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wa Alhamdulilahi rabb Al Alameen!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Monday, August 4, 2008
Live with the Qadar of Allah
Slit Wrists.
Lay Back.
Blood Flowing.
Room Spinning.
Black Spots.
Red Stains.
Pain.
Numbness.
Unconscious.
Death.
Suicide.
What causes people to take the final step? The step that sends them plummeting to the world of death. Do they not know that once they do this...once they commit to death...they are to go to a place where they are to be judged....and may end up in a worse state than they were in in this dunya? SubhanAllah. Suicide--the un-understandable act that seems to fill the "halls" of this earth.
No matter what psychological stress a Muslim goes through, never should they even contemplate this act. I mean...subhanAllah....why would someone commit this act for relief of this quick-to-finish life in exchange for the punishment of eternal-Hellfire?
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"Whoever throws himself down from a mountain and kills himself, he will be in the Fire of Hell throwing himself down for ever and ever. Whoever drinks poison and kills himself will have the poison in his hand, drinking it in the Fire of Hell for ever and ever. Whoever kills himself with a piece of iron [a weapon] will have that piece of iron in his hand, stabbing himself in the stomach with it in the Fire of Hell forever and ever." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5778).
The thought of that...is enough to send chills down even a disbelievers spine.
As muslims...we have no reason to lose hope. Do we not remember what Allah has told us in His Holy Book? (interpretation of the meaning)
Lay Back.
Blood Flowing.
Room Spinning.
Black Spots.
Red Stains.
Pain.
Numbness.
Unconscious.
Suicide.
What causes people to take the final step? The step that sends them plummeting to the world of death. Do they not know that once they do this...once they commit to death...they are to go to a place where they are to be judged....and may end up in a worse state than they were in in this dunya? SubhanAllah. Suicide--the un-understandable act that seems to fill the "halls" of this earth.
No matter what psychological stress a Muslim goes through, never should they even contemplate this act. I mean...subhanAllah....why would someone commit this act for relief of this quick-to-finish life in exchange for the punishment of eternal-Hellfire?
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"Whoever throws himself down from a mountain and kills himself, he will be in the Fire of Hell throwing himself down for ever and ever. Whoever drinks poison and kills himself will have the poison in his hand, drinking it in the Fire of Hell for ever and ever. Whoever kills himself with a piece of iron [a weapon] will have that piece of iron in his hand, stabbing himself in the stomach with it in the Fire of Hell forever and ever." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5778).
The thought of that...is enough to send chills down even a disbelievers spine.
As muslims...we have no reason to lose hope. Do we not remember what Allah has told us in His Holy Book? (interpretation of the meaning)
"And whosoever fears Allaah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty)." [al-Talaaq 65:2]
"Allaah will grant after hardship, ease." [al-Talaaq 65:7]
After Hardship comes ease. Live with the Qadar of Allah---so you can live in the Jannah Allah has promised us.
wa Alhamdulillah rabb Al Alameen
wa Alhamdulillah rabb Al Alameen
Sunday, July 27, 2008
My Twenty Minute Identity
As I walked into the Titanic Exhibit today, the man who checked my ticket handed me my boarding pass. ‘boarding pass?’ I thought… ‘to an exhibit?’ Little did I know for the next twenty minutes I would not be living under the name that my Father had given me at birth, rather I would be reliving the life of the woman on my boarding pass.
I began to become acquainted with my new name, although at first i was a bit confused to as to what it really was. On the pass it said: “Passenger Name: Mrs. Ernest E. Nye (Elizabeth Ramell)”…..Ernest..? Isnt that a guys name? How can I live a life, even if for only twenty minutes, of a guy. Then i realized….my name is Elizabeth..but these people aboard the Titanic had not been touched with the beauty of Islam. Elizabeth Ramell had to live a life of being the property of her husband, not even being known by her name…rather by her husbands. Anyways… I moved on trying to get a feel for the life of this woman I was to be for the next short part of my life. She had to ride second class, not first, not a big deal….i do that all the time…Reading on I saw facts about her traggic life, although only 29 she had to deal with death after death of those she loved so dearly…She must have been quite sad..what with no Islam to help her get over her losses. Alhamdulilah, I had become acquainted with her, so I decided to move on, and enter into the realm of the Titanic and see the real scraps they left behind.
Indestructible, or so they thought. I, Elizabeth Ramell, had been told that’s what it was. No one could break it…no one could tear it down “not even God himself”. Had this not been Elizabeth Ramell speaking she might have taken that as a warning….and hated this blasphemous statement, too bad Elizabeth Ramell was Elizabeth Ramell.... I walked from display to display putting myself in this Woman’s shoes….minus the alcohol…I can’t even bring myself to imagine that part. Traveling alone the terror of the sound and rumble that the impact, into the ice berg, caused flew through my veins. “Death…me? Am I to go join my loved ones? I’m not ready…i’ll change…i must save myself!” I thought the same thing most of the people on that boat must have thought….. We began running, screaming, praying to God to save us. I kept thinking ‘we uttered the most horrible words…said God could not sink this boat, and now God was going to sink this boat and we were going to go down with it!’ I saw the nearest lifeboat…and prayed they let me on. They did. I jumped in, fighting off cowardly men and women who couldnt wait their turn to take my seat near the floor. Hopefully I’d be rescued…Hopefully I wouldnt join those in the water….those who were….before my eyes…dying.
Snapping back to reality i walked forward towards two walls covered in names. Survivors…and other than survivors.
First Class: 199 Saved; 130 Dead
Second Class: 119 Saved; 166 Dead
Third Class: 183 Saved; 527 Dead
Crew: 212 Saved; 698 Dead
Would my temporary identity be one of those among the 119 Saved from second class…or those to be left at sea….to feed the fish? I started reading through the many names on that wall, first the dead. Name after name I read until i got through the 166, without finding my name. Every name was strange to me. People I have never met, and people that are not remembered except by having their name written on this wall. I couldnt help but think about how these people were facing something greater than the ship they were on, greater than the wreck they died in. Imagine facing the One who knows everything you have EVER done, without exception. . Seeing that my twenty minute identity was not on the Death list, I moved on to read the survivors, I found the name.
She lived. Yes, Elizabeth Ramell was rescued but rescued from what? Rescued from going forward to meet her Lord, to face the fact that without islam she had wasted her entire life. Rescued from that meeting….so that she could continue to live her life..continue to disobey Allah 
..continue to live without islam.
What about me? Yes the real me, not Elizabeth. Me. The me that never even saw the real Titanic. The me that never lived through a near death experience. The me that was walking through a exhibit in near by Houston….. living in a make-believe world. What will be my fate? When will I die? Will I be ready…for there will come a day..where I am nothing more than a name in this dunya..soon to be forgotten, and I must prepare.
Take heed of the signs that were left for us. Take heed of the lessons derived from the people that came before us.
wa Alhamdulilahi rabb al Alameen.
Words that Ring in My Head
When I’m sitting on the sidelines watching my friends chat their lives away with guys, trying to find a place to sit where I cant be seen. Trying to find someone to chill with who wont invite a guy over to join the convo….The words ring in my head.
When I’m listening to the painful words that prove that I am no where near to what this society classifies as “normal” and that i have taken a turn for “extreme”…The words ring in my head.
When I walk through the halls of America, with every eye turning to see what ’strange thing’ just walked in…The words ring in my head.
When the women at the masajid make it a point to tell me mother her only daughter will never get married because of the niqab she sports across her face….The words ring my head
The words that give me comfort and remind me of the reward in store in sha Allah .
بَدَأَ الإِسْلامُ غَرِيبًا ، وَسَيَعُودُ كَمَا بَدَأَ غَرِيبًا ، فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاءِ
“Islam began as something strange and will revert to being strange as it began, so give glad tidings to the strangers.”
Fa Toubaa lil-Ghurabaa.
wa Alhamdulilah rab Al-alameen.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Have You Thanked Allah?
by Ibn Al-Qayyim
Taken from "Uddat as-Sâbireen wa Dhâkirat ash-Shâkireen"
Salmân al-Fârsî radhiyAllahu anhu said:
| "There was a man who was given many of the luxuries of this world, and then they were taken away from him. But he continued to praise and thank Allâh until everything had been taken from him, even his bed. And then he still praised and thanked Allâh. Another man, who had also been given many of the luxuries of this world asked him, 'What are you praising and thanking Allâh for?' The man said, 'I am praising and thanking Him for blessings which, if others asked me to give them to them in return for all that they have, I would never give them up.' 'What can they be?' asked the second man. 'Can't you see?' asked the first man. 'I have my eyesight, my tongue, my hands, my feet...'" |
Layth ibn Abî Burdah said:
| 'When Allâh gathers people on the Day of Judgement, He will remind them of His blessings. One of His slaves will say: "Remind me of something," and Allâh will say: "Remember when you faced such-and-such adversity, and you prayed to Me, so I relieved you of it. Remember when you were travelling in such and-such a place, and you asked Me to give you a travelling companion, and I did so... Remember when you asked for the hand of so-and-so the daughter of so-and-so, and others also asked for her hand, so I gave her to you to marry; and kept the others away." His slave will be standing before his Lord, Who will remind him of His many blessings.'" Then the narrator of this story (Layth) wept and said, "I hope that no one will stand before his Lord in this way, because the one who does so will be punished." (i.e. if Allâh has to point out that which should be obvious, this is a sign of a person's ingratitude, and he will be punished.) |
A man of knowledge said:
| "The blessing of Allâh to us in keeping the luxuries of this world away from us is greater than the blessing of that which he has given us, because Allah did not like His Prophet to have the luxuries of this world. So I prefer to live in the manner which Allâh preferred for His Prophet than to live a life which He disliked for him." |
Ibn Abi'd-Dunyâ said:
| "It was narrated to me that some scholars said: 'The scholar should praise Allâh for having deprived him of the luxuries of this life, in the same way that he should praise Him for what He has bestowed upon him. How can you compare the blessings and luxuries for which he will be accountable to the deprivation of luxuries which is a relief from being tested, and which keeps his mind free to worship and remember Allâh? So he should give thanks to Allâh for all of that.'" |
A man said to Abû Hâzim:
| "What is the gratitude of the eyes?" He said, "If you see good things, you speak about them, and if you see bad things, you keep quiet about it." He asked, "What is the gratitude of the ears?" He said, "If you hear something good, you accept it, and if you hear something bad, you reject it." Then he asked, "What is the gratitude of the hands?" He said, "Do not take what which does not belong to you, and do not hold back from paying the dues of Allâh (zakât)." Then he asked, "What is the gratitude of the head?" He said: "To have knowledge in it." Then he asked, "What is the gratitude of one's private parts?" |
He quoted:
| "'Who guard their private parts, except from those joined to them in the marriage bond, or (the captives) whom their right hands possess – for (in their case) they are free from blame, but those whose desires exceed those limits are transgressors'" (al-Mu'minûn 23:5-7). |
Ibn Abi'd-Dunyâ mentioned that Dâwûd (peace be upon Him) asked Allâh: "What is the least of Your blessings?" Allâh revealed to him: "O Dâwûd, take a breath." Dâwûd did so, and Allâh told him: "This is the least of My blessings on you."
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Mashitat Firoun
A story that is bound to leave shivering long after it's done. May Allah grant us the strength that this woman had. SubhanAllah.........
Friday, May 16, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Ways to help you, and I, to pray Qiyam
There are many things that one can do to help oneself pray qiyaam al-layl, among which are the following:
1 – Being sincere towards Allaah, as He has commanded us to be sincere towards Him and none other in our deeds. He tells us (interpretation of the meaning): “And they were commanded not, but that they should worship Allaah, and worship none but Him Alone…”
[al-Bayyinah 98:5].
The more sincere a person is towards Allaah, the more he will be guided and helped to obey Allaah and draw closer to Him. Ubayy ibn Ka’b (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Give glad tidings to this ummah of splendour, religion, high rank, victory and prevalence on earth. Whoever does the deeds of the Hereafter to gain some worldly benefit, will have no share of the Hereafter.” (Reported by Ahmad. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2825).
Mutarraf ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Shakheer said: “The goodness of a deed is related to the goodness of the heart, and the goodness of the heart is related to the goodness of the intention.” Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “The degree to which a person is helped and aided by Allaah depends on the degree of his intention, drive, aim and hopes. Help from Allaah comes to people in proportion to their drive, intention, hopes and fears, and failure comes to them in like manner.”
Therefore the salaf were very keen to conceal their acts of worship such as qiyaam al-layl. A man asked Tameem ibn Aws al-Daari (may Allaah be pleased with him), ‘How do you pray at night?’ He got very angry and said, ‘By Allaah, one rak’ah that I pray in secret in the small hours of the night is more beloved to me than praying the whole night long and then telling people about it.’
Ayyoob al-Sakhtiyaani used to spend the entire night in prayer, then when dawn approached, he would go back to bed and lie down, and when dawn came, he would raise his voice as if he had just woken up.
2 – The person who wants to pray qiyaam al-layl should realize that Allaah is calling him to qiyaam. When the slave realizes that his Master, Who has no need of people’s worship, is calling him to do this, he will respond. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “O you wrapped in your garments (i.e., Prophet Muhammad)! Stand (to pray) all night, except a little. Half of it, or a little less than that, or a little more; and recite the Qur’aan (aloud) in a slow, (pleasant tone and) style.”
[al-Muzzammil 73:1-4].
Sa’d ibn Hishaam ibn ‘Aamir said to ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her): “Tell me about how the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed qiyaam.” She said: “Have you not read “Yaa ayyuha’l-muzzammil (O you wrapped in your garments!)?” He said, “Of course.” She said: “Allaah, may He be exalted and glorified, made qiyaam obligatory at the beginning of this soorah, so the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his companions prayed qiyaam for a year, and Allaah withheld the end of this soorah for twelve months, until He revealed something at the end of this soorah to make things easier, so qiyaam al-layl became voluntary after it had been obligatory.” (Reported by Muslim).
3 – Knowing the virtues of qiyaam al-layl. Whoever knows the virtues of this act of worship will be keen to talk to Allaah, may He be exalted, and to stand before Him at that time. Among the reports that describe the virtues of this act of worship is the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him), in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best of prayers after the prescribed prayers is prayer in the depths of the night, and the best of fasting after the month of Ramadaan is fasting the month of Allaah, Muharram.” (reported by Muslim).
‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr (may Allaah be pleased with them both) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The most beloved of prayer to Allaah is the prayer of Dawood, and the most beloved of fasts to Allaah is the fast of Dawood. He used to sleep for half of the night, then get up and pray for a third of the night, then sleep for a sixth of the night, and he used to fast every other day.” (Agreed upon).
‘Amr ibn ‘Absah reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The closest that the Lord is to His slave is in the later part of the night, so if you can be one of those who remember Allaah at that time, then do so.”(Reported by al-Tirmidhi and al-Nisaa'i).
According to a hadeeth narrated by Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Our Lord admires two men: a man who leaves his mattress and cover, and slips away from his wife and lover, to go and pray. Allaah says, ‘O My angels, look at My slave. He has left his mattress and cover and slipped away from his lover and wife to pray, our of hope for what is with Me and out of fear of what is with Me.” (Reported by Ahmad. It is a hasan report. Saheeh al-Targheeb, 258).
Qiyaam al-Layl expels forgetfulness from the heart, as is stated in the hadeeth narrated by ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas (may Allaah be pleased with them both), in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever recites ten aayaat in qiyaam will not be recorded as one of the forgetful. Whoever recites a hundred aayaat in qiyaam will be recorded as one of the devout , and whoever prays a thousand aayaat in qiyaam will be recorded as one of the muqantareen (those who pile up good deeds).”
(Reported by Abu Dawood and Ibn Hibbaan. It is a hasan report. Saheeh al-Targheeb, 635).
Yahyaa ibn Mu’aadh said: “The medicine of the heart is five things: reading Qur’aan and pondering the meaning, having an empty stomach, praying at night (qiyaam al-layl), beseeching Allaah at the time of suhoor, and keeping company with righteous people.”
4 – Studying how the salaf and righteous people practised qiyaam al-layl and adhered to it. The salaf used to enjoy qiyaam al-layl and rejoice greatly in doing it.
‘Abd-Allaah ibn Wahb said: “Every type of pleasure is enjoyed only once, except for acts of worship, which are enjoyed three times: when you do it, when you remember it, and when you are given the reward for it.”
Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir said:“There is nothing left of the joys of this life except three: qiyaam al-layl, meeting one’s brothers in faith, and praying in congregation.”
Thaabit al-Banaani said: “There is nothing I enjoy more than qiyaam al-layl.”
Yazeed al-Riqaashi said: “A lot of tahajjud brings delight to the worshippers, and a lot of thirst (i.e., fasting), brings joy when they meet Allaah.”
Mukhallad ibn Husayn said: “I never woke up at night except I saw Ibraaheem ibn Adham remembering Allaah and praying, and this made me depressed, so I consoled myself with this aayah (interpretation of the meaning): ‘…That is the Grace of Allaahm which He bestows on whom He pleases. And Allaah is the Owner of Great Bounty’ [al-Hadeed 54:21].”
Abu ‘Aasim al-Nabeel said: “Abu Haneefah used to be called al-Watad (pole or pillar) because he prayed so much.”
Al-Qaasim ibn Ma’een said: “Abu Haneefah spent an entire night in qiyaam reciting this aayah (interpretation of the meaning): ‘Nay, but the Hour is their appointed time (for their full recompense), and the Hour will be more grievous and more bitter’ [al-Qamar 54:46], repeating it and weeping, beseeching Allaah until morning came.”
Ibraaheem ibn Shammaas said: “I used to see Ahmad ibn Hanbal staying up at night to pray when he was a young man.”
Abu Bakr al-Marwadhi said: “I was with Imaam Ahmad for nearly four months in the army, and he never stopped praying qiyaam at night or reading Qur’aan during the day, and I never knew when he completed the Qur’aan, because he kept that secret.”
Imaam al-Bukhaari used to pray qiyaam and tahajjud at night until the time of suhoor, and he would read between a half and a third of the Qur’aan, and complete it at suhoor every third night.
Al-‘Allaamah Ibn ‘Abd al-Haadi said, describing the qiyaam of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah: “At night he would keep away from people, and spend that time only with his Lord, beseeching Him continually and reciting Qur’aan, repeating different kinds of acts of worship by night and by day. When he began to pray, his body would start to tremble, leaning to the left and right.”
Ibn Rajab said concerning his shaykh Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim: “He was a man of worship, tahajjud and lengthy prayers. I have never seen his equal in worship and knowledge of the Qur’aan, hadeeth and principles of faith.”
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said, describing his shaykh al-Haafiz al-‘Iraaqi: “I stayed with him, and I never saw him forsake qiyaam al-layl: it was like a habit for him.”
5 – Sleeping on one’s right side. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught his ummah to sleep on their right sides, as is reported in the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When any one of you goes to bed, let him clear his bed by hitting it with his garment, for he does not know what may have come onto it. Then let him lie down on his right side, then let him say, ‘Bismika Rabbi wada’tu janbi wa bika arfa’uhu. In amsakta nafsi farhamhaa wa in arsaltahaa fahfazhaa bimaa tahfazu bihi ‘ibaadaka al-saaliheen (In Your Name, my Lord, I lay myself down and I get up again. If You take my soul, then have mercy on it, and if You send it back to me, then protect it with that with which You protect Your righteous slaves).’” (Agreed upon).
Al-Baraa’ ibn ‘Aazib (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When you want to go to bed, do wudoo’ as for prayer, then lie down on your right side.” (Agreed upon)
Hafsah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went to bed, he would put his right hand under his right cheek.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani, Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4523).
Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “There is a reason for his lying on his right side, which is that the heart is located on the left, so if a person lays on his left side, he will sleep too deeply, because the heart’s position will be too comfortable, but if he sleeps on his right side, he will not be too settled, so he won’t sleep deeply.”
6 – Sleeping in a state of tahaarah (purity). We have already quoted the hadeeth of al-Baraa’ ibn ‘Aazib (may Allaah be pleased with him), in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “When you go to bed, do wudoo’ as if for prayer.” (Agreed upon).
Mu’aad ibn Jabal (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There is no Muslim who goes to sleep remembering Allaah and in a state of purity, and when he turns over he asks Allaah for good in this world and the next, but it will be given to him.” (Reported by Abu Dawood and Ahmad. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5754).
Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Purify these bodies and Allaah will purify you, for there is no slave who goes to sleep in a state of purity but an angel spends the night with him, and every time he turns over, [the angel] says, ‘O Allaah, forgive Your slave, for he went to bed in a state of purity.’” (Reported by al-Tabaraani. Al-Mundhiri said, its isnaad is jaayid. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3831).
7 – Going to sleep early. Sleeping straight after ‘Ishaa’ is the advice of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and a good and healthy habit. One of the ahaadeeth that describe its virtues was narrated by Abu Barzah al-Aslami (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to prefer to delay ‘Ishaa’, and he did not like to sleep before it or talk after it. (Reported by al-Bukhaari).
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar reported that al-Qaadi ‘Ayaad said, concerning the phrase “He did not like to sleep before it”: “Because that could lead to one praying it too late, or delaying it until after the preferred time, and talking after it could lead to one sleeping before Fajr and missing it, or missing qiyaam al-layl.”
Ibn Raafi’ said: “ ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) used to wave his stick at the people when darkness fell, and would say, ‘Get up and go, may Allaah help you to pray qiyaam at night!’”
Another matter that has to do with sleep is choosing a suitable bed, not one that is excessively luxurious or soft, because that makes a person sleep too much and become negligent, and causes laziness and carelessness.
‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “The pillow of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) on which he slept at night was made of leather stuffed with palm fibres.” (Reported by Abu Dawood and Ahmad. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4714).
Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab entered upon the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he was lying on a mat of palm fibres that had left marks on his side. ‘Umar said, “O Messenger of Allaah, why do you not get something more comfortable than this?” He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “What do I have to do with this world? My relationship with this world is like that of a traveller on a hot summer’s day, who seeks shade under a tree for an hour, then moves on.”
(Reported by Ahmad and al-Haakim. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5545).
‘Ali ibn Bakkaar (may Allaah have mercy on him) used to have a slave-woman who would spread out his bed for him, and he would touch it with his hand and say: “By Allaah, you are good, and by Allaah you are cool, but by Allaah I will not rest on you tonight.” Then he would get up and pray qiyaam until Fajr.
Also, one should not sleep too much or too deeply. Ibraaheem ibn Adham said: “If you are sleeping at night, and running about during the day, and always committing sin, how can you earn the pleasure of the One Who is directing your affairs?”
1 – Being sincere towards Allaah, as He has commanded us to be sincere towards Him and none other in our deeds. He tells us (interpretation of the meaning): “And they were commanded not, but that they should worship Allaah, and worship none but Him Alone…”
[al-Bayyinah 98:5].
The more sincere a person is towards Allaah, the more he will be guided and helped to obey Allaah and draw closer to Him. Ubayy ibn Ka’b (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Give glad tidings to this ummah of splendour, religion, high rank, victory and prevalence on earth. Whoever does the deeds of the Hereafter to gain some worldly benefit, will have no share of the Hereafter.” (Reported by Ahmad. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 2825).Mutarraf ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Shakheer said: “The goodness of a deed is related to the goodness of the heart, and the goodness of the heart is related to the goodness of the intention.” Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “The degree to which a person is helped and aided by Allaah depends on the degree of his intention, drive, aim and hopes. Help from Allaah comes to people in proportion to their drive, intention, hopes and fears, and failure comes to them in like manner.”
