from this terrible sin? Backbiting destroys a man. Now remember this point I am about to tell you, especially those who practice tasawwuf. Those who are steadfast on doing dhikr please listen attentively. Abu Qarafa (RA), a very great shaykh, states, “If a person backbites he cannot receive guidance.” Guidance cannot penetrate the heart of one who backbites. Backbiting is such a major sin, so how can a person protect himself from this evil act?”

“Another point is that on the Day of Judgement the appearances of people will be reflections of sins which they have committed, so that those who lie will become like dogs, those who have jealousy in their hearts will have the likeness of pigs and those who expose the sins of others will have the appearance of monkeys. These three are such major sins, but backbiting is such that it contains all three of these sins. Lying, jealousy and exposing the sins of others are all in backbiting. Just imagine – if for these three sins the punishment is that bad, then what will happen to those who do all three – those who backbite?”

The definition of backbiting

“So what is the definition of backbiting? Backbiting is to say about anyone behind their back something that they would not like if it were said to their face. Even if it is a true statement, but one which the individual would not like to hear, then this too is backbiting. And if the statement is false, then this becomes slander – which is another major sin. All your good deeds are wiped away if you backbite. If somebody possesses a feature, for example he is one-eyed, and you mention this, simply because he would not like to hear you say such a thing about him – even though it is true – this is classified as backbiting. You will be punished for backbiting on the Day of Judgement. Allah Ta’ala and his Rasoolullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam are displeased with any individual who indulges in backbiting.”

I pray that Allah Ta’ala blesses us with the ability to refrain from such a sin, a sin that invites us towards His anger, or draws us near to His displeasure, or makes us inclined to that which He has prohibited, or distances us from the bliss and success to which He has invited us. Ameen.

...To be continued

2006-02-22T12:16:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I pray that you are all in the best of health and imaan. Ameen.

This post has been titled dot, dot, dot (...), and as many of you probably know this usually means 'To be continued'...The reason why I have chosen to title this post (...) is because, for now Mujahidah an Nafs will be 'To be continued....'

People around me and who know me are aware that I am going through a roller coasterish patch in life at the moment..recently I've been diagnosed with a condition that's taking alot out of me...it's probably taking alot out of me because I've never been that ill before and never really thought that anything could affect my lifestyle and the things that I take very much for granted so much...

As you can imagine I've been quite miserable lately, one of the main factors contributing being taking the medicines to treat the condition. Now studying pharmacy means that I've learnt alot about how drugs work e.g. pharmacology, pharmaceutics, pharmacokinetics, therapeutics (ok, I'll stop now cuz I can c I'm scaring u) but I guess studying is far different from experiencing it for yourself...all those side effects that were on paper, that we have learnt that patients experience are now actually happening to me and I can tell you I'm not too happy about it :(

Well I hope to have a moral to this post Inshallah, so I'll stop just there and relate all this stuff that's happening to me to something that I hope is beneficial Inshallah...

Before I do however, I will try and post once I am back on track with my health..in the meantime please check out the excellent blogs (Mashallah) I have linked and if you would like to receive notification when this blog is updated please enter you email add in the subscripton box on the right Inshallah...Request for duas please..Jazakallah khair.

The Scenario...

One day into being diagnosed, I'm feeling really, really miserable...I feel useless and wish I could just run away from the illness ( remember this is just one day in..)..Now feeling so miserable I happen to talk to a very dear friend who looking at my state tells me the following...

"Even when we are ill we should see how we are still fortunate that we can walk, talk, see and do things ourselves without having to rely upon anyone. These are grand things that Allah Ta'ala has blessed us with Alhamdulillah."

Mashallah what my dear sister said is absolutely true. Theres me becoming ill and thinking that the whole world around me has disintegrated. What we often forget in life is that the things that we take for granted such as walking, talking, and doing things ourselves without having to depend on anyone are an ultimate blessing from Allah Ta'ala. I thought about it and realised that there are many people in this dunya who suffer from severe illnesses but subhanallah they wont even move their mouth in the slightest to complain, instead they praise Allah Ta'ala and give shukr to Him for all that they have been given...

There are also those people in the dunya who don't suffer from just one illness they suffer from co-morbidities that require long term treatment with several medicines all of which have side effects (btw, every medicine has a side effect)..yet the utterances from their mouths are nothing but the praise of Allah Ta'ala..and heres me being miserable about a condition that probably is nothing at all in comparison to what these people suffer from and probably isn't even that long term....

Then we come across people who arn't as fortunate as us. There are those in poor developing countries who do not have access to medicines at all, and when they do they are sold counterfeit or expired medicines. These are medicines which, instead of having a therapeutic effect exert toxic effects which ultimately result in adverse drug events resulting in the patient becoming even more ill or can result in fatality (sorry about the terminology). Allah Ta'ala has given us so much that we fail to comprehend how much in reality. We have money, access to healthcare, don't even need to think twice about being supplied with conterfeit medicines, surely these are all blessings...Allahu Akbar!

I could explain further however, I feel we can all see by now that we have been given numerous and countless blessings that we don't even think twice about...

My dear sister tried to give me courage and tried to make me see the up side of teh whole thing...

"Just see it as a way of your sins being washed away. We shouldn't look at the negative points of our situation, rather look at the positive."

Isn't that so true? It all comes back to realising that every musibah is from Allah Ta'ala, and that those who can overcome that musibah by solely turning to Allah Ta'ala for help are indeed those that are very dear to Allah Ta'ala...Honestly thinking I think we are drowning in sins and we have become so dead that we can get on with life without even thinking about them or having any remorse, but the honest truth is that just the concept of our sins being washed away like this softens the heart so much that it makes us realise how merciful our rabb is...He is indeed Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem.

