Love of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhi wassallam

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

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Love is a sweet and beautiful feeling, undescribable. You experience some of this sweetness and beauty when you are in love with someone. Don't you wish it never go away? Increase your knowledge of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, and you will experience the true sweetness of love that never go away, inshaAllah. Don't go a day without learning something about the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, so you know him. One cannot claim to love the Prophet, if one doesn't know him, never talks about him, and ignores his Sunnah.

We know that the Companions of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, had intense love for him, and part of love is to anticipate the need of the lover and do everything you can to fulfill it. One day one of the women of Ansar saw the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, sitting on the floor leaning against a date palm tree and offered to make a mimbar for him. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, didn't like to say no to people and so he accepted the gift. After the pulpit of his masjid was made, he ascended the pulpit and began to give his Friday sermon. All of sudden there was this crying and weeping and it filled the whole masjid. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, descended from the pulpit, went to the palm tree where he used to lean against, stroke it and hugged it. It was the palm trunk that cried and wept because he yearned for him. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, spoke to it and give it a choice to be uprooted and given a new life or buried under the pulpit. The palm tree chose to be buried under the pulpit of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace. If you have the chance to visit the Prophet's masjid in Madinah, you can see a medallion that marks the location of the palm trunk.

SubhanAllah! If this is how much the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) cared about a piece of wood that long for him, imagine the treatment we would get from loving and yearning for him! If your love for him is not there or has not increased since True Love of Allah and His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, do something about it. Traditional scholars, when narrated the hadith about this palm tree, would ask, "What's the matter with us? We don't weep from separation of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, whether physical or spiritual." Try and take the means to love the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace. If we are not following the sunnah of the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, we are not trying. We owe this level of love and application to someone whom Allah has sent to us as a means of mercy and saving our eternal soul. Love and attachment is found all across creation, so work on our hearts. Our hearts shouldn't be harder than the palm trunk.

May Allah make our hearts tender and increase our love for His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace. Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam

Tongue-Tied

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

Before you do something to make your mother angry or might make her angry if/when she discovered it, you should fear how you will end up, and what if your mother is not by your deathbed? Remind yourself of this story.

Once, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, approached a youth who was on the verge of dying, and said to him: “Say ‘There is no God except Allah.’ But the youth’s tongue appeared to be tied and he was unable to utter the words. When this took place several times, the Prophet said to a lady standing near the youth’s head: “Does this youth have a mother?” The lady replied: “Yes, I am his mother.” The Prophet asked her: “Are you angry with him?” She confessed: “Yes. I have not spoken to him for the last six years.” Hearing this, he said to her: “Be pleased with him.” She agreed and said: “O’ Prophet of Allah! For the sake of your pleasure, may Allah be pleased with him.” (Then, turning to the youth) he said: “Say ‘There is no God, except Allah’). (This time) the youth was able to recite the words and shortly afterwards, his soul departed his body.”

Narrated Anas ibn Malik, that Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, says,

Whoever has pleased his parents, he has pleased Allah and whoever has angered his parents, he has angered Allah.

The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, say,

Allah will not accept the prayers of the person whose parents are angry with him and their parents are not oppressors.

If you have made your parents angry or hurt them in any way, go and seek their forgiveness and make up to them before it is too late. If your parents have passed away, make du'a for them and give regular charity on their behalf, and hope and pray for Allah's mercy.

May Allah make us comfort to the eyes of our parents and grant us an excellent ending. Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam

True Love of Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wassalaam)

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

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

The reality of Faith is manifest in the intense love of Allah. If you want to know the level of your Faith, look at your heart...how intense is your love of Allah.

وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَتَّخِذُ مِن دُونِ اللَّـهِ أَندَادًا يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَحُبِّ اللَّـهِ ۖ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِّلَّـهِ ۗ وَلَوْ يَرَى الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا إِذْ يَرَوْنَ الْعَذَابَ أَنَّ الْقُوَّةَ لِلَّـهِ جَمِيعًا وَأَنَّ اللَّـهَ شَدِيدُ الْعَذَابِ ﴿١٦٥

...But those of Faith are overflowing in their love for Allah...