Therefore the salaf were very keen to conceal their acts of worship such as qiyaam al-layl. A man asked Tameem ibn Aws al-Daari (may Allaah be pleased with him), ‘How do you pray at night?’ He got very angry and said, ‘By Allaah, one rak’ah that I pray in secret in the small hours of the night is more beloved to me than praying the whole night long and then telling people about it.’
Ayyoob al-Sakhtiyaani used to spend the entire night in prayer, then when dawn approached, he would go back to bed and lie down, and when dawn came, he would raise his voice as if he had just woken up.
2 – The person who wants to pray qiyaam al-layl should realize that Allaah is calling him to qiyaam. When the slave realizes that his Master, Who has no need of people’s worship, is calling him to do this, he will respond. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “O you wrapped in your garments (i.e., Prophet Muhammad)! Stand (to pray) all night, except a little. Half of it, or a little less than that, or a little more; and recite the Qur’aan (aloud) in a slow, (pleasant tone and) style.”
[al-Muzzammil 73:1-4].
Sa’d ibn Hishaam ibn ‘Aamir said to ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her): “Tell me about how the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) prayed qiyaam.” She said: “Have you not read “Yaa ayyuha’l-muzzammil (O you wrapped in your garments!)?” He said, “Of course.” She said: “Allaah, may He be exalted and glorified, made qiyaam obligatory at the beginning of this soorah, so the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and his companions prayed qiyaam for a year, and Allaah withheld the end of this soorah for twelve months, until He revealed something at the end of this soorah to make things easier, so qiyaam al-layl became voluntary after it had been obligatory.” (Reported by Muslim).3 – Knowing the virtues of qiyaam al-layl. Whoever knows the virtues of this act of worship will be keen to talk to Allaah, may He be exalted, and to stand before Him at that time. Among the reports that describe the virtues of this act of worship is the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him), in which the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best of prayers after the prescribed prayers is prayer in the depths of the night, and the best of fasting after the month of Ramadaan is fasting the month of Allaah, Muharram.” (reported by Muslim).‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr (may Allaah be pleased with them both) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The most beloved of prayer to Allaah is the prayer of Dawood, and the most beloved of fasts to Allaah is the fast of Dawood. He used to sleep for half of the night, then get up and pray for a third of the night, then sleep for a sixth of the night, and he used to fast every other day.” (Agreed upon).‘Amr ibn ‘Absah reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The closest that the Lord is to His slave is in the later part of the night, so if you can be one of those who remember Allaah at that time, then do so.”(Reported by al-Tirmidhi and al-Nisaa'i). According to a hadeeth narrated by Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him), the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Our Lord admires two men: a man who leaves his mattress and cover, and slips away from his wife and lover, to go and pray. Allaah says, ‘O My angels, look at My slave. He has left his mattress and cover and slipped away from his lover and wife to pray, our of hope for what is with Me and out of fear of what is with Me.” (Reported by Ahmad. It is a hasan report. Saheeh al-Targheeb, 258).Qiyaam al-Layl expels forgetfulness from the heart, as is stated in the hadeeth narrated by ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas (may Allaah be pleased with them both), in which the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever recites ten aayaat in qiyaam will not be recorded as one of the forgetful. Whoever recites a hundred aayaat in qiyaam will be recorded as one of the devout , and whoever prays a thousand aayaat in qiyaam will be recorded as one of the muqantareen (those who pile up good deeds).”(Reported by Abu Dawood and Ibn Hibbaan. It is a hasan report. Saheeh al-Targheeb, 635).
Yahyaa ibn Mu’aadh said: “The medicine of the heart is five things: reading Qur’aan and pondering the meaning, having an empty stomach, praying at night (qiyaam al-layl), beseeching Allaah at the time of suhoor, and keeping company with righteous people.”
4 – Studying how the salaf and righteous people practised qiyaam al-layl and adhered to it. The salaf used to enjoy qiyaam al-layl and rejoice greatly in doing it.
‘Abd-Allaah ibn Wahb said: “Every type of pleasure is enjoyed only once, except for acts of worship, which are enjoyed three times: when you do it, when you remember it, and when you are given the reward for it.”
Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir said:“There is nothing left of the joys of this life except three: qiyaam al-layl, meeting one’s brothers in faith, and praying in congregation.”
Thaabit al-Banaani said: “There is nothing I enjoy more than qiyaam al-layl.”
Yazeed al-Riqaashi said: “A lot of tahajjud brings delight to the worshippers, and a lot of thirst (i.e., fasting), brings joy when they meet Allaah.”
Mukhallad ibn Husayn said: “I never woke up at night except I saw Ibraaheem ibn Adham remembering Allaah and praying, and this made me depressed, so I consoled myself with this aayah (interpretation of the meaning): ‘…That is the Grace of Allaahm which He bestows on whom He pleases. And Allaah is the Owner of Great Bounty’ [al-Hadeed 54:21].”
Abu ‘Aasim al-Nabeel said: “Abu Haneefah used to be called al-Watad (pole or pillar) because he prayed so much.”
Al-Qaasim ibn Ma’een said: “Abu Haneefah spent an entire night in qiyaam reciting this aayah (interpretation of the meaning): ‘Nay, but the Hour is their appointed time (for their full recompense), and the Hour will be more grievous and more bitter’ [al-Qamar 54:46], repeating it and weeping, beseeching Allaah until morning came.”
Ibraaheem ibn Shammaas said: “I used to see Ahmad ibn Hanbal staying up at night to pray when he was a young man.”
Abu Bakr al-Marwadhi said: “I was with Imaam Ahmad for nearly four months in the army, and he never stopped praying qiyaam at night or reading Qur’aan during the day, and I never knew when he completed the Qur’aan, because he kept that secret.”
Imaam al-Bukhaari used to pray qiyaam and tahajjud at night until the time of suhoor, and he would read between a half and a third of the Qur’aan, and complete it at suhoor every third night.
Al-‘Allaamah Ibn ‘Abd al-Haadi said, describing the qiyaam of Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah: “At night he would keep away from people, and spend that time only with his Lord, beseeching Him continually and reciting Qur’aan, repeating different kinds of acts of worship by night and by day. When he began to pray, his body would start to tremble, leaning to the left and right.”
Ibn Rajab said concerning his shaykh Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim: “He was a man of worship, tahajjud and lengthy prayers. I have never seen his equal in worship and knowledge of the Qur’aan, hadeeth and principles of faith.”
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said, describing his shaykh al-Haafiz al-‘Iraaqi: “I stayed with him, and I never saw him forsake qiyaam al-layl: it was like a habit for him.”
5 – Sleeping on one’s right side. The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught his ummah to sleep on their right sides, as is reported in the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When any one of you goes to bed, let him clear his bed by hitting it with his garment, for he does not know what may have come onto it. Then let him lie down on his right side, then let him say, ‘Bismika Rabbi wada’tu janbi wa bika arfa’uhu. In amsakta nafsi farhamhaa wa in arsaltahaa fahfazhaa bimaa tahfazu bihi ‘ibaadaka al-saaliheen (In Your Name, my Lord, I lay myself down and I get up again. If You take my soul, then have mercy on it, and if You send it back to me, then protect it with that with which You protect Your righteous slaves).’” (Agreed upon).Al-Baraa’ ibn ‘Aazib (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When you want to go to bed, do wudoo’ as for prayer, then lie down on your right side.” (Agreed upon)Hafsah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “When the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went to bed, he would put his right hand under his right cheek.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani, Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4523).Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “There is a reason for his lying on his right side, which is that the heart is located on the left, so if a person lays on his left side, he will sleep too deeply, because the heart’s position will be too comfortable, but if he sleeps on his right side, he will not be too settled, so he won’t sleep deeply.”
6 – Sleeping in a state of tahaarah (purity). We have already quoted the hadeeth of al-Baraa’ ibn ‘Aazib (may Allaah be pleased with him), in which the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “When you go to bed, do wudoo’ as if for prayer.” (Agreed upon).Mu’aad ibn Jabal (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There is no Muslim who goes to sleep remembering Allaah and in a state of purity, and when he turns over he asks Allaah for good in this world and the next, but it will be given to him.” (Reported by Abu Dawood and Ahmad. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5754).Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Purify these bodies and Allaah will purify you, for there is no slave who goes to sleep in a state of purity but an angel spends the night with him, and every time he turns over, [the angel] says, ‘O Allaah, forgive Your slave, for he went to bed in a state of purity.’” (Reported by al-Tabaraani. Al-Mundhiri said, its isnaad is jaayid. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 3831).7 – Going to sleep early. Sleeping straight after ‘Ishaa’ is the advice of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and a good and healthy habit. One of the ahaadeeth that describe its virtues was narrated by Abu Barzah al-Aslami (may Allaah be pleased with him) who said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to prefer to delay ‘Ishaa’, and he did not like to sleep before it or talk after it. (Reported by al-Bukhaari).Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar reported that al-Qaadi ‘Ayaad said, concerning the phrase “He did not like to sleep before it”: “Because that could lead to one praying it too late, or delaying it until after the preferred time, and talking after it could lead to one sleeping before Fajr and missing it, or missing qiyaam al-layl.”
Ibn Raafi’ said: “ ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) used to wave his stick at the people when darkness fell, and would say, ‘Get up and go, may Allaah help you to pray qiyaam at night!’”
Another matter that has to do with sleep is choosing a suitable bed, not one that is excessively luxurious or soft, because that makes a person sleep too much and become negligent, and causes laziness and carelessness.
‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said: “The pillow of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) on which he slept at night was made of leather stuffed with palm fibres.” (Reported by Abu Dawood and Ahmad. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4714).Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab entered upon the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he was lying on a mat of palm fibres that had left marks on his side. ‘Umar said, “O Messenger of Allaah, why do you not get something more comfortable than this?” He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “What do I have to do with this world? My relationship with this world is like that of a traveller on a hot summer’s day, who seeks shade under a tree for an hour, then moves on.”(Reported by Ahmad and al-Haakim. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5545).
‘Ali ibn Bakkaar (may Allaah have mercy on him) used to have a slave-woman who would spread out his bed for him, and he would touch it with his hand and say: “By Allaah, you are good, and by Allaah you are cool, but by Allaah I will not rest on you tonight.” Then he would get up and pray qiyaam until Fajr.
Also, one should not sleep too much or too deeply. Ibraaheem ibn Adham said: “If you are sleeping at night, and running about during the day, and always committing sin, how can you earn the pleasure of the One Who is directing your affairs?”
8 – Having the habit of reciting adhkaar prescribed by sharee’ah before going to sleep, because these adhkaar are like a fortress which protects a person from the Shaytaan, by the permission of Allaah, and helps him to get up for qiyaam. Among these adhkaar is that mentioned in the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him), who said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When any one of you goes to bed, let him clear his bed by hitting it with his garment, for he does not know what may have come onto it. Then let him lie down on his right side, then let him say, ‘Bismika Rabbi wada’tu janbi wa bika arfa’uhu. In amsakta nafsi farhamhaa wa in arsaltahaa fahfazhaa bimaa tahfazu bihi ‘ibaadaka al-saaliheen (In Your Name, my Lord, I lay myself down and I get up again. If You take my soul, then have mercy on it, and if You send it back to me, then protect it with that with which You protect Your righteous slaves).’” (Agreed upon).
‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) reported that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went to bed each night, he would put his palms together, blow in them, and recite Qul huwa Allaahu ahad, Qul a’oodhu bi Rabbi’l-Falaq and Qul a’oodhu bi Rabbi’l-Naas, then he would wipe as much of his body as he could with his hands, starting with his head and face, and the front of his body, doing this three times.(Agreed upon).
Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever recites the last two aayahs of Soorat al-Baqarah, this will take care of him.” (Agreed upon).
Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went to bed, he would say: “Al-hamdu Lillaah illadhi at’amanaa wa saqaanaa, wa kafaanaa fa kam mimman laa kaafeeya lahu wa laa mu’weeya lahu (Praise be to Allaah Who has fed us and given us to drink, and Who has given us enough, for how many are there who have no-one to suffice them or give them refuge).” (Reported by Muslim).
According to the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah in which he tells the story of how he captured the Shaytaan, the Shaytaan said to him: “When you go to bed, recite Aayat al-Kursi, ‘Allaah! None has the right to be worshipped but He, the Ever-Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists…’
[al-Baqarah 2:255 – interpretation of the meaning]
until the end of it, because it will bring Allaah’s protection for you, and no shaytaan will approach you until morning comes.”
Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) mentioned this to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and he said, “He spoke the truth even though he is a liar.” (Agreed upon).
‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that when the Prophet’s daughter Faatimah (may Allaah be pleased with her) came to him and asked him for a servant, he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to her and ‘Ali: “Shall I not teach you something that will be better for you than a servant? When you go to bed, say ‘Subhaan Allaah’ thirty-three times, ‘al-hamdu Lillaah’ thirty-three times, and ‘Allaahu akbar’ thirty-four times. This is better for you than a servant.” (Agreed upon).
Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Recite ‘Qul yaa ayyuha’l-kaafiroon’ when you go to sleep, for it is a renunciation of shirk.” (Reported by al-Bayhaqi. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1172).
Hafsah (may Allaah be pleased with her) reported that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went to bed, he would put his right hand under his right cheek and say: ‘Rabbi qinee ‘adhaabaka yawma tab’athu ‘ibaadaka (My Lord, save me from Your punishment on the Day when You resurrect Your slaves).’” (Reported by Abu Dawood, Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4532).
Al-Baraa’ ibn ‘Aazib (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When you go to bed, do wudoo’ as if for prayer, then lie down on your right side, then say: ‘Allaahummah aslamtu nafsi ilayk, wa wajahtu wajhi ilayk, wa fawwadtu amri ilayk, wa alja’tu zahri ilayk, raghbatan wa rahbatan ilayk, laa malja’a wa laa manjaa minka illa ilayk. Aamantu bi kitaabik alladhi anzalt, wa bi nabiyyik alladhi arsalt (O Allaah, I submit myself to You, I turn my face to You, I delegate my affairs to You and I rely totally on You, out of fear and hope of You. There is no refuge or sanctuary from You except in You. I believe in Your Book which You have revealed and in Your Prophet whom You have sent).’ Then if you die, you will have died on the fitrah, so make these the last words you speak.” (Agreed upon).
Similarly, the Muslim should have the habit of reciting adhkaar prescribed by sharee’ah when waking up, such as that reported by Abu Hurayrah, who said that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When any one of you wakes up, he should say: ‘Al-hamdu Lillaah illadhi radda ‘alayya roohi, wa ‘aafaani fi jasadi wa adhina li bi dhikrihi (Praise be to Allaah Who has restored my soul, given health to my body, and allowed me to remember Him).” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi and al-Nisaa'i, Saheeh al-Jaami’, 326).
‘Ubaadah ibn al-Saamit (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever turns over at night and says ‘Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah wahdahu laa shareeka lah, lahu’l-mulk wa lahu’l-hamd wa huwa ‘a’l kulli shay’in qadeer. Al-hamdulillahi, subhaan Allaah wa laa illaaha ill-Allaah wa Allaahu akbar wa laa hawla wa laa quwwata illa Billaah (There is no god but Allaah Alone, with no partner or associate. His is the Dominion and the Praise, and He is Able to do all things. Praise be to Allaah, glory be to Allaah. There is no god except Allaah, Allaah is Most Great and there is no strength and no power except in Allaah),’ then says, ‘Allaahumma ‘ghfir li (O Allaah, forgive me),’ or some other du’aa’, it will be answered, and if he does wudoo’ and then prays, his prayer will be accepted.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari)
Imaam Ibn Battaal said: “Allaah has promised through His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that whoever wakes up from his sleep pronouncing words of Tawheed, submitting to His sovereignty, recognizing His blessings by praising Him, exalting Him above that which does not befit Him by glorifying Him (saying ‘Subhaan Allaah’), submitting to Him by magnifying Him (saying ‘Allaahu akbar’) and admitting one’s utter dependence upon His help, then if he makes du’aa’ it will be answered, and if he prays his prayer will be accepted. Everyone who hears this hadeeth should apply it and make the most of it, and make his intention sincerely for his Lord, may He be glorified and exalted.”
Al-Baraa’ ibn ‘Aazib (may Allaah be pleased with them both) said: “When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) woke up, he would say: ‘Al-hamdu Lillaah illadhi ahyaanaa ba’da maa amaatanaa wa ilayhi al-nushoor (Praise be to Allaah Who has brought us back to life after having caused us to die, and unto Him is the resurrection).’” (Reported by Muslim).
Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) reported that when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) woke up he would wipe the sleep from his face with his hand, then look at the sky and recite the final ten aayaat of Soorat Aal ‘Imran: “Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth…”
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:190 – interpretation of the meaning].”
(Reported by Muslim)
Imaam al-Nawawi said: “This indicates that it is mustahabb to wipe away the traces of sleep from one’s face, and to recite these aayaat when getting up from sleep.”
9 – Being keen to take a nap or siesta during the day, whether before zuhr or after. Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Take a nap, for the shayaateen do not take naps.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani. Al-Saheehah, 2647).
Ishaaq ibn ‘Abd-Allaah said: “Taking a nap is one of the deeds of good people. It revitalizes the heart and helps one to pray qiyaam al-layl.”
Al-Hasan al-Basri passed by a group of people in the marketplace in the middle of the day, and heard the racket they were making. He said, “Do these people take a nap?” It was said to him, “No.” He said, “I think their nights must be bad.”
10 – Avoiding eating or drinking too much. Eating and drinking too much are two of the main obstacles that prevent people from praying qiyaam al-layl. Al-Miqdaam ibn Ma’d Yakrib (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Man fills no vessel worse than his stomach. It is sufficient for the son of Adam to have a few mouthfuls to give him the strength he needs. If he has to fill his stomach, then let him leave one-third for food, one-third for drink and one-third for air.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Maajah. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5674).
Abu Juhayfah (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to a man who burped in his presence: “Stop your burping, for the people who eat the most in this life will be the most hungry hungry on the Day of Resurrection.” (Reported by al-Haakim. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1190).
Sufyaan al-Thawri said: “You should eat little, so that you will be able to pray qiyaam al-layl.”
Ma’qal ibn Habeeb saw some people eating a lot, and said, ‘I do not think that our companions want to pray qiyaam al-layl.”
Wahb ibn Munbih said: “There is no son of Adam dearer to his shaytaan than the one who eats and sleeps a lot.”
11 – Striving against oneself to pray qiyaam al-layl. This is one of the best means of helping oneself to pray qiyaam, because human nature is inclined towards wrongdoing, so the one who follows his own inclinations will be led to doom and destruction. Allaah has commanded us to strive against our own selves,
as He says (interpretation of the meanings):
“And strive hard in Allaah’s Cause as you ought to strive…”
[al-Hajj 22:78]
“And as for those who strive hard in Our Cause, We will surely guide them to Our Paths. And verily, Allaah is with the muhsinoon (good-doers).”
[al-‘Ankaboot 29:69]
“Their sides forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in fear and hope, and they spend (charity in Allaah’s Cause) out of what We have bestowed on them”
[al-Sajdah 32:16]
Fadaalah ibn ‘Ubayd (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The mujaahid is the one who strives against his own self for the sake of Allaah.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Hibbaan. Al-Saheehah, 549).
According to the hadeeth of ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir (may Allaah be pleased with him), the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When a man from my ummah gets up to pray at night, striving against his own self to get up and purify himself, there are knots on him. When he washes his hands in wudoo’, one knot is undone. When he washes his face, another knot is undone. When he wipes his head another knot is undone. When he washes his feet, another knot is undone. Then Allaah says to those who are veiled (in the Unseen): ‘Look at this slave of Mine, he is striving against his own self and asking of Me. Whatever My slave asks of Me shall be his.”
(Reported by Ahmad and Ibn Hibaan. Saheeh al-Targheeb, 627).
Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir said: “I struggled against my own self for forty years until it became right.”
Thaabit al-Banaani said: “I struggled for twenty years to make myself pray qiyaam al-layl, and I enjoyed it (qiyaam al-layl) for twenty years.”
‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azeez said: “The best of deeds are those which we force ourselves to do.”
‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Mubaarak said: “The souls of righteous people in the past used to push them to do good deeds, but our souls do not do what we want them to do except by force, so we have to force them.”
Qutaadah said: “O son of Adam, if you do not want to do any good except when you have the energy for it, then your nature is more inclined towards boredom and laziness. The true believer is the one who pushes himself.”
12 – Avoiding sin. If the Muslim wants to be one of those who earn the honour of speaking to Allaah in the depths of the night, let him beware of sin, for the one who is contaminated with the stain of sin will not be helped to pray qiyaam al-layl.
A man said to Ibraaheem ibn Adham, “I cannot pray qiyaam al-layl, so tell me the cure for this.” He said, “Do not commit sin during the day, and He will help you to stand before Him at night, for your standing before Him at night is one of the greatest honours, and the sinner does not deserve that honour.
”
A man said to al-Hasan al-Basri: “”O Abu Sa’eed, I sleep in good health, and I love to pray qiyaam al-layl, and I prepare water with which to purify myself, so why can I not get up?” Al-Hasan said: “Your sins are restricting you.” He said, may Allaah have mercy on him, “The slave who commits a sin will be denied the opportunity to pray qiyaam at night and to fast during the day.”
Al-Fudayl ibn ‘Ayaad said: “If you cannot pray qiyaam al-layl, or fast during the day, know that you are indeed deprived and restricted, chained by your sins.”
13 – Checking oneself and rebuking oneself for not praying qiyaam al-layl. Checking oneself is one of the signs of the righteous and truthful. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “O you who believe! Fear Allaah and keep your duty to Him. And let every person look to what he has sent forth for the morrow, and fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is All-Aware of what you do.”
[al-Hashr 59:18].
Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim said: “If the slave is responsible and accountable for everything, even his hearing, sight and innermost thoughts,
as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning),
‘…Verily, the hearing, and the sight, and the heart of each of you will be questioned by Allaah’
[al-Isra’ 17:36],
then he should check on himself before he is brought to account.”
Qiyaam al-layl is an act of worship that connects the heart to Allaah, may He be exalted, and enables it to overcome the temptations of life and to strive against one’s own self, at the time when voices are stilled, eyes are closed in sleep, and sleepers are tossing and turning in their beds. Therefore qiyaam al-layl is one of the measures of sincere determination and one of the qualities of those who have great ambitions. Allaah has praised them and distinguished them from others in the Qur’aan,
where He says (interpretation of the meaning): “Is one who is obedient to Allaah, prostrating himself or standing (in prayer) during the hours of the night, fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the Mercy of his Lord (like one who disbelieves)? Say: ‘Are those who know equal to those who know not?’ It is only men of understanding who will remember.”
[al-Zumar 39:9]
Qiyaam al-layl is “sunnah mu’akkadah” (confirmed Sunnah), which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) urged us to do when he said, “You should pray qiyaam al-layl, for it is the habit of the righteous people who came before you, and it will bring you closer to your Lord, expiate for bad deeds, prevent sin, and expel disease from the body.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi and Ahmad).
According to a hadeeth, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best of prayers after the prescribed prayers is qiyaam al-layl.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) always had the habit of praying qiyaam al-layl, and never gave it up, whether he was travelling or staying at home. Even though he, among all the sons of Adam, would be the one to have all his past and future sins forgiven, he prayed qiyaam al-layl until his feet became swollen, and when he was asked about that, he said, “Should I not be a grateful slave?” (Agreed upon).