Allah Ta'ala gives us so many chances to turn back to him yet we fail to comprehend...We must keep our eyes and heart open to see these signs and take them, for Allah Ta'ala rememebers those that he loves and He afflicts a musibah on those of His servants whom He loves. This dunya is indeed a prison for the beleiver and a paradise for the disbeleiver yet our reward awaits us in the akhira and is a reward that is not comprehendable to the human mind...

May Allah Ta'ala bless us with the hidayah to see His signs in all that we do and may He have mercy on us, for we are continuously drowning in an ocean of sins that becomes deeper an deeper day by day, hour by hour, second by second...

I end by a dua...

Ya Allah! Forgive us of our sins, those sins that we have no fear of comitting, those sins that we KNOW are the cause of your displeasure, those sins that prevent us from becoming close to you. Ya Allah! Forgive us of those sins that we have comitted knowingly and unknowingly and guide us, guide us to the path of those whom you love not the path of whom you are displeased with. You are our Lord and we are indeed your servants, Ya Allah have mercy on us for without your mercy we are indeed astray and without your guidnace we have no turning back. Ya Allah! You are the Lord of the heavens and the worlds, have mercy on us Ya Allah, have mercy on us. Ameen.

Request for duas

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

The Little Devils...

2006-02-17T16:13:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I pray that everyone reading this blog is in the best of health and imaan. Ameen.

I found this intresting article on Inter-Islam, I'm sure when reading the title you must have thought 'huh? little devils?' read on to find out more Inshallah :)
When I get the time I'll try to contribute with a few more original pieces Inshallah, til then enjoy :) and a small request for duas, Jazakallah khair..

Hadhrat Umar (R.A) has said that the children of shaitaan are many from which nine are prominent : Zaleetoon, Watheen, Laqoos, Ra'waan, Haffaaf, Murrah, Mussawwit, Daasim, Walhaan. Each of their occupations and methods of leading people astray are different.

1) Zaleetoon's occupation is to sit in the streets and at shops with his fellow companions, spreading mischief and evil, leading Allah's people astray so that in the hereafter they may be used as fuel for the fire of hell.

2) Watheen's work is to influence people in such a way that his own actions lead him to calamities, thus, driving him away from the Lord.

3) Laqoos' task is to make the actions of fire-worshippers appear more decorative and to prevent them from discontinuing this form of worship, so that due to fire worshipping they themselves will become the prey of the fire of hell.

4) Ra'waan's victims are people who possess power and money. His aim is to induce them towards insolence and evil so that they make decisions without consulting Allah's guidance. Thus, in this way they themselves will fulfill Ra'awaan's needs and accomplish his tasks, whilst this cursed sits back calmly. This reality can be witnessed today in the world where decisions are made merely by strength and leadership.

5) Haffaaf has been allocated the job of creating mischief by tempting people towards the drinking of wine and spirits.

6) Murrah's responsibility is to attract people towards musical instruments due to which they will become negligent of their compulsions of life,and that no-one is saved from this wicked sin is his constant worry.

7)Al-Mussawit spread's false and dangerous rumours amongst people which creates arguments and evil.

8)Daasim enters homes especially when the head of the house enters without uttering salaam and remembering the Almighty.He causes conflict between man, his wife and the family. On occasions it leads to violence and divorce between a couple.

9)Walhaan's duty is to distract man when carrying out ablution and wavers his intent when performing salaah, consequently corrupting salaah.

May Allah Ta'ala save us form the evil of these little devils. Ameen.

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

The month of Muharram

2006-02-08T18:55:00.000Z

Muharram is the month with which the Muslims begin their lunar Hijrah Calendar. It is one of the four sanctified months about which the Holy Quran says,

"The number of the months according to Allah is twelve months (mentioned) in the Book of Allah on the day in which He created heavens and the earth. Among these (twelve months) there are four sanctified".

These four months, according to the authentic traditions are the months of Dhul-Qa'dah, Dhul-Hijjah, Muharram and Rajab. All the commentators of the Holy Quran are unanimous on this point, because the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) in his sermon on the occasion of his last Hajj, has declared: One year consists of twelve months, of which four are sanctified months, three of them are in sequence; Dhul-Qa'dah, Dhul-Hijjah, Muharram, and the fourth is Rajab.

The specific mention of these four months does not mean that any other month has no sanctity, because the month of Ramadhan is admittedly the most sanctified month in the year. But these four months were specifically termed as sanctified months for the simple reason that their sanctity was accepted even by the pagans of Makkah.

In fact, every month, out of the twelve, is originally equal to the other, and there is no inherent sanctity which may be able which may be attributed to one of them in comparison to the other months. When Allah Almighty chooses a particular time for His special blessings, the same acquires sanctity out of His grace.

Thus, the sanctity of these four months was recognized right from the days of Sayyidina Ibrahim (Alayhis salaam). Since the Pagans of Makkah attributed themselves to Sayyidina Ibrahim (Alayhis salaam) they observed the sanctity of these four months and despite their frequent tribal battles, they held it unlawful to fight in these months.

In the Shariah of our Noble Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) the sanctity of these months was upheld and the Holy Quran referred to them as the "sanctified months". The month of Muharram has certain other characteristics peculiar to it which are specified below.

1. Fasting during the month The Noble Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) has said: 'The best fasts after the fasts of Ramadhan are those of the month of Muharram." Although the fasts of the month of Muharram are not obligatory, yet, the one who fasts in these days out of his own will and choice is entitled to a great reward by Allah Almighty. The Hadith cited above signifies that the fasts of the month of Muharram are most rewardable ones among the Nafl fasts i.e. the fasts one observes out of his own choice without being obligatory on him. The Hadith does not mean that the award promised for fasts of Muharram can be achieved only by fasting for the whole month. On the contrary, each fast during this month has merit. Therefore, one should avail of this opportunity as much as he can.

