بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
The stories of the Prophets in the Qur’an are not to entertain or mere narratives or histories, but to reflect and derive lessons. They teach us the highest spiritual Truth; they give us advice, guidance and warning, as to how we should govern our lives, and they awaken our conscience and remind us of the working of Allah’s Law in human affairs.
"All that we relate to you of the stories of the messengers - with it We make firm your heart: in them there come to you the Truth, as well as an exhortation and a message of remembrance to those who believe." (Qur'an Hud 11:120)
"We relate unto you (Muhammad, Allah bless him and grant him peace) the best of stories through Our Revelations unto you, of this Qur'an. And before this (i.e. before the coming of Divine Revelation to you), you were among those who knew nothing about it (the Qur'an)" (Qur'an Yusuf 12:3)
"These are some of the stories of communities which We relate unto thee: of them some are standing, and some have been mown down (by the sickle of time.)" (Qur'an Hud 11:100)
Among the communities which remained standing is in Egypt. We have the pyramids and some ruins, although Fir'aun and his wicked people were drowned in the sea.
There are remnants of Thamud. The Thamud lived in huge houses that they carved out of the huge rocks in the mountains - and the remains of these houses are still visible in northwest Saudi Arabia. The were arrogant and they oppressed the poor among them. Prophet Saleh, whom they respected very much for he was the most righteous among them, was sent to them as a warner. They rejected him. Allah destroyed them by a terrible storm of thunder and lightning.
"But the Thamud - they were destroyed by a terrible Storm of thunder and lightning!" (Qur'an Haaqqa 69:5)
There are no remnants of the people of Ad. Ad were unjust and arrogant people spoiled by their prosperity, power and strength. The Prophet Hud preached to them in vain. Allah erased them from the face of the earth by furious wind. If Allah didn't tell us about Ad, where they lived, we wouldn't have known about them. Now, the City of Iram with lofty pillars, the homes of 'Ad as described in the Qur'an, is a land of sand dunes in Hadramawt.
"And the ‘Ad, they were destroyed by a furious Wind, exceedingly violent; He made it rage against them seven nights and eight days in succession: so that you could see the (whole) people lying prostrate in its (path), as they had been roots of hollow palm trees tumbled down!" (Qur'an Haaqqa 69:6-7)
If we disbelieve in Allah and His Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc,) Allah will include us in severe punishment. If we stick to the Truth that we have and keep away from the ways of the non-believers, and we are grateful with what Allah has given us, whenever Allah punishes the non-believers, Allah will save the ones who believe in Him.
"And when Our Commandment came, We saved Hud and those who believed with him by a Mercy from Us, and We saved them from a severe torment. Such were 'Ad, they rejected the Ayaat of their Lord and disobeyed His Messengers, and followed the command of every proud obstinate (oppressor of the truth, from their leaders) (Qur'an Hud 11:58-59)
"When Our decree issued, We saved Shu'aib and those who believed with him, by (special) mercy from Ourselves. But the (mighty) blast did seize the wrong- doers, and they lay prostrate in their homes by the morning,- As if they had never dwelt and flourished there!. Ah! Behold! How the Madyan were removed (from sight) as were removed the Thamud!" (Qur'an Hud 11:94-95)
May Allah grants us mercy from Himself and save us from His Punishment. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Aisha
Showing posts with label Yusuf. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yusuf. Show all posts
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Beautiful Patience
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
We just finished Surah Yusuf last night where we prayed taraweeh. This surah is one of my favorite surahs, the surah that lifts me up in times of difficulties.
"...come, beautiful patience! And Allah (Alone) Whose help can be sought against that which you describe." 12:18
"...come, beautiful patience! Haply God will bring them all to me; He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.' 12:83
If you need a shoulder to cry on who would be best to give you that shoulder? Follow Prophet Ya'qub, Allah grant him peace, "He said, 'I only complain of my anguish and sorrow to Allah;.." 12:86
Allah put you in whatever situation you are in. Run to Him. Show your sorrow and grief to Him only and "...Do not despair of Allah's comfort..." 12:87
May Allah makes us among the patient. Ameen. Please do not forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
We just finished Surah Yusuf last night where we prayed taraweeh. This surah is one of my favorite surahs, the surah that lifts me up in times of difficulties.
"...come, beautiful patience! And Allah (Alone) Whose help can be sought against that which you describe." 12:18
"...come, beautiful patience! Haply God will bring them all to me; He is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.' 12:83
If you need a shoulder to cry on who would be best to give you that shoulder? Follow Prophet Ya'qub, Allah grant him peace, "He said, 'I only complain of my anguish and sorrow to Allah;.." 12:86
Allah put you in whatever situation you are in. Run to Him. Show your sorrow and grief to Him only and "...Do not despair of Allah's comfort..." 12:87
May Allah makes us among the patient. Ameen. Please do not forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Sunday, June 6, 2010
A Shoulder to Cry on
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
If you need a shoulder to cry on who would be best to give you that shoulder? Follow Prophet Ya'qub, Allah grant him peace, "He said, 'I only complain of my anguish and sorrow to Allah;.." Qur'an Yusuf 12:86
Allah put you in that situation, so why run to His creation? Remember, His creation don't have any power to relieve you of your sorrow and your grief. Show your sorrow and grief to Him only and "...Do not despair of Allah's comfort..." Qur'an Yusuf 12:87
May Allah gives our hearts peace and tranquility. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
If you need a shoulder to cry on who would be best to give you that shoulder? Follow Prophet Ya'qub, Allah grant him peace, "He said, 'I only complain of my anguish and sorrow to Allah;.." Qur'an Yusuf 12:86
Allah put you in that situation, so why run to His creation? Remember, His creation don't have any power to relieve you of your sorrow and your grief. Show your sorrow and grief to Him only and "...Do not despair of Allah's comfort..." Qur'an Yusuf 12:87
May Allah gives our hearts peace and tranquility. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
What is the Story?