This is how the noble salaf were, may Allaah have mercy upon them. Abu’l-Darda’ (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Pray two rak’ahs in the darkness of the night for the darkness of the grave.” Ahmad ibn Harb said: “I am astonished at people who know that the delights of Paradise lie above them and the horrors of Hell lie beneath them. How can they sleep in between them?”
When ‘Umar ibn Dharr saw that night had come, he would say: “Night has come, and night has dignity, and Allaah is most deserving of reverence.”
For this reason, al-Fudayl ibn ‘Ayaad said: “I met some people who feel ashamed before Allaah to sleep for too long in the depths of the night. Such a person may be resting on his side, and when he moves, he says to himself, ‘This is not your right. Get up and take your share of the Hereafter.’”
Al-Hasan said: “We do not know of any deed more difficult than the struggle to stay up at night or to spend money.” It was said to him, “Why do the mutahajjadeen (those who pray Tahajjud at night) have the most beautiful faces?” He said, “Because they spend time alone with the Most Merciful, so He adorns them with some of His light.”
The women of the salaf also used to strive to pray qiyaam al-layl with energy and determination. Where are the women of our own age when it comes to such great deeds? ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr said: “I came to ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) one day to greet her, and I found her praying and reciting the aayah (interpretation of the meaning), ‘But Allaah has been gracious to us, and has saved us from the torment of the Fire’
[al-Toor 52:27],
repeating it and weeping. I waited for her, but I got bored of waiting, so I went to the market for some things I needed, then I came back to ‘Aa’ishah, and she was still praying and reciting this aayah and weeping.”
Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Jibreel said to me, ‘Go back to Hafsah, for she fasts a lot and prays a lot at night (qiyaam al-layl).’” (Reported by al-Haakim, Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4227).
Mu’aadhah al-‘Adawiyyah, one of the righteous Taabi’aat spent her wedding night, along with her husband Silah ibn Ashyam, praying until Fajr. When her husband and son were killed in the land of jihaad, she would spend the whole night in prayer, worshipping and beseeching Allaah, and she would sleep during the day. If she felt sleepy whilst she was praying at night, she would tell herself: “O soul, there is plenty of sleep ahead of you.”
When Habeebah al-‘Adawiyyah prayed ‘Ishaa’, she would stand on the roof of her house, wearing her chemise and khimaar (i.e., covered in proper Islamic dress), then she would say, “O my God, the stars have come out, people have gone to sleep, and kings have closed their doors, but Your door is open. Every lover is alone with his lover, but here I am standing before You.” Then she would start to pray and talk to her Lord until the time of suhoor. When the time of suhoor came, she would say, “O Allaah, this night is ending, the day is coming, and I wish I knew whether you have accepted this night (of worship) from me, so that I could congratulate myself, or if it has been rejected, so that I might console myself.”
‘Amrah, the wife of Habeeb al-‘Ajami, prayed qiyaam al-layl one night whilst her husband was asleep. When the time for suhoor came, and her husband was still asleep, she woke him up and said to him, “Get up, my master, for the night has gone, the day has come and ahead of you lies a long road with little provision, and a small group of righteous people who have gone before us, and we are still here.”
We ask Allaah to help us to remember Him, to thank Him and to worship Him properly. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When any one of you goes to bed, let him clear his bed by hitting it with his garment, for he does not know what may have come onto it. Then let him lie down on his right side, then let him say, ‘Bismika Rabbi wada’tu janbi wa bika arfa’uhu. In amsakta nafsi farhamhaa wa in arsaltahaa fahfazhaa bimaa tahfazu bihi ‘ibaadaka al-saaliheen (In Your Name, my Lord, I lay myself down and I get up again. If You take my soul, then have mercy on it, and if You send it back to me, then protect it with that with which You protect Your righteous slaves).’” (Agreed upon).‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) reported that when the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went to bed each night, he would put his palms together, blow in them, and recite Qul huwa Allaahu ahad, Qul a’oodhu bi Rabbi’l-Falaq and Qul a’oodhu bi Rabbi’l-Naas, then he would wipe as much of his body as he could with his hands, starting with his head and face, and the front of his body, doing this three times.(Agreed upon).Ibn Mas’ood (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever recites the last two aayahs of Soorat al-Baqarah, this will take care of him.” (Agreed upon).Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that when the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went to bed, he would say: “Al-hamdu Lillaah illadhi at’amanaa wa saqaanaa, wa kafaanaa fa kam mimman laa kaafeeya lahu wa laa mu’weeya lahu (Praise be to Allaah Who has fed us and given us to drink, and Who has given us enough, for how many are there who have no-one to suffice them or give them refuge).” (Reported by Muslim).According to the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah in which he tells the story of how he captured the Shaytaan, the Shaytaan said to him: “When you go to bed, recite Aayat al-Kursi, ‘Allaah! None has the right to be worshipped but He, the Ever-Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists…’
[al-Baqarah 2:255 – interpretation of the meaning]
until the end of it, because it will bring Allaah’s protection for you, and no shaytaan will approach you until morning comes.”
Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) mentioned this to the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and he said, “He spoke the truth even though he is a liar.” (Agreed upon).‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that when the Prophet’s daughter Faatimah (may Allaah be pleased with her) came to him and asked him for a servant, he
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to her and ‘Ali: “Shall I not teach you something that will be better for you than a servant? When you go to bed, say ‘Subhaan Allaah’ thirty-three times, ‘al-hamdu Lillaah’ thirty-three times, and ‘Allaahu akbar’ thirty-four times. This is better for you than a servant.” (Agreed upon).Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Recite ‘Qul yaa ayyuha’l-kaafiroon’ when you go to sleep, for it is a renunciation of shirk.” (Reported by al-Bayhaqi. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1172).Hafsah (may Allaah be pleased with her) reported that when the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went to bed, he would put his right hand under his right cheek and say: ‘Rabbi qinee ‘adhaabaka yawma tab’athu ‘ibaadaka (My Lord, save me from Your punishment on the Day when You resurrect Your slaves).’” (Reported by Abu Dawood, Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4532).Al-Baraa’ ibn ‘Aazib (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When you go to bed, do wudoo’ as if for prayer, then lie down on your right side, then say: ‘Allaahummah aslamtu nafsi ilayk, wa wajahtu wajhi ilayk, wa fawwadtu amri ilayk, wa alja’tu zahri ilayk, raghbatan wa rahbatan ilayk, laa malja’a wa laa manjaa minka illa ilayk. Aamantu bi kitaabik alladhi anzalt, wa bi nabiyyik alladhi arsalt (O Allaah, I submit myself to You, I turn my face to You, I delegate my affairs to You and I rely totally on You, out of fear and hope of You. There is no refuge or sanctuary from You except in You. I believe in Your Book which You have revealed and in Your Prophet whom You have sent).’ Then if you die, you will have died on the fitrah, so make these the last words you speak.” (Agreed upon).Similarly, the Muslim should have the habit of reciting adhkaar prescribed by sharee’ah when waking up, such as that reported by Abu Hurayrah, who said that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When any one of you wakes up, he should say: ‘Al-hamdu Lillaah illadhi radda ‘alayya roohi, wa ‘aafaani fi jasadi wa adhina li bi dhikrihi (Praise be to Allaah Who has restored my soul, given health to my body, and allowed me to remember Him).” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi and al-Nisaa'i, Saheeh al-Jaami’, 326).‘Ubaadah ibn al-Saamit (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever turns over at night and says ‘Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah wahdahu laa shareeka lah, lahu’l-mulk wa lahu’l-hamd wa huwa ‘a’l kulli shay’in qadeer. Al-hamdulillahi, subhaan Allaah wa laa illaaha ill-Allaah wa Allaahu akbar wa laa hawla wa laa quwwata illa Billaah (There is no god but Allaah Alone, with no partner or associate. His is the Dominion and the Praise, and He is Able to do all things. Praise be to Allaah, glory be to Allaah. There is no god except Allaah, Allaah is Most Great and there is no strength and no power except in Allaah),’ then says, ‘Allaahumma ‘ghfir li (O Allaah, forgive me),’ or some other du’aa’, it will be answered, and if he does wudoo’ and then prays, his prayer will be accepted.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari)Imaam Ibn Battaal said: “Allaah has promised through His Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that whoever wakes up from his sleep pronouncing words of Tawheed, submitting to His sovereignty, recognizing His blessings by praising Him, exalting Him above that which does not befit Him by glorifying Him (saying ‘Subhaan Allaah’), submitting to Him by magnifying Him (saying ‘Allaahu akbar’) and admitting one’s utter dependence upon His help, then if he makes du’aa’ it will be answered, and if he prays his prayer will be accepted. Everyone who hears this hadeeth should apply it and make the most of it, and make his intention sincerely for his Lord, may He be glorified and exalted.”Al-Baraa’ ibn ‘Aazib (may Allaah be pleased with them both) said: “When the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) woke up, he would say: ‘Al-hamdu Lillaah illadhi ahyaanaa ba’da maa amaatanaa wa ilayhi al-nushoor (Praise be to Allaah Who has brought us back to life after having caused us to die, and unto Him is the resurrection).’” (Reported by Muslim).Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both) reported that when the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) woke up he would wipe the sleep from his face with his hand, then look at the sky and recite the final ten aayaat of Soorat Aal ‘Imran: “Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth…”[Aal ‘Imraan 3:190 – interpretation of the meaning].”
(Reported by Muslim)
Imaam al-Nawawi said: “This indicates that it is mustahabb to wipe away the traces of sleep from one’s face, and to recite these aayaat when getting up from sleep.”
9 – Being keen to take a nap or siesta during the day, whether before zuhr or after. Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Take a nap, for the shayaateen do not take naps.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani. Al-Saheehah, 2647).Ishaaq ibn ‘Abd-Allaah said: “Taking a nap is one of the deeds of good people. It revitalizes the heart and helps one to pray qiyaam al-layl.”
Al-Hasan al-Basri passed by a group of people in the marketplace in the middle of the day, and heard the racket they were making. He said, “Do these people take a nap?” It was said to him, “No.” He said, “I think their nights must be bad.”
10 – Avoiding eating or drinking too much. Eating and drinking too much are two of the main obstacles that prevent people from praying qiyaam al-layl. Al-Miqdaam ibn Ma’d Yakrib (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Man fills no vessel worse than his stomach. It is sufficient for the son of Adam to have a few mouthfuls to give him the strength he needs. If he has to fill his stomach, then let him leave one-third for food, one-third for drink and one-third for air.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Maajah. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 5674).Abu Juhayfah (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to a man who burped in his presence: “Stop your burping, for the people who eat the most in this life will be the most hungry hungry on the Day of Resurrection.” (Reported by al-Haakim. Saheeh al-Jaami’, 1190).Sufyaan al-Thawri said: “You should eat little, so that you will be able to pray qiyaam al-layl.”
Ma’qal ibn Habeeb saw some people eating a lot, and said, ‘I do not think that our companions want to pray qiyaam al-layl.”
Wahb ibn Munbih said: “There is no son of Adam dearer to his shaytaan than the one who eats and sleeps a lot.”
11 – Striving against oneself to pray qiyaam al-layl. This is one of the best means of helping oneself to pray qiyaam, because human nature is inclined towards wrongdoing, so the one who follows his own inclinations will be led to doom and destruction. Allaah has commanded us to strive against our own selves,
as He says (interpretation of the meanings):
“And strive hard in Allaah’s Cause as you ought to strive…”
[al-Hajj 22:78]
“And as for those who strive hard in Our Cause, We will surely guide them to Our Paths. And verily, Allaah is with the muhsinoon (good-doers).”
[al-‘Ankaboot 29:69]
“Their sides forsake their beds, to invoke their Lord in fear and hope, and they spend (charity in Allaah’s Cause) out of what We have bestowed on them”
[al-Sajdah 32:16]
Fadaalah ibn ‘Ubayd (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The mujaahid is the one who strives against his own self for the sake of Allaah.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Hibbaan. Al-Saheehah, 549).According to the hadeeth of ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aamir (may Allaah be pleased with him), the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When a man from my ummah gets up to pray at night, striving against his own self to get up and purify himself, there are knots on him. When he washes his hands in wudoo’, one knot is undone. When he washes his face, another knot is undone. When he wipes his head another knot is undone. When he washes his feet, another knot is undone. Then Allaah says to those who are veiled (in the Unseen): ‘Look at this slave of Mine, he is striving against his own self and asking of Me. Whatever My slave asks of Me shall be his.”(Reported by Ahmad and Ibn Hibaan. Saheeh al-Targheeb, 627).
Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir said: “I struggled against my own self for forty years until it became right.”
Thaabit al-Banaani said: “I struggled for twenty years to make myself pray qiyaam al-layl, and I enjoyed it (qiyaam al-layl) for twenty years.”
‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azeez said: “The best of deeds are those which we force ourselves to do.”
‘Abd-Allaah ibn al-Mubaarak said: “The souls of righteous people in the past used to push them to do good deeds, but our souls do not do what we want them to do except by force, so we have to force them.”
Qutaadah said: “O son of Adam, if you do not want to do any good except when you have the energy for it, then your nature is more inclined towards boredom and laziness. The true believer is the one who pushes himself.”
12 – Avoiding sin. If the Muslim wants to be one of those who earn the honour of speaking to Allaah in the depths of the night, let him beware of sin, for the one who is contaminated with the stain of sin will not be helped to pray qiyaam al-layl.
A man said to Ibraaheem ibn Adham, “I cannot pray qiyaam al-layl, so tell me the cure for this.” He said, “Do not commit sin during the day, and He will help you to stand before Him at night, for your standing before Him at night is one of the greatest honours, and the sinner does not deserve that honour.
”
A man said to al-Hasan al-Basri: “”O Abu Sa’eed, I sleep in good health, and I love to pray qiyaam al-layl, and I prepare water with which to purify myself, so why can I not get up?” Al-Hasan said: “Your sins are restricting you.” He said, may Allaah have mercy on him, “The slave who commits a sin will be denied the opportunity to pray qiyaam at night and to fast during the day.”
Al-Fudayl ibn ‘Ayaad said: “If you cannot pray qiyaam al-layl, or fast during the day, know that you are indeed deprived and restricted, chained by your sins.”
13 – Checking oneself and rebuking oneself for not praying qiyaam al-layl. Checking oneself is one of the signs of the righteous and truthful. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “O you who believe! Fear Allaah and keep your duty to Him. And let every person look to what he has sent forth for the morrow, and fear Allaah. Verily, Allaah is All-Aware of what you do.”
[al-Hashr 59:18].
Imaam Ibn al-Qayyim said: “If the slave is responsible and accountable for everything, even his hearing, sight and innermost thoughts,
as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning),
‘…Verily, the hearing, and the sight, and the heart of each of you will be questioned by Allaah’
[al-Isra’ 17:36],
then he should check on himself before he is brought to account.”
Qiyaam al-layl is an act of worship that connects the heart to Allaah, may He be exalted, and enables it to overcome the temptations of life and to strive against one’s own self, at the time when voices are stilled, eyes are closed in sleep, and sleepers are tossing and turning in their beds. Therefore qiyaam al-layl is one of the measures of sincere determination and one of the qualities of those who have great ambitions. Allaah has praised them and distinguished them from others in the Qur’aan,
where He says (interpretation of the meaning): “Is one who is obedient to Allaah, prostrating himself or standing (in prayer) during the hours of the night, fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the Mercy of his Lord (like one who disbelieves)? Say: ‘Are those who know equal to those who know not?’ It is only men of understanding who will remember.”
[al-Zumar 39:9]
Qiyaam al-layl is “sunnah mu’akkadah” (confirmed Sunnah), which the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) urged us to do when he said, “You should pray qiyaam al-layl, for it is the habit of the righteous people who came before you, and it will bring you closer to your Lord, expiate for bad deeds, prevent sin, and expel disease from the body.” (Reported by al-Tirmidhi and Ahmad).According to a hadeeth, the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The best of prayers after the prescribed prayers is qiyaam al-layl.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) always had the habit of praying qiyaam al-layl, and never gave it up, whether he was travelling or staying at home. Even though he, among all the sons of Adam, would be the one to have all his past and future sins forgiven, he prayed qiyaam al-layl until his feet became swollen, and when he was asked about that, he said, “Should I not be a grateful slave?” (Agreed upon).This is how the noble salaf were, may Allaah have mercy upon them. Abu’l-Darda’ (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “Pray two rak’ahs in the darkness of the night for the darkness of the grave.” Ahmad ibn Harb said: “I am astonished at people who know that the delights of Paradise lie above them and the horrors of Hell lie beneath them. How can they sleep in between them?”
When ‘Umar ibn Dharr saw that night had come, he would say: “Night has come, and night has dignity, and Allaah is most deserving of reverence.”
For this reason, al-Fudayl ibn ‘Ayaad said: “I met some people who feel ashamed before Allaah to sleep for too long in the depths of the night. Such a person may be resting on his side, and when he moves, he says to himself, ‘This is not your right. Get up and take your share of the Hereafter.’”
Al-Hasan said: “We do not know of any deed more difficult than the struggle to stay up at night or to spend money.” It was said to him, “Why do the mutahajjadeen (those who pray Tahajjud at night) have the most beautiful faces?” He said, “Because they spend time alone with the Most Merciful, so He adorns them with some of His light.”
The women of the salaf also used to strive to pray qiyaam al-layl with energy and determination. Where are the women of our own age when it comes to such great deeds? ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr said: “I came to ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) one day to greet her, and I found her praying and reciting the aayah (interpretation of the meaning), ‘But Allaah has been gracious to us, and has saved us from the torment of the Fire’
[al-Toor 52:27],
repeating it and weeping. I waited for her, but I got bored of waiting, so I went to the market for some things I needed, then I came back to ‘Aa’ishah, and she was still praying and reciting this aayah and weeping.”
Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Jibreel said to me, ‘Go back to Hafsah, for she fasts a lot and prays a lot at night (qiyaam al-layl).’” (Reported by al-Haakim, Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4227).Mu’aadhah al-‘Adawiyyah, one of the righteous Taabi’aat spent her wedding night, along with her husband Silah ibn Ashyam, praying until Fajr. When her husband and son were killed in the land of jihaad, she would spend the whole night in prayer, worshipping and beseeching Allaah, and she would sleep during the day. If she felt sleepy whilst she was praying at night, she would tell herself: “O soul, there is plenty of sleep ahead of you.”
When Habeebah al-‘Adawiyyah prayed ‘Ishaa’, she would stand on the roof of her house, wearing her chemise and khimaar (i.e., covered in proper Islamic dress), then she would say, “O my God, the stars have come out, people have gone to sleep, and kings have closed their doors, but Your door is open. Every lover is alone with his lover, but here I am standing before You.” Then she would start to pray and talk to her Lord until the time of suhoor. When the time of suhoor came, she would say, “O Allaah, this night is ending, the day is coming, and I wish I knew whether you have accepted this night (of worship) from me, so that I could congratulate myself, or if it has been rejected, so that I might console myself.”
‘Amrah, the wife of Habeeb al-‘Ajami, prayed qiyaam al-layl one night whilst her husband was asleep. When the time for suhoor came, and her husband was still asleep, she woke him up and said to him, “Get up, my master, for the night has gone, the day has come and ahead of you lies a long road with little provision, and a small group of righteous people who have gone before us, and we are still here.”
We ask Allaah to help us to remember Him, to thank Him and to worship Him properly. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
Monday, May 5, 2008
The Mercy of my Lord upon me
As I contemplate the mercy of my Lord upon me, as I watch the flower bloom from a tiny speck of being, the water rush in the banks of the river, the rain fall in perfect droplets from above, I realize that the very ability to see, the blessing of sight, the power to return and reflect, that is a great mercy in itself. Because, undoubtedly, so many, too many, slaves of my Lord see, but are blinded by the artificial dunya, they think, but their thoughts are diverted away from blessings. As I contemplate the mercy of my Lord, I am grateful for this chance, for this undeniable bounty.
-A Special Sister's Study Break (not me)
.
-A Special Sister's Study Break (not me)
.
Monday, April 28, 2008
The Bitter Harvest
taken from Khutbah.com
I was a teacher in the Qur’anic study circle at our neighborhood masjid at the time. I would see this young boy after Maghrib prayer who was about fifteen years old. He held a pocket Qur’an and sat alone reading from it. He wasn’t actually reading from it, he was just trying to make it seem as if he was. Now and again, he would shyly steal a few glances at us, curious to know what we were doing. Once in awhile, you would see him straining to make out what we were talking about. Every time I caught his eye, he would avert his head and continue with his recitation, as if he had not intended to look this way.
Day after day, he sat in the same reserved manner, revealing the same timid glance. Finally after Isha Salah one day, I resolved to confront him.
“As salamu alaykum. My name is Salman. I teach the Qur’anic study circle in this masjid.”
“And my name is Khalid.”
It was strange that he replied so fast, as if he had been waiting to share this piece of information for a long time and expected to be asked.
“Where do you study Khalid?”
“In the eighth grade…and I…I love the Qur’an a lot.”
Why did he add that last sentence?
Confidently, I asked him, “Listen Khalid, have you got any free time after Maghrib? We would be honored to have you join us in the class.”
“What? The Qur’an? The halaqah? Yes…why, yes of course (happiness overcame him). I’ll be there, in sha Allah.”
That night, I couldn’t think of anything other than this young boy and the haze that surrounded his behavior. Sleep would just not come. I attempted to interpret an answer for what I saw and heard, but there was none. A verse of poetry came to mind:
The coming days shall unravel the mystery And the news may appear from where you could never see.
I turned on my right side and slipped my right hand under my cheek:
O Allah, I have surrendered myself to You and to You I turn over my affairs.
Subhan Allah, the months were passing quickly. Khalid was now a regular in our Qur’an circle, energetic and successful in memorization. He was friends with everyone and everyone was friends with him. You could never catch him without a Qur’an in his hand, or find him in any other line in Salah other than the first.
There was nothing wrong with him except for his occasional long lapses of attention. There were times when his stoned eyes would reflect the fathomless thought going on in his mind. Sometimes we knew his body was with us, but his soul was somewhere else, suffocating in another world. Occasionally, I would startle him with a question. All he had was a mumble to reply with, and he would have been the first to admit its fabrication.
One night, I walked with him after class to the beach shore. Maybe his big secret might meet something equally large, relax somewhat, and release its distress and pain.
We arrived at the beach and traced the waves. The full moon was out. It was a strange sight. The darkness of the night found the darkness of the sea, with a lit moon in-between them.
I sat somewhat embarrassed at its intrusion, similar to my shyness towards Khalid right then. The rays of the silent moon rested on the silent waves of the sea. I stood behind the silent boy. The scene was silence.
It all shattered and crushed to the ground as the young boy fell to the bottom, bleeding his heart out with tears. I chose not to interrupt Khalid’s emotional release, perhaps the saltiness of his tears might help him relax and cleanse his distress.
After a few moments he said from behind his tears, “I love you all…I love the Qur’an…and those who love it. I love pious brothers, moral, pure brothers. But…my father…it’s my father.”
“Your father? What is wrong with your father Khalid?”
“My father always warned me not to hang around with you people. He’s afraid. He hates you all. And he always tries to convince me that I should hate you too. At any chance he gets, he tries to prove his point with stories and tales.
“But…when I saw you people in the halaqah reciting Qur’an, I saw something entirely different. I saw the light in your faces, the light in your clothes, the light in your words, even when you were silent I could see the light even then.
“I doubted my father’s tales and that’s why I would sit after Maghrib, watching you, pretending that I was part of the circle, trying to share in the light.