2. The day of 'Ashurah' Although the month of Muharram is a sanctified month as a whole, yet, the 10th day of Muharram is the most sacred among all its days. The day is named 'Ashurah'. According to the Holy Companion Ibn 'Abbas (Radhiallaahu Ánhu). The Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam), when migrated to Madinah, found that the Jews of Madinah used to fast on the 10th day of Muharram. They said that it was the day on which the Holy Prophet Musa (Moses) (Alayhis salaam) and his followers crossed the Red Sea miraculously and the Pharaoh was drowned in its waters. On hearing this from the Jews, the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) said, "We are more closely rotated to Musa (Alayhis salaam) than you" and directed the Muslims to fast on the day of 'Ashura'. (Abu Dawood)

It is also reported in a number of authentic traditions that in the beginning, fasting on the day of 'Ashura' was obligatory for the Muslims. It was later that the fasts of Ramadhan were made obligatory and the fast on the day of 'Ashura' was made optional. Sayyidina 'Aisha (Radhiallaahu Ánha) has said: "When the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) came to Madinah, he fasted on the day of 'Ashura' and directed the people to fast it. But when the fasts of Ramadhan were made obligatory, the obligation of fasting was confined to Ramadhan and the obligatory nature of the fast of 'Ashura' was abandoned. Whoever so desires should fast on it and any other who so likes can avoid fasting on it." (Sunan Abu Dawud)

However, the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) used to fast on the day of 'Ashura' even after the fasting in Ramadhan was made obligatory. Abdullah ibn Musa (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) reports that the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) preferred the fast of 'Ashura' on the fasts of other days and preferred the fasts of Ramadhaan on the fast of 'Ashura'. (Bukhari and Muslim) In short, it is established through a number of authentic Hadiths that fasting on the day of 'Ashura' is Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) and makes one entitled to a great reward.

According to another Hadith, it is more advisable that the fast of 'Ashura' should either be prefixed or suffixed by another fast. It means that one should fast two days: the 9th and 10th of Muharram or the 10th and 11th of it. The reason of this additional fast as mentioned by the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) is that the Jews used to fast on the day of 'Ashura alone, and the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) wanted to distinguish the Muslim way of fasting from that of Jews. Therefore, he advised the Muslims to add another fast to that of 'Ashura'.

Some traditions signify another feature of the day of 'Ashura. According to these traditions one should be more generous to his family by providing more food to them on this day as compared to other days. These traditions are not very authentic according to the science of Hadith. Yet, some Scholars like Baihaqi and Ibn Hibban have accepted them as reliable. What is mentioned above is all that is supported through authentic sources about Ashura. However, there are some legends and misconceptions with regard to 'Ashura' that have managed to find their way into the minds of the ignorant, but have no support of authentic Islamic sources, some very common of them are these:

- This is the day in which Adam (Alayhis salaam) was created.

- This is the day in which Ibrahim was born.

- This is the day in which Allah accepted the repentance of Sayyidina Adam (Alayhis salaam)

- This is the day on which the Qiyaamah (doomsday) will take place.

- Whoever takes bath in the day of 'Ashura' will never get ill.

All these and other similar whims and fancies are totally baseless and the traditions referred to in this respect are not worthy of any credit. Some people take it as Sunnah to prepare a particular type of meal in the day of 'Ashura'. This practice, too, has no basis in the authentic Islamic sources.

Some other people attribute the sanctity of 'Ashura' to the martyrdom of Sayyidina Husain (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) during his battle with the Syrian army. No doubt, the martyrdom of Sayyidina Husain (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) is one of the most tragic episodes of our history. Yet, the sanctity of 'Ashura' cannot be ascribed to this event for the simple reason that the sanctity of 'Ashura' was established during the days of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) much earlier than the birth of Sayyidna Husain (Radhiallaahu Ánhu). On the contrary, it is one of the merits of Sayyidna Husain (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) that his martyrdom took place on the day of 'Ashura'. Another misconception about the month of Muharram is that it is an evil or unlucky month, for Sayyidna Husain was killed in it. It is for this misconception that people avoid holding marriage ceremonies in the month of Muharram.

This is again a baseless concept which is contrary to the express teachings of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah. Such superstitions have been totally negated by the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam). If the death of an eminent person in a particular day renders that day unlucky for all times to come, one can hardly find a day, free from this bad luck, out of 360 days of the whole year, because each and every day has a history of the demise of some eminent person. The Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) have made us free from such superstitious beliefs, and they should deserve no attention.

Another wrong practice related to this month is to hold the lamentation and mouming ceremonies in the memory of martyrdom of Sayyidna Husain (Radhiallaahu Ánhu). As mentioned earlier, the event of Karbala is one of the most tragic events of our history, but the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) has forbidden us from holding the mourning ceremonies on the death of any person. The people of jahiliyyah (ignorance) used to mourn over their deceased through loud lamentations, by tearing their clothes and by beating their cheeks and chests. The Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) stopped the Muslims from doing all this and directed them to observe patience by saying "Innaa lillaahi wa innaa ilayhi raaji'oon". A number of authentic Ahaadith are available on the subject. To quote only one of them: "He is not from our group who slaps his checks, tears his clothes and cries in the manner of the people of jahiliyyah". (Sahih Bukhari)

All the authentic jurists are unanimous on the point that the mourning of this type is absolutely impermissible. Even Sayyidna Husain (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) at shortly before his demise, had advised his beloved sister Sayyidah Zainab (Radhiallaahu Ánha) at not to mourn over his death in this manner. He said, "My dear sister, I swear upon you that you, in case I die, shall not tear your clothes, nor scratch your face, nor curse anyone for me or pray for your death". (Al-Kamil, ibn Kathir vol. 4 pg. 24) It is evident from this advice of Sayyidna Husain, (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) that this type of mourning is condemned even by the blessed person for the memory of whom these mourning ceremonies are held. Every Muslim should avoid this practice and abide by the teachings of the Holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) and his beloved grand child Sayyidna Husain (Radhiallaahu Ánhu).