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
A story is a meaningful narrative. It has a beginning--an exposition, a middle--conflicts and climax, and an ending--resolution. Otherwise you don't call it a story--it would be a blog, blab, snippets, events, history, news.
If you read a good romantic novel, you want to jump to last page and see what the ending is. Sometimes the ending can be like this "...and they live happily ever after," and sometimes it can be like this "...and she swallowed the poison and fell by his lifeless body." And you closed the book with a sense of satisfaction or dissatisfaction depending on the ending. But you missed all the excitement in the middle and the story is meaningless for you because you didn't take the time to read the entire book.
Allah tells us the best of stories.
"We relate to you the best of stories by revealing this Qur'an to you, though before it you were one of the heedless." Qur'an Yusuf 12:3
"..so, relate stories, haply they will reflect." Qur'an Al-'Araf 7:176
Our life is a story. A life without meaning is not worth living. We will self-destruct if life is stripped of meaning.
Someone who experiences life as a mere "series of events"--get up, take the kids to school, go to work, work, come home, fight with wife (or wife fight with him), go to sleep, get up, take kids to school, go to work, work, come home, make up with spouse, go to sleep--he doesn't know what the meaning of life is.
Someone who experiences life as a small part of a larger story has found meaning, and this will satisfy a deep psychological need.
Different stories resonate to different degrees, but the story that will resonate the most powerfully is the story that we are psychologically wired to belief in, which is the true and wonderful story that Allah tells us in the Qur'an. The degree to which the story resonates within us is commensurate with the degree to which we realize our slavehood to our Lord. The meaning of life is found in our slavehood to our Lord, which is what the "Primoridal Covenant" was all about.
"And when thy Lord took from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed, and made them testify touching themselves, 'Am I not your Lord?' They said, 'Yes, we testify'-- lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, 'As for us, we were heedless of this,...'" Qur'an Al-'Araf 7:172
If you turn away from your selfish desires, you will live a more pleasurable life. Someone without a slavehood-mindset cannot imagine humbling himself to his Lord. He equates submission to his Lord with the deprivation of pleasure. He doesn't realize that his frenzied pursuit of pleasure desensitizes him from feeling pleasure (that's why he gets bored) and keeps him from grateful contentment, which brings a delight to pleasure that cannot be found anywhere else.
Someone with a slavehood-mindset will enjoy the pleasures of life with a deep feeling of gratitude, which will accentuate the pleasures of the world. If he lets desires overcome him, he will sense first-hand that the pleasurable feeling leaves him
Our lives is but a part of the story of creation. The ending is told, and to remind us, Allah shows us signs along the way. The signs are meant for you to stop and refocus your life towards Allah for a good ending. Just like the red light you see ahead of you and if you keep accelerating, it doesn't help you in the slightest, ignoring Allah's signs and continue busy yourselves with this world, your story won't end with happily ever after.
"What, did you think that We created you only for sport, and that you would not be returned to Us?' Then high exalted be God, the King, the True! There is no god but He? the Lord of the noble Throne." Qur'an The Faithful 23:115-116
"We have not created the heavens and earth, and what between them is, for vanity; such is the thought of the unbelievers, wherefore woe unto the unbelievers because of the Fire! Or shall We make those who believe and do righteous deeds as the workers of corruption in the earth, or shall We make the Godfearing as the transgressors? A Book We have sent down to thee, Blessed, that men possessed of minds may ponder its signs and so remember." Qur'an Sad 38:27-29
May Allah make us His obedient slaves and make our ending better than our beginning at the highest of Iman. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
A story is a meaningful narrative. It has a beginning--an exposition, a middle--conflicts and climax, and an ending--resolution. Otherwise you don't call it a story--it would be a blog, blab, snippets, events, history, news.
If you read a good romantic novel, you want to jump to last page and see what the ending is. Sometimes the ending can be like this "...and they live happily ever after," and sometimes it can be like this "...and she swallowed the poison and fell by his lifeless body." And you closed the book with a sense of satisfaction or dissatisfaction depending on the ending. But you missed all the excitement in the middle and the story is meaningless for you because you didn't take the time to read the entire book.
Allah tells us the best of stories.
"We relate to you the best of stories by revealing this Qur'an to you, though before it you were one of the heedless." Qur'an Yusuf 12:3
"..so, relate stories, haply they will reflect." Qur'an Al-'Araf 7:176
Our life is a story. A life without meaning is not worth living. We will self-destruct if life is stripped of meaning.
