The beauty of our deen is in its application. Easy like the wind. Do not force it or else it will not last. Its too relaxed and you will not taste its true essence.
The Worst People Of This Nation
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ ، عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ : شِرَارُ أُمَّتِي الثَّرْثَارُونَ ، الْمُشَّدِّقُونَ ، الْمُتَفَيْهِقُونَ ، وَخِيَارُ أُمَّتِي أَحَاسِنُهُمْ أَخْلاقًا.
Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said, "The worst of my community are those who speak a lot, those who are diffuse in speech and those who fill their mouth with words. The best of my community are the best of them in character."
Scholarly comments for this subject:
"Those who speak a lot" refers to the people who constantly talk about things of no importance in Islam.[1]
"Those who are diffuse in speech” This applies to the person who constantly chatters and idly gossips without prudence.[2]
"Those who fill their mouth with words…" This refers to a person who talks at great length.[3]
"The best of my community are the best of them in character.” This was mentioned with those who speak a lot, because the one who perfects his character weighs his speech and actions. He rarely speaks about things that don’t concern him. He protects himself from talking too much, gossiping, and talking at great length. The only people described with these traits are those with bad character, those who are arrogant, and those who make themselves look good at the expense of making others look bad.[4]
[1] Ibn Qayyim in Madraj As-Salikeen( 2/307)
[2] Ibn Athar in An-Nihiyah(1/595)
[3] Al-Amir As-Sanani’ Sharh Jami As-Saghir (6/496)
[4] Ibid
True Religion shines in the face of the Believer & impresses itself on others widout words. It's subsequently followed by words that are Uplifting & Beneficial.
Al-Hasan Al-Basree said:
"The believer is like a prisoner in this lowly world, who tries to free himself from its shackles and chains, never feeling secure in it, until the day he meets his Lord."
~Az-Zuhd by Ibn al-Mubaarak
Ibn Taymiyah said: 'A calamity that makes you turn to Allah is better for you than a blessing which makes you forget the remembrance of Allah.'
Thus in our times of trouble, when we go through pain and suffering and in our times of loss, we need to trust Allah Azzawajjal. We need to keep in mind that as long as we fear Him and try our best to obey Him, He will never do us wrong. He will protect us and guide us and do the best for us, no matter what the situation apparently looks like.
Allaah Azzawajjal says in a hadeeth Qudsi:
'I am as my slave thinks of me and I am with him whenever he remembers me.' (Agreed Upon).
Good Replaces Bad
The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “No man does a wrong action then performs Wudu and does his Wudu well, then performs two Rakaat and seeks Allah’s forgiveness, but that He will forgive him.” [Ahmad]
Similar is Allah’s promise in the Quran: “Except the one who repents and believes and does good deeds, then Allah will replace the evil deeds of such people by good deeds, and Allah is Most-Forgiving, Very-Merciful.” [Surah Al-Furqan, Ayat 70]
A true repentance will not only remove the bad deed from your record, but will actually convert it into a good deed. Once you have realized your mistake, make Wudu properly and then pray two Rakaat seeking Allah’s forgiveness.
Something I read this morning which made you think that anything is possible with passion and dedication.
"Muhammad (saw) was an orphan but it never made him despondent.
Imam Al Burkhari was born blind but his mother never gave up duas.
Usama was the son of a slave but it never held him back. Ibn Baz was blind but he didn't sit and cry.
Ibn Taymiya was jailed but he never gave in.
Al Nawawi also had 24 hours in a day like everyone else but milked it for its worth.
Muadh Ibn Jabal died young but will lead the ulama in the hereafter.
Mandela was jailed for 27 years and came out and led a nation.
Musa (as) had the water in front of him and firoun behind him but never gave up.
Yusuf (as) was in a dark well but later sat on a throne."
Do not give up. Seek Ilm don't make excuses. Look at those before you and do small but frequent deeds and build up.
This is an article from Islam21C I have come across which made me ponder on the numerous examples of guidance to mankind that comes from Kitab Allah (Al Qur'an).
Outwardly speaking, we can at times engage in identical actions to one another yet our inner motives can be dramatically different.
The more one analyses the behaviour of human beings and ponders over their varying activities in life, the more one realises the accuracy of this observation.
So accurate, so real and so stark of an observation it is that in Surat Al-Layl, Allah SWT takes an oath to draw your attention to it, rather three oaths!Ponder .. Allah says:
“By the night when it covers”
“And by the day when it appears”
“And by He who created the male and female”
Three consecutive oaths in the opening of this Surah to draw your attention to something paramount that He’s about to declare, which is?
“Indeed.. your efforts are diverse”[1]
Yes ... Our motives and efforts in life are incredibly different! Reflect at the sight of passengers sat on a bus, train or aeroplane. They’re all sat down, travelling in the same direction as they ride the same vehicle. The streets display something of the same kind as well, as people walk; they look so similar to one another.
Outwardly speaking, they’re identical, engaging in the exact same act. But when intentions and purposes are assessed, the differences become clearer than day and their individual reward or punishment from Allah is thus just as different.
You’ve read the story before but perhaps you haven’t observed it under this lens. The story of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph PBUH). Do you remember how the wife of the ‘Azeez locked the doors and seduced him to commit the impermissible? How did Prophet Yusuf PBUH react? Allah says:“And they raced with one another to the door!” [2]
She ran towards him as he ran away from her. At this moment, they are both engaging in the exact same activity, they are bothrunning, they are both trying to get somewhere .. But think for a moment how different the motives are .. One of them is running towards the pleasure of Allah .. whilst the other runs towards the fury of Allah .. One of them is immensely rewarded for his running .. and the other is tremendously sinful for her running ..
Outwardly, they are identical .. but tell me about their motives? Their Intentions? The consequential outcome of their running in the eyes of Allah? Were they the same?
Subhan’Allah ... detrimentally different Apply this to yourself, apply it to your sleeping, for example.
Individual A sleeps because s/he is bored, has nothing better to do, wishes to “kill time”. This person has not recognised who Allah is, has overlooked their purpose in life and belittled their potential to engage in useful work .. and so this person sleeps whilstearning the anger of Allah for wasting his/her precious life!
Individual B sleeps as well. But s/he sleeps for a different motive. This person’s day has been filled with productivity, with the seeking of Islamic knowledge, with the advising of others, with an attempt to learn about their Creator and religion, with an attempt to balance between the rights of their Deen and Dunya. Thus this person’s intention by sleeping is to give their body a chance to recover from a hard day’s work and regenerate energy in preparation for another day of planting good deeds. Thus this person sleeps whilst earning the pleasure of Allah. Yes, you’re right, the activity is the same, they both slept, but the fruits of it were so different.
Another example, apply this to your weeping for we all cry.
Individual A cries, but cries because he wasn’t able to get his hands on a potential girlfriend or as he listens to a musical track and reflects over the missed opportunity .. or for any other impermissible cause. The tears of such a person are wasted, devoid of any reward.
Individual B cries as well, but for a different reason all together! S/he was, for example, alone and remembered the power of Allah, a thought which drew tears from his eyes, or pondered over a verse from the Qur’an, or remembered the agonies of death, or craved a meeting with the messenger PBUH, or pictured the standing in the court of The King on the Last Day .. and started to weep. Such tears were droplets which bring with them the pleasure and forgiveness of Allah. The activity was the same, crying, but the fruits of it, again, can were so different. We all eat, drink, marry, work, study, hit the gym, author, dress up, stress .. but as Allah SWT says:Say, "Each works according to his intention” [3]
Notes: Source: www.islam21c.com
[1] Al-Qur’an, Surah 92, ‘Ayah 4
[2] Al-Qur’an, Surah 12, ‘Ayah 25
[3] Al-Qur’an, Surah 17, ‘Ayah 84
DISCLAIMER: All material found on Islam21c.com is for information purposes only. The views expressed on this site or on any linked sites do not necessarily represent those of MRDF.
Great advice. One we all forget and do without even raising an eye lid.
With media via sit coms and soaps full of rife with this type behaviour, what are we learning when we are in front of the old box? PLUS if in the company of people who engage in this, advise and if it still doesn't impact them then move away from them.
Musk or Coal...what smell do you prefer?
"Pray while standing and if you can't, pray while sitting and if you cannot do even that, then pray lying on your side."(Sahih Bukhari Volume 2 Book 20 No.218)
“And I (Allah) created not the jinn and mankind except that they should worship Me (Alone)”(Qur’an, 51:56).
“Do people think that they will be left alone because they say: “We believe,” and will not be tested?”(Qur’an, 29:2)
“And certainly, We shall test you with something of fear, hunger, loss of wealth, lives and fruits…”(Qur’an, 2:155)
“Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear…”(Qur’an, 2:286).
“Say: ‘Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allâh has ordained for us…’”(9:51).
"All praise is for Allah, Who has kept me safe from ailments with which He has tesed many among His creation; and He has indeed preferred me over many among those that He created."
"My brother!"exclaimed the bedouin.
"What have you been saved from? By Allah, I think that you have been afflicted with every single kind of ailment!"
"Go away from me,"said the old man, as he raised his head.
"Do I not still have a tongue with which I can pronounce His Oneness, and with which I can remember Him every single moment? And do I not still have a heart with which I can know Him?"These words of the old man were enough for the bedouin to repent to Allah for his sins and ask Him for forgiveness.
“He is only called man (insaan) because of his forgetfulness (nasiyaan), and it is only called the heart (al-qalb) because it changes so rapidly (yataqallib).”In the past they said that the first one to forget (awwal naasin) was the first man (awwal al-naas), meaning Adam, peace be upon him. Forgetfulness is something that varies from person to person according to each individual’s nature; some may be more forgetful than others. Some of the things that may help to combat forgetfulness are the following:
“I complained to [my shaykh] Wakee’ about my bad memory, and he taught me that I should keep away from sin. He said that knowledge of Allah is light, and the light of Allah is not given to the sinner.”
“A man asked Maalik ibn Anas, ‘O Abu ‘Abd-Allah! Is there anything that will improve my memory?’He said,
‘If anything will improve it, it is giving up sin.’”When a person commits a sin, it overwhelms him and this leads to anxiety and sorrow which keeps him busy thinking about what he has done. This dulls his senses and distracts him from many beneficial things, including seeking knowledge.
“…And remember your Lord when you forget…”
“You should eat honey because it is good for the memory.”He also said:
“Whoever wants to memorize hadeeth should eat raisins.”(From al-Jaami‘ by al-Khateeb, 2/394)
“You should chew resin gum, because it gives energy to the heart and gets rid of forgetfulness.”(From al-Jaami‘ by al-Khateeb, 2/397)
“The believer who mixes with the people and is patient with the harm they inflict is better than the believer who doesn’t mix with the people and isn’t patient with the harm they inflict,”as reported by Ahmad and others from Ibn ‘Umar.
{“O you who believe! Save yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is men and stones. It has stern, severe Angels watching over it who don’t disobey Allah in what He orders them with, and they do all that they are ordered.”}[at-Tahrim; 6]
{“Call to the way of your Lord with wisdom and kind way of speaking, and discuss with them in the best way.”}[an-Nahl; 125]
“Give glad tidings, and do not turn people away,” and: “Indeed, gentleness isn’t found in something except that it beautifies it, and it isn’t removed from something except that it ruins it.”
“During the nights, he would separate himself from everybody, secluding himself with his Lord, strictly maintaining his recitation of the Mighty Qur’an, and repeating the various types of daily and nightly worship.
When the night was over, he would rejoin the people for the Fajr prayer, praying the optional prayer before meeting them. When he would begin the prayer, your heart would want to fly from its place just from the way in which he would make takbirat al-ihram. When he would begin the prayer, his limbs would shake, moving him left and right. When he would recite, he would elongate his recitation, just as was authentically reported in regards to the recitation of the Messenger of Allah. His bowing and prostration, as well as his coming up from them, are from the most complete of what has ever been reported in regards to the obligatory prayer. And he would severely lighten his sitting for the first tashahhud, and would say the first taslim out loud, to the point that everyone who was present would hear it…
…And I came to know that it was his habit that nobody would speak to him unless absolutely necessary after the morning prayer. He would remain in a state of dhikr of Allah, listening to himself. Sometimes, he would let those sitting next to him listen to his dhikr, all the while constantly turning his eyesight to the sky. He would remain in such a state until the Sun rose, and the time in which prayer is forbidden had passed.
During my stay in Damascus with him, I would spend some of the day and most of the night with him. He would draw me near to him, sitting me beside him. I would hear what he would recite and repeat, and I saw that he would repeat ‘al-Fatihah’ over and over again, and would spend all of his time between Fajr and sunrise doing this.
So, I kept thinking to myself, wondering: why would he recite this specific chapter of the Qur’an in exclusion to the others? Eventually, it became clear to me – and Allah Knows best – that his intention in doing so was to combine with his recitation between what was narrated in the ahadith and what was discussed by the scholars, in regards to whether the narrated adhkar should take precedence over recitation of the Qur’an, or vice versa. So, he saw that in repeating ‘al-Fatihah,’ he could combine between both opinions, and reap the benefits of both actions, and this was from his strength in logic and depth of insight.
After this, he would pray Duha, and if he wanted to hear Hadith in another place, he would rush to that place with whoever was with him at the time.
It was rare that any intelligent person would see him and not come and kiss his hands. Even the busiest of businessmen would walk from what they were doing to greet him and seek his blessings. With all of this, he would give everyone of them their share of time, greetings, etc.
If he saw any evil in the street, he would work to remove it, and if he heard of a funeral taking place, he would rush to pray in it, or would apologize for missing it. Sometimes, he would go to the grave of the deceased after he finished listening to Hadith and pray over it.
Afterwards, he would return to his mosque, where he would remain either giving fatawa to the people or fulfilling their needs, until it was time to pray Dhuhr in congregation. He would spend the rest of the day in such a manner.
His classes were general for the old, the young, the wealthy, the poor, the free, the slave, males, and females. He appealed to everyone that would pass by him of the people, and everyone of them would feel that Ibn Taymiyyah was treating them better than he was treating anyone else present.
He would then pray Maghrib, and would follow it up with as much optional prayer as Allah made possible. I, or someone else, would then read his writings to him, and he would benefit us with various points and notes. We would do this until we prayeed ‘Isha’, after which we would continue as we were before, delving into the various fields of knowledge. We would do this until much of the night had passed. During this entire time – night and day – Ibn Taymiyyah would constantly remember Allah, mention His Oneness, and seek His forgiveness.
And he would constantly raise his eyesight to the sky, and would not stop doing this, as if he saw something there that kept his eyesight hooked. He would do this for as long as I was staying with him.
So, Subhan Allah! How short were these days! If only they were longer! By Allah, until this day, there has never been a time in my life that is more beloved to me than the time I spent with him, and I was never seen in a better state than I was at that time, and this was for no other reason than the barakah of the Shaykh, may Allah be Pleased with him.
Every week, he would visit the sick, especially those at the hospital. I have been informed by more than one person – whose trustworthiness I do not doubt –that the entire life of the Shaykh was spent in the way that I witnessed (and described above). So, what worship, and what jihad is better than this.
Once a man saw in his dream, that a lion was chasing him. The man ran to a tree, climbed on to it and sat on a branch. He looked down and saw that the lion was still there waiting for him.
The man then looked to his side where the branch he was sitting on was attached to the tree and saw that two rats were circling around and eating the branch. One rat was black and the other one was white. The branch would fall on the ground very soon.
The man then looked below again with fear and discovered that a big black snake had come and settled directly under him. The snake opened its mouth right under the man so that he will fall into it.
The man then looked up to see if there was anything that he could hold on to. He saw another branch with a honeycomb. Drops of honey were falling from it. The man wanted to taste one of the drops. So, he put his tongue out and tasted one of the fallen drops of honey. The honey was amazing in taste. So, he wanted to taste another drop. As he did, he got lost into the sweetness of the honey.
Meanwhile, he forgot about the two rats eating his branch away, the lion on the ground and the snake that is sitting right under him. After a while, he woke up from his sleep.
"The lion you saw is your death. It always chases you and goes where ever you go. The two rats, are the night and the day. Black one is the night and the white one is the day. They circle around, coming one after another, to eat your time as they take you closer to death. The big black snake with a dark mouth is your grave. It's there, just waiting for you to fall into it. The honeycomb is this world and the sweet honey is the luxuries of this world. We like to taste a drop of the luxuries of this world but it's very sweet. Then we taste another drop and yet another. Meanwhile, we get lost into it and we forget about our time, we forget about our death and we forget about our graves."
“Know that the life of this world is only play and amusement, pomp and mutual boasting among you, and rivalry in respect of wealth and children. (It is) as the likeness of vegetation after rain, thereof the growth is pleasing to the tiller; afterwards it dries up and you see it turning yellow; then it becomes straw. But in the Hereafter (there is) a severe torment (for the disbelievers, evildoers), and (there is) forgiveness from Allaah and (His) Good Pleasure (for the believers, good‑doers). And the life of this world is only a deceiving enjoyment”[al-Hadeed 57:20]