Mufti Taqi Uthmaani

Shaykh Sayyid Asad Madani (Rahimahullah) Passes Away

2006-02-07T18:40:00.000Z

Shaykh Sayyid Asad Madani Sahib was the son of Shaykhul Islam Sayyid Husain Ahmad Madani (Rahmatullahi Alaihi) (1879-1957) who was one of the main leaders of the independent movement who fought the British colonial empire with the students of Darul Uloom Deoband in weakening their empire resulting in their withdrawal. He was a teacher of Bukhari in Masjid-an-Nabawi for many years.
Shaykh Sayyid Asad Madani also joined his father in continuing the work of his father and establishing the position of the Muslims in India after their weakened condition due to the oppression of the Majority. He brought the Muslims from a weak position to giving them rights, positions, status and respect in society. He established many Madrasahs and schools and has served the Ummah over 30 years. He spent one month at home in Deoband during Ramadhan and 11 months for the work of Deen. 3 years ago, during his Da'wah work, he received the news of his wife passing away. He was saddened by the news but this did not weaken him. He continued the work which was ongoing at the time of the news. This was his faith in Allah and level of commitment to Islam.
Such a renowned character has been taken from the Ummah leaving all his work behind. He passed away today (6th Feb 2006) It a request to all the Muslims that they pray for Shaykh and do Eesaal ath-Thawaab.

Julaybib (RA) - A companion of the prophet (saw)

2006-02-02T19:13:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

Two exams down one more to go! Duas please :) Found this short biography on a companion of the rasul salalahu alayhi wasallam named Julaybib (RA).... just goes to show why we should marry for reasons beyond look.

His name was unusual and incomplete. Julaybib (R) means, "small grown". It is the diminutive form of the word "Jalbab". The name is an indication that Julaybib (R) was small and short. More than that, he is described as being "damam" which means ugly, deformed, or of repulsive appearance. Even more disturbing, for the society in which he lived, Julaybib's lineage was not known. There is no record of who his mother and father were, or to what tribe he belonged. This was considered a serious disability in his society. Julaybib (R) could not expect any compassion, protection, or support from a society that placed a great deal of importance on family and tribal connections. In this regard, all that was known of him was that he was an Arab and that, as far as the new community of Islam was concerned, he was one of the Ansar. He was shunned in his society. As an example, Abu Barzah, of the Aslam tribe, prohibited him from entering his home, and he told his wife:

"Do not let Julaybib (R) enter among you. If he does, I shall certainly do something terrible to him."

Was there any hope for Julaybib (R) to be treated with respect and consideration? Was there any hope for him to find emotional satisfaction as an individual and as a man? Was there any hope for him to enjoy the relationships that others take for granted? And in the new society emerging under the guidance of the Prophet, was he so insignificant as to be overlooked in the preoccupation with the great affairs of state and in the supreme issues of life and survival which constantly engaged the attention of the Prophet (saw)? Just as he was aware of the great issues of life and destiny, the Prophet (saw), who is mercy for all humanity, was also aware of the needs and feelings of his most humble companions. With Julaybib (R) in mind, the Prophet (saw) went to one of the Ansar and said: I want to have your daughter married. "How wonderful and blessed, O Messenger of Allah, and what a delight to the eye (this would be)," replied the Ansari man with obvious joy and happiness. I do not wanther for myself, added the Prophet (saw) "Then for whom, O Messenger of Allah?" asked the man, obviously somewhat let down. For Julaybib, said the Prophet (saw).

The Ansari must have been too shocked to give his own reaction so he replied: "I will consultwith her mother." And off he went to his wife. "The Messenger of Allah, May Allah (T) bestow peace and blessings upon him, wants to have your daughter married", he told his wife. She was thrilled. "What a wonderful idea and what a delight to the eye (this would be)," she said. "He does not want to marry her himself, but he wants to marry her to Julaybib (R)," he added. She was flabbergasted! "To Julaybib? No, never to Julaybib! No, by the Living Allah, we shall not marry (her) to him." she protested. As the Ansari was about to return to the Prophet (saw) to inform him of what his wife had said, the daughter, who had heard her mother's protestations, asked: "Who has asked to marry me?"

Her mother told her of the Prophet's request to marry her to Julaybib (R). When she heard that the request had come from the Prophet (saw), and that her mother was absolutely opposed to the idea, she was greatly perturbed and said: "Do you refuse the request of the Messenger of Allah Ta'ala? Send me to him, for he shall certainly not bring ruin to me." This was the reply of a truly great person who had a clear understanding of what was required of her as a Muslim. What greater satisfaction and fulfillment can a Muslim find than in responding willingly to the requests and commands of the Messenger of Allah Ta'ala! Truly, this companion of the Prophet (saw), even though we do not know her name, set an example for all of us to obey the Quranic command:

Whenever Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, it is not for a believing man or woman to claim freedom of choice in so far as this matter is concerned. And he who disobeys Allah and His Messenger (saw) has, most obviously, gone astray. [Al-Ahzab 33:36]

This was revealed in connection with the marriage of Zaynab bint Jahsh and Zayd bin Harithah, which was arranged by the Prophet (saw) to show the egalitarian spirit of Islam. Zaynab, at first, was highly offended at the thought of marrying Zayd, a former slave, and refused to marry him. The Prophet (saw) prevailed upon them both and they were married. The marriage however ended in divorce and Zaynab was eventually married to the Prophet (saw) himself. It is said that the Ansari girl read the verse to her parents and said: "I am satisfied, and submit myself to whatever Allah's Messenger (saw) deems good for me."