Someone who experiences life as a mere "series of events"--get up, take the kids to school, go to work, work, come home, fight with wife (or wife fight with him), go to sleep, get up, take kids to school, go to work, work, come home, make up with spouse, go to sleep--he doesn't know what the meaning of life is.
Someone who experiences life as a small part of a larger story has found meaning, and this will satisfy a deep psychological need.
Different stories resonate to different degrees, but the story that will resonate the most powerfully is the story that we are psychologically wired to belief in, which is the true and wonderful story that Allah tells us in the Qur'an. The degree to which the story resonates within us is commensurate with the degree to which we realize our slavehood to our Lord. The meaning of life is found in our slavehood to our Lord, which is what the "Primoridal Covenant" was all about.
"And when thy Lord took from the Children of Adam, from their loins, their seed, and made them testify touching themselves, 'Am I not your Lord?' They said, 'Yes, we testify'-- lest you should say on the Day of Resurrection, 'As for us, we were heedless of this,...'" Qur'an Al-'Araf 7:172
If you turn away from your selfish desires, you will live a more pleasurable life. Someone without a slavehood-mindset cannot imagine humbling himself to his Lord. He equates submission to his Lord with the deprivation of pleasure. He doesn't realize that his frenzied pursuit of pleasure desensitizes him from feeling pleasure (that's why he gets bored) and keeps him from grateful contentment, which brings a delight to pleasure that cannot be found anywhere else.
Someone with a slavehood-mindset will enjoy the pleasures of life with a deep feeling of gratitude, which will accentuate the pleasures of the world. If he lets desires overcome him, he will sense first-hand that the pleasurable feeling leaves him
Our lives is but a part of the story of creation. The ending is told, and to remind us, Allah shows us signs along the way. The signs are meant for you to stop and refocus your life towards Allah for a good ending. Just like the red light you see ahead of you and if you keep accelerating, it doesn't help you in the slightest, ignoring Allah's signs and continue busy yourselves with this world, your story won't end with happily ever after.
"What, did you think that We created you only for sport, and that you would not be returned to Us?' Then high exalted be God, the King, the True! There is no god but He? the Lord of the noble Throne." Qur'an The Faithful 23:115-116
"We have not created the heavens and earth, and what between them is, for vanity; such is the thought of the unbelievers, wherefore woe unto the unbelievers because of the Fire! Or shall We make those who believe and do righteous deeds as the workers of corruption in the earth, or shall We make the Godfearing as the transgressors? A Book We have sent down to thee, Blessed, that men possessed of minds may ponder its signs and so remember." Qur'an Sad 38:27-29
May Allah make us His obedient slaves and make our ending better than our beginning at the highest of Iman. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
Wassalaam
Monday, April 19, 2010
Read!
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
One third of the Qur'an is stories--the key to knowing everything what is happening in your life now.
"We tell you the best of stories in revealing this Qur’an to you, even though you were unaware of it before it came." Qur'an Yusuf 12:3
In the stories, you will see exactly what's happening to you. You learn from these stories. Allah tells the best of stories--why are we busy reading novels and the like ignoring these stories?
Allah give you the victory when you are humble. When the Muslims thought that they could win against the non-believers in the battle of Hunayn, because of their greater army, and just when they were about to lose the battle, the tide changed because they realized they were slaves of Allah and Allah gave them victory. When we realize we are slaves of Allah, our lives will be different. People have miserable lives because something else is filling their lives, not Allah. If people have respect for the laws of Allah, they will be happy no matter what because when you obey Allah, Allah will put barakah (blessings) in your life.
The first ayah (verse) revealed was Iqra' (Read! In the Name of your Lord...) Qur'an Al-'Alaq 96:1. It wasn't al-Fatiha. How do you read? You read by Allah, our Creator. This verse was revealed to a person who could not read or write. But he, Allah bless him and grant him peace, became the source of knowledge for one reason, because he applied this verse. So read what has been given to us on a silver platter. Find the time to read and understand the Qur'an and try to apply them in your lives. Try to read a juz (chapter) a day. This is not a big deal inshaAllah if you put learning your religion a priority.
May Allah increase us in sacred knowledge and grant us tawfiq. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
One third of the Qur'an is stories--the key to knowing everything what is happening in your life now.
"We tell you the best of stories in revealing this Qur’an to you, even though you were unaware of it before it came." Qur'an Yusuf 12:3
In the stories, you will see exactly what's happening to you. You learn from these stories. Allah tells the best of stories--why are we busy reading novels and the like ignoring these stories?
Allah give you the victory when you are humble. When the Muslims thought that they could win against the non-believers in the battle of Hunayn, because of their greater army, and just when they were about to lose the battle, the tide changed because they realized they were slaves of Allah and Allah gave them victory. When we realize we are slaves of Allah, our lives will be different. People have miserable lives because something else is filling their lives, not Allah. If people have respect for the laws of Allah, they will be happy no matter what because when you obey Allah, Allah will put barakah (blessings) in your life.