[Qur'an Al-Baqarah 2:165]

The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, denied the reality to the religion in the one who has not experienced this true love.

There is tremendous consequence of the love of Allah.

Anas reported that the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,

There are three things which cause anyone who takes refuge in them to experience the sweetness of belief - that Allah and His Messenger are more beloved to him than anything else; that he loves a man only for Allah; and that he dislikes the thought of reverting to disbelief as much as he would dislike being cast into the Fire.

[Bukhari & Muslim]

The love of Allah and His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, is the basis of all good and all rank and honor with Allah. Without love of Allah and His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, one's faith is tasteless.

Love is not by mere utterance of the lips, but shown through actions, pleasing to the lover. This is true love. So if we truly love Allah, we should do what is pleasing to Him.

Allah says,

قُلْ إِن كُنتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّـهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمُ اللَّـهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّـهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ ﴿٣١﴾ قُلْ أَطِيعُوا اللَّـهَ وَالرَّسُولَ ۖ فَإِن تَوَلَّوْا فَإِنَّ اللَّـهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْكَافِرِينَ ﴿٣٢

Say, [O Muhammad], "If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful." (31) Say, "Obey Allah and the Messenger." But if they turn away - then indeed, Allah does not like the disbelievers. (32)

[Qur'an AleImran 3:31-32]

Allah says,

قُلْ إِن كَانَ آبَاؤُكُمْ وَأَبْنَاؤُكُمْ وَإِخْوَانُكُمْ وَأَزْوَاجُكُمْ وَعَشِيرَتُكُمْ وَأَمْوَالٌ اقْتَرَفْتُمُوهَا وَتِجَارَةٌ تَخْشَوْنَ كَسَادَهَا وَمَسَاكِنُ تَرْضَوْنَهَا أَحَبَّ إِلَيْكُم مِّنَ اللَّـهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَجِهَادٍ فِي سَبِيلِهِ فَتَرَبَّصُوا حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِيَ اللَّـهُ بِأَمْرِهِ ۗ وَاللَّـهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ ﴿٢٤

Say, [O Muhammad], "If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your relatives, wealth which you have obtained, commerce wherein you fear decline, and dwellings with which you are pleased are more beloved to you than Allah and His Messenger and jihad in His cause, then wait until Allah executes His command. And Allah does not guide the defiantly disobedient people." (24)

[Qur'an At-Tawba 9:24]

This is enough encouragement, advice, proof and indication of the necessity of loving Allah and His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, and is sufficient to show that this duty is an immensely important obligation. Allah censures those whose property, families and children are dearer to them than Allah and His Messenger. He threatens them by adding, "Wait until Allah executes His command." At the end of the verse He considers such people as having done wrong and informs them they are among those who are astray and not guided by Allah.

'Umar ibn al-Khattab told the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace,

"I love you more than anything except my soul which is between my two sides." The Prophet replied, "None of you will believe until I am dearer to him than his own soul." 'Umar said, "By the One who sent down the Book on you, I love you more than my soul which is between my two sides." The Prophet said, "'Umar, now you have it!"

[Bukhari]

Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,

None of you will believe until I am more beloved to him than his children, his father and all people.

[Bukhari, Muslim & an-Nasa'i]

The great scholars took this seriously. If you look at the Companions, their love for the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, was tremendous. They would do unimaginable things showing their immense love for him.

For example, as related by 'Urwa from al-Miswar and others who confirmed each other, "When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did wudu', his Companions all but fought each other for his wudu' water. [Bukhari]

Even after the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, had passed away, some of the senior Companions would travel for weeks and months to distant lands (like Iraq, Syria, etc) just to hear the narration of one hadith of the Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace, even though they have heard it before.

How much can we say about our love for the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, if we can't even find the time to read the Qur'an and hadith collections like the Forty Hadith by Imam Nawawi which are readily accessible to everyone--just let the tip of your fingers do the traveling. Let alone to learn them and implement them in our lives.

May Allah increase our love for Him and His Messenger, Allah bless him and grant him peace. Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam

Time: Our Life Capital

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

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,

There are two blessings in which most people are in great loss: good health and free time.