The Prophet (saw) heard of her reaction and prayed for her: `O Lord, bestow good on her in abundance and make not her life one of toil and trouble.' It is said that among the Ansar, there was not a more eligible bride than her. She was married by the Prophet (saw) to Julaybib (R), and they lived together until he was killed. He went on an expedition with the Prophet (saw), and an encounter with some mushrikin ensued. When the battle was over, the Prophet (saw) asked his companions: Have you lost anyone? They named their relatives or close friends who were killed. Another group answered that they had lost no close relative whereupon the Prophet (saw) said: But I have lost Julaybib. Search for him in the battlefield. They searched and found him beside seven mushrikin whom he had struck before meeting his end. The Prophet (saw) stood up and went to the spot where Julaybib (R), his short and deformed companion, lay. The Prophet of Allah stood over him and said: He killed seven and then was killed? This man is of me and I am of him. He repeated this two or three times. The Prophet (saw) then took him in his arms and it is said that he had no better bed besides the forearms of the Messenger of Allah. The Prophet (saw) then dug for him a grave, and himself placed him in it. The Prophet of Allah did not wash him, for the one slain in the Way of Allah is not washed before burial. Julaybib (R) and his wife are not among the companions of the Prophet (saw) whose deeds of obedience and valor are well known. The little that is known about them demonstrates how the meek and the humble were given hope and dignity by the Prophet (saw) - where once there was only despair and self-debasement.

The attitude of the unknown and unnamed Ansari girl, who readily agreed to be the wife of a physically unattractive man, reflected a profound understanding of Islam. It reflected the effacement of personal desires and preferences, even when she could have counted on the support of her parents. It reflected a total disregard for social norms and pressures. It reflected, above all, a ready and unshakable confidence in the wisdom and authority of the Prophet (saw) in submitting herself to whatever he deemed good. This is indeed the attitude of the true believer.

In Julaybib (R), there is the example of a person who was regarded as a social outcast because of his mere appearance. Given confidence by his faith in Allah, the Glorious, and encouragement by the noble Prophet (saw), he was able to perform great acts of courage and was blessed by the most virtuous death a believer could ever hope for - death fighting in the Way of Allah, the Supreme. This led to the commendation which should be the desire of every believer: the commendation of the Prophet (saw) of Allah: He is of me, and I am of him.

Duas requested,
Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

A Passing moment...

2006-01-26T16:20:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I just had a passing moment between all my revision, a thought came to mind…so I thought I’d share it with you…. I’m still in the most desperate need of duas btw. Jazakallah khair.

Ok, imagine all your life you’ve been looking for something, you don’t really know what it is yet, but you know that there’s something out there that you really want and you’ll only realise what it is when you see it.

Well one day, (sounding like a story, lol) you walk into a shop, it’s the kind of shop that you would only find rare and special things in. You weren’t really intending to walk into the shop but whilst walking past, something caught the corner of your eye. So you walk into the shop towards this object to take a closer look and lo and behold you realise it’s the object that you had always wanted but never realised. Obviously realising this you become real happy, you look at the price tag attached to the item and instinctively put you hand in you pocket/handbag/wallet (whatever u use) to see how much money you have on you. You look down and realise that you don’t have enough cash on you, and the problem is that this shop only deals in cash.

Dismay appears on your face, and before long your kicking yourself for spending the money you had on things that were really and truly useless…whilst all this is going on a bulb lights up in your mind, you walk up to the counter and ask the owner of the shop whether he would be kind enough to keep this object aside for you. He agrees but explains that because the item is very rare and precious he can only keep it aside for a maximum of two days after which he will have to sell. On hearing this, your desire to acquire the item deepens. You tell the shopkeeper that you’ll be back in an hour, you think to yourself “two days! It’ll get sold in two days!”. With that you run out of the shop, jump in your car, zoom home, get your money, zoom back, wow all in half an hour!

You return to the shop and rush to the counter where you speak to an assistant and explain to her that you have reserved an item just half an hour ago. As you begin telling her your name the shop owner walks up to you. He looks very regretful. You feel your gut doing a 360 on you. You know there’s bad news around the corner.
The shop owner explains that an hour before you had come into the shop someone else had come and reserved that item; he explains that it had completely slipped his mind and that he was very sorry, he mentions that the person leaving the shop as you entered was the person who had bought the item. Naturally, at first you get real annoyed and you really want to say something, but instead you bite your tongue and instead say ‘inna lillahi wa ina ilayhi raji’oon’.
As you walk out of the shop, you have a million thoughts running through your mind, you begin blaming yourself “If only I had gone to the shop an hour earlier” and you feel real gutted.

My thoughts
Sometimes, what we forget in life is that everything that we want isn’t necessarily made for us. Our names are not engraved on the things we want the most. We have a tendency to get so attached to things that when we can’t have them, we really don’t know what to do, we end up in a state of hopelessness. In this scenario it was just an item in a shop, but I’m sure we can all relate to examples that are a lot more significant than this one.

What we fail to realise, and in this scenario is that the person who purchased the item before you probably had just as much a desire to purchase it as you did and probably would have felt the same way if not worse if you had beat them to it. You begin to rationalise what has happened and you begin to realise that the person who bought that item will probably look after it a lot better and will probably realise it’s worth a lot more than you would. You begin to realise that Allah Ta’ala gives you certain things for a reason, and it is only what He wills that you will in turn receive. Some things are written for us whereas some things aren’t, we being the makhlooq (the creation) have a tendency to forget this and it is this that hinders our relationship with our Lord.

There is no doubt that the item that you wanted was one of a kind and that there will be no comparison to it, you won’t ever be able to come across something so rare and unique, but what we must remember is that our Lord and Sustainer will never try a soul with more than it can bear.

