Islam is a full package

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name Of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

After the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, passed away, some Arab tribes refused to pay zakat. Abu Bakr, Allah be very pleased with him, who was appointed to succeed the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, wanted to fight them.

'Umar, Allah be very pleased with him, came to the Khalifah and said how could he fight them when they testified that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Messenger and they were praying. Abu Bakr swore that he would fight whoever differentiate between prayer and zakat and if they were to prevent him even a camel that they used to pay zakat to the Prophet, he would fight them over it. 'Umar asked him to be lenient with those Muslims because the situation of the Muslims were difficult after the death of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace--apostasy on the rise and disastrous news that were coming from every direction. Abu Bakr grabbed the beard of 'Umar and said, "O son of Khattab, you were a tyrant before you became Muslim and now when you became Muslim you want to become lame, feeble and weak." Then he said, "the religion has been left by Muhammad complete. I am not going to allow the religion of Allah be diminished." Abu Bakr waged war against those who refused to pay zakat until they surrendered.

Islam is a full package. As Muslims, we cannot take some and leave some--whatever is convenient we take and whatever is not, we leave or seek dispensations so we don't have to do it. If you want to keep the favor that Allah has bestowed upon you, i.e. your faith (Iman), and if you want Allah to continue to give you favors, then you have to do everything Allah tells you to do. You cannot believe some and not believe the other. If you do that, then you are not being truthful. Allah knows if you are truthful when you say you believe in Him. Remember Paradise is only for the believers.

"The believers are those who believe in God and His Messenger, then have not doubted, and have struggled with their possessions and their selves in the way of God; those -- they are the truthful ones.

Say: 'What, would you teach God what your religion is, and God knows what is in the heavens and what is in the earth? And God has knowledge of everything.' They count it as a favor to thee that they have surrendered! Say: 'Do not count your surrendering as a favor to me; nay, but rather God confers a favor upon you, in that He has guided you to belief, if it be that you are truthful. God knows the Unseen of the heavens and of the earth; and God sees the things you do.'" Qur'an Al-Hujurat 49:15-18

May Allah guide us and make our ending better than our beginning and in the highest of Iman. Ameen, Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

Wassalaam

Raising good slaves

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

Assalaamu alaykum

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Some people have many children, some have few, some have none. I have friends in all categories. Whether you have many, a few or none, we thank Allah for deciding this for us. We would not be able to make this big decision for ourselves.

When we look at the many orphans, the many children without major limbs, the many children starving, we are grateful that our children are with us, that their destiny, at least for now, is not like that, but rather it reach very far to the other spectrum--with comfy beds to sleep on, with abundant food and entertainment to their heart desire, with trendy shoes to wear, just to name a few.

But are we teaching our children to be grateful to their Creator for what they have? We cannot say we are until we teach our children how to pray and to pray the way the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed, and they are doing it voluntarily.

When our children were little, we taught them to sleep at certain times--we were very adamant about this because we know it is good for them--they need that rest so they can grow healthy and their brain can function properly the next day at school. They must sleep or some "punishment" would follow--you take away certain things from them, no TV, no toys, etc.

Prayer is the main pillar of Islam. Just like a house, what will happen if the main pillar is not there or weak? Sooner or later it will collapse. We don't want that to happen to our children. May Allah protect our Iman. So, put a conscious and as much effort in making sure that our children pray, and pray the right way, as we made sure that they sleep at certain time, starting at age 5 or 6. This is the age that your children are easily molded the way you want them to be--because they are like sponges. In the matter of inculcating the love to pray, we cannot postpone it to later time. If you wait till they finished middle school, they might not do it at all. They are going into the teenage rebellious stage. They have their "own minds." They are more concerned at how they look and what their friends think of them. They listen to their "friends," not you. You can't tell them what to do. This is what you want to avoid and directing them to Allah from a very young age, inshaAllah you will avoid the social disasters that many families are facing.

Don't delay teaching your children the love of Allah and performing the prayers is the starting point. And you have to start now--even if it is one prayer today with you and increase the number gradually. If you don't take this step, even if you have obedient children (may Allah grant us with such children), you would still have made their lives difficult by not putting them into the habit of praying regularly and now they are struggling to get up for Fajr because old habits die hard they say.