“I…I remember Ustadh Salman…I remember the time you approached me after ‘Isha prayer. I’d been waiting for that moment for such a long time. When I began the classes, my soul locked itself into a world of purity with your souls. I began the circle and was persistent. I wouldn’t sleep; my days and nights became Qur’an. My father noticed the change in my routine. He found out, one way or another, that I had joined the circle and that I was now hanging out with ‘terrorists’.
“Then, on a dark night…we were waiting for father to come home from the coffee shop, his daily ritual, so that we could all have dinner together. He entered the house with his hardened face and slaps of anger. We all sat together at the dinner mat. Silence settled on the gathering. As usual, all of us were afraid to speak in his presence.
“He knifed the silence with his roaring and immediate voice.
“‘I heard you’re hanging out with the fundamentalists.’
“I was caught. My tongue looped and failed. All the words in my mouth attempted to come out at the same time. But, he didn’t wait for the answer. He snatched the teakettle and threw it maliciously at my face. The room spun and the colors united before my eyes. I could no longer tell the ceiling from the walls from the floor, and fell.
“My mother held me. A damp cloth on my forehead reminded me of where I was. The vicious voice turned on my mother, ‘Leave him alone, or you’ll be in the same lot.’
“I crawled out of my mother’s lap and whimpered away to my room. He followed me down the corridor with the cruelest curses.
“There was not a day that he didn’t beat me in some way – curses, kicks, throwing whatever was nearest to his hand. My body had finally become a shiver of fear, grotesque colors formed all over. I hated him.
“One day while we were sitting at the dinner mat, he said, ‘Get up! Don’t eat with us!’
“Before I could get up though, he pounced immediately and kicked me in the back, making me slam into the pots. At that moment, lying there on the ground, I pretended to stand taller than him and shout back in his face. ‘One day, I’ll pay you back. I’ll beat you just like you beat me, and curse you just like you cursed me. I’ll grow up and become strong and you’ll get old and become feeble. Then I’ll treat you just like you treated me; I’ll pay you back.’
“After that, I left home and ran away. I just ran, anywhere, it didn’t matter anymore. “I found my way to this beach. It helped me wash away some of the sadness. I held my pocket Qur’an and began reciting until I could continue no longer because of my excessive crying.”
And here, a few of those innocent tears descended again, tears that sparkled under the moon like pearls under a lamp. I couldn’t say anything. The surprise had arrested my tongue.
Should I be aghast at this beast of a father, whose heart knew nothing about mercy? Or, should I be amazed at this patient young lad, whom Allah had wished guidance for and inspired with faith. Or, should I be shocked at them both, at the father-son bond that had broken, causing their relationship to transform into that of a lion and a tiger, or a wolf and a fox.
I held his warm hand and wiped away a tear from his cheek. I reassured him, prayed for him, and advised him to remain obedient to his father. I told him to remain patient and that he was not alone. I promised that I would meet his father, speak to him, and try to evoke his mercy.
That incident slipped further away with each passing day. I tried thinking of ways to bring up Khalid’s case with his father. How should I speak to him? How was I going to be convincing? How was I even going to knock on his door?
Finally, I collected my courage, rehearsed my plan, and resolved that the confrontation, or meeting, would be that day at five o’clock.
When the time arrived, I left for Khalid’s house with all my ideas and questions for his father dangling from my pockets. I rang the doorbell. My fingers trembled and my knees were melting. The door opened. There he was, standing in the shadow with his frowned lips and veins beating with anger.
I tried beginning with a candid smile hoping it might smooth out some of the wrinkles before we even started. He snatched my collar and jerked me towards him. “You’re that fundamentalist that teaches Khalid at the masjid, aren’t you?”
“Well…uh…yes.”
“God help me, if I ever see you walking with him again, I’ll break your legs. Khalid won’t be coming to your class anymore.”
And then, he mustered all the saliva in his mouth and spit on my face. The door slammed shut.
Slowly, I unfolded a tissue that was in my pocket, wiped what he had honored me with, and retreated down the stairs consoling myself. Allah’s Messenger sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam suffered more than this. They called him a liar, cursed him, stoned him with rocks and caused his feet to bleed. They broke his teeth and placed dung on his back and expelled him from his house.
Day after day, month after month, there was no sign of Khalid. His father forbade him from leaving the house, even for the congregational prayer. He even forbade us from seeing or meeting him. We prayed for Khalid...until we forgot about him. Years passed away.
One night, after the ‘Isha prayer, a shadow walked behind me in the masjid and rested a familiar harsh hand on my shoulder. It was the same hand that held me years ago. The same face, the same wrinkles and the same mouth that honored me with what I was not deserving of. But something had changed. The savage face had shattered. The angry veins had subsided, belittled and still. The body looked tired of all the pain and conflict, weakened by sadness and grief.
“How are you?” I kissed his forehead and welcomed him. We took a corner of the masjid. He collapsed on my lap sobbing.
Subhan Allah, I never thought that that lion would one day become a kitten.
Speak up. What’s wrong? How is Khalid?
“Khalid!” The name was like a dagger piercing his heart, twisting inside, and breaking off. His head slumped.
“Khalid is no longer the same boy that you used to know. Khalid is no longer the generous, calm and humble young lad. After he left your circle he befriended a pack of evil boys; ever since he was little he loved to socialize. They caught him at that time of life when a youth wants to leave the house.
“He began with cigarettes. I cursed him, beat him, but there was no use; his body had grown accustomed to the beatings, his ears were used to the curses. He grew quickly. He started staying up with them all night, not coming home until dawn. His school expelled him. Some nights he would come home to us speaking abnormally, his face loose, his tongue confused, his hands shivering.
“That body, which used to be strong, full, and tender, passed away. What remained was a feeble worn frame. That pure frosty face of his transformed; it became dark and filthy. The scum of misguidance and sin clung to it. Those shy and simple eyes of his changed. They shot red like fire as if everything he drank or took showed immediately in his eyes like some sort of punishment, in this life before the next. Hostility and disrespect replaced that shyness and cowardice he once knew. Gone was that soft, respectful young heart. In its place grew a hardened center, like a rock, if not harder.
“Seldom would a day pass without incident. He would curse, kick, or hit me. Imagine it, my own son. I’m his father, yet he still hits me.”
After releasing all that, his eyes returned wet and bitter. But he added quickly, “I beg you Salman, visit Khalid. Take him with you. You have my blessing, the door is open. Pass by him sometime. He loves you. Register him in the Qur’an study circle. He could go with you on field trips. I have no objection. In fact, I am even willing to allow him to live in your homes and sleep over. The important thing, Salman…the important thing is that Khalid returns to the way he was. I beg you lad. I’ll kiss your hands, warm your feet, I beg you and beg you…”
He collapsed, crying and wheezing, into the memories of the grief and pain. I allowed him to complete everything he had to say. Then I addressed him:
“Despite what has passed, let me try. Brother, you planted this seed. And this is your harvest.”
I was a teacher in the Qur’anic study circle at our neighborhood masjid at the time. I would see this young boy after Maghrib prayer who was about fifteen years old. He held a pocket Qur’an and sat alone reading from it. He wasn’t actually reading from it, he was just trying to make it seem as if he was. Now and again, he would shyly steal a few glances at us, curious to know what we were doing. Once in awhile, you would see him straining to make out what we were talking about. Every time I caught his eye, he would avert his head and continue with his recitation, as if he had not intended to look this way.
Day after day, he sat in the same reserved manner, revealing the same timid glance. Finally after Isha Salah one day, I resolved to confront him.
“As salamu alaykum. My name is Salman. I teach the Qur’anic study circle in this masjid.”
“And my name is Khalid.”
It was strange that he replied so fast, as if he had been waiting to share this piece of information for a long time and expected to be asked.
“Where do you study Khalid?”
“In the eighth grade…and I…I love the Qur’an a lot.”
Why did he add that last sentence?
Confidently, I asked him, “Listen Khalid, have you got any free time after Maghrib? We would be honored to have you join us in the class.”
“What? The Qur’an? The halaqah? Yes…why, yes of course (happiness overcame him). I’ll be there, in sha Allah.”
That night, I couldn’t think of anything other than this young boy and the haze that surrounded his behavior. Sleep would just not come. I attempted to interpret an answer for what I saw and heard, but there was none. A verse of poetry came to mind:
The coming days shall unravel the mystery And the news may appear from where you could never see.
I turned on my right side and slipped my right hand under my cheek:
O Allah, I have surrendered myself to You and to You I turn over my affairs.
Subhan Allah, the months were passing quickly. Khalid was now a regular in our Qur’an circle, energetic and successful in memorization. He was friends with everyone and everyone was friends with him. You could never catch him without a Qur’an in his hand, or find him in any other line in Salah other than the first.
There was nothing wrong with him except for his occasional long lapses of attention. There were times when his stoned eyes would reflect the fathomless thought going on in his mind. Sometimes we knew his body was with us, but his soul was somewhere else, suffocating in another world. Occasionally, I would startle him with a question. All he had was a mumble to reply with, and he would have been the first to admit its fabrication.
One night, I walked with him after class to the beach shore. Maybe his big secret might meet something equally large, relax somewhat, and release its distress and pain.
We arrived at the beach and traced the waves. The full moon was out. It was a strange sight. The darkness of the night found the darkness of the sea, with a lit moon in-between them.
I sat somewhat embarrassed at its intrusion, similar to my shyness towards Khalid right then. The rays of the silent moon rested on the silent waves of the sea. I stood behind the silent boy. The scene was silence.
It all shattered and crushed to the ground as the young boy fell to the bottom, bleeding his heart out with tears. I chose not to interrupt Khalid’s emotional release, perhaps the saltiness of his tears might help him relax and cleanse his distress.
After a few moments he said from behind his tears, “I love you all…I love the Qur’an…and those who love it. I love pious brothers, moral, pure brothers. But…my father…it’s my father.”
“Your father? What is wrong with your father Khalid?”
“My father always warned me not to hang around with you people. He’s afraid. He hates you all. And he always tries to convince me that I should hate you too. At any chance he gets, he tries to prove his point with stories and tales.
“But…when I saw you people in the halaqah reciting Qur’an, I saw something entirely different. I saw the light in your faces, the light in your clothes, the light in your words, even when you were silent I could see the light even then.
“I doubted my father’s tales and that’s why I would sit after Maghrib, watching you, pretending that I was part of the circle, trying to share in the light.
“I…I remember Ustadh Salman…I remember the time you approached me after ‘Isha prayer. I’d been waiting for that moment for such a long time. When I began the classes, my soul locked itself into a world of purity with your souls. I began the circle and was persistent. I wouldn’t sleep; my days and nights became Qur’an. My father noticed the change in my routine. He found out, one way or another, that I had joined the circle and that I was now hanging out with ‘terrorists’.
“Then, on a dark night…we were waiting for father to come home from the coffee shop, his daily ritual, so that we could all have dinner together. He entered the house with his hardened face and slaps of anger. We all sat together at the dinner mat. Silence settled on the gathering. As usual, all of us were afraid to speak in his presence.
“He knifed the silence with his roaring and immediate voice.
“‘I heard you’re hanging out with the fundamentalists.’
“I was caught. My tongue looped and failed. All the words in my mouth attempted to come out at the same time. But, he didn’t wait for the answer. He snatched the teakettle and threw it maliciously at my face. The room spun and the colors united before my eyes. I could no longer tell the ceiling from the walls from the floor, and fell.
“My mother held me. A damp cloth on my forehead reminded me of where I was. The vicious voice turned on my mother, ‘Leave him alone, or you’ll be in the same lot.’
“I crawled out of my mother’s lap and whimpered away to my room. He followed me down the corridor with the cruelest curses.
“There was not a day that he didn’t beat me in some way – curses, kicks, throwing whatever was nearest to his hand. My body had finally become a shiver of fear, grotesque colors formed all over. I hated him.
“One day while we were sitting at the dinner mat, he said, ‘Get up! Don’t eat with us!’
“Before I could get up though, he pounced immediately and kicked me in the back, making me slam into the pots. At that moment, lying there on the ground, I pretended to stand taller than him and shout back in his face. ‘One day, I’ll pay you back. I’ll beat you just like you beat me, and curse you just like you cursed me. I’ll grow up and become strong and you’ll get old and become feeble. Then I’ll treat you just like you treated me; I’ll pay you back.’
“After that, I left home and ran away. I just ran, anywhere, it didn’t matter anymore. “I found my way to this beach. It helped me wash away some of the sadness. I held my pocket Qur’an and began reciting until I could continue no longer because of my excessive crying.”
And here, a few of those innocent tears descended again, tears that sparkled under the moon like pearls under a lamp. I couldn’t say anything. The surprise had arrested my tongue.
Should I be aghast at this beast of a father, whose heart knew nothing about mercy? Or, should I be amazed at this patient young lad, whom Allah had wished guidance for and inspired with faith. Or, should I be shocked at them both, at the father-son bond that had broken, causing their relationship to transform into that of a lion and a tiger, or a wolf and a fox.
I held his warm hand and wiped away a tear from his cheek. I reassured him, prayed for him, and advised him to remain obedient to his father. I told him to remain patient and that he was not alone. I promised that I would meet his father, speak to him, and try to evoke his mercy.
That incident slipped further away with each passing day. I tried thinking of ways to bring up Khalid’s case with his father. How should I speak to him? How was I going to be convincing? How was I even going to knock on his door?
Finally, I collected my courage, rehearsed my plan, and resolved that the confrontation, or meeting, would be that day at five o’clock.
When the time arrived, I left for Khalid’s house with all my ideas and questions for his father dangling from my pockets. I rang the doorbell. My fingers trembled and my knees were melting. The door opened. There he was, standing in the shadow with his frowned lips and veins beating with anger.
I tried beginning with a candid smile hoping it might smooth out some of the wrinkles before we even started. He snatched my collar and jerked me towards him. “You’re that fundamentalist that teaches Khalid at the masjid, aren’t you?”
“Well…uh…yes.”
“God help me, if I ever see you walking with him again, I’ll break your legs. Khalid won’t be coming to your class anymore.”
And then, he mustered all the saliva in his mouth and spit on my face. The door slammed shut.
Slowly, I unfolded a tissue that was in my pocket, wiped what he had honored me with, and retreated down the stairs consoling myself. Allah’s Messenger sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam suffered more than this. They called him a liar, cursed him, stoned him with rocks and caused his feet to bleed. They broke his teeth and placed dung on his back and expelled him from his house.
Day after day, month after month, there was no sign of Khalid. His father forbade him from leaving the house, even for the congregational prayer. He even forbade us from seeing or meeting him. We prayed for Khalid...until we forgot about him. Years passed away.
One night, after the ‘Isha prayer, a shadow walked behind me in the masjid and rested a familiar harsh hand on my shoulder. It was the same hand that held me years ago. The same face, the same wrinkles and the same mouth that honored me with what I was not deserving of. But something had changed. The savage face had shattered. The angry veins had subsided, belittled and still. The body looked tired of all the pain and conflict, weakened by sadness and grief.
“How are you?” I kissed his forehead and welcomed him. We took a corner of the masjid. He collapsed on my lap sobbing.
Subhan Allah, I never thought that that lion would one day become a kitten.
Speak up. What’s wrong? How is Khalid?
“Khalid!” The name was like a dagger piercing his heart, twisting inside, and breaking off. His head slumped.
“Khalid is no longer the same boy that you used to know. Khalid is no longer the generous, calm and humble young lad. After he left your circle he befriended a pack of evil boys; ever since he was little he loved to socialize. They caught him at that time of life when a youth wants to leave the house.
“He began with cigarettes. I cursed him, beat him, but there was no use; his body had grown accustomed to the beatings, his ears were used to the curses. He grew quickly. He started staying up with them all night, not coming home until dawn. His school expelled him. Some nights he would come home to us speaking abnormally, his face loose, his tongue confused, his hands shivering.
“That body, which used to be strong, full, and tender, passed away. What remained was a feeble worn frame. That pure frosty face of his transformed; it became dark and filthy. The scum of misguidance and sin clung to it. Those shy and simple eyes of his changed. They shot red like fire as if everything he drank or took showed immediately in his eyes like some sort of punishment, in this life before the next. Hostility and disrespect replaced that shyness and cowardice he once knew. Gone was that soft, respectful young heart. In its place grew a hardened center, like a rock, if not harder.
“Seldom would a day pass without incident. He would curse, kick, or hit me. Imagine it, my own son. I’m his father, yet he still hits me.”
After releasing all that, his eyes returned wet and bitter. But he added quickly, “I beg you Salman, visit Khalid. Take him with you. You have my blessing, the door is open. Pass by him sometime. He loves you. Register him in the Qur’an study circle. He could go with you on field trips. I have no objection. In fact, I am even willing to allow him to live in your homes and sleep over. The important thing, Salman…the important thing is that Khalid returns to the way he was. I beg you lad. I’ll kiss your hands, warm your feet, I beg you and beg you…”
He collapsed, crying and wheezing, into the memories of the grief and pain. I allowed him to complete everything he had to say. Then I addressed him:
“Despite what has passed, let me try. Brother, you planted this seed. And this is your harvest.”
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Living to Die or Dying to Live?
We are living, all of us.
We are Dying, all of us.
Some people in this world are Living to Die, and others are Dying to Live. What are you doing? It's always something productive to think about.
Shaykh 'Alee bin Hasan al-Halabee said:
"Death is a harsh and fearful reality, faced by everyone who lives.
No one has the power to avoid it, nor does anyone around the dying person have the ability to prevent it.
It is something that happens every moment and it is something encountered by the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the strong and the weak.
They are all the same in that they have no plan, or any means of escaping it, no means of intercession, and no way to prevent it or to delay it."
There is no way around it, there is no way under it, the only way is to go through it. It's the inevitable reality that we will all one day face, whether we are ready or not.
Allah says in the Quran:
"Say: Indeed, the death from which you flee will surely meet you, then you will be sent back to Allaah, the All-Knower of the unseen and the seen. And He will then tell you what you used to do." (62:8)
This is one of the most terrifying thoughts I have ever encountered. Try to take a moment and imagine what this might be like. Every second of your life, every thought you have ever thought, every thing you have ever done, was witnessed by The All-Knower. Now what will you do when you face Him? What will you do when you stand before the One who knows your deepest darkest secrets. The secrets, that if anyone else had known, you would have shied away from them, without a doubt. It is death that brings these thoughts to us, so take Heed. Learn from the lessons of death.
Ibraaheem ibn Adham said, when he was asked about the verse:"Call upon Me, and I will respond to you." (40:60)
They said: "We call upon Allaah, but He does not answer us."
So he said:
"You know Allaah; yet you do not obey Him.
You recite the Qur'aan; yet you do not act according to it.
You know Shaytaan; yet you continue agreeing with him.
You claim to love the Messenger of Allaah (sall-Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam); yet you abandon his Sunnah (guidance and way).
You claim to love Paradise; yet you do not work for it.
You claim to fear the Fire; yet you do not stop sinning.
You say: 'Indeed death is true'; yet you have not prepared for it.
You busy yourself with the faults of others; yet you do not look at your own faults.
You eat the sustenance that Allaah provides for you; yet you are not grateful to Him.
And you bury your dead; yet you have not heeded its lesson."
May Allah cause us to live our lives in a way that will cause us to die upon Laa Ilaha Illah Allah. Ameen.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
I *LoVe* You
*.*.* .There is no LoVe like the LoVe for Allah's Sake. Fisabeelillah. *.*.*
Anas bin Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (PBUH) said, "There are three qualities whoever has them, will taste the sweetness of Iman: To love Allah and His Messenger (PBUH) more than anyone else; to love a slave (of Allah) only for (the sake of) Allah; and to abhor returning to infidelity after Allah has saved him from it as he would abhor to be thrown into the fire (of Hell)".
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Seven are (the persons) whom Allah will give Shade of His Thrown on the Day when there would be no shade other than His Throne's Shade: A just ruler; a youth who grew up worshipping Allah; a man whose heart is attached to mosques; two persons who love and meet each other and depart from each other for the sake of Allah; a man whom an extremely beautiful woman seduces (for illicit relation), but he (rejects this offer by saying): `I fear Allah'; a man who gives in charity and conceals it (to such an extent) that the left hand does not know what the right has given; and a person who remembers Allah in solitude and his eyes well up".
[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "On the Day of Resurrection, Allah, the Exalted, will say: `Where are those who have mutual love for the sake of My Glory? Today I shall shelter them in My Shade when there will be no shade except Mine".
[Muslim].
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "By Him in Whose Hand my soul is! You will not enter Jannah until you believe, and you shall not believe until you love one another. May I inform you of something, if you do, you love each other. Promote greeting amongst you (by saying As-salamu `alaikum to one another)". [Muslim]
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (PBUH) said, "A man set out to visit a brother (in Faith) in another town and Allah sent an angel on his way. When the man met the angel, the latter asked him, "Where do you intend to go?'' He said, "I intend to visit my brother in this town". The angel said, "Have you done any favour to him?'' He said, "No, I have no desire except to visit him because I love him for the sake of Allah, the Exalted, and Glorious.'' Thereupon the angel said, "I am a messenger to you from Allah (to inform you) that Allah loves you as you love him (for His sake)". [Muslim].
Mu`adh (bin Jabal) (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Allah, the Exalted, has said: `For those who love one another for the sake of My Glory, there will be seats of light (on the Day of Resurrection), and they will be envied by the Prophets and martyrs".
[At-Tirmidhi].
Anas bin Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: A man was with the Prophet (PBUH) when another man passed by and the former said: "O Messenger of Allah! I love this man (for Allah's sake)". Messenger of Allah (PBUH) asked, "Have you informed him?'' He said, "No". Messenger of Allah (PBUH) then said, "Tell him (that you love him)". So he went up to the man and said to him, "I love you for the sake of Allah;'' and the other replied, "May Allah, for Whose sake you love me, love you.''
[Abu Dawud].
Sunday, February 3, 2008
The Difference between Sins
It is reported from Imâm Sufyân b. ‘Uyainah – Allâh have mercy on him – that he said:
Whoever’s sin was because of [carnal] desires, hope for him (as he may repent and be forgiven); but whoever’s sin was out of pride, fear for him. For indeed, Âdam sinned out of simple desire, and was forgiven; whereas Iblîs sinned out of pride, and was cursed.
Al-Dhahabî , Siyar A’lâm Al-Nubalâ` in his biography of Sufyân b. ‘Uyainah.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Selfless Love....
Selfless Love....
(by : unknown )
My wife called, "How long will you be poring over that newspaper? Will you come here and make your darling daughter eat her food?"
I tossed the paper away and rushed to the scene. My only daughter, Sindu, looked frightened. Tears were welling up in her eyes. In front of her was a bowl filled to its brim with Curd Rice.
Sindu is a nice child, quite intelligent for her age. She has just turned eight. She particularly detested Curd Rice. My mother and my wife are orthodox, and believe firmly in the 'cooling effects' of Curd Rice! I cleared my throat, and picked up the bowl.
"Sindu, darling, why don't you take a few mouthfuls of this Curd Rice? Just for Dad's sake, dear? And, if you don't, your Mom will shout at me."
I could sense my wife's scowl behind my back. Sindu softened a bit, and wiped her tears with the back of her hands.
"OK, Dad. I will eat - not just a few mouthfuls, but the whole lot of this. But, you should…" Sindu hesitated, "Dad, if I eat this entire curd Rice, will you give me whatever I ask for?"
Oh sure, darling'.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
I covered the pink soft hand extended by my daughter with mine and clinched the deal.
"Ask Mom also to give a similar promise", my daughter insisted.
My wife slapped her hand on Sindu's, muttering, "Promise", without any emotion.
Now I became a bit anxious.
"Sindu dear, you shouldn't insist on getting a computer or any such expensive items. Dad does not have that kind of money right now. OK?"
"No, Dad. I do not want anything expensive."
Slowly and painfully, she finished eating the whole quantity. I was silently angry with my wife and my mother for forcing my child to eat something that she detested.
After the ordeal was through, Sindu came to me with her eyes wide with expectation. All our attention was on her.
"Dad, I want to have my hair shaved off, this Sunday!' was her demand.
"Atrocious!" shouted my wife, "A girl child having her hair shaved off? Impossible!"
"Never in our family!" my mother rasped. "She has been watching too much television. Our culture is getting totally spoiled with these TV programs!"
"Sindu darling, why don't you ask for something else? We will be sad seeing you with a clean-shaven head."
"No, Dad. I do not want anything else", Sindu said with finality.
"Please, Sindu, why don't you try to understand our feelings?" I tried to plead with her.
"Dad, you saw how difficult it was for me to eat that Curd Rice." Sindu was in tears. "And you promised to grant me whatever I ask for. Now, you are going back on your words. Was it not you who told me the story of King Harishchandra, and its moral that we should honor our promises no matter what?"
It was time for me to call the shots. "Our promise must be kept."
"Are you out your mind?" chorused my mother and wife.
"No. If we go back on our promises, she will never learn to honor her own. Sindu, your wish will be fulfilled."
With her head clean-shaven, Sindu had a round-face, and her eyes looked big and beautiful. On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school. It was a sight to watch my hairless Sindu walking towards her classroom. She turned around and waved. I waved back with a smile.
Just then, a boy alighted from a car, and shouted, "Sinduja, please wait for me!"
What struck me was the hairless head of that boy. Maybe, that is the in-stuff, I thought.
"Sir, your daughter Sinduja is great indeed!"
Without introducing herself, a lady got out of the car and continued.
"That boy who is walking along with your daughter is my son Harish. He is suffering from leukemia." She paused to muffle her sobs. "Harish could not attend school for the whole of the last month. He lost all his hair due to the side effects of the chemotherapy. He refused to come back to school fearing the unintentional but cruel teasing of the schoolmates. Sinduja visited him last week and promised him that she would take care of the teasing issue. But, I never imagined she would sacrifice her lovely hair for the sake of my son! Sir, you and your wife are blessed to have such a noble soul as your daughter."
I stood transfixed and then, I wept.
"My little Angel, you are teaching me how selfless real love is!"
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Worth Reading Twice.....
Muslim :: Book 37 : Hadith 6662
Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: There was a person before you who had killed ninety-nine persons and then made an inquiry about the learned persons of the world (who could show him the way to salvation). He was directed to a monk. He came to him and told him that he had killed ninety-nine persons and asked him whether there was any scope for his repentance to be accepted. He said: No. He killed him also and thus completed one hundred. He then asked about the learned persons of the earth and he was directed to a scholar, and he told him that he had killed one hundred persons and asked him whether there was any scope for his repentance to be accepted. He said: Yes; what stands between you and the repentance? You better go to such and such land; there are people devoted to prayer and worship and you also worship along with them and do not come to the land of yours since it was an evil land (for you). So he went away and he had hardly covered half the distance when death came to him and there was a dispute between the angels of mercy and the angels of punishment. The angels of mercy said: This man has come as a penitant and remorseful to Allah and the angels of punishment said: He has done no good at all. Then there came another angel in the form of a human being in order to decide between them. He said: You measure the land to which he has drawn near. They measured it and found him nearer to the land where he intended to go (the land of piety), and so the angels of mercy took possession of it. Qatada said that Hasan told him that it was said to them that as death approached him, he crawled upon his chest (and managed) to slip in the land of mercy.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
It Becomes........
"The heart becomes sick, as the body becomes sick, and its remedy is al-Tawbah and protection [from transgression].
It becomes rusty as a mirror becomes rusty, and its clarity is obtained by remembrance.
It becomes naked as the body becomes naked, and its beautification is at-Taqwa.
It becomes hungry and thirsty as the body becomes hungry and thirst, and its food and drink are knowledge, love, dependence, repentance and servitude."
It becomes rusty as a mirror becomes rusty, and its clarity is obtained by remembrance.
It becomes naked as the body becomes naked, and its beautification is at-Taqwa.
It becomes hungry and thirsty as the body becomes hungry and thirst, and its food and drink are knowledge, love, dependence, repentance and servitude."
~ibn Al- Qayim
Saturday, January 5, 2008
The death of Imam Muslim
On the authority of Ahmad b. Salamah:
A gathering of knowledge and revision was held for Abul-Husayn Muslim b. Al-Hajjāj where a hadīth that he did not know was mentioned. He went home and lit his lamp and said to those at home, “no one should enter the house (disturb me).” He was told, “We have been gifted a basket of dates.” He said, “Put it out for me,” so they served it to him. He started searching for the hadīth and taking a date at a time until the morning, by which time the dates where finished and he had finally found the hadīth.
Muhammad b. ‘Abdillāh (one of the reporters of this narration) added, “A reliable companion of ours added that this was the cause of his death.”
Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā` in his biography of Imām Muslim.
A gathering of knowledge and revision was held for Abul-Husayn Muslim b. Al-Hajjāj where a hadīth that he did not know was mentioned. He went home and lit his lamp and said to those at home, “no one should enter the house (disturb me).” He was told, “We have been gifted a basket of dates.” He said, “Put it out for me,” so they served it to him. He started searching for the hadīth and taking a date at a time until the morning, by which time the dates where finished and he had finally found the hadīth.
Muhammad b. ‘Abdillāh (one of the reporters of this narration) added, “A reliable companion of ours added that this was the cause of his death.”
Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā` in his biography of Imām Muslim.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Al-Hashr
Amazing..........
......subhanAllah
....May Allah put the love of the Quran in our hearts.....
Friday, December 14, 2007
From the sayings of the Salaf about Truthfulness and Sincerity
1- The slave of Allaah cannot actualize 'You are the One that we worship' except with two principles: one of them is following the Messenger and the second is having sincerity (Ikhlaas) for the one worshipped.
Ibn al-Qayyim – 'Tahdeeb al-Madrij' 68
2- Sincerity for Allaah is that a person's intent is for Allaah and intends everything for Him, causing fountains of wisdom to spring up from his heart on to his tongue.
Ibn Taymeeyah – 'an-Naboowaat' 147
3- Whenever the sincerity of the slave of Allaah strengthens, his worship becomes more complete.
Ibn Taymeeyah – 'al-Fatawa' 10/198
4- In relation to the amount of Tawheed a slave has for his Lord, and his sincerity for the religion for Allaah is the amount he is deserving of the generosity of Allaah upon him, from intercession and other things.
Ibn Taymeeyah – 'As-Sarim al-Monkey' 390
5- A person does not show his actions to the creation, except due to his ignorance of the Greatness of the Creator.
Ibn Rajab – 'Kalimat ul-Ikhlaas' 31
6- Ikhlaas cannot be achieved except after having Zuhud, and there is no Zuhud except after having Taqwa, and Taqwa is following the commands (of Allaah and His Messenger) and keeping away from prohibitions.
Ibn Taymeeyah – 'al-Fatawa' 1/94
7- Strive today in implementing Tawheed, since there is nothing that will deliver you to Allaah except Tawheed. Also, be eager in fulfilling its rights, since there is nothing that can save you from the fire except Tawheed.
Ibn Rajab – 'Kalimat ul-Ikhlaas' 54
8- Whoever is sincere in regards to the actions of the Deen , which he does for Allaah, then he is from the pious Awliyah of Allaah.
Ibn Taymeeyah – 'al-Fatawa' 1/8
9- If you correct your hidden deeds subsequently Allaah will correct your outward deeds.
Ibn Taymeeyah – 'al-Fatawa' 3/277
10- Having the correct understanding of the Deen is light which Allaah throws into the heart of the slave of Allaah, which is increased by having the Taqwa of Allaah and having good intent.
Ibn al-Qayyim – 'Ilaam al-Muaq'een' 1/69
11- Ikhlaas is the way to salvation, Islaam is the ship to safety and Emaan is the seal of security.
Ibn al-Qayyim – 'Dar miftah as-Sa'ada' 1/74
12- Certainly the strength of Yusuf's sincerity - alayhi sallam - was stronger than the beauty of Azeez's wife, stronger than her allure, and his want for her.
Ibn Taymeeyah – 'al-Fatawa' 10/602
13 – The heart of the truthful person is filled with the light of truth and he has the light of Emaan.
Ibn al-Qayyim – 'Madarij as-Salikeen' 2/282
14- The sincere person is fortified by Allaah due to his worship of Him Alone, intending his Face Alone. He has humility for Him Alone, and hope in Him Alone, requesting from Him Alone, submissiveness for Him Alone and has a dire need of Him Alone.
Ibn al-Qayyim – 'Madarij as-Salikeen' 2/202
15- There is nothing that drives away the afflictions of this world except Tawheed. That is why the supplication of the distressed person is with Tawheed. Such as, the supplication of Yunus. The distressed person does not supplicate by what Yunus supplicated with except that Allaah releases him from his hardship with Tawheed.
There is nothing more gruesome for the distressed person except shirk, and there is nothing that can rescue you from it except Tawheed, it is the refuge for the creation, its shelter, its fortress and its aid.
Ibn al-Qayyim – 'al-Fawaid' 96
16-The reward is doubled in accordance with one perfecting his Islaam and with his perfecting the strength of Ikhlaas, in that action.
Ibn Rajab – 'Jama' al-Aloom' 2/316
17- If a benefit could be achieved from an action performed without Ikhlaas, then Allaah would not have criticised the hypocrites.
Ibn al-Qayyim – 'al-Fawaid' 65
18- Without doubt al-Ikhlaas negates the reason for entering into the Fire, therefore, who ever enters the fire, from those who said: ' 'la illah ila Allaah' (there is none worthy of worship except Allaah) ' then this is proof that he never implemented the sincerity of ''la illah ila Allaah' ' which would have prohibited him from the fire.
Ibn Taymeeyah – 'al-Fatawa' 10/261
19 – If the slave of Allaah perfects his Tawheed and his sincerity for Allaah and he establishes / fulfills all its conditions with his heart, and his tongue and his limbs then forgiveness for his past sins becomes obligatory.
Ibn Rajab – 'Jama' al-Aloom' 2/417
20 – Fitnah continues upon the heart, except if the Deen of the slave is completely for Allaah.
Ibn Taymeeyah – 'al-Fatawa' 10/545
21- Without doubt, the sincere person has tasted the sweetness of his worship for Allaah, this is what stops him from performing worship for other than Allaah, since there is nothing more sweet or more blessed for the heart than the sweetness of Emaan in Allaah the Lord of the worlds.
Ibn Taymeeyah – 'al-Fatawa' 10/215
22- The different grades of doing actions for Allaah are in relation to what is in the heart from Emaan, sincerity, love and that what follows them.
Ibn al-Qayyim – 'al-Waabil as-Sayib' 22
23- Sincerity is not combined in the heart along with the love of being praised by the people, and being commended by them, and also having greed for what the people have, except like water being combined with fire.
Ibn al-Qayyim – 'al-Fawaid' 267
24- Ikhlaas and Tawheed are a tree in the heart. Its branches are good actions. Its fruits are a good life in this world, and eternal comfort in the Hereafter, and just like in Paradise the fruits whose supply is not cut off, nor are they out of reach, likewise are the fruits of Tawheed and Ikhlaas in this world.
Ibn al-Qayyim – 'al-Fawaid' 292
25- An action done without Ikhlaas and without following the Messenger is like a traveler whose sock becomes filled with sand, which weighs him down, and has no benefit.
Ibn al-Qayyim – 'al-Fawaid' 89
26- Allaah loves from His slave that he beautifies his tongue with the truth, and his heart with Ikhlaas and love, turning repentantly and reliance upon Allaah.
Ibn al-Qayyim – 'al-Fawaid' 327
27- Having sincerity for the Deen of Allaah is the foundation of justice, likewise committing Shirk with Allaah is a great injustice.
Ibn Taymeeyah – 'al-Fatawa' 1/87
Monday, December 3, 2007
Life in this world has an appointed term, and the end of the term will definitely come...
The righteous will die and the wicked will die...
The worriers for just causes will die and those who run from death will die
Those who busy themselves with correct belief will die...
and those who treat people as their slaves will die...
The brave who rejects injustice will die, and the coward who seeks to cling on to the life at any price will die...
The people of great concern and lofty goals will die, and wretched people who live only for cheap enjoyment will die...
Wherever we will be, in a fortress or in a tent, we will die...
The worriers for just causes will die and those who run from death will die
Those who busy themselves with correct belief will die...
and those who treat people as their slaves will die...
The brave who rejects injustice will die, and the coward who seeks to cling on to the life at any price will die...
The people of great concern and lofty goals will die, and wretched people who live only for cheap enjoyment will die...
Wherever we will be, in a fortress or in a tent, we will die...
All will die
Allah says:
Everyone shall taste death...
[Quraan 3: 185]
No one will escape death.
-By Dr. Saleh As-Saleh-
-By Dr. Saleh As-Saleh-
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Gaining (Even More) Reward
11 – On the authority of Abu Huraira –RadhiAllaahu anhu-, the Prophet - sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- had placed Abu Huraira to look after the charity, some one came to him to take from the charity – and this person came night after night, so on the third night Abu Huraira said to him: I will take you to the Messenger of Allaah. So he said Why don't you leave me and I will teach you some words that Allaah will benefit you by - and Abu Huraira was of those who were very attentive regarding good deeds – so the person said to him: When you go to bed, read Ayaat ul-Kursi:
(الله لا إلهَ إلا هُوَ الحيُ القَيُومَ )
Allaah, none has the right to be worshipped except Him The Ever living, The One Who sustains and protects all that exists
[verse 255 from Soorah Baqarah]
Until the end of the Ayaah, then this will continue to be a protection for you from Allaah, and Shaytan will not be able to come near you until the morning arrives. The Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam - said: He spoke the truth even though he is a liar, [that was Shaytan].
12 - The Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said:
Who ever recites the last two Ayaat from Soorah al-Baqarah at night, then those two verses will be sufficient for him.
13 - The Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said:
Shall I not show you what will be better for you than a servant? When you lie down on your bed, say SubhanAllaah 33 times, say al-hamdulillaah 33 times and say Allaahu akbar 34 times.
14 - The Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said:
Who ever wakes up at night, and says: -
لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَه،ُ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْد،ُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ،الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ،وَ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ ، وَلَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ ، وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ ،وَ لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ العليِ الْعَظِيمِ.
'There is none worthy of worship in truth except Allaah Alone, He has no partners, He has the Dominion and for Him is all praise, and He is capable of all things, praise is for Him, and Far is Allaah from imperfection, and There is none worthy of worship in truth except Allaah, and Allaah is the Greatest, there is no capability nor is there any power except with Allaah the Most High the 'Atheem.' (Supreme)
La ilaha 'illa Allaahu wahdahu la shareeka lahu, lahul mulku wa lahul hamdu wa huwa ala kulli shayin qadeer Subhana allaahi, wal hamdu lillaahi, wa la illaah ila Allaah, wa Allaahu akbar
La hawla wa la quwwata illa billaa
Then he says : اللهمَ اغْفِرْلي O Allaah forgive me (Allaahumma aghfirlee), or he supplicates and his supplication is answered, and if he makes Wudu and prays then his prayer is accepted.
15- The Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam - said:
Who ever goes to bed with purification….there is not an hour of the night that he asks Allaah for something of good from this world and the hereafter, except that Allaah grants him that which he asked for.
16 – Abu Salma said that he heard Abu Qatada say that he heard the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- say:
A good dream is from Allaah –Tabaraka wa Ta'ala- and a bad dream is from Shaytaan, so if anyone sees something in his dream which he dislikes, then he should spit on his left side 3 times when he awakens, and he should seek refuge with Allaah from its evil, then it will not harm him if Allaah so wills.
17 - The Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam - said:
A good dream is from Allaah, so if any one of you sees something in his dream that he likes, then he should not relate it to anyone except the one whom he loves, and if he sees that which he dislikes, then he should not relate it to anyone, rather he should spit on his left side 3 times, and he should seek refuge with Allaah from the evil of the accursed shaytaan, and the evil of what he saw, then it will not harm him.
18- The Messenger of Allaah - sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said:
Our Lord –Tabarak wa Ta'ala- descends every night to the lowest heavens, when there remains the last third part of the night, and He says who is there that supplicates to me so that I may answer his supplication, who is there that asks of me so that I may grant him what he asks for, who is there that seeks my forgiveness so that I may forgive him.
19 - The Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam - said:
Indeed, there is an hour from the night, which if a Muslim asks Allaah in that time from the good of the affairs of this world and the hereafter, then Allaah gives him of it, and that is in every night.
20 – On the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said:
Whoever says, as he leaves from his house:
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ ، تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللَّهِ ،ولَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ تعالى
In the name of Allaah, I have placed my trust in Allaah, and there is no capability nor is there any power except with Allaah Ta'ala
Bismillaahi tawwakaltu alalaahi wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billahi taa'la
then it is said to him: indeed you have been saved, and you have been protected, and you have been guided, and shaytaan has been kept away from him, so another shaytaan says: how can you affect a man who has indeed been guided and saved and been protected.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Gaining Rewards
Gaining Rewards
The Hadeeth of the Prophet which were chosen for their great rewards for easy actions
Hadeeth taken from 'Saheeh al-Kalima at-Tayyib'
By Shaykhul Islaam Ibn Taymeeyah
And Checked by
Muhammad Nasir-rudeen al-Albani
Compiled by
Hajaj bin Abdullaah al-Areeni
Translated by
Abbas Abu Yahya
1- The Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said :
Whoever says: -
لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَه،ُ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْد،ُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
'There is none worthy of worship in truth except Allaah Alone, He has no partners, to Him belongs the Dominion and for Him is all praise, and He is capable of all things.' –
La ilaha 'illa Allaahu wahdahu la shareeka lahu, lahul mulku wa lahul hamdu wa huwa ala kulli shayin qadeer
One hundred times in one day, then it is equivalent to him freeing ten slaves, a hundred good deeds are written for him, a hundred bad deeds are erased, it is a protection for him against shaytaan during that day until the evening, and no one comes with a better deed than him except for the man who does more actions than him.
2 – The Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said:
Whoever says: -
سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ
'Far is Allaah from imperfection and all praise is for Him'
Subhana allaahi wa bihamdihi
One hundred times in one day, then his mistakes / sins are cancelled out, even if they are like the foam on the ocean.
3 – The Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said:
There are two words which are gentle on the tongue, heavy on the scales, and beloved to ar-Rahmaan: -
: سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ ، سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ الْعَظِيمِ.
'Far is Allaah from imperfection and praise is for Him, Far is Allaah The Sublime from imperfection
Subhana allaahi wa bihamdihi, Subhana allaahil atheem
4 - The Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said:
Indeed that I say:
سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ ، وَلَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ ، وَاللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ
'Far is Allaah from imperfection, and all praise be to Allaah, and there is none worthy of worship in truth except Allaah, and Allaah is the Greatest,'
Subhana allaahi, wal hamdu lillaahi, wa la illaah ila Allaah, wa Allaahu akbar
- is more beloved to me than what the sun rose upon.
5 - The Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said:
Is one of you so weak that he cannot acquire a thousand good deeds everyday? So a questioner from amongst those sitting there asked him: How can anyone of us gain a thousand rewards?
He said: say:
سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ
- Far is Allaah from imperfection –
Subhana allaahi
A hundred times, so a thousand good deeds are written for him or a thousand sins are cancelled for him.
6 - The Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said :
Shall I not inform you of a statement, which is a treasure from the treasures of Paradise? I said: Yes O Messenger of Allaah, may my father and mother be sacrificed for you! He said: say:
لَا حَوْلَ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ
There is no capability nor is there any power except with Allaah.
La hawla wa la quwwata illa billaa
7 - The Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said:
Whoso ever, reaches the morning & reaches the evening and he says:
سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ
-'Allaah is far from imperfection and all praise is for Him' –
Subhana allaahi wa bihamdihi
One hundred times, then no one brings anything better than him on the day of judgment, than what he has brought. Except the one who says what he has said, or has said more than him.
8 – On the authority of Mua'ad bin Abdillaah ibn Khubayb on the authority of his father who said we went out on a very dark and rainy night searching for the Messenger of Allaah so that he could pray for us, then I found him and he -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam - said : Recite. So I did not say anything, then he said: Recite. So I did not say anything, and he said: Recite, so I said: what should I recite? He said: recite:
"قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ"
'Say that Allaah is the One.' And the last two Soorahs (al-muawaathatayan ) in the evening and the morning, three times for it will suffice you for everything.
9 - The Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said :
Indeed the major supplication for forgiveness is to say
اللَّهُمَّ أَنْتَ رَبِّي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ خَلَقْتَنِي وَأَنَا عَبْدُكَ وَأَنَا عَلَى عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّ مَا صَنَعْتُ أَبُوءُ لَكَ بِذَنْبِي وَأَبُوءُ لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ فَاغْفِرْ لِي فَإِنَّهُ لَا يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا أَنْتَ
O Allaah You are my Lord, there is none worthy of worship in truth except You, You created me and I am Your slave and I abide to Your covenant and promise as best as I can, I seek refuge in You from the evil that I have committed, I profess to you my sins and I acknowledge Your favour upon me, so forgive me verily no one forgives sins except you.
Allaahumma anta rabbee, la ilaha illa anta, Khalaqtanee, wa ana abduka, wa ana ala ahdika wa wa'dika mastata'tu, a'outhu bika min sharri ma sanatu, aboo'u laka bini'matika alayya, wa aboo'u bee thambee, faghfirlee fa'innahu la yaghfiru ath-thunooba 'illa 'anta
So if the worshipper says this when the morning arrives, truly believing in it and he dies, enters Paradise, and if he says this when the evening arrives truly believing in it enters Paradise.
10 - The Messenger of Allaah -sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam- said:
There is not one from amongst the worshippers, that if he says, in the morning of everyday and the evening of every night: -
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الَّذِي لَا يَضُرُّ مَعَ اسْمِهِ شَيْءٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا فِي السَّمَاءِ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ
In the name of Allaah with whose name nothing is harmed what so ever, on this earth nor in the heavens whatsoever, and He is the All Hearing and All Knowing
Bismil-lahil-lathee la yadhurru ma'a 'issmihi shay'un fil 'ardhi wa la fissama'i wa huwa 'as-samee'ul –'aleem
Three times nothing harms him what so ever.
More to come inshaAllah...
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Useless Matters
"There are ten useless matters that cannot be benefited from:
• Knowledge that is not implemented
• An action that is empty of sincerity, and is not based on the correct example
• Wealth that is hoarded, as the owner neither enjoys it during this life, nor obtains any reward for it in the Hereafter
• The heart that is empty of love and longing for Allāh, and of seeking closeness to Him
• A body that does not obey and serve Allāh
• Loving Allāh without seeking His pleasure
• Time that is not spent in expiating sins or seizing opportunities to perform deeds of righteousness that will bring one closer to Allāh
• A mind that thinks about issues which bring about no benefit
• Serving those who neither bring you close to Allāh or benefit you in your life
• Hoping and fearing one who is under the authority of Allāh, and whose forehead is in His Hand, while he cannot bring any benefit, harm, life, death, or resurrection to himself.