Most unfortunate is he who does not recognize these blessings and is not thankful for them. All of us at one time or another enjoyed these two blessings but can we say that we have used them in the way that are meant to be used?

Everything about us--growth and development, movements, actions and morality, all take place within the space of 'Time'. Time passes quickly, our spiritual and material potentialities decline, and our abilities fade. We are like someone who possesses a great capital and, without his permission and will, every moment, a portion of that capital is taken away. This is the nature of life in this world--a continual loss. As one poet said,

Your life comprises a few breaths that can be counted; when one of them is sent out, a part of your life has diminished.

Anything lost could be found again except for time wasted.

Allah has granted us the invaluable capital of our life, so that we may invest it in profitable business venture. If we invest our capital of life sensibly in good works, there will be no limit to the profitable returns; but if we invest it unwisely in evil works, then, we will even lose our capital plus the dreadful scourge of committing numerous sins. If we squander it and did not invest in good works, then we, at least, lose both the profit and the capital.

It is reported that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said,

When a person wakes up in the morning, he invests his soul or life in a business enterprise: some of the investors free or save the capital from loss and others destroy it.

The Qur'an uses the word tijarah (transaction) in relation to 'faith' and 'righteous deed', thus:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَىٰ تِجَارَةٍ تُنجِيكُم مِّنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ ﴿١٠﴾ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّـهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَتُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّـهِ بِأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَأَنفُسِكُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿١١﴾ يَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَيُدْخِلْكُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ وَمَسَاكِنَ طَيِّبَةً فِي جَنَّاتِ عَدْنٍ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ ﴿١٢﴾ وَأُخْرَىٰ تُحِبُّونَهَا ۖ نَصْرٌ مِّنَ اللَّـهِ وَفَتْحٌ قَرِيبٌ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ ﴿١٣

O you who have believed, shall I guide you to a transaction that will save you from a painful punishment? (10) [It is that] you believe in Allah and His Messenger and strive in the cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives. That is best for you, if you should know. (11) He will forgive for you your sins and admit you to gardens beneath which rivers flow and pleasant dwellings in gardens of perpetual residence. That is the great attainment. (12) And [you will obtain] another [favor] that you love - victory from Allah and an imminent conquest; and give good tidings to the believers. (13)

[As-Saffat 61:10-13]

Since 'Time' is a person's capital of life, he himself is the trader. Under normal circumstances, his capital is not a frozen thing that may be kept for a while and used up later when the need arises. The capital is flowing all the time, every minute and every second. He who invests it needs to be very wise, intelligent and agile, so that he is able to swiftly and readily reap the profit from a flowing capital. Like an ice-seller whose trade required utmost diligence, and if he were neglectful for a moment, his entire capital would melt away.

Allah says,

وَالْعَصْرِ ﴿١﴾ إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ ﴿٢﴾ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ ﴿٣

By time, (1) Indeed, mankind is in loss, (2) Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience. (3)

[Qur'an Al-Asr 101]

Whoever has abandoned these four things has suffered a tremendous loss.

Faith and righteous deeds are related to our moral and spiritual growth and development. Truth ('Haqq') refers to the package of 'correct faith' and 'good deeds', and patience ('sabr') refers to binding oneself down to performance of righteous deeds and abstaining from sins.

Believers have been enjoined not only to adopt right faith and good deeds themselves, but to advise others strongly and effectively to adopt them, and thus help in the creation of a healthy atmosphere around them. Inviting other Muslims to keep to the true Faith and good deeds is as much necessary as our own submission to the Qur'an and Sunnah. One's own good deeds are not enough for one's salvation, especially if a person does not take care of the spiritual and moral welfare of his wife, children and family and turns a blind eye to their unrighteous deeds. Such a person is blocking his way to salvation - no matter how pious he might be.

Therefore, it is obligatory upon every Muslim to do his best to invite others to the good deeds, and warn them against the evil acts. Don't think it is sufficient for you to be concerned about your own moral and spiritual well-being. If you are not concerned about the well-being of your family and not putting sincere and best efforts, to invite others to the right path, you are rapidly losing your capital while accumulating debts and no profits. What great loss that is for such a person.