You see my friends who don't have children, don't be sad and don't envy those who have. Our children are a big trust from Allah and to raise them to be good slaves of Allah is not a small task. We have our share of sadness and trials. So, be grateful that Allah has willed that you don't have children by helping families who are struggling with their (many) children. Maybe you can volunteer teaching them or take their children to the masjid with you or be their big brother/sister. May Allah increase you in all good. Ameen.

Reminder: InshaAllah, tomorrow is our next monthly khatm Qur'an. Those who have aspired to read 1 or 2 chapters a day or those who have aspired to complete the whole Qur'an every month for this event, please complete them by 7pm Friday California time. Those who are close to masjid Al-Ittehad, Vista, please join us there. Our group reading of the last juz at 7pm followed by the du'a and potluck dinner. InshaAllah.

May Allah protect our children and help us to raise them well. Ameen. Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

Wassalaam

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.

Increasing Iman

In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum

I pray that you are well and in high spirits of Iman.

When the angel of death come to us, nothing else matter except our faith (Iman) in the One. We should be able to say La illaha illallah (there is no god but Allah). You can't say this unless you have been practicing it--like the basketball player who is able to make his basket--he has been practicing for many years to make those perfect shots.

We must go through the physical struggle--something that cause us intense pain--like something happen in our lives, e.g. losing our loved ones, etc. Take for example, Anas ibn Nader (Allah be pleased with him), the companion of Uhud, experienced this intense pain, and that intense pain was hearing the beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has been killed.

After the pain is so intense, you need to step back and let go. What did Anas let go off? He let go off this world. We know this because he said to Sa'ad ibn Mua'dah, another great companion (Allah be pleased with him), "I can smell the fragrance of Jannah." And Anas fought unlike any human being could fight.

When you come out of this struggle, your mind body patterns change and you reach a higher level of Iman. And for Anas, he was a matyr and his abode is Jannatul Firdaus inshaAllah.

We may not have the chance to be a matryr like Anas and we don't have to wait till we lose our loved ones or calamities befall us to go through intense pain and hard struggle to reach a higher level of Iman. We can do what was only obligated upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Allah commanded him (peace and blessings be upon him) to pray at night and this is to prepare him to carry the message of Islam that we have today.

"O you wrapped in garments (i.e. Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon him! Stand (to pray) all night, except a little. Half of it, or a little less than that, Or a little more; And recite the Qur'an (aloud) in a slow, (pleasant tone and) style. Verily, We shall send down to you a weighty Word (i.e. obligations, laws). Verily, the rising by night (for Tahajjud prayer) is very hard and most potent and good for governing oneself, and most suitable for (understanding) the Word (of Allâh). Qur'an Muzzammil 73:1-6

Many of us don't pray qiyamulail (the night vigil prayer) because it not an easy task to get up at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning while everyone was sleeping. A person has to go through a massive struggle to get up at that time. You go through the process of letting it go and so you rise up from your bed and when you say Allahu Akbar, you entered into a higher level of Iman. Your Iman will get stronger and stronger as long as you don't quit inshaAllah. And you will be able to fight like Anas, in spirit, inshaAllah.

If we wonder why can't we carry the message of Islam, it is because our Iman is not strong and we are not doing anything to make it strong.

May Allah increase our Iman. Ameen.

Good companion

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

I pray that you are well.

How do we make our children wake up for tahajjud (night vigil prayer)? This is how...

Maymunah (Allah be pleased with her), the last wife of the Prophet ﷺ, used to have her young nephew spent the nights in her home when the Prophet ﷺ was there. This young nephew was none other than Abdullah ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him), one of the greatest Companions and a great gift to the ummah of Rasullullah ﷺ.

Ibn Abbas said (in meaning, not exact words), "I spent the nights in the house of my aunt, Maymunah, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ used to pray the night prayer (qiyamu lail) in the house of Maymunah. I saw the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) praying so I went and got on his left side and I began to pray with him and the Prophet ﷺ grabbed me and put me on his right." Ibn Abbas, in his later years, lost his eyesight and had lines on his face from crying at night. He learned this directly from the Prophet ﷺ in the home of his aunt when he was young.

The Prophet ﷺ said, "A man's religion is that of his intimate, so let each of you consider who to be intimate with." "A good companion is better than solitude and solitude is better than an evil companion."

Be vigilant as to make sure that our children are in the company of the best of people and they stay away from that of the worst.

May Allah protect our children and guide them and make them a source of our happiness in this world and the Hereafter. Ameen