The first ayah (verse) revealed was Iqra' (Read! In the Name of your Lord...) Qur'an Al-'Alaq 96:1. It wasn't al-Fatiha. How do you read? You read by Allah, our Creator. This verse was revealed to a person who could not read or write. But he, Allah bless him and grant him peace, became the source of knowledge for one reason, because he applied this verse. So read what has been given to us on a silver platter. Find the time to read and understand the Qur'an and try to apply them in your lives. Try to read a juz (chapter) a day. This is not a big deal inshaAllah if you put learning your religion a priority.
May Allah increase us in sacred knowledge and grant us tawfiq. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
Wassalaam
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Wisdom
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
I pray that you are well.
If we understand the importance of Qur'an and sunnah and live it, we will have a rich life because Islam is rich in all aspect of our lives. The problem is that we don't take the time to learn and understand the Book of Allah and the sunnah of His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace--we bog ourselves in the regimen and the nitty gritty of technicalities. We pray and fast in Ramadhan and don't do haram (you think you don't), now we think we have it down--we are Muslims and they are not. Technically, yes, we can call ourselves Muslims if we pray and fast. Similar to someone who knows how to cut and sew, is he a surgeon? Will you trust him to do surgery on you? There are more to be a surgeon than just cutting and sewing. Likewise there is more than rituals to Islam. There is MANNERS. Manners with Him and manners with His creation. These manners are meant to bring happiness to our lives (this life and the next) and to people around us. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, was sent to perfect noble character. And good character weighs heavier on the scale in the Day of Judgment. So this aught to tell us the importance of good character and good manners. And we should be very conscious of this in going about our everyday lives.
Just a smile can make a person's day but will you be able to smile at people all the time? Just a three letter word "plz" for "please" can make a mother's day. Sidebar: My 17 year old son would send me a text message when he was ready to be picked up from his evening classes at school for the last few months. The text was short and to the point "pick me up". One day I received a text from him via his friend's phone (he lost his phone, the 3rd time, and I did not get him another one just to teach him a lesson). The text was "pick me up plz." The "plz" was a soothing breeze to my heart! When I saw him I immediately told him how I felt and from then on he appended the word "plz" to his text message. MashaAllah. A few days ago, he decided to clean the house (he said just for me) and to our amazement he found the phone that he thought he lost at school behind a couch! He was elated of course and I told him to take wudu' and make 2 raka'at prayer to thank Allah.
If you take a course or two and read some Islamic books, you can begin to develop a taste of the richness of Islam. They give you a few considerations and some ideas of what to do. But many things in Islam can be answered in more than one ways depending on who the people are and what the circumstances are, and only by keeping the company of knowledgeable people who have good manners will help you practice your knowledge and develop a taste of what is appropriate and what is not appropriate, which no amount of book learning or studies can give. This is the idea of wisdom. We ask Allah to give us wisdom.
Allah give wisdom to whoever He wills and whoever He gives wisdom He gives tremendous good. Good character is based a lot on wisdom. Having wisdom is when you have a situation and you know what is the best thing to do to cover all of your areas.
"He gives the Wisdom to whomsoever He will, and whoso is given the Wisdom, has been given much good; yet none remembers but men possessed of minds." Qur'an Al Baqarah 2:269
"Whomsoever We will, We raise in rank; over every man of knowledge is One who knows." Qur'an Yusuf 12:76
May Allah bless your day. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
I pray that you are well.
If we understand the importance of Qur'an and sunnah and live it, we will have a rich life because Islam is rich in all aspect of our lives. The problem is that we don't take the time to learn and understand the Book of Allah and the sunnah of His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace--we bog ourselves in the regimen and the nitty gritty of technicalities. We pray and fast in Ramadhan and don't do haram (you think you don't), now we think we have it down--we are Muslims and they are not. Technically, yes, we can call ourselves Muslims if we pray and fast. Similar to someone who knows how to cut and sew, is he a surgeon? Will you trust him to do surgery on you? There are more to be a surgeon than just cutting and sewing. Likewise there is more than rituals to Islam. There is MANNERS. Manners with Him and manners with His creation. These manners are meant to bring happiness to our lives (this life and the next) and to people around us. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, was sent to perfect noble character. And good character weighs heavier on the scale in the Day of Judgment. So this aught to tell us the importance of good character and good manners. And we should be very conscious of this in going about our everyday lives.
Just a smile can make a person's day but will you be able to smile at people all the time? Just a three letter word "plz" for "please" can make a mother's day. Sidebar: My 17 year old son would send me a text message when he was ready to be picked up from his evening classes at school for the last few months. The text was short and to the point "pick me up". One day I received a text from him via his friend's phone (he lost his phone, the 3rd time, and I did not get him another one just to teach him a lesson). The text was "pick me up plz." The "plz" was a soothing breeze to my heart! When I saw him I immediately told him how I felt and from then on he appended the word "plz" to his text message. MashaAllah. A few days ago, he decided to clean the house (he said just for me) and to our amazement he found the phone that he thought he lost at school behind a couch! He was elated of course and I told him to take wudu' and make 2 raka'at prayer to thank Allah.
If you take a course or two and read some Islamic books, you can begin to develop a taste of the richness of Islam. They give you a few considerations and some ideas of what to do. But many things in Islam can be answered in more than one ways depending on who the people are and what the circumstances are, and only by keeping the company of knowledgeable people who have good manners will help you practice your knowledge and develop a taste of what is appropriate and what is not appropriate, which no amount of book learning or studies can give. This is the idea of wisdom. We ask Allah to give us wisdom.
Allah give wisdom to whoever He wills and whoever He gives wisdom He gives tremendous good. Good character is based a lot on wisdom. Having wisdom is when you have a situation and you know what is the best thing to do to cover all of your areas.
"He gives the Wisdom to whomsoever He will, and whoso is given the Wisdom, has been given much good; yet none remembers but men possessed of minds." Qur'an Al Baqarah 2:269
"Whomsoever We will, We raise in rank; over every man of knowledge is One who knows." Qur'an Yusuf 12:76
May Allah bless your day. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
Wassalaam
Friday, March 12, 2010
Allah is watching over you
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Never feel alone. When you are in the pits of life, where nobody care about you, know that He is always there. Your friends or your loved ones may be too busy to notice your pain but not Allah, ar-Raqib. He sees every detail. He sees the little cry in your heart. He is not tired to listen to your cries, to your complaints. He is the Living, the Everlasting. Slumber seizes Him not, neither sleep. (Qur'an Al-Baqarah 2:255) If you make yourself known to Him in times of prosperity, in times of happiness, He will be with you in times of difficulties, in times of loneliness.
When you grieve, no need to show your grief to people--they cannot remove your grief. If you show it to the wrong people, it might come back to haunt you. Follow Ya'qub alayhissalaam. He complained only to Allah. "He said, 'I make complaint of my anguish and my sorrow unto God; I know from God that you know not." Qur'an Yusuf 12:86
"And put your trust in Allah; Allah suffices for a guardian." Qur'an An-Nisa 4:81
وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ وَكَفَىٰ بِٱللَّهِ وَكِيلًا
May Allah comfort our souls and make us not look to His creation but only to Him. Ameen. Please do not forget me in your night prayers. Ameen.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Never feel alone. When you are in the pits of life, where nobody care about you, know that He is always there. Your friends or your loved ones may be too busy to notice your pain but not Allah, ar-Raqib. He sees every detail. He sees the little cry in your heart. He is not tired to listen to your cries, to your complaints. He is the Living, the Everlasting. Slumber seizes Him not, neither sleep. (Qur'an Al-Baqarah 2:255) If you make yourself known to Him in times of prosperity, in times of happiness, He will be with you in times of difficulties, in times of loneliness.
When you grieve, no need to show your grief to people--they cannot remove your grief. If you show it to the wrong people, it might come back to haunt you. Follow Ya'qub alayhissalaam. He complained only to Allah. "He said, 'I make complaint of my anguish and my sorrow unto God; I know from God that you know not." Qur'an Yusuf 12:86
"And put your trust in Allah; Allah suffices for a guardian." Qur'an An-Nisa 4:81
وَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ وَكَفَىٰ بِٱللَّهِ وَكِيلًا
May Allah comfort our souls and make us not look to His creation but only to Him. Ameen. Please do not forget me in your night prayers. Ameen.
Wassalaam
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The true enemy
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
السلام عليكم
I pray that you are well.
The tendency is when people say bad things about you or simply something you don't like to hear, you want to respond--to set it straight. There is no need because as for you what matters is what Allah think of you. Allah is the judge and He is just. Leave it to Him--He will make it right for you. So don't be sad or mad. Allah will reward you abundantly for being patient and for avoiding confrontation with your brother/sister. Remember, our enemy is the Shaytan, not our brother/sister.
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, reminded us of Shaytan, "Beware of Shaytan, for your safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things."
Shaytan does not care about causing dissension among the kuffar, he is concerned about the Muslims since he cannot make them non-believers, he is making them fight among themselves. He is always instigating this waswasa in the hearts of Muslims and causing fitnah among us.
A lesson from surah Yusuf when Ya'qub, Allah grant him peace, said to Yusuf, Allah grant him peace:
"He said, 'O my son, relate not thy vision to thy brothers, lest they devise against thee some guile. Surely Satan is to man a manifest enemy." Qur'an Yusuf 12:5
This is my personal story related to this topic--only in brief
A person of authority and high esteem hated me for none other than me being a Muslim woman. Suffice to say she was on a mission to destroy me. After you think she has exhausted all avenues to destroy me, she began another theory--she called me insane and someone with impaired cognitive functions. I was then had a successful career and led a systems project for a big company--so how could my cognitive functions be impaired! Alhamdulillah, I was not any of the two that she wanted people to believe.
But I knew I could not fight her at the time--I was alone and didn't have the right armor. So I waited 4 years and then fought back. How did I fought back? I immediately took the LSAT (law school entrance exam) and went to law school. I thought if I could not fight her from outside, I fight her from inside. And the only way for me to fight her from inside was to be an officer of the court (an attorney). Yes, she was a judge. After I graduated from law school, I fought her. I believe she was privately reprimanded and removed from office. La hawla wala quwwata illa billah. Throughout the four years, Allah helped me through my law school professors, some of them were judges. One of my teachers was a very wise and beloved federal court district judge and he said: "If your cognitive functions are impaired then all of ours are too, including hers. May God save us!" SubhanAllah!
So, we have bigger things to fight. Not squabbling between us. Like the cliche: what goes around comes around. Don't worry. Allah will aid you in ways unimaginable if you have believe and put all your trust in Him.
May Allah give us tawfiq. Ameen. Please don't forget me in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
Wassalaam
السلام عليكم
I pray that you are well.
The tendency is when people say bad things about you or simply something you don't like to hear, you want to respond--to set it straight. There is no need because as for you what matters is what Allah think of you. Allah is the judge and He is just. Leave it to Him--He will make it right for you. So don't be sad or mad. Allah will reward you abundantly for being patient and for avoiding confrontation with your brother/sister. Remember, our enemy is the Shaytan, not our brother/sister.
The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, reminded us of Shaytan, "Beware of Shaytan, for your safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things."
Shaytan does not care about causing dissension among the kuffar, he is concerned about the Muslims since he cannot make them non-believers, he is making them fight among themselves. He is always instigating this waswasa in the hearts of Muslims and causing fitnah among us.
A lesson from surah Yusuf when Ya'qub, Allah grant him peace, said to Yusuf, Allah grant him peace:
"He said, 'O my son, relate not thy vision to thy brothers, lest they devise against thee some guile. Surely Satan is to man a manifest enemy." Qur'an Yusuf 12:5
This is my personal story related to this topic--only in brief
A person of authority and high esteem hated me for none other than me being a Muslim woman. Suffice to say she was on a mission to destroy me. After you think she has exhausted all avenues to destroy me, she began another theory--she called me insane and someone with impaired cognitive functions. I was then had a successful career and led a systems project for a big company--so how could my cognitive functions be impaired! Alhamdulillah, I was not any of the two that she wanted people to believe.
But I knew I could not fight her at the time--I was alone and didn't have the right armor. So I waited 4 years and then fought back. How did I fought back? I immediately took the LSAT (law school entrance exam) and went to law school. I thought if I could not fight her from outside, I fight her from inside. And the only way for me to fight her from inside was to be an officer of the court (an attorney). Yes, she was a judge. After I graduated from law school, I fought her. I believe she was privately reprimanded and removed from office. La hawla wala quwwata illa billah. Throughout the four years, Allah helped me through my law school professors, some of them were judges. One of my teachers was a very wise and beloved federal court district judge and he said: "If your cognitive functions are impaired then all of ours are too, including hers. May God save us!" SubhanAllah!
So, we have bigger things to fight. Not squabbling between us. Like the cliche: what goes around comes around. Don't worry. Allah will aid you in ways unimaginable if you have believe and put all your trust in Him.
May Allah give us tawfiq. Ameen. Please don't forget me in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
Wassalaam
Monday, March 1, 2010
Beautiful patience
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamua alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Who among us can say I breeze through my life having no sorrows? I am sure none of you can say this. Whose heart was broken at least once--perhaps more like thousands of times--either by our parents, our children, our beloved, our spouse, our teachers, our boss, our friends, .....? We don't remember the exact number. But they were so real the moment they happened. If you remember some of them, they were horrible, as though that was the end of your life, that we thought we could never be able to go through it again. Now we are here, we forgot and we only remember the last thing that happen to us. Imagine carrying all those sorrows in one go! If you had to carry all these sorrows of the last 20, 30, 40, ... years now in one go, it would be impossible to continue your life. It is Allah, al-Jabbar al-Qahhar, the One who makes the weak strong, the One who rectifies the heart after it is saddened, the One who took away the sorrows in your life, the One who heals your pain, He took everything and leave only one sorrow that you are experiencing right now. When you reflect on this, be thankful for every sorrows that He took away from you.
When you see somebody who is going through affliction, remind him/her to be patient. Allah wanted it to take place.What Allah wants will be, what Allah does not want will not be. He dominates everything. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, has said that when Allah wants his slave to be in a certain level in Paradise and sees that he will not reach this level through his actions, Allah will afflict him with his health, honor, wealth, everything. Then Allah bestows him patience to undergo this affliction until he will finally reach the level He wanted him to be in Paradise.
He also said, "the people who were in well being in this life will wish on the Day of Judgment, when the people of tribulations are given the reward, that their skin would have been cut with blades." "No believer is afflicted with a thorn-prick or what is greater than that except that a higher degree is inscribed for him, or a sin removed from him."
We don't ask for afflictions but the moment we are afflicted, try to remember this hadith and know that the afflictions are only for our benefit and the reward is tremendous.
So, as you are walking towards Him, Allah is guiding you along the way until you reach your final destination, where He wants you to be. When He doesn't give you something you want in this world, know that He knew that it would have been bad for you to have it so He didn't give it to you. Don't despair.
An intelligent person would do on the first moment of his affliction what a foolish person would do at the end of his affliction. The wise person would be thankful to Allah the moment of his affliction. Like Prophet Yusuf, Allah grant him peace, never complained when he was thrown in the well, when he was separated from his beloved father, Allah grant them both peace, when he was slandered, when he was thrown in jail, because he knew Allah had something better for him. We should have this beautiful patience when calamities befall us.
Remember, Allah is the one who decides. He decides which river we have to swim from before we reach the ocean of success. And we just have to pass those alligators, snakes, crocodiles, .... to get to there. Tawfiq is from Allah.
May Allah grant us beautiful patience. Ameen. Please don't forget me in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamua alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
Who among us can say I breeze through my life having no sorrows? I am sure none of you can say this. Whose heart was broken at least once--perhaps more like thousands of times--either by our parents, our children, our beloved, our spouse, our teachers, our boss, our friends, .....? We don't remember the exact number. But they were so real the moment they happened. If you remember some of them, they were horrible, as though that was the end of your life, that we thought we could never be able to go through it again. Now we are here, we forgot and we only remember the last thing that happen to us. Imagine carrying all those sorrows in one go! If you had to carry all these sorrows of the last 20, 30, 40, ... years now in one go, it would be impossible to continue your life. It is Allah, al-Jabbar al-Qahhar, the One who makes the weak strong, the One who rectifies the heart after it is saddened, the One who took away the sorrows in your life, the One who heals your pain, He took everything and leave only one sorrow that you are experiencing right now. When you reflect on this, be thankful for every sorrows that He took away from you.
When you see somebody who is going through affliction, remind him/her to be patient. Allah wanted it to take place.What Allah wants will be, what Allah does not want will not be. He dominates everything. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, has said that when Allah wants his slave to be in a certain level in Paradise and sees that he will not reach this level through his actions, Allah will afflict him with his health, honor, wealth, everything. Then Allah bestows him patience to undergo this affliction until he will finally reach the level He wanted him to be in Paradise.
He also said, "the people who were in well being in this life will wish on the Day of Judgment, when the people of tribulations are given the reward, that their skin would have been cut with blades." "No believer is afflicted with a thorn-prick or what is greater than that except that a higher degree is inscribed for him, or a sin removed from him."
We don't ask for afflictions but the moment we are afflicted, try to remember this hadith and know that the afflictions are only for our benefit and the reward is tremendous.
So, as you are walking towards Him, Allah is guiding you along the way until you reach your final destination, where He wants you to be. When He doesn't give you something you want in this world, know that He knew that it would have been bad for you to have it so He didn't give it to you. Don't despair.
An intelligent person would do on the first moment of his affliction what a foolish person would do at the end of his affliction. The wise person would be thankful to Allah the moment of his affliction. Like Prophet Yusuf, Allah grant him peace, never complained when he was thrown in the well, when he was separated from his beloved father, Allah grant them both peace, when he was slandered, when he was thrown in jail, because he knew Allah had something better for him. We should have this beautiful patience when calamities befall us.
Remember, Allah is the one who decides. He decides which river we have to swim from before we reach the ocean of success. And we just have to pass those alligators, snakes, crocodiles, .... to get to there. Tawfiq is from Allah.
May Allah grant us beautiful patience. Ameen. Please don't forget me in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
Monday, February 22, 2010
Allah, Al-Fattah, The Opener
BismillahirRahmanirRahim
Assalaamu alaykum
I pray that you are well.
When you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel, know that there is Al-Fattah (The Opener) Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. When Al-Fattah wants good for His servant He will close all doors in the hands of the creation and open the door where no one carries the key. He will open the door that can only be opened by the Creator.
Remember Prophet Yusuf, Allah give him peace. How could one become a prominent figure in Egypt coming from a poor family, thrown into a well by his jealous brothers. He came out of the well only to be sold as slave. Then accused of desiring the wife of his master and even when the master knew that he was innocent, he was still thrown in jail. Feel the patience and trust in Allah that Yusuf had. He stayed in jail for 18 years, some say as long as 30 years! His father grieved for him until he became blind. But he did not despair. Allah reward him the highest position in Egypt and the reunited him with his family--"And he lifted his father and mother upon the throne; and the others fell down prostrate before him..." Qur'an Yusuf 12:100 (beautiful surah with great lessons. read it over and over again) Such is only a reward on this earth for His patient servant. What then would the reward be in the Hereafter?
When you go through problems after problems, calamities after calamities, headaches after headaches, heartaches after heartaches, setbacks after setbacks, try to remember Al-Fattah, the Opener. Know that He is bringing you to the light He wants you to get to. This is the moment that He is actually opening things for you and not closing things for you. Allah is not the Closer, it is not in His attributes.
When you are on the path of Truth, keep going even if all odds are against you. Don't worry about what people think of you, talking bad about you, trying to sabotage you. Be patient. There will be a good ending inshaAllah.
Please accept a beautiful gift from Allah, attached--listen to His beautiful names! How could you not love Him and get goosebumps every time you hear this alone, no soul around you! SubhanAllah! Don't ignore Him.
Also at your leisure at your leisure http://www.scribd.com/doc/23605981/If-Truly-I-Know
And Allah knows best.
May Allah give you a good opening. Ameen. Please remember me in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
Wassalaam
Assalaamu alaykum
I pray that you are well.
When you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel, know that there is Al-Fattah (The Opener) Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. When Al-Fattah wants good for His servant He will close all doors in the hands of the creation and open the door where no one carries the key. He will open the door that can only be opened by the Creator.
Remember Prophet Yusuf, Allah give him peace. How could one become a prominent figure in Egypt coming from a poor family, thrown into a well by his jealous brothers. He came out of the well only to be sold as slave. Then accused of desiring the wife of his master and even when the master knew that he was innocent, he was still thrown in jail. Feel the patience and trust in Allah that Yusuf had. He stayed in jail for 18 years, some say as long as 30 years! His father grieved for him until he became blind. But he did not despair. Allah reward him the highest position in Egypt and the reunited him with his family--"And he lifted his father and mother upon the throne; and the others fell down prostrate before him..." Qur'an Yusuf 12:100 (beautiful surah with great lessons. read it over and over again) Such is only a reward on this earth for His patient servant. What then would the reward be in the Hereafter?
When you go through problems after problems, calamities after calamities, headaches after headaches, heartaches after heartaches, setbacks after setbacks, try to remember Al-Fattah, the Opener. Know that He is bringing you to the light He wants you to get to. This is the moment that He is actually opening things for you and not closing things for you. Allah is not the Closer, it is not in His attributes.
When you are on the path of Truth, keep going even if all odds are against you. Don't worry about what people think of you, talking bad about you, trying to sabotage you. Be patient. There will be a good ending inshaAllah.
Please accept a beautiful gift from Allah, attached--listen to His beautiful names! How could you not love Him and get goosebumps every time you hear this alone, no soul around you! SubhanAllah! Don't ignore Him.
Also at your leisure at your leisure http://www.scribd.com/doc/23605981/If-Truly-I-Know
And Allah knows best.
May Allah give you a good opening. Ameen. Please remember me in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.
Wassalaam
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Does not a lover want to be alone with his beloved?
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful
Assalaamu alaykum
I pray that you are well.
There is no love without giving and there is no lover who does not want to be alone with his/her beloved.
When we give our mind, body and soul to the one we love, that's the highest love. The level of love depends on how much we give. Someone who rush to please Allah is manifesting a greater love for Him than someone who is not. Someone who give himself/herself to Allah by waking up at night to pray is manifesting a greater love for Him than someone who sleeps through the night.
In one of God's revealed scriptures it is said, "He has lied who claims to love Me but who when night falls sleeps (and leaves) Me. Does not every lover love to be alone with his beloved." (source--Imam Al-Haddad's Book of Assistance).
When Zulaikha brought faith and married Prophet Yusuf, peace be upon him, she kept herself separate from him and remained engaged in divine services and surrendered herself completely to God. Prophet Yusuf, peace be upon him, called her to his bed in the day time as Zulaikha remained busy at night in divine service. When Yusuf, peace be upon him, called her at nights, she hinted at the day time and said: O Yusuf, I loved you before I recognized God. When I knew God, I can have no love for others except God. I don't hope for anything than this. (source: Imam Al-Ghazzali's Ihya ulum-id-din) (Zulaikha was once the wife of a wealthy man who fell madly in love with Prophet Yusuf, peace be upon him, because of his beauty, and then caused Prophet Yusuf, peace be upon him, many trials. Read Surah Yusuf).
By this we can access our love for Allah.
May Allah give us piety and purify our souls. He is the Master and Lord of souls. Ameen.
In the Name of Allah, Most Beneficent, Most Merciful
Assalaamu alaykum
I pray that you are well.
There is no love without giving and there is no lover who does not want to be alone with his/her beloved.
When we give our mind, body and soul to the one we love, that's the highest love. The level of love depends on how much we give. Someone who rush to please Allah is manifesting a greater love for Him than someone who is not. Someone who give himself/herself to Allah by waking up at night to pray is manifesting a greater love for Him than someone who sleeps through the night.
In one of God's revealed scriptures it is said, "He has lied who claims to love Me but who when night falls sleeps (and leaves) Me. Does not every lover love to be alone with his beloved." (source--Imam Al-Haddad's Book of Assistance).
When Zulaikha brought faith and married Prophet Yusuf, peace be upon him, she kept herself separate from him and remained engaged in divine services and surrendered herself completely to God. Prophet Yusuf, peace be upon him, called her to his bed in the day time as Zulaikha remained busy at night in divine service. When Yusuf, peace be upon him, called her at nights, she hinted at the day time and said: O Yusuf, I loved you before I recognized God. When I knew God, I can have no love for others except God. I don't hope for anything than this. (source: Imam Al-Ghazzali's Ihya ulum-id-din) (Zulaikha was once the wife of a wealthy man who fell madly in love with Prophet Yusuf, peace be upon him, because of his beauty, and then caused Prophet Yusuf, peace be upon him, many trials. Read Surah Yusuf).
By this we can access our love for Allah.
May Allah give us piety and purify our souls. He is the Master and Lord of souls. Ameen.
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