May Allah grant us the ability to act upon His guidance. Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam

Shielding Our Iman (Faith)

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

Dear Friends

I pray that you are well.

How precious it is our Iman (Faith)...that's why the shaytan is lurking to steal it from our heart.

إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لِلْإِنسَانِ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ ﴿٥

Indeed Satan, to man, is a manifest enemy. (5)

[Qur'an Yusuf 12:5]

Hold onto your Iman for dear life and start erecting your fortress around it, so it would be impossible for the shaytan to penetrate.

Innermost fortress--Know all your obligations and start doing them, e.g. 5 prescribed daily prayers, witr prayer, fasting, pay zakat, perform hajj, Friday prayer (for men); fulfill the rights of others; seek personally obligatory knowledge (fard 'ain).

2nd layer fortress--Do all the emphasized sunnah prayers (sunna mu'akkada), e.g. 12 cycles of prayers which is before and after 5 prescribed daily prayers (4 before dhuhr, 2 after dhuhr, 2 after maghrib, 2 after 'Isha, 2 before Fajr); Tahajjud (night vigil) prayer in the last one-third of the night; Dhuha (mid morning) prayer.

3rd layer fortress--Do other recommended prayers, e.g. istikhara prayer when making any decision; 2 cycles of prayer after wudu'.

4th layer of fortress--Do other recommended acts of worship, e.g. Recite a portion of the Qur'an daily (at least 2 juz daily); fasting on Mondays, Thursdays and the 3 white days, other special times Zulhijjah 1-9 (include Day of Arafah), etc.; giving charity; seeking sacred knowledge

5th layer fortress--Do much istighfar, salawat upon the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and grant him peace, recite surah of protection after each prayer (ayatul kursi, last 3 surah of the Qur'an, etc.)

6th layer fortress--Moist the tongues with dhikr, maintain wudu' all day and make sure you take wudu' before going to sleep.

7th layer fortress--Keep the company of the righteous and the pious.

Outermost layer fortress--Do not come near haram and those things that can lead to haram.

Each outer layer will help reinforce the inner layer. So don't think you can protect your Iman by only doing the obligatory acts because this last line of defense will not be able to withstand the enemies if they start marching in.

Routinely check and inspect your fortresses for any weaknesses and take immediate remedial steps to reinforce it. The more layers and the stronger they are, the more you are protected. The less layers you have and the weaker they are the easier the Shaytan can penetrate into your heart.

Keep in mind that our lives should not be spent except in worshipping Allah. This is the purpose of our creation and Allah clarifies to us this objective, saying,

وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُونِ ﴿٥٦

And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me. (56)

[Quran Adh-Dhariyat 51:56].

The greatest type of worship is to perform that which Allah makes obligatory on His servants and to refrain from all that He forbids.

Abu Hurayrah narrated that Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "Allah says: ‘The most beloved deeds with which my slave comes nearer to me are what I have enjoined on him.’" [Bukhari]

Ibn Al-Qayyim said:

Since the Salaf lived their whole life in worship, it is then necessary for us to know with which type of worship they started, and which one have they given priority.” He then answered: "The best acts of worship are the most pleasing to Allaah in that particular time. The best act of worship during the presence of a guest is to take care of him and not to be distracted from that by other recommended acts of worship. This is also in performing one’s duties towards one’s wife and family. The best act of worship in the night is to be occupied with prayer, reciting the Quran, supplication and Thikr. The best thing during the time of the Athan (i.e. the call for prayer) is to leave whatever worship one is doing and answer the Mu`aththin (i.e. the one calling the Athan) by repeating what he says. The best thing during the time of the five obligatory prayers is to exert one's efforts in their prompt performance. The best thing when the poor is in dire need of assistance is to assist him and give that preference over supererogatory dhikr. The best thing to do when your brother is sick or dead is to visit him, attend his funeral, and give that priority over your supererogatory Thikr. And the best thing to do when you are afflicted and suffer people’s harm is to be patient and not to run away from them.

May Allah protect our Iman and protect us from the evils of mankind and jinnkind, and let us die at the highest of Iman. Ameen.

Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakallahu khairan.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam