Khutbas by Abu Haleema (ابو حلیمہ)

How to start a day

2008-04-14T06:57:00.000-07:00

In the name of Allah, the most beneficent, the most merciful, majestic and all powerful, master of this world and everything that is contained herein. Salutations be upon prophet Mohammad SAW, who was sent as a guide to this mankind.

Dear Respected Brothers, Sisters and Elders in Islam,

Assalam o allaikum Wr. Wb.

Almighty Allah SWT says to us in Quran al Kareem:

اللَّهُ يَتَوَفَّى الْأَنفُسَ حِينَ مَوْتِهَا وَالَّتِي لَمْ تَمُتْ فِي مَنَامِهَا فَيُمْسِكُ الَّتِي قَضَى عَلَيْهَا الْمَوْتَ وَيُرْسِلُ الْأُخْرَى إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ

39:42) It is Allâh Who takes away the souls at the time of their death, and those that die not during their sleep. He keeps those (souls) for which He has ordained death and sends the rest for a term appointed. Verily, in this are signs for a people who think deeply.

The meaning of which is when a person sleeps at night, Allah SWT takes away the souls of the people that are asleep and those people for whom death is decreed, it is not meant for them to live in the future, Allah SWT keeps those souls permanently and those souls for whom an extended life is decreed, Allah SWT releases those souls so that they can go back into the world and continue on with their lives.

So Allah SWT has made us from those people for whom life is decreed. We slept last night, Allah SWT kept our souls by him and when we woke up, Allah SWT released our souls back into our body. For this we should make shukr to Allah SWT. He has given us an opportunity to live our life another day where we could see a day, we could breath, we could see, we could hear and speak. This is why when we wake up in the morning, we make a dua to Allah SWT

الحَمْدُ لِلّھِ الّذي أَحْیانا بَعْدَ ما أَماتَنا وَإلیھ النُّشور.

The meaning of which is that we praise Allah SWT where he has given us life after he has given us death and whilst we are praising Allah SWT for giving us life, we are not unmindful of death. We are still saying ‘Wa Ileyhin Nushur’, and towards Allah SWT will be our return. So we should say shukr to Allah SWT that he has given life to and now it is upto us of what we do with our lives.

Mujahid RA is a great alim of his time and a student of Abdullah bin Umar RA. He says that Abdullah bin Umar RA used to say:

Izaa Amsayta fala tantiziris Sabah,
wa izaa asba7ta fala tantaziril Masa7,
Wa Khuz Min Si7atik Li Mardik,
Wa min Hayaatika Limautiki.

The meaning of which is, when you spend the nigh, when the night comes in, then don’t wait for the morning and when the morning comes in then don’t wait for the evening. It is possible whilst you spending the morning, death could come in, and while you spending the evening before the morning, death could come in.

Abdullah bin Umar RA also said that make use of your good health before sickness overcomes you and make use of your life before death comes.

That is why a wise man says that in the morning when the person wakes up, before he engages himself in the activities of the day, he should make intention of 4 things.

The first thing is that how will be obedient to Allah SWT? What are the orders of Allah SWT regarding my life? What Allah SWT wants me to do today? Make a firm intention before approaching the day, that today to the best of my ability; I will be obedient to Allah SWT in everything I do.

The second intention is that a person should make is that those things that Allah SWT has prohibited me from, I will abstain from them. I will not go close to them.

The third intention is straighten our dealings. How we deal with people? How we conduct our business? How we earn our income? We should make intention to carry all this our according to the shareea’.

And the fourth intention is that we will make sure if there is any wasiyyat to make, or request to make to someone, we will do that by the end of the day.

And when the day ends, and you are preparing to go to sleep, ponder over 4 things. As we know,

النوم اخت الموت

Sleep is the sister of death.

When a person is sleep, there is no control over the body of the person and there is a possibility, death is imminent. So before sleeping at night, think about a few things.

The first is, Did I fulfil all the Huqooq and the rights of Allah SWT? And if one didn’t do it, then one should make firm intention at once that he will fulfil the rights of Allah SWT.

The second is, Did any human being claimed any Haq from me? Did anyone ask his rights from me? And if you didn’t do that then make intention to do that before death overcomes you.

The third thing that a person should think and ponder is, Did I make tawba? What would happen if I die before making tawba to Allah SWT for all my sins.

And lastly, a person should ponder upon that If Allah SWT gives me another opportunity in life, then what am I going to do?

Faqeeh Abul Layth al Samarqani says that when the morning dawns you get 3 kinds of people.

There are those who go out to search Halal income. There is nothing with that and that is the correct thing to do.

The second is that there are some people who go out and search for Haram and Allah’s punishment will befall upon those.

The third group of people are those people who go out in the search to find out, ‘What is the right thing to do in this life for me’; Allah SWT will grant His rahmah for this group of people for their effort to know the truth.

A person should make both intentions, go out to earn Halal and to search for what is it required of him in life.

A person asked Malik bin Dinar RA, a great scholar of his time, that ‘ Kayfa Asba7ta?’ How do you spend your morning? So Malik ibn Dinar answers, ‘How can I be peaceful when I wake up in the morning because I keep pondering about my long journey from Duniya to the Akhira and then when I reach the akhira, I do not know what judgement is going to be made for me? Will I be going to Jannah or the Hellfire? With this thought and frame of mind, how can my morning be peaceful?

Isa AS was once asked that O Nabi of Allah SWT, ‘How do you spend your morning?’

Isa AS said, those things that I aspire for, those things are not in my control. Those things that I am afraid of, they are not in my control to remove them. All khair and all goodness, and all sharr and all evil, everything is in the control of Allah SWT.

And that should be our approach that when we wake up in the morning, we realize that everything is in the control of Allah SWT. We should make commitment to ourself that those things that we want, we will work for it to the best of our ability. Those things that we wish to remove from our life, we will work to remove them to the best of our ability as well. In the end, its Allah SWT who will put the effect in what we do.

When a person approaches his day, he should focus on 10 things.

1) As soon as the person wakes up in the morning, as soon as he opens his eyes he should say the zikr of Allah SWT, tasbeeh of Allah SWT. Allah has given us another day to live, another moment to be in this duniya, another day to be in his obedience, shouldn’t we be thankful to him?

Allah SWT says in the quran:

وَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ حِينَ تَقُومُ

“…and glorify the Praises of your Lord when you get up from sleep.”

2) The second thing a person should do is that he should cover up his body, particularly his private parts, and he should approach the day in a modest way.

Allah SWT says in the Quran:

يَا بَنِي آدَمَ خُذُواْ زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ

O Mankind, O Son of Adam. Take your beauty when you go to the masjid.

3) When you wake up, make wudu

Allah SWT says in Quran:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلاةِ فاغْسِلُواْ وُجُوهَكُمْ…

Which means that O you who believe, when you wake up, make your wudu.

4) After you make your wudu, then make your salaah;

Allah SWT says:

إِنَّ الصَّلاَةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَابًا مَّوْقُوتًا

That there is prescribed times for each salaah

5) After performing the salaah, now the day has dawned and you will go into the duniya and you will go your jobs and for that you must have conviction that Allah is the raziq. It is not the job or business that will provide the rizq but it is Allah that has made your job and your business as the means of getting the rizq.

Our focus in this case is on the ayah of the Quran:

وَمَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ فِي الأَرْضِ إِلاَّ عَلَى اللّهِ رِزْقُهَا وَيَعْلَمُ مُسْتَقَرَّهَا وَمُسْتَوْدَعَهَا كُلٌّ فِي كِتَابٍ مُّبِينٍ

There is not a thing on the face of the earth whose sustenance is not provided by Allah SWT. We adopt the means but the effect is from Allah SWT.

6) The next thing one should do that whatever Allah SWT has blessed us with, we accept it with qanaa’ and satisfaction. Be content, Be Happy. Don’t look at others as to why Allah has given them so much, and why Allah SWT didn’t give us much, No! Be content with what Allah SWT has given you.

Allah SWT says in the Quran:

نَحْنُ قَسَمْنَا بَيْنَهُم مَّعِيشَتَهُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَرَفَعْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ فَوْقَ بَعْضٍ دَرَجَاتٍ

That Allah SWT has distributed with wisdom. To some He has given more to some He has given less. A person should be content with what has been ordained by Allah SWT.

7) The next thing a person should keep in mind when entering the day is that to have complete tawakkul and trust in Allah SWT. Allah SWT says:

وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى الْحَيِّ الَّذِي لَا يَمُوتُ

Place the trust in the being who is alive from ever and ever and who will never ever die.

8) The person should make Sabr on the orders of Allah SWT. He should be patient for what he will face in the day.

Allah SWT says:

وَاصْبِرْ لِحُكْمِ رَبِّكَ

That make sabr, exercise restraint on the orders of Allah SWT.

9) The next thing a person should keep in mind that he should make thank and shukr to Allah SWT in different moments of the day. Allah SWT says:

وَاشْكُرُواْ نِعْمَتَ اللّهِ

Make shukr upon the favours of Allah SWT.

10) The last thing a person should keep in mind is that we must engage ourself in Halal income and keep ourselves away from the Haram income. This is such an order that Allah SWT has given these to the anbiya AS and the same order applies to all the muslimeen.

If a person approaches his day with these 10 points then inshallah he will be from among the people who are saaleh and obedient to Allah SWT.

May Allah SWT give us the taufeeq to mould our lives according the commandments of Allah SWT so that we become successful in the akhirah.

Wa akhiru daawana anil hamdulillahi rabbilaalimeen.

Special thanks to Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Delivered at Fredericton Islamic Association, Masjid on April 11, 2008

Miracles of Prophet SAW - معجزات الرسول صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم

2008-03-29T11:46:00.000-07:00

My Dear Respected Brothers, Sisters and Elders,
Assalam o allaikum Wr. Wb.

Almighty Allah SWT sent approximately 124,000 prophets to this duniya, to guide the people towards the oneness of Allah SWT, to show them the right and correct path. All the prophets of Allah SWT were human beings. They lived among people, they lived among people, they ate and drank like people and many of them married and had wives and children. And, it is a human nature, that when someone makes a claim, they require a proof for that. It is human nature to reject any claim that does not have a proof and any supporting evidence.

When the Prophets of Allah SWT claimed among their people that they are the prophets of Allah SWT and are sent to them with the wahi and revelation directly from the Creator so they can guide the people towards the oneness of Allah SWT, then most people who heard their claim denied them and rejected them. They used to say that how can you be prophet of Allah SWT, when you eat like us, you drink like us, you have family and life like us.

Allah SWT mentions in the Quran:

وَقَالُوا مَالِ هَذَا الرَّسُولِ يَأْكُلُ الطَّعَامَ وَيَمْشِي فِي الْأَسْوَاقِ …

25:7 ) And they say: “What sort of an apostle is this, who eats food, and walk through the streets?”…

… so he cannot be the prophet of Allah SWT.

Almighty Allah SWT strengthened the claim of these prophets but giving them some miracles. As human beings, the more you produce something that is strange and unique and something that is extra-ordinary, the more people will be attracted to you. The greater the miracle, the more the people get attracted. Allah SWT takes this nature of human being in consideration and strengthens the claim of the prophets by giving them these miracles.

The miracle in itself is not purposeful rather these miracles are not an act of worship and ibaadah in itself. They are a means of getting the people to understand a certain message and Allah SWT has given many of his prophets, the miracles and all the prophets who were given these miracles, that were conducive to their times and their era.

At the time of Sulayman AS, witchcraft and performing supernatural acts were very common. Allah SWT gave Sulayman AS such a miracle that no witch of the time could match up with Sulayman AS. Sulayman AS could fly in the air and he could travel at amazing speeds where he would cover a distance of two months in a day.

وَلِسُلَيْمَانَ الرِّيحَ غُدُوُّهَا شَهْرٌ وَرَوَاحُهَا شَهْرٌ

34:12) And to Sulayman AS, we made the wind obedient: Its early morning stride was a months journey, and its evening stride was a months journey.

He was able to converse with the Jinnat, and he was able to talk to animals and birds. No witch of the time could match up with Sulayman AS. It became very clear to the people, that Sulayman AS was a gifted and an extra-ordinary person. He must be indeed the prophet of Allah SWT with all these qualities. These qualities would attract the people and it would become the means for them to be guided to the right path, the oneness of Allah SWT.

At the time of Daud AS, development became very common and popular. People wanted to create great structures. Allah SWT gave such a miracle to Daud AS that with his hand he would hold steel and iron and it would melt. And Allah has mentioned that in the Quran:

وَأَلَنَّا لَهُ الْحَدِيدَ

34:10) And we made iron soft for him.

People looked at this, they got close to Daud AS and they understood the message of Allah SWT through the company of Daud AS.

At the time of Saleh AS, the people asked for a miracle. They demanded that if you are the prophet of Allah SWT, then how come you eat like us, how come you drink like us. You are a normal human being, how do we know that you are the prophet. They were near a mountainous place and they wanted a pony to come out of that place.

Saleh AS made dua to Allah SWT and Allah SWT made beautiful strong pony to come out from within the mountain. People looked at that, but you see, people who are honest and their hearts are clean, they really do not need to see all these miracles to believe in the existence of Allah SWT and people who are not honest no matter how much big miracle you show them, they will still not believe, because their hearts are hardened and nothing penetrates it.

When the time of Ibrahim AS came, when Namrood prepared the fire, the blaze and the flames of the fire were as if they were reaching the sky. Through a catapult he threw Ibrahim AS in the fire and as soon as Ibrahim AS landed in the fire, then Allah SWT showed that fire was in the command of Allah SWT. Allah SWT says:

قُلْنَا يَا نَارُ كُونِي بَرْدًا وَسَلَامًا عَلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ

21:69) We (Allâh) said: "O fire! Be you coolness and safety for Ibrâhim (Abraham)!"

Ibrahim AS sat in the fire as if he was sitting in a garden.

Likewise, at the time of Isa AS, medicine had reached its heights and pinnacles. People were very good at finding cure to different illnesses. But Allah SWT gave Isa AS such miracles, such cure in his hands, that greatest of doctors at the time were perplexed. If a person was born blind, no doctor could cure that, if a person had leprosy, no doctor could cure that but ISA AS was able to touch his hand to a sick person, and cure the person completely.

All these miracles were a way to guide them to convey a message to people that every power lies in the hands of Allah SWT and when people accepted them, it became a means for them to get closer to Allah SWT.

Rasulallah SAW was also given miracles. The miracle that was more conducive to his time was that people were very eloquent in their speech. Arabs of the times regarded non-arabs to be Ajams. Ajam means an animal, somebody who could not talk and because arabs were good in speech, they regarded non-arabs as ajam because they could not talk as eloquent as them.

At the time of Nabi SAW, people used to compete with each other in speech. Inspite of all that, Nabi SAW was unlettered, he did not know how to read, how to write, and the educated people of the time were so eloquent in their speech that not only competed eachother in literature but also in poetry. With all that eloquence in the society, a person who did not know how to read or write, suddenly at the age of 40 he started saying such words from his mouth that even the poets of the time could not completely understand and comprehend.

Nabi SAW used recite the ayaat of the Quran Kareem and the poets of the time were puzzled that where did this person come up with such words. He cannot even read and write and yet he produces something that we with all our skill and qualities cannot come close to even one verse that he is uttering. This was the miracle of Rasulallah SAW. Apart from that, there were many other miracles performed by Rasulallah SAW and the purpose of these miracles.

Allah mentions these miracles in Quran al Kareem, so that the reader of Quran, the listener of Quran is convinced, that these are true prophets of Allah SWT and they become means of strengthening the iman of a person and knowing that the order of everything rests with Allah SWT.

Rasulallah SAW performed many many more miracles. It is mentioned that once a villager came up to Rasulallah SAW and said that how do I know that you are the Prophet of Allah SWT was standing next to a tree so Nabi SAW pointed towards the tree and said that this tree will bear testimony that I am the Prophet of Allah SWT. The villager goes near the tree and says to the tree, that ‘ Do you believe in Mohammad as the nabi of Allah SWT’?

It is mentioned in the book of hadeeth, that tree started speaking from the trunk and the branches and the leaves and the words came out ‘ La ilaha ilallahu Mohammadur Rasulallah’. The villager heard it as well as all those who were witnessing the incident.

In Mishkaat Masaabeeh, it’s mentioned that there was once a Jew who was a shepherd who was grazing sheep. Suddenly a wolf came and took one sheep away. The shepherd ran behind the wolf. The shepherd is able to pull that sheep out of the wolf’s mouth. The wolf goes nearby and looks at the shepherd and says to the shepherd that Allah SWT has ordered me to look for my sustenance and rizq. When I got my rizq and the sustenance in the form of the sheep, then you came and deprived me of it. The shepherd is surprised that an animal is speaking to me, how that can happen. He expressed his surprise to one of his companion that a wolf spoke to me, an animal spoke. His companion said that more surprising than this is that nearby hear in madinah there is a man who claims to be the prophet of Allah SWT and he can tell you things of past and the future. Jew was even more surprised. That jew goes to madinah al munawwarah and he meets Rasuallalh SAW and it became the means for him to become accept islam and become muslim. When Nabi SAW was informed about this incident, he told him that even more surprising thing than a wolf speaking would be near the time of Qayyamah before the final hour comes. In that time when a person would leave his home and when he will return, his shoes and the stick he is carrying will inform him of those things that his wife and children have done in his absence.

It is mentioned in one hadeeth, Rasulallah SAW has stated an incident that took place that the sahabah, they were out on a journey and they were in shortage of water. They needed water for their personal need and wudu and they could not find water. They complained to Nabi SAW for the shortage of water. So Nabi SAW told them to take a container and put little water in it and bring it to me. That container was brought to Nabi SAW and he dipped his finger in the water. The container started to fill with water and sahabah say that they saw water coming out of the mubarak finger of Rasulallah SAW like the water is flowing in a stream and there were approximately 300 people that were there who were able to fulfil their needs.

One sahabi, Ya’la ibn Murrah RA, said that he was traveling with Rasulallah SAW and he saw some strange things. They passed by a camel and some people were loading the back of the camel. The camel gave out a sign. Nabi SAW asked for the owner of the camel. When the owner of the camel came, Nabi SAW said that sell this camel to me. The owner said why do I have to sell it to you, this camel is for you. Nabi SAW said, since you are sincere to me, the thing is that this camel is complaining to me that you are overworking him and he is saying that this is zulm and oppression on him. Ya’lah bin Murrah RA said that this was my first encounter. The second encounter happened when on the same journey Rasulallah SAW was resting at a place. It was even more surprising. He saw with his own eyes that a tree walked from his own place and came beside Nabi SAW and gave shade to Rasuallah SAW while he was resting. When Nabi SAW woke up, he informed Nabi SAW about this. Nabi SAW said that I am aware of it. This tree took permission from Allah SWT to walk over to me and provide me shade. The third incident happened on the same journey, when we happened to passed by a woman who had a child that was possessed by a jinn and the mother complained to Nabi SAW. Rasulallah SAW took the child and he addressed the jinn inside the child that I am the Prophet of Allah SWT and I instruct you to leave the body of the child. On returning from that journey Rasulallah SAW asked that woman, how is the child and she said that Alhamdulillah that jinn has not come back to the child.

Another incident is about Imam Abu Hurairah RA. Imam Abu Hurairah used to invite is mother to Islam at every opportunity that he used to get. Whenever he made daawah to his mother, she would say something foul about Rasulallah SAW. So one day he became frustrated and he came to Rasulallah SAW and asked him , O Prophet of Allah, make dua for my mother. Nabi SAW made dua, Allahumahdi Umma Abi Hurraira. ‘O Allah give hidayah to the mother of Abu Hurrairah’. Abu Hurairah knew that if Rasulallah SAW has made the dua, it will surely be accepted but when, that he didn’t know. He goes home. His mother was in the bath. Before that day, whenever he went home, she would be waiting to condemn him, to swear at him and swear at Rasullalah SAW.After a little while she came from the bath and she said that in your absence I could feel iman settling in my heart and I read the shahadah, Ashahadu An La ilaha ilallah wa ashhadu anna Mohammadur Rasulallah.

During Sulah Hudaibiyya incident:

-Nabi SAW went in a particular place

-Nabi SAW and sahabah go to a certain place

-Abu Talha is among them

-When he returns home he tells his wife that, Nabi SAW is very hungry because I could hardly hear his voice out of weakness

-Wife prepared some food for 2,3 people

-He went and invited Rasuallah SAW for food

-Rasulallah SAW didn’t accept it instead he made announcement that whoever is present here come with me to Abu Talha house to share the food

-When Abu Talha heard, he was very worried that his wife made small food and that when his wife will find out that I brought so many people, she will be angry.

-So before anything else, he walked quickly ahead of others and reached his home and told his wife that he only wanted to invited Rasulallah SAW, but now a lot many people are coming on the invitation of Rasulallah SAW.

-The woman’s iman was so strong, she said, that if Rasulallah SAW did that, then it’s the matter between him and Allah SWT.

-Nabi SAW comes in his house and goes near the fireplace and he reads and blows in the area and he tells the woman that you prepare the food now and bring another woman to help you as well.

-The food just kept on coming out of the pot and sahabah were fed. The food that was sufficient for 2,3 people, 80 people were fed.

These miracles, these incidents are all there in Kitab and Sunnah for us to strengthen our iman. The sahabah who witnessed these miracles increased their iman many folds and for us when we ponder about these things it helps us to make our iman strong. Apart form all these miracles, we know the greatest miracle of Nabi SAW was the Quran Kareem itself. A book that is free of corruption and is kept in its true and pure state for more than 1400 years. A book that is the source of guidance for each and every human being.

May Allah SWT give us the taufeeq to understand the underlying message of all these miracles, that the ultimate power belongs to Allah SWT and the true guidance lies in following the injunctions of Quran and Sunnah of Rasulallah SAW.

Wama Taufiqi Ilallah Billah

Special thanks to Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Delivered at Fredericton Islamic Association, Masjid on March 28, 2008

Love Prophet as he demands it - حب الرّسول صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم

2008-02-12T07:23:00.000-08:00

اعوذ باللہ من الشیطٰن الرجیمبسم اللہ الرحمٰن الرحیمالحمد لله رب العالمين ، أرسل رسوله بالهدى و دين الحق ليظهره على الدين كله و كفي بالله شهيدا ، و أشهد ألا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ؛ له الملك و له الحمد ، يحيى و يميت و هو على كل شئ قدير و إليه المرجع و المصير ..و أشهد أن محمدا عبده و رسوله ، و صفيه من خلقه و حبيبه.رب اشرح لي صدري و يسر لى أمري و احلل عقدة من لساني يفقهوا قولي ..

My Dear respected Brothers Sisters and Elders,

Assalam o allaikum Wr. Wb.

Qalallahu Azza Wajal:

لَقَدْ جَاءكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُم بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَؤُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ

128. Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger (Muhammad SAW) from amongst yourselves (i.e. whom you know well). It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty. He (Muhammad SAW) is anxious over you (to be rightly guided, to repent to Allâh, and beg Him to pardon and forgive your sins, in order that you may enter Paradise and be saved from the punishment of the Hell-fire), for the believers (he SAW is) full of pity, kind, and merciful.

I have recited before you a verse of Suratu Tauba. This Surah commences in the last part of Juz 10 and it continues and concludes in Juz 11. It is the last complete Surah of the Quran to be revealed on Rasulallah SAW. It is a surah that is a very comprehensive Surah of the Quran and it deals with many aspects of the life of Rasulallah SAW. It deals with the Makki life of the Rasulallah SAW, the life before making Hijrah and it deals with the life after the Hijrah in Madinah. It covers up almost every aspect of Rasulallah SAW in a brief manner.

The verse recited before you is the second last verse of Suratut Tauba. Abduallah Ibn Abbas RA narrates that this verse was the very last verse to be revealed to Rasulallah SAW and after this verse, he SAW passed away.

In this verse, Allah SWT tells the mankind about the coming of Rasulallah SAW to this world. Indeed, his coming to this world was a great event and every Nabi and every prophet had informed their followers about the coming of Rasulallah SAW. From the time of Adam AS right until Isa AS, every nabi has informed their ummats the coming of the final prophet and messenger, Rasulallah SAW. If one studies, once can find that the Old Testament and the New Testament ( Taurat and Injil), have enough verses about the coming of Rasulallah SAW. It is a different issue whether the adherence of the Old Testament and the New Testament interpreted the correct way or the incorrect way. A very clear indication in the Old Testament about the coming of Rasulallah SAW is in Deutronomy 18:18. If you see it is a very clear verse that if its interpreted and understood in a proper way, then no Christian and no Jew can deny that it refers to none other than Rasulallah SAW.

Once a Jinn came to Rasulallah SAW. Rasulallah SAW was a prophet of Insan as well as Jinnats. He was the greatest of all prophets and he was the seal and Khatim of all the prophets. There is no Nabi to come after Rasulallah SAW. If anyone claims that another Nabi will come after Nabi SAW is deviated from the correct path of Islam. It is our aqeedah and the aqeedah of the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jamaah that every nabi preceded Rasulallah SAW and no Nabi will come after Rasulallah SAW.

So one Jinn came to Rasulallah SAW and said that I have a very long life and a I have a history to my life. He said that I have sat in the gathering of Nuh AS. When all the creation of Allah SWT who were obedient and went into the boat of Nuh AS, I was among them. I was also in the gathering of Idris AS, I was very close to Musa AS and I also used to sit often in majlis of Isa AS and O Prophet of Allah, I have an amanah and a trust to convey to you. Rasulallah SAW asked what is that amanah?
He replies, that once I was greeted by Isa AS and he told me that if you have to outlive me and if you live until the time of the final Messenger Mohammad SAW, then convey my salaam unto him. He said, O Prophet of Allah, I hereby convey to you the salaam of Isa AS. Nabi SAW responds with tears in his eyes and he tells to this Jinn, that O Jinn, If you are to outlive me and a time comes when Isa AS returns to this duniya, then you in turn convey my salams to Isa AS.

Nabi SAW is the final prophet and final messenger. Just as his coming was great, his departing was equally a sad event for this Ummah. Allah SAW knew that Rasullah SAW would leave the world and it would a very painful experience for the Ummat of Rasulallah SAW to witness his demise, so Allah SWT tells us in the verse of the Quran:

لَقَدْ جَاءكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ

Till the end of the verse…that the very Nabi SAW that you used to see his presence among you, that you used to see his humbleness, that you used to see his humility, that you used to see his noble character, soon he is going to be taken away. But if you were to see the final Nabi and Rasul after his demise you would see it in this verse. In this verse, Allah SWT very briefly explains the character of Rasulallah SAW.

لَقَدْ جَاءكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ

Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger (Muhammad SAW) from amongst yourselves.. He is no stranger to you. You are an arab, he is also an arab.

عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ

When you experience any hardship and any difficulty, that is also very burdensome on him. He feels for your pain. Your discomfort is his discomfort.

حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُم

And he is very exited upon your success and your progress.

بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَؤُوفٌ رَّحِيمٌ

And he is very loving and compassionate and upon the believers.

In this verse, Allah SWT very briefly and yet very deeply explains the great Akhlaq and the great character of Rasulallah SAW. Rasulallah SAW’s greatest concern and the greatest attention and the focus was the success of the Momineen and the believers.

Rasulallah SAW was once seated in the masjid. He was grieved and was sad. Jibraeel AS comes up to him and asks him, O Prophet of Allah SAW, what is the matter? He SAW replies, I am concerned about my Ummat that what is going to happen to them on the day of Qayamah. What will happen to them?

Jibraeel AS goes up to Allah SAW and tells , O Allah SAW, your Habib and beloved Mohammad SAW is concerned about his ummat, that what will happen to them on the day of Qayyamah? Allah SAW then revealed the verse:

وَلَسَوْفَ يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَى

93:5. And verily, your Lord will give you (all i.e. good) so that you shall be well-pleased.

When this verse was revealed, Imam Jalaluddin Suyuti Rahimahullah, a great commentator of Quran, explains that when this verse was revealed, Rasulallah SAW replied that Mohammad SAW will never be happy, until each and every ummati of his goes to paradise and Jannah.

It is mentioned in a hadeeth that Aishah RA said to Rasulallah SAW that, O Prophet of Allah, when you make salaat and when you make Dua do you make dua for me? Nabi SAW replied that yes I pray for you, but I pray for my Ummat more than what I pray for you. This was the love and the concern that Rasullalah SAW had for each and everyone of us.

Then in return it is our duty and responsibility to respond to this love and concern of Nabi Mohammad SAW with the love for Rasulallah SAW. The love of Rasulallah SAW is an integral part of our deen and an important aspect of our life.

It is mentioned in one hadeeth:

You cannot be a true Momin, until I am not more beloved to you than your father, than your child and all of mankind.

There are two types of love.

One is the natural love like the mother’s love for a child. If you ask the mother why does she love her child, she cannot answer you because it is a love beyond any reason. And the other is the inculcative love, the love that you may have for someone because of some reason. The kind of love we are expected to have for Rasuallah SAW is the natural love. A love that is similar that we have for our mothers, that we have for our fathers and children. This is the love that is demanded of us.

قُلْ إِن كَانَ آبَاؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَآؤُكُمْ وَإِخْوَانُكُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُكُمْ وَعَشِيرَتُكُمْ وَأَمْوَالٌ اقْتَرَفْتُمُوهَا وَتِجَارَةٌ تَخْشَوْنَ كَسَادَهَا وَمَسَاكِنُ تَرْضَوْنَهَا أَحَبَّ إِلَيْكُم مِّنَ اللّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ

9:24 Say: If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your kindred, the wealth that you have gained, the commerce in which you fear a decline, and the dwellings in which you delight … are dearer to you than Allâh and His Messenger… then wait for the azaab and the punishment of Allah SWT.

This was the kind of love that Sahabah had for Rasulallah SAW.

There was a sahabi who was taken as a captive by the enemy and they said to him that we are going to kill you. One of them said, that don’t you wish, that today instead of your life be taken away, the life of Mohammad SAW be taken away because he is the reason you are here in this condition. The sahabi turned around and said that I know very well that I will be killed today. If my life is taken away, my wife is going to be a widow, If my life is taken away, my children will become orphans, If my life is taken away, my friends and associates will miss me. But inspite of all that if my life is taken away and spears and arrows are put in my body even in this condition I cannot bear that even a thorn pricks into the foot of Rasulallah SAW. The pain of the thorn pricking into his feet is more painful to me than anyother pain. This was the love that sahabah had for Rasulallah SAW.

A woman, who was on an expedition with Rasulallah SAW and she was informed that her husband was martyred and you have become a widow. She said Inna Lillahi Wa inna Ileyhi Raajion. She asked the news bearer, How is the messenger of Allah SWT? He informed that he is fine by the grace of Allah SWT. A little later she gets the news that one of children has been martyred? She says Inna lillah…. How is the messenger of Allah SWT? She is informed that he is fine by the grace of Allah. Again a little while later, she is informed that another of her son is martyred. She says Inna Lillah…. And inquires, how is Rasulallah SAW? She is informed that he is fine by the grace of Allah SWT. She says that I will not be satisfied until I see him alive with my own eyes. Finally when she says Rasulallah SAW she says:

Ya Rasulallah! I have become a widow, I have lost my children but you are alive and
After seeing you no Museebah is a museebah , nor difficulty is any difficulty. This is the love that sahabah AS used to have for Rasulallah SAW.

A person may love someone because of an inculcative reason as well, such as because of the physical appearance. We all know very well the story of Yusuf AS to whom Allah SWT gave a lot of beauty and the women of Misr cut their hands when they saw his face. One may love someone because of some favors they may have bestowed upon us, but our Nabi SAW was Kamil in each and every aspect.

Inallaha Ala Khuluqin Azeem – O Mohammad! You are created on perfect and sublime character.

Story of Jew:

- A jew came to rasuallah
- Rasulallah had dealing with him and he wanted his money back
- He came before the date that was settled for the return of the loan
- Rasulallah said that its not the time yet
- He said that he wants the money now
- Sahabah got a bit angry to his behaviour
- Rasulallah did not have the money , neither did the sahabah
- Jew said he will not leave until he gets the money
- He came at around Dhohr time – asr time – maghrib – until next day fajr
- He came before Rasulallah and said shahadah –
- Rasulallah asked him what happened, just in the last few hours you were demanding me the money and now you accepted islam, what changed you.
- He said that he is a wealthy person and he is a scholar of taurat as well.
- I have read in there about the final messenger. I have been observing you for a very very long time and every description that is mentioned in Taurat about the last messenger befits you. There was one aspect that Taurat talks about and that is the last messenger will be a very tolerant person. To check this, I decided to come myself and see if you befit this description and after spending these few hours, I can say that there is no other person that I have met in my life that has more tolerance than you.

Rasullah SAW and his life was the perfect example for the muslims and non-muslims alike.
My dear Brothers and Sisters, we being the momins and true believers in Allah SWT claim that we love Rasullalah SAW. However, with any claim, there must be a proof.

There must be an evidence that shows that we really love Rasulallah SAW. If a husband tells his wife that he loves her but he does not show that in action, he does not take care of the children, he does not provide the requirements of the household but in the end still professes to his wife that he loves her. Then, it will be termed as the lipservice and the real love.

The way to substantiate our love of Rasulallah SAW is to inculcate in our life the ways and sunnah of Rasulallah.

لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا

21. Indeed in the Messenger of Allâh (Muhammad SAW) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allâh and the Last Day and remembers Allâh much.

May Allah SWt give us the taufeeq to bring into our lives the Uswa and example of Rasulallah SAW and give us the natural love for our nabi Mohammad SAW.

Wama Taufiqi Ilallah Billah…

Special thanks to Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Delivered at Fredericton Islamic Association, Masjid on February 8, 2008

Al Hajj - الحج

2008-02-12T07:07:00.000-08:00

اعوذ باللہ من الشیطٰن الرجیم بسم اللہ الرحمٰن الرحیم الحمد لله رب العالمين ، أرسل رسوله بالهدى و دين الحق ليظهره على الدين كله و كفي بالله شهيدا ، و أشهد ألا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ؛ له الملك و له الحمد ، يحيى و يميت و هو على كل شئ قدي

In the name of Allah, the most beneficient, the most merciful, majestic and all powerful, master of this world and everything that is contained herein. Salutations be upon prophet Mohammad SAW, who was sent as a guide to this mankind.

My Dear respected Brothers and Sisters,
Assalam o allaikum Wr. Wb.

The first ten days of Hajj have already started and the Hujjaj have commenced their journey to the great land of Hijaz, towards the Kaaba where centuries ago Ibrahim AS was given the duty to construct a place of worship recognizing the oneness of Allah SWT. These pilgrims come from all walks of life, some are rich, some are poor, some are healthy, some are sick, some seek the Hajj to say thanks for all the bounties given to them by Allah SWT and some go their to seek repentance of what they did in their lives. All have one thing in common and that is the recognition, that Allah SWT is one and alone and that there is no deity worthy of worship other than Him.

Rasuallah SAW performed his pilgrimage towards the end of his life and it can be viewed as conclusion of his mission or his life.

On the one hand there is the physical Hajj, which is specific to those who embark on the physical journey towards Makkah. Conversely there is also another level of Hajj, a Hajj that we are all a part of – the “Hajj of Life”. This is our journey through life. In it, there are various stations, challenges, and decisions.

The Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) commands us in the imperative

كُنْ فِيْ الدُّنْيَا كَأَنَّكَ غَرِيْب أَوْ عَابِرُ السَّبِيْل

“Be in this world as if you are a traveller, or a wayfarer”.
(Al-Hadīth)

Meaning that we are to see ourselves as travellers or wayfarers, embarking on a travel. However, wherever we stop our stay is never permanent. Such is our journey in this world, temporary, and not permanent. Thus, when we view the Hadith in light of the above we find that our life on earth is not permanent.

"وَ مَا الحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلاَّ مَتَاعُ الغُرُوْر"

“And the life of this world is but a deception of the eye”
(Al-Qur’ān – 3:185)

The journey inevitably comes to an end, as we must return home. This is our true abode. It is the hereafter. Our hearts must therefore not be too attached to this world as it is not the end itself, but rather it is the means towards the end i.e. the hereafter ('Ākhirah). In addition to this the Qur'ān makes us aware;

وَ لاَ الآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ لَّكَ مِنَ الأُوْلَى

“And the life of the Hereafter is better for you than the Present life”.
(Al-Qur'ān - 93:4)

Here the Qur'ān specifically addressed the Holy Prophet, in a time of difficulty. However, the verse does have a general connotation and applies to all of us.

The physical Hajj symbolically deals with the most important aspects of this journey. It is therefore essential for us, before embarking on the physical Hajj to understand the “ Hajj of life”. The understanding of this Hajj however, is embedded in the deeper meanings of the rituals of the physical Hajj.

The physical Hajj starts at the Ka`bah – Minā - `Arafah – Muzdalifah – Minā – and full circle back to the Ka`bah.

The Ka`bah
This is where the physical Hajj begins. We perform the tawāf (circumambulates) around the Ka’bah, seven times. The initial tawāf is referred to as the tawāf al-qudūm (the introductory tawāf).

The Ka’bah is a symbol of Allah and His Unity. This beginning of the physical Hajj could be seen as the beginning of life. Allah SWT says in the Quran:

"إِنَّا ِللهِ وَ إِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُوْن"

“Indeed we come from Allah and to Him is our return”.
(Al-Qur’ān - 2:156)

Our journey in this world is thus suspended between “we come from Allah” and “our return is to Allah”.

Furthermore, tawaf around the Ka`bah symbolically denotes our acknowledgement of Allah, our relationship with Him, and our reliance on Him. Throughout the Hajj, we are continuously involved with Du`ā’ (supplication), whether we are performing the tawāf, taking a bus, or sitting on the plain of `Arafah. Our supplication embodies acknowledgement, relationship and reliance. Many scholars have considered Du`ā’ to be the essence of worship. In fact the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) has equated it to worship (`Ibādah) –

"الدُّعَاءُ هُوَ العِبَادَة"

“Du’ā’ is worship”

(Al-Hadīth)

Therefore when we perform tawwāf around the Ka`bah, the meanings of the prophetic words come to life. We then understand the true meaning of du`ā’.

The Sa`y:

Immediately after the tawaf we move on to the next ritual of the Hajj i.e. the Sa`y between the hills of Saf-fā and Marwah, symbolising a mother’s appeal to Allah. It was between these two hills that the mother of Islam, Hājar, ran desperately in search of water to quench the thirst of her infant son, Ismā`il. Hājar calls upon no one for assistance but Allah.

In the vicinity of the Ka`bah there are various traces of the founder of Islām, Ibrāhīm (A.S.) and his family reminding us of their acknowledgement of Allah, their relationship with Him and their reliance on Him. These are referred to in the Qur'ān;

"مِنْ شَعَائِرِ اللهِ"

“…among the Religious Symbols of Allah”
(Al-Qur'ān – 2:158)

In fact the entire Hajj focuses on relationships, the relationship between mother and child, the relationship between father and child, and this family’s relationship with Allah. Central to all these relationships is the individual relationship with Allah, which impacts inevitably on their interpersonal relationships –

"الدِّيْنُ مُعَامَلاَت"

“Dīn is good interpersonal relations”.
(Al-Hadīth)

Essentially life revolves around our relationship with Allah, which is deeply rooted in our relationships with others.

Minā – Yaum at-Tarwiyah

On the 8th day of Dhū al-Hijjah we proceed to Minā. This is referred to as Yaum at-Tarwiyah – the day of reflection. It is also a preparation and a prelude to the highlighting event of the Hajj - `Arafah. Here we prepare ourselves for `Arafah, engaged in nothing but Salāh, Dhikr and reflection.`Arafah is a very important event, which forms an integral part of the rituals of Hajj; in fact without it there is no Hajj. Therefore the pilgrim has to be physically, psychologically and spiritually prepared for `Arafah. Symbolically in the “Hajj of life” Minā denotes our upbringing and education as a preparation for recognizing Allah – realising Who Allah is – which is the point of `Arafah. It is only with a sound upbringing that we are able to recognise Allah and the true meaning of life. It is because of this that Prophet Ibrāhīm and his family were able to realise and recognise Allah. It was because of a sound upbringing that Prophet Ismā`īl, as a young child, could fully understand the commandment of Allah. Thus the boy’s response to Allah’s commandment when informed by his father was,

"يَا أَبتِ اِفْعَل مَا تُأْمَر سَتَجِدُنِيْ إِنْ شَاءَ اللهُ مِنَ الصَّابِرِيْن"

“O my beloved father, do as you were ordered,
you will surely find me from amongst those who patiently persevere”

(Al-Qur'ān – 37:102)

`Arafah

On the morning of the 9th of Dhū al-Hijjah then we set out for the plains of `Arafah. `Arafah is a place of historic significance. Here in particular the Prophet (S.A.W.) made his final address. It is not surprising that the essence of this address was relationships. `Arafah is essentially about our relationship with Allah, and in turn, our relationships with others. Once we become aware of this we become aware of the essence of life. In the physical Hajj `Arafah is the most significant pillar. Regarding `Arafah the Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) said, “Hajj is `Arafah” – meaning that without `Arafah our Hajj is incomplete. In relation to our lives it will be incomplete without the realisation and acknowledgement of Allah. Therefore as `Arafah plays a significant role in the physical Hajj it also plays a significant role in the “Hajj of life”. In the “Hajj of life” we must realise and acknowledge Allah. However the point of realisation differs from person to person. For some individuals `Arafah might come early in their life on earth, for others it might come later. And then there is a final group of people who may never experience ‘Arafah on earth. With reference to the latter group the Qur'ān reads:

"كَلاَّ سَوْفَ تَعْلَمُوْنَ، ثُمَّ كَلاَّ سَوْفَ تَعْلَمُوْنَ"

“Indeed you will soon realise (the truth), and again,
you will soon realise (the truth)”
(Al-Qur'ān - 102:3-4)

If we do not realise Allah in this life we are sure to realise Allah in the next life, however it would be too late and we will be of the losers. Even our request to return to earth in order to realise Allah would be futile. Allah’s response to such request would be,

"وَ لَنْ يُّؤَخِّرَ اللهُ نَفْسًا إِذَا جَاءَ أَجَلُهَا"

“Allah does not grant anyone respite if his time (on earth) has lapsed”.
(Al-Qur'ān – 63:11)

Conclusively, `Arafah is an essential component of life. However, when one reaches `Arafah it does not, in any way, signify the end of the journey. Our “`Arafah”, by no means, will go unchallenged. Thus the journey continues. We then prepare ourselves for the next phase – Muzdalifah.

Muzdalifah and Minā
Muzdalifah is the station between `Arafah and Minā. Here, on the eve of the 10th of Dhū al-Ḥijjah we gather our pebbles to pelt the Jamarāt the next day. The Jamarāt are the symbols of Shaytān/Evil. In the “Hajj of life” it symbolises the challenge to our “`Arafah” (realisation). Allah makes us aware,

أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُوا أَن يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَايُفْتَنُونَ

"Do men think that they will be left alone on saying,
We believe, and that they will not Be tested?"
(Al-Qur'ān – 29:2)

In another verse the Qur'ān reads;

"وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوفْ وَالْجُوعِ
وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الأَمَوَالِ وَالأنفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ..."

“Be sure We shall test you with something of fear and hunger,
some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil)…”
(Al-Qur'ān - 2:155)

For this challenge one needs the tools or the ammunition. The pebbles are thus symbolic of the tools or ammunition required for the challenge, which in the physical Hajj takes place the next day. The major question is what are these tools?

The tools are beautifully laid out for us in the following chapter of the Holy Qur’ān - Surat al-`Asr.

"وَالْعَصْرِ، إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ، إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ"

By (the Token of) time (through the Ages),
Verily Man is in loss, except such as have Faith, and do righteous deeds, and (join together) in the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience and Constancy.

(Al-Qur'ān - 103:1-3)
In the above sūrah, Allah warns us that we will always lose unless we have the “tools”.
Tools:

Faith coupled with action – except those who believe and do righteous deeds – faith and action are inseparable. True faith is entrenched in the physical action – to act upon our belief. Various verses of the Holy Qur'ān, including the above, whenever it speaks about faith it couples it with action.

The Holy Prophet (S.A.W) states in a Ḥadith that,

"اَلإِيْمَانُ وَ العَمَلُ قَرِيْنَان"

“Faith and action are two inseparable elements”.
(Al-Hadīth)

It is the transforming of faith into action that awards us the title of a true believer (a Mu’min), which is the second level of our spiritual development – the first level is when we realise Allah, or when we reach ‘`Arafah” – this is when we become Muslim in the true sense, and do not merely carrying a Muslim name.

Patience – this essentially is rooted in our faith. Thus if we have a strong degree of faith it will impact on our ability to patiently persevere and easily overcome the obstacles hindering our “path towards Allah”.

It is with these tools that our father Ibrāhīm (A.S.) walked on the battlefield. Without it we would surely lose the battle –

"إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ"

“Verily Man is in loss”

Finally success in this world is not based on worldly achievements but rather it is based on our faith in Allah and ability to persevere, and show gratitude.

وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ، الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالُواْ إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ، أُولَـئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ وَأُولَـئِكَ
هُمُ الْمُهْتَدُونَ
“And give glad tidings to those who persevere, they are those who when a difficulty afflicts them they say, Verily from Allah do we come and to Him is our return, they are indeed on the Right Path”.
(Al-Qur'ān - 2:155-156)

Thus, these are the ones who will win the battle and return to Allah successfully.

Special thanks to Shaykh Talieb Bakr 'Arabic Phrase Book of Hajj and Umrah'
Delivered at Fredericton Islamic Association, Masjid on December 21, 2007

World and Hereafter - الدنیا و الآخرۃ

2008-02-08T06:33:00.000-08:00

اعوذ باللہ من الشیطٰن الرجیم بسم اللہ الرحمٰن الرحیم الحمد لله رب العالمين ، أرسل رسوله بالهدى و دين الحق ليظهره على الدين كله و كفي بالله شهيدا ، و أشهد ألا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ؛ له الملك و له الحمد ، يحيى و يميت و هو على كل شئ قدير
In the name of Allah, the most beneficient, the most merciful, Master of the day of Judgement. Peace and blessings be upon the noble Prophet Mohammad SAW, his family and his companions who conveyed the message of Islam through their words, deeds and actions.

My dear respected Brothers, Sisters and Elders in Islam, Assalam o allaikum Wr Wb…..

Allah SWT says in the Holy Quran:

الَر كِتَابٌ أَنزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ لِتُخْرِجَ النَّاسَ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ إِلَى صِرَاطِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ

14:1 - (This is) a Book which We have revealed unto you (O Muhammad SAW) in order that you might lead mankind out of darkness (of disbelief and polytheism) into light (of belief in the Oneness of Allâh and Islâmic Monotheism) by their Lord's Leave to the Path of the All-Mighty, the Owner of all Praise.
Allah SWT has revealed this book so we can be guided from the darkness towards the light of truth. A human being has been struggling since the beginning of its creation to find a path that is peace and solace and that can bring one to the internal peace and tranquility. Allah SWT like many other needs of a human beings, sent anbiya kiram aleyhimus salam to fulfil this need. Each messenger was sent to guide his nation out of the darkness and towards the light of Allah SWT. With the final message of Rasulallah SAW, this guidance has been preserved in the Kalaam of Allah SWT – the Quran.

Quran is the source that brings peace and tranquility in the hearts of the those who are truly seeking for truth. Allah SWT says:

وَإِذَا قُرِىءَ الْقُرْآنُ فَاسْتَمِعُواْ لَهُ وَأَنصِتُواْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ (7:204
204. So, when the Qur'ân is recited, listen to it, and be silent that you may receive mercy.

There is no book in existance whose followers have committed themselves to memorizing it as much as the huffaz of the Holy Quran. Also, there is no other book on the face of the earth that is read as beautifully as the Quran. It is not the miracle of the recitors but it’s a miracle of the book whose reading has been made to vary in such a manner. If this was the miracle of the recitors, then they could memorize any other book and recite it like Quran. The tonal reading with varying intonations is indeed the speciality of Quran only.

If we see the lives of the sahaba we will find that they had extreme love towards Holy Quran.

Ibn Ka'ab RA was a Sahabi who held a high rank among the Sahabah as a teacher. One day he was reading the Holy Quran and the Messenger of Allah passed. Ibn Ka'ab RA fell silent upon seeing him, but the Messenger of Allah told him to keep reading. Ibn Ka'ab RA said, "How can I read in front of the one upon whom this Quran was revealed?" The Prophet replied, "This is so, but this is how I have been commanded."

Ibn Ka'ab RA realized that Allah Himself had issued a command. He asked, "O Messenger of Allah, did Allah specify me by name?" The Prophet replied, "Yes, Allah inspired me to tell you to read so that He may listen." These were the people who would read the Holy Quran with such love and sincerity that Allah Himself would request them to read the Holy Quran.

Fatima RA would become so absorbed in her reading of the Holy Quran and read with such desire that the whole night would pass unawares. Upon noticing the dawn, she would raise her hands and complain to Allah, "O Allah, I made intention for just two rakats, and Your whole night passed away." These were people who would complain that nights were too short for worship.

Returning from an engagement with the enemy, the Messenger of Allah set up camp along the way and ordered two Sahabah to keep watch during the night while the rest of the army slept. The two Sahabah divided the night into shifts, and one would keep watch while the other slept; this way they would both could get equal sleep. The Sahabi who opted to stay awake for the first part of the night decided to stand up and offer prayer, and in the prayer he started reciting Surah al-Kahf[6].

Enemy scouts approached and saw that the Muslim camp was asleep. Scanning the surrounding hills, they noticed a lone figure standing atop a cliff edge. They shot an arrow that struck the Sahabi in the chest, and he started bleeding. However, the Sahabi did not move from his position. Two more arrows hit him in the chest, but he kept reciting. When a fourth arrow struck him, he awoke his companion because of fear that he might lose consciousness.

According to some different sources of this hadith, the Sahabi's streaming blood fell upon his companion's face and thus he awoke. This Sahabi said to his now awakened companion, "Had I not had to wake you for the safety of the others, I would have taken arrow after arrow but would not have interrupted Surah al-Kahf for the pleasure it was bringing me."
The love of this Holy Book was immense in the hearts of these people whose lives revolved around this one Book. They took every benefit out of it and that guarantee their success. They considered their lives to be elevated because of Islam.
Umar RA was leading an army back to Madinah after an expedition when he stopped at a valley in the height of noonday. He dismounted and appeared lost in thought for a very long time. The soldiers starting sweating, but dared not move for their leader appeared to be contemplating something in the valley.

Someone worked up the courage to ask Umar RA what he was doing, since the army behind him was waiting. Umar RA sighed and said, "There was a time before accepting Islam that I used to herd camels in this very valley. I did not know how to herd them properly. My father used to beat me and say that I wouldn't amount to anything because I don't even know how to herd camels. Now Allah has made Umar the Amir-ul-Mumineen through the glory of Islam and the Holy Quran." Umar RA used to say, "The Holy Quran has come to give us honor."

Dear Brothers and Sisters! We need to establish a connection with this Glorious Quran, and read it constantly so that we become lovers of this Holy Book. We need to enlighten our hearts with the light of this Glorious Book and then we will be successful both in this life and the next.

A guest came to Husain RA’shouse, so he sent his slave girl out for some food, because there was limited supply in the house. Upon reentering the house, she tripped and hot gravy burned through Husain RA’s clothing. Husain RA grew intensely angry and glared at the girl. However scared the slave girl became at seeing this in her master, she knew his character and the strong principles by which he lived.

The frightened girl immediately quoted a verse from the Noble Quran:

الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ فِي السَّرَّاء وَالضَّرَّاء وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ
(The believers are) those who spend in the path of Allah when they are blessed with more and when they are in hardship and those who restrain anger (3:134)

Husain RA’s expression changed and he said to her, "I have absorbed my anger." The girl continued:

وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ
And pardon all men (3:134)

Husain RA said, "I forgive you for your mistake." The slave girl then said:

وَاللّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ
Allah loves those who do good (3:134)

Hadrat Husain then replied, "Go, I have freed you for the sake of Allah."

These were people who used to change their lives while listening to the Holy Quran. One moment Hadrat Husain was glaring at his slave girl in anger, and the next moment he freed her for the sake of Allah.

Today our copies of the Glorious Quran are sitting on shelves in silk coverings but we do not find the time to read them. We waste our time in useless television and drama shows. We watch television and read the newspaper for hours without realizing the time, and months go by like this, but nobody has the time to pick up the Glorious Revelation of Allah.

وَاذْكُرُواْ إِذْ أَنتُمْ قَلِيلٌ مُّسْتَضْعَفُونَ فِي الأَرْضِ تَخَافُونَ أَن يَتَخَطَّفَكُمُ النَّاسُ فَآوَاكُمْ وَأَيَّدَكُم بِنَصْرِهِ وَرَزَقَكُم مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
26. And remember when you were few and were reckoned weak in the land, and were afraid that men might kidnap you, but He provided a safe place for you, strengthened you with His Help, and provided you with good things so that you might be grateful.

My dear Brothers and Sisters,

When we see the lives of our predecessors, we see that they were few in number but they became successful, because they held fast to Quran. They understood its message in completeness and they implemented that message in their daily lives. We have to wake ourselves up and return to the teachings of Quran, the only true message on Allah SWT.

May Allah make us lovers of the Holy Quran, writers of the Holy Quran, huffaz of the Holy Quran, and give us taufeeq to act upon the Holy Quran. May Allah spread the light of the Glorious Quran throughout the world and enlighten our hearts with it.

Wa akhiru dawaana anil hamdulillahi rabbilaalimeen

Delivered at Fredericton Islamic Association, Masjid on November 21, 2007

Love for Quran

2007-10-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

اعوذ باللہ من الشیطٰن الرجیم بسم اللہ الرحمٰن الرحیم الحمد لله رب العالمين ، أرسل رسوله بالهدى و دين الحق ليظهره على الدين كله و كفي بالله شهيدا ، و أشهد ألا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ؛ له الملك و له الحمد ، يحيى و يميت و هو على كل شئ قدير

In the name of Allah, the most beneficient, the most merciful, Master of the day of Judgement. Peace and blessings be upon the noble Prophet Mohammad SAW, his family and his companions who conveyed the message of Islam through their words, deeds and actions.

My dear respected Brothers, Sisters and Elders in Islam, Assalam o allaikum Wr Wb…..

Allah SWT says in the Holy Quran:

الَر كِتَابٌ أَنزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ لِتُخْرِجَ النَّاسَ مِنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِمْ إِلَى صِرَاطِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ

14:1 - (This is) a Book which We have revealed unto you (O Muhammad SAW) in order that you might lead mankind out of darkness (of disbelief and polytheism) into light (of belief in the Oneness of Allâh and Islâmic Monotheism) by their Lord's Leave to the Path of the All-Mighty, the Owner of all Praise.
Allah SWT has revealed this book so we can be guided from the darkness towards the light of truth. A human being has been struggling since the beginning of its creation to find a path that is peace and solace and that can bring one to the internal peace and tranquility. Allah SWT like many other needs of a human beings, sent anbiya kiram aleyhimus salam to fulfil this need. Each messenger was sent to guide his nation out of the darkness and towards the light of Allah SWT. With the final message of Rasulallah SAW, this guidance has been preserved in the Kalaam of Allah SWT – the Quran.

Quran is the source that brings peace and tranquility in the hearts of the those who are truly seeking for truth. Allah SWT says:

وَإِذَا قُرِىءَ الْقُرْآنُ فَاسْتَمِعُواْ لَهُ وَأَنصِتُواْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ (7:204
204. So, when the Qur'ân is recited, listen to it, and be silent that you may receive mercy.

There is no book in existance whose followers have committed themselves to memorizing it as much as the huffaz of the Holy Quran. Also, there is no other book on the face of the earth that is read as beautifully as the Quran. It is not the miracle of the recitors but it’s a miracle of the book whose reading has been made to vary in such a manner. If this was the miracle of the recitors, then they could memorize any other book and recite it like Quran. The tonal reading with varying intonations is indeed the speciality of Quran only.

If we see the lives of the sahaba we will find that they had extreme love towards Holy Quran.

Ibn Ka'ab RA was a Sahabi who held a high rank among the Sahabah as a teacher. One day he was reading the Holy Quran and the Messenger of Allah passed. Ibn Ka'ab RA fell silent upon seeing him, but the Messenger of Allah told him to keep reading. Ibn Ka'ab RA said, "How can I read in front of the one upon whom this Quran was revealed?" The Prophet replied, "This is so, but this is how I have been commanded."

Ibn Ka'ab RA realized that Allah Himself had issued a command. He asked, "O Messenger of Allah, did Allah specify me by name?" The Prophet replied, "Yes, Allah inspired me to tell you to read so that He may listen." These were the people who would read the Holy Quran with such love and sincerity that Allah Himself would request them to read the Holy Quran.

Fatima RA would become so absorbed in her reading of the Holy Quran and read with such desire that the whole night would pass unawares. Upon noticing the dawn, she would raise her hands and complain to Allah, "O Allah, I made intention for just two rakats, and Your whole night passed away." These were people who would complain that nights were too short for worship.

Returning from an engagement with the enemy, the Messenger of Allah set up camp along the way and ordered two Sahabah to keep watch during the night while the rest of the army slept. The two Sahabah divided the night into shifts, and one would keep watch while the other slept; this way they would both could get equal sleep. The Sahabi who opted to stay awake for the first part of the night decided to stand up and offer prayer, and in the prayer he started reciting Surah al-Kahf.
Enemy scouts approached and saw that the Muslim camp was asleep. Scanning the surrounding hills, they noticed a lone figure standing atop a cliff edge. They shot an arrow that struck the Sahabi in the chest, and he started bleeding. However, the Sahabi did not move from his position. Two more arrows hit him in the chest, but he kept reciting. When a fourth arrow struck him, he awoke his companion because of fear that he might lose consciousness.

According to some different sources of this hadith, the Sahabi's streaming blood fell upon his companion's face and thus he awoke. This Sahabi said to his now awakened companion, "Had I not had to wake you for the safety of the others, I would have taken arrow after arrow but would not have interrupted Surah al-Kahf for the pleasure it was bringing me."
The love of this Holy Book was immense in the hearts of these people whose lives revolved around this one Book. They took every benefit out of it and that guarantee their success. They considered their lives to be elevated because of Islam.
Umar RA was leading an army back to Madinah after an expedition when he stopped at a valley in the height of noonday. He dismounted and appeared lost in thought for a very long time. The soldiers starting sweating, but dared not move for their leader appeared to be contemplating something in the valley.

Someone worked up the courage to ask Umar RA what he was doing, since the army behind him was waiting. Umar RA sighed and said, "There was a time before accepting Islam that I used to herd camels in this very valley. I did not know how to herd them properly. My father used to beat me and say that I wouldn't amount to anything because I don't even know how to herd camels. Now Allah has made Umar the Amir-ul-Mumineen through the glory of Islam and the Holy Quran." Umar RA used to say, "The Holy Quran has come to give us honor."

Dear Brothers and Sisters! We need to establish a connection with this Glorious Quran, and read it constantly so that we become lovers of this Holy Book. We need to enlighten our hearts with the light of this Glorious Book and then we will be successful both in this life and the next.

A guest came to Husain RA’shouse, so he sent his slave girl out for some food, because there was limited supply in the house. Upon reentering the house, she tripped and hot gravy burned through Husain RA’s clothing. Husain RA grew intensely angry and glared at the girl. However scared the slave girl became at seeing this in her master, she knew his character and the strong principles by which he lived.

The frightened girl immediately quoted a verse from the Noble Quran:

الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ فِي السَّرَّاء وَالضَّرَّاء وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ
(The believers are) those who spend in the path of Allah when they are blessed with more and when they are in hardship and those who restrain anger (3:134)

Husain RA’s expression changed and he said to her, "I have absorbed my anger." The girl continued:

وَالْعَافِينَ عَنِ النَّاسِ
And pardon all men (3:134)

Husain RA said, "I forgive you for your mistake." The slave girl then said:

وَاللّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ
Allah loves those who do good (3:134)

Hadrat Husain then replied, "Go, I have freed you for the sake of Allah."

These were people who used to change their lives while listening to the Holy Quran. One moment Hadrat Husain was glaring at his slave girl in anger, and the next moment he freed her for the sake of Allah.

Today our copies of the Glorious Quran are sitting on shelves in silk coverings but we do not find the time to read them. We waste our time in useless television and drama shows. We watch television and read the newspaper for hours without realizing the time, and months go by like this, but nobody has the time to pick up the Glorious Revelation of Allah.

وَاذْكُرُواْ إِذْ أَنتُمْ قَلِيلٌ مُّسْتَضْعَفُونَ فِي الأَرْضِ تَخَافُونَ أَن يَتَخَطَّفَكُمُ النَّاسُ فَآوَاكُمْ وَأَيَّدَكُم بِنَصْرِهِ وَرَزَقَكُم مِّنَ الطَّيِّبَاتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
26. And remember when you were few and were reckoned weak in the land, and were afraid that men might kidnap you, but He provided a safe place for you, strengthened you with His Help, and provided you with good things so that you might be grateful.

My dear Brothers and Sisters,

When we see the lives of our predecessors, we see that they were few in number but they became successful, because they held fast to Quran. They understood its message in completeness and they implemented that message in their daily lives. We have to wake ourselves up and return to the teachings of Quran, the only true message on Allah SWT.

May Allah make us lovers of the Holy Quran, writers of the Holy Quran, huffaz of the Holy Quran, and give us taufeeq to act upon the Holy Quran. May Allah spread the light of the Glorious Quran throughout the world and enlighten our hearts with it.

Wa akhiru dawaana anil hamdulillahi rabbilaalimeen

Special thanks to Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad
Delivered at Fredericton Islamic Association, Masjid on November 9, 2007

Ramadan - رمضان

2007-09-19T08:33:00.000-07:00

اعوذ باللہ من الشیطٰن الرجیمبسم اللہ الرحمٰن الرحیمالحمد لله رب العالمين ، أرسل رسوله بالهدى و دين الحق ليظهره على الدين كله و كفي بالله شهيدا ، و أشهد ألا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ؛ له الملك و له الحمد ، يحيى و يميت و هو على كل شئ قدير

In the name of Allah, the most beneficient, the most merciful, Master of the day of Judgement. Peace and blessings be upon the noble Prophet Mohammad SAW, his family and his companions who conveyed the message of Islam through their words, deeds and actions.

My dear respected brothers, sisters and elders in Islam…
Assalam o allaikum Wr. Wb.

Ramadan has approached us, once again. We have been given a chance once again to correct ourselves and make ourselves obedient to the commandments of Allah SWT. We have been given a chance once again to tame our nafs according to the teachings of Islam. It is a golden opportunity for us to mould our way of life to the life of Rasulallah SAW.

It is a time for struggle and not to sit back and relax. Just like we spend all nights preparing for exams because we care about the result our test is going to bring, similarly, we should prepare ourselves by spending most of the nights making ibadah to Allah SWT so that our results are in our favour on the day of Qayamah.

Allah SWT has declared this month to be a blessed month for us. It is a month in which Al-Quran, the word of Allah was revealed to mankind. It is a month where rahmah of Allah SWT is showered, the gates of paradise are opened for those who are fasting, the shayateen are chained so that we can be even more closer to Allah SWT.

Allah SWT says in Quran:
شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِيَ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ يُرِيدُ اللّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلاَ يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُواْ الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُواْ اللّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَo
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِ فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُواْ لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُواْ بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ (2:186

185. The month of Ramadân in which was revealed the Qur'ân, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadân i.e. is present at his home), he must observe Saum (fasts) that month, and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days which one did not observe Saum (fasts) must be made up] from other days. Allâh intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you. (He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days), and that you must magnify Allâh [i.e. to say Takbîr (Allâhu-Akbar; Allâh is the Most Great) on seeing the crescent of the months of Ramadân and Shawwâl] for having guided you so that you may be grateful to Him.[]
186. And when My slaves ask you (O Muhammad SAW) concerning Me, then (answer them), I am indeed near (to them by My Knowledge). I respond to the invocations of the supplicant when he calls on Me (without any mediator or intercessor). So let them obey Me and believe in Me, so that they may be led aright.[]
Allah SWT has blessed us with all the conveniences but at the same time He has made it clear that fasting in the month of Ramadan is a duty that is obligatory upon each one of us.

Rasulallah SAW said in a hadeeth:
The Prophet –peace be upon him- said, "When the first night of Ramadan comes, the devils and rebellious jinns are put in chains and the door of hell are closed, none of them remains open. The door of heaven are open and none of them remains closed. And a caller calls, 'O seeker of goodness, come forward, and O seeker of evil, desist. And Allah has many (in this month) who will be freed from Hell.' This announcement is made every night. (Tirmidhi).

Pray to Allah SWT that we are from among those who will be freed from Hell in this month. Pray to Allah SWT for the taufeeq that we may do righteous deeds in this month. Pray to Allah SWT that we do not just let this month pass by like other days of the year.

As individuals, as families, we must understand the importance of this month for ourselves and our children. We must try to bring the complete conviction in ourselves that the only being that can alleviate ourselves from our pains is Allah SWT. We must teach our children that if they ask Allah SWT, their needs will be fulfilled. We should make special preparation at our homes to break our fasts and to keep the fasts so that this new generation of ours can see the importance of keeping fasts in Ramadan. Let them learn and let them compete with eachother in performing good deeds. Make this Ramadan a milestone the life of your children. Pray that Allah give us the taufeeq to achieve this.

My dear Brothers and Sisters,

The month of Ramadan has many rituals for us that can keep us busy. Starting our day with Suhoor and keeping the fast whole day and then breaking the fast at sunset, reciting quran and adhkar during the day, praying salaat taraweeh at night and qiyamul layl requires not only physical struggle but also a mental resolve.

Besides all the physical ibadaah, Ramadan is also meant for our moral and spiritual training and for the purification of our bodies, minds and souls. This is an annual training program for all believers. It is a special time to get closer to Allah and to seek His blessings and bounties. It is a time to learn Taqwa, piety, self-discipline and patience. It is a time to give more charity and become more generous. It is a time to seek Allah's forgiveness and to forgive each other. It is a time to be thankful to Allah for His gifts and bounties and especially His gift of Iman.

Rasulallah SAW is reported to have been said:Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "When the month of Ramadan starts, the gates of the heaven are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained."

Brothers and Sisters, lets keep some important things in our minds when we keep our fasts in Ramadan.

1. Niyyah (Intention): Remind yourself again and again that you are fasting in obedience to Allah. Be sincere in your intention. You want Allah to accept your fasting. The Prophet –peace be upon him- said:
"Whosoever fasts in Ramadan with faith and seeking Allah's reward, all his past sins are forgiven." (Al-Bukhari, Hadith no. 37)

2. Sunnah : Observe the Sunnah in fasting. Take the Sahur meal a little before dawn and end your fast at Sunset. Observe all the rules of fasting.

3. Wara' (Avoiding everything Haram or Makruh): Keep your body and mind very clean. Fasting is not just avoiding food and drink. Fasting is to learn how to avoid bad words and bad deeds. The Prophet –peace be upon him said:
"Whosoever does not leave bad words and bad actions, Allah does not care if he leaves his food and drink." (Al-Tirmidhi 641)

4. Qur'an : Spend more time with the Qur'an. Read Qur'an every day. Try to finish at least one time the whole Qur'an during this month in your own personal reading. Read some Ahadith and the books of Seerah also .

5. Salat, Du'a and Dhikr of Allah : Pray on time and observe all prayers. Do not ignore the Tarawih prayers. Make more Nawafil. Do as much 'Ibadah as you can. Do more Zikr and Du'a for yourself and for others. Make Tawbah and Istighfar as much as you can. This is the best time for devotion and seeking Allah's forgiveness. Seek the Night of Qadr by special devotion during the last ten nights of this month.
Rasulallah SAW said:Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "Whoever established prayers on the night of Qadr out of sincere faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven; and whoever fasts in the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven."

6. Zakat, Sadaqah and Generosity : Be very charitable and generous. Give more to help the poor and needy. Contribute generously for useful social and community projects.

7. Family: Be very good to your family, immediate family and the extended family. Spend more time and quality time with your family members.

8. Husn al-Suluk : Try to be extra kind and courteous during this month. Forget your quarrels and disputes. Reconcile and forgive. Do not get involved in backbiting, lying, cheating and any thing that is wrong. Be very good to Muslims and to all human beings. Be good to your friends and neighbors. Let your non-Muslim neighbors and co-workers know that this is your blessed and sacred time. Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "Allah said, 'All the deeds of Adam's sons (people) are for them, except fasting which is for Me, and I will give the reward for it.' Fasting is a shield or protection from the fire and from committing sins. If one of you is fasting, he should avoid sexual relation with his wife and quarreling, and if somebody should fight or quarrel with him, he should say, 'I am fasting.' By Him in Whose Hands my soul is' The unpleasant smell coming out from the mouth of a fasting person is better in the sight of Allah than the smell of musk. There are two pleasures for the fasting person, one at the time of breaking his fast, and the other at the time when he will meet his Lord; then he will be pleased because of his fasting."

9. Tafakkur : Think, reflect and plan to improve the moral and spiritual condition of your own self and your family. Think about any wrong things and sins you might be doing and decide to correct your self. Think about any deficiencies you have in your Islamic observances. Plan to change yourself. Think what you can do for the Ummah and for humanity to make this world a better place for every one. Think about the Akhirah and the Day of Judgment.

10. Be cheerful and happy: Ramadan is not a time of mourning or sadness. It is a time of thankfulness to Allah. Give the greetings of Ramadan to each other and enjoy this beautiful time.
It is reported in a Hadith that the Prophet –peace be upon him- gave a sermon about Ramadan to a gathering that met towards the end of Sha'ban. He said:
“O People, a great and a blessed month is approaching you. In this month there is a night that is better than one thousand months. Allah has made fasting obligatory and prayers at night commendable during this month. Whosoever will do a voluntary good deed during this month, it is as if he performed an obligatory good deed at another time and whosoever will perform an obligatory good deed, it is as if he performed seventy obligatory good deeds at another time. This is the month of patience and the reward of patience is Paradise. This is the month of kindness. In this month the believers provision is increased. Whosoever will give food to a fasting person in this month, it will bring forgiveness for his sins, will save him from the hellfire and he shall have his reward while the fasting person will not lose any of his reward.”
May Allah give us the taufeeq to spend this Ramadan as His obedient servants so we can enjoy benefits from Him in this word and hereafter.

Wa akhiruhu dawanaa anilhamdulillahi rabbil aalimeen.

Special thanks to Dr. Muzammil Siddiqui
Delivered at Fredericton Islamic Association, Masjid on September 14, 2007

Hellfire - جھنّم

2007-08-24T07:36:00.000-07:00

اعوذ باللہ من الشیطٰن الرجیم
بسم اللہ الرحمٰن الرحیم
الحمد لله رب العالمين ، أرسل رسوله بالهدى و دين الحق ليظهره على الدين كله و كفي بالله شهيدا ، و أشهد ألا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ؛ له الملك و له الحمد ، يحيى و يميت و هو على كل شئ قدير

In the name of Allah, the most beneficent, the most merciful, master of the day of Judgement. It is his aid that we seek to keep ourselves on the right path and the path whom he has blessed and not of those who go astray.

Salutations be upon Prophet Mohammad SAW, who was sent as a guide to this mankind and who delivered the message of our creator in its completeness through his words and action.

Dear respected brothers, sisters and elders of the community, Assalam o allaikum….

In my previous khutba, we talked about Al-Jannah. We talked about the Al-Jannah. We talked about its people and and its conditions and brief descriptions that Allah SWT has provided us in Quran Al Kareem.

We also learnt from the saying of Prophet Mohammad SAW that a human mind cannot comprehend the realities of Jannah as it surpasses every imagination a human being has. Allah SWT therefore gives us examples in Quran that are relevant to our worldly life here so we can understand and appreciate the goodness of Jannah as the reward of those who spend their lives as righteous.

In order to attain Jannah, we must show our obedience to Allah SWT in this life. We must maintain a relationship with Allah SWT in this life where our Imaan is increased rather than decrease. In order to increase this imaan we must have hope from Allah SWT and we must have fear from Allah SWT. It is after such struggle that Allah blesses us with this good eternal life and companionship of the prophets, martyrs, righteous and the truthful people.

When we see the life of sahaba kiram radhiallahu anhum, we see that they maintained this relationship with Allah SWT through the teachings of Quran. They maintained hope from Allah SWT through the explanations of Jannah and they maintained their fear by learning about the hellfire. It is as important for a muslim to know the mercy of Allah SWT as it is to know about His anger. All prophets sent by Allah SWT were the bearers of glad tidings as well as the warners of the torment of hellfire.

Allah SWT says in Quran (35:24):
إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ بِالْحَقِّ بَشِيرًا وَنَذِيرًا وَإِن مِّنْ أُمَّةٍ إِلَّا خلَا فِيهَا نَذِيرٌ
Verily! We have sent you with the truth, a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner. And there never was a nation but a warner had passed among them.

In another ayah (59.20):
لَا يَسْتَوِي أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ وَأَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ أَصْحَابُ الْجَنَّةِ هُمُ الْفَائِزُونَ
Not equal are the dwellers of the Fire and the dwellers of the Paradise. It is the dwellers of Paradise that will be successful

The punishment in the hellfire is not only limited to humans but also to Jinns.
Allah SWT says in Quran (32:13):

وَلَوْ شِئْنَا لَآتَيْنَا كُلَّ نَفْسٍ هُدَاهَا وَلَكِنْ حَقَّ الْقَوْلُ مِنِّي لَأَمْلَأَنَّ جَهَنَّمَ مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ
And if We had willed, surely! We would have given every person his guidance, but the Word from Me took effect (about evildoers), that I will fill Hell with jinn and mankind together.

We also notice that Allah SWT has called this hellfire with different names in Quran. Allah SWT calls it “An_Naar” (58:17):

لَن تُغْنِيَ عَنْهُمْ أَمْوَالُهُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُهُم مِّنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئًا أُوْلَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ
Their children and their wealth will avail them nothing against Allâh. They will be (the) dwellers of the Fire, to dwell therein forever.

And in Surah Al-Lahab, Allah calls it the Flame of Fire (111:3):

سَيَصْلَى نَارًا ذَاتَ لَهَبٍ

He will be burnt in a Fire of blazing flames!

Allah SWT has divided this hellfire into different ranks based on the its difficulty and punishment. Allah SWT tells us in Surah An Nisaa (4:145):

إِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ فِي الدَّرْكِ الأَسْفَلِ مِنَ النَّارِ وَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُمْ نَصِيرًا
Verily, the hyprocrites will be in the lowest depths (grade) of the Fire; no helper will you find for them

The messenger of Allah SAW said that there is a valley in the hellfire that is called “Wayl” and if a mountain is placed in that valley, it will melt out of the sheer heat and then he repeated 10 times the ayah of Surah Mursalaat (77:15):

وَيْلٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ لِّلْمُكَذِّبِينَ
Woe that Day to the deniers (of the Day of Resurrection)!

The most common name of hellfire in arabic is “Jahannam” as mentioned in Surah Al-Jinn (72:23):

إِلَّا بَلَاغًا مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَرِسَالَاتِهِ وَمَن يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَإِنَّ لَهُ نَارَ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا
"(Mine is) but conveyance (of the truth) from Allâh and His Messages (of Islâmic Monotheism), and whosoever disobeys Allâh and His Messenger, then verily, for him is the Fire of Hell, he shall dwell therein forever[] ."

Another name of it is “Saqr” Surah Mudassir ( 74:26-28):

سَأُصْلِيهِ سَقَرَ (74:26
وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا سَقَرُ (74:27)
لَا تُبْقِي وَلَا تَذَرُ (74:28)
26. I will cast him into Hell-fire
27. And what will make you know exactly what Hell-fire is?
28. It spares not (any sinner), nor does it leave (anything unburnt)!

And also mentioned by the name “Jaheem” in Surah Al Haaqa (69:30-31):

خُذُوهُ فَغُلُّوهُ
ثُمَّ الْجَحِيمَ صَلُّوهُ
(It will be said): "Seize him and fetter him,
Then throw him in the blazing Fire.

In Surat Al-Hajj, Allah SWT called it “As-Sa’eer” (22:4):
كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ مَن تَوَلَّاهُ فَأَنَّهُ يُضِلُّهُ وَيَهْدِيهِ إِلَى عَذَابِ السَّعِيرِ
For him (the devil) it is decreed that whosoever follows him, he will mislead him, and will drive him to the torment of the Fire. [Tafsir At-Tabarî]

In Ibn Katheer’s interpretation of the meaning of the Quran, he said according to Sa’eed Ibn Jubayir RAA that “As-Sa’eer” is a valley of pus in the hell fire.
Allah SWT also called it the “Great Fire” or “An-Nar Al-Kobra”, compared to the fire of this world, which is absolutely minor in comparison to the fire of the hereafter.

Abou Hurayirah RAA narrated from the messenger of Allah PBUH that he said: “the fire of this world with its heat and fury is only a part of seventy parts of the fire of hell and it was cooled in the oceans twice otherwise, it would have done no one any good, because of its heat”. [Sunan Ahmad]

Among the properties and descriptions of the hell fire is a tree that the people of hell shall eat from, that is known as “Az-Zaqqoom”, the taste of which is most bitter than any thing ever found in this world or the hereafter and its smell is more offensive than any decayed cadaver ever found. It is mentioned in many verses in the Quran in Surat Al-Isra’a, As-Saffat, Ad-Dukhan and Al-Waqi’ah, among those is what was mentioned in Surat As-Saffat (37:62-67):

أَذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ نُّزُلًا أَمْ شَجَرَةُ الزَّقُّومِ ہ إِنَّا جَعَلْنَاهَا فِتْنَةً لِّلظَّالِمِينَ ہ إِنَّهَا شَجَرَةٌ تَخْرُجُ فِي أَصْلِ الْجَحِيمِہ طَلْعُهَا كَأَنَّهُ رُؤُوسُ الشَّيَاطِينِ ہ فَإِنَّهُمْ لَآكِلُونَ مِنْهَا فَمَالِؤُونَ مِنْهَا الْبُطُونَ ہ ثُمَّ إِنَّ لَهُمْ عَلَيْهَا لَشَوْبًا مِّنْ حَمِيمٍ
Is that the better entertainment or the Tree of Zaqqoom? For, We have truly made it (as) a trial for the wrong-doers. For it is a tree that springs out of the bottom of Hell-fire: The shoots of its fruit-stalks are like the heads of devils: Truly they will eat thereof and fill their bellies therewith. Then on top of that they will be given a mixture made of boiling water.

And again in Surat Ad-Dukhan, Allah SWT said (44:43-46):

إِنَّ شَجَرَةَ الزَّقُّومِ ہ طَعَامُ الْأَثِيمِ ہ كَالْمُهْلِ يَغْلِي فِي الْبُطُونِ ہ كَغَلْيِ الْحَمِيمِ ہ
Verily the tree of Zaqqoom Will be the food of the Sinful, Like molten brass; it will boil in their insides, Like the boiling of scalding water.

In Surat Az-Zukhruf, Allah SWT described hell fire regarding the big boss of its gatekeepers, whose name is “Malik”, from among the honorable angels in a famous expected dialogue between him and the disbelievers and criminals as follows (43:74-77):

إِنَّ الْمُجْرِمِينَ فِي عَذَابِ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدُونَ ہ لَا يُفَتَّرُ عَنْهُمْ وَهُمْ فِيهِ مُبْلِسُونَ ہ وَمَا ظَلَمْنَاهُمْ وَلَكِن كَانُوا هُمُ الظَّالِمِينَ ہوَنَادَوْا يَا مَالِكُ لِيَقْضِ عَلَيْنَا رَبُّكَ قَالَ إِنَّكُم مَّاكِثُونَ ہ
The sinners will be in the Punishment of Hell, to dwell therein: the punishment will not be lightened for them, and in despair will they be there overwhelmed. We were not unjust to them: but it is they who have been unjust themselves. They will cry: "O’ Malik! Would that thy Lord; Allah put an end to us!" he will say, "No, but you shall abide forever!"

“Malik” is the name of the angel who is charged with the affairs of Hell fire.

In another Surah, Allah SWT described the conversation between the people of hell fire and its angels, whose name is “Az-Zabanyiah”, as mentioned in Surat Ghafir (40:49-50):

وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ فِي النَّارِ لِخَزَنَةِ جَهَنَّمَ ادْعُوا رَبَّكُمْ يُخَفِّفْ عَنَّا يَوْمًا مِّنَ الْعَذَابِ ہ قَالُوا أَوَلَمْ تَكُ تَأْتِيكُمْ رُسُلُكُم بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ قَالُوا بَلَى قَالُوا فَادْعُوا وَمَا دُعَاء الْكَافِرِينَ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ ہ

Those in the Fire will say to the Keepers of Hell: "Pray to your Lord; Allah, to lighten us the Penalty for a Day (at least)!" They will say: "Did there not come to you your Messengers with Clear Signs?" They will say: "Yes." They will reply, "Then pray (as you like)! But the Prayer of those without Faith is nothing but (futile wandering) in (mazes of) error!"

In another Surah, Allah SWT described the keepers of the Hell Fire as follows as mentioned in Surat At-Tahreem (66:6):

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًا وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ عَلَيْهَا مَلَائِكَةٌ غِلَاظٌ شِدَادٌ لَا يَعْصُونَ اللَّهَ مَا أَمَرَهُمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَ

O’ you who believe! Save yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is Men and Stones, over which are appointed angels stern and severe, who flinch not from executing the Commands they receive from Allah, but do precisely what they are commanded.

Abu Hurayirah RAA narrated that the messenger of Allah PBUH said: “Everyone of you shall enter paradise except those who refuse. The people asked him: who will refuse, O’ messenger of Allah? He said: “Who obeys me shall enter it and who disobeys me verily, refused” reported by Al-Bukharee and the messenger of Allah PBUH also said: “Every offspring of Adam commits errors, and the best of those who err are the ones who ask for forgiveness”. Ask Allah SWT for forgiveness with assurance of His acceptance insha’allah.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Islam, the description of the hell fire is really unnerving and upsetting, but we have to know how it is in order to do righteous and fear Allah SWT more and more.

May Allah SWT keep us on the path of righteousness and save us from the hellfire.
Ameen!

Delivered at Fredericton Islamic Association, Masjid on August 17, 2007

Paradise - الجنَّۃ

2007-07-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

اعوذ باللہ من الشیطٰن الرجیم
بسم اللہ الرحمٰن الرحیم
الحمد لله رب العالمين ، أرسل رسوله بالهدى و دين الحق ليظهره على الدين كله و كفي بالله شهيدا ، و أشهد ألا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ؛ له الملك و له الحمد ، يحيى و يميت و هو على كل شئ قدير

In the name of Allah SWT the most beneficient, the most merciful, the one who blessed us with this life and the one who will give eternal life in the hereafter. Salutations be upon Prophet Mohammad SAW and his companions who showed the way to practice Quran in our life.

My Dear respected brothers and sisters,
Assalam o allaikum Wr. Wb.

In the last few khutbahs we talked about getting the Qurb of Allah SWT, to be close to Allah SWT, to make dua and its importance, the reality of death and how it will be brought about. We also talked about intentions and carrying out a good deed and how one can be misguided and end up in hellfire by following the whispers of Shaytaan. Now, it is important for us to remind ourselves about our final abode. The scholars view that since Allah SWT always puts his glad tidings before his warnings, his mercy before his anger, His forgiveness before his torment, it is only wise to talk about Paradise (Al-Jannah) before Hellfire (Jahannum).

Allah SWT has very vividly and sufficiently explained in the Quran, the glad tidings given to the dwellers of Jannah. Also we see great explanations given to us in the hadeeth of Rasulallah SAW.

The first thing that we must know is that the people who will live in Jannah, will live forever and endlessly. Allah SWT says in the Quran:

وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّالِحَاتِ سَنُدْخِلُهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا لَّهُمْ فِيهَا أَزْوَاجٌ مُّطَهَّرَةٌ وَنُدْخِلُهُمْ ظِـلاًّ ظَلِيلاً
57. But those who believe (in the Oneness of Allâh - Islâmic Monotheism) and do deeds of righteousness, We shall admit them to Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise), abiding therein forever. Therein they shall have purified mates and We shall admit them to shades wide and ever deepening (Paradise)[].

Allah SWT tells us in the Quran that the people who would have done good deeds will get the eternal reward of the paradise and wrong doers will have nothing but punishment.
Allah SWT says in Quran (42.22):

تَرَى الظَّالِمِينَ مُشْفِقِينَ مِمَّا كَسَبُوا وَهُوَ وَاقِعٌ بِهِمْ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ فِي رَوْضَاتِ الْجَنَّاتِ لَهُم مَّا يَشَاؤُونَ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَضْلُ الكَبِيرُ (42:22)
22. You will see (on the Day of Resurrection), the Zâlimûn (polytheists and wrong-doers, etc.) fearful of that which they have earned, and it (Allâh's Torment) will surely befall them, while those who believe (in the Oneness of Allâh Islâmic Monotheism) and do righteous deeds (will be) in the flowering meadows of the Gardens (Paradise), having what they wish from their Lord. That is the supreme Grace, (Paradise).

The things that we value the most in this life will be given to us without any struggle in Jannah. This shows us the how our priority should be. We spend our lives collecting material things as if we will take these things to our afterlife. Only our deeds will help us go in the afterlife. All these material things that we struggle for so much here will be given to us without even asking.

Allah SWT says in Quran (22:23):

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُدْخِلُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ يُحَلَّوْنَ فِيهَا مِنْ أَسَاوِرَ مِن ذَهَبٍ وَلُؤْلُؤًا وَلِبَاسُهُمْ فِيهَا حَرِيرٌ
23. Truly, Allâh will admit those who believe (in the Oneness of Allâh Islâmic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds, to Gardens underneath which rivers flow (in Paradise), wherein they will be adorned with bracelets of gold and pearls and their garments therein will be of silk.

In another ayah, Allah SWT says (43:70-71):

ادْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ أَنتُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُكُمْ تُحْبَرُونَ (43:70)۔
يُطَافُ عَلَيْهِم بِصِحَافٍ مِّن ذَهَبٍ وَأَكْوَابٍ وَفِيهَا مَا تَشْتَهِيهِ الْأَنفُسُ وَتَلَذُّ الْأَعْيُنُ وَأَنتُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ (43:71)۔

70. Enter Paradise, you and your wives, in happiness. 71. Trays of gold and cups will be passed round them, (there will be) therein all that the one's inner-selves could desire, all that the eyes could delight in, and you will abide therein forever.

What will more important to us in Jannah will not be these material things, but the pleasure of Allah SWT . Allah SWT says in Quran (9:72):

وَعَدَ اللّهُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا وَمَسَاكِنَ طَيِّبَةً فِي جَنَّاتِ عَدْنٍ وَرِضْوَانٌ مِّنَ اللّهِ أَكْبَرُ ذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ
72. Allâh has promised to the believers -men and women, - Gardens under which rivers flow to dwell therein forever, and beautiful mansions in Gardens of 'Adn (Eden Paradise). But the greatest bliss is the Good Pleasure of Allâh. That is the supreme success.

Among the scholars, there is a consensus, that whatever a human mind can imagine or percieve, that is not Jannah. Jannah is something beyond it as it is a special creation of Allah SWT with qualities that cannot be understood with our worldly mind.

Allah SWT has explained Jannah with examples so that we may relate to our worldly understanding. Allah SWT says in Quran:

مَثَلُ الْجَنَّةِ الَّتِي وُعِدَ الْمُتَّقُونَ فِيهَا أَنْهَارٌ مِّن مَّاء غَيْرِ آسِنٍ وَأَنْهَارٌ مِن لَّبَنٍ لَّمْ يَتَغَيَّرْ طَعْمُهُ وَأَنْهَارٌ مِّنْ خَمْرٍ لَّذَّةٍ لِّلشَّارِبِينَ وَأَنْهَارٌ مِّنْ عَسَلٍ مُّصَفًّى وَلَهُمْ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ وَمَغْفِرَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ كَمَنْ هُوَ خَالِدٌ فِي النَّارِ وَسُقُوا مَاء حَمِيمًا فَقَطَّعَ أَمْعَاءهُمْ (47:15)۔

15. The description of Paradise which the Muttaqûn have been promised is that in it are rivers of water the taste and smell of which are not changed; rivers of milk of which the taste never changes; rivers of wine delicious to those who drink; and rivers of clarified honey (clear and pure) therein for them is every kind of fruit; and forgiveness from their Lord. (Are these) like those who shall dwell for ever in the Fire, and be given, to drink, boiling water, so that it cuts up their bowels?

Abu Hurayirah RAA narrated that the messenger of Allah PBUH said: “Allah SWT said: I have prepared for my pious servants things that no eye ever seen nor ear ever heard of nor mind ever possible thought of, read if you wish:

فَلَا تَعْلَمُ نَفْسٌ مَّا أُخْفِيَ لَهُم مِّن قُرَّةِ أَعْيُنٍ جَزَاء بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
17. No person knows what is kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do. [Bukhari and Muslim]

It was narrated by Abee Sa’eed Al-Khudree and Abee Hurayirah RAA that the messenger of Allah PBUH said: “ When the people of paradise enter paradise, a caller shall call them and say: For you is an eternal life and never to die, and for you is an eternal health and never be sick ever, for you is an eternal youth and never be old, and for you is an eternal joy and never hardship” [Muslim]

Narrated by Jabir RAA from the messenger of Allah PBUH saying: “The people of paradise shall eat and drink but do not defecate, do not blow their noses nor urinate because all their food will be digested producing belch which will give out of them a smell like that of musk. They shall be taught glorification of Allah or praising of Allah or “Tasbeeh” as easily as they breathe.

Also, among the qualities of Jannah are that it has many entrances or gates and each of these gates is guarded by special angels. The chief of these angels is called Ridwaan.
The angels greet the pious ones who will enter Jannah. Allah SWT says in Quran (39:73):

وَسِيقَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا رَبَّهُمْ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا حَتَّى إِذَا جَاؤُوهَا وَفُتِحَتْ أَبْوَابُهَا وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ فَادْخُلُوهَا خَالِدِينَ
73. And those who kept their duty to their Lord will be led to Paradise in groups, till, when they reach it, and its gates will be opened (before their arrival for their reception) and its keepers will say: Salâmun 'Alaikum (peace be upon you)! You have done well, so enter here to abide therein."

Abou Hurayirah RAA narrated that the messenger of Allah PBUH said: “Who ever spends a pair of anything in the cause of Allah as a charity, then he shall be called from the gates of paradise: “O’ servant of Allah, that was a good deed”. Who ever is known to do best of “Salah” or prayer and much of it, then he shall be called from the doors of “Salah”, and who ever is known to be of the people of “Jihad” or struggle and fight in the sake of Allah, then he shall be called from the door of “Jihad” and who ever was of the fasting group, then he shall be called from the door of the fasting which is known as “Ar-Rayyane”, and who is known to be from the people who give much charity, then he shall be called from the door of charity. Abu Bakr As-Siddeeq RAA then asked” O’ messenger of Allah, would someone be called from all doors? The messenger of Allah PBUH said: “yes, and I hope you are one of them” [Bukhari and Muslim].

For all of us today, we have lost the motivation to work for Jannah, our final abode. We have lost the will to achieve this success in this duniya so that we can be peaceful in the akhirah. We question ourselves as to what is needed from us that we will be allowed to enter in the paradise. We must ensure that our path is siraatul mustaqeem and our life is in the way of Rasulallah SAW if we wish to achieve this success.

Imam Abou Hurayirah RAA narrated that the messenger of Allah PBUH said: “Everyone of you shall enter paradise except those who refuse. The people asked him: who will refuse O’ messenger of Allah? He said: “Who obeys me shall enter it and who disobeys me refuses” [Bukhari]

May Allah give us taufeeq to establish ourselves on the commandment of Allah SWT in the way of Rasulallah SAW… Wa akhiruhu Da’wana Anil Hamdulillahi Rabbilaalimeen.

Delivered at Fredericton Islamic Association, Masjid on July 13, 2007

Death - الموت

2007-06-22T11:29:00.000-07:00

اعوذ باللہ من الشیطٰن الرجیم
بسم اللہ الرحمٰن الرحیم
الحمد لله رب العالمين ، أرسل رسوله بالهدى و دين الحق ليظهره على الدين كله و كفي بالله شهيدا ، و أشهد ألا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ؛ له الملك و له الحمد ، يحيى و يميت و هو على كل شئ قدير

In the name of Allah, the most beneficient, the most merciful, majestic and all powerful, master of this world and everything that is contained herein. Salutations be upon prophet Mohammad SAW, who was sent as a guide to this mankind.

My dear respected brothers and sisters,
Assalam o allaikum Wr. Wb.

Many a times we have discussed about this life from Allah SWT to be a blessing and we continue to thank Allah SWT that he created us from Ashraful Makhlooqat… best of the best creations but there is one reality to this life that we often forget. That reality is death which will make us depart from this world so that we can continue the real journey that we had set out on.

Death is a mystery to those who spend time trying to understand it and it is a belief for those who consider it as a transitional necessity in order to move on in this system of Allah SWT.

Allah SWT says in Quran:

الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ

He who has created death and life, that He may test you which of you is best in deed.[] And He is the All-Mighty, the Oft-Forgiving; [67:2]

In this Ayah Allah SWT tells us that he created death and life. There is a scholarly opinion that death is mentioned first because everything before its creation was dead and Allah SWT gave it life and after this life, death shall come again as Allah SWT says in the Quran:

كَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَكُنتُمْ أَمْوَاتاً فَأَحْيَاكُمْ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُحْيِيكُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ
How can you disbelieve in Allâh? Seeing that you were dead and He gave you life. Then He will give you death, then again will bring you to life (on the Day of Resurrection) and then unto Him you will return. [2:28]

Also it is emphasized in another ayah where the people will say to Allah SWT on the day of Judgement:

قَالُوا رَبَّنَا أَمَتَّنَا اثْنَتَيْنِ وَأَحْيَيْتَنَا اثْنَتَيْنِ فَاعْتَرَفْنَا بِذُنُوبِنَا فَهَلْ إِلَى خُرُوجٍ مِّن سَبِيلٍ
They will say: "Our Lord! You have made us to die twice and You have given us life twice! Now we confess our sins, then is there any way to get out (of the Fire)?"[40:11]

So my dear brothers and sisters in Islam, it is clear that this life that we are living has to come to an end. In our minds we may feel that we are not there yet or that we may have still some years to live but reality is that this is a comfort we have given to our mind. Death is an absolute reality and it can come any time. A human being regardless of the color, creed or religion will have to face this reality.

Allah SWT says in Quran:
كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ وَنَبْلُوكُم بِالشَّرِّ وَالْخَيْرِ فِتْنَةً وَإِلَيْنَا تُرْجَعُونَ
Everyone is going to taste death, and We shall make a trial of you with evil and with good, and to Us you will be returned.[21:35]

Allah SWT has told us very clearly that we shall be tested based on our deeds. If our good deeds are more than the bad deeds, then we shall be successful but if our bad deeds are more than the good deeds, then we shall face the punishment but before one reaches the state of this comparison, there is a requirement. The requirement is that the person must have confessed shahadah or the testimony of faith in this world.

It is this reason, that Rasulallah SAW taught us how to deal with death when it comes onto someone dear to us.
Mua’azh Ibn Jabal, RAA narrated that the messenger of Allah PBUH said: “Anyone who has spoken as last words the words: “La-Ilaha-Illa Allah” i.e. there is no deity but Allah SWT, then he shall enter paradise” reported by Abou Dawood.

In another narration, Abou Sa’eed Al-Khudree, RAA said that the messenger of Allah PBUH said: “Teach your dying people to say: “La-Ilaha-Illa Allah” reported by Muslim.

Also we see from the sunnah, that when we hear of the death of someone, we should say:
Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ileyhi Raajioon
We all belong to Allah and to Him we shall return.

Ommo Salamah, RAA, the mother of the believers and the wife of the messenger of Allah PBUH narrated (before she got married of the messenger of Allah PBUH), that the messenger of Allah PBUH said: ”Any servant of Allah when afflicted with a catastrophe says:

إنا لله و إنا إليه راجعون ، اللهم أجرني في مصيبتي ، و اخلف لي خيرا منها ؛

We all belong to Allah and we all shall return to him, O’ Allah help me in my catastrophe and give me better than it; Allah shall help him in this catastrophe and shall give him better rewards and life after it”. She said: when my former husband (Abou Salamah) died I said what the messenger of Allah PBUH told me to say and Allah SWT gave me better than him, I married the messenger of Allah PBUH after elapse of my I’eddah” reported by Muslim.

Brothers and sisters, our journey after death is also full of challenges, the success of which depends on our life in this world. The circumstances of death can be pleasant or horrifying depending on what the human being had adopted as a religion in this life.

Allah SWT says:

الَّذِينَ تَتَوَفَّاهُمُ الْمَلآئِكَةُ طَيِّبِينَ يَقُولُونَ سَلامٌ عَلَيْكُمُ ادْخُلُواْ الْجَنَّةَ بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

Those whose lives the angels take while they are in a pious state saying (to them): Salâmun 'Alaikum enter you in Paradise, because of (the good) which you used to do (in the world)." [16:32]

And those who have disobeyed Allah SWT and those who committed shirk and carried out bad deeds, Allah SWT says:

وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذْ يَتَوَفَّى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ الْمَلآئِكَةُ يَضْرِبُونَ وُجُوهَهُمْ وَأَدْبَارَهُمْ وَذُوقُواْ

عَذَابَ الْحَرِيقِ()۔

ذَلِكَ بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَأَنَّ اللّهَ لَيْسَ بِظَلاَّمٍ لِّلْعَبِيد

If you see the people who are taken by the angels after death, the angels shall beat their faces and their backs and say to them taste the torment of the fire, this is your reward for what you have offered of deeds and Allah is not unjust to His servants [8:50-51]

It is for this reason Rasulallah SAW , on the authority of Uthman bin Affan said:

“Ask Allah to forgive your dead brother’s sins and to have correct answers when he is being asked by the angels in his grave for he is now being asked” reported by Abou Dawood.

In Saheeh Bukhari there is a hadeeth mentioned by Rasulallah SAW regarding how the soul shall be taken from the bodies of pious people and those from the people who disobeyed the commands of Allah. We shall see the mercy and rahmah of Allah SWT for those who live their lives in accordance to His commandments and we see the torment for those who disobey him.

It is reported that al-Bara 'bin 'Azib said: "We went out with the Prophet SAW in order to participate in the funeral rites of a man from the Ansar. We arrived at the grave, but the inner chamber had not been prepared yet; so Allaah's Messenger SAW sat down facing the direction of the Qiblah, and we sat around him so attentively that it was as if birds were sitting upon our heads. He had a stick in his hand with which he sketched upon the ground. Then he began looking alternately to the heavens and to the earth, raising his gaze and then lowering it. Finally, he said two or three times, 'Seek refuge in Allaah from the torment of the grave.' Then he said, 'O Allaah, verily I seek refuge in You from the torment of the grave.' He repeated it three times, then he elaborated,

'Verily, when the believing servant is leaving this world and entering the next, angels from the heavens descend to him - their faces white with brightness like the sun and carrying with them burial sheets and scents from Paradise. They sit before him at a distance as far as the eye can see. Then the Angel of Death (upon whom be peace) comes to the person, sits at his head and says, "O good soul [and in another narration "O confident soul"], come out to your Lord's forgiveness and pleasure. "' [The Prophet SAW continued],

'There upon the soul flows out of the body like water flowing from the mouth of a water skin, and all of the angels between the skies and the earth supplicate for Allahs blessing upon him. The doors of the heavens are opened for him, and the keepers of these doors [i.e., the angels all plead with Allaah that this soul might pass in front of them as it is being carried upward. The Angel of Death barely receives the soul in his hands, whereupon the other angels take it from him and wrap it with fragrant winding sheets. This is what is meant by Allaah's saying,

"Our messengers [i.e., angels] seize his soul, and they do not fall short of their duty."'

Then the Prophet SAW said, 'There exudes from the soul a scent like the most beautiful fragrance of musk that one could find on the face of the earth. The angels ascend with the soul never passing a host of angels without hearing them ask, "Who is this wonderful soul?" They reply, "So and so, the son of so and so," addressing him with the best names he was known by during his earthly life.

Upon reaching the first heaven, the angels request that it be opened for the soul - which is granted. The soul is then accompanied by the angels of each heaven until it reaches the one above it and finally arrives at the seventh heaven. Then Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, says [to the angels], "Place the record of My servant in 'illiyyun."'

"And what will explain to you what 'illiyyun' is? [it is] a written record, witnessed by those brought near to their Lord." (83:19-21)

The person's record is then placed in 'illiyyun, whereupon a command is heard: "Return him to the earth, for verily I have promised mankind that having created them from the earth, I will return them to it. And l will make them come out of it, yet another time. " Then the soul is returned to the earth back into its body. Verily, the deceased hears the shuffling feet of his companions who attended his burial as they tam away and leave his grave.

Thereupon, two angels, severe in interrogation come to him, and sitting him up, they begin to ask him questions. They say, "Who is your Lord?" He replies, 'Allaah is my Lord. " They continue, "What is your religion?" He answers, 'Islam is my religion " They proceed with the questioning, saying, "Who is this man that has been sent to you?" He responds, 'He is the Messenger of Allaah SAW."

[The Prophet SAW then indicated, 'Upon the believer's answer to these questions], a voice is heard in the heavens, saying, "My servant has told the truth, so clothe him in the clothing of Paradise, spread for him the furnishings of Paradise, and open for him a window with a view of Paradise." Thereupon, he is engulfed by a breeze of fresh air and fragrance, while the expanse of his grave is extended before him as far as the eye can see.

There appears before him a man with a wonderful face and beautiful clothing, emitting a splendid fragrance. He says to the soul, "Rejoice at the news which will gladden you! Rejoice at Allaah's pleasure and His Paradise, whose joys and delights never end. This is the day which you were promised."

The deceased says to him, "And who are you, for your face bears glad tidings.?! " The figure answers, "I represent your good deeds; by Allaah, I've always known you to be quick in obedience to Allaah and slow to His disobedience. So may Allaah award you with good."

Then a door to Paradise is opened, and a door to the Fire is opened, whereupon it is said to him [regarding the Hell fire], "This would have been your final abode had you disobeyed Allaah; however, it has been exchanged for this other abode [i.e., Paradise]. " When the soul sees what is in Paradise, he cries, "My Lord, hasten the arrival of the Hour [i.e., the Resurrection] so that I may be joined with my family and wealth." There upon it is said to him, "Rest in tranquillity. "'

But how many of us can call ourselves true believers? Such that we would be good enough to receive such a reward?

Allaah's Messenger SAW continued, 'When the disbelieving servant and in another narration "sinful servant"] is about to leave this world and enter the next, angels, powerful and severe, descend to him from the heavens - their faces black and carrying with them coarse strips of cloth from Hell. They sit before him at a distance as far as the eye can see.

Then the Angel of Death arrives, and sitting at the head of the disbeliever, he says, "O you foul soul, come out to the anger and wrath of your Lord." The soul inside the disbeliever's body is overcome by terrible fear [and does not want to deliver itself up], whereupon the Angel of Death violently pulls it out like multi-pronged skewers being yanked out of wet wool - tearing with them the arteries and nerves.

Upon this, the soul is cursed by every angel between the earth and the heavens and by those inside the heavens. Then the doors of the heavens are closed to him, and every single guard at these doors begs Allaah that this soul not be carried up in front of him.

'The Prophet SAW continued, 'The Angel of Death barely receives the soul in his hands, whereupon the other angels grasp it from him and wrap it up in coarse cloth. There emits from it the foulest odour that could be found on the face of the earth. They ascend with it, never passing a host of angels without being asked, "Who is this ugly soul?" They reply, "So and so, the son of so and so, " using the worst names by which he was known in this world.

When they arrive at the lowest heaven, they request that it be opened for this soul, but the request is denied. ' At this point Allaah 's Messenger SAW recited the verse from Quran:

"The gates of the heavens will not be opened for them, nor will they enter the Garden of Paradise until a camel goes through the eye of a needle."

After that, he continued, 'Then Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, says [to the angels], "Place his record in sijjeen [a book which contains all of the deeds of the devils and the disbeliever's]- in the lowest earth. Return My servant to the earth, for verily I have promised mankind that having created them from the earth, I will return them to it. And I will make them come out of it, yet another time."

Upon this command, the deceased [disbeliever's] soul is thrown down from the sky until it lands in its body. ' The Prophet SAW then recited the verse:

"And whoever ascribes partners with Allaah, it is as though he had fallen from the sky, such that birds snatch him up or the wind throws him to a remote place."

Then he commented, 'Verily [when the soul is returned to its body], the deceased hears the sound of his companions' footsteps as they tam away from his grave.' [The Prophet SAW resumed his explanation, saying 'Then two angels, severe in interrogation come to him, and sitting him up, they begin to question him, who is your Lord? He replies, 'Hah! Hah! (an expression describing a state of surprise, shock and pain) I don't know. " They continue by asking him, "What is your religion?" He answers, 'Hah! Hah! I don t know. ' so they ask, "Then what do you say about this man who was sent to you?" [The disbeliever does not appear to understand who they are referring to, so it is said] 'Muhammad. " Again he states, 'Hah! Hah! I don t know. I only heard people talking about him." Then it is said, "You did not know! And you did not read!"

There upon a voice from the heavens is heard, 'He has lied! So spread out for him a place from the Fire and open for him a window to the Fire."

The searing hot winds of Hell engulf him while his grave closes in upon him, crushing him until his ribcage is broken by the force - causing the ribs of one side to intertwine with the ribs of the other Then there appears to him a person with an ugly face and ugly clothing and exuding a foul odour, who says, "Tidings of evil to you, for this is the day which you were promised!" The deceased says to him, 'And you, too; may Allaah give you evil tidings! Who are you, for yours is a face which portends evil."

The person rejoins, 'I represent your wicked deeds. By Allaah, I have always known you to be slow in obedience to Allaah and quick in disobedience to Him. May Allaah reward you with evil!"

Then one who is deaf, dumb and blind and is carrying an iron rod is sent to the deceased. If he were to strike a mountain with it, the mountain would disintegrate into rubble. He strikes the deceased with a blow, which turns him into dust. Allaah returns the deceased to his original form, whereupon he is struck a second time. This causes him to shriek with such violence that it is heard by all of creation except mankind and jinn.

Then a door to the Fire is opened, and beddings of the Fire are spread for him, whereupon he cries, "Lord, do not establish the Hour! "

My dear respected brothers and sisters, Ask Allah SWT to give us the taufeeq to protect our iman and to carry out amalus Saleh in this duniya so that we receive mercy of Allah in the qabr and on the day of Aakhirah. May Allah give us the true understanding of our deen and taufeeq to realize that this life is temporary. May Allah save us from the punishment of qabr and hellfire…. Amiin.

Wakhiru dawaana anil hamdulillahi rabbilaalimeen.

Delivered by Abu Haleema at Fredereicton Islamic Association, Masjid on June 22, 2007

Supplication - الدُّعاء فِی الاِسلام

2007-06-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

اعوذ باللہ من الشیطٰن الرجیم

بسم اللہ الرحمٰن الرحیم

الحمد لله رب العالمين ، أرسل رسوله بالهدى و دين الحق ليظهره على الدين كله و كفي بالله شهيدا ، و أشهد ألا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ؛ له الملك و له الحمد ، يحيى و يميت و هو على كل شئ قدير

In the the name of Allah, the most beneficient, the most merciful, the one who created us to be in His worship, the one who created everything around us so we may recognize Him. Salutations be upon Prophet Mohammad SAW who was sent as a messenger and guide to the mankind.

Whenever a muslim is in the time of need, he asks Allah SWT to ease the suffering and the trial for him. Whenever a muslim is in a state of desparity, he asks Allah SWT to bring happiness to him. This teaching of asking Allah SWT is one of the most powerful teachings of Islam.

We see from the life of Rasulallah SAW, that he taught his companions to rely on Allah SWT for any need, big or small. This concept of supplication wherein there is no intermediatory figure is the most sophisticated form of worship where a servant asks directly from his Creator, Allah SWT.

Allah SWT made Islam as a seal to all religions and faiths that He sent to humanity through out time. Among the most important concepts in Islam is the clarity of relationship between Allah SWT and the Muslim.

If we see other religions around us, they have adopted a system whereby the followers approach their creator through Intermediatories such as a rabbi, a priest or saints. Every Muslim has the ability to have a direct relationship with Allah SWT through different kinds of worship e.g. prayer i.e. “Salah”, supplication i.e. “Du’aa’a”, pilgrimage I.e. Hajj, fasting i.e. Sawm and other means of worship.

This relationship does not require blood sacrifice or an intermediate person. Islam is built on one principle that has no second, that is Allah, and Allah alone is the one who answers all supplications and prayers directly and fulfils all needs and requirements and a Muslim has no right to ask anyone or anything to provide for him or answer his prayers.

Allah SWT says in the Quran:
أَمَّن يُجِيبُ الْمُضْطَرَّ إِذَا دَعَاهُ وَيَكْشِفُ السُّوءَ وَيَجْعَلُكُمْ خُلَفَاء الْأَرْضِ أَإِلَهٌ مَّعَ اللَّهِ قَلِيلًا مَّا تَذَكَّرُونَ
Translation:
Is not He (better than your gods) Who responds to the distressed one, when he calls Him, and Who removes the evil, and makes you inheritors of the earth, generations after generations. Is there any ilâh (god) with Allâh? Little is that you remember! (27:62)
And in Surah Al-Fussilat:

Whoever works righteousness benefits his own soul; whoever works evil, it is against his own soul: nor is thy Lord ever unjust (in the least) to His Servants

In Islam we understand our Creator Allah SWT to be all-hearing and all seeing. He has the absolute power and he has all knowledge of everything that is shown or that is hidden.

This is the reason why we are commanded by Rasulallah SAW to pay special attention to our salaat when we are in worship infront of Allah SWT. Rasulallah SAW is reported to have said that when one is in salaat, one must be as if he is standing before Allah SWT or if one cannot attain that status then one must know that Allah is watching him at all times.

Incident about saying takbeer while climbing hill:

Abu Musa Al-Asha’aree, RAA narrated that they (the companions) were with the messenger of Allah PBUH riding and every time they went over a hill or a cliff they used to raise their voices with “Takbeer” i.e. by saying: “Allahu-Akbar”. The messenger of Allah PBUH came up to them and said: “O’ People, rest yourselves and lower your voices for you are not calling on someone who is deaf or absent but you are calling on someone who sees and hears everything. The one you are calling on is closer to you than the neck of your ride (horse or Camel). Then he said: “O’ Abdullah Ibn Quayis, do you want me to teach you words from the treasures of Paradise? Say: “La-Hawla wala Qwwata Illa Bi-Llah”, i.e. there is no power or ability but with Allah.” Reported by Al-Bukharee, Muslim and Al-Imam Ahmad.

Allah SWT says in Surah Araaf:
ادْعُواْ رَبَّكُمْ تَضَرُّعًا وَخُفْيَةً إِنَّهُ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْمُعْتَدِينَ
Invoke your Lord with humility and in secret. He likes not the aggressors. [7:55]

We remain in constant contact with Allah SWT because in Islam we have taken the responsibility for our actions. Nobody else can alleviate us of the outcome of these actions. If I have carried out a good task, Allah SWT will reward me for that and if I have committed a sin or mistake, then I shall be responsible for that. It is for this reason that we ask the repentance from Allah SWT for each action that we do against His commandment. We will be questioned on the day of Judgement for every action that we have committed in this life.

Allah SWT says in Quran:
إِن كُلُّ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ إِلَّا آتِي الرَّحْمَنِ عَبْدًا (19:93
لَقَدْ أَحْصَاهُمْ وَعَدَّهُمْ عَدًّا (19:94
وَكُلُّهُمْ آتِيهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَرْدًا (19:95
93. There is none in the heavens and the earth but comes unto the Most Beneficent (Allâh) as a slave. 94. Verily, He knows each one of them, and has counted them a full counting. 95. And everyone of them will come to Him alone on the Day of Resurrection (without any helper, or protector or defender).
And Allah SWT says in Quran:

مَّنِ اهْتَدَى فَإِنَّمَا يَهْتَدي لِنَفْسِهِ وَمَن ضَلَّ فَإِنَّمَا يَضِلُّ عَلَيْهَا وَلاَ تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرَى وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّى نَبْعَثَ رَسُولاً
Whoever goes right, then he goes right only for the benefit of his ownself. And whoever goes astray, then he goes astray to his own loss. No one laden with burdens can bear another's burden. And We never punish until We have sent a Messenger (to give warning) (17:15)

The slaves of Allah supplicate to Him through dua, through salaat, through saum and other forms of worship and seeking mercy, sustenance, wealth, health, children and protection from the punishments of the grave and the hell fire and supplicating to be admitted to Paradise.

Some of us have the idea that the only pillars of Islam like Salaat and Saum are the basics of the religion and that supplication is something that is extra and optional. This is not the case.

Al-Nu’oman Ibn Basheer, RAA narrated that the messenger of Allah PBUH said: “Supplication is the true worship, then the messenger of Allah PBUH recited the verse

وَقَالَ رَبُّكُمُ ادْعُونِي أَسْتَجِبْ لَكُمْ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِي سَيَدْخُلُونَ جَهَنَّمَ دَاخِرِينَ

And your Lord said: "Invoke Me, [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islâmic Monotheism)] (and ask Me for anything) I will respond to your (invocation). Verily! Those who scorn My worship [i.e. do not invoke Me, and do not believe in My Oneness, (Islâmic Monotheism)] they will surely enter Hell in humiliation!"
- reported by Al-Imam Ahmad, Al-Tirmizhee, Al-Nasa’iee and Ibn Majah.

Four chacteristics that should be in a muslim’s life.

Anas Ibn Malik, RAA narrated from the messenger of Allah PBUH who narrated from Allah SWT in the Holy Hadeeth of Allah SWT that Allah SWT Said: “Four characteristics, one for my sake and one for your sake and one between me and you and the last is between you and my servants. The first one for my sake is to worship me alone and not to ascribe an equal to me. The second for your sake is that anything good you do I shall reward you for. The third between you and me is for you to supplicate and for me to respond and answer. And the fourth is to wish for others what you wish for yourself” reported by Al-Imam Abou Ya’ala Al-Mousilee.

Some may say: I ask Allah all the time but I don’t see any evidence of response. Does he not like me? Is He ignoring me?

Islam answered these extremely important questions that Allah SWT does not ignore nor forgets the supplications of anyone. Instead Allah SWT may either answer immediately, delay the response, change the request to something better or better suited to the person or denies the request for reasons He SWT may see and we don’t.

Abou Hurayrah, RAA also narrated that the messenger of Allah PBUH said: “Allah shall answer his servant as long as he does not ask for Allah for a sinful thing (like –for example-wishing to win in Gambling, or asks Allah to break a relation with a relative, etc..) and as long as the servant does not act in a hurry for the response” The people then asked the messenger of Allah PBUH: “O’ messenger, what is being in a hurry?” He answered: “it is for the servant to say: I asked Allah over and over and did not see response so he then stops asking Allah”. Reported by Muslim.

A few points that we gather from the Quran and ahadeeth of Rasulallah SAW regarding supplication are:

1) Not everything we ask for is good for us. Allah SWT knows what will benefit us and what will harm us and something that we may ask for that looks good to us, Allah SWT who knows the future, the past and the unseen may know that if he grants us the request it will harm us in the long run.
2) Although you may supplicate to Allah SWT anytime and anywhere, there are times and places that Allah SWT has set aside and favored over other times and places for answering the supplications more than others. Try to supplicate during such chosen times and in those places.
3) For the servant to stay away from disobeying Allah SWT and committing sins and to obey Allah SWT and His messenger PBUH.
4) Remembering Allah SWT all times and not only in the times of the need.
5) The person must no give up on Allah’s answering of his supplications. Giving up is one of the characteristics of the unbeliever who loses hope with Allah SWT and His mercy. Losing hope makes the person lose the spiritual connection between him and Allah SWT and become open to the whisperings of the devil that may drive him away from Allah SWT or even to killing him self in desperation.

May Allah SWt give us the taufeeq to implement in our lives from what has been said and may He give us the istiqama to use the powerful too of supplication so we may have a smooth live in this duniya and a blessed life in aakhirah.

Wa akhiruhu dawana anil hamdulillahi rabbilalimeen.

Delivered by Abu Haleema at Fredereicton Islamic Association, Masjid on June 8, 2007

Purification (Tahharah) - الطّھارۃ

2007-06-01T07:29:00.000-07:00

اعوذ باللہ من الشیطٰن الرجیم
بسم اللہ الرحمٰن الرحیم

الحمد لله رب العالمين ، أرسل رسوله بالهدى و دين الحق ليظهره على الدين كله و كفي بالله شهيدا ، و أشهد ألا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ؛ له الملك و له الحمد ، يحيى و يميت و هو على كل شئ قدير و إليه المرجع و المصير ..و أشهد أن محمدا عبده و رسوله ، و صفيه من خلقه و حبيبه.رب اشرح لي صدري و يسر لى أمري و احلل عقدة من لساني يفقهوا قولي ..

All praises to Allah SWT who is our creator, sustainer and the master of universe. I bear witness that Prophet Mohammad SAW is the last and the final messenger of Allah SWT, a guide sent to this mankind to deliver the message and to show the path of Allah SWT.

Dear Respected Brothers Sisters and Elders in Islam, Assalam o allaikum Wr Wb:

Few weeks ago we touched upon a subject, ‘Cleanliness of the heart’. We said that all our practices in Islam and Iman will not be complete unless we achieve Taharrah of the hearts, the cleanliness of our hearts. Apart from the purity of heart and the soul, a second meaning of Taharrah is the physical cleanliness of our bodies. We had mentioned before how it is important for us to purify our hearts from the sins and evils that surround us in our daily affairs and today we continue the topic towards the completeness of this Taharrah in the form of physical cleanliness.

The physical purity of our body is divided in two parts.
1) Fard Practice of Purity
2) Sunnah and Nafilah Practice of Purity

FARD OF TAHARRAH

For the “Fardh” practices, we have the “Wadu’a” or ablution and Ghusool (also Ghusl or Ightesal) or the full body wash accompanied with an intention. Without “wadu’a” a Muslim man or woman is not permitted to approach any prayer or “Salah” regardless if it is a required prayer or a “sunnah”. A Muslim also may not participate in any of the worship activities such as reading the Holy Quran, prayer, fasting, Hajj, and other practices, without first performing the “Ghusool”.

Ghusool becomes compulsory if the person is Junub. A person can be in the condition of Janaba during the following conditions:
- Man and Women having intercourse,
- If a person has experienced Wet dream
- If a woman is in Menstruation
- If a woman has recently given birth.

Allah SWT says in the Quran:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ لاَ تَقْرَبُواْ الصَّلاَةَ وَأَنتُمْ سُكَارَى حَتَّىَ تَعْلَمُواْ مَا تَقُولُونَ وَلاَ جُنُبًا إِلاَّ عَابِرِي سَبِيلٍ حَتَّىَ تَغْتَسِلُواْ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَى أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاء أَحَدٌ مِّنكُم مِّن الْغَآئِطِ أَوْ لاَمَسْتُمُ النِّسَاء فَلَمْ تَجِدُواْ مَاء فَتَيَمَّمُواْ صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُواْ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ عَفُوًّا غَفُورًا

O you who believe! Approach not AsSalât (the prayer) when you are in a drunken state until you know (the meaning) of what you utter, nor when you are in a state of Janâba, (i.e. in a state of sexual impurity and have not yet taken a bath) except when travelling on the road (without enough water, or just passing through a mosque), till you wash your whole body. And if you are ill, or on a journey, or one of you comes after answering the call of nature, or you have been in contact with women (by sexual relations) and you find no water, perform Tayammum with clean earth and rub therewith your faces and hands (Tayammum)[]. Truly, Allâh is Ever OftPardoning, OftForgiving [4:43]

The benefit of making Wudu on our body and soul is mentioned time and again by the messenger of Allah SWT:

Abou Hurairah, RAA narrated that the messenger of Allah PBUH said:

“When the person performs the “wadu’a” and he washes his face then all of the sins and wrongs that he looked at, such as not lowering his gaze and such, will be washed away from his face with the water or with the last drop of water, and if he washes his feet then all the sins that his feet led him to will be washed away with the water or with the last drop of water until he is clean from all sins” [Muslim]

Among the noble “sunnah”, as mentioned in the text of “Fiqh” of Al-Imam Al-Shafe’ee, for the person is to say after the “wadu’a”:

" أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له و أشهد أن محمدا عبده و رسوله ، اللهم اجعلني من التوابين و اجعلني من المتطهرين ؛ سبحانك اللهم و بحمدك ، أشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت ، أستغفرك و أتوب إليك" ..

“I bear witness that there is no one true God but Allah, Who Has no partner nor an equal, and I bear witness that Muhammad PBUH is His servant and last messenger, O’ Allah, make me among those who are oft-repenting and make me among those who are seeking and having purity, Glory to only you O’ Allah, for you only are all praises, I declare no God other than you, I ask you for forgiveness and repent to you”.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلاةِ فاغْسِلُواْ وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُواْ بِرُؤُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَينِ وَإِن كُنتُمْ جُنُبًا فَاطَّهَّرُواْ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَى أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاء أَحَدٌ مَّنكُم مِّنَ الْغَائِطِ أَوْ لاَمَسْتُمُ النِّسَاء فَلَمْ تَجِدُواْ مَاء فَتَيَمَّمُواْ صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُواْ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُم مِّنْهُ مَا يُرِيدُ اللّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍ وَلَـكِن يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهَّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

O you who believe! When you intend to offer As-Salât (the prayer), wash your faces and your hands (forearms) up to the elbows, rub (by passing wet hands over) your heads, and (wash) your feet up to ankles[]. If you are in a state of Janâba (i.e. had a sexual discharge), purify yourself (bathe your whole body). But if you are ill or on a journey or any of you comes from answering the call of nature, or you have been in contact with women (i.e. sexual intercourse) and you find no water, then perform Tayammum with clean earth and rub therewith your faces and hands.[] Allâh does not want to place you in difficulty, but He wants to purify you, and to complete His Favour on you that you may be thankful.

We see from these ayahs, that Water is a pure substance that Allah SWT has created so that we may purify ourselves from it. Also, we see that Allah SWT has given us a permissibility of Tayammum if we are not able to find clean and pure water to make wudu or Ghusl. Allah SWT has a close relationship with us through the Salaat that we make. This worship is very dear to Allah SWT and it is for this reason, Allah SWT has given us the permission of Tayammum so that we do not break that relationship. In the situation, where there is scarcity of water, we are asked to make tayammum with the clean soil.

On the authority of Huzaifah Bin Yamman, Rasulallah SAW said:

“Allah has given us three favors or advantages over other people before us, He made our lines in the prayer like the that of angels perfectly straight, He made the whole earth a place of worship or Masjid for us, and He allowed us to use soil of the earth for purification if we can not find water” [Muslim]

SUNNAHS OF TAHARRAH:

Among the Sunnah moakkadah of the Taharrah is the use of the Siwak , that is brushing one’s teeth with Miswak. Using miswak refreshes the mouth of the beliver which is not only an ease for a fellow muslim but it is a habit most pleasing to Rasullalah SAW.

Imam Abu Hurairah RA is reported to have said that Rasullalah SAW said:

“If it wasn’t for the difficulty on my nation or “Ummah”, then I would have ordered them to use the “Miswak” before every prayer” [Bukhair & Muslim]

Other sunnahs of Taharrah can be understood from the hadeeth narrated by Aishah RA:
Rasulallah SAW said:

“10 (ten) things that are a part of the “Fitrah” or the built in human nature; clipping the mustache, letting the beard to grow, using the “Miswak” or brushing the teeth, making “Istinshaqu” by water or cleaning the nose by inhaling water, trimming the nails, washing the fingers all the way down to the knuckles, removing or plucking the underarm or armpit’s hair, shaving the pubic hair, and looking for water earnestly after a call of nature i.e. “Istinja’a”. The narrator said: I forgot the tenth but almost sure it was washing or rinsing the mouth” [Muslim]

This is cleanliness of the body is even more emphasised for the Salaatul Jumma. Rasulallah SAW is reported to have said on the authority of Salman Al Farsi:

“If a Muslim person performs “Ghusool” for Jumu’ah, and cleans himself as much as he can, then uses some oil on his hair (for beauty), or puts on some perfume then goes to perform Al-Jumu’ah prayer and he does not separate two people (meaning does not causes them to hate each other or doesn’t intrude between them), then does the “Sunnah”, then listens carefully and humbly to the Imam while giving the Khuttbah without speaking or paying attention to any thing else, then Allah SWT shall forgive his sins from that Jumu’ah to the next Jumu’ah” [Bukhari]

Also, one needs to bear in mind that along with the physical cleanliness, Islamic teachings encourage us to have a clean appearance. Rasulallah SAW encouraged people to wear clean clothes when coming to Jummua Salaat and it was his own noble practice to wear the best clothing when coming for the Salaat ul Jummah.

Our ibaadah depends on our cleanliness, both of our hearts and of are body.
May Allah SWT give us the ability to understand the commandments of Allah SWT and to implement them in our daily life.

Wa ma Taufiqi Illah Billah.

Special thanks to الشیخ احمد الزارع
Delivered at Fredericton Islamic Association, Masjid on June 1, 2007

Raising our children Islamically

2007-05-28T07:24:00.000-07:00

اعوذ باللہ من الشیطٰن الرجیم
بسم اللہ الرحمٰن الرحیم

الحمد للہ رب العلمین ، والصلوۃ والسلام علی رسولہ الکریم

In the name of Allah, the most beneficient, the most merciful, master of the day of Judgement. Salutations be upon Prophet Mohammad SAW, his companions and the righteous who followed them.

Assalam o allaikum Wr. Wb my dear respected brothers, sisters and elders in Islam:

In the past few khutbas, we have learnt of some of the important aspects of Islam, such as maintaining a clean heart, to keep ourselves focused in the dhikr of Allah SWT, attachment with Quran, to keep our Iman between Hope and Fear, to struggle to achieve the Qurb of Allah SWT, Regret and Repentance, Selflessness towards our fellow brothers and respecting our parents.

All these aspects, if understood and acted upon completely will give us a condition to bring about an environment in our home that is conducive for our children to understand the deen of Allah SWT. We cannot thank enough to our creator for blessing us with these children that are the coolness of our eyes. One way we can show the gratitude to Allah SWT is by teaching these children what is expected of them as muslims; good manners, ettiquettes, good actions, and most importantly the understanding that they are the servants of Allah SWT.

The first action that one must carry out when he has made the intention to educate their children regarding the deen of Allah is asking dua from Allah SWT for his Mercy in order to fulfil this obligation.

Ibraheem AS asked Allah SWT in the Quran:

رَّبَّنَا إِنِّي أَسْكَنتُ مِن ذُرِّيَّتِي بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِي زَرْعٍ عِندَ بَيْتِكَ الْمُحَرَّمِ رَبَّنَا لِيُقِيمُواْ الصَّلاَةَ فَاجْعَلْ أَفْئِدَةً مِّنَ النَّاسِ تَهْوِي إِلَيْهِمْ وَارْزُقْهُم مِّنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَشْكُرُونَ
"O our Lord! I have made some of my offspring to dwell in an uncultivable valley by Your Sacred House (the Ka'bah at Makkah); in order, O our Lord, that they may perform As-Salât (Iqâmat-as-Salât), so fill some hearts among men with love towards them, and (O Allâh) provide them with fruits so that they may give thanks.[] [14:37]

With the dua’, one must become a role model for the children. We must show them how a muslim lives his life and how he show the submission to the will of Allah SWT. We must follow the commandments of Allah SWT so that they can see the importance of such commandments. If we ourselves do not follow the teachings of the deen, and we expect them to follow all the rulings, it will not work out. A child looks upto his father or mother for advice and looks upto them to understand the way of life.

Parents can only be a role model for the children if they maintain an environment in their homes where Allah and His deen are prevailent. If the the environment in the home is a non-serious relaxed environment and the parents involve themselves in worldly activities, then that is how the child will understand the priorities of this life. The child will then make religion a part time deen without delving into deeper understanding of the actions performed.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Now when we look in our society around ourselves, we see that there are a lot of attractions and distractions for the children. The learn and apply numerous things that are happening around them. If we tell them do not do this or do not follow this, it is not enough because we know the human psychology is that when we ask someone to not do something, he is willing to do it even more to quench the thirst of the curiosity. Rather our effort should be to interact with them at every level so if they need to adopt something, they look upto us and they ask us as to what is the right course of actions.

When we are able to realize this goal in our mind, we will do the needful to bring our children into a practical fold of Islam and they will grow up to be individuals who will compete with eachother to achieve goodness.

Rasulallah SAW says in one of the hadeeth that :

“Seven (types of people) will be shaded by His shade on the day when there will be no shade except His shade”…[One of the seven mentioned was the] “youth who
grew up in the obedience of Allah SWT.”

If we, as a community, wishes to improve its upcoming generation and improve the level of goodness for them - then it is vital that we focus on raising and educating our children on goodness (tarbiyah). We need to equip them with the tools they need to succeed, namely belief (Iman) and awareness of God (Taqwa). To strengthen them with knowledge that will be of benefit to them. To instruct them towards good and convey to them the importance of dealing with their task seriously.

The stage of childhood is a very a perilous phase (in a person’s life) and the most
important. The Early Generation of Muslims were incredibly concerned with their
children from a very tender age. They would teach them and raise them up to be
righteous and good. They would carefully select teachers for their children and they
would strive to keep their children away from bad things.

We see many examples in the life of Rasulallah SAW that tells us how we should behave with our children, so that we can earn their full trust and through that trust we teach them the deen of Allah SWT.

We must be kind and compassionate to our children and should not be bothered or angered by their repeated requests. Our children are truly a test from Allah SWT of our patience and perseverance. If we carry out our duty in the steps of Rasulallah SWT, then we will see the fruits of our investment

Once a man named Iqra’ bin Habis came to the Prophet (pbuh) and saw him kiss his grandson Hasan Ibn Ali. Iqra’ bin Habis said, “Do you kiss your children?” The
Messenger replied “Yes”. Iqra’ then said, “ I have ten sons and I have never kissed
any of them!” The Prophet (pbuh) replied: “The one who is not compassionate is not shown compassion (by others)”

With the compassion and kindness towards the young, Rasulallah SAW also showed us how to safeguard the education of our children. He never missed any opportunity to guide the children to follow a right action.

‘Amr ibn Abi Salama related:
“I was a boy in the care of the Messenger of God. My hand used to go all around in the plate [where the custom would be for a group eat from one large plate]. The Messenger of God (pbuh) said to me: “O young man, begin with the name of God, eat with your right hand and eat from what is in front of you.“ [Bukhari and Muslim]

The Prophet (pbuh) taught Abdullah Ibn Abbas about belief (Iman) and consciousness of God (Taqwa) when he (pbuh) said to him:

“Young boy, I will teach you some words: Be mindful of God and He will be mindful of you. Be mindful of God and you will find him in front of you. If you ask, ask from God. If you seek help, seek help from God. Know that if all of humanity gathered together to benefit you with something, they would not benefit you except with something that God had already written for you. If they gathered to harm you with something, they would not harm you except with something that God had already written against you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried”. (Tirmidhi)

Training and teaching your child to believe firmly in the Oneness of God and firmly establishing this in their hearts will make them balanced on a psychological, intellectual and moral level. With this belief, they will become successful and righteous due to their trust and confidence in their in their Lord and Creator. With that trust and confidence, they will submit to what He has willed for them.

The level of care and consideration does not stop when these children grow up and have families of their own, rather such care and education continues.

Ali ibn Abi Talib relates an incident after he was married with Fatima RA and they had been living together for some time.

“Fatima was the daughter of the Prophet (pbuh) and she was my wife. She was the most beloved of his family to him. Once, she (may God be pleased with her) ground (grain) using a hand mill until blisters appeared on her hands. She carried water using a water skin until it scarred her neck. She swept the floor until her clothes became dusty. She lit the fire under the cooking pot until her clothes became mud coloured from the smoke and the colour of her face changed due to the heat of the oven. Fatima was inflicted by great pain because of this.

We had heard that servants had been given to the Messenger so I said to her: 'Why don't you ask your father for a servant to relieve you from these jobs?' When Fatima went to the Prophet, she found that he had company; and was too shy to talk to him, so she left the house.

Ali continues: "The next night, the Prophet came to the house while we were still under our quilt and we tried to stand up but he (pbuh) asked us to stay in our place. He (pbuh) [sat close to us to the extent that] his feet were between Fatima and myself and he (pbuh) sat near her head and said: 'Fatima, what was your need when you came to Muhammad yesterday?'

Ali added: I was afraid that she (Fatima) would not tell him, so I said: "I will inform you, Messenger of God! She carried water using a water skin until her neck was scarred, she ground (grain) using a hand mill until blisters appeared on her hands, she swept the floor until her clothes became dusty and she lit the fire under the cooling pot until her clothes were mud coloured from the smoke. So I said to her:

'Why don't ask your father for a servant to relieve you form these jobs?'”.

The Prophet (pbuh) upon hearing this, said, “Shall I teach you something that is better for you than a servant? When retiring to bed say, Subhan-Allah (Glory be to God) thirty three (33) times, Alhmadul-illah (All praise and thanks is to God) thirty three (33) times and Allahu-Akbar (God is great) thirty four (34) times. That is better for you than a maid.' (Bukhari, Muslim and Abu Dawood)

May Allah give us the taufeeq to raise our children according the teachings of Quran and Sunnah and may Allah protect them from all evils and ills of this life.

Wa akhiruhu Dawaana Anil Hamdulillahi Rabbilaalimeen.

To be Close to Allah - التقرب الی اللہ

2007-05-22T11:51:00.000-07:00

اعوذ باللہ من الشیطن الرجیم
بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم

الحمد للہ رب العلمین ، والصلوۃ والسلام علی رسولہ کریم

In the the name of Allah, the most beneneficient, the most merciful and salutations be upon Prophet Mohammad SAW, the last messenger and guide to this humanity.

Assalam o allaikum My dear respected Brothers, Sisters and elders in Islam,

Many of us have determined the goals in our lives to be to bring comfortability to us and to live this live in the luxury and complete aloofness from the existance of Allah SWT. Sometimes we hear people telling us to correct our course of actions, to correct our goals in order that we maybe able to channel ourselves according to the plan that was set by our Creator. In the midst of all this hustle bustle, we forget that our true purpose was to worship our Sustainer and to earn His Maarifaa, to earn his Qurb and closeness.

Rasulallah SAW says in in one of the hadeeth Qudsi that Allah SWT says:
“…There is nothing liked by me more than what I have prescribed for my servant. And my servant will continue to come close to me by his superrogatory performances till I like him. Whenever I like him, I shall be his hearing that he hears with, his sight that he sees with, his hand that he strikes with, and his leg that he walks with; when he asks me, I will give him and when he seeks refuge in me, I will protect him.”

Rasulallah SAW has relayed through this Hadeeth Qudsi that if one channels his life to be close to Allah SWT, then Allah SWT will grant favours that none of us can imagine. Such favours, that will help us in this dunya to be successful, as well as one that will protect us from the hellfire on the day of Qayyamah.

In order to be close to Allah SWT one can engage in many physical activities that are the starting point of this journey towards our creator. These include, our Fard Salaah and their offering at correct times, our sunan and naafila, dhikr of Allah at all times, our muamlat, our ikhlaq towards His creations and so on and so forth.

Obedience to Allah SWT in its physical form is the most important of the acts. This obedience in return earns us the pleasure of Allah SWT. Allah SWT says in Quran:

وَأَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ

And obey Allâh and the Messenger (Muhammad SAW) that you may obtain mercy.[]

Obedience of Rasulallah SAW teaches us how to be obedient towards Allah SWT. His actions, his words, his methods of inviting, greeting, and bridging bonds of brotherhood is all a perfect form of interaction with the society which if followed will help us earn our goal; the closeness to Allah SWT. Allah SWT says in the Quran:

مَّنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللّهَ وَمَن تَوَلَّى فَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ عَلَيْهِمْ حَفِيظًا

He who obeys the Messenger (Muhammad SAW), has indeed obeyed Allâh, but he who turns away, then we have not sent you (O Muhammad SAW) as a watcher over them (4:80)

Apart from doing all that is commanded one has to be mindful of the things that are forbidden. One has to refrain and abstain from the unlawful and illegal activities. This abstenance will make us a morally upright person not only in the eyes of this dunya but also in the eyes of our creator.

Allah SWT says in Quran:

قُلْ إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ رَبِّيَ الْفَوَاحِشَ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ وَالإِثْمَ وَالْبَغْيَ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَأَن تُشْرِكُواْ بِاللّهِ مَا لَمْ يُنَزِّلْ بِهِ سُلْطَانًا وَأَن تَقُولُواْ عَلَى اللّهِ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ

Say (O Muhammad SAW): "(But) the things that my Lord has indeed forbidden are AlFawâhish (great evil sins) whether committed openly or secretly, sins (of all kinds), unrighteous oppression, joining partners with Allâh for which He has given no authority, and saying things about Allâh of which you have no knowledge."

When a servant of Allah, who has submitted his will completely, focuses on obeying the commandments of Allah and carry out the supererogatory actions and keeps himself away from the evils and sins, then that servant of Allah gets closer to the creator.

Rasulallah SAW says in a Hadeeth by Anas RA:

“When the servant comes close to Me as far as a spand of a hand, I come to him as far as a forearm; and when he comes to Me as far as a forearm, I come to him as a far as the spand of the outspread arm; and when he comes to Me walking, I come him rushing.” (Bukhari)

My dear respected brothers and sisters,

Any deed that we do knowingly that it is against the teachings of Islam and that it is against the commandment of Allah SWT, then we should know that it makes us go farther away from our Creator.

Our Creator that knows everything about our inner self says in Quran:

وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِ نَفْسُهُ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ

And indeed We have created man, and We know what his ownself whispers to him. And We are nearer to him than his jugular vein [50:16].

This verse of Quran beautifully explains to us our relationship with Allah SWT that must be realized by each one of us for our guidance and transformation.

To be close to Allah SWT means that first we should know who our Creator is and in order to know that one should know about the ourselves, who we are.

Rasulallah SAW says in a hadeeth:

“Whosoever knows himself knows his Lord.”
“man 'arafa nafsahu faqad 'arafa Rabbahu”

One must look deep inside and make an analysis of the self as well as the world around us and we will see that there is no other conclusion but to accept the bounties and mercy of Allah SWT.

Each one of us have some spiritual feelings and these spritual feelings if guided by the teachings of Quran and Sunnah, can become the means of giving us an understanding of our Creator and his creation.

Allah SWT says in the Quran:

إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُواْ مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ

Verily! Allâh will not change the good condition of a people as long as they do not change their state of goodness themselves (13:11)

So, this change has to come from within us. The first step of this journey has to be taken by us. May Allah give us the taufeeq and Istiqama to be obedient servants of Allah SWT.

Wa akhiruhu Dawaana Anilhamdulillahi Rabil Aalimeen.

Delivered at Fredericton Islamic Association, Masjid on May 18, 2007

Respect for the Parents

2007-05-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

اعوذ باللہ من الشیطن الرجیم
بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم

الحمد للہ رب العلمین ، والصلوۃ والسلام علی رسولہ کریم

In the name of Allah the most beneficient, the most Merciful, Master of the day of judgement, the creator and sustainer of this world and everything therein. Salutations be upon Prophet Mohammad SAW, the last messenger and guide to the mankind and upon those who followed his teachings in words and deeds.

Assalam o allaikum Wr. Wb.

After a days hard work when we enter into our homes and our children upon the first glance leap towards us greeting, one cannot but feel all the tiredness gone in an instant. It is the innocent love and respect that these children give to us for which we have response but kindness.
Similarly, when the old parents see the smiling face of their children enter the homes, they feel nothing but happiness and joy. It is as if the day’s restlessness has been eased away in an instant at the sight of the children. The parents, when they reach in old age, they yearn to have our attention, they like to share their worries and they have a lot to say, but often times we neglect them and we get ourselves busy in other activities. We do not think for a moment, that they were the same parents who had given away their peace of mind so we can have a comfortable life.
Allah SWT says in the Quran:
وَقَضَى رَبُّكَ أَلاَّ تَعْبُدُواْ إِلاَّ إِيَّاهُ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا إِمَّا يَبْلُغَنَّ عِندَكَ الْكِبَرَ أَحَدُهُمَا أَوْ كِلاَهُمَا فَلاَ تَقُل لَّهُمَآ أُفٍّ وَلاَ تَنْهَرْهُمَا وَقُل لَّهُمَا قَوْلاً كَرِيمًا
(17:23)
And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of disrespect, nor shout at them but address them in terms of honour.

My dear bothers and sisters,
Allah SWT uses the word UFF, that one should not even utter the word UFF when addressing the parents. Scholars have mentioned that if there had been a smaller word for disrespect than UFF, Allah SWT would have used it meaning that one should not be disrespectful even in the slightest.

It is reported that a young man once complained to the Prophet that his father was taking his money. The Prophet summoned the father. An old man, leaning heavily on his walking-stick, made his appearance. When asked if, what the son complained about was true, the old man stared long at the Prophet and softly replied, "O Apostle of Allah, my son used to be weak and I strong; he used to be poor and I rich, and what I had in my possession I spent for his wellbeing. Today I am poor and weak and my son cannot afford to spend even a small amount on me!" The Prophet was overwhelmed by this and a tear rolled from his eye as he spoke: "There is no stone or any hard object but cries when he hears such sentiments expressed. You (young man) and all your property belong to your parents."

The sacrifices that our parents have gone through, we can never even imagine. We cannot even count as to what effort of theirs actually made us, what we are today. What about those special prayers that they made for us and the extremeties that they had to go through to get us the best food.

The society in which we live is not fair to the parents either. Concepts such as old homes and senior citizen residences were alien to us but now some of us have dwelved in these practices too.

We are come from various backgrounds but we have something in common and that is the teachings of Islam in their core. Islam teaches us to respect our parents and to be dutiful to them. We cannot choose to just live our own life and forget about our parents. This is not what our Nabi SAW taught us.

Allah SWT says in Quran:

وَوَصَّيْنَا الْإِنسَانَ بِوَالِدَيْهِ حَمَلَتْهُ أُمُّهُ وَهْنًا عَلَى وَهْنٍ وَفِصَالُهُ فِي عَامَيْنِ أَنِ اشْكُرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيْكَ إِلَيَّ الْمَصِيرُ
(31:14)

And We have enjoined on man (to be dutiful and good) to his parents. His mother bore him in weakness and hardship upon weakness and hardship, and his weaning is in two years give thanks to Me and to your parents, unto Me is the final destination.

A son came to complain about his mother's strong temper. Did she have a strong temper when she bore you ?" the Prophet asked. Did she have a strong temper when she spent numerous night sleepless, suckling and guarding you when you were ill, going out of her way to feed you ?"The young man replied that he had already rewarded for all her actions by carrying her on his back while they were on Pilgrimage to Makkah. The Prophet looked at the son and replied: "My son, (you have done a noble deed) but you can never repay one single drop of milk which she gave you."

The pain and suffering that a mother faces during the upbringing of her child cannot be explained in words but one sees that the more she engages herself in these sacrifices, the more she cares about the child. This is the rahmah that Allah SWT has put in her heart for her child. Allah SWT loves this sacrifice of the mother and when a child disobeys that mother, it is most disliked by Allah SWT.

On the authority of Imam Abu Hurairah , a man asked Rasulallah SAW:
"O Apostle of Allah, who has the most right to my companionship? To this our Nabi replied: "Your Mother. "Thrice the man asked the same question and thrice our Nabi replied,"Your Mother", until the fourth time when our Nabi replied, "Your Father".

When the parents become old, it becomes even more important for us to take care of them and give them their due rights. Just because they are not the bread winners of the family, does not mean their importance in our home is diminished. They still deserve the same respect.

Abu Hurairah (R.A.) relates that the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam said "May he be disgraced, may,he be disgraced, may he be disgraced." "Who?" The Sahaaba enquired. "The person whose parents, or any one of them, attain old-age during his life-time and he does not earn Paradise (by being kind-hearted and dutiful to them)!"

My dear brothers and sisters,

It is important to understand that our religion makes it obligatory upon us to be dutiful to our parents even if they are not muslim. One must respect and obey his parents regardless of their belief as long as one is not obliged to follow something that is out of the bounds of Sharia.

Asma bint Abu Bakr (R.A.) relates that her mother had come to Madinah, from Makkah, to meet her. Her mother followed the Pagan customs and beliefs, so Asma (R.A.) enquired from the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam as how she was to treat her whether she should have nothing to do with her, as she was a Pagan, or treat her like a daughter should, and show kindness to her. The Prophet told her to be kind and considerate and to behave towards her as was a mothers due, from a daughter.

Allah SWT says:
وَقُل رَّبِّ ارْحَمْهُمَا كَمَا رَبَّيَانِي صَغِيرًا
(17:24)
... "My Lord! Bestow on them Your Mercy as they did bring me up when I was small."

The rights of the parents do not come to an end if the parents have passed away. Infact, our religion teaches us to ask for their forgiveness even after they have passed away and to remember them in good words.

Abu Usaid Sa'idi (R.A.) relates that a person came to the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam and asked him "O Prophet of Allah, are there some rights of my parents, on me, which I have to fulfill even after they have died?" "Yes" the Prophet replied, "These are to pray for mercy and forgiveness on their behalf, to fulfill the promises they have made to anyone, to pay due regard to the bonds of relationship from their side and to be respectful to their friends.

Rasulallah SAW has mentioned that there are some rewards that a person gets if he is dutiful towards his parents. The real reward is getting the paradise and the pleasure of Allah SWT in the akhirah for this deed but Allah SWT has promised something for this world too.

Jabir (R.A.) reports that the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam said "Allah prolongs the life of a person who obeys his parents and serves them devotedly." In another hadeeth, the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam is reported to have said, "Obey your parents and treat them with kindness, your children will be kind and obedient to you.

Similarly, disobeying parents is one of the acts most displeasing to Allah SWT.
When asked about the major sins, the Prophet Sallallahu Alayhi Wasallam replied." To associate anyone with Allah, to disobey the parents, to kill unlawfully and to give false evidence."

May Allah SWT give us the taufeeq to be dutiful towards our parents and forgive us if we have hurt them in any manner intentionally or unintentionally.

Wa akhiruhu Dawana Anilhamdulillah Rabil Aalimeen.

Delivered at Fredericton Islamic Association Masjid on May 11, 2007

Eethar - ایثار

2007-05-10T06:57:00.000-07:00

Audhubillahi Minshaytanirrajeem
Bismillahirrahmanirraheem

In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful, Master of the Universe who gave us life and sustain us for His worship alone. Salutations be upon Prophet Mohammad SAW, the rahbar and haadi for the mankind, the messenger of the final message from Allah SWT, the Quran.

One of the qualities of the choice given to human beings by Allah SWT is the choice of preferences. We as humans, make judgement calls on some matters where we choose one thing over the other. Sometimes, these choices are in accordance with the teachings of Islam and sometimes these choices take us away from our deen.

If a person chooses the attraction of the life of this duniya or chooses to disobey Allah SWT in this duniya, then Allah has reminded us in Quran, that we must think upon this choice for it will have dire consequences.

Allah SWT says:

فَأَمَّا مَن طَغَى Oوَآثَرَ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا Oفَإِنَّ الْجَحِيمَ هِيَ الْمَأْوَىO
Then, for him who transgressed all bounds, in disbelief, oppression and evil deeds of disobedience to Allâh. And preferred the life of this world, Verily, his abode will be Hell-fire;

Then there is a choice of preference which becomes the source of making one close to Allah SWT. When we see the life of our beloved Nabi, Mohammad SAW, we will see that throughout his life he showed us the way of self-sacrifice in order to bring happiness to others. This self-sacrifice or Eethaar is loved by Allah SWT.

Every insaan has nafs and desires and genuine needs, but when such a person sacrifices his needs for the betterment of his brother, then such an action is the most beloved to Allah SWT from His slave.

When Rasulallah SAW asked the muslimeen to migrate to Madeenah, Rasulallah SAW showed them the example of this eethar by being the last people to leave Makkah with Abubakr RA. Abu Bakr RA accompanied Rasulallah SAW and became his Rafeeq in the cave of Thaur. Abubakr RA showed his self-sacrifice when he protected the prophet and was bitten by the snake. When Ali lay in Rasulallah SAW’s bed , he showed his self-sacrifice.
Allah SWT praises such a person who sacrifices himself to provide happiness to a fellow human being.

Allah SWT says in the Quran:

وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَشْرِي نَفْسَهُ ابْتِغَاء مَرْضَاتِ اللّهِ وَاللّهُ رَؤُوفٌ بِالْعِبَادِ
And of mankind is he who would sell himself, seeking the Pleasure of Allâh. And Allâh is full of Kindness to (His) slaves.

Unfortunately, when we look at ourselves these days, we have the least concern for the person next to us. We put ourselves in the priority before we think about someone else. We all have learnt these lessons that we should sacrifice for our brothers, but we forget them when it matters the most.

When we see the lives of the sahabah Alehim Ajmaeen, we see that there are numerous examples that will motivate us to develop the qualities of Self-sacrifice.

A Sahabi came to the Prophet and complained of hunger and distress. The Prophet didn't have any food. He then asked the sahabas that who will take this sahabi as their guest on behalf of me. One Ansar said, “I Will.” He took him home and told his wife that he is a guest of the Prophet ; we will entertain him as best as we can. The wife replied that we have enough food for the children. The Ansari said, “Put the children to sleep and when we start eating, turn the lamp off so the guest may not be aware of my not sharing with him.”
The scheme worked; the whole family remained hungry to enable the guest to eat to his fill, it was because of this incident that Allah Taa'la revealed the verse:

وَالَّذِينَ تَبَوَّؤُوا الدَّارَ وَالْإِيمَانَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ يُحِبُّونَ مَنْ هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَا يَجِدُونَ فِي صُدُورِهِمْ حَاجَةً مِّمَّا أُوتُوا وَيُؤْثِرُونَ عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ وَلَوْ كَانَ بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌ وَمَن يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ
And those who, before them, had homes (in Al-Madinah) and had adopted the Faith, love those who emigrate to them, and have no jealousy in their breasts for that which they have been given (from the booty of Banî An-Nadîr), and give them (emigrants) preference over themselves, even though they were in need of that. And whosoever is saved from his own covetousness, such are they who will be the successful.

Ikramah Bin Abi Jahal was a very well known person at the time of Rasulallah SAW. Before becoming a muslim, Ikrimah had fought ferociusly against the Prophet in the battles of Badr and Uhud. He had sweared to crush the muslims in these battles but Allah SWT had other plans. When Rasulallah SAW entered Makkah as the Fateh and the makkans were given the general amnesty, Ikramah had fled Makkah in order to avoid being taken as a prisoner. His wife, Umm Hakim approached Rasulallah SAW and asked him for her husband’s safety and amnesty. Prophet SAW pardoned Ikramah and she set out to search for her husband with a slave. When she found him, she told him that Ikramah, do not run away and do not destroy your life, Mohammad SAW has pardoned you.

Ikramah asked, did you speak to Mohammad? She said yes. Then what did he say? He said that you are safe and you are pardoned.

Ikrimah came back to makkah with his wife and presented himself before Prophet SAW. He said, Mohammad (SAW), Umm Hakim tells me that you have pardoned me?
Yes, the prophet SAW said, you are safe.

Ikrimah asked,: To what do you invite?

Prophet SAW replied: I invite you to the Truth, to one Allah SWT and that I am the servant and the messenger of Allah SWT, to pray Salaat and pray Zakaat and carry out all the obligations of Islam.

At this Ikramah professed shahadah and asked forgiveness from Rasuallah SAW for all the wrongs he had committed against him in the past. Prophet SAW replied with a dua to him:
"O Lord, forgive him for all the hostility he directed against me and from all the expeditions he mounted wishing to put out Your light. Forgive him for whatever he has said or done in my presence or absence to dishonor me."
Ikramah from that day on became of the model of humility and self-sacrifice. He had learnt the real message of the Islam, the brotherhood, forgiveness and care for eachother and striving in the path of Allah SWT.

The same Ikramah, in the battle of Yarmuk fought with great courage and after the battle was over, he layed there wounded and thirstly. He called for someone who could bring water to him. The volunteer brought the water to him when he heard someone cried for water. He looked over and it was Harith bin Hisham. He said to the volunteer to take the water to him. The volunteer took the water to Harith and when Harith was about to drink, he heard Ayyash bin Abi Rabiah cry for water. At this Harith asked the volunteer to take the water to Ayyash.

When the volunteer reached Ayyash bin Rabiah, he had passed away, he came back to Harith and had passed away too and when he came back to Ikramah, he too had passed away.

These were the lives of those sahaba who breathed the teachings of Islam and would self-sacrifice themselves even when their lives were in danger. They would not think for a moment to make themselves content without thinking about others.

My dear respected brothers and sisters,

We are spending our lives in this part of the world just like other people are spending the lives around us but we say that we are special, we are blessed that we have been given the teachings of truth. If that is the case, then shouldn’t our lives exhibit those different teachings, shouldn’t our actions show that we carry the same message in our heart, that was given to the sahabas by our beloved Rasulallah SAW? If we choose to set Huqooqul Ibad as our first priority, if we choose to sacrifice our needs for others, then surely we will fulfil the rights of being muslims.

Wa ma taufiqi ilallah billah.

Delivered at Fredericton Islamic Association Masjid on May 04, 2007

Sincere Repentance

2007-05-10T06:52:00.000-07:00

Authubillahi minashaytanirrajeem
Bismillahirraheem

In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent the most Merciful, the one who gave us this life to be in His worship and to glorify His name. Salutations be upon Prophet Mohamamd SAW who was sent as the last guide to the humanity after whom there will be no more messengers and prophets.

Assalam o allaikum Brothers, sisters and my elders in Islam,

Allah SWT says in the Quran:

أَلَمْ يَعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ اللّهَ هُوَ يَقْبَلُ التَّوْبَةَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَأْخُذُ الصَّدَقَاتِ وَأَنَّ اللّهَ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ
(9:104)۔
Translation:
Know they not that Allâh accepts repentance from His slaves and takes the Sadaqât (alms, charities) and that Allah Alone is the One Who forgives and accepts repentance, Most Merciful?

When a youth does something wrong and hurts the parents with his or her actions, often times parents just absorb that hurt and do not show their feelings because they are worried that their anger or emotion is going to make the child far from them. But when the same child realizes that he has committed a blunder by hurting his parents and he comes back to them and apologizes and promises that he or she will never do it again, that is the most joyous sight for the parents. They feel happy that they became the shoulder to lean on when the child needed it. That joy is not explainable in words, it can only be seen in the eyes of a mother or father who experiences it.

Similarly, when the slave of Allah SWT realizes that he has committed a blunder or when he realizes that he needs to make his heart light and he turns to Allah in repentance, that very action is most beloved to Allah SWT. Every time a person repents sincerely, Allah SWT forgives.

The very word repentance or Tauba in islam means ‘To Return’ and in this very sense it means ‘To Return to Allah SWT’ to mend the relationship between ourselves and Allah SWT. It is for this reason that Allah SWT calls His servants to repent so that they can bring back their relationship in complete clarity and sincerity and so that the slave of Allah can have the highest status of Iman while in obedience to Allah SWT.

In this call, Allah SWT is asking the servants to:

- Purify themselves of all the sins and mistakes by making sincere tauba. This purity is the measure of closeness between a servant and Allah SWT.
- Creat taqwa of Allah SWT in the hearts and flee to Him for He is free of all the defects
- To expect the great bounty of Allah SWT and belief that this bounty is endless.

Allah SWT says :

وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
“…And turn to God all of you, O believers! So that you may be successful”

In this verse Allah SWT reminds all believers without any exception that they should return to Allah SWT for repentance so that they can be successful.

Some of us, we have developed this idea in our minds that repentance is only done when we have committed something wrong and so there is no need to ask forgiveness of Allah SWT if we have not done anything wrong.

Also, some of us believe that repentance can only be accepted by Allah SWT from those people who are in the best state of Iman and people like us who have lots of sins, will not be forgiven.

The beliefs of both of these groups of people are wrong.

A person who has complete faith in Allah and who is a true believer should not ever think that he does not need forgiveness of Allah SWT. Allah SWT has clearly said in the Quran for the people who have complete belief in Him:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَّصُوحًا عَسَى رَبُّكُمْ أَن يُكَفِّرَ عَنكُمْ سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ وَيُدْخِلَكُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ
Translation:
O you who believe! Turn to Allâh with sincere repentance! It may be that your Lord will remit from you your sins, and admit you into Gardens under which rivers flow

So, a person with complete faith and obedience to Allah SWT is also asked to repent to Allah SWT because Allah will grant him success through this repentance and success of the Akhirah is the Paradise.

Ibn Umar narrated that Rasulallah SAW said:
“In our gatherings we counted the Messenger of God mention a hundred times
the following- ‘O my Lord, forgive me and accept my repentance, indeed you are
the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful’

If the best of the best servants of Allah SWT, the best of the best friend of Allah SWT is asking forgiveness from Allah SWT numerous times a day then how can you or me be absolved of this act.

Now if we look at the group of people who believe that their repentance will not be accepted because of their abundance of sins, we will find that this belief is also not correct.

Allah SWT says in Quran:
وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَقْبَلُ التَّوْبَةَ عَنْ عِبَادِهِ وَيَعْفُو عَنِ السَّيِّئَاتِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ
Translation:
And He it is Who accepts repentance from His slaves, and forgives sins, and He knows what you do.’

And Allah SWT says:

قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
Translation:
Say: "O 'Ibâdî (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allâh, verily Allâh forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful

Hadeeth regarding a man who killed 99 people:

It is recorded in the two Saheeh, the Hadeeth of Abu Said (radhi allahu anhu) from the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) about the man who killed ninety-nine people. Later on, he regretted it and asked a worshipper among the children of Israel whether he could repent. He told him no, so he killed him, thus completing one hundred. Then he asked one of their scholars whether he could repent. The scholar said: 'What is stopping you from repenting?' Then he asked him to go to a town where Allah was worshiped. He set out for the town, but death came to him while he was on the way. The Angels of Mercy and the Angels of Punishment disputed over him, so Allah commanded them to measure the distance between the two towns; whichever he was closer to was the one to which he belonged. They found that he was closer to the town he was heading for, so the angels of mercy took him. It was said that when he was dying, he moved himself (towards the town), and Allah commanded the good town to move closer to him and the other town to move away. [See Fath al-Baree (6: 591)]

So my dear brothers, our Allah SWT is ghafoorurahim and he is Merciful and he forgives whom he wishes. If we make sincere intention to change ourselves and our habits, we must change our company and make associations with those who are righteous and we should continue to ask repentance from Allah SWT.

In order to repent from Allah SWT, there are certain conditions that we must keep in our mind.

- First and the foremost, a person should feel regret about his wrong action and he should feel sad and remorseful
- Second, he should have complete determination that he will not return to that sin again – This determination is very important.
- Third, to go away from the sin.

Inshallah if a person follows these steps then Allah SWT will accept his repentance. The ulema have also mentioned that there are some signs of the repentance of a person and one of the most visible sign is that after the acceptance of the repentance, the person would wish to do good deeds and would wish good for the others.

This repentance before Allah SWT has great rewards my dear brothers and sisters.

Allah says in Quran:
إِنَّ اللّهَ يُحِبُّ التَّوَّابِينَ وَيُحِبُّ الْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ (2:222)۔
Translation:
…Truly, Allâh loves those who turn unto Him in repentance and loves those who purify themselves.

Imam Abu Hurairah reports that Rasulallah SAW said:
“God is more pleased with the repentance of His servant when he turns
penitently towards Him than any one of you would be pleased on finding his lost
camel”.
Sahih Muslim

May Allah SWt give us the taufeeq to ask repentance from Allah SWT for all our previous sins and may Allah SWT give us istiqamah to follow the path of righteousness.

Delivered at Fredericton Islamic Association masjid on April 27, 2007

Attachment with Quran Al Kareem

2007-04-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

Assalam o allaikum Wr. Wb.

In the name of Allah SWT who is our creator and the master of this universe, who created us for nothing other than His worship and may the salutations be upon the Prophet Mohammad SAW who was send as a guide to this duniya, to lead the people on to the right path in order that they may become successful in this duniya as well as in aakhira.

The biggest blessing of Allah SWT on this mankind is the revelation of the Kalaam of Allah, Al-Quran. Without this book of guidance, we would not be able to keep ourselves on the right path. This blessing of Allah SWT is the miracle bestowed upon the last nabi of Allah , Mohammad SAW. Allah SWT says regarding this miracle:

قُل لَّئِنِ اجْتَمَعَتِ الإِنسُ وَالْجِنُّ عَلَى أَن يَأْتُواْ بِمِثْلِ هَـذَا الْقُرْآنِ لاَ يَأْتُونَ بِمِثْلِهِ وَلَوْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ ظَهِيرًا

Say: "If the mankind and the jinns were together to produce the like of this Qur'ân, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they helped one another."

My dear brothers and sisters, we must understand the reason of the revelation of Quran. It was not revealed so that we cover it up and place it on the highest shelf in our house. If was not revealed so that we occasionally take a look at it and then remain aloof of what has been written in it. It was not revealed so that we take out the meaning that suites our lifestyle and discard the rest.

It is a complete system to govern our life on the pattern of righteousness and if we have committed a wrong doing, if we have failed to follow an injuction, this Quran is a reminder for us to repent from our Creator, Allah SWT.

Ahadeeth about the Virtues of Quran:

- Uthman (Radhi Allaho anho) narrates that Rasulullah (sallallaho alaihe wasallam) said: "The best amongst you is he who learns the Qur'an and teaches it."

- In 'Sharah Ihya', the list of people who will be given shelter in the shade of 'Arsh' (Throne of Allah) on the fearful Day of Judgement includes those persons who teach the Qur'an to the children of Muslims and also those who learn the Holy Qur'an in their childhood and are devoted to its recitation when grown up.

The purpose of this Quran is to bring the teachings of Allah SWT into our lives so that we can lead our lives based on righteousness in the complete practical way. When Aisha RA was asked, How was the character of Rasulallah SAW? She answered: Rasulallah SAW’s character was like the walking talking Quran. So, it is not an option for us to just let ourselves relaxed in assumption that since we were born muslims, we will be successful on the day of Qayyamah… No, we must understand the commandments of Allah mentioned in this book and apply them in our lives, for verily we will be questioned about it.

Abu Sa'id (Radhi Allaho anho) narrates that Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) said: "Almighty Allah says, "If anybody finds no time for My remembrance and for begging favors of Me, because of his remaining busy with the Holy Qur'an, I shall give him more than what I give to all those who beg favors of Me."

Today, we have led ourselves away from the love of this book, we consider it Okay for our children to read fantasy and fiction novels but when it comes to Quran, we do not go out of our way to make every effort to teach them and to develop this love in their hearts. The result!? The result is that it is our children, when they grow up, devoid of the love and muhabbah of Quran, they question the authenticity of this very book. The love and muhabbah of the kalaam of Allah needs to be developed in these young children so that when they grow older, they remain drenched in this kalaam and live their lives accordingly.
If musk and amber are placed before a man who has a cold and therefore a stuffy nose, he will not be able to appreciate their fragrance. This is not the fault of the musk or amber, but the fault of his illness. Today the Holy Quran is amongst us, but because we are diseased by our sins we are estranged from the pleasures of the Holy Book.
Abdullah ibn-e-Abbas (Radhi Allaho anho) has narrated the saying of Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam): "He in whose heart there is no part of the Qur'an is like a deserted house."
My dear brothers and elders! If we see the lives of our predecessors, we will see how they took this book to be the guiding light in their dark journeys of life and we will see their muhabbah with the Kalaam of Allah.
Fatima RA would become so absorbed in the recitation of the Quran during prayer that she would lose track of time. She once complained to Allah, "I began by making intention for just two raka’s; Your night is so short that I was able to offer just those two rakats."

In Madinah at the time of the Prophet, if a man started walking from his house to the mosque at the time of Tahajjud, the sound of people reading the Holy Quran would be like the buzzing of bees around their hive. Every night used to be like a night of Ramadan for them. They weren't like us today; if we stay awake at night then when we finally sleep we don't wake up till the afternoon. In those days they worked and participated in battle during the day, and spent the night in worship. They would be refreshed by reading the Holy Quran
This is comparable to a mother who says she is extremely tired and asks that she not be disturbed from her sleep, but sits up fully refreshed if her son suddenly returns from overseas after a long time: all her fatigue will completely vanish. In this same way those who are close to Allah are rejuvenated upon reciting the Holy Quran.
Imam Abu Hanifa (May the mercy of Allah be upon him) used to complete one reading of the Holy Quran in the daytime and one at night, and would finish its recitation a total of sixty-three times in the holy month of Ramadan.
On her wedding night, Hadrat Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal's (May the mercy of Allah be upon him) daughter recited seven chapters of the Holy Quran in tahajjud. This is no small feat for a girl's first night with her husband. Today people become restless listening to merely one chapter in Ramadan.
Today when people watch videos and movies, hours go by before they notice how much time has elapsed. Just in the same way the Ahl-e-Quran (People of the Quran) have no idea where the time goes when they begin reading. Just as for the one sitting in front of a television screen, scenes of Paradise and Hell pass before their eyes as they read. At times they feel joyous upon reading a verse about Paradise, at times they prostrate in fear upon reading a verse about Hell. Their whole night passes in experiencing these moments of grief and joy.
Four things of which People Never Tire

The ulema have written that a person's heart can never tire of four things.

The first of these is the sky. Everyday we look at the same blue sky, the same stars, the same clouds, but we never tire of this sight. No one has ever said that he wishes the sky to be another color, such as pink.

The second of these is water. Even if someone grows to be a hundred years old, he will never tire of drinking water.

The third of these is the sight of the House of Allah, the Kaa'ba. One never tires of gazing at it, the site upon which the mercy and blessings of Allah are constantly descending. There is truly nothing comparable to the House of Allah on this Earth. People wish time would stand still so they could keep gazing at the Kaa'ba; their thirst is never quenched, rather it increases. Such lovers of Allah have the insight to see these blessings descending.

The fourth thing from which the heart never tires is reading the Holy Quran. Readers of this Book spend their entire lives reciting and teaching it, but never tire of it. Their desire increases the more they read. Allah has put incredible blessing in this Book.

A'ishah (Radhi Allaho anha) reports that Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) said, "Certainly there is always a thing in which people take pride. And that which is glory and pride for my Ummat is the Holy Qur'an."

Anas (Radhi Allaho anho) reports that Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) said, "By Allah, from amongst the people, there are some who are those of His household." The Sahabah (Radhi Allaho anhum) (may Allah be pleased with them) asked, "Who are those people?" he replied "Men of the Qur'an. They are of the household of Allah, and are his favored ones."

Men of Quran are the people who have special attachment to the Kalaam of Allah SWT. These are the people who have their lives revolve around Quran. They keep themselves occupied by Quran through recitation, memorization as well as by understanding.

May Allah SWT give us the ability to foster in our hearts the love of Quran and the willingness and commitment to follow the commandments as shown to us by Rasulallah SAW.. Amiin.. Wa ma Taufiqi Ilallah Billah…

Delivered at FIA Masjid on April 20, 2007

Iman - Bayn al Khauf Wal Raja

2007-03-30T07:13:00.000-07:00

Assalam o allaikum Wr. Wb

Allah SWT says in the quran :

لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ

“And Verily we have created man in its best conformation”.

So in the eyes of Allah SWT, all human beings are equal as the best of the creation of Allah SWT. But when we ask a question as to what is the difference between a muslim and other fellow human beings, the only answer is that Muslims have Iman ( faith) and what is this faith that a muslim have? The answer to this question is very briefly explained in the Iman al Mufassil below:

Amantu Billahi Wa malaikatihi Wa Kutubihi Wa Rusulihi Wal Yaumil Akhir Wal Qadri Khairihi Wa Sharrihi Minallahi Ta'ala Wal Baathi Ba'ad al Maut.

The only thing that makes a difference between a Muslim and a non-muslim is the presence of this Imaan in the heart of a muslim.

This iman increases and decreases based on what environment (physical or spiritual) we provide to the heart. If we engage ourselves in the remembrance of Allah SWT, and our conscience is in accordance with the message of deen, then our iman will increase. On the other hand if our environment keeps us away from Allah SWT, slowly our heart will corrode and our iman will decrease. Allah SWT says in the Quran:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ اتَّقُواْ اللّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلاَ تَمُوتُنَّ إِلاَّ وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ (3:102
102. O you who believe! Fear Allâh as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islâm (as Muslims) with complete submission to Allâh.

وَلاَ تُفْسِدُواْ فِي الأَرْضِ بَعْدَ إِصْلاَحِهَا وَادْعُوهُ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا إِنَّ رَحْمَتَ اللّهِ قَرِيبٌ مِّنَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ (7:56)
And do not do mischief on the earth, after it has been set in order, and invoke Him with fear and hope; Surely, Allâh's Mercy is (ever) near unto the gooddoers. (Araaf – 51)

Two Wings of a Bird
Allah is Most Merciful and Forgiving, and He is glad whenever one of His servants repents sincerely so that He can wash away his sins. Keeping Allah’s Mercy foremost in mind helps man to be hopeful, and this in turn increases the desire to act righteously. However, what is equally important to keep within context is fear. Hope and fear are like the wings of a bird, and a believer has to keep them balanced.

The Messenger of Allah brought not only good tidings, but also stories and events to instill fear, for faith lies between hope and fear. A person must be hopeful when he reflects on the Mercy of Allah, and likewise be fearful of Allah’s Wrath when he reflects on his own sins. Man is living in rebellion to the wishes of Allah and should mend his ways as soon as possible.

Advice of the Elders
The mashaikh (spiritual masters and teachers) have written as to the time when a believer should be overcome by each of these conditions of fear and hope. They have written that a person should be fearful in his youth, because this is the time of adolescence and the most vulnerable time to fall into wrong. Thus a person should fear Allah so to be saved from sin.
On the contrary, a person should turn hopeful of Allah’s Mercy and Forgiveness when elderly because death is looming near. The person should turn to repentance and hence be desirous of Allah’s forgiveness.

A person should be fearful of Allah in times of happiness and celebration. The shariah (Islamic Sacred Law) has set boundaries for us and there is sometimes danger of stepping outside these bounds when one is in too much of a celebratory mood. Emotions can run high, and unknowingly we might act against the shariah. Likewise a person should be hopeful of Allah’s Mercy whenever sad or dejected. This is so he does not lose hope, which is in itself a sin. A believer should always stay within these two states of fear and hope.

Counter productivity
Fear prevents a person from sin, and today hearts are rusting because of the intensity of sins that we have committed. This is not to say that people are not doing good deeds, because they are. However, good deeds and sins are taking place side by side, which is counterproductive. A good deed is offering prayer in the masjid. However, when walking home our eyes are wandering and looking at forbidden things, and therefore we waste the good effects that being in the masjid had on our hearts.

Likewise, reading the Holy Quran is a good deed but then we also lie throughout the day. Many women pray Tahajjud (the night vigil) but also go out in public with their heads uncovered. Why are people engaged in both good and bad at the same time? This is because we don’t fear Allah as we should.

People will only refrain from committing all wrong when they understand the greatness and glory of Allah. Such people do exist in this world, and they know that if they commit any wrong, they will have to stand and answer very shortly. Hadrat Ibn Qayyam i writes, “Do not ponder on whether the sin is big or small. Rather reflect upon the greatness of Whom you are disobeying.”

It is very ironic that parents become prepared to beat and even throw their child out of the house if the child does not obey after repeated requests. Allah is so Merciful and so Gracious that He has not once threatened to expel us from His fold despite our repeated and stubborn disobedience. Allah can also most certainly tell us to leave Him and search for another provider and sustainer. However, Allah is Merciful and Forgiving and therefore keeps giving us chances to reform.

Did Prophets, Shuhuda have the same fear?
Degrees of Fear

The ulama (scholars) fear Allah because they comprehend the greatness of Allah. They remain overcome with fear, and desire only to be admitted among those who have the good fortune of having been accepted by Allah. These people pray everyday to be put on the Straight Path, the Path of those whom Allah has favored. Who are these people whom Allah has favored? The Holy Quran tells us that they are the Prophets, the Truthful, the Shuhudah (Witnesses), and the

Righteous.

Fear of Allah is the key that stops people from committing sin and every other disapproved action. The fear of the common people is very different from the fear of the ulama. The common people fear Allah because they will be punished if they commit sin, just like a child obeys when he fears that he will be beaten.

A wife’s fear is different altogether, because she does not fear a beating. However, what she fears is that the husband will no longer regard her with the same love that he used to. Both the child and the wife fear the man, but there is vast difference in their respective degrees of fear. The fear of the common population is comparable to that of the child, while the fear of the scholars and the learned is comparable to the fear of the wife. They remain in fear of provoking Allah’s dislike and distemper by which He may stop regarding them with the same level of love as before.

Fear of Allah is a blessing from the many blessings of Allah and we should request it from Allah and crave it. We ask other things from Allah, and we should also ask to be made fearful of Allah. Allah calls this fear a blessing because it prevents people from sin.

A Practical Lesson
A young man came to a shaykh and said, “I am a young man with strong desires. I cannot help looking at people when I am in the bazaar. What do I do?” The shaykh handed him a cup of milk that was full to the brim, and told him to deliver it to an address that would take the young man directly through the bazaar. He then instructed the young man that the milk should not spill, and the man said that it would not. The shaykh then summoned one of his students and told him to accompany the man through the bazaar to the destination, and to severely beat him if any milk were to spill.

This man successfully took the milk to the destination and returned to give the good news to the shaykh. The shaykh asked, “Tell me, how many sights and faces did you see in the bazaar?” The man replied incredulously, “Hadrat, I didn’t even realize what was going on around me. I was only fearful of the beating and disgrace that I would have to endure in public if a drop of milk were to spill.” The shaykh smiled and said, “It is the same with a believer. The believer fears that Allah may disgrace him in front of the entire creation on the Day of Judgment if his faith were to spill over from his heart.” Such people save themselves from sin because they constantly remain focused on the Day of Judgment.

Chilling Words
A man came to Hadrat Hasan Basri i and said, “Hadrat, I do not know what is the matter with us. It seems that our hearts are asleep.” Hadrat Hasan Basri i asked what was the matter. The man replied, “Our hearts are not affected when you recite the Holy Quran and Hadith to us.” Hadrat Hasan Basri i said to him, “If reading of the Holy Quran and Hadith do not affect your hearts, do not say that your hearts are asleep. Instead say that your hearts are dead. Even a sleeping person awakes when shaken awake. If someone sleeping does not awaken when shaken, he is not asleep but dead.” When advice and guidance do not affect the heart, it is an indication that the heart has died.

Hadrat Ali said that whoever wants Paradise should persevere against lust, and whoever wants to be saved from Hell should persevere against sin.

Heroic Examples of our Elders
Hadrat Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal i was a rock of faith and courage. He endured so much hardship and sacrificed so much for Islam that it is said that an elephant could not have taken the burdens. At the time of his death all his students were gathered around his bedside and reciting the Kalimah to prompt their mentor to recite it as well. However, Hadrat Ahmed bin Hanbal i would only recite “La” at certain intervals. The students were all surprised and when their teacher seemed to recover a little they asked him what was happening. Hadrat Ahmed bin Hanbal i said, “Shaytan was in front of me saying, ‘Ahmed bin Hanbal, you have escaped with your faith intact,’ and I was saying, ‘La, I am not safe from you until my life passes from this world.’”

Imam Muhammad i was a renowned student of Imam Abu Hanifa i. He writes that no creature in this world is ever safe from Shaytan. No one knows what may happen until death. Shaytan is someone who pursued and tested even the Prophets, and hence cannot be taken lightly. He attacks continuously and relentlessly, but Allah protects His chosen and beloved. The Messenger of Allah said that there is a Shaytan with everyone, and the Sahabah (Companions) asked, “Even with you O Prophet ()?” The Messenger of Allah replied, “Yes, even with me, but my Shaytan has become Muslim.”

Shaytan is with us everyday and working very hard to lead us astray. He makes special and intense effort at the time of death. Man is most vulnerable at this time because his life is slowly ebbing away. Hence this time of humility is an ideal and opportune time for Shaytan to launch an offensive. Shaytan comes and puts doubts in our hearts just when the breath is getting caught in the chest.

Fear of Allah in the Righteous Predecessors
Hadrat Umar was a courageous Companion about whom The Messenger a of Allah said, “If there was to be another prophet after me, it would be Umar.” The Messenger a of Allah also said regarding Hadrat Umar that his good deeds were comparable to the stars. It is further written in Hadith regarding this great Companion that Shaytan used to leave the path on which Hadrat Umar walked. Such an honorable and esteemed person used to cry so much in fear of Allah that his face was marked by the trails of tears just as a stream’s path is carved on a mountainside.

These people feared Allah because they knew Allah.

Ibn Masood said something similar to such a question: “I wish I were dust and so I would not have to stand in front of Allah on the Day of Judgment.”

Hadrat Ibn Masood passed away during Hadrat Uthman’s Khilafah, and Hadrat Uthman paid a visit before he passed on. He greeted Hadrat Ibn Masood and asked, “What do you hope for?” Hadrat ibn Masood replied, “I am hopeful of Allah’s Mercy.” Hadrat Uthman asked again, “What do you fear?” and Hadrat Ibn Masood replied, “I fear for my sins.”
Hadrat Uthman then asked, “Can I arrange a stipend for your daughters?” Hadrat Ibn Masood shook his head, “No, Allah is Master. They recite Surah Waqia everyday, and the Messenger of Allah said that He will protect the reciter of Surah Waqia from starvation and poverty.” Such was the strength of faith of these people that they would remain steadfast on whatever the Messenger of Allah said, and were fearful despite this.
May Allah SWT give us the ability to practice upon what has been said and to make our hearts obedient to the will of Allah SWT so that when we pass away from this duniya, we have two important tools in our hand, The hope from the Mercy of Allah SWT and the Fear of our sins.

Wa ma Taufiqi ilallah billah…

Delivered at FIA Masjid on March 23, 2007

-From the teachings of Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad Naqshbandi - May Allah reward him.

Dhikr of Allah is Islam

2007-03-11T11:18:00.000-07:00

Assalam o allaikum Wr Wb.

In the name of Allah SWT who is the master of the worlds and everything between them, master of the day of judgement when each soul shall the reward of their deeds. May the salutations be on the Prophet Mohammad SAW who was send as a guide to this mankind.

Dhikr has two meanings:
1) Remembrance
2) Reminder, statement, mention.

Dhikr Allah can then have four meanings:

1) Remembrance of Allah (by us)
2) Remembrance by Allah (of us)
3) A reminder or message coming from Allah
4) A reminder or message about Allah

In the Qur`an when dhikr is used by itself, its primary meaning is the reminder or message from Allah, including the Qur`an and earlier revealed books. But when it is used as a phrase like “dhikr Allah”, its primary meaning seems to be the remembrance of Allah by human beings.

THE WHOLE UNIVERSE IS BUSY IN DHIKR ALLAH

One form of dhikr allah is tasbih or glorification of Allah. The Qur`an says that everything in the universe is busy in the tasbih of Allah:

تُسَبِّحُ لَهُ السَّمَاوَاتُ السَّبْعُ وَالأَرْضُ وَمَن فِيهِنَّ وَإِن مِّن شَيْءٍ إِلاَّ يُسَبِّحُ بِحَمْدَهِ وَلَـكِن لاَّ تَفْقَهُونَ تَسْبِيحَهُمْ إِنَّهُ كَانَ حَلِيمًا غَفُورًا

The seven heavens and the earth and all that is in them glorify him and there is not a thing but declares his praise. But you do not understand their glorification. He is truly ever forbearing, oft forgiving. (17:44)

This means that the whole universe is like a huge masjid, in which dhikr of Allah is going on at all times. This includes even the bodies of all human beings. The only place where the glorification of Allah is not going on is the consciousness of some human beings and other similar beings. But at some level even human beings are "aware" of Allah:

وَإِذ نَتَقْنَا الْجَبَلَ فَوْقَهُمْ كَأَنَّهُ ظُلَّةٌ وَظَنُّواْ أَنَّهُ وَاقِعٌ بِهِمْ خُذُواْ مَا آتَيْنَاكُم بِقُوَّةٍ وَاذْكُرُواْ مَا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

And consider [O man] your Lord brings forth from the children of Adam from their loins their seed and makes them testify to themselves -- “Am I not your Lord?” They say: “Yes, we bear witness (to that)” – lest they say on the day of resurrection: “Verily, we have been unaware of this.” (7:171)

This declaration that Allah is the Lord, which every soul has made to him, is buried deep in our subconscious mind. The purpose of revelation is to bring it to our consciousness, so that we live by it and consciously join the rest of the Creation in the glorification of Allah and obedience to him. This is why the Qur`an often calls itself dhikr; e.g., in the following verse:

وَمِنْ حَيْثُ خَرَجْتَ فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَحَيْثُ مَا كُنتُمْ فَوَلُّواْ وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُ لِئَلاَّ يَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَيْكُمْ حُجَّةٌ إِلاَّ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ مِنْهُمْ فَلاَ تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَاخْشَوْنِي وَلأُتِمَّ نِعْمَتِي عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ

And this is a blessed dhikr that We have sent down; are you going to deny it? (21:50)

The Qur`an is dhikr because: a) it is a reminder of the declaration that every human soul has made that Allah is its only true Lord; b) its main message is that we should remember the one and only true Lord; c) its main concern is to help us remember him.

AL-ISLAM IS ESSENTIALLY DHIKR ALLAH

When our consciousness starts to do dhikr of Allah, then we have adopted the way of al-islam and we have become Muslims. Al-islam and doing dhikr of Allah is therefore essentially the same thing. The Holy Qur`an says:

أَفَمَن شَرَحَ اللَّهُ صَدْرَهُ لِلْإِسْلَامِ فَهُوَ عَلَى نُورٍ مِّن رَّبِّهِ فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْقَاسِيَةِ قُلُوبُهُم مِّن ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ أُوْلَئِكَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ

اللَّهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابًا مُّتَشَابِهًا مَّثَانِيَ تَقْشَعِرُّ مِنْهُ جُلُودُ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ ثُمَّ تَلِينُ جُلُودُهُمْ وَقُلُوبُهُمْ إِلَى ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ذَلِكَ هُدَى اللَّهِ يَهْدِي بِهِ مَنْ يَشَاء وَمَن يُضْلِلْ اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ هَادٍ

"Is he whose breast Allah has opened for al-islam and who is consequently (walking with) a light from his Lord (like the one who is deprived of al-islam). Then woe unto those whose hearts are hardened against the dhikr of Allah. Such are in plain error. Allah has sent down the best of hadith (word, statement), a book with inner harmony and diversity. The skins of those who fear their Lord shiver from it. Then their skins and their hearts soften to the dhikr of Allah. Such is the guidance of Allah. He guides therewith whom He pleases, but whomever Allah leads astray has no guide.” (39:22-23)

In these verses, first there is the mention of those whose breasts have been opened by Allah for al-islam and who are as a result given a nur or light to walk with. Then there is the mention of those whose hearts are too hard to remember Allah and who are therefore in dalal. This means that al-islam and dhikr of Allah go together. Where there is dhikr of Allah there is al-islam and where there is absence of his dhikr there is absence of al-islam. Also, the verses make it clear that the purpose of the Qur`an is to incline us to the dhikr of Allah.

In the following verses it is even more clearly stated that the absence of dhikr Allah leads man away from the way of Allah (al-islam) and to the way of Shaytan:

وَمَن يَعْشُ عَن ذِكْرِ الرَّحْمَنِ نُقَيِّضْ لَهُ شَيْطَانًا فَهُوَ لَهُ قَرِي

وَإِنَّهُمْ لَيَصُدُّونَهُمْ عَنِ السَّبِيلِ وَيَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُم مُّهْتَدُونَ

And whoever turns himself away from the dhikr of the Most Gracious One, We appoint for him a devil (shaytan) to be his associate. And (these devils) turn them away from the way (of Allah) while they think that they are guided aright. (43:36-37)

So if we see the lives of the Sahabah Kiram (AJ) then we see that their lives were moulded around the dhikr of Allah SWT. No matter what conditions they were in, they would not keep their hearts aloof of the remembrance of Allah SWT.

HADEETH OF REMEMBERANCE AT DEATH

The Holy Prophet (SAW) once visited a young Sahabi, who was breathing his last, and asked him how he was feeling. He replied, "O! Messenger of Allah, I am hopeful of the mercy of Allah, and yet I am afraid of my sins." Thereupon the Holy Prophet (SAW) said "When the heart of a believer is filled with these two feelings of hope and fear, Almighty Allah fulfils his hope and saves him from what he is afraid of."

DHIKR ALLAH KEEPS US AWAY FROM EVIL AND MEANS MUCH MORE

If turning away from the dhikr of the Most Gracious One leads one into the hands of the devils, doing his dhikr keeps him safe from them. For one of the most important form of dhikr – salah – the Holy Qur`an says:

اتْلُ مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ تَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَاء وَالْمُنكَرِ وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ

"Read what is revealed to you in the Book and establish regular prayer. Verily, the prayer stops one from indecent and disapproved acts. But verily, dhikr of Allah is greater and Allah knows what you do." (29:45)

DHIKR ALLAH BRINGS US IN TOUCH WITH OURSELVES

Remembrance of Allah, of course, brings us close to our Creator. But it also brings us close to our own selves:

وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ نَسُوا اللَّهَ فَأَنسَاهُمْ أَنفُسَهُمْ أُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ

"And be not like those who forgot Allah and he made them forget their own souls. Such are the transgressors." [59:19]

It is implied in this verse that those who remember Allah also have awareness of their own selves.

HADITH ABOUT DHIKR…

Imam Abu Hurairah (Radhiyallaho anho) narrated that Rasulullah (SAW) has said, "Almighty Allah says, I treat my slave (man) according to his expectations from Me, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me in his heart, I remember him in My heart; if he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a better and nobler gathering (i.e. of angels). If he comes closer to Me by one span, I go towards him a cubit's length, if he comes towards Me by a cubit's length, I go towards him an arm's length, and if he walks towards Me, I run unto him."

May Allah SWT give us the capability to practice upon what has been said and give us the ability to be in complete submission to the will of Allah SWT. Wama Taufiqi Illah Billah.

~March 02, 2007 ~ Delivered at FIA Masjid

Special thanks to Dr. Ahmad Shafat

Guiding Fellow Muslims to the Right Path

2007-02-07T08:48:00.000-08:00

Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Aalameen, Wal Aaqibatu lil muttaqeen, Wasalatu Wassalamu ala’ rusulihil kareem.

All praises are for Allah, the Exalted who created us from nothing, who blessed us with his Mercy, who is the sustainer of all the worlds and everything that they contain. Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon Mohammad Salallahu Aleyhi Wassalam, the last messenger and upon all the prophets who came before him.

My Dear respected Brothers and Sisters,

Assalam o allaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh

It has happened to many of us in our lives that we have faced a situation wherein a close friend of ours say or do something that hurts us deeply. Sometimes, the intent is not there to hurt, but the speaker is not mindful of the manners and crosses the line of friendship. In such situations, we become emotional and react in a manner that is not befitting the guidelines of Quran and Sunnah.

If we see the lives of the Sahabah, we see numerous examples, whereby it is shown to us how to interact with our friends and fellow muslims when a miscommunication takes place. We see from their lives how to convey our message and yet be mindful of our tongues.

Imam Malik one day entered the Masjid after Asr. Towards the front of Masjid An-Nabawee he drew closer and sat down. Rasul Allah had commanded that anyone who enters the Masjid should not sit until he first prays 2 rakas as a salutation of the Masjid. Imam Malik was of the opinion however that Rasul Allah's forbiddance of praying after Asr took precedence and so he would teach his students to not pray the tahiyyatul Masjid if they entered between the Asr and Maghrib time.

At that moment that Imam Malik sat down, a young boy had seen him sit without first praying the 2 raka’s of Tahiyyatul Masjid. The young boy scorned him, “Get up and pray 2 rakas!”

Imam Malik dutifully stood up once again and began praying the 2 rakas. The students sat stunned: What was going on? Had Imam Malik’s opinion changed?

After he had completed the salah, the students swarmed around and questioned his actions. Imam Malik said, “My opinion has not changed, nor have I gone back on what I taught you earlier. I merely feared that had I not prayed the 2 rakas as the young boy commanded, Allah may include me in the Ayah…

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمُ ارْكَعُوا لَا يَرْكَعُونَ

77:48 and when they are told, "Bow down [before God]", do not bow down:

Imam Ahmad held the opinion that eating camel meat nullifies ones Wudu, an opinion that the majority of scholars differed from. Some students asked him, “If you find an Imam eating camel meat in front of you and – without first making Wudu - then leads the Salah, would you pray behind him?” Imam Ahmad replied, “Do you think I would not pray behind the likes of Imam Malik and Sa’eed ibn Al-Musayyab?”

Allah SWT says in Quran:

وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ خَلْقُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافُ أَلْسِنَتِكُمْ وَأَلْوَانِكُمْ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّلْعَالِمِينَ (30:22)
30:22 And among his wonders is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the diversity of your tongues and colours: for in this, behold, there are messages indeed for all who are possessed of [innate] knowledge!

It is a fact that humans will differ from eachother. It has been said that difference of opinion infact is a rahmah from Allah SWT which means that no matter how much one struggles, one cannot make the minds of a people same. Then how do we deal with this difference of opinion and what kind of relationship should we have with a person who has a difference of opinion.

Allah SWT says in Quran:

ادْعُ إِلِى سَبِيلِ رَبِّكَ بِالْحِكْمَةِ وَالْمَوْعِظَةِ الْحَسَنَةِ وَجَادِلْهُم بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ إِنَّ رَبَّكَ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَن ضَلَّ عَن سَبِيلِهِ وَهُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِالْمُهْتَدِينَ

16:125 Invite (all) to the Way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knoweth best, who have strayed from His Path, and who receive guidance. –

So in this ayah, we see that Allah SWT tells us three things that we need to invite people to the right path:

1) Hikma – Wisdom
2) Mauizatul Hasana – Good instructions
3) Jaadil hum Billati Hiya Ahsan – Argue in the best manner.

Now how do we apply hikmah in our invitation to the others. We see that Sahabah have show beautifully in their lives how to use Hikmah when inviting someone.

Al-Hasan and Al-Husayn – in their young age - once saw a senior man performing Wudu incorrectly. Together they arranged a plan to teach the man without insulting him, advising him in a manner befitting of his age.

Together they went to the senior and announced, “My brother and I have differed over who amongst us performs Wudu the best. Would you mind being the judge to determine which one of us indeed performs Wudu more correctly.”

The man watched intently as the two grandsons of Rasul Allah performed Wudu in an explicit manner. After they had completed, he thanked them and said, “By Allah, I did not know how to perform Wudu before this. You have both taught me how to do it correctly.”

There are two aspects of Hikmah that is explained in the tafaseer of this aayah. Ulama say that
1) Hikmah in Knowledge - Ilamiyyah
2) Hikmah in Action – Amaliyyah

Sometimes, a person may have Hikmah of knowledge, that is he knows that something that was done was wrong, but he is not mindful of applying the hikmah in his action – aml. This lack of Hikmah in Action becomes a major source of hurt that is caused between the brothers.

Sincerity
One: If we differ, our intentions should be that we are differing in the sincere hope of coming away with the truth. Our intentions should be sincere to Allah.

We should not differ just to release some hate or envy in our heart. We should not differ to embarrass someone like we may have been embarrassed.

Rasul Allah said, “Whoever learns knowledge – knowledge from that which should be sought for the sake of Allah – only to receive a commodity of the material world, he shall not find the fragrance of jannah on the day of resurrection.” - An authentic hadith narrated by Abu Dawood in Kitab Al- Ilm.

Kindness and Gentleness
Two: To have Hikmah when differing means we should rarely depart from an atmosphere of kindness and gentleness, we should seldom allow ourselves to become angry and raise our voices.

Fir’own was one of the evilest people that lived. Musa was one of the noblest. Look at how Allah told Musa to advise Fir’own…

"Go, both of you, to Fir’own. Indeed, he has transgressed. And speak to him with gentle speech, perhaps he may remember or fear (Allah)."

A man once entered upon the Khalifah and chastised him for some policies he had taken. The Khalifah replied, “By Allah, Fir’own was more eviler than me. And by Allah, Musa was more pious than you. Yet, Allah commanded him…'And speak to him with gentle speech, perhaps he may remember or fear (Allah).'"

Take Your Time and Clarify
Three: To have Hikmah when dealing with others is to be patient and clarify things before snapping to conclusions.

Imam Ahmad narrates with his chain of narrators leading to Ibn Abbas who said, “A man from Bani Saleem passed by a group of the Prophet’s companions. (At that time of war) The man said ‘as salamu alaykum’ to them. The companions concluded that he only said ‘as salamu alaykum’ to them as a deception to save himself from being caught. They surrounded him and Malham ibn Juthaamah killed him. From that event Allah revealed the verse…

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ فَتَبَيَّنُواْ وَلاَ تَقُولُواْ لِمَنْ أَلْقَى إِلَيْكُمُ السَّلاَمَ لَسْتَ مُؤْمِنًا تَبْتَغُونَ عَرَضَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا فَعِندَ اللّهِ مَغَانِمُ كَثِيرَةٌ كَذَلِكَ كُنتُم مِّن قَبْلُ فَمَنَّ اللّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ فَتَبَيَّنُواْ إِنَّ اللّهَ كَانَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرًا
4:94 O ye who believe! When ye go abroad in the cause of Allah, investigate carefully, and say not to any one who offers you a salutation: "Thou art none of a believer!" Coveting the perishable goods of this life: with Allah are profits and spoils abundant. Even thus were ye yourselves before, till Allah conferred on you His favours: Therefore carefully investigate. For Allah is well aware of all that ye do.

Speak Kindly
Fourthly, never trade in kind words for harshness, especially when dealing with other Muslims.

Look at the power of a sincere and polite word:

Mus’ab ibn Umayr was the first of ambassador of Rasul Allah in Madinah. Before Rasul Allah had arrived in Madinah, Mus’ab taught ahl al-Madinah about Islam and they began to enter the Deen.

This enraged Sa’d ibn ‘Ubaadah, one of the chieftains of Madinah. He sheathed his sword and set off for the head of Mus’ab ibn ‘Umayr. When he confronted Mus’ab he threatened, “Stop this nonsense you speak or you shall find yourself dead!”

Mus’ab replied in the way that should be a lesson for us all. This man before him did not stop at rudeness and ignorance, he wanted to slit his throat.

Mus’ab said, “Shall you not sit and listen for a few moments. If you agree with what I say then take it, and if not, we shall desist from this talk.” Sa’d sat down.

Mus’ab spoke about Allah and His messenger until the face of Sa’d ibn Ubaadah’s face shone like a full moon and he said, “What should a person do who wishes to enter into this Deen?” After Mus’ab had told him he said, “There is a man, if he accepts this Deen, there shall be no home in Madinah that will not become Muslim. Sa’d ibn Mu’aadh.”

When Sa’d ibn Mu’aadh heard what was happening, he was infuriated. He left his home to go and kill this man called Mus’ab ibn Umayr for the dissention he had caused. He entered upon Mus’ab and announced, “You shall desist of this religion you speak of or you shall find yourself dead!”

Mus’ab replied, “Shall you not sit and listen for a few moments. If you agree with what I say then take it, and if not, I shall desist from this talk.” Sa’d sat.

Mus’ab spoke about Allah and His messenger until the face of Sa’d ibn Mu’aadh’s face shone like a full moon and he said, “What should a person do who wishes to enter into this Deen?”

Look at what a kind word did. Sa’d ibn Mu’aadh went home to his Madinan tribe that night and announced to them all, “Everything of yours is Haram upon me until you all enter into Islam.”

That night, every home in Madinah went to bed with Laa ilaaha illa Allah, all because of a kind word.

Mwaizatul Hasana

Mu’aawiyah ibn al-Hakam al-Salami. When he came to Madeenah from the desert, he did not know that it was forbidden to speak during the salaah. He relates: “Whilst I was praying behind the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), a man sneezed, so I said ‘Yarhamuk Allaah (may Allaah have mercy on you).’ The people glared at me, so I said, ‘May my mother lose me! What is wrong with you that you are looking at me?’ They began to slap their thighs with their hands, and when I saw that they were indicating that I should be quiet, I stopped talking (i.e., I nearly wanted to answer them back, but I controlled myself and kept quiet).

When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had finished praying – may my father and mother be sacrificed for him, I have never seen a better teacher than him before or since – he did not scold me or hit me or put me to shame. He just said, ‘This prayer should contain nothing of the speech of men; it is only tasbeeh and takbeer and recitation of the Qur’aan.’” (Saheeh Muslim, ‘Abd al-Baaqi edn., no. 537).

Jaadil hum Billati Hiya Ahsan – Argue in the best manner.

“I lose and you win!”
A Bedouin came to Rasul Allah and told him, “Give me from what Allah gave you, not from the wealth of your mother nor from the wealth of your father.” The Sahaabah were furious at the man and step forward to discipline him for what he said. Rasul Allah commanded everyone to leave him.

Then by the hand, Rasul Allah took him home, opened his door and said, “Take what you wish and leave what you wish.” The man did so and after he completed, Rasul Allah asked him, “Have I honored you?” “Yes, by Allah,” said the Bedouin. “Ash hadu an laa ilaaha illa Allah, wa ashhadu anna Muhammadar Rasul Allah.”

When the Sahabah heard of how the man changed, Rasul Allah taught them. “Verily the example of myself, you and this Bedouin is that of a man who had his camel run away. The townspeople tried capturing the camel for him by running and shouting after the camel, only driving it further away. The man would shout, ‘Leave me and my camel, I know my camel better.’ Then he took some grass in his hand, ruffled it in front of the camel, until it came willingly.

‘By Allah, had I left you to this Bedouin, you would have hit him, hurt him, he would have left without Islam and eventually have entered hellfire.”

“I win and you lose!”
A Muslim should not have an apologetic stance to everything he is confronted with. There are times when the truth must be said, when there is no room for flattery.

When the Makhzoomi women – a women from an affluent family – stole, people approached Rasul Allah to have her punishment canceled. Rasul Allah became very angry and stood on the pulpit and announced, “By Allah, had Fatima the daughter of Muhammad stole I would have cut her hand off.”

No room for flattery, the truth must be stood up for. It is here that the etiquette of disagreement that we talked earlier about should shine.

“I win and you win!”
There doesn’t always have to be a loser. We see in many cases that Rasul Allah gave a way out for the people he differed with.

When he sent the letter to Caesar, he said in it, “Become Muslim and you shall be safe, Allah shall give you your reward double!”

He did not say surrender or die! Nothing of the sort. Become Muslim and you shall win, rather your victory shall be double.

I shall end with this shining example of how to act with other Muslims from our role model, Abu Bakr:

Abu Bakr once disputed with another companion about a tree. During the dispute Abu Bakr said something that he rather would not have said. He did not curse, he did not attack someone’s honor, he did not poke a fault in anyone, all he said was something that may have hurt the other companion’s feelings.

Immediately, Abu Bakr – understanding the mistake - ordered him, “Say it back to me!” The companion said, “I shall not say it back.” “Say it back to me,” said Abu Bakr, “Or I shall complain to the Messenger of Allah.” The companion refused to say it back and went on his way.

Abu Bakr went to Rasul Allah and related what had happened and what he said. Rasul Allah called that companion and asked him, “Did Abu Bakr say so and so to you?” He said, “Yes.” He said, “What did you reply.” He said, “I did not reply it back to him.” Rasul Allah said, “Good, do not reply it back to him (do not hurt Abu Bakr). Rather say, ‘May Allah forgive you O Abu Bakr!’”

The Companion turned to Abu Bakr and said, “May Allah forgive you O Abu Bakr! May Allah forgive you O Abu Bakr!” Abu Bakr turned and cried as he walked away.

May Allah SWT give us taufeeq to follow upon what has been said.
Wa akhiruhu Dawaana Annil Hamdulillahi Rabilaalimeen.

February 02, 2007

Note: Special thanks to Br. Mohammad Al Sharif who wrote the original article

Curing the Heart

2007-02-07T08:43:00.001-08:00

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim,

Assalam o allaikum Wr. Wb.

Alhamdulillahi rabbil aalimeen, Wal Aaqibatu Lilmutaqeen, Wasalatu Wassalam o ala Rusulihil Kareem.

All praises to Allah SWT who is the master of this universe and salutations be to the last messenger Mohammad SAW and his rightly guided companions.
Prophet SAW said,

"There is in the body a clump of flesh - if it becomes good, the whole body becomes good and if it becomes bad, the whole body becomes bad. And indeed it is the heart." [Bukhari]

There are two ways a human being judges right from wrong. One element is the Zaahir, which in this case is Knowledge of Halal and Haram and ther other element is Baatin which is the state of the heart. If the heart is good, then it makes good use of the knowledge and it avoids what is prohibited. If the heart is bad, then the knowledge is of no benefit and he will indulge in what is prohibited.

Allah SWT says in Quran,

Inna Akramakum Indallahi Atkaakum – Verily, the best among you is the one with taqwa.

And Prophet SAW on Jummatul Wida, said among other things that ‘Taqwa is in the heart.’

We see time and again that in Islam the stress has been made on the heart – that the heart is the part of the body that Allah SWT has favoured over other parts.

When your baby is sick, or you have an assignment due that you have not started yet, or you have made a promise to someone and you forget about it and realize later, a feeling of fear comes in our heart. This feeling makes us realize that something is not right and somehow we are responsible for it. This feeling is a system of Allah SWT to keep his slaves on the right moral path, a path where they have some accountability. A person who has lost such a feeling is disconnected with his responsibilties towards himself and others and above disconnected from the responsibilities towards Allah SWT.

Thinking about and trying to understand meanings of the Glorious Quran, which Allah (SWT) has sent down for His slaves to clarify all things and as a Light that He gives to whom He wills among His slaves. Indeed, the Quran contains tremendous medicine for all ills of the heart, as Allah said,

وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلا يَزِيدُ الظَّالِمِينَ إِلا خَسَارًا

" And We sent down from the Quran that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe, and a loss for the unjust."

The Quran contains clear instructions for us in the deen; Allah’s promises, warnings and commandments; stories of previous nations; and codes of the best conduct and behavior.
These various subjects in the Quran have different effects on the heart. For the believer it is a mercy and a healing and for the unjust it causes a loss in their life.

Some Surahs (chapters) of the Quran reveal more that might be frightening to us than others.
For instance Rasul Allah (SAW) said, about Suah Hud, that "...it and its sisters have brought me white hairs before their due time." Hud and its sisters brought white hairs to the Messenger of Allah because of what they contain of matters of Iman. These Surahs, and the rest of the Quran, showed their effect on the Messenger of Allah and his companions, exactly as they were ordered in the Quran.

The companions would also be deeply moved with emotions when they recited the Quran. Abu Bakr, for example, who was a soft-hearted man, used to cry while reciting the Quran when leading Muslims in prayer.

Once, Umar became ill as a result of his reciting the Ayah,

فَاسْتَقِمْ كَمَا أُمِرْتَ وَمَنْ تَابَ مَعَكَ وَلا تَطْغَوْا إِنَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ

"Therefore stand firm (in the straight Path) as you are commanded,- you and those whom with you turn (unto Allah); and transgress not (from the Path): for He sees well all that ye do.”

On another occasion, Umar wept when he was reciting the Ayah,

قَالَ إِنَّمَا أَشْكُو بَثِّي وَحُزْنِي إِلَى اللَّهِ وَأَعْلَمُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لا تَعْلَمُونَ

"I (Prophet Jacob) only complain of my grief and sorrow to Allah."

and he (Umar) was clearly heard (weeping) by those who were standing behind him. This is the way to really understand the Quran in the deepest sense. So much so that it effects the heart and the emotions. Take the Quran personally. Let it seep into your deepest depths.

Furthermore, Uthman Ibn Affan said, "If our hearts were pure, they will never have enough from reciting Allah’s Speech (the Quran)."As for later generations, Ayyub said,

"I heard Sad Ibn Jubayr recite the Ayah,

وَقَالُوا لَنْ يَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ إِلا مَنْ كَانَ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَى تِلْكَ أَمَانِيُّهُمْ قُلْ هَاتُوا بُرْهَانَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ

"And guard yourselves against a day in which ye will be brought back to Allah...” repeating it more than twenty times, “...Then every soul will be paid in full that which it hath earned, and will not be dealt with unjustly.”

This is the last Ayah that was revealed to the Messenger of Allah. It is both a promise and a warning for those of us who believe and who consider its meaning. Also, Ibrahim Ibn Bashshar said that,

وَلَوْ تَرَى إِذْ وُقِفُوا عَلَى النَّارِ فَقَالُوا يَا لَيْتَنَا نُرَدُّ وَلا نُكَذِّبَ بِآيَاتِ رَبِّنَا وَنَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

“And if you could see when they are made to stand before the fire, you would hear them say: If only we were sent back, and we would not reject the communications of our Lord and we would be of the believers” was the Ayah that Ali Ibn al-Fudhayl died while reciting.

Ibn Al-Qayyim said with regards to what one should do to cure his weak Iman using the Quran,

"First you should remove your heart from the life of this world and settle it in the Last Life. Then, pay your full attention to pursuing the meanings of the Quran, and try to comprehend and understand them and what they were sent down to accomplish. Then, offer these meanings to the sickness that your heart feels, and when they touch the disease, they will cure the heart, Allah willing."

My dear respected Brothers and sisters, Pray to Allah SWT that he gives us the abilitity to guard our hearts from the sharr and evil so that the rememberance of Allah SWT can have effect on us internally in the form of our morals, judgement, humility, humbleness, rahma, shafqa etc… and externally by our deeds and dealings towards other people.

Wama Taufiqi Ilallah Billah…

January 05, 2007

Challenges that a Muslim Youth Faces in University

2006-11-22T12:14:00.000-08:00

“As-salámu 'alaikum wa rahmatul láhi wa barakátuh!”

“A-úthu billáhi minash shaytánir rajeem. Bismilláhir rahmánir raheem.
Al hamdu lillahi nahmaduhu wanasta’eenahu, wanastagh-firuhu, wanatoobu ilayhi,
Wa ash-hadu an Laa ilaaha ill-Alláh, wahdahoo laa shareeka lah, wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhoo warasooluh!”

Amma Ba’ad:

Today I would like to welcome all of you, students, teachers, families and specially those who have traveled long distances to achieve their dreams and in the process will become a part of the youth on campus. I hope in sincerity, inshallah, that this orientation program will give you some insight of what a Muslim student’s life is at this campus and in this community, at large. I hope in sincerity, that today you will get to know the people who care about you and the people in whom you will see your own spiritual reflection. I hope in sincerity, that wherever you will move on from here, you will carry with you memories of a time well spent and a time well used in the a’boodiyah of Allah SWT.

When we look at the lives of the companions of the Prophet SAW, we will see many examples that will make us wonder about ourselves. We will see examples from the youth of that era that will make our hair stand on their ends.

Some say, that Muslims always talk about stories a thousand years old and they love to live in the past glory. Well yes that’s true. We do live in the past, but we don’t isolate ourselves in the past. We learn from our values, our mistakes, our accomplishments, our achievements and then move on to the next level which is to transform ourselves into a better human being. We read about the lives of the Saliheen, We smile on their humor, we weep on their sadness, we show emotions on their anger and hence we connect ourselves to their lives, for they spent lives in complete submission to the will of Allah SWT.

They were the people of great understanding of religion…. Which doesn’t mean that they spent all day reading books and collecting information.. they laughed, they joked, they used to pray together, they used to compete against eachother in various sports… but all that was done within the circle of Sharia, within the boundaries prescribed by the Word of Allah SWT. This reminds me of an incident…

INCIDENT OF NUAYMAN IBN `AMR (RA)

Once Nuayman went to the suq and saw some food being sold which appeared to be tasty and delightful. He ordered some and sent it to the Prophet as if it were a gift from him. The Prophet was delighted with the food and he and his family ate of it. The vendor of the food then came to Nuayman to collect the price of it and an-Nuayman said to him: "Go to the Messenger of God it was for him. He and his family ate it." .. The vendor went to the Prophet who in turn asked Nuayman: "Didn't you give it to me?" "Yes," said Nuayman. "I thought you would like it and I wanted you to eat some of it so I had it presented to you. But I don't have any dirhams to pay the vendor for it. So, pay, O Messenger of God!" The Prophet had a good laugh and so did his companions. The laugh was at his expense, literally, for he had to pay the price of the unsolicited gift. Nuayman felt that two benefits came out of the incident: the Prophet and his family ate food that they enjoyed and the Muslims had a good laugh!

Yes, they were people who knew how to have fun, but when it came to religious obligations, they were the first to sacrifice, they were the first to devote themselves, and they heard and practiced the word of Allah SWT like no other. Their day to day lives, habits, and actions were according the guidelines of Quran and Sunnah.

Allah SWT has commanded us in Quran that we spend time in His remembrance. He commands us to pray 5 times a day. Allah SWT also says in Surah Al Ara’af

وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ فِي نَفْسِكَ تَضَرُّعاً وَخِيفَةً وَدُونَ الْجَهْرِ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالآصَالِ وَلاَ تَكُن مِّنَ الْغَافِلِينَ

“And remember your Lord by your tongue and within yourself, humbly and with fear without loudness in words in the mornings, and in the afternoons and be not of those who are neglectful.” [7:205].

All these commandments are for a reason, to make us strong in our faith, to keep ourselves away from evil and above all to give us an identity. An identity that is true to the concept of servitude towards Allah SWT. An identity, that binds us all in the end together. As a Muslim student in this part of the world, this identity means even more to us because that’s how we are looked upon, judged upon, and ultimately recognized upon. Having established the fact that when you come to this society and establish yourself therein, the only thing that gives you a complete sense of presence and association is your identity as a muslim, we can now move on to some of the hurdles that may present some challenge to us in our life here.

SALAT

The first and the foremost challenge that we will encounter here is the establishment of our salaat. It is a direct commandment of Allah SWT that requires us to establish salaat in all conditions. One has to realize that if we were to maintain our identity in this environment as muslims, we must switch from a passive contributor to an active contributor in our community. The environment at the school will test us at many levels where it will be required of us to provide explanations for our religious actions. We can no longer choose to be approached by others to establish the salaat, rather we have to assume this duty ourselves and take responsibility of establishing salaat. Some of our brothers are already engaged in these activities on the campus. We must contribute our share of effort towards this important cause, for Allah SWT says in the Quran:

إِنَّمَا وَلِيُّكُمُ اللّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلاَةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَهُمْ رَاكِعُونَ
5:55 Your (real) friends are (no less than) Allah, His Messenger, and the (fellowship of) believers,- those who establish regular prayers and regular charity, and they bow down humbly (in worship).

Sometimes, there is a conflict between our salaat and the class timings, so you will see many of us sacrificing our classes to establish the salaat. Some of us are spending extra hours after school to make up for that missed time. An outsider may question us if it is worth it? But a believer knows it is all worth it, for if the Creator is not happy with us, nothing we achieve is of any value to us in Aakhira.

My example – salat on campus – people interested to know about it

WUDU

The next challenge you may face in the university environment is the pre-requisite of the Salaat, i.e. Wudu. We may not find the same facilities on the campus as we are used to in our own countries. We may feel shy or inconfident to use public washrooms on campus to perform wudu. Remember, our salaat is not for someone, not even for ourselves; rather it is to please Allah SWT. Allah SWT will reward us many folds for each action that we carry out in His path. It has happened to me many a times in public washrooms, where I have to wash my feet in the sink and somebody walks in, and gives me a look like “Whaaaaa?” So before they say a word, I say, “We need to be clean before we make worship, right.” And most of the times, they will smile and nod but there are a few times when they cannot understand. Sometimes they inquire and it becomes a reason to explain to others what the tenets of my religion are. In my heart, I don’t feel hesitant because my salaat is for Allah SWT and my wudu is to make that salaat as perfect as possible.

FASTING

Ramadhan is coming soon and to maintain the spirit of Saum on campus can be a little frustrating. On one side we are trying to keep ourselves away from the evils, and on the other hand we are surrounded by all kinds of distractions. In addition to maintaining our devotion to the remembrance of Allah SWT and salaat, we have some extra restrictions on us. We cannot raise our temper, we cannot involve ourselves in idle activities, we cannot use harsh words against one another, we keep ourselves away from eating or drinking or having any kind of sexual contacts, and on top of that we still have to maintain a social circle where people have to accept us as one of their own. It’s not easy, but it’s not impossible either. A muslim’s life on campus is therefore a constant struggle against all these difficulties and each of these difficulties when conquered gives a new boost to the morale and a new confidence and a new strength to our faith.

The above are few examples of the challenges on a personal level and are related to physicality of our worships. There are some challenges that may be categorized as mental challenges or spiritual challenges.

IDENTITY:

In order to understand the challenges that you face or will face, we have to look upon our origin. We ought to know where we came from and what are we capable of. We ought to know our identity, define it and then live by it. All of us came from different countries with different backgrounds, where we never questioned as to what our identity is because it is never asked of us. Now people will question us, of who we are and to what we associate ourselves to? We will be asked of what we adhere to and why? We will be asked of why we follow such and such? There are many answers to these questions… because I am from Africa, I am from Pakistan, Palestine…. Or because I am an Indian or because I am an Arab or a Chinese… but before we can utter any word from our mouth we ought to think as to what is common among all of us that binds us together.. and that is Islam, our religion… suddenly all the shades, colors, creeds, nationalities, linguistic boundaries disappear when we are confident to call ourselves Muslims, our real identity suddenly shines and all our actions become self explanatory.

SOCIALIZATION:

Islam gives us a very strong perspective on the importance of socialization. The spread of the word of Allah SWT is achieved through socialization. We, as muslims must keep contacts with others surrounding us, for we may become the reason for the spread of the true Word, the Quran.

There is no doubt that the company of friends influences the formation of our characters. For this reason, Allah's Messenger SAW, said, "A person is influenced by his companions religion, so watch who your companions are." (Abu Dawood,
Tirmidhi)

This influence is acquired from two aspects: 1. The first is acquired in the company of relatives, neighbors, school and all those with whom a person is compelled to spend time.2. The second type of influence is acquired within more religious company which is likely to meet those who are less concerned. Though they pray and fast, they are less serious in carrying the message of Islam, dawah, sacrifice, etc. And if a person's faith is weak and is inclined towards desire and negligence, he will find comfort in this company. The effects of this influence become apparent through certain factors that include doing things he never used to do before. He begins considering those on the deviated path as examples in life and as a result, he starts imitating them saying, "If he can do this, why can't I?" He begins to please others at the expense of pleasing Allah by performing actions never done before or abandoning some good deeds. He abandons, for example, praying sunnah, or starts showing up late for congregation salaat, starts getting used to watching and hearing forbidden things- as a result, he even stops forbidding the evil. All this is no doubt a consequence of weak imaan and the influence of either a bad company or a group who are less serious with Islam and more inclined towards desire.

If the companions are pious and muttaqi, then chances are, we may also keep our faith strengthen. If the companions are involved in the evil practices, the chances will be that we will indulge in those practices giving a blind eye to the commandment of Allah SWT. The peer pressure can drive people far and beyond and when one realizes, then there is only regret. One should therefore make sure that the circle of friends that one chooses is of the Saliheen and Aabideen so that the company itself becomes the remembrance of Allah SWT.

CONFUSION BETWEEN RELIGION AND CULTURE:

Because of our varied background, we are sometimes confused about which of our customs originated from the teachings of islam and which of them came from our culture. Sometimes, we believe that a certain action that we have been accustomed to in our countries is a teaching of our religion, but we find out by doing a little research that those actions and habits actually originated from our culture and have nothing to do with the teaching of Islam. This confusion is not only limited to our muslim friends, and sometimes we see that lot of non muslims on the campus are in the same confusion when they meet us muslims. They have trouble differentiating if a certain thing that we do is from our religion or from our culture. For example, one may ask me if my outfit is a requirement by Islamic law, so I can clarify to him, that I am required by my religion to wear loose clothing and style may vary from one muslim country to another. Or if one asks a muslimah sister, “Is this Hijab a requirement by Islamic Law?” Then she would explain that, It’s a religious requirement for a muslim woman to cover her hair, although the style of the hijab may vary from one muslim country to another. In order to differentiate between the two we must be clear about the commandments ourselves. We must be clear about the difference between the teachings that came from our religion and the customs that were given to us by our culture.

STEREOTYPES

While maintaining our muslim identity on campus, we may from time to time run into people who have certain stereotypes against muslims. This may be due to the current Media distortion of the Islamic image, or due to some other reasons, but one does experience it from time to time. The only thing that helps us to defend ourselves in such circumstance is our faith and the conviction that this is a test from Allah SWT. Although at first it may be a negative experience but one can use the situation to explain our point of view. Most people who stereotype us realize that they are too quick to judge us and that there is more to Islam than what they have been watching on the television.

Example – salat in the mall – tim hortons. – ready to fly – whats wrong down there dear –

These are just a few example of challenges that we may face in our university environment. One has to think of how to rise to these challenges. There is no quick solution to any of these problems but there are couple of things that we can do to confront them.

UNITY & COMMUNICATION

We must at all times have open communications between our muslim friends. This will give us a sense of comfort that there is somebody who shares the same struggles. Also it will give us a sense of association, since we have the same religious background. We will know whats going on in the muslim community and vice versa. It will give us an avenue to share our problems and voice our concerns regarding our personal matters as well as anything that is troubling us.

I am sure there are a lot of things that I have not touched base with in this speech that were important, but I took the liberty of bringing out the key points regarding the challenges that a muslim youth faces in the universities. If you think that there is something that I missed, or something that should be discussed, Inshallah bring it to our weekly halaqa, we all would love to discuss it

Wa Aakhuru Da`waana Anil `7amdu Lillah i Rabbilaalimeen.

September 2005

Journey to Allah SWT

2006-11-22T11:21:00.000-08:00

Insignificance of a Human Being and Significance of Creation

Allah SWT has created us from nothing and into something that all creations envied. The status of the creation of Insaan has been described by Allah SWT as a clot or as a germ cell or sperm cell. That is in reality what our origin is, and nothing more.

Allah SWT made us to realize this aspect from the first verses that were revealed:

اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ -خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ-اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ-الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ-عَلَّمَ الْإِنسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ

Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created-
Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood:
Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,-
He Who taught (the use of) the pen,-
Taught man that which he knew not.

-Asking man to ponder over where he came from

ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَرَ فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ
Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump; then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create!

-Asking man to wonder of how he was created and transformed into this beautiful form

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

-Realization of the creation and the realization of the creator
-Once realized, will understand the responsibility towards Allah, towards other creations, towards other human beings, towards himself

Allah SWT has instilled in ourselves a system of understanding good or evil and use our intuitions to follow one or the other. Insaan now thinks that he has explored the outer space so he has achieved something…he has explored the seas, so he has achieved something… he has invented new technology to please his nafs,so he has achieved something… The truth is that insaan has forgotten of Who created this fitrah to explore, to invent, to find solutions… he has forgotten his creator.

A human being that comes into this world, comes with a pure mind and pure heart and that is all he has when he steps into this cruel environment, that sometimes teaches him to become thankful to Allah SWT and sometimes it pushes his Nafs to a level where he becomes munkir of Allah SWT.

So Allah SWT reminds us that although the insaan is created in the best of its forms that is the most stable in physique, the most ideal in psychology, the best in terms of the Zaahiri aspect and the best in terms of the baatini aspect for any being but that this insaan should not forget that his origin was merely a speck , a germ cell or
Or a dot.

Now I would like to share a poem with you that deals with this amazing journey of Insaan towards his creator. Look at this person who came to this duniya with all the pure thoughts and whose mission was to find his creator and suddenly he finds himself trapped in the duniya and the fear of becoming part of it. Then a low point comes in his life when he sees others around him trapped in materialism and he almost looses his hope but still keeps on reminding himself about his own reality. After much struggle he does finds others who are also searching for Allah and that gives him some relief that by keeping this company of righteous people, he will be able to overcome all the hurdles of this tyrant duniya.

Walking on the muddy path I cross the forest of Solitude,
The greenery, the freshness, is magnificent, let alone the magnitude,
My mind is all focused, my heart full of courage,
The journey begins to search for my Creator, to respond to His Message,
O Allah! This is I, a speck, a clot, a dot!

The cold breeze go by my face, makes my hair swim in the air,
Trees swaying, plants dancing, creating harmony everywhere,
Somewhere I see streaks of rays of golden sparkling sunlight,
Forcing their way through the canopy, I wonder at Allah's might,
O Allah! This is I, in search of you, a dot!

There I see a drop of dew just about to fall,
In it are seven colours of life, all trees short and tall,
I hear the water flowing in a nearby stream,
Singing glories of my Creator, knitting a beautiful dream,
O Allah! This is I, in search of you, a dot!

I enter into a town, a town called Materialism,
Where people are known to be selfish, trapped in their own prism,
They have their own values, misery and greediness,
This all looks so dark, full of sadness and no happiness,
O Allah! This is I, in need of Your help, a dot!

Walking on the side of the street, I see many faces in cry,
It seems they have lost the path, the destiny, the urge, the hope to try,
Their looks are so empty; their desires have no aim,
They like to pull each other's leg to get all the fame,
O Allah! It's I, trapped in dunya, a dot!

Women walk bare-chest, attracting others on the way,
Men hovering around them like bees, forgetting about the Day,
Tears flow in my eyes, trickle down the cheeks and dry,
These are specks, dots, clots, who gave up to try,
O Allah! Be Merciful, I am just a dot!

Absorbed in my mind, I cried, my tears soaking the ground,
When suddenly I heard some footsteps that made me turn around,
I saw some people looking at me with hope in their eyes,
Who want to follow the Truth, the Message, and not the made up lies,
O Allah! Be the Guidance, I am just a dot!

The hopelessness will perish; the faith will prevail,
We will work together, to succeed and not to fail,
The Creator will guide us to spread the Truth to all,
So that we may all rise, and not to face the Fall,
O Allah! Bless us with Your Mercy, we are just dots!

My journey carries on to search for my Creator,
Telling others His Message and that no one else is greater,
He is the Master; we are the slaves,
Who showed us the light and let us out of the caves,
O Allah, it's still I, a speck, a clot, a dot!

Wama Taufiqi Ilallah Billah!
June 23, 2006

Tauba

2006-11-22T10:50:00.000-08:00

Assalam o allaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu, my dear respected brothers, sisters and elders.

Qalallau Taala Az Wajal, Allahu la ilaha illa hual Hayyul Qayyum……..

In the name of Allah, the most Compassionate, the most merciful. Salutations be upon our august master Nabi Mohammad SAW, his noble companions and the pious scholars who transmitted this true deen to us.

One day Adam AS said to Allah SWT that O Allah you have given so much power and control to Shaytan over me. How will it be possible for me to save myself from Shaytan. You have given so much power to Shaytan over myself and I am expected to not follow the footsteps of Shaytan in this imbalance of power and temptation.

Allah SWT then said to Adam AS that O Adam, I have appointed such beings over every one of your kind, means over each and every child of Adam AS to protect them from the onslaught of the Shaytan. It is mentioned in the Ahadeeth that every human being has Malaikah or angels over them to protect them. If it were not the mercy of Allah and these angels, the human beings would have been destroyed by the attacks of Shaytan or probably would have not even been existing in the state as we are today or if existed probably would have been worse than the animals.

Adam AS then requested to Allah SWT, that O Allah SWT, You have blessed me with this bounty, then give me another bounty. Allah SWt then said to Adam AS, O Adam, every good thing that you do, We will multiply it by 10 times and if you will do any bad deed it will be counted once. This has been a great bounty of Allah SWT.

Adam AS then said to Allah SWT, O Allah increase for me. Then Allah SWT obviously talks about the increase in the context of Shaytan having power of mankind. Allah SWT then said, My doors of repentance (tawba) will be open right until a person dies.

Now these are three bounties that Allah SWT has given to each one of us as a deterrent against Shaytan.

The Faqeeh and Muhaddith Abul Lays Al Samarqandi narrates an incident from Rasulallah SAW that gives a glimpse of how vast the mercy of Allah SWT is.

Once Umar RA came of Rasulallah SAW and he was crying very very severly. Umar RA, you know what type of a person he was and those who have learnt from ahadeeth will know that he was person of strong heart and when Rasulallah SAW saw him crying, it was very surprising for the prophet.

Nabi Kareem SAW said, O Umar, Ma U'teeka... What is that is making you cry?
Umar RA said that there is youngster that is standing at the door. He is crying so profusely that his crying is making me cry. Rasulallah SAW said to Umar RA that , O Umar call the youngster inside. Rasulallah SAW asked the youngster, Why are you crying? You cried in such a manner that you made even a person like Umar RA cry?

The youngster replied that he had committed a major major, a severe sin. Rasuallah SAW told him, If your sins are equivalent to the seven skies, seven earths and all the mountains on the earth, even then you do not have to worry because Allah SWT will forgive you.

The youngster replied that O Prophet of Allah, my sin is even more than the seven skies, seven earths and the all the mountains on the earth. Rasuallah SAW then asked him, Is your sin greater than the Kursi of Allah SWT?
He said, O Prophet of Allah, according to the understanding I have, my sin is even greater than the Kursi of Allah SWT. Rasuallah SAW then asked him, Is your sin greater than the Arsh of Allah SWT? He said, O Prophet of Allah, my sin is even greater than the Arsh of Allah. Rasuallah SAW then asked him, Is your sin greater than Allah SWT himself? It is a rhetorical question, Is your sin greater or Allah SWT greater. Obviously Allah SWT is greater over all things.

Nabi SAW then asked him, What is the sin you committed that is greater than seven skies, seven earths mountains, the kursi of Allah and even the Arsh of Allah SWT ? He said, O Prophet of Allah, I was a thief who used to steal the Kafan ( the burial shrouds) from the graveyard. Once a young girl was buried in the grave yard and after the family left, I took off her shroud, leaving her naked, and I ran away from there. When I was running I was over-powered by Shaytan and I returned to the grave and committed zina with that dead girl in the Qabr.

Abu Layth Samarqandi says, that, Then Allah SWT out of His Qudrat and Mercy gave life to that girl.

The girl addressed to that man, Are you not ashamed, firstly that you left me naked in the army of the dead where everyone had kafan except me and on top of that you left me infront of Allah SWT in a state of Janaabah. Don't you feel ashamed about it?

So this sin of mine left me paralyzed in my mental faculty and I believe that it is a sin that is greater than the seven skies, earths and the mountains and the kursi and Arsh of Allah SWT.

Nabi SAW heard this, and Nabi SAW sent him away. This person after the meeting with Rasulallah
SAW spent his time making tawba to Allah SWT.

For many days he would ask Allah SWT to forgive him and he made a dua to Allah SWT that if Allah SWT were to forgive him, then first inform Rasulallah SAW about his forgiveness.

Jibraeel AS came to Rasulallah SAW and asked him,
Did you create creation, or Allah created?
Allah created.

Do you provide sustenance to the creation or Allah SWT provides?
Allah provides.

If a person disobeys Allah, is he disobeying Allah or is he disobeying you?
He is disobeying Allah.

Then Jibraeel AS informed Rasulallah SAW that this person made such sincere tawba that Allah SWT has forgiven him. Faqeeh Abul Layth Al Samarqandi says that Rasulallah SAW called this person and gave him the bashaarah of his tawba.

Allah SWT has made each one of us weak and Shaytan does overpower us due to this weakness but one should not feel despondent and should not give up hope from Allah SWT. Each one of us is in the same boat and one should not feel that since our sin is so big we will be left alone by our creator. No, Allah SWT, will definitely forgive us , only if we seek repentance from Him sincerely.

One of the sahabi of Rasulallah SAW known as Wahshi RA. He was the qatil of Hamza RA ( the uncle of Prophet SAW) in the battle of Uhud. He wrote a letter to Rasulallah SAW, that I wish to accept Islam but I have some reservation. The reservation is that Allah SWT says in Quran al Kareem that those who do not commit shirk with Allah SWT, those who do not kill other people, and those who do not commit zina, Allah SWT forgives them. I would accept Islam but I have reservation, that all these three things mentioned in the Quran, I have committed all of them. I committed shirk, I killed people including your uncle and I also committed zina.

So if my tawba is accepted then that means that it is as if I have not done these three things but I HAVE done these three things. So Rasulallah SAW, wrote him back and said,

إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا فَأُوْلَئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا

25:70 "Unless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, for Allah will change the evil of such persons into good, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful,"

Wahshi RA sent a message back, I still have a reservation. Allah SWT says in this verse that one has to repent, believe and do amaal saalih. This puts the conditions on my forgiveness. I want a forgiveness that is unconditional, what if I don't do amaal al Saleh, then my forgiveness is not complete. To this Rasulallah SAW replied to him,

إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاء وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللّهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَى إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا
4:48 "Allah forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin Most heinous indeed."

So Nabi Kareem SAW made clear to him Allah SWT says that Allah SWT will forgive anyone except that who does not commit shirk. So as long as he does not commit shirk, he has high chance of forgiveness.

He writes back to Rasulallah SAW,
For this too I have some reservation that Maghfirah is Muallaq on the Masheeat of Allah SWT. What this means is that although I seek forgiveness from Allah SWT, it is upto Allah SWT to forgive me. There is no way of knowing if indeed I am forgiven or not. I want to be forgiven completely and unreservedly. Upon that Rasulallah SAW replied to him with the ayah:

قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ

39:53 SAY: “[Thus speaks God:] ‘O you servants of Mine who have transgressed against your own selves! Despair not of God’s mercy: behold, God forgives all sins - for, verily, He alone is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!’ ”

That Allah SWT says those who have become despondent of Allah’s mercy, do not lose hope for Allah’s mercy has no bounds.

So my dear respected brothers and sisters, do not let ourselves lose the sight of the vast mercy of Allah SWT. The doors are open and it is upto us to take the path of tawbah and ikhlas. If we take this path, the mercy of Allah SWT is waiting for us and with this mercy our duniya and akhira can become successful. May Allah SWT give us the taufeeq to ask forgiveness for our past sins and give us the ability to be steadfast on the path of righteousness. Ameen.

November 03, 2006

Care for our fellow human beings

2006-11-22T10:32:00.000-08:00

Bismillahirahmanirrahim,

Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Aalimeen, Wal Aqibatu Lil Muttaqeen, Wasalatu Wassalam o ala Rusulihil Kareem,

Amma Baad,

Assalam o allaikum Wr. Wb Dear brothers, sisters and elders,

In the name of Allah, the most benevolent, the most merciful, the master of the day of judgement, who has blessed with the naima of this life and who has sent Quran for our guidance towards the successful path. The one, who sent His last messenger as a haadi to all mankind. Salutations be to this guide and the companions who transmitted to true knowledge of the words of Allah SWT

Come and witness this scene which the Qur’an depicts in the verse: “Sulaiman
gathered an army comprised of Jinn, men and birds; they were all kept under strictdiscipline. Once in expedition he was marching with his army when they came across a valley of ants, one of the ants said:

حَتَّى إِذَا أَتَوْا عَلَى وَادِي النَّمْلِ قَالَتْ نَمْلَةٌ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّمْلُ ادْخُلُوا مَسَاكِنَكُمْ لَا يَحْطِمَنَّكُمْ سُلَيْمَانُ وَجُنُودُهُ وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ

“O ants get into your habitation, lest Sulaiman and his army crush you under their feet without them noticing”.

So Sulaiman smiled laughing at their statement, and said:

فَتَبَسَّمَ ضَاحِكًا مِّن قَوْلِهَا وَقَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَى وَالِدَيَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرْضَاهُ وَأَدْخِلْنِي بِرَحْمَتِكَ فِي عِبَادِكَ الصَّالِحِينَ

“O Lord! Inspire me to give thanks for the favours you have bestowed on me and on myparents, and to do such good that will please, and admit me, by your mercy among your righteous servants.”

Here it was; Sulaiman, the messenger of Allah, passing by among his range of troops comprising Jinn, men and birds, in order and harmony. You can imagine this great number of troops who were all under his command. Sulaiman went by a valley that was occupied by a community of ants; hence Allah named it the Valley of Ants. The kingdom of ants, like its counterpart the bee, is a complex organisation with differentiated roles for different sectors- a true division of labour. They enjoy working in support of each other with administrative, management and legal obligation on all. All this is achieved subconsciously and in impressive harmony; something that perhaps mankind fails to achieve despite what they have been given in terms of knowledge,intellect and comprehension.

As soon as one of the ants saw this formidable army it called out(its now immortal, instruction which the Koran has recorded):

“O ants get into your homes, lest Sulaiman and his army crush you under their feet without them noticing”

Yes the Koran has recorded this statement from a mere ant which we would barely be able to see…Why should these words be written down out of all words that are uttered? It is invariable that an endless number of words are said by the various creatures in this wide globe. But it is by Allah’s Divine wisdom that He has chosen to preserve the ant’s short statement.

Allah has preserved these words as they contain wisdom, justice, pure sincere advice, and consideration for the Prophet Sulaiman who was the ruler and king at the same time. It is also a reference to the right of society on the individual.

These, dear brothers and sisters, are noble and high values which are at the core of Islam.Within this short statement is an indication of the responsibility of the individual towards their community. The ant could have sought survival for itself alone, leaving behind each to fend for themselves, or face their fate. But it did not; it sounded a warning to them all, stating clearly what the threat was (“Lest Sulaiman and his army crush you”) and informing them that it wasn’t deliberate, but rather an inadvertent threat. The Ant knew that it was justice which came from Heavens that prevented such an event and further it was not in the tradition of Prophets to kill without right, even ants!

Just as (the ant) sought survival for itself, it desired it for the others too. It felt direct responsibility for their safety. Such has been the command of Islam as the Prophet has stated:

“Desire for your brother what you desire for yourself”

Islam asserts the individual’s responsibility towards the wider community. Every individual within a community is in charge of an aspect in life. The Prophet says: “You are all responsible, and each one of you will be asked about his responsibility”. Each Muslim must have a similar sentiment to that of the ant. Each one of us must sense that he is responsible for Islam, his community, in addition to the enjoining of good and forbidding of evil which is but another feature of the individual’s responsibility towards society.

One should not seek escape for himself alone or to be isolated from their surrounding.Allah says in the Qur’an:
“And watch out for a tribulation that will not inflict those who commit wrong alone”.

We, as individuals of this community have similar obligations upon us. We as individuals here will responsible for our roles here on the day of Judgement. We, as individuals here, will be held accountable for these obligations.

Caring about our fellow muslims is the first step to be closer to them. This is the blessed month of Ramadan and there is no better time to shake ourselves within and ask ourselves that we have a task to do. The work to take care of those around us. If we are breaking our fast, then the thought should come in our minds if the brother next to me has enough to break the fast. If we are to enjoy a bounty of Allah, the feeling should come within us if the muslim next to me has the same liberty to enjoy that bounty. The effort should be made to know more about the muslims we know so we can learn what situations they are in and effort must be made to help them in anyway we can.

Dear brothers and sisters,

Be as the Qur’an has told you about the ant and as the Prophet described the believers: Believers, in their bond and sympathy towards each other are like a single body. If an organ within it falls ill, the whole body gathers in support by staying awake.

Be like this one whole body.

Wama Taufiqi Ilallah Billah
September 29, 2006

Ramadan - A month of Bounties

2006-11-22T10:21:00.000-08:00

Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Aalimeen. Wasalaatu Wassalam u Ala Rusulihil Kareem.

My dear respected brothers, elders and sisters in Islam,

Assalam o allaikum

In the name of Allah SWT who has blessed us with great bounties, One who eases our difficulties when no other can console us, one who is Ar-Rahman, the merciful, and who is Ar Raheem, the compassionate and salutations upon His last messenger, Mohammad SAW who was sent as a Hadi , as a Rahmatulil Aalimeen, one who taught us the meaning of the words of Allah SWT, who showed us the practice of the true path by his sunnah.

My Dear brothers in Islam, Allah SWT has blessed us once again with the great month of Ramadan, a month that is full of barakah and full of opportunities for us. It is a month that is an Eid in its true meaning for us, a celebration, and not only that, Allah SWT has made it easier upon us by restricting the shayateen in this blessed month, so that we can achieve more and get closer to Allah SWT.

There are three things that can give us a feeling to be near to our creator in this month. The first are the Ibadaat that are given to us by Allah SWT. Then we see how Allah SWT rewards us for these Ibadaat which is many folds. The salaat and the dhikr during this month increases these rewards many times but there is another ibadah that is not graded by reward and that is Fasting.

Allah has made this fasting obligatory upon us , as He says in the Quran:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ

O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed to you as it was prescribed to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint,-

Abu Umamah RA asked the Prophet Mohammad SAW, O Messenger of Allah! Tell me of an action that can take me to paradise!. Rasulallah SAW replied, ‘Adopt Fasting!, there is nothing like it!’

Rasuallah SAW is reported to have said:

"Every action of the son of Adam is given manifold reward, each good deed receiving ten times its like, up to seven hundred times. Allah the Most High said, 'Except for fasting, for it is for Me and I will give recompense for it, he leaves off his desires and his food for Me.' For the fasting person there are two times of joy; a time when he breaks his fast and a time of joy when he meets his Lord, and the smell coming from the mouth of the fasting person is better with Allah than the smell of musk." [al-Bukhaaree]

The second thing that makes us feel closer to the being of Allah SWT is our effort during this month. Rasuallah SAW is reported to have said that when a slave goes a palm length towards Allah SWT, Allah SWT comes an arms length towards him.

The effort to get close to Allah SWT starts from a small action in the day by the niyyah to keep the fast for one’s creator, and then it moulds into a bigger action of controlling the physical desires and internal desires and disciplining oneself towards the slavery of Allah SWT. This effort to a human seems useless, as to why one has to keep themselves hungry for long hours, why one has to deprive oneself from the worldly joys but in the eyes of Allah SWT, the giving up of these desires is a supreme sacrifice and that’s why Allah SWT rewards those who follow his commands in a supreme way.

Sahl ibn Sa`d said that the Prophet (s.a.w.) said: "Indeed there is a gate of Paradise called ar-Rayyaan. On the day of Resurrection those who fast will enter through it; no one enters it except for them, and when they have entered, it is closed so that no one enters it, so when the last of them enters it, it is closed, and whoever enters it drinks, and whoever drinks never becomes thirsty." [Ibn Khuzaimah, Saheeh].

This very act of Fasting will become a means of Nijaat for us on the day of Judgement when we will be held accountable for our deeds. This Fasting will plead to Allah SWT on our behalf as mentioned in one of the hadeeth:

On the Day of Judgement, "Fasting will say: O My Lord I prevented him from food an desires so accept my intercession for him." [Ahmad, al-Haakim and Abu Nu'aim, Hasan]

So we should take this ibadaah in high regards for it can become a source of our success in the hereafter.

The third thing that makes this month a means of closeness to Allah SWT is that Allah SWT restricts the movement of Shayateen in this month. Shayateen who are the main source of our distractions from our creator in our daily life are locked up during this month. In other words, our Nafs that is more prone to be attacked by Shaytan out of Ramadan is now more in our control and it comes down to us how we groom it during this month. It is an opportunity to change our desires, from that of the worldly to that of being slave to One Creator. It is due to this fact that it is said Ramadan is a precursor to changing one’s life. One’s life cannot just change because he lives through Ramadan. One’s life will have changes in effect if he lives through Ramadan with all the protocols that this month demands from us.

Some of us, we spend this month by keeping us hungry all day and sleeping or watching TV to pass the time until iftar. This is exactly what Fasting is not about. Fasting is about suppressing your inner desires and focusing on the bigger goal, of Ma`arifa , companionship of Allah SWT during this month.

So my dear brothers and sisters, particularly those who are my younger brothers, promise to yourself that this Ramadan will be the one where you actually make the change, the change that you have been thinking about for so long, the change that is in your mind, but has not been materialized. Shun the activities that take you away from the remembrance of Allah SWT during this month and focus on Dhikr and focus on your ibaadah and focus on getting closer to your Creator.

May Allah SWT give us all, the tofeeq to be the slaves of Allah in its true meaning.

Wa akhiru Da`waana Annilhamdulillahi Rabbil Aalimeen.
September 22, 2006