However, the greatest of these matters is the wasting of the heart, and the wasting of time. Wasting the heart is done by preferring this worldly life over the Hereafter, and wasting time is done by having incessant hopes. All evil is in following one’s desires and having incessant hopes, while all goodness is found in following the right path and preparing oneself to meet Allāh, and Allāh is the source of Assistance."
-Ibn Al qayim, in his book al-Fawā’id
• Knowledge that is not implemented
• An action that is empty of sincerity, and is not based on the correct example
• Wealth that is hoarded, as the owner neither enjoys it during this life, nor obtains any reward for it in the Hereafter
• The heart that is empty of love and longing for Allāh, and of seeking closeness to Him
• A body that does not obey and serve Allāh
• Loving Allāh without seeking His pleasure
• Time that is not spent in expiating sins or seizing opportunities to perform deeds of righteousness that will bring one closer to Allāh
• A mind that thinks about issues which bring about no benefit
• Serving those who neither bring you close to Allāh or benefit you in your life
• Hoping and fearing one who is under the authority of Allāh, and whose forehead is in His Hand, while he cannot bring any benefit, harm, life, death, or resurrection to himself.
However, the greatest of these matters is the wasting of the heart, and the wasting of time. Wasting the heart is done by preferring this worldly life over the Hereafter, and wasting time is done by having incessant hopes. All evil is in following one’s desires and having incessant hopes, while all goodness is found in following the right path and preparing oneself to meet Allāh, and Allāh is the source of Assistance."
-Ibn Al qayim, in his book al-Fawā’id
Monday, November 19, 2007
They were youths, yet mature youths....
"...They were youths, yet mature youths, their eyes fresh and free of evil, their feet refrained from approaching falsehood and futility.
They sacrificed and expended themselves in worship and in withholding themselves from sleep. They sold their souls which were to pass away for souls which would never die.
Allaah saw them in the latter part of the night, bending their backs, reciting the Qur'aan. Whenever one of them came to an Aayah mentioning Paradise, he would weep, longing for it. Whenever he came upon an Aayah mentioning the fire he would groan out of fear, as if the Hell-fire were directly in front of him.
The earth devoured their knees their hands and their foreheads (out of their constant prostration). They joined exhaustion in the night with exhaustion in the day. Their colour becoming yellowed and their bodies emaciated through standing long in prayer and frequent fasting - whilst they regarded their own actions to be negligible before Allaah.
They fulfilled their covenant with Allaah and attained Allaah's promise."
So let us hasten to be like them and to resemble them, since, as it was said: We are not in comparison to those who came before except like small herbs growing beside the trunks of tall palm trees.
And as 'Abdullaah Ibn al-Mubaarak said: Do not mention us whilst mentioning them, the fit and healthy when he walks is not like the crippled.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
The Lowest Depths of Hell
It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There are four characteristics, whoever has them all is a pure hypocrite, and whoever has one of them has one of the characteristics of hypocrisy, until he gives it up: when he speaks he lies, when he makes a covenant he betrays it, when he makes a promise he breaks it, and when he disputes he resorts to obscene speech.”Narrated by al-Bukhaari (34) and Muslim (58).
Ibn Abi Mulaykah said: I met thirty of the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), all of whom feared being hypocrites, and none of them ever said that he had faith equivalent to that of Jibreel and Mikaa’eel.
Hasan Al-Basri used to say (concerning hypocrisy): "No one fears it but a believer and no one feels safe from it but a hypocrite".
Undoubtedly, the hypocrites are in the lowest section of the Hell, and you shall never get any helper for them.
Oh Allah....protect us from Nifaaq al akbar and Nifaaq al Asghaar....and enter us into jannat Al Firdaws Al-Alaa.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
We have eaten, yet tasted nothing.....
Backbiting, it scares me, we do it...and we dont even realize it. What will say on yawm Al hisab when we are asked about the things we said......?
Backbiting and the faster (sa'im)....
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Backbiting damages the fast. It was narrated from ‘Aa’ishah, and al-Awzaa’i also said this, that backbiting breaks the fast of the fasting person and he has to make up that day. Ibn Hazm went further and said: It is invalidated by every sin that a person commits deliberately, when he is aware that he is fasting, whether it is an action or a word, because of the general meaning of the words “he should not utter obscene speech or behave in an ignorant manner” and because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it, Allaah has no need of his giving up his food and drink.” End quote.
What is Backbiting?
When the Prophet was asked about backbiting, he answered: “To mention your brother in a manner which he dislikes”. Then he was asked, “What if my brother actually has (this failing) that I made mention of?” The Prophet said: “If (that failing) is actually found in your brother, you in fact backbit him, and if that is not in him it is a slander.” [Muslim]
so....anything he dislikes WHETHER OR NOT I WOULD HAVE SAID IT IN FRONT OF HIM/HER....scary.....
`Aa’ishah said: “I said to the Prophet : 'It's bad enough that Safiyyah is such and such. (Some of narrators said: she is short).' He said: "You have said a word which, if it could be mixed with the water of the sea, it would have been… (i.e., the enormity of it is such that, if it were mixed with the vast water of the sea, it would spoil it.)" [Abu Daawood]
'Amr Ibn Shu`ayb narrated from his father from his grandfather: (the people) mentioned a man to the Messenger of Allaah saying: "He doesn't eat until he is fed and he doesn't visit anybody until they have visited him first." The Prophet said: "You have backbit him." They said: "O Messenger of Allaah! We have mentioned about him something which is true." He said: "It is bad enough that you have mentioned something about your brother which is true." [Al-Asbahaani]
all he said here was "He doesn't eat until he is fed and he doesn't visit anybody until they have visited him first."
ya Allah.....
Why do people back bite anyway?
"The motive for backbiting is often anger and a thirst for revenge, whereas the believer is supposed to control his anger. Or, it may be intended to degrade the one being backbit and to thereby exalt oneself, which tends to indicate a feeling of arrogance, and arrogance is prohibited by clear scriptural texts. Furthermore, the enmity and other such bad consequences of backbiting are detrimental to society and its smooth functioning. In general, a Muslim is supposed to deal well with people, except if there is some justifying misconduct from the opposite party."
"O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion, for some suspicions are a sin. Do not spy on one another, nor backbite one another. Would one of you love to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Nay, you would abhor it, [so similarly, avoid backbiting]. And fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful." Qur'an, [49:12]
"He does not utter a [single] word, except that there is, with him, [an angel] ready and waiting [to record it]." Qur'an, [50:18]
"Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should say [something] good, or he should keep silent." [Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah]
Mu`adh ibn Jabal said, "Are we even going to be held accountable for what we say?!"
The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, "May your mother be bereaved of you! Is there anything which drags people into the Fire on their faces other than the harvest of their tongues?!" [Tirmidhi (hasan sahih)]
"Indeed, truthfulness leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Heaven. And, a man [continues to] tell the truth, until he is recorded before Allah as a truthful one. And, indeed, lying leads to evil, and evil leads to Hell. And, a man [continues to] lie until he is recorded before Allah as a liar. [Bukhari, Muslim]
"Insulting a Muslim is impiety, and killing him is [a form of] unbelief." [Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, Tirmidhi, Tabarani, Daraqutni.]
May Allah protect us from this sin, Keep us from being dragged into hellfire because of what our tongues have harvested....and protect our siyam this month. Ya Allah...make Jannat-al-firdows-al Ala be our final abode.....
Sunday, September 16, 2007
A Class Divided
an AMAZING documentary, subhanAllah. The only important ones really (in my opinion) are the first two. Watch them both they are about 17 minutes in total.
>>>Click here<<<
The titles on the above website are:
1. The Daring Lesson (must watch)
2. Day two (must watch)
3. 14 years later
4. Teaching it to adults
5. how the adults reacted
>>>Click here<<<
The titles on the above website are:
1. The Daring Lesson (must watch)
2. Day two (must watch)
3. 14 years later
4. Teaching it to adults
5. how the adults reacted
Monday, September 10, 2007
Sunday, September 9, 2007
You've got it rough..... or do you?
Had a rough day? Been unhappy lately? What about them:
Think Your job is tough? What about his:
Think your salary is low? Now think about her:
Do you think studying is a burden? What about her:
When you feel like giving up....think of this man:
Do you think you suffer through life? Do you suffer such as he does:
Do you complain about your transportation system? Think of them:
Is society unfair to you? What about this woman:
That's Life for you. Allah has given us so much, yet still we find ourselves caught up in a 'my life stinks' mentality. What if you were in any one of these people's places? Would you then think that the current situation you are in 'stinks'?
May Allah increase us in gratitude to Him. May He make us content with what we have. May He make us crave the Hereafter. May He enter us into the paradise under which rivers flow.
Think Your job is tough? What about his:
Think your salary is low? Now think about her:
Do you think studying is a burden? What about her:
When you feel like giving up....think of this man:
Do you think you suffer through life? Do you suffer such as he does:
Do you complain about your transportation system? Think of them:
Is society unfair to you? What about this woman:
That's Life for you. Allah has given us so much, yet still we find ourselves caught up in a 'my life stinks' mentality. What if you were in any one of these people's places? Would you then think that the current situation you are in 'stinks'?
May Allah increase us in gratitude to Him. May He make us content with what we have. May He make us crave the Hereafter. May He enter us into the paradise under which rivers flow.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Not Without Her Make-up
I do not clearly remember the first time I was here. My earliest memories of Australia start when I was around six or seven, probably my first trip after I was born in the city of Sydney. My parents were not particularly happy with the idea of me growing up there. So, they took me out to Iran at the first opportunity.
As I grew up, my impressions of Sydney were formed from stories I heard from my parents, shows I watched on television and of course, what I saw on my trips. From my first trip at the age of seven, I vaguely remember the people I met and the places I visited. I remember more from my second trip, though, which was at the age of fourteen. I recall my parents warning me over and over again about how women were treated in a society so fundamentally Western.
While I was there, I learnt that individuality was something Australians only dreamt about. I soon discovered I had to conform to the dress code everyone else followed. I had to have my hair highlighted and defrizzed. I had to spend between fifteen ad twenty minutes every morning brushing it and putting on clips and hair ties. I had to make it into a ponytail one day, a braid the next and a bun when I went to dinner parties. I was coerced to wear short skirts and tight tops, with a push-up bra to give me cleavage. My legs had to show, smooth and unscarred, and everyone had to be able to make out my waist.
They told me I had to 'fit in'. Part of the ritual of fitting in meant that I had to paint my face with what they called make-up everyday. I discovered that Australian females liked to attract as much attention as they could to themselves, by hiding behind their make-up. They made their kohl in liquids and pencils, instead of pots like we do, and sold them in stores under a range of different names and prices. They all seemed the same to me, though. Anyhow, I bought what they told me to buy and used what they told me to use, from lipsticks to abdominizers, changing my body from head to toe to please their male gods. Such things ensured that everyone wanted to 'hang out' with me (a term denoting something to the effect of spending time and/or social acceptance).
In the five years between then and now, I had convinced myself that Australia would have joined other countries on the road to progress. But my return to Sydney both shocks and saddens me. While many parts of the world have seen development, Australia has dragged behind, especially with regards to the status of women. It seems as if it has only succeeded in digging itself deeper into a bottomless pit of regression. At this rate, I fear that Australia is a second America in the making.
Upon arrival, I have come across some typical Sydney women. I can see that they are dictated by the strict dress code imposed on them by the social system. They are not allowed to wear loose clothing, headscarves until they are old or ailing, and it is preferred that they show as much of their bodies as possible. Women who break this rule face harsh penalties. Sarah, a victim of such injustices, told me the specifics. As punishment for wearing non-revealing clothing, she is deemed unattractive and given unequal treatment by her employers. She says she is not considered 'normal'.
A day in the life of a normal woman here requires her appearance to be the focal point. Her sexuality must be available for everyone to consume. She cannot choose to whom she will disclose her intimate parts or excercise her sexuality. She does not have much choice in what she wants to do with her body. Since the fundamentalist regime insists that it must be available for display in a certain manner, she must follow these rules.
The rules are based on the Australian Holy Scriptures, two of which are Dolly and Cosmopolitan. Also known as magazines, these contain the teachings of hard-liner editors and reporters/writers who design the way in which society must view women and the way women must dress and act. Since the advent of these magazines, there have been mass conversions in the country to the faith they preach. Authority and control have been transferred onto them and they play a vital role in the life of women. They have institutionalised radical guidelines such as the 36:24:36 measurement of a woman's body. Furthermore, they propagate intolerance and hate to be internalised in all women - hate for their own bodies, natural intelligence, privacy and inherent dignity. These women are brainwashed into believing that their Creator is to blame for their deficiencies in not automatically meeting these standards.
In accordance with these oppressive impositions, the country's commerce has developed. Industry is devoted to the development of products to assist women in looking as artificial as possible. The market is filled with products for the face and every different part of it plus the hair, the hands, the legs, the nails...the list goes on. I suppose one must concede to the fact that Australia's delayed development causes it to prioritise looks over the fact that millions of people in the world go hungry.
It is interesting to look at some of the advertisements for the beauty products. I will warn you, though, that coming from an emancipated society, these will be very disturbing. For instance, an advertisement for hair colour uses the motto "L'Oreal - because I'm worth it". A model in an ad for a shampoo claims that using the shampoo gives her more confidence. These poor women must shampoo, condition and colour their hair in order to legitimise themselves. They need the perfect curl, the right bounce and the shiniest colour. Their value to society is directly linked to their hair.
Other significant practices are the prevalent marriage customs. A woman is required to perform the ceremonial 'going out', which can span any period of time from a day to ten years. This starts as early as primary school and as she grows up, she goes out with various men. Until she finds the one she wishes to marry, she does not commit to any one man.
All the men she goes out with are allowed to touch her and sleep with her. All this time, her status and acceptance in society is determined by how many of these men she has accommodated in her life. The greater the quota of men, the more sufficient she is considered. Particularly in high school, young girls have little to contribute to their own identities. Their identities derive from who they go out with and how many boys they go out with. Though this kind of mental torture is less obvious in later years of their life, my conversations with many women in university and work indicate that they still suffer. Some feel they must get married in order to make a place for themselves.
Marriage, though, is subject to a bizarre rule. A woman cannot legally marry until she is eighteen years old without parental consent. It is soically expected, however, for girls under eighteen to lose their virginity. When I was listening to one of the popular radio stations, 2DayFM, I was informed that the average age that Australians lost their virginity at is between thirteen and fifteen. As a consequence of this, many girls under eighteen become pregnant. Society accepts these girls as mothers before eighteen but does not allow them to have husbands, who could also take responsibility as fathers to the children born. While women must bear the responsibility of parenthood, men can get away with it. This is one of the many contradictions that exist in Australia today.
Inequalities also exist for women who do get married. Marriage requires the woman to play multiple roles. She must be wife, mother and often a breadwinner of the family. She shoulders the responsibility of taking care of her husband and children at home while also earning money not only for herself, but also for the family. Whatever she earns is not solely her property. Unlike Islamic societies, her husband and her family have a claim to her income and she even pays for groceries!
Often, she is not given the choice of whether she wants to stay at home or work. The society she lives in enshrines materialism and money, money and more money. It is vital to their lifestyle. As a result, she must go out and work. On top of that, her position in society is judged on her ability to work outside the home. She must suffer the greatest burden in society. She really does not have the right to choose. Can you imagine a life where your identity is judged by everything you have and not everything you are?
Even more surprising is the widespread cultural practice of women changing their surnames to that of their husbands' once they are married. Amanda, a law student, who opposes this practice, tells me that, in previous times, this act symbolised the transfer of all of a woman's rights and property to her husband from her father. Though the custom of a woman becoming her husband's property has ceased to exist, women still change their names to that of their husbands'.
Seeing all this, I am aware that Australian women are denied the rights that are basic to many Muslim women. What concerns me, though, is whether or not they are aware of that fact.
I remember from my second trip to Australia that I felt I had a Western noose tied around my neck. I felt I had no space to breathe or to let myself free. The air around me cloaked my beauty, my spirit and my soul. But I was lucky. I could leave.
Most of the Australian women I spoke to do not have that alternative. They do not even know of their plight. They are pushed into a corner where they cannot see outside the boundaries of such a fundamentally Western society. Women immune to Western correctness - mostly the educated Muslims - have begun programmes to educate others around them. They are asserting themselves by breaking out of the confinement, wearing loose clothing and denying just anyone access to their sexuality. I see their efforts as a glimmer of hope. It is crucial that before women can improve their lot, they are taught the rights they have that society has taken away from them.
Nevertheless, there is still hope. I call upon all the Muslim women in the world to come to the rescue of Australian women. I urge that all of us stand up against Western oppression in different parts of the world. It is our responsibility to bring progress into these societies and it is up to us to save them.
By Tazin Abdullah
Friday, August 17, 2007
...The One Who Would Fight the World With Me...
I miss that person you used to be
before you decided to become all "free"
I miss that person with some sense
The one who carefully chose her friends
The one who chose the clear Islam
The one who I knew would walk like that, till the end.
But the times have changed, and so have you
You have become someone else, some one new.
No more bounds of Halal and Haram
The rules can be changed to no longer be wrong
But in the end...I don't miss You
I miss my friend from before everything became so 'new'
The one who knew Islam was the Key
The one who would fight the world with me
THAT was the person YOU used to be.
before you decided to become all "free"
I miss that person with some sense
The one who carefully chose her friends
The one who chose the clear Islam
The one who I knew would walk like that, till the end.
But the times have changed, and so have you
You have become someone else, some one new.
No more bounds of Halal and Haram
The rules can be changed to no longer be wrong
But in the end...I don't miss You
I miss my friend from before everything became so 'new'
The one who knew Islam was the Key
The one who would fight the world with me
THAT was the person YOU used to be.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Do Not Let the Sun Set Before You Arrive at Your Destination
"Know that the greatest of losses is for you to be preoccupied with one who will bring you nothing but a loss in your time with Allah - the Mighty and Majestic - and being cut off from Him, a wasting your time with the person, a weakening of your energy, and the dispersing of your resolve. So, if you are tested with this - and you must be tested with this - deal with him according to how Allah would wish, and be patient with him as much as possible. Get closer to Allah and His Pleasure by way of this person, and make your getting together with him something to benefit from, not something to incur a loss from. Be with him as if you are a man who is on a road who was stopped by another man, who then asks you to take him on your journey. Make sure that you are the one who gives him a ride, and that he is not the one giving you the ride. If he refuses, and there is nothing to gain from travelling with him, do not stop for him, bid him farewell, and do not even turn back to look at him, as he is a highway robber, regardless of who he really is.
So, save your heart, be wary of how you spend your days and nights, and do not let the Sun set before you arrive at your destination." -- Ibn Al Qayim
['al-Wabil as-Sayyib'; p. 45]
So, save your heart, be wary of how you spend your days and nights, and do not let the Sun set before you arrive at your destination." -- Ibn Al Qayim
['al-Wabil as-Sayyib'; p. 45]
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Do u want to taste Jannah???
| حدثني عبيد الله بن سعيد وإسحق بن منصور كلاهما عن روح قال عبيد الله حدثنا روح بن عبادة القيسي حدثنا ابن جريج قال أخبرني أبو الزبير أنه سمع جابر بن عبد الله يسأل عن الورود فقال نجيء نحن يوم القيامة عن كذا وكذا انظر أي ذلك فوق الناس قال فتدعى الأمم بأوثانها وما كانت تعبد الأول فالأول ثم يأتينا ربنا بعد ذلك فيقول من تنظرون فيقولون ننظر ربنا فيقول أنا ربكم فيقولون حتى ننظر إليك فيتجلى لهم يضحك قال فينطلق بهم ويتبعونه ويعطى كل إنسان منهم منافق أو مؤمن نورا ثم يتبعونه وعلى جسر جهنم كلاليب وحسك تأخذ من شاء الله ثم يطفأ نور المنافقين ثم ينجو المؤمنون فتنجو أول زمرة وجوههم كالقمر ليلة البدر سبعون ألفا لا يحاسبون ثم الذين يلونهم كأضوإ نجم في السماء ثم كذلك ثم تحل الشفاعة ويشفعون حتى يخرج من النار من قال لا إله إلا الله وكان في قلبه من الخير ما يزن شعيرة فيجعلون بفناء الجنة ويجعل أهل الجنة يرشون عليهم الماء حتى ينبتوا نبات الشيء في السيل ويذهب حراقه ثم يسأل حتى تجعل له الدنيا وعشرة أمثالها معها |
Jabir bin 'Abdullah's
Abu Al-Zubair reported that Jabir bin 'Abdullah was asked about the Advent (of people on the Day of Resurrection). He said: We would come on the Day of Resurrection like this, like this, and see, carefully, that which concerns elevated people. He (the narrator) said: Then the people would be summoned along with their idols whom they worshipped, one after another. Then our Lord would come to us and say: Whom are you waiting for? they would say: We are waiting for our Lord. He would say: I am your Lord. They would say: (We are not sure) till we gaze at You. And He would manifest Himself to them smilingly, and would go along with them and they would follow Him; and every person, whether a hypocrite or a believer, would be endowed with a light, and there would be spikes and hooks on the bridge of Hell, which would catch hold of those whom Allah willed. Then the light of the hypocrites would be extinguished, and the believers would secure salvation, and the first group to achieve salvation would comprise seventy thousand men who would have the brightness of full moon on their faces, and they would not be called to account. Then the people immediately following them would have their faces as the brightest stars in the heaven. This is how (the groups would follow one after another). Then the stage of intercession would come, and they (who are permitted to intercede) would intercede, till he who had declared: "There is no god but Allah" and had in his heart virtue of the weigh of a barley grain would come out of the Fire. They would be then brought in the courtyard of Paradise and the inhabitants of Paradise would begin to sprinkle water over them till they would sprout like the sprouting of a thing in flood water, and their burns would disappear. They would ask their Lord till they would be granted (the bounties) of the world and with it ten folds more besides it. (sahih muslim 278)
Thursday, July 5, 2007
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Sunday, July 1, 2007
What You Don't Realize.....
It seems Muslim women have taken a liking to being like the west...what they don't realize, is they have everything to lose.
'Women of this society were told by their feminist mothers..."Do something with your life; don't depend upon a man to take care of you; don't make the same mistakes I did." So they have made different mistakes. They are the women who postponed marriage and childbirth to pursue their careers only to find themselves at thirty-five still single and baby-crazy, with no husband in sight. They are the unwed mothers who now depend upon the state to provide what the fathers of their children won't-- a place to live and an income to support the kids They are the eighteen-year old girls who believed they could lead the unfettered sexual lives of men, only to end up in an abortion clinic or attending grade twelve English while eight months pregnant. They are the new brides who understand that when a couple promises to stay together forever, they have little better than a fifty-fifty chance of sticking to it. They are the female partners at law firms who thought they'd made provisions for everything about their careers-- except for that sudden, unexpected moment when they find their insides shredding the first day they return from maternity leave, having placed their infants in a stranger's arms.' They are the mothers of this society. Don't fall into the mistakes they did.
'Women of this society were told by their feminist mothers..."Do something with your life; don't depend upon a man to take care of you; don't make the same mistakes I did." So they have made different mistakes. They are the women who postponed marriage and childbirth to pursue their careers only to find themselves at thirty-five still single and baby-crazy, with no husband in sight. They are the unwed mothers who now depend upon the state to provide what the fathers of their children won't-- a place to live and an income to support the kids They are the eighteen-year old girls who believed they could lead the unfettered sexual lives of men, only to end up in an abortion clinic or attending grade twelve English while eight months pregnant. They are the new brides who understand that when a couple promises to stay together forever, they have little better than a fifty-fifty chance of sticking to it. They are the female partners at law firms who thought they'd made provisions for everything about their careers-- except for that sudden, unexpected moment when they find their insides shredding the first day they return from maternity leave, having placed their infants in a stranger's arms.' They are the mothers of this society. Don't fall into the mistakes they did.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
'I used to pray when i was younger'
when wrong becomes right, and the only inspiration is taken from the tv:
i used to pray when i was younger
but my conscience...is no longer
the older i get the less i have to fight
the ideas and things that used to be right
my rules and regulations are no longer the same
because of the money and its newly brought fame
our lives changed because of the cash
and we wear it about us as if it were a sash
the more we get, the more we want
but the more we get, the more it haunts
we are no longer the muslims, we used to be
we are simply the replicas of what we see on TV
we can mimic the west right down to the dot
forget our ancestors, who, for islam, they fought!
the pressure is growing, to be like the "best"
but little do we know, we used to be better than the rest
but my conscience...is no longer
the older i get the less i have to fight
the ideas and things that used to be right
my rules and regulations are no longer the same
because of the money and its newly brought fame
our lives changed because of the cash
and we wear it about us as if it were a sash
the more we get, the more we want
but the more we get, the more it haunts
we are no longer the muslims, we used to be
we are simply the replicas of what we see on TV
we can mimic the west right down to the dot
forget our ancestors, who, for islam, they fought!
the pressure is growing, to be like the "best"
but little do we know, we used to be better than the rest
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
From Precious Jewels to Rhinestones
I recently learned of a planet two galaxies from earth which is quite different than ours. The planet is covered in light blue hair, which grows out of the ground. A yellow liquid, which is said to look like ice cold lemonade, fills their ponds and runs from their taps. On this planet, lives a unique set of beings that seem to be separated into two types, the melas and famels. They do not look like humans, rather they are beings with three legs, three arms, and the famels have two jewels on each thigh. Each famel has a different and unique set of jewels which belongs to her and her alone. The melas have no such things to hide, and feel joy in looking at such precious jewels. They line these famels up and put them behind glass walls, so that they can feed their desires, by looking at the jewels, at whatever time they please. No punishment is sent upon them for their infatuation, rather it is encouraged, in any, and every way possible.
The older members of this society tell a story of the past that bewilders the majority of this planet. However, some wish that this mentality would return, and also see the wisdom behind it. The story goes that there was once a time when famels would hide these jewels that were at their side, and only showed them to those who deserved that joy. Only the rebels would go against this norm, and show their jewels to other onlookers. Special covers were made for these jewels, to conceal that they were even there. They covered a large part of each thigh so that the shape was not apparent. Only onlookers, who knew that each famel was born with jewels, knew of their presence. Each morning, the famels put on their coverings, hoping, just hoping, that onlookers would not feel the desire to rip them off and indulge in what was not theirs. When asked when the changes began to take place, the replies were one and the same.
They began to speak about a movement. One that was needed, but some how, was spun into a different direction. They tell of times, when the famels of their society were looked at as if they were slaves, and servants to the melas. Some even argued that these famels were without lungs. To them, lungs meant everything, and it removed them from the category of evil. They fought for the rights they knew that they deserved. They wanted the same rights as the melas. They wanted to be identified as the beings they were rather than the lung-less slaves they were condemned to be. To the streets they went, picketing, boycotting, doing anything and everything they could to make their statement. They did everything they could to win their fight.
Slowly, and painfully, they began to reap the fruits of their labor. Right after right was restored, but this wasn't good enough for them. Rather than fighting for the rights that the melas had, they began to fight to be melas. Some of the conservative famel beings began to drop out of the movement, afraid of living on a planet full of melas, but most persisted. The rules and guidelines they had all known before were fading. At the beginning, they said, the jewels still had their covering, still untouched. But as the years progressed, and changed, so did those coverings. They began to become tighter, to show form and shape. Hearts, diamonds, and circles began to be apparent on the thighs of these famels, the color concealed, but not much else. When they could no longer become tighter, they began to change color. The solid color that was once there, which helped conceal what was beneath, began to morph. First it became brighter, catching the attention of all those who walked by. Glitter and sequins began to find their way onto the once plain material. After this, they became lighter, the color fading, until the coverings were sheer. The melas saw this and egged it on. The more jewel the famels would show, the more rights they would get. Was it because the melas respected them more? No. It was because the melas wanted to see more of these precious jewels without holding any sort of responsibility to the bearers of them.
The melas began to enter the realm of fashion, designing the beautiful garments these famels would wear. Somewhere along the line, as fashion changed, the coverings seemed to completely disappear. Rather than the old, virtuous, jewel cover, there was a hole. These holes fit each jewel in way that the maximum amount of beauty would radiate from them. Anyone who wore the covering, was old fashioned, and was looked at as someone who lived in the past, unaware of the "vindication" that had occurred. Many of these famels, with the uncovered jewels began to try to help the "old fashioned brow-beaten" famels, but to their surprise, they didn't want it. This angered many of the "liberated" famels, and they even began to try to make laws against them. Many melas on this planet complain at the fact that their precious jewels on their precious wives are now shown to everyone, even though many don't deserve to see them. They speak of how they work, and work, for their famels hoping to come to home to someone who was truly theirs, but when they enter the doors of their home, it isn't so. Although most of their wives remain faithful, they cannot help but feel the pangs that hit them, one after another, when they realize the unspeakable truth. Their precious jewels, on their precious wives, have become nothing more than mere rhinestones...
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Close Your Eyes and Imagine.....
Ibn al-Qayyim said, in regards to the description of the Paradise and the delights that it contains:
"And if you ask about its ground and its soil, then it is of musk and saffron.
And if you ask about its roof, then it is the Throne of the Most Merciful.
And if you ask about its rocks, then they are pearls and jewels.
And if you ask about its buildings, then they are made of bricks of gold and silver.
And if you ask about its trees, then it does not contain a single tree except that its trunk is made of gold and silver.
And if you ask about its fruits, then they are softer than butter and sweeter than honey.
And if you ask about its leaves, then they are softer than the softest cloth.
And if you ask about its rivers, then there are rivers of milk who's taste does not change, and rivers of wine that is delicious to those who drink it, and rivers of honey that is pure, and rivers of water that is fresh.
And if you ask about their food, then it is fruits from whatever they will choose, and the meat of whatever birds they desire.
And if you ask about their drink, then it is Tasneem, ginger, and Kaafoor.
And if you ask about their drinking cups, then they are crystal-clear and made of gold and silver.
And if you ask about its shade, then a fast rider would ride in the shade of one of its trees for a hundred years and not escape it.
And if you ask about its vastness, then the lowest of its people would have within his kingdom and walls and palaces and gardens the distance that would be travelled in a thousand years.
And if you ask about its tents and encampments, then one tent is like a concealed pearl that is sixty miles long.
And if you ask about its towers, then they are rooms above rooms in buildings that have rivers running underneath them.
And if you ask about how far it reaches into the sky, then look at the shining star that is visible, as well as those that are far in the heavens that the eyesight cannot possibly reach.
And if you ask about the clothing of its inhabitants, then they are of silk and gold.
And if you ask about its beds, then its blankets are of the finest silk laid out in the highest of its levels.
And if you ask about the faces of its inhabitants and their beauty, then they are like the image of the Moon.
And if you ask about their age, then they are young ones of 33 years in the image of Adam, the father of humanity.
And if you ask about what they will be hearing, then it is the singing of their wives from among the Hoor al-'Ayn, and better than that are the voices of the Angels and the Prophets, and better than that is the Speech of the Lord of the Worlds.
And if you ask about their servants, then they are young boys of everlasting youth who resemble scattered pearls.
And if you ask about their brides and wives, then they are young and full-breasted and have had the liquid of youth flow through their limbs; the Sun runs along the beauty of her face if she shows it, light shines from between her teeth if she smiles; if you meet her love, then say whatever you want regarding the joining of two lights; he sees his face in the roundness of her cheek as if he is looking into a polished mirror, and he sees the brightness from behind her muscles and bones; if she were to be unleashed upon the World, she would fill what is between the Heavens and the Earth with a beautiful wind, and the mouths of the creation would glorifiy, praise, and exclaim greatness, and everything between the East and the West would be adorned for her, and every eye would be shut from everthing but her, and the light of the Sun would be outshone just as the light of the Sun outshines the light of the stars, and everyone on the face of the Earth would believe in the Ever-Living, the One who Sustains and Protects all the exists.
And the covering on her head is better than the World and all that is in it, and she does not increase with age except in beauty; free from an umbilical cord, childbirth and menses, and pure of mucous, saliva, urine and other filthy things; her youth never fades, her clothing is never worn out, no garment can be created that matches her beauty, and no one who is with her can ever become bored; her attention is restricted to her husband, so she desires none but him, just as his attention is restricted to her so she is the sole object of his desire, and he is with her in utmost safety and security, as none has touched her before of either humans or Jinn.
And if you ask about the Day of Increase (in reward) and the visit of the all-Mighty, all-Wise, and the sight of His Face - free from any resemblance or likeness to anything - as you see the Sun in the middle of the day and the full Moon on a cloudless night, then listen on the day that the caller will call: 'O People of Paradise! Your Lord - Blessed and Exalted - requests you to visit Him, so come to visit Him!' So they will say: 'We hear and obey!'
Until, when they finally reach the wide valley where they will all meet - and none of them will turn down the request of the caller - the Lord - Blessed and Exalted - will order His Chair to be brought there. Then, pulpits of light will emerge, as well as pulpits of pearls, gemstone, gold, and silver. The lowest of them in rank will sit on sheets of musk, and will not see what those who are on the chairs above them are given. When they are comfortable where they are sitting and are secure in their places, and the caller calls: 'O People of Paradise! You have an appointment with Allaah in which He wishes to reward you!' So they will say: 'And what is that reward? Has He not already made our faces bright, made our scales heavy, entered us into Paradise, and pushed us away from the Fire?'
And when they are like that, all of a sudden a light shines that encompasses all of Paradise. So, they raise their heads, and, behold: the Compeller - Exalted is He, and Holy are His Names - has come to them from above them and majestified them and said: 'O People of Paradise! Peace be upon you!' So, this greeting will not be responded to with anything better than: 'O Allaah! You are Peace, and from You is Peace! Blessed are You, O possessor of Majesty and Honor!' So the Lord - Blessed and Exalted - will laugh to them and say: 'O People of Paradise! Where are those who used to obey Me without having ever seen Me? This is the Day of Increase!'
So, they will all give the same response: 'We are pleased, so be pleased with us!' So, He will say: 'O People of Paradise! If I were not pleased with you, I would not have made you inhabitants of My Paradise! So, ask of Me!' So, they will all give the same response: 'Show us your Face so that we may look at it!' So, the Lord - Mighty and Majestic - will remove his covering and will majestify them and will cover them with His Light, which, if Allaah - the Exalted - had not Willed not to burn them, would have burned them.
And there will not remain a single person in this gathering except that his Lord - the Exalted - will speak to him and say: 'Do you remember the day that you did this and that?' and He will remind him of some of his bad deeds in the Worldy life, so he will say: 'O Lord! Will you not forgive me?' So, He will say: 'Of course! You have not reached this position of yours (in Paradise) except by my forgiveness.'
So, how sweet is this speech to the ears, and how cooled are the righteous eyes by the glance at His Noble Face in the Afterlife...
{Some faces that Day will be shining and radiant, l ooking at their Lord...} (al-Qiyaamah:22-3)
[from the amazing and beautiful book Haadi al-Arwaah ilaa Bilaad il-Afraah by Ibn al-Qayyim, pg. 193]
http://www.kalamullah.com/paradise.html
"And if you ask about its ground and its soil, then it is of musk and saffron.
And if you ask about its roof, then it is the Throne of the Most Merciful.
And if you ask about its rocks, then they are pearls and jewels.
And if you ask about its buildings, then they are made of bricks of gold and silver.
And if you ask about its trees, then it does not contain a single tree except that its trunk is made of gold and silver.
And if you ask about its fruits, then they are softer than butter and sweeter than honey.
And if you ask about its leaves, then they are softer than the softest cloth.
And if you ask about its rivers, then there are rivers of milk who's taste does not change, and rivers of wine that is delicious to those who drink it, and rivers of honey that is pure, and rivers of water that is fresh.
And if you ask about their food, then it is fruits from whatever they will choose, and the meat of whatever birds they desire.
And if you ask about their drink, then it is Tasneem, ginger, and Kaafoor.
And if you ask about their drinking cups, then they are crystal-clear and made of gold and silver.
And if you ask about its shade, then a fast rider would ride in the shade of one of its trees for a hundred years and not escape it.
And if you ask about its vastness, then the lowest of its people would have within his kingdom and walls and palaces and gardens the distance that would be travelled in a thousand years.
And if you ask about its tents and encampments, then one tent is like a concealed pearl that is sixty miles long.
And if you ask about its towers, then they are rooms above rooms in buildings that have rivers running underneath them.
And if you ask about how far it reaches into the sky, then look at the shining star that is visible, as well as those that are far in the heavens that the eyesight cannot possibly reach.
And if you ask about the clothing of its inhabitants, then they are of silk and gold.
And if you ask about its beds, then its blankets are of the finest silk laid out in the highest of its levels.
And if you ask about the faces of its inhabitants and their beauty, then they are like the image of the Moon.
And if you ask about their age, then they are young ones of 33 years in the image of Adam, the father of humanity.
And if you ask about what they will be hearing, then it is the singing of their wives from among the Hoor al-'Ayn, and better than that are the voices of the Angels and the Prophets, and better than that is the Speech of the Lord of the Worlds.
And if you ask about their servants, then they are young boys of everlasting youth who resemble scattered pearls.
And if you ask about their brides and wives, then they are young and full-breasted and have had the liquid of youth flow through their limbs; the Sun runs along the beauty of her face if she shows it, light shines from between her teeth if she smiles; if you meet her love, then say whatever you want regarding the joining of two lights; he sees his face in the roundness of her cheek as if he is looking into a polished mirror, and he sees the brightness from behind her muscles and bones; if she were to be unleashed upon the World, she would fill what is between the Heavens and the Earth with a beautiful wind, and the mouths of the creation would glorifiy, praise, and exclaim greatness, and everything between the East and the West would be adorned for her, and every eye would be shut from everthing but her, and the light of the Sun would be outshone just as the light of the Sun outshines the light of the stars, and everyone on the face of the Earth would believe in the Ever-Living, the One who Sustains and Protects all the exists.
And the covering on her head is better than the World and all that is in it, and she does not increase with age except in beauty; free from an umbilical cord, childbirth and menses, and pure of mucous, saliva, urine and other filthy things; her youth never fades, her clothing is never worn out, no garment can be created that matches her beauty, and no one who is with her can ever become bored; her attention is restricted to her husband, so she desires none but him, just as his attention is restricted to her so she is the sole object of his desire, and he is with her in utmost safety and security, as none has touched her before of either humans or Jinn.
And if you ask about the Day of Increase (in reward) and the visit of the all-Mighty, all-Wise, and the sight of His Face - free from any resemblance or likeness to anything - as you see the Sun in the middle of the day and the full Moon on a cloudless night, then listen on the day that the caller will call: 'O People of Paradise! Your Lord - Blessed and Exalted - requests you to visit Him, so come to visit Him!' So they will say: 'We hear and obey!'
Until, when they finally reach the wide valley where they will all meet - and none of them will turn down the request of the caller - the Lord - Blessed and Exalted - will order His Chair to be brought there. Then, pulpits of light will emerge, as well as pulpits of pearls, gemstone, gold, and silver. The lowest of them in rank will sit on sheets of musk, and will not see what those who are on the chairs above them are given. When they are comfortable where they are sitting and are secure in their places, and the caller calls: 'O People of Paradise! You have an appointment with Allaah in which He wishes to reward you!' So they will say: 'And what is that reward? Has He not already made our faces bright, made our scales heavy, entered us into Paradise, and pushed us away from the Fire?'
And when they are like that, all of a sudden a light shines that encompasses all of Paradise. So, they raise their heads, and, behold: the Compeller - Exalted is He, and Holy are His Names - has come to them from above them and majestified them and said: 'O People of Paradise! Peace be upon you!' So, this greeting will not be responded to with anything better than: 'O Allaah! You are Peace, and from You is Peace! Blessed are You, O possessor of Majesty and Honor!' So the Lord - Blessed and Exalted - will laugh to them and say: 'O People of Paradise! Where are those who used to obey Me without having ever seen Me? This is the Day of Increase!'
So, they will all give the same response: 'We are pleased, so be pleased with us!' So, He will say: 'O People of Paradise! If I were not pleased with you, I would not have made you inhabitants of My Paradise! So, ask of Me!' So, they will all give the same response: 'Show us your Face so that we may look at it!' So, the Lord - Mighty and Majestic - will remove his covering and will majestify them and will cover them with His Light, which, if Allaah - the Exalted - had not Willed not to burn them, would have burned them.
And there will not remain a single person in this gathering except that his Lord - the Exalted - will speak to him and say: 'Do you remember the day that you did this and that?' and He will remind him of some of his bad deeds in the Worldy life, so he will say: 'O Lord! Will you not forgive me?' So, He will say: 'Of course! You have not reached this position of yours (in Paradise) except by my forgiveness.'
So, how sweet is this speech to the ears, and how cooled are the righteous eyes by the glance at His Noble Face in the Afterlife...
{Some faces that Day will be shining and radiant, l ooking at their Lord...} (al-Qiyaamah:22-3)
[from the amazing and beautiful book Haadi al-Arwaah ilaa Bilaad il-Afraah by Ibn al-Qayyim, pg. 193]
http://www.kalamullah.com
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Flying While Muslim
As I board the plane, I look out the window, getting ready for the ride of a lifetime. I know there is something different about this time. For some reason everyone is looking at me, thinking I am different, thinking that I am “the weird one”. I have a window seat; the seat gives a full view of the wing. The wing is elegantly painted in red, with black letters. Letters that spell out the name, Terry. The name brings back memories, memories that are unique, and make me who I am today. Flying in this airplane today reminds me of when I was flying through high school. Flying, while Muslim.
It all began the day that I walked into high school. That summer I had made a decision, a decision that would single me out of all of the girls at school. The decision to begin wearing hijab. When I walked into the building with that scarf on my head, and my long shirt and pants, the entire school seemed to come to a screeching halt. The entire school fixed its eyes on me, wondering, “What happened to this girl over the summer?” This was just the beginning, little did I know, there was more to come. The days seemed to fly by; I had my normal friends, and did everything with them. But slowly, I began to change. I began to research my religion, and find out a new meaning to hijab.
When I first walked into that high school, both I and the rest of the students thought I was simply putting a scarf on my head, but I was far from right. I began to realize that hijab was much more than simply a scarf on my head. Hijab implied modesty, hijab implied humility, and that was something I really had to work on. Slowly as the months flew by, my actions began to change. My dress began to change to fit my personality. Although I had entered Terry High as a girl with pants and a shirt, I ended up as a girl dressed in a long Islamic dress, known as jilbab.
This change was hard for me, but I think it was harder on others. My friends were not friends for long. As soon as I began to stray away from being ‘hip’ and ‘cool’ I realized that my friends were straying away from me. Things such as, leaving guys, and only taking girls as my friends, seemed absurd and backwards to them. My unique, individualistic, ways began to attract a different crowd. The crowd who did not judge you based on what you wore or how you wore it. This exclusive group would remain my friends until my graduation.
To the staff at my school, I was a new project. Some one they wanted to mold, and shape, until I became the “perfect student.” I caught the eye of the senior school official; let’s call him ‘Mr. Smith’. He was both intrigued by my ways, and worried at the same time. He felt that I was oppressed, and had no problem voicing his opinion. Slowly, as I began to love my religion more, he began to work harder to “protect” me. He finally could not handle it anymore when I let him know that I would no longer be shaking his hand. I tried to have him understand the concept behind my decision, but he was not open minded to my ideas. Despite the fact that I told him, it’s a religious thing, how not shaking hands was preserving my modesty, and that no man would ever touch me, except for my husband, and close relatives, his mind stayed sealed. He felt that, as my principal, he had the right to shake my hand and show his pride to me, but he was no where near right. I stood my ground and watched him complain. He even contacted my mother to try to get her to change my mind, but to his despair, this did not work. His efforts persisted, until the day of my graduation, but that’s something that I shall save for later.
As the days flew by, I continued to change. A change that was, what I saw to be, for the better. My most vivid memory of those fast paced days was when the high school’s most religious boy, let’s call him ‘Mike’, decided I was his project. He decided that he was going to make me Christian, no matter what it took. After he made this decision, he began to pop up in random places-just waiting for me. His persistence was quite admirable, but to his agony, it did not work. He began to get impatient, not understanding why I would not become Christian, and took a permanent seat at my lunch table. Day after day - for weeks - he would come and sit at that table, until finally he couldn’t take it any longer. He began to get angry, and yell, when his efforts would not work. He had decided that I was going to hell, and everyone in the cafeteria should know it. I finally could not take it any more, one day at lunch, after he had his biggest fit, ever. He began to yell about how “hell would be [my] final abode” and nothing would save me except following him to his religion. I knew I had to deal with him, for he was making too big of a scene, and I chose the method which I thought would work best. It was the method of calmness. After his rant, I had him sit down. I let him know that if he wanted anyone to convert to Christianity he would have to get some knew tactics. I let him know that I was fully convinced with my religion and that if he really wanted someone to convert, he should find a new project, because that person was not going to be me. He realized that his screaming and yelling only pushed people farther away from Christianity. After that day, he never spoke to me again, not even once.
The days continued to fly by, in front of my eyes, until finally the day of my graduation came. I decided this was going to be done my way, or not done at all. I had rules that I wanted to implement and wanted to see that they were done. I arrived at the stadium, and walked straight into the faculty room. I let them know that, with all my heart, I did not want to shake any guys’ hand on that stage, much less give them hugs. After the stage of shock that they went through disappeared, they began to work. They came up with a plan, which would not only fit my needs, but make them happy as well. My senior official was a little reluctant, but he had to agree. As I walked across the stage, I passed supervisor after supervisor and assistant principal after assistant principal, without touching one hand. ‘Mr. Smith’ put it in his last effort when I reached the picture station. He reached out for my hand, but strongly, I shook my head. As I reached my final destination, the end of that stage, I knew that I had done it. I had made my statement, and graduated on my terms.
As I look around the plane now, I realize that everyone is looking at me, waiting for something. As it turns out, while I was reminiscing in old memories, about my transformation, some one had asked the question “Why do you wear that thing on your head?” So as I begin to explain my hijab, I smile, knowing that I would have never been able to answer this question properly, had I flown in any direction, other than high school.
Friday, April 20, 2007
A home away from home....
Sunday, April 15, 2007
True Faith & The speaking Child
An amazing story that's bound to give you chills......