With this I finish with a dua..

“O Allah, whatever You want to give me, no one can stop it from coming to me and whatever You want to prevent from coming to me, nobody can give to me”

May Allah Ta’ala bless us with the inclination to recite these beautiful words and remind ourselves as much as we can that as we expect something to happen, or not to happen, everything happens only as He Allah Ta’ala commands, and by His permission.

Please remember us in your humble duas.

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah.

The last letter of Ghazi Anwar Pasha

2006-01-22T17:46:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I came across this amazing letter by Ghazi Anwar Pasha to his wife but never really had the time to post it up...Alhamdullilah I have a spare moment so the plan is to share this beautiful letter with you Inshallah...

Ghazi Anwar Pasha is among the great mujahideen of Turkey, who spent his entire life in fighting against the enemies of Islam. He finally achieved his shahadat while fighting aginst the Russians. A day before his shahadat, he mailed a letter written to his wife Princess Najia Sultana. This letter was published in an Indian newspaper in 1923. The following is a translation of that letter:

"My companion of life, and my source of pleasure, Najia! Allah (swt) is your protector. Your last letter is lying in front of me. Believe me, this letter of yours will always stick with my heart. I am unable to see your face, but within the lines and words of this letter, I can see the movement of your fingers. Fingers, which used to play with my hair. Once in a while, in the darkness of my tent, your face appears in front of my eyes.
Oh!You wrote that I have forgotten you, and I don't care about your love anymore. You said that I broke your heart, and I am playing with fire and death away from you. And I don't care about the woman who spends her nights while counting the stars. You wrote that I love war, ans sword. But while putting these words, which were due to your pure love, you didn't realise that these thoughts would hurt my heart. How I can make you believe that in this world there is nobody whom I love more than you. You are the center of my love. I never fall in love anybody, but this is you, who snatched my heart away from me. Then why I'm away from you?You are definitely eligible to ask me this question.
Listen! I am not away from you because I am a seeker of wealth, and treasures. Neither, am I building a kingdom for me, as my enemies have spread the rumour. The only reason I am away from you is that my obligation towards Allah Ta'ala has brought me away from you. There is no obligatin such as jihad fi'sabilillah. The intention of this obligation makes a man eligible for jannah. Alhamdullilah I am not only making intentions for this mandatory duty, but I am physically fulfilling this fard. Your seperation is killing my heart. But I am happy on this seperation. Your love could be an exam for my intentions, and firmness. I am grateful for Allah Ta'ala who gave me courage to pass this exam, and I become able to put the love and the order of Allah Ta'ala sperior over my love, and desires. You should also be delighted, and grateful to Allah Ta'ala that He has granted your husband such a firm imaan that he can sacrifice your love over the love of Allah Ta'ala.
Jihad with sword is not mandatory upon you, but you are also not exempted from the duty of jihad. No muslim men or women are exempted from jihad. The jihad for you is to make the love of Allah superior over love of your nafs and desires. You should make your relationship of love with your husband, stonger and stronger. Never make this dua, that your husband may return un-harmed from the battlefield. This dua will be based on selfishness, and would not cause pleasure of your Lord. Instead of this, keep making dua that Allah Ta'ala may accept your husband's jihad, He may bring him home with a victory, otherwise He may make him eligible to touch his lips with the drink of shahada.
Those lips that have never become impure with wine, but always kept wet with the rememberence of Allah Ta'ala. My beloved Najia! Just imagine aout the moment when this head will be removed from the body. The head you used to mention beautiful, and the body, which in your perspective was the most handsome. The biggest desire of Anwar is to become shaheed, and he may resurrect with sayedena Khalid bin Waleed (RA). The life of this world is of a few days, and death is definite, then why should we fear with death?
When death is o definite, then why does a man need to die over his bead> The death os shahada is not a death, but an ultimate life!
Najia! Here is my will. If I become shaheed, then you marry your brother in law Noori Pasha. After you he is most beloved to me. I want that after I depart for my final journey, he may take care of you with full sincerity, and devotion. My second will to you is that mention the events of my life to all your children, and send them to the battlefields for the sake of Islam. If you wont do this, in Jannah, I will tyrn my face away from you.
My third will is that always remain sincere with Mustafa Kamal Pasha. Assist him with all means. All right my beloved! It is time for depature. I don't know but I am having a feeling that after this letter, I may never be able to write a letter in my life. No wonder if I may become shaheed, tomorow. Please handle this news with sabr. Don't become griefed over my shahadat. If I become used in the path of Allah Ta'ala, this may cause joy, and pride for you.
Najia! Now I am leaving. Inshallah we will meet in Jannah, and will never leave each other.
Your Anwar"

Please remember us in your humble duas...
Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

Eid Mubarak...and a short break

2006-01-09T18:40:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

Just a quick EID MUBARAK to everyone reading this blog!

May Allah Ta'ala accept our ibadah and bless those of us who have not been on the sacred Hajj pilgrimage to experience it at least once in our lives.Ameen.

Please rememebr us and our loved ones in your humble and precious duas...

Short break? I have my OSCE and major exams coming up pretty soon, actually sooner than I think...my flight or fight response sadly will take some time to get activated, the sooner it happens the better I guess..well, I shall be taking a short break in order to give my exams 100%, which is why I probably wont be updating for a bit. If u'd like to be notified when this blog is updated please enter ur email address in the subscription box on the right Inshallah and u'll be sent an email to know that I've updated...Other than that...

Can you PLEASE PLEASE remember me in your humble duas and please pray that Allah Ta'ala may bless me to perform to the best of my ability Inshallah...

Jazakallah khair wa ahsanal jaza'a

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

Dhul Hijjah

2006-01-03T12:14:00.000Z

Taken from www.muftisays.com

Alhamdulilah we are in the 10 Blessed Days of Dhul Hijjah. These days are so blessed that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has taken oath by them in Surah Al-Fajr.
Below is just some Targeeb to encourage us to use these days as best as we can Inshallah.

1. Abdullah Ibn Abbas Radiallho anhoma relates that Rasolullah Sallaho alahi wassallam said: "Goods deeds performed on other days are not superior to those performed on these (first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah)" The Sahaba Radiallho anhom inquired, "Not even Jihand?" He Sallaho alahi wassallam replied, "Not even jihad, except for that person who goes out puttng himself and his wealth in danger and does not return with anything.". [Bukhari]

2. Abu Hurairah Radiallaho anho relates that Rasolullah Sallaho alahi wassallam said, "On no days is the worship of Allah desired more than in the (first) 10 days of Dhul Hijjah. The fast of each of these days is equal to the fast of the whole year, and the worship of each of these nights is equal to the worship of Laylatul Qadr." [Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah]

3.Abdullah Ibn Umar Radiallho anhoma relates that Rasolullah Sallaho alahi wassallam said, "No days are as weighty with Allah and so liked by Him for good deeds than the first 10 days of Dhul Hijjah. So on these days, increasingly read SUBHAN ALLAH, LA ILAHA ILLALLAH, ALHAMDULILLAH and ALLAHU AKBAR." [Ahmad]

Please make dua for all the people who are going to Hajj and the whole Ummah. May Allah give us the Tawfeq to worship Him. Ameen.

Few words from a bayaan..

2005-12-23T20:18:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

This is a quick post and probably one of my last posts for a while...

Just a few things that I heard from a bayaan at my local masjid where the mufti Sahib was talking in relation to the tafsir of Surah Yusuf. Thought I'd post a couple of points that I picked up from it Inshallah...

The mufti sahib mentioned that if a person does not suffer or does not come across a difficult time in his life then he has no khair (good) in him. What he meant by this is that Allah ta'ala tests those whom He loves. Those that are closest to Allah Ta'ala come across the most musibah (difficluty)in their lifetimes, this is apparent from the life of all the prophets and those that followed them. We can use the life of our beloved nabi sallalahu alayhi wasallam as an example, he sallalahu alayhi wasallam experienced many hardships during his lifetime, hardships that we can not even imagine experiencing, our beloved rasool suffered so much to spread the deen of Allah ta'ala that the pain he suffered emotionally and physically is probably not even comprehendable to us. The people around our beloved nabi, the sahabas also faced great hardships in having to leave their homes, wealth and families, however they sacrificed and endured this hardship only for the pleasure of Allah ta'ala and hence those that endured this pain and difficulty supporting our beloved rasool were guaranteed jannah...Subhanallah...The fruits of sabr, gratitude and patience are truley beautiful...

The mufti sahib also mentioned that when a believer is afflicted with a musibah, if the believer endures that musibah by only turning to Allah ta'ala for guidance, support and shows his sabr and gratitude to Allah ta'ala then the believer has a great reward with Allmighty Allah ta'ala and becomes closer to Allah ta'ala. If however the believer complains about the musibah that he has endured to other than Allah ta'ala than the reward for sabr is taken away from him..to endure a musibah with sabr has great rewards...what more could someone want than to be remembered by Allmighty Allah ta'ala and to become closer to Him...

Those that are beloved to Allah ta'ala are those that are remembered by Allah ta'ala, and those that are rememebered by Allah ta'ala are those that are afflicted with musibah. Those that endure the musibah with sabr and for the pleasure of Allah ta'ala, remaining steadfast and not losing hope become closer to Allah Ta'ala and His infinite mercy.

Allah Ta'ala does not test a soul with more than it can bear....

May Allah ta'ala bless us with His infinite mercy and may we be remembered by Him Allah ta'ala even once in our lifetimes only to endure a hardship that will allow us to become closer to Him the Allmighty.Ameen.

Please remember this sinner in your duas,

Wassalamu alaikum wa rahamtullah

Words from the heart..

2005-12-14T13:41:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah...

I found this beautiful poem posted on muftisays.com... The poem touched me and seemed to speak the words from my heart so I thought I'd share it with you all...

They say time heals... & memories fade
No, not when it’s the deepest thought in The mind...
Not when there is no place for another in the heart...

They say distance heals... Does it...
even if, although hidden from the sight... always present in the heart

It is just hope they say, a dream that may not come true
But in Him I cannot despair, The source of all hope,
The One whose promise is bound to come true

A slow suicide they affirm, an illness without cure
The heart refuses... it has found its remedy; honey so pure...

A prayer while I am awaiting His kindness
In His remembrance, indeed, hearts find solace

Purely for You O' Friend of those who believe
O' listener to the call of those in grief

An intimate moment with The Beloved
When no one is there to witness what happened

A sincere du'a with tears that flow like a river
Their saltiness stings the face but softens the heart that is bitter

It is for You O' One Who knows what is hidden
That I love and hate and stay away from what is forbidden
I ask of You Your love and the love for those who love You
And to let my heart find comfort & peace in worshiping You

O' my Beloved Your separation I will never bear
Your closeness and acceptance is all I desire...

May Allah Ta'ala bless us with a love that is only for His pleasure, that is only for Him, that is solely for His deen and His beloved habib sallahu alayhi wasallam. Ameen.

Duas
Wassalam

Well worth cheking out

2005-12-10T19:23:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah...

I pray that everyone is in the best of health and imaan. Ameen.

I think the following topic is an important one and something we should all endeavour to comprehend and understand Inshallah...to find out what i'm talking about click on the link below :)

CLICK HERE...

Jazakallah khair

Please remember this sinful slave in your humble and precious duas..

Wassalam

Poor Frog

2005-12-03T18:31:00.000Z

Once upon a time, there was a mouse, which, whilst passing a pond witnessed a frog emerge from the depth of the pond. Astonished by this unusual sight, the mouse began to converse with the frog and through this, a very warm and friendly conversation took place. A very close friendship grew between the two of them, until it developed into a love relationship.

By mutual arrangement, they appointed a specific time at which they could meet each other in the mornings daily and converse with each other for a long time. At these special meetings they use to enlighten each other with their own opinions regarding certain topics or they use to entertain each other with exciting stories regarding their past. Their hearts opened up to each other and were joy filled at the sight of one another.

One day the mouse said to the frog "You are swimming around in the water while I am left all alone on the dry earth. I suffer the pangs of sorrow over being parted from you. When lonely, I come to the edge of the water to call to you, but while you are in the water, even the voice of a lover cannot be heard. I cannot be at peace by meeting you for such a short time each day."

The mouse replied, "O beloved frog: I cannot live a moment of my life peacefully without seeing your face. By day, the sight of you is my life: by night the thought of you is my tranquillity and sleep. It will be very courteous on your part that you will permit me the pleasure of meeting you time upon time at every opportunity possible."
The mouse carried on by saying "My respected friend, I am a creature that can live on land alone, whereas you can live on land and in water. But how is it possible for you to know inside the water that I have the desire to meet you?"

For quite a while they pondered upon this and consulted each other until finally, the mouse put an opinion forward. This opinion was that one end of a piece of string is to be tied to the foot of the frog and the other end is to be tied to the foot of the mouse. Thus, when the mouse has a desire to meet the frog he will just need to pull the string and the frog will respond by returning to the surface of the water.

The frog considered the mouse's suggestion to be a bad one and said in his heart, "This evil one, wishes to tie me up and make me live like a prisoner."
Despite disliking the mouse's suggestion, the frog found an inclination within himself to accept to the request.

The two of them, by pulling the string were able to meet each other repeatedly each day until destruction struck them one morning. A vulture seeing it's pray i.e. the mouse, from high above soared down upon the mouse, it also unknowingly, lifted the frog out of the water where until now he was safe and comfortable. This was due to the fact that the string held the mouse and the frog together. Unfortunately, what fate awaited the mouse befell the frog as well. The vulture killed them both and devoured them. If the frog remained in the water and had not formed a friendship with the evil mouse, nothing would have happened to him and he would not have been the prey of the vulture.

Hadrat Rumi Rahmatullahe alayhi uses this story as an example to draw our attention to the harms and effects of having bad company. It is a very good story with a powerful moral lesson.

Hadrat Rumi Rahmatullahe alayhi says:
"In this story we see the soul, the self and the shaytaan. The self represents the mouse, the soul represents the frog and the vulture represents the shaytaan.
The self, in order to satisfy its desires engages the soul in evil practises, endeavours to tie it with a string so that the soul indulges in these evil practises as well. When the soul reluctantly obeys the desires of the self and befriends the self, it allows the shaytaan to pull it whenever it wishes. In this way the soul is also humiliated because of the contact with the self. Hence, when shaytaan will go to hell, the self, who was in its beak, will also go to hell and so will the soul which was tied to the self.

In this day and age, we live in the midst of bad people and evil company. By befriending these evildoers, we will eventually be affected by their foul doings and will also indulge in these sins. By indulging in things that are wrong, we will only become more and more sinful and we will be dragged with the evildoers into Jahannam, which is the totally the opposite direction to where we should be heading.

Whereas if we are to befriend the pious, we will be affected by their good deeds and we will eventually get in to Jannat.

My dear respected readers, we have been given two choices only, but the big question is, which one will we choose? In this world we are not forced to do anything, we act upon our desires.

May Allah Ta'ala grant us the ability to choose what is right and may he the Almighty grant us protection from one's self and from shaytaan.
Ameen.

A year closer to meeting my Lord..

2005-11-25T22:09:00.000Z

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

I pray that you are all in the best of health and imaan.

Today I have become a year closer to meeting my lord..obviously it means that I am a year older, but it also mean that a year has been taken away from my life span...

My thoughts....

Today I woke up, realising how quick life passes away...a week now seems to pass at the rate of a day. One Friday comes followed by the next...in the same way our lives pass away just at a click of the fingers...but how much of this time do we actually spend in the rememberence of Allah Ta'ala? Thinking about this really got me down....

I thought about how we can easily put off a voluntary act of ibadah and become distracted for a couple of hours at a time with things that really hold no value, and for some of us our whole lives can pass like this..so what is the true meaning of life?

Without dwelling on a whole lifetime lets just look at a year...how much closer have we become to Allah ta'ala in the past year? We don't even have a guarantee that we will live to age another year of our life, so surely should we not concentrate on how we should spend our time ensuring that we do dedicate our time in pleasing Allah Ta'ala...

I pray to Allah Ta'ala that He may bless me with the inclination to pass this year and every year of my life wisely...in His rememebrence, striving to become closer to Him in every respect..I pray that Allah Ta'ala forgives me for my sins for I am very sinful and that He may look upon this sinful slave with His mercy...I pray that Allah Ta'ala blesses those who are a part of my life every happiness and every opportunity to draw closer to Him Subhanahu wa ta'ala, and that those who are no longer here, I pray Allah Ta'ala blesses you in the dunya and akhira wherever they you may be...

My special sister, You are a guiding star, you are a gift that Allah Ta a'la has blessed me with. I pray that we may be reunited in jannah.Ameen.

Please remmebr me and my loved ones in your humble duas...

Death is knocking at my door, drawing a year closer, oneday It will come to take me personally.. Please pray that when the angel of death comes to take my soul, it is taken in the state of Imaan...In the state of Islam... Ameen.

Wassalam