It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “On the night on which I was taken on the Night Journey (Isra’), a beautiful fragrance came to me. I said: O Jibreel, what is this beautiful fragrance? He said: This is the fragrance of the hairdresser of Pharaoh’s daughter and her children. I said: What is their story? He said: Whilst she was combing the hair of Pharaoh’s daughter one day, the iron comb fell from her hand and she said, ‘Bismillaah (in the name of Allaah).’ The daughter of Pharaoh said: ‘My father?’ She said: ‘No. My Lord and the Lord of your father is Allaah.’ She said: ‘I will tell him about that.’ She said: ‘Yes.’ So she told him and he summoned her and said: ‘O So and so, do you have a Lord other than me?’ She said: ‘Yes, my Lord and your Lord is Allaah.’ He ordered that a baqarah (lit. “cow”) made of copper be heated up, then he ordered that she and her children be thrown into it. She said: ‘I have a request to make of you.’ He said: ‘What is your request?’ She said: ‘I would like my bones and my children’s bones to be gathered together in one cloth and buried.’ He said: ‘This will be done for you.’ He ordered that her children be thrown into it in front of her, one by one, until they came to the last one who was an infant boy who was still being breastfed. It was as if she wavered because of him, but he said: ‘O mother, go ahead, for the punishment of this world is easier to bear than the punishment of the hereafter.’ So she went ahead.” Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: Four infants spoke: ‘Eesa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him), the companion of Jurayj, the witness of Yoosuf and the son of the hairdresser of Pharaoh’s daughter.
Narrated by Imam Ahmad in al-Musnad (1/309), al-Tabaraani (12280), Ibn Hibbaan (2903) and al-Haakim (2/496).
Friday, April 13, 2007
You are flawless diamonds. Don't let them trick you into becoming rhinestones.
An article written by a Christian woman---
Between the Israeli assault on Lebanon and the Zionist "war on terror," the Muslim world is now center stage in every American home. I see the carnage, death and destruction that have befallen Lebanon, but I also see something else: I see you. I can't help but notice that almost every woman I see is carrying a baby or has children around her. I see that though they are dressed modestly, their beauty still shines through. But it's not just outer beauty that I notice. I also notice that I feel something strange inside me: I feel envy. I feel terrible for the horrible experiences and war crimes that the Lebanese people have suffered, being targeted by our common enemy. But I can't help but admire your strength, your beauty, your modesty, and most of all, your happiness. Yes, it's strange, but it occurred to me that even under constant bombardment, you still seemed happier than we are, because you were still living the natural lives of women. The way women have always lived since the beginning of time. It used to be that way in the West until the 1960s, when we were bombarded by the same enemy. Only we were not bombarded with actual munitions, but with subtle trickery and moral corruption.
They bombarded us Americans from Hollywood, instead of from fighter jets or with our own American-made tanks. They would like to bomb you in this way too, after they've finished bombing the infrastructure of your countries. I do not want this to happen to you. You will feel degraded, just like we do. You can avoid this kind of bombing if you will kindly listen to those of us who have already suffered serious casualties from their evil influence. Because everything you see coming out of Hollywood is a pack of lies, a distortion of reality, smoke and mirrors. They present casual sex as harmless recreation because they aim to destroy the moral fabric of the societies into which they beam their poisonous programming. I beg you not to drink their poison. There is no antidote for it once you have consumed it. You may recover partially, but you will never be the same. Better to avoid the poison altogether than to try to heal from the damage it causes.
They will try to tempt you with their titillating movies and music videos, falsely portraying us American women as happy and satisfied, proud of dressing like prostitutes, and content without families. Most of us are not happy, trust me. Millions of us are on anti-depressant medication, hate our jobs, and cry at night over the men who told us they loved us, then greedily used us and walked away. They would like to destroy your families and convince you to have fewer children. They do this by presenting marriage as a form of slavery, motherhood as a curse, and being modest and pure as old-fashioned. They want you to cheapen yourself and lose your faith. They are like the Serpent tempting Eve with the apple. Don't bite.
I see you as precious gems, pure gold, or the "pearl of great value" spoken of in the Bible (Matthew 13: 45). All women are pearls of great value, but some of us have been deceived into doubting the value of our purity. Jesus said: "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you" (Matthew 7: 6). Our pearls are priceless, but they convince us that they're cheap. But trust me; there is no substitute for being able to look in the mirror and seeing purity, innocence and self-respect staring back at you. The fashions coming out of the Western sewer are designed to make you believe that your most valuable asset is your sexuality. But your beautiful dresses and veils are actually sexier than any Western fashion, because they cloak you in mystery and show self-respect and confidence. A woman's sexuality should be guarded from unworthy eyes, since it should be your gift to the man who loves and respects you enough to marry you. And since your men are still manly warriors, they deserve no less than your best. Our men don't even want purity anymore. They don't recognize the pearl of great value, opting for the flashy rhinestone instead. Only to leave her too.
Your most valuable assets are your inner beauty, your innocence, and everything that makes you who you are. But I notice that some Muslim women push the limit and try to be as Western as possible, even while wearing a veil (with some of their hair showing). Why imitate women who already regret, or will soon regret, their lost virtue? There is no compensation for that loss. You are flawless diamonds. Don't let them trick you into becoming rhinestones. Because everything you see in the fashion magazines and on Western television is a lie. It is Satan's trap. It is fool's gold.
I'll let you in on a little secret, just in case you're curious: pre-marital sex is not even that great. We gave our bodies to the men we were in love with, believing that that was the way to make them love us and want to marry us. Just as we had seen on television growing up. But without the security of marriage and the sure knowledge that he will always stay with us, it's not even enjoyable! That's the irony. It was just a waste. It leaves you in tears. Speaking as one woman to another, I believe that you understand that already. Because only a woman can truly understand what's in another woman's heart. We really are all alike. Our race, religion or nationalities do not matter. A woman's heart is the same everywhere. We love. That's what we do best. We nurture our families and give comfort and strength to the men we love. But we American women have been fooled into believing that we are happiest having careers, our own homes in which to live alone, and freedom to give our love away to whomever we choose. That is not freedom. And that is not love. Only in the safe haven of marriage can a woman's body and heart be safe to love. Don't settle for anything less. It's not worth it. You won't even like it and you'll like yourself even less afterwards. Then he'll leave you.
Sin never pays. It always cheats you. Even though I have reclaimed my honor, there's still no substitute for having never been dishonored in the first place. We Western women have been brainwashed into thinking that you Muslim women are oppressed. But truly, we are the ones who are oppressed; slaves to fashions that degrade us, obsessed with our weight, begging for love from men who do not want to grow up. Deep down inside, we know that we have been cheated. We secretly admire and envy you, although some of us will not admit it. Please do not look down on us or think that we like things the way they are. It's not our fault. Most of us did not have fathers to protect us when we were young because our families have been destroyed. You know who is behind this plot. Don't be fooled, my sisters. Don't let them get you too. Stay innocent and pure. We Christian women need to see what life is really supposed to be like for women. We need you to set the example for us, because we are lost. Hold onto your purity. Remember: you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. So guard your "toothpaste" carefully!
I hope you receive this advice in the spirit in which it is intended: the spirit of friendship, respect, and admiration. --- Your Christian Sister
THE REALITY
Between the Israeli assault on Lebanon and the Zionist "war on terror," the Muslim world is now center stage in every American home. I see the carnage, death and destruction that have befallen Lebanon, but I also see something else: I see you. I can't help but notice that almost every woman I see is carrying a baby or has children around her. I see that though they are dressed modestly, their beauty still shines through. But it's not just outer beauty that I notice. I also notice that I feel something strange inside me: I feel envy. I feel terrible for the horrible experiences and war crimes that the Lebanese people have suffered, being targeted by our common enemy. But I can't help but admire your strength, your beauty, your modesty, and most of all, your happiness. Yes, it's strange, but it occurred to me that even under constant bombardment, you still seemed happier than we are, because you were still living the natural lives of women. The way women have always lived since the beginning of time. It used to be that way in the West until the 1960s, when we were bombarded by the same enemy. Only we were not bombarded with actual munitions, but with subtle trickery and moral corruption.
They bombarded us Americans from Hollywood, instead of from fighter jets or with our own American-made tanks. They would like to bomb you in this way too, after they've finished bombing the infrastructure of your countries. I do not want this to happen to you. You will feel degraded, just like we do. You can avoid this kind of bombing if you will kindly listen to those of us who have already suffered serious casualties from their evil influence. Because everything you see coming out of Hollywood is a pack of lies, a distortion of reality, smoke and mirrors. They present casual sex as harmless recreation because they aim to destroy the moral fabric of the societies into which they beam their poisonous programming. I beg you not to drink their poison. There is no antidote for it once you have consumed it. You may recover partially, but you will never be the same. Better to avoid the poison altogether than to try to heal from the damage it causes.
They will try to tempt you with their titillating movies and music videos, falsely portraying us American women as happy and satisfied, proud of dressing like prostitutes, and content without families. Most of us are not happy, trust me. Millions of us are on anti-depressant medication, hate our jobs, and cry at night over the men who told us they loved us, then greedily used us and walked away. They would like to destroy your families and convince you to have fewer children. They do this by presenting marriage as a form of slavery, motherhood as a curse, and being modest and pure as old-fashioned. They want you to cheapen yourself and lose your faith. They are like the Serpent tempting Eve with the apple. Don't bite.
I see you as precious gems, pure gold, or the "pearl of great value" spoken of in the Bible (Matthew 13: 45). All women are pearls of great value, but some of us have been deceived into doubting the value of our purity. Jesus said: "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you" (Matthew 7: 6). Our pearls are priceless, but they convince us that they're cheap. But trust me; there is no substitute for being able to look in the mirror and seeing purity, innocence and self-respect staring back at you. The fashions coming out of the Western sewer are designed to make you believe that your most valuable asset is your sexuality. But your beautiful dresses and veils are actually sexier than any Western fashion, because they cloak you in mystery and show self-respect and confidence. A woman's sexuality should be guarded from unworthy eyes, since it should be your gift to the man who loves and respects you enough to marry you. And since your men are still manly warriors, they deserve no less than your best. Our men don't even want purity anymore. They don't recognize the pearl of great value, opting for the flashy rhinestone instead. Only to leave her too.
Your most valuable assets are your inner beauty, your innocence, and everything that makes you who you are. But I notice that some Muslim women push the limit and try to be as Western as possible, even while wearing a veil (with some of their hair showing). Why imitate women who already regret, or will soon regret, their lost virtue? There is no compensation for that loss. You are flawless diamonds. Don't let them trick you into becoming rhinestones. Because everything you see in the fashion magazines and on Western television is a lie. It is Satan's trap. It is fool's gold.
I'll let you in on a little secret, just in case you're curious: pre-marital sex is not even that great. We gave our bodies to the men we were in love with, believing that that was the way to make them love us and want to marry us. Just as we had seen on television growing up. But without the security of marriage and the sure knowledge that he will always stay with us, it's not even enjoyable! That's the irony. It was just a waste. It leaves you in tears. Speaking as one woman to another, I believe that you understand that already. Because only a woman can truly understand what's in another woman's heart. We really are all alike. Our race, religion or nationalities do not matter. A woman's heart is the same everywhere. We love. That's what we do best. We nurture our families and give comfort and strength to the men we love. But we American women have been fooled into believing that we are happiest having careers, our own homes in which to live alone, and freedom to give our love away to whomever we choose. That is not freedom. And that is not love. Only in the safe haven of marriage can a woman's body and heart be safe to love. Don't settle for anything less. It's not worth it. You won't even like it and you'll like yourself even less afterwards. Then he'll leave you.
Sin never pays. It always cheats you. Even though I have reclaimed my honor, there's still no substitute for having never been dishonored in the first place. We Western women have been brainwashed into thinking that you Muslim women are oppressed. But truly, we are the ones who are oppressed; slaves to fashions that degrade us, obsessed with our weight, begging for love from men who do not want to grow up. Deep down inside, we know that we have been cheated. We secretly admire and envy you, although some of us will not admit it. Please do not look down on us or think that we like things the way they are. It's not our fault. Most of us did not have fathers to protect us when we were young because our families have been destroyed. You know who is behind this plot. Don't be fooled, my sisters. Don't let them get you too. Stay innocent and pure. We Christian women need to see what life is really supposed to be like for women. We need you to set the example for us, because we are lost. Hold onto your purity. Remember: you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube. So guard your "toothpaste" carefully!
I hope you receive this advice in the spirit in which it is intended: the spirit of friendship, respect, and admiration. --- Your Christian Sister
Monday, April 9, 2007
The forgotten trait---
shyness....self-respect....bashfulness....shame....honor....humility....bashfulness....
constraint....coyness....decency....delicacy....demureness....diffidence....discreetness.... humbleness....humility....inhibition....innocence....meekness....purity....quietness....reserve simplicity....timidity....virtuous.
The Prophet said, "Faith consists of more than sixty branches. And Haya is a part of faith." (Bukhari)
Narrated on the authority of Anas bin Malik, the Prophet said: When lewdness is a part of anything, it becomes defective; and when haya is a part of anything it becomes beautiful. (Tirmidhi)
Abdullah ibn Umar narrated that the Prophet said: "Indeed haya (modesty) and Iman are Companions. When one of them is lifted, the other leaves as well." (Baihaqi)
Malik ibn Uhaimir reported that he heard the Prophet saying that, "Allah will not accept any good deeds or worship of an immodest and vulgar person." We asked "Who is a vulgar and immodest person?" He replied, "A man who's wife entertains Ghair-mehram men."
Narrated by Al-Mughira: Sa'd bin 'Ubada said, "I will not hesitate killing my wife with a sword if I see her with another man" This news reached Allah's Apostle who then said, "You people are astonished at Sa'd's Ghira. By Allah, I have more Ghira than he, and Allah has more Ghira than I, and because of Allah's Ghira, He has made unlawful shameful deeds and sins done in open and in secret. And there is none who likes that the people should repent to Him and beg His pardon than Allah, and for this reason He sent the warners and the givers of good news. And there is none who likes to be praised more than Allah does, and for this reason, Allah promised to grant Paradise (to the doers of good)." 'Abdul Malik said, "No person has more Ghira than Allah." (Sahih Bukhari)
Ghirah is an Arabic word which means protectiveness or jealousy. It is a good type of jealousy, like when a man feels jealous or protective over his wife or sisters and other-womenfolk and doesn't like other men to look at them. It is a natural inbuilt feeling Allah has given men and women. The Prophet had the most Ghirah for his wives and all of the companions were known for their Gheerah. All Muslim men should have a collective sense of protectiveness for Muslim women as Allah says in the Qur'an: "The Men are the protectors and maintainers of women…" (Surah An-Nisaa, Ayah 34). Men who do not care about how their women behave and appear in front of other men and don't enforce hijaab upon their wives or women-folk are called Dayyooth. Being a Dayyooth is a major sin and a detailed discription of this evil characteristic can be found in adh-Dhahabee's book of Major Sins (Kitaab ul-Kabaa'ir).
Haya itself is a Greatness of Islam as our Prophet indicated: "Every way of life has a innate character. The character of Islam is haya." Or "Every deen has an innate character. The character of Islam is modesty (haya)." (Abu Dawood) Thirdly, Haya only brings good and nothing else. Our Prophet (saw) said: "Haya does not bring anything except good." (Bukhari) Fourthly, Haya is a very clear indication of our eeman. As the Prophet (saw) had mentioned to the Ansar who was condemning is brother about being shy: "Leave him, for Haya is (a part) of Faith." (Bukhari)
Aisha (ra) stated the virtues of the women of the Ansaar, "shyness does not keep them from getting an understanding of the religion" (Recorded by al-Bukhari)
The Messenger of Allah, said, "From the words of the previous prophets that people still find are: "If you feel no shame, then do as you wish", Reported by al-Bukhari.
The Prophet passed by a man who was admonishing his brother regarding Haya and was saying, "You are very shy, and I am afraid that might harm you." On that, Allah's Apostle said, "Leave him, for Haya is (a part) of Faith." (Bukhari)
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Lower Your Gaze-- An amazing story
Thalaba Ibn AbdulRahman was a young man at the age of 16. He always ran errands for the prophet pbuh. One day while walking though the city of Medina, he passed by a house with an open door. Out of curiosity he took a glance inside. In this glance, he saw a light curtain being blown away from a bathroom entrance were a woman was bathing. He immediately lowered his gaze. With an extreme feeling of guilt and hypocrisy his mind ran. Thinking to himself, How could I be of the companions, one that is close to the prophet pbuh, one who runs his errands and be so horrible as to disrespect peoples privacy??..
He feared that Allah would reveal to the prophet pbuh evidence of his hypocrisy. His guilt denied him to ever show his face to the prophet pbuh. So he ran away. Days went by and the prophet kept asking the other companions if they had seen Thalaba. No one had seen him. With the prophet?s worry about Thalaba he sent a few of the companions to look for him everywhere, among them were Omar Ibn Al Khattab and Salman Al Farisiy. They looked everywhere in Medina, and on the out skirts of Madina, until they came about a set of mountains between Mecca and Medina where some nomads where herding sheep. The companions asked the nomads if they had seen a young man with Thalaba?s characteristics. They told the companions about a weeping boy. He had been here for 40 days. He came down from the mountains once a day weeping and drank the milk they would offer him. Then he went back up the mountains weeping, crying, always asking for Allah for forgiveness, and saying words of repentance. So the companions waited until he came down and watched him. He had lost weight. His countenance reflected sorrow as he drank the milk that was mixed with his tears.
The companions insisted that they take him back to the prophet pbuh but he refused and asked them if Allah had revealed verses saying he was a hypocrite. They told him that they had no knowledge of any such verses. He was taken back to Medina where the prophet pbuh went to see him. He asked again if Allah had put him among the hypocrites or revealed that he was. The prophet pbuh assured him that there were no such verses. He laid out Thalabas tired, weak body and placed Thalabas head on his lap. He said, Oh prophet of Allah remove the head of a sinner away from you. The prophet pbuh comforted him until he told the prophet pbuh I feel as though ants are walking between my flesh and bones. The prophet told him it was death and his time had come. He witnessed while, Thalabas head was on his lap, Thalaba proclaim There is no god worthy of worship other than Allah, and that Mohamed pbuh is the messenger of Allah. The prophet pbuh washed Thalaba and carried him to the grave. It is narrated that on their way to bury Thalaba, the prophet pbuh walked on his tippy toes as though he were in a crowd. When Omar asked about this, the prophet pbuh explained that he was being crowded with the angels.
He feared that Allah would reveal to the prophet pbuh evidence of his hypocrisy. His guilt denied him to ever show his face to the prophet pbuh. So he ran away. Days went by and the prophet kept asking the other companions if they had seen Thalaba. No one had seen him. With the prophet?s worry about Thalaba he sent a few of the companions to look for him everywhere, among them were Omar Ibn Al Khattab and Salman Al Farisiy. They looked everywhere in Medina, and on the out skirts of Madina, until they came about a set of mountains between Mecca and Medina where some nomads where herding sheep. The companions asked the nomads if they had seen a young man with Thalaba?s characteristics. They told the companions about a weeping boy. He had been here for 40 days. He came down from the mountains once a day weeping and drank the milk they would offer him. Then he went back up the mountains weeping, crying, always asking for Allah for forgiveness, and saying words of repentance. So the companions waited until he came down and watched him. He had lost weight. His countenance reflected sorrow as he drank the milk that was mixed with his tears.
The companions insisted that they take him back to the prophet pbuh but he refused and asked them if Allah had revealed verses saying he was a hypocrite. They told him that they had no knowledge of any such verses. He was taken back to Medina where the prophet pbuh went to see him. He asked again if Allah had put him among the hypocrites or revealed that he was. The prophet pbuh assured him that there were no such verses. He laid out Thalabas tired, weak body and placed Thalabas head on his lap. He said, Oh prophet of Allah remove the head of a sinner away from you. The prophet pbuh comforted him until he told the prophet pbuh I feel as though ants are walking between my flesh and bones. The prophet told him it was death and his time had come. He witnessed while, Thalabas head was on his lap, Thalaba proclaim There is no god worthy of worship other than Allah, and that Mohamed pbuh is the messenger of Allah. The prophet pbuh washed Thalaba and carried him to the grave. It is narrated that on their way to bury Thalaba, the prophet pbuh walked on his tippy toes as though he were in a crowd. When Omar asked about this, the prophet pbuh explained that he was being crowded with the angels.
Friday, April 6, 2007
I have a dream (islamified)
written by Alikhlas:
I have a dream that one day the Sunnah will be followed to its fullest
that everyone will recognize its importance, and the peace that one recieves from obeying the Messenger
that the amazing solitude and sincerety that encompasses one in the obedience of their Rabb
will be known to every Creation,
and availed by each Believer
I have a dream that one day Jannat al Firdaus will be the top of the agenda
that everyone will strive for excellence in their Deen
and allow satifsfaction of the Dunya to fall into place,
without fretting over the minute details of secular perfection
that we will finally realize the reality of the Hereafter
and aspire to secure our Ultimate Future
I have a dream that one day Islam will be the subject on everyone's mind
that everyone will run to places where knowledge is gained
and desire to create places where knowledge is spread
I have a dream that my ideas will become reality one day
that we will follow the Sunnah in more ways than one..
with full heart, mind, and soul
that we will surround ourselves with company that we want to be raised up with on the Day of Judgment
because That Day is one Truth
that we MUST face
and work towards
otherwise, destruction will truly be ours
..as we struggle to cross al Sirat
and call out to those whom we only mocked
and judged as incompetent
"Help us! Surely we have wronged ourselves"
and we will fall straight into the Fire
wherein we shall dwell forever
I have a dream that one day the Sunnah will be followed to its fullest
that everyone will recognize its importance, and the peace that one recieves from obeying the Messenger
that the amazing solitude and sincerety that encompasses one in the obedience of their Rabb
will be known to every Creation,
and availed by each Believer
I have a dream that one day Jannat al Firdaus will be the top of the agenda
that everyone will strive for excellence in their Deen
and allow satifsfaction of the Dunya to fall into place,
without fretting over the minute details of secular perfection
that we will finally realize the reality of the Hereafter
and aspire to secure our Ultimate Future
I have a dream that one day Islam will be the subject on everyone's mind
that everyone will run to places where knowledge is gained
and desire to create places where knowledge is spread
I have a dream that my ideas will become reality one day
that we will follow the Sunnah in more ways than one..
with full heart, mind, and soul
that we will surround ourselves with company that we want to be raised up with on the Day of Judgment
because That Day is one Truth
that we MUST face
and work towards
otherwise, destruction will truly be ours
..as we struggle to cross al Sirat
and call out to those whom we only mocked
and judged as incompetent
"Help us! Surely we have wronged ourselves"
and we will fall straight into the Fire
wherein we shall dwell forever
Thursday, April 5, 2007
A world of "After you" and "Ladies First"
by: Me!
It's easy to get swept into this society's normsIn a World of "After you" and "Ladies first"
All wrongs seem to come at you in the right forms.
In a World of "After you" and "Ladies first"
In a world where girls and guys can intermingle
In a world where it's a virtue to stay single
Where the only guideline is in each persons ability
Where everyone has stripped themselves of liability
We tend to forget the people of our history
making the achievement of good deeds a mystery
such as the story of a man in madyan
who helped some women get water from a well
such as the story of a man in madyan
who into his desires, he did not sell
"come with me" the girl said
and to her father, he was led
the father was impressed with his manly nature
He wanted to see this man of great stature
on the way he did not twidle
making sure there was no chance for shaytan to fiddle
Ahead of the girl he chose to walk
and if he were to walk too far, he bid her to throw rocks
he dared not walk behind her
not because of arrogance or pride
he dared not walk behind her
for fear he would take joy in their stride
a man of great stature indeed
a man who truly did succeed
A different story, today's society does tell
A different story, into which many of us fell
a story of "After you" and "Ladies